I'm sorry for the long wait. I really have no excuses, but here it is. The end. The final chapter plus the epilogue. I thank everyone who was here for this story! I really appreciate all of the reviews and favorites. It means a lot to me.

As an added bonus, if you'd like to friend me on My Candy Love, simply search for "Raysia". I'd love to make some more friends! Once again, thank you to everyone for taking time to read this story. Who knows? There may be more stories in the future!

"Miss Raysia? You have a few visitors. Would you like to see them?" the nurse asked from the open door. Raysia nodded with a smile.

"Yes, please. I would enjoy the company."

Lysander, Alexy, Rosalya, Violette, Kim, Iris, and Melody came into the room. Alexy was holding a large stuffed animal along with several balloons. Rosalya came to sit on the hospital bed with Raysia, taking her hand in her own and squeezing it.

"How you holding up, sweetie?" Rosalya asked. Raysia shrugged.

"I'm alright. My ankle in sprained, I have a simple fracture of my tibia, along with three broken ribs and a whole lot of bruising."

"Will you have to walk on crutches?"

Raysia nodded. "For a while, but that won't be until after my ribs and bruising heal some. I'll be bed ridden for a while." She said. Raysia sighed longingly. "So much for doing the play… Looks like Amber got what she wanted."

Rosalya grimaced. "None of us are looking forward to working with her. I mean, I guess now it gives me an excuse to design a truly horrible dress for her, so I suppose that's a plus."

Raysia giggled and the rest of her friends joined in. The image of Amber in a poofy, hot pink dress was quite amusing.

"I'm not really looking forward to Castiel kissing Amber in the play…" Raysia said sadly, feeling anger begin to take root at the thought of her boyfriend (well, she supposed he was her boyfriend now) kissing the nasty blonde. Raysia however missed the amused glances her friends gave to each other.

"We hope you get better soon." Violette said, coming to stand behind Rosalya.

"But until you do, we have all decided to help gather your homework and get you caught up while you are out of commission." Lysander added with a sweet smile.

Raysia looked around at all her friends. "Thank you guys."

"We know you'll be struggling after missing so much school, Raysia." Kim chimed in. "We care about you and want you to succeed."

Raysia started to tear up. All her friends came around her bed to attempt a group hug. It worked more or less and Raysia was satisfied when they pulled away.

"You guys are the best friends a girl could ask for."

Alexy sat the large bear next to her. "I saw this at the clothing shop and Leigh let me buy it for you." He said. Raysia beamed at him.

"You're so sweet. All of you."

"Yes, well, to my knowledge, someone else really wanted to see you. Alone." Lysander said, ushering everyone out of the room. "We'll go grab some lunch and be back in twenty."

As soon as her friends left, Castiel walked into the room. He had a huge bouquet of roses that he placed on her bedside. He coughed and straightened his jacket.

"So, um, guys are supposed to bring flowers to the girls they like or something. I figured now would be a good time." Was his gruff explanation. Raysia hid a grin behind her hand. She motioned for him to sit next to her.

"Come here."

Castiel complied without a fuss and was rewarded with a passionate kiss. He tangled his fingers in her hair and slipped his tongue into her mouth to deepen it. Raysia grinned against his mouth and pulled his head against hers more fiercely. Once the two had successfully stolen each other's breath, they pulled apart. Castiel rested his forehead against hers.

"I really don't want you kissing Amber, Castiel." Raysia said getting to the point as soon as possible. Castiel smirked at her.

"Would it make you jealous, Blondie?"

A dark look replaced the satisfied one on her face as she glared at the redhead. Castiel simply chuckled.

"I'm teasing, babe. You don't have to worry about me kissing her because I won't be." He said. Raysia let out a sigh of relief.

"So you're only going to fake it? Like put your face too far to one side?" she asked. Castiel cleared his throat, looking sheepish. Raysia raised an eyebrow at his behavior, utterly confused.

"Well, not exactly."

Raysia was extremely confused. "What?"

"I kinda sorta maybe mouthed off to the principle and ended up booted from the play." He muttered rather quickly. Raysia blinked, processing, before a smile spread over her lips.

"You did that? For me?"

"Don't make something out of it, Blondie."

Raysia simply kissed him again.

Castiel stayed with her for a while longer until her parents returned from the food court in the hospital. They smiled at the redhead and he swiftly left after bidding the family goodbye.

"Castiel is such a sweet boy. And I noticed all your classmates that came to visit. You've got some wonderful friends, Raysia." Her mother said with a smile. Raysia agreed.

"I do."

Not too long after that, the rest of her friends came up to the room to say goodbye, Rosalya electing to stay behind with her best friend. She took a seat beside Raysia and spoke with the family for a while until visiting hours were over.

"Bye, Raysia. I hope you're not too bored here for the next few weeks." Rosalya said, squeezing Raysia's hand gently. Raysia smiled at her friend and squeezed her hand back.

"No worries. Besides, any time I get to spend out of school is time well spent."

Rosalya laughed and bid her goodbyes as she left the hospital room. Raysia's mother took Rosalya's place on the bed. Raysia looked at her mother as she swiped a stray piece of hair behind Raysia's ear. She smiled at her daughter.

"I'm sorry this had to happen, my dear." Her mother told her sadly. "I know how excited you were about the school play. You got the lead and everything!"

"There will be other plays, Mother." Raysia said, grabbing her mother's hand.

"Oh, I know, darling. But I'm still sad that you can no longer participate."

"It'll be okay." Raysia said, smiling. "Besides, I've got plenty of friends looking out for me."

Raysia's mother nodded, smiling as well. "Yes you do, darling. Yes you do."

The weeks were long and tiresome where Raysia couldn't leave her bed. She had been discharged from the hospital halfway through her sentence, but had to spend the remainder of it stuck in bed. Her friends visited nearly everyday and Castiel made a point to visit everyday. He lived next door, afterall. On more than one occasion, Raysia's parents insisted he stay for dinner to which he accepted.

"How was school today, Castiel?" Raysia's mother asked. Castiel shrugged, taking a bite of the pasta she had made.

"It was the same as usual: boring and long."

"Missed out little Raysia, huh?" her dad teased, winking at the redhead. Castiel smirked as Raysia began to fumble her words in embarrassment.

"Little bit. School's much more tolerable when she's around."

Raysia blushed and averted her eyes so her parents couldn't see, but she also hid a grin at Castiel's words. He cared about her. Raysia already knew this, but it was nice to hear it from him.

"Hey, Castiel, isn't the school play tonight?" Raysia asked, looking up from her plate at her boyfriend. Castiel nodded.

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you want to go see it?"

Castiel was silent, as were her parents.

"Raysia, are you sure you want to go see it?" her mother asked. Raysia nodded slowly.

"All of my friends are a part of it. I want to be there to support them." She answered determinedly. Castiel nodded at her response.

"Alright, as long as you're sure. It start in like an hour so we should probably go get tickets." He said, picking up his plate to put it in the dishwasher. "Wait, how are you going to get there?"

"I have a wheelchair, Castiel. You can push me."

Castiel rolled his eyes as Raysia stuck her tongue out at him. Raysia's parents shared a knowing look. Their daughter was growing up and falling in love… It was only a matter of time before she was out on her own with a live away from home and her own responsibilities. Raysia turned to look at her parents.

"Do you want to come to the show too?"

Her mother shook her head. "No, it's alright. You and Castiel go support your friends. We'll clean up dinner."

Raysia gave her mother a grateful smile before Castiel wheeled her out of the house. Luckily the school wasn't too far away, but Raysia enjoyed being able to speak with Castiel.

"Thank you for doing this for me." She said. Castiel shrugged.

"No big deal. The play's gonna be crummy anyway."

"Hey!" Raysia began to protest, but Castiel interrupted her.

"Without you in it, there's really no point in going."

"Then why are you?"

Castiel was quiet for a moment. "Because you wanted to go, duh."

Raysia felt butterflies in her stomach at his words and giggled. It was nice to know that he cared about her. Castiel wasn't the easiest person to try to get along with, but once you did… Raysia knew it was worth it.

Once they reached the school, Castiel and Raysia were given front row seats due to her condition. Castiel settled in next to her, taking her hand in his. She smiled at him and he pecked her lips quickly before the show began.

"Who did they end up getting to play the Prince?" Raysia whispered to Castiel as the curtain rose. He shrugged and opened his mouth to comment when the question was answered for them.

"What a wonderful time to go hunting in the grand 'ol forest!" shouted a booming voice. Raysia couldn't help herself. She doubled over with laugher.

"Boris!" she wheezed. Castiel joined with her laughter. Both could only imagine how Amber responded when she found out that Castiel had turned down the role and Boris was now taking his place. Castiel leaned over to kiss Raysia again. She smirked at him when he pulled away.

"Someone's a little needy today, hm?"

Castiel ruffled her hair.

"Not like I've really been able to kiss you lately because you've been stuck in your house."

Raysia's only reply was to pull him in for another kiss.

"Come on!" Castiel shouted, dragging the blonde behind him. "We're going to be late and we really can't afford that."

"Wow, I think this is the first time you've ever been concerned over a school related function." Raysia teased. Castiel gave her a sour look over his shoulder.

"Blondie, it's graduation. Don't you think you should be a little more concerned?"

"It's fine." She said, waving off his comment. "We'll make it. It'll be okay."

Castiel rolled his eyes and continued to tug her along after him. Raysia smiled, squeezing his hand in reassurance. She thought back on the last year of her life spent at Sweet Amoris High. She had made so many friends and despite the pain that was Amber, Raysia had enjoyed it.

She had met Castiel.

And to make matters better, they would be attending the same college next year. She didn't know if she loved him yet, but it was a distinct possibility for the future. Especially since she didn't have to worry about not seeing him very often.

There was no more need to worry. Everything was going to be fine. School may be ending and college slowly approaching, but Raysia wasn't worried. She had Castiel by her side. She glanced at the red head and tugged on their connected hands to pull him to a stop. He looked at her quizzically and she met his stare with a smirk and a coy smile. He got the message and leaned down to kiss her deeply.

And she would always have him by her side.