Promises to Keep

the end

"I think I've been eating too much cheesecake" Tayla moaned, though she didn't hate it. The cheesecake was delicious, and though she craved it every minute of every day, and had multiple cheesecakes a week, she still wasn't tired of it.

"There is literally no such thing" Jamie laughed, himself and Tyler having a cheat day on their usually strict eating regime. Katie, Tayla, Jamie, Justin and Tyler all sat around Tyler and Tayla's table, just having finished a delicious dinner made by the boys, and eating Tayla's favourite part; dessert.

"I'd have to agree with Jamie on this one" Justin smiled in between bites. "Of all the weird things you crave, this is by far my favourite" he then added in thought.

"What do you mean weird?" Tayla asked innocently, though she knew exactly what he was referring to.

"The hamburger with no bun, a baked potato- but cold, eating it like a freaking apple-"

"A cheese slice sandwich, but with no bread just literally mozzarella in between two pieces of cheddar-"

"Alright, alright, I know I eat some weird stuff" Tayla finally accepted, laughing. "At least the cheesecake is normal, yeah?" they all agreed, continuing to eat their dessert in a comfortable silence. Tayla was about to eat another piece of her cheesecake when she noticed something strange inside her piece.

Tyler grew anxious; he looked around at the people at the table, who all knew what was about to happen, and smiled at him encouragingly. Tayla had always wanted it to be this way; it was unusual, but Tyler was willing to do anything to make her happy.

"What is...?" Tayla trailed off, picking out the mysterious object from her cake. She put it in her napkin, wiping it clean, before her eyes went wide with shock. When she turned back to Tyler, he was down on one knee. "Oh, my god" Tayla whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

"It's a ring" Tyler clarified for her, stupidly. "One I've wanted to put on your finger since we were 15" he smiled nervously. "I know we've had our ups and downs, and I want to try and avoid all the cliché speeches given during proposals, so I'll just say this,"

"Tay, you are, by far, the most amazing person I have ever met. You've been there for me since day one, have never been afraid to call me out for my shit, and have helped keep my head on straight ever since I can remember. Not a day goes by that I don't feel lucky that you're not only in my life, but you're also going to be the mother of my child. I love you, with all of my heart, and there's no way I want to go a single day without you by my side. With all that being said... Tayla, will you marry me?"

The room was silent, and Tyler's heart pounded rapidly in his chest. Tayla let the tears fall down her cheek, as she thought about the life she shared with Tyler up until this point in her life. He was there through it all, the good, bad and ugly. She never really thought about Tyler as anything more than a best friend, not realizing the love of her life was standing beside her throughout her entire life.

Though he had be purposely sabotaging ever relationship she had ever been in, would it have mattered in the end? Would they have ended up together anyway? She had thought about all of it way too much. And now, now they were about to embark on a new adventure together, as parents. She was just as nervous as he was about the upcoming birth of their little boy, and coming up with a name was proving to be a hard start to it all.

Through it all, she wasn't sure she'd be able to live without Tyler. They were made for each other, and that was obvious to everybody who knew them. It was high time they both accepted this and stopped making excuses.

"Yes" she finally nodded, not realizing all eyes were on her, and she had been stuck in deep thought for a long time. "Of course, I'll marry you" she breathed, pulling Tyler in for a small kiss before he grabbed the ring, wiping it off the rest of the way before placing it gently on her left hand ring finger. "I love you, Ty" she whispered, finally sniffling and wiping the tears of happiness away.

"I love you too Tay" he replied, planting a kiss on her cheek. Around them Katie, Jamie and Justin all clapped, smiling and cheering for the couple.

"Thanks guys" Tayla laughed, finally wiping her tears away. "I can't believe you remembered this is how I've always wanted to be proposed to" she laughed, taking her fork and began to eat the rest of her cheesecake. Out of the corner of her eye, she eyed her ring with a smile on her face.

"Of course, you know us" Justin smiled, laughing at how quickly she went back to her cheesecake.

"I'm very lucky to know you, all of you" she smiled at each one of them, the room of people who had slowly become the most important people in the world to her. Katie came back from the kitchen, a bottle of sparkling apple juice in hand. She poured everyone a small glass, and sat back down, holding up her glass, each person following.

"To Tayla, Tyler, and Riley"

"Riley?" Tayla questioned, confused.

"I just gave your baby a name for the sake of this toast" Katie shrugged, and Tayla began to tear up.

"Riley Seguin..." she trailed off, biting her lip. "I love it"

"Me too" Tyler decided, looking at Katie and winking.

"To Tyler, Tayla and Riley" Katie began again, smiling. "Wishing you all a lifetime of happiness, and best of luck on two new journeys together"

"Cheers!" Jamie smiled, all of them clinking glasses. Everything had seemed to fall into place; everything seemed to be perfect.

And it was. For the first time in a long time, both Tyler and Tayla felt ready for whatever life decided to throw their way.

** The End **

thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this! I really appreciate each and every one of you! This story has finally come to a close, and I hope to start a new one very soon! Any and all feedback is appreciated :)