Look At This Photograph || Spencer Smith

"Damn! How are you winning AGAIN?!"
"Duh, I'm the master at this game. Besides, you suck."
I reached for a pillow on the couch and hit Brendon across the face with it. A muffled sound of annoyance came from it and we both lost points.
For the record, we were playing the new Guitar Hero 3. Yep, we're lame cool.
"I'm back from my parents, you guys! I never wanna see another turkey ever again," Jon called from the back door.
"At least you got turkey! Einstein over here forgot to get one and we had to eat leftover lasagna."
"Hey, you could have gotten it!" I whined. "Besides, I was PLANNING on spending Thanksgiving with Kelso, but NOOOO. I HAD to spend it with you."
He merely stuck his tongue out and laughed.
Jon walked in to the room... without a beard.
"DUDE! What happened?"
"My parents made me shave it off," he mumbled. He had an emotional attachment to that thing. Poor guy.
"By the way, man, Brendon told me what you're about to do. Congrats!"
Brendon gave me an "I'm so innocent!" grin.
"What? I had to tell someone."
"Tell someone what?" Ryan walked into the room clutching a water bottle and a Twix bar. I swear, he has an unhealthy addiction to those things. The Twix bar, I mean. Can you really be addicted to water, anyways? That would be a little--
"SPENCER! Come back to Earth!"
I shook myself from my thoughts.
"Ooh, Spence, can I tell him? Please please please please--"
Rolling my eyes at the immaturity that is Brendon Urie, I said, "Fine."
"YAY! Spencer's going to--"
"Oh, I want to hear this."
I spun around to face the front door. My girlfriend Kelsey's thin frame stood half inside. Her brown eyes sparkled in the light from the kitchen, and I could see her impossibly white teeth from ten feet away. Suddenly, my hands felt moist and my heart decided to pound like the drumbeat of the chorus of The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide Is Press Coverage. Yeah, I like my drums a lot.
"Nothing," I said quickly.
"It doesn't sound like nothing." She arched her right eyebrow and walked over to my side.
"Spencer Smith, you were never good at keeping secrets," Kelso remarked.
"Yeah, well, too bad," I smirked, and grabbed her hand. "Come on, I've got something to show you."
Brendon wiggled his brows at me and Jon gave me two thumbs up as I led her into my bedroom.
For all of you perverts out there, no. We are not planning on--
"Ooh, Spencer! Do you really wanna do this with all of the guys here?"
Hmm. I guess my girlfriend's the pervert. Not that I mind!
"Haha, very funny, Kels. I actually wanted to look through something with you."
I pulled out a scrapbook from underneath my bed. The cover was covered (no pun intended) with sparkles and hearts. There was a picture in the center of a shaggy haired boy with a lopsided grin with his arm around a beautiful brunette with brown eyes and a warm smile. The two kids in the picture were ten years old, and they were beneath a tree in her backyard. We had made this book on that very day, and vowed to be best friends forever.
"Our scrapbook! You've actually kept this thing all of these years?"
My cheeks started burning. "Yeah, well, I wanted to keep all of our memories together. So we can show our grandkids," I joked.
She pulled back the cover to the first page. There was only one photo on it. I was probably five, which would make her four. Her dress was puffy and peach, and her teeth were blindingly white even then. I was wearing a tiny suit, which I did not like at all; you could see my hatred for it all over my face. We were on a scooter, and her arms were wrapped around my waist. A little weird, but still pretty cute.
"How adorable," she smiled.
I flipped past another fifteen years of our lives (first day of school, school pictures, plays, recitals, dances, proms, graduations) until I came across the more recent pictures.
I stopped at a photo I had had Ryan take last week. All of us had gone to a county fair. Kelsey and I were standing in front of a brightly colorful Farris wheel and rain was softly falling. My arms were wrapped tightly around her midsection and hers were loose over my shoulders, and we were staring into each others eyes. Call me a pansy, but I am a sucker for romance.
"I love this one," I whispered softly. She nodded and wrapped her hand through mine.
Looking down into her eyes, I muttered, "Turn the page."
I didn't have enough time to brace myself before she flipped the page and screamed into my ear.
rest in results


In black marker, bells had been poorly hand drawn in the corners. Small, colorful lines were everywhere (sad excuse of confetti) and red hearts were splayed here and there. A golden ring with a large diamond had been taped in the middle.

But what really caught your eye was the huge question that had been written at the bottom:

Will you marry me?"

She looked up at me with tears in her beautiful eyes.

"Oh yes. Yes yes yes."

Tears escaped my eyes, and a huge grin broke out across my face.

"I love you, Kelsey Anne Murray."

"I love you too, Spencer James Smith."