Page 225 of Becoming Us

Holly’s being weird but we’ll be there on time

Atty Love-of-My-Life King

ok

I frowned at the screen. That “ok” felt a little…flat. Robotic. I was about to text back something wildly inappropriate in emojis when Holly yanked me in another direction.

“Ouch! Jesus fuck, can you not?” I snapped, pulling at my arm.

“No can do. We’re almost there.” She glanced around—distracted, or maybe focused?

“How are we almost there? The restaurant is near the music hall. Is there a portal behind that building?” I paused. “Oh—that’sa good song.”

“Isn’t it?” Her smile was starting to look unhinged.

“Where the hell are we going?” I asked as she led me through a curtain of flowers.

“Just this way.”

The music grew louder.Like a Prayerthumped around us, echoing through what looked like a goddamn enchanted garden. Golden light spilled across a small pond, the surface shimmering like glass under the setting sun. A narrow wooden bridge arched over the water, illuminated by tiny bulbs woven along its railings. Curved brick paths wound between beds overflowing with lilies—white, pale-pink, star-shaped petals catching the last of the light. Fairy lights blinked above us like scattered constellations, strung through the trees like some kind of dream.

I slowed, my steps faltering. “Hols, this is not the way. This is, like…a wedding. Or a private event. Or a magical forest that’s definitely not open to the public. Are you sure we’re allowed in here?”

She didn’t even flinch. Just kept tugging me forward with that maddening little smile. “I’m sure.”

She led me straight to the center of the pond, onto the glowing bridge. The soft wood creaked beneath our feet, and for a second, it felt like we were floating.

“I’m really fucking sure we’re not supposed to be here,” I whispered, half panicked, half in awe.

Then her hand came up to my cheek. Her eyes locked onto mine, and something about her expression—warm and trembling and knowing—made my heart stutter.

“Trust me,” she said. “This is exactly where you’re supposed to be.”

She pulled me into a tight hug. Her arms lingered. Then she stepped back, her eyes shining. “Stay here, okay? Don’t move.”

And then she was gone.

I stared after her, utterly baffled. My chest was tight, breath shallow, nerves fraying at the edges.What the hell is happening?

The song swelled again, and my gaze darted across the space—then stopped cold.

The flowers weren’t random. They were lilies.Alllilies. My favorite. And not just thrown together—they were planted with care, clustered in color gradients, blooming like they’d waited for this exact moment.

I turned in place. There was a little stage all the way on the other side of the pond, a microphone standing at its center. And it was a fuckingMadonnasong playing in the background. That couldn’t be a coincidence, could it?

Then came the movement.

People began to filter in, slowly, quietly, like they’d been cued. They gathered around the water, staying on the paths and grassy edges, careful not to cross the bridge.

And they weren’t just any people.

They weremypeople.

Holly. Colin. Ezra. Paxton, Brice, Jaden.

Holy shit.

My mom. Lan. The whole damn crew—producers, sound guys, tour staff. One by one, they filled the space like they’d all been waiting for me to catch up. Like this moment had already been written, and I was just now stepping into it.