𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙈𝙚 𝙄𝙣.

Freedom Of Speech.

"Why are you here? It's just weird."

West remarked as he glanced at his uncle, who was sprawled out on his bed, through the mirror whilst getting dressed.
Graduation day had finally arrived, and with it came Dennis, whom he hadn't seen since that day in the diner.

"What?" He smirked as he drew one leg over the other. He was getting too comfortable for West's liking. "I can't go see my nephew graduate, now?"

"It would be cool if we were a normal family."

"We're normal." Dennis shrugged, "At least for today."

"How's Winona?"

"She's fine, baby's fine, too. It's a boy."

"Yours?" West asked hesitantly.

Dennis grabbed the tie on West's bed, then walked over to him. He didn't even have time to react before Dennis wrapped it around his neck. "I don't know... maybe. He has my eyes."

As he got to work tying the tie, West couldn't help but notice how different Dennis looked from Paul, they were identical twins, that much was obvious, but where Paul's eyes were a dark shade of green, Dennis's were lighter, you could see a bit of blue in them, too. Dennis's hair was longer, his lips were thinner, and his nose was slightly crooked, proof that it'd been broken once, twice, maybe six times in his lifetime.
The thought of a bruised and bleeding Dennis made the corners of his lips flit up into a smirk.

"But, as far as I'm concerned, they're all mine, I raised em, and I'm gonna raise Lucas, too." He added.

Hearing Dennis say that about those kids was unsettling to him, "Lucas? That's a nice name."
West said, instead. He didn't want to ruin his own day by confronting Dennis about how he gave Paul shit for raising a child that wasn't his. Dennis had acted like he wasn't deserving of a family, of the love Paul had managed to show, if only in glimpses. Now, he was doing the same. The hypocrisy of it all was beyond him.

He finished doing West's tie, then placed a hand on his shoulder, "You ready?"

"As ever."

-----

After everyone had received their diplomas, Harper made his way to the stage to give his speech.
The town's newspaper was there, like every other year, to capture the final moments of the graduating class. The valedictorian speech was one particularly important part of the ceremony, it normally got printed into the first few pages of the paper.

He cleared his throat, then straightened his shoulders as he got ready for one of the most memorable moments of his life,

"Good afternoon, family, friends, teachers, and fellow graduates. Before I get started, I'd like to take a moment to thank all of you sitting here today for giving me the opportunity to speak in front of you on this special occasion.
I was going to write a speech, in fact I'd already started writing, but I realised I couldn't fit four years worth of our high school experience into a single piece of paper. It has been a long four years, and a short four years.
Long because-- speaking for myself, and only for myself-- the early mornings, the never-ending homework, the compulsory partnering up with our mortal enemies for projects, detentions, and visits-- not the friendly kind-- to Principal Hughes' office.
Short because of the lifelong friendships, the lasting memories, and all the knowledge we managed to retain during the occasional act of rebellion..."

"I never expected Harper to be the Valedictorian." West said as he and Killian watched on from the second row in the front of the large school hall.

"Oh, he's super smart." Killian acknowledged proudly. For all the times Harper got into trouble at school, he made up for it by excelling in every subject, Einstein wished he had his brain. "Thought that was common knowledge."