The last chapter!

Jay walked into his and Carlos's room and tossed his gym bag on the floor next to the door. He shut the door behind him and collapsed back against it. It was the day after Audrey's party, and he had spent every waking minute of it on the tourney field running drills and practice plays by himself.

Carlos grunted in his sleep and shifted closer to Jane. Unable to sleep after coming back from Audrey's party early the previous night, Jay had pretended to be asleep when Carlos and Jane had entered the room. Even with his back to Carlos's bed, he had heard them kissing for several minutes. Eventually, everything had gone quiet. When Jay had left at sunrise for the tourney field, they had been curled around each other, peacefully asleep.

Looking at them now with their bodies pressed close together under the sheets, Jay would be lying if he were to say he wasn't jealous. Carlos had it too easy. Shit, all three of his Isle friends had it too easy when it came to love. Mal had fallen into a real-life fairytale with Ben. Evie and Chad had just magically drifted together until they connected. Carlos and Jane had been together ever since Carlos had shaken the nerves to ask Jane out and Jane had gained more self-confidence. Fate was on all of their sides. But that didn't seem to be the case for Jay. Every time Audrey got close to breaking down whatever walls were separating her and Jay from happiness, she would rebuild them with twice the defenses.

And Jay was tired of it.

He was tired of not knowing whether the next time he saw her would be with a smile or a frown from her. He just wanted a straight answer: did she want to try dating or not? Yes or no. It was that simple. If she said no, he would leave her alone.

But she still hadn't given him an answer. They had kissed at her party - a searing, spine-melting kiss. And she had ran.

He just didn't understand girls, apparently.

Jay sighed and dragged a hand through his damp hair. The tourney practice and shower afterwards had done him a lot of good to relax him. But now, being back in the room and seeing Jane and Carlos still like that...it was maddening.

He walked over to his own bed, choosing to ignore them for now. It was past noon, but he knew they were probably exhausted.

He was about to climb into the bed to take a nap when he saw what was lying in the center of the comforter - a sprig of dark red carnations with a piece of paper tucked underneath them. Those had definitely not been there when he had left that morning.

He picked up the note and read: The roof. Midnight. -A

Audrey paced nervously. It was five minutes past midnight, and Jay wasn't there. Maybe he hadn't gotten her note. Had he not gone back to his room after tourney drills? She had seen him practicing and that was how she knew she could place the flowers and note in his room undetected. Maybe he had thought she meant another roof. But, she didn't know how that would make sense. She was on the dormitory roof. His room was just two floors below her feet. Surely, he would have assumed this roof first before any others. Or maybe he didn't want to come. He was probably angry at her for her behavior toward him and for running away at the party. She wouldn't blame him if he didn't show up.

If he didn't show though, she would feel like a fool. She had brought up candles and placed them around the certain space of the roof where she stood. They were lit now, and sprigs of dark red carnations identical to the one she had left for Jay in his room lay interspersed among them. She had tried to make it look as romantic as possible, and she would be crushed if he didn't come now.

As she paced back the other way, her gaze flitted back to the door that she had been watching for the last fifteen minutes. It was the only way up to the roof, and every time she looked at it, she was disappointed to see it still firmly shut.

She clicked a button on her phone to check the time again and sighed. 12:07. He wasn't coming. He wouldn't have been late for this. At least, she hoped that was the case.

She tucked her phone back into the pocket of her pale pink shorts and hugged her arms around herself. She'd give him one more minute and then leave. She already felt incredibly foolish.

By the time she checked her phone again, it was 12:09. She put it back in her pocket and crouched down to blow out the first of many candles.

"What? That's it? Nine minutes is all you were willing to give me?"

Audrey shot to her feet, startled. She looked to the door to the roof, but no one was there. She slowly spun in a circle, trying to pinpoint where Jay's voice had come from.

Facing away from the door, she finally saw him as he stepped out of the shadows. "But..." She shook her head. "I never saw you come up."

Jay shrugged his shoulders. His hands were tucked into the pockets of his jeans. He wore a red and yellow plaid flannel shirt. "I don't need a door to get up here."

"You mean you climbed up here?" Audrey asked.

"You act surprised. I wanted to see how long you would wait for me. I've been here for about fifteen minutes now," Jay said, walking over to her where she stood surrounded by candles and carnations.

Audrey rolled her eyes, almost tempted to punch him. He had purposely made her squirm and worry. How rude. "I would have given you longer, but I assumed you were angry with me after last night."

Jay frowned and stopped right in front of her. "That's the problem. You assume too much about me."

Audrey felt warm pressure in her cheeks as a blush blossomed there. He was right. Assuming things about him were what had landed her in this mess in the first place. If she had only talked to her mother earlier, she might have avoided dragging Jay's heart around for the last few weeks.

"Anyways," Jay said. "You wanted to see me here for some reason?" His eyes traveled over the candles and flowers and back to her face. He raised an eyebrow.

"Don't play dumb," Audrey said, still embarrassed by the fact her had watched her pace for fifteen minutes waiting on him.

Jay crossed his arms over his chest. "I don't have to play dumb. I'm often wrong about what you're up to or what you're wanting, so I'm going to need you to say it aloud this time. What do you want, Audrey?"

Audrey sighed and looked away. "I...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for how I've treated you since the coronation. Well, and before it. I'm just sorry, ok? I want to try this. I want to try us being together."

"What changed your mind?" Jay asked.

"My mother talked me through how stupid I was being basically," Audrey said. She looked back up at him and managed a laugh.

Jay smiled slightly, but he stood his ground, his arms still crossed over his chest and his body shifted away from her. "Are you sure? Because, I don't want to allow myself to hope and get crushed even worse."

Audrey nodded and took a step forward. She gripped his arms just above his elbows. "I'm sure. I'm not saying it will be an automatic Happily Ever After, but I think I'd like to have a chance at one with you." Her blush was back now, but she couldn't find it in herself to care. She needed him to say that he still wanted this. "Please," she added, "if it's not too late."

Jay unfolded his arms and moved one hand to her cheek. "Audrey, it's never too late. I know how I feel about you. I just needed to know that you were sure of how you feel. And if you're sure-"

"I'm sure," Audrey said, stepping even closer. Her torso now brushed his. "I was being stupid. I was scared of what people would think. I thought that I needed to marry royalty to have a happy life, but I see that isn't true anymore. I want to try being with you. I want to stop all the games and just enjoy being with you. I want to let myself do that."

Jay nodded, his thumb traveling over her cheek in repeated strokes as she spoke. He slipped his other arm around her waist to hold her close. "That's all I ever wanted was to try us together." He pressed a kiss to her forehead and sighed lightly, happily.

Audrey smiled and linked her arms around his neck. "Then let's try."

And she kissed him fully on the mouth. This time, when she felt the pull of passion, she didn't stop; she didn't run. She gave in, pressing herself fully to him and reveling in the warmth of his embrace.

Thank you guys so much for reading this story! I know this story has gone through periods of no updates for months, but it is finally completed. Thank you so much for sticking with it and continuing to read. My stories would not be possible without you guys as supportive readers and reviewers. But as I said, this story is now complete and will not receive any new updates. If you wish to know when I post new stuff, please give me an author follow and be sure to check out my other stories. For now, keep reading and keep loving life.

Foarrin