Chapter 273

The sun was still shining brightly as Lucas and I stepped out of Grandma Jo's house, dressed in our graduation attire.

Grandma Jo stood on the porch, a proud smile on her face, as she snapped pictures of us with her old camera.

"Smile, you two! You both look so grown up," she exclaimed, her voice filled with pride. "Who would've thought that the two of you would be graduation together after all these years?"

I smiled as I looked up at Lucas, wondering the same thing. Lucas sensed my eyes on his and looked down at me.

"Oh! That's a good picture!" she cheered, snapping away on her camera. "Don't move!"

"Grandma Jo, how many pictures are you gonna take?" Lucas teased, grinning at me.

"Just a few more, dear," Grandma Jo replied, not missing a beat. "I want to capture every moment of this special day!"

"Shana's gonna have more photos than the entire yearbook at this rate," Lucas joked, nudging me playfully.

I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but laugh at his comment. "Hey, at least we'll have plenty of memories to look back on."

Grandma Jo chuckled as she continued to snap pictures, her enthusiasm infectious as always. "That's the spirit, you two! Now, give me your biggest smiles!"

We posed for Grandma Jo's pictures, exchanging smiles and laughter as we basked in the warmth of her love and support.

After a few more snapshots, we waved goodbye to Grandma Jo and headed to the school, hand in hand.

"Think we should take my motorcycle for a spin today?" Lucas asked. "Like good ol' times?"

"Are you serious?" I laughed. "I'm wearing a dress and I just spent the last two hours doing my hair!"

Lucas flashed me a mischievous grin, his eyes sparkling with excitement. "Come on, Shana, we can show up in style and everyone will be talking about us."

"Thanks, but no thanks. People talk about us enough as is and I'm not ruining my hair."

Lucas chuckled, opening the passenger door of the car for me. "Fine. Suit yourself. But you're missing out on the thrill of the ride."

I rolled my eyes, unable to suppress a smile. "I'll take my chances."

We began to drive towards the school and I couldn't help but feel a sense of anticipation building within me.

Graduation was a milestone, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. And despite my reluctance to embrace the chaos of the dance hall, I couldn't deny the excitement bubbling beneath the surface.

Lucas glanced over at me, his expression softening. "You ready?"

I met his gaze, a surge of gratitude washing over me. "I've been ready."

It felt amazing knowing that Lucas and I had made it to this point. We had a long, tiring, and exhausting year and it was finally all coming to a close.

The school building stood tall as we parked the car. The outside was decorated with banners and balloons celebrating the graduating class.

Lucas squeezed my hand reassuringly as we walked towards the entrance, his touch grounding me amidst the whirlwind of emotions.

Together, we navigated through the crowd of students, weaving our way towards the entrance.

The sound of laughter and chatter surrounded us, mingling with the distant strains of music from the dance hall inside.

When we crossed through the entrance, I couldn't help but feel a flutter of nerves in my stomach. It had hit me suddenly, and I wasn't expecting it.

"You okay?" Lucas questioned, noticing the shift on my face.

I nodded, trying to control my breathing.

However, my unease only grew as we entered the school gymnasium where the dance was being held.

A large crowd of reporters were gathered inside, filming and taking photos. Cameras flashed, and microphones were thrust in our direction as they clamored for our attention.

"What's going on?" I whispered to Lucas, my voice tinged with apprehension.

Lucas frowned, his brows furrowing in confusion. "I have no idea. This wasn't part of the plan."

I wondered if it had anything to due with our society. Many students from wealthy families were in attendance... this was good exposure for them.

"Do you think they're here for you?"

"God, I hope not," Lucas spoke. "Let's try to steer clear of them for now. I don't want to get caught up in whatever they're here for."

"Do you think your father sent them?"

"I'm not sure why he'd do that... we aren't on the best of terms at the moment."

My mind reeled, recalling the fight that Lucas mentioned he'd had a few weeks ago with his father.

"Maybe, this is his revenge?" I questioned as we walked away from the reporters, trying to go undetected.

Lucas shrugged. "It's possible. Honestly, at this point I wouldn't put it past him. Let's see if we can get away from them."

We made our way through the crowd of reporters, trying to avoid their probing questions and intrusive cameras. My mind raced with questions, wondering why there were so many reporters here and what they could possibly want from us.

Spotting Victoria and James across the room, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

"Hey, there's Victoria and James," I said, nudging Lucas in the side. "Let's go say hi and see if they know what's going on."

Lucas nodded, his grip tightening around my hand as we moved through the crowd towards our friends.

As we approached, James greeted us with a wide grin. "Hey, you two! Have you seen all these reporters? It's like we're celebrities or something."

"Yeah, what's the deal with that?" Lucas asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

Victoria sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I have no idea. It's been like this since we arrived."

"They recognized who Victoria was and tried asking her questions about her parent's recent business ventures," James continued, putting an arm around Victoria in a protective way.

Lucas's expression darkened at the mention of reporters hassling Victoria. "Seriously? That's low."

Victoria shrugged, trying to brush it off. "It's nothing new. You know what it's like. Did they try speaking to you?"

"No, thankfully I don't think they spotted me," Lucas turned to glance at the reporters across the room.

"Let's keep it that way," I chimed in, feeling a surge of protectiveness towards Lucas. "We'll stick together and avoid them as best as we can. The last thing we need is to get caught up in whatever they're after."

James nodded in agreement. "Agreed. Let's not let them ruin our night. We've worked hard for this moment, and we're going to enjoy it."

"But I'm sorry you have to deal with that," I said to Victoria sympathetically, feeling a surge of anger towards the reporters for invading our friends' privacy.

"It's fine." She gave me a smile as she looked at my outfit. "You look amazing, Shana. I love that dress!"

"Thanks, Victoria," I replied, returning her smile. "You look stunning too."

Lucas nudged me playfully. "Yeah, you both clean up pretty well."

I rolled my eyes at him, but couldn't help but laugh. "Really? That's the best compliment you can give us?"

James gave Lucas a hard stare. "You better not be giving my girl any more compliments."

Lucas rolled his eyes as we all laughed at James's fake-jealousy.

"Relax, James," Lucas teased. "I promise, I'm not stealing your girl with compliments."

Victoria leaned into James, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "You're the only one for me, babe."

A flash went off behind us and I turned to the reporters.

I exchanged a worried glance with Lucas, a sinking feeling settling in the pit of my stomach. Whatever was happening, it was clear that graduation day was shaping up to be anything but ordinary.