t h i r t y n i n e

Uneasy applause could be heard throughout the auditorium as Xavier walked away from the podium.

On the side, Megan left her parents' arms and immediately pulled Aurora in for a hug, catching the older girl by surprise.

"Thank you so much," Megan murmured. She couldn't believe it was all over. All thanks to the older girl who showed her that she was loved by her family no matter what and that she should be able to trust them since they were her family.

"You really need to stop thanking me," Aurora rubbed Megan's back as she chuckled. "Like I said the other day, we're family, Megan."

Megan pulled away with a genuine smile on her face and kissed Aurora on the cheek. Giving Aurora one last squeeze, she walked to the edge of the stage where Damien stood waiting for her.

She leaped into her oldest brother's arms as he gracefully caught her. Steading her onto her feet, he whispered words of encouragement, kissing her on the forehead to show how proud he was of her. It wasn't long before Elijah swooped in, wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

Still on stage, Xavier held his hand out, which Aurora immediately grabbed. Isabella and Alexander made their way to the couple and as soon as she was within range, Isabella brought Aurora in for a loving embrace. The Knights were definitely a family that loved hugs.

"You don't know how grateful I am for you, Aurora," Isabella said, pulling away to look Aurora in the eyes. "You, my dear, are an angel sent from heaven."

"Isabella," Aurora pouted, her cheeks reddening from the compliment. "I really didn't do much."

"You're always so humble," Isabella clucked her tongue, giving Aurora a kind smile like a mother would her daughter. She turned to look at Xavier with a stern look. "You better keep her happy or you'll answer to me."

Xavier rolled his eyes, causing Isabella to glare at her son. She was his mother, right? "You know I will, ma."

"Good," Isabella patted her son's cheek as Alexander gave Aurora a grateful smile. He pulled Aurora in for a hug as well, kissing the top of her head to express his gratefulness for the woman who helped his daughter learn to open up to them. He whispered a 'thank you' before pulling away, leading Isabella off the stage.

They really were becoming her family.

The two followed after his parents off the stage, and Xavier made sure to help Aurora down the steps to prevent her from tripping over her own feet. Behind them, the principal tried to go after them but was immediately stopped by Jackson.

With his intimating glare, the principal immediately backed up in fear. Compared to him, Jackson was younger and built completely out of pure muscle.

"You did so well," murmured Aurora, not paying any attention to the obvious stares they were receiving as they made their way out of the auditorium.

"You think I scared them enough?" Xavier asked, keeping his hand tightly intertwined with hers.

Aurora scoffed, squeezing his hand. "I'm sure everyone was shitting their pants. This was the first time I've seen this side of you. The way you commanded everyone's attention— it was kind of hot."

Xavier chuckled, leaning down so he could kiss her cheek. As soon as they walked out of the auditorium, their family immediately broke out into an excited chatter.

"I can't believe you just did that," Maddie grinned, punching Xavier lightly on the arm. "You should've seen the horror on all their faces when you called them out, especially Principal Donalds."

"That fucking ending— holy shit. That was an amazing speech," Stephanie grinned as Ethan bounced Colton on his hip. The toddler was getting antsy, having been sitting still throughout the ceremony. He was currently trying to escape from his dad's hold, while Ethan tried to calm him down.

"Yeah, all thanks to me," Aurora chirped, grinning widely. "I should quit my job as an architect and become a speechwriter."

"Yeah, I'm sure Liam will have a field day with that one," snorted Maddie, giving Aurora a teasing grin. "You're going to make the poor guy cry if he loses his best architect."

They continued to chat and walk down the hallway towards the exit, but a voice called out, causing everyone to stop in their tracks.

"Megan!"

Turning around, Aurora immediately recognized Noah. He stood looking a bit breathless as he tried to catch up with the group.

"Who the fuck is that?" Damien squinted his eyes at the young man in front of them. All of the men tensed, not knowing who he was or why he was calling Megan's name. Aurora could practically feel the testosterone being emit from them.

"Hey, Megs, can I talk to you for a sec?" Noah asked, looking at Megan with slight hope in his eyes.

Megan looked at her brothers hesitantly before sliding Elijah's arm off of her shoulders. Immediately, he narrowed his eyes at her, which she ignored as she walked over to where Noah stood.

"Sure."

"But-"

Aurora nudged her boyfriend, stopping him from protesting. Xavier's mouth opened and closed, debating whether or not he should stop Megan, but ultimately decided it was best for him to just shut his mouth. All of the Knight brothers watched with hard stares as the two walked farther away, so they could talk in private.

"Come on, darling," Isabella grasped Alexander's hand to pull him away. She had a knowing smile on her face. "Let's go wait in the car."

Alexander found himself glaring at Noah's back before obliging to his wife's request. Whoever that young man was, he better be careful.

As their parents left the group, Maddie couldn't contain her excitement. Lucas pouted as she pried her arm away from him and practically ran over to Aurora's side.

"Is that him?"

Aurora nodded enthusiastically as Maddie began to jump with excitement. Megan had told them about Noah during their girls' trip and since then, the girls couldn't help but tease Megan about him. Even Stephanie joined the party, leaving Ethan behind with their fussy son.

"He's cute!" Stephanie gushed, causing Ethan to immediately narrow his eyes in her direction, having heard what she said.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "Not as cute as me."

"Uh-huh honey," Stephanie said absentmindedly, not paying her husband any attention.

"Colton cute," pouted Colton, squirming in his dad's arms. "Papa," He grabbed onto Ethan's cheeks and began squeezing. "Colton cute."

"Mhmm, Colton is the cutest," Ethan tried to smile but found it difficult with Colton practically squeezing the life out of his face with his small pudgy hands.

"He is cute, isn't he?" Murmured Aurora, making Xavier huff and roll his eyes. "He has that bad boy vibe that all high school girls seem to go after."

All of the women had taken 3 steps forward, detaching themselves from the glowering men behind them to get a closer look at the scene unfolding in front of them. They weren't even trying to hide the fact that they were just plain staring.

"He looks like a fucking tool," scoffed Elijah, crossing his arm as he glared at Megan conversing with the guy.

The brothers muttered their agreement, all shooting daggers at how close Megan was standing with the unknown guy.

"Shhh," the girls shushed the guys, who all continued to mutter insults and threats at the guy as if he could hear them. The girls continued to stare while squealing at how cute they look together. Aurora tried her best to read both Noah and Megan's lips to try to figure out what they were saying, but she was honestly a really bad lip reader.

Megan sighed and rolled her eyes. She could practically hear their shrieks from where she was standing with Noah down the hall.

"I'm sorry about them," she turned back to look at him, cheeks reddening with embarrassment. "They're like that sometimes."

"I don't mind at all," He shook his head, offering her a gentle smile. "You look really beautiful today. I'm glad you're all better now— I don't like seeing you hurt."

"Thank you," she murmured shyly, looking down at her feet. His compliment made her cheeks warm and she couldn't bring herself to look up at the adonis standing right in front of her. His dark hair was styled back effortlessly and under his gown, he wore a white fitted dress shirt, which stretched across his muscular chest.

He was gorgeous.

It was silent for a moment before they both spoke up at the same time.

"I-"

"You-"

"Sorry," they both say at the same time, causing them to laugh.

Megan giggled looking up into his beautiful brown eyes that held a look of promise when he looked at her. "You go first."

Noah took a deep breath. "I was going to say— when you didn't show up to school this past week, I started to get worried. And you weren't really answering my texts, I thought something happened to you."

"Oh," She was slightly taken aback since this wasn't what she was expecting him to say. "I'm sorry for making you worry— I know I should've let you know, but I just didn't know what to say."

"I figured, although I should be the one apologizing," he muttered, looking down. "I should've done more to prevent all this from happening to you. And I should've been there to protect you before they even laid their hands on you."

"Hey," she stopped him from continuing by taking his hand in hers. This took him by surprise as he looked up at her with shock. "This wasn't your fault— there wasn't any more you could've done."

"But I-"

"Noah Ian Hunters, you will stop that nonsense right now," she glared up at him, which again took him by surprise. The Megan he knew was shy and quiet, but he found himself liking this side of her. Megan McKay- Knight was definitely something else and he couldn't wait to see more of her real self. "You were the only one who stood up for me all those times and you were there whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on. I'll forever be grateful for you, Noah."

"I don't like the way he's looking at her," muttered Damien, frowning as he crossed his arms. In fact, all three brothers had their arms crossed as they closely watched Noah with a scrutinizing glare. The girls had to stop them just seconds ago from storming over to the couple when Megan held his hand.

"Shut up," Maddie rolled her eyes at the way her brothers were acting. What a bunch of overprotective idiots. "He looks at Megan like how Ethan looks at Steph and Xavier at Rory."

"And me at you, baby," chirped Lucas, giving his girlfriend a cheeky grin, which Maddie returned.

Damien whacked Lucas on the back of his head. "Well, I don't like it."

"I think he looks like a sweet guy," Stephanie added, making Damien scowl at his twin with betrayal. She was supposed to be on his side.

"Sweet my ass," scoffed Xavier. "He looks exactly like Elijah— trouble."

"Hey!" Elijah protested, looking offended. All he did was stand here— just what did he do wrong? "Don't associate me with him. You're just mad I'm this close to stealing Aurora from you."

"You wish," grumbled Xavier, flipping his brother off. "Stop trying to steal my girl from me."

"Be nice," Aurora leaned back against Xavier's chest as he wrapped a possessive arm around her waist. "I've met him briefly and he seems to really care about Megan."

"Will I see you again?" Asked Noah, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand in embarrassment.

Megan laughed as Noah looked at her with awe. Her laughter was like music to his ears and he wanted to be the one who keeps a smile on her face. It was the first time in a long while that he had seen a genuine smile on her face and he vowed to never put a frown on her face.

"You have my number, silly," she playfully squeezed his hand. "And we are attending the same university in the fall."

"We are, aren't we," he whispered almost as if he just realized it. His expression brightened, reaching over to brush a strand of hair behind her ear with his free hand. "Can we see each other over summer break?"

Megan blushed, before nodding. "I'd really like that, Noah."

"Me too."

A loud cough immediately popped the little bubble that they were in and immediately, the couple to turned their heads to where everyone was still watching them. Elijah pointed down and glared at their intertwined hands. Immediately, Megan let go of Noah's hand, her cheeks burning with embarrassment.

"I should probably get back to my family," she gave him an apologetic smile.

"Yeah, I should get back to mine, too," he turned back to look at her family, feeling the glares he was receiving from her brothers. Xavier's glare definitely scared him the most and he still couldn't believe that the angel standing in front of him was actually related to the man. "Your brothers look like they're about to kill me."

Megan shook her head with a grin. "They're harmless— just a bit overprotective. I'll call you?"

"I'll be waiting for it, Megs," He leaned down, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

"Oh that little-" Elijah began to storm towards the couple with Xavier and Damien right behind him with murderous glints in their eyes.

Noah smirked, before walking away with a smug smile on his face. Megan immediately snapped out of her trance and figured out she needed to do some damage control. She began to mentally prepare herself for the nagging.

With the help of her sisters and Aurora, they managed to keep the boys from going after Noah.

But then, came the questions.

"Who the fuck was he, Megan?" Asked Xavier, not complying with Megan as she tried to tug him towards the exit. Jesus, what exactly does Aurora feed her brother— actually, never mind, Aurora couldn't even cook to save her life.

Elijah continued, not giving her a chance to even answer Xavier's question. "Why did he kiss you? Asshole has some nerve doing that in front of us."

"What's going on between the two of you?" This time it was Damien who questioned her.

Megan groaned as she tried to escape her brothers' questions, but like the rest of the Knights, the brothers could be stubborn when they wanted to be.

"What's his name? I'll find everything out about him— his date of birth, what his parents do, whether or not he has a criminal record."

"Oh, great idea, brother. Maybe we can find his address and pay him a little visit."

"I have a friend who's with the FBI— I'm sure we can dig up everything from his past."

"You guys will do no such thing!" Screeched Megan, covering her ears. She sent her brothers a glare before storming off towards the exit with her brothers hot on her heels.

The Knight brothers continued to pester Megan with question after questions and she honestly felt like ripping her hair out. Even as she got to the car, they wouldn't stop leaving her alone and when she looked at her father for help, he, too, began to ask her questions.

Those left behind shook their heads with amusement. Poor Megan— she was surely going to go crazy.

Aurora kept a smile on her face as she walked towards the exit. Seeing that her best friend was alone, Maddie joined her, wrapping an arm around Aurora's shoulders. Behind them, Stephanie held a now sleepy Colton in her arms while Ethan and Lucas chatted quietly.

"Thank you, Rory," Maddie whispered, leaning her head on the shorter girl's shoulder. Damn those Knights with their tall genes. Even Megan was taller than her 5'5 frame. "For everything that you did for Megan."

"I swear you Knights need to stop thanking me," Aurora shook her head with a smile on her face. "I just did what I could do to help her."

"I know, and we're grateful that you got her to open up. I don't think she would've told us without you and by the time we found out, it would've been too late," Maddie muttered. "So just take my thank you because I'm really proud of you, babe."

Aurora smiled at her best friend's words, feeling a sense of accomplishment within her. When she looked at Megan, Aurora couldn't help but feel that the younger girl was just like her when she was a teenager. It was hard, having to revisit the horrors of high school, but with this, she was fully able to completely move on and help her before it was too late.

Maddie had seen Aurora struggle with insecurity due to the aftermath of her high school experience. Even though it had probably brought back bad memories, she was extremely proud that Aurora was able to guide Megan away from that darkness.

Because in the end, everything was going to be okay.

❤︎ ❤︎ ❤︎

Don't worry this is not the end! There are around 5 more chapters left plus some additional bonus chapters^^

To be honest, I was hesitant while writing the last chapter because I wasn't sure if you guys would like it. But I was like 'fuck it' because this was how I imagined the revenge to go. In the end, I'm really glad you guys liked it. I love reading your comments and you guys always make my day.