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She rolled her eyes. “Sure. Whatever you say, Ryker,” she said in her most sarcastic voice. “Anyway, I wasn’t finished.”
“Go on,” I said.
“By the end of the story, the two best friends realized they were in love, and they lived happily ever after.”
“Just like our characters in the fan fiction,” I said.
“That’s right. I hadn’t thought of that,” Shannon said.
“I did. I think it was a sign that we both had deep feelings for each other the entire time. It was coming out in our writing, and we didn’t even realize it.”
“That’s actually what I was about to tell you. As I wrote my story, I began to recognize my feelings for you.”
“That’s incredible,” I said. “I’m so glad you decided to write it.”
“Do you know why I did?”
“Why?” I asked.
“Because you stopped writing on the fan fiction. I got bored, and so I took Mrs. Drake up on her challenge.”
“One day, we’ll finish our fan fiction,” I promised.
“Sounds like a plan. Maybe once you’re done filming, and you’re not so busy. I’ll probably be in college by then.”
I smiled and kissed her again. “There’s actually something I need to tell you about college.”
She sat back and looked at me. “What is it?”
“I have a way for you to go to UCLA.”
She tilted her head, a confused look on her face. “What do you mean?” A small light of hope lit in her eyes.
“You’re being offered a scholarship.” I pulled a letter from my backpack and handed it to her. “It’s already been opened because I opened it.”
“It’s addressed to you.”
“You’ll see why in a minute.”
“I’ve been awarded the White Foundation Scholarship. Why are you getting a letter for my scholarship?”
“Your letter is still coming in the mail. This one is just to inform me that your scholarship has gone through. You couldn’t get your own scholarship from UCLA, so I created a way for you to get one.”
Realization dawned on her face. “White . . . as in Ryker White.”
“I knew you wouldn’t allow me to just pay for your tuition, so I created this and told them to reconsider your scholarship application. And in the future, I’m going to help other people who are struggling financially to have a better opportunity to go to school.”
“Ryker,” Shannon said. “I’m speechless. I honestly don’t know how to thank you for this.”
“You can thank me by coming out to California and accepting my scholarship.”
“Of course, I’ll accept it. I just can’t believe you were able to get all this done so fast.”
“I started the process pretty much as soon as the advance hit my bank account.”
“Yeah. But still. You would think this stuff would take forever.”
“Not really. But that may have something to do with all the news coverage over my new role.”