A/N: The official author's note for this chapter shall be at the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own The Body/Stand By Me. All credit goes to Stephen King, Rob Reiner, Etc. I am using the series for entertainment purposes only, and nothing more. Stephen King has full permission to stab me in the throat with a pen for butchering his creation if he wishes.

Claimer: I own Lily, and any other character thrown in here that wasn't in the short story/movie already. I also own the plot of this particular fanfiction. Please do not use without permission, or it shall be I who does the throat-stabbing. If you see this story, the specific plot, or the characters on any other website/page/profile that I have not made you aware of, please do me the favor of letting me know. Thank you.

Chapter 24/Epilogue - And You'll Never Be the Same…

Teddy was mine from that day, all the way through to the end of high school.

The night before graduation day, we all met up at the bottom of the former site of the treehouse, which had been destroyed sometime between ninth grade and tenth. Not that we particularly minded; none of us could fit inside anymore, even if the treehouse had survived. Still, though, it was sad to see it go, and we grieved its loss for a while. Over the three or so years I had known it, I began to feel what the boys, who had it longer than I, felt about it; that it was 'our special place'. Each time I think about the treehouse, I get a feeling of happiness and gratitude that they had accepted me into their gang, and that they allowed the treehouse to become partly mine as well.

That night, we sat in a circle beneath the still-standing tree and talked about where we were going, what we were doing, and the like. As much as I hate to admit it, as we became older, we began to drift apart, and it was noticeable. It tore me to bits, but there was no denying that we were becoming adults, and as a result, had to start concentrating on other, more important things.

And as much as I hate to admit this, Teddy and I knew that as far as our relationship went, our end was near.

We still loved each other, don't get me wrong. It was a great few years together, and I was still positive that he would always be the only one for me, but we were going separate places. We would be far apart, and though we didn't like it, we both knew in our hearts that we couldn't make a relationship go through that and still be the same as it usually was. As our graduation grew near, we sat down and had a very long and serious conversation. In the end, we agreed that it was best to let each other go; and that was that.

There were tears, there was yelling, and there was an hour spent just holding each other, trying to convince ourselves that we didn't have to make this choice. It was clear that we still felt very strongly about each other, but we just didn't know how being miles away from each other would help us at all. Though we never exactly said this out loud, we both had a feeling that the distance would only make things go downhill. From 1959 to 1964 we were together, and you gotta admit, that's a damn long time to stay with one person. It wasn't easy, but we made it that far.

And so was the end of us.

I had become interested in writing, editing, and the like around a year after I moved into Castle Rock, after reading many of Gordie's amazing stories. After asking my help once on spell-checking a short-story, Gordie prompted me to try going into editing. Honing my spelling and grammar skills, editing Gordie's stories became my job, and I'll admit it, I absolutely adored it. Editing just seemed perfect for me after a while. Not only was I able to read great stories that were works of art in themselves, but I was also able to contribute in my own way. It felt nice being able to say, 'Hey, I edited that story you're reading!'. And I know, beginning a sentence with the word 'and' isn't technically grammatically correct, but when writing something in first-person, you tend to write how you talk.

Through practically working myself to death and perhaps a miracle, I was able to get into the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication with Gordie, though I had long since vowed to make editing my career rather than actual writing. We spent a lot of time together, being the only ones we had left to hang onto. Over the course of our time there, we cheered each other on while at the same time working our own tails off, watched the 'Daisy Girl' ad, observed Lyndon B. Johnson's presidency, silently mourned the assassination of Malcolm X, began listening to 'The Beatles', and overall, we just watched the world together. It helped me considerably, having him there to help me deal with the anxiety of being an adult out in the world. After we finished school, we decided to stay together for a while and went back to Castle Rock to see what had become of it in our time away.

Teddy, though at first not too keen on the idea of going to a college, worked toward getting into a school at my constant prodding. He of course tried for the army first, but they just wouldn't take him because of his eyes and ears. After relentlessly trying over and over, he eventually had to give up and later attending some engineering school and became a machinist. He got out of Castle Rock, but stayed in Oregon for one reason or another.

Chris, to the surprise and awe of everyone around him, did quite possibly the best out of all of us and attended law school. After finally becoming a lawyer and beginning to make a name for himself, he returned to Castle Rock, also curious to see it again. I didn't find this out until we met up with him, but apparently, while I was still in my coma, Gordie had indeed confessed to Chris. While at the time, Gordie was rejected, over the years, they had begun to grow closer, and the night of our graduation, he accepted his feelings. You can imagine my surprise when, when we first met up, after looking around and seeing nobody, Chris went right up to Gordie and kissed him. I stood there awkwardly, my mind going numb for a moment as I tried to process what just happened. After explaining their story, I smacked Gordie on the arm for not telling me sooner.

Vern, believe it or not, had acquired a girlfriend in our final two years of high school. Instead of going to college, he got married and began a family, later getting a job working a forklift and remaining in Castle Rock. Though I was sad that he didn't get out, I was struck with a warm feeling at seeing his very happy family. He seemed to have it all without even trying, and that thought had me smile and shake my head in disbelief.

Leena stayed true to her word and remained friends with us, strangely enough growing closer to me after I had technically stolen her boyfriend. As it turns out, she also had a crush on another boy and began dating him a couple days after she broke up with Teddy. It was still painful to be around her, but as time went on, that feeling was paved over with being happy for her. After graduation, they married and moved up into Washington. Last I heard, she had two kids, a girl and a boy, and her husband was a successful business man.

It was during the two weeks we spent back in Castle Rock that I began to wonder where my lost love was. Once that thought was in my head, it ate at me constantly. It got to the point that I couldn't go a few minutes without thinking of him. I would laugh and tear up at that; even after splitting up mutually and spending all this time away, he still owned my heart and mind. Each morning, I hoped that that was the day I'd see him again, and each night, I spent a few minutes outside wishing on stars that he'd be there the next day.

He never showed his face. Not once.

In my final days there, my father had given me a filled envelope, saying that he found it in the mailbox one morning a month earlier, obviously placed there instead of being sent through the mail. It was labeled 'To Lily, From Teddy' in Teddy's trademark messy handwriting. Too upset at that point to even look at his name, I shoved in into the bottom of one of my bags and forgot about it. He had been here when I wasn't; that pissed me off to no end.

When two weeks were up, we began to head out into the world again. Chris and Gordie were going to move in together and invited me to live with them since I couldn't find a house or apartment for myself. Happy to stay with them, though reluctant to intrude on their life together, I agreed after some prodding. For three years, we lived together in a small house peacefully, occasionally arguing over something stupid as all people do sometime or another.

After those three years went by, I came across the letter while I was organizing my room. I spent a good twenty minutes debating whether I should open it and if it was worth reading even if it held something I didn't like. My curiosity got the best of me, and I opened it. Inside was a piece of folded paper and another filled envelope. Opening the lone paper first, I read the note left to me.

Hey Lil, it's Teddy, but you already knew that from the envelope.

Moving on from that, you're probably wondering why you got this, while I could've just looked you up and called. Well, the thing is, sometimes talking to a person, you can't really say exactly what you feel. You know what I mean? It's like, for some reason, even though we know what we want to say, we just can't get ourselves to really say it. Writing works better because you have a lot more time to put everything together, and you can start over if something doesn't come out right. That's something you just can't pull off with phone calls. I'm real sorry if it bugged you, me not just calling you already, but I just think that if I tried calling, I wouldn't be able to get everything out.

I think you already knew this, but even though we had to break up, I still loved you. I still do, even after all these years of you being at school. Speaking of that, that's really something, you getting into a good school. I'm real proud of you and I hope you did well from it. I hope you're still doing well, being a big important editor.

I tried getting in the army, but that didn't work out. I'm still pissed at that, and I always will be. Nothing you can do to change that. After I got rejected a bunch of times, I was pretty lost as to what I should do now. I ended up becoming a machinist, working the machines and building whatever crap the engineers send my way. It's pretty cool.

Getting to the point, I just wanted to write you this so that, even years and years from now, you can remember this. That's another thing you can't do with a phone call and another reason why letters are better.

I still love you, and I miss you. I miss you a whole lot, and it's been killing me. If it's alright with you, I'd really like it if we could give it another shot. I hope you get this soon and get back to me. My address is on the back of this paper. I guess I'll know if you reply or not. And I really hope this doesn't get lost or something. Anyway, you can open that other envelope now. It's just a little something to remind you of when we were together.

Love, Teddy.

Tears running down my face, I heavily regretted not reading this when I got it. Three years…I'm such an idiot; he probably thinks I don't wanna see him anymore! Sniffling and wiping my eyes with my hand to clear my vision, I tore open the second envelope, eager to see what was inside.

There were exactly five pages - each for a year we were together. All over these papers, both front and back, were the words 'I love you' repeated over and over.

Instead of smiling like I probably should've, I just cried harder. I cried and cried until I was a huge mess. Why didn't I read this sooner, dammit? I heard footsteps approaching quickly.

"Lily, I hear crying, are you-" Gordie stepped into view, his question cut short when he saw the source of the crying. He rushed over, sitting next to me and pulling me over.

"Are you okay? What's wrong?" I shook my head and pointed at the first envelope that read 'To Lily, From Teddy'. He seemed to understand and pulled me into a hug, patting my back.

"Shh, it's okay…" He comforted me for around ten minutes before I finally got myself together enough to speak properly. I turned to face him.

"Thanks." He nodded and gave me time to speak again if I needed to. After a moment, I did.

"I have to go find him." I stated seriously. "I have to find out." He nodded again. We sat in silence for a little while, understanding the gravity of this situation.

Days later, I found myself standing in front of a small house, letter clutched in hand and the car holding Gordie behind me. Chris was going to come, but he had a case to work on. Wishing each other luck, we set out. Gordie drove; ever since that accident, I was afraid of driving, and as a result, never bothered learning. I told Gordie to stay in the car. If things went badly, my plan was to just run back, jump into the car, and order Gordie to speed off; kind of like an action movie.

Shaking my head to get rid of that ridiculous thought, I looked up at the house again, this time determined. I gripped the letter tighter and shakily began walking up the small path cutting through the lawn and ending at the door. Taking a deep breath, I stood there staring at the door for a few moments before pushing my fears aside and lifting up my hand to knock. I uneasily remained glued to my spot while I waited for somebody to answer. A few seconds passed without answer, so I knocked again.

I waited some more. Ten seconds…thirty…a minute…a minute and a half…two minutes. Trying to keep myself together and hold back my tears, I turned and began walking away; it was obvious that nobody was going to answer.

That is, until I heard someone running and the door open quickly.

"Hello?" It was a woman's voice, and upon recognizing that, my heart shattered. I slowly turned.

It was a very pretty woman, who was relatively tall and slender, with beautiful wavy blonde hair and brown eyes. From her expression, I could tell that she was hopelessly confused as to why a strange woman on the verge of tears was standing in her yard. I cleared my throat.

"Yes, I'm very sorry to bother you, but, uh…" I kicked a pebble in front of my shoe. "Does a Mr. Teddy Duchamp live here, by any chance?" Her face turned into a calm smile.

"Yes he does, but he's out right now, Ms…"

"Levantine."

"Ms. Levantine. He should be back any minute now. Would you like to come in and wait?" She stepped to the side, acting out her offer. I gulped and nodded.

"Yes, yes that would be great. Thank you."

I turned a glanced at Gordie, giving him a hand signal for 'I'll be a minute'. He nodded and turned the engine off. Turning back to the house, I walked up to the woman, who was easily a few inches taller than me, and past her. Standing there while she closed the door, I looked at my surroundings. It was a modestly-decorated home that gave off a warm and cosy feeling. Next to me was a table with pictures in frames. Taking a closer look, I saw that one of them was a wedding photo. I instantly recognized the woman as the one who now stood next to me, smiling politely, but I could just barely recognize the man.

"Is that…?" I pointed at the man in the photo.

"That's Ted, my husband."

Those words echoed through my mind. Though I did everything I could to not show it outwardly, on the inside, everything inside of me lurched and threatened to attempt an escape. Instead of bursting into tears and running outside back to Gordie like I told myself I should, I remained and gave her a tight smile, blinking to keep the tears back.

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Duchamp." I held out a hand, and she took it gently, still smiling.

"And it's nice to meet you, Ms. Levantine." We let go and she turned, walking down the short hall that led to a kitchen.

"Come, let's sit in here while we wait for him." I reluctantly followed, my feet growing heavy with each step.

We sat a small table, across from each other. I nervously played with the hem of my jacket, while she opted for watching me silently. I blinked, looking up at her and placing my hands on the table. She suddenly shifted herself to sit up more straight.

"So, may I ask how you know Ted?" I was so nervous being here that I almost jumped at the sound of her smooth voice.

"Oh, of course. Well, when we were around twelve, I moved into Castle Rock. Teddy was one of my best friends right up to when we graduated. I haven't seen or heard from him since, so I just wanted to come and visit; see how he's faring." I nodded a bit, as if to tell myself that yes, this is what you came for, Lily. She grinned.

"Ah, so you were a part of the infamous Castle Rock group. Ted's told me about you all."

"Has he now?" I gave a slight laugh. "Well, it's nice to know he hasn't forgotten about us." She chuckled with me.

"Oh no, he still adores all of you."

Though I was devastated that in the three years it took me to get to reading that letter, he had moved on, I couldn't help but feel relieved at that. Instantly, it seemed, my feelings of dread began to disappear. After a few seconds, a thought popped into my head that I couldn't help but go with. I looked at the nearby clock and pretended to be shocked.

"Oh! Oh wow…I'm very sorry, but I almost forgot; I really need to be somewhere with a friend and I can't afford to be late." I stood up in a mock hurry, and she did the same.

"Oh, that's such a shame. He would've loved to see you." She looked truly disappointed, but I couldn't let myself stay. She smiled sadly.

"Maybe some other time, you can stop by? He doesn't work on weekends." She offered. I smiled and took a couple of steps toward the door.

"Yes, definitely. Thank you so much for letting me in, but I must be off."

"Alright." Seriously, this woman was all-smiles; it was almost scary. "We'll see you another time."

"Goodbye…" I opened the door, but turned for a moment. "Tell Teddy I said…tell him that I'm very happy for him." I said, a small smile on my lips.

"You can count on me." I nodded, accepting her answer, and walked out.

Walking over to the car and getting into the passenger side, I felt a tear slip past the barriers I forced on myself. We sat there in silence for a few seconds as Gordie looked at me, confused.

"Lil…?" I didn't turn and just stared into the distance.

"Let's go home." I said quietly.

After a moment of waiting me to say something else, Gordie silently turned back to his original position and started the car, pulling away from the house and driving off. Glancing at the rearview mirror, I saw another car pull into the house's driveway. I saw a man step out, look at our car, then turn to walk inside. Feeling my heart skip a beat, I tore my eyes away from him and looked at the road ahead of us, sighing.

I was too late.

Strangely enough, I felt no more pain. Instead, I thought of him and his happy wife, and was filled with a calm sensation I hadn't felt in quite some time. My mind was blank for a moment as I processed this, before I turned to face my friend and smiled. He smiled back, and we both turned back to the road, my eyes then drifting to watch the scenery pass us by in my window.

Later on, I met John Davis, a kind man who I eventually married. After I became pregnant, he was sent off to fight in Vietnam, where he died a little under a year later. I raised my daughter, Aleka, on my own, with help from Gordie and Chris.

Alas, tragedy struck again. In 1986, Chris was killed after trying to break up a fight between two men in a fast-food restaurant. Gordie, myself, and Aleka, twelve at the time, grieved together and eventually moved on to face the future.

It was a bright afternoon in 1989, and I was picking Aleka up from school. Standing outside and watching as all the teenagers were let out, I spotted her and a boy. Seeing them rather close, I took that as a sign that this was the boy she was talking about; the one that had asked her out two or three months ago and who she absolutely adored. Smiling at the sweet sight, I waved as Aleka turned and spotted me. She said her farewells and kissed the boy on the cheek and practically skipped toward me. I laughed and hugged her.

"You two are adorable." I lightly teased.

"Mom!" She laughed. We began the walk home, enjoying the warm spring weather. I randomly thought of something.

"What's his full name, anyway? I can't shake the feeling that he looks similar to someone I've met."

"Tim Duchamp."

I stopped in my tracks.

A/N: …Not exactly the best ending, but I really didn't think anything had to be added. X'D

Anyway, yes, this is officially the end at last. Almost two years later, here we are at the final chapter. As I've said before, I don't like this story, nor do I like Lily. However, I've always been more than willing to give you guys what you wanted, and you wanted me to continue. XD

Special thanks goes out to each and every one of you who read this fanfiction and stayed with me all this time. I thank you all from the bottom of my heart and soul. I love you all.

Also, as a final note, is anyone interested in the 2.0 version idea? Or do you want me to explore the other SBM fanfic I posted last October? Or do any of you have any suggestions as to what I should do next? Please get back to me guys.