I do not own the School of Rock. It is officially presented by Paramount Pictures.

Finally! The final chapter! I'm so sorry for taking sooo long to update. I know I left you guys hanging but finally I was able to finish this one. Thanks for your reviews!

Chapter 16: At Last

The band and crew left the theatre with wild screaming fans running after them. Just at the first 30 minutes of publicity and fame, they have already gained lots of fans.

"Dewey!"

Ms. Mullins shouted as she made her way through the crowd towards the band.

"That was absolutely wonderful!" Ms. Mullins said in great amazement. "Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Ross!" Dewey said as he climbed up the School bus parked in front of the theatre. Ms. Mullins followed.

A group of girls were crowded around Zack, Freddy and Lawrence.

"Zack! Marry me!" A 13-year-old girl screamed.

"No! Marry me!" said another.

Eleni, who was watching bitterly the girls crowded around Zack, pulled him difficultly out of it and dragged him towards the bus. The group of girls ran after them.

"Freddy! I love you!" a 15-year-old girl said, as she clung tight on Freddy's arm.

"Can you sign your name on my tummy?" a girl said, lifting her shirt, exposing her pierced navel.

"Ah. . ." Freddy muttered. He felt really weird with all the girls around him. He suddenly caught Katie's eye. She was signing autographs nearby. She raised an eyebrow at him, before focusing herself again on the paper she was signing.

"So, Katie you wanna go out with me?" said a guy about 2 years older than she.

"Erm. . .no! I cant. I'm not allowed to date." Katie said nicely.

"You wanna jam with me at my place? I play the bass too!" said a guy, handing Katie his cap for her to sign on. Katie remained silent.

"Lawrence! I love your eyes!" a blonde girl said, removing Lawrence's eyeglasses.

"Can I give you a kiss?" said a brunette, and without waiting for Lawrence's response, she kissed him on the cheek.

"Those boys were freaky!" Marta said as she, Tomika and Alicia climbed up the bus.

"Man, those girls were wild!" Freddy said, climbing up the bus with Lawrence behind him.

"Tell me about it!" Zack said.

"Alright! Is everyone here?" Dewey paused, trying to see if no one's missing. "Where's Katie?"

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Katie has finally escaped the horde of guys following her. On her way to the bus someone called for her.

"Katie!"

"Michael?" Katie said, smiling. "You're here!"

"Yeah. My flight is at 8:00. Congrats! You guys rock!" Michael said cheerfully.

"Thanks."

Again both fell silent. The awkwardness seemed to be always there when the two of them talked.

"So, I guess this is the last time I'd see you." Michael said disappointedly.

"Well. . .yeah. But we can still contact each other. You know. . .emails, telephone."

"Yeah."

"You take care." Katie said sincerely.

"You too." Michael said.

"So I guess this is goodbye then." Katie said.

"Yeah."

"I'll try to contact you sometime. See you." Katie placed a hand on his shoulder. She smiled and headed for the school bus.

"Wait!" Michael called. Katie turned her head back at Michael.

"Can I give you a hug?" Michael said humbly, spreading his arms wide open.

Katie hesitated, but then again smiled as she approached him, accepting his warm hug.

"It's nice meeting you." Michael said to her ear.

"Ditto." Katie said.

"I'll miss you." Michael said awkwardly.

Katie pulled out from Michael's hug, smiling. "I'll surely miss you too."

"So I'll see you." Michael said.

"Yeah. Bye." Katie said as she watched Michael walk away towards his parents' car, which was waiting by the sidewalk.

Katie smiled to herself as she mounted up the bus. Even if Michael had a lot of faults, she swore she would never ever forget him. He was still special.

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"Ross, where on earth are we going?" Dewey said.

"You wait, Dewey. Marty, turn left to that street over there." Ms. Mullins pointed to the direction of a fully lit street. Marty followed.

"Okay. . .now stop in front of that house over there. . ." Ms. Mullins ordered and once again, Marty obeyed.

The school bus pulled over in front of the gates of a really big house. Everyone went down, without really knowing why Ms. Mullins brought them there.

"Well everyone, welcome to my home!" Ms. Mullins said.

"This is your house?" Alicia said incredulously. Ms. Mullins smiled and nodded.

"Whoa, Ross." Dewey paused, examining the outside of the house with full interest. "I never knew you had a house like this."

"Enough talk for now, let's go inside." Ms. Mullins unlocked the gates and rushed along the garden to the front door.

Everyone was completely in awe as they examined Ms. Mullins' front garden. They have never known how rich she could be but at the same time they found it funny since it was the first time they have ever been to the principal's house.

Everyone entered the still dark house. Ms. Mullins was trying to feel the light switch on the wall and when she finally found it, she quickly switched it on. Just as the light came up a loud cheer greeted them.

"WOOHOO! CONGRATULATIONS!"

The kids' parents prepared a surprise victory party for the band. And someone was also there to surprise them.

"Ned! Man, you're back!" Dewey gave Ned a tight hug.

"Saw you guys on TV. You were all amazing." Ned said.

"How did you guys even know that we'd win?" Alicia asked.

"Well we didn't know you would win alright. We just wanted to give you all a party regardless of winning or not." Mrs. Heyman, Alicia's mom said as she gave her daughter a hug.

"Not only that. After the party you kids get to spend the night here." Mrs. Hathaway said. "Your things are already upstairs."

"Oh my god, mom, I love you!" Summer kissed her mom on the cheek.

"Well the party's at the backyard not here so let's get partying!" Ms. Mullins said perkily.

The backyard was beautifully designed with balloons, ribbons and confetti. A huge School of Rock Rocks! banner was hang above the buffet table. 5 wooden, rectangular tables, each with 10 chairs were arranged and a karaoke machine stood in front all of them.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. I request you all to sit back and relax as you take your dinner for I am here to sing a song for all of you." Marta grinned prettily, holding the microphone. "In behalf of the band we would like to thank the parents, Ms. Mullins and Mr. Schneebly for being so supportive."

"GO MARTA!" Dewey cheered, as Marta started singing 'You Don't Know Me' by Jan Arden.

Everyone helped themselves with all the food. The three singers were taking turns in singing to keep the atmosphere alive. Right after dinner, the parents decided to leave since it was already 8:00.

"Sleep early. Don't drink." Mrs. Brown kissed Katie on the forehead.

"Don't share a room with the boys!" Mr. Brown said assuredly.

"Of course, I won't dad." Katie said. Her dad has always been strict. She waved a hand at them as they left.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow, alright?" Mr. Moonyham patted Zack on the shoulder and left.

After all the parents have left, everyone cheered.

"Now it's time for the REAL party!" Dewey shouted. Gordon tuned up the volume of the CD player to maximum level as Jailhouse Rock started playing.

Ned brought 2 champagne bottles in the backyard. The groupies, together with Frankie, Leonard and Marco, were dancing lively under the moonlight. Katie smiled as she watched them, seated at the nearby table with the singers, Summer and Zack.

"You girls wanna dance?" Zack asked.

"Sure!" Alicia pulled Zack from his seat and dragged him to where everyone was dancing.

"C'mon girls! It's time to party!" Summer quickly ran to the wild dancefloor.

"What about you, Katie?" Marta asked.

"You guys go on ahead." Katie said.

"Are you alright?" Tomika asked.

"Yeah. I just need some rest. I'll join you later on." Katie said. Marta and Tomika rushed towards the dancing crowd.

Katie watched as everyone danced excitedly. She moved her eyes to the table next to her and found Dewey, Ned and Ms. Mullins having pleasant champagne drinks. She glanced at the empty tables nearby and realized that Freddy was nowhere to be found. After making sure that everyone was busy enough not to notice her, she left the backyard to look for Freddy.

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The silhouette of Freddy's spiky head was seen on the window of the living room. Katie went outside the porch and saw Freddy sitting on the rattan couch.

"What are you doing here?" Katie asked as she sat next to him.

"I was thinking of asking you the same question." Freddy said. Katie took a deep breath before speaking once more.

"Well. . .I was looking for you." Katie said difficultly. "Because I want to talk to you."

"Why?"

"I want to thank you for. . .for. . . doing that."

"Doing what?"

"For writing the song. For me."

"Michael's song was better." Freddy said in an undertone.

Both fell silent. Katie always disliked it when Freddy was putting himself down.

"No it wasn't." Katie uttered.

"How come?"

"Yours was real. I mean, you wrote the song based on how you really feel." Katie said sincerely.

"And how do I feel? If you really understood the song. . ." Freddy said, giving a small grin. Katie rolled her eyes at him.

"So. . ." Freddy paused, trying to figure out the right words to say. "How's Michael?"

"He flew to London just 30 minutes ago." Katie said checking her watch.

"Are you going to miss him?"

"Well. . .he's my friend, of course I will." Katie said carefully just in case Freddy explodes again.

"Oh."

Again, both fell into awkward silence. But Freddy's hyperactive self wouldn't let the silence last long.

"If I was the one who left would you miss me?" Freddy said, smiling.

"What do you think?" Katie said, raising an eyebrow.

"I think you'd die without me. You would just fall apart!" Freddy said smugly.

"Haha." Katie said sarcastically. "Very true." Freddy smirked.

"Well…" Freddy paused and glanced at Katie then soon continued, "I think we should go back inside now." Freddy stood up and stretched his arms.

"Don't you want to stay for a few minutes?" Katie said. Freddy, whose hand was already on the doorknob, surprisingly stared at Katie.

"If you don't want to then---"

"No. Of course I want to stay…" Freddy quickly sat beside Katie.

Both were speechless once again. Freddy stared dreamily at Katie. Her beauty always blows Freddy's mind away. Suddenly, Freddy thought of something. He never wanted to do it before because he wasn't ready yet but now, he thinks that it's about time to do so. Freddy scratched his spiky head, thinking about whether to do it or not. 'C'mon, Jones. This is not the time to chicken out' Freddy told himself. He tried to open his mouth to speak but something was holding him back. 'Say it, stupid!' Freddy scolded himself. He was so confused that he didn't realize that he was scratching his head too harshly. Katie stared at him looking puzzled.

"Are you alright?" Katie asked.

"What? Erm…yeah…er…I'm…cool." Freddy stammered.

"Are you sure? You were scratching your head as if you had tons of lice." Katie shot a doubtful look at Freddy.

"No…er…it's the…gel I used…quite itchy." Freddy lied. 'Way to go, Frederick' he whispered to himself.

"Oh. Maybe you should stop using it." Katie said nicely. Freddy nodded in embarrassment.

Again, the awkward silence filled the air. Katie hated it when Freddy and she were both silent. As for Freddy, he just couldn't get the words out of his mouth. 'You have to do this, Jones.' Freddy told himself as he watched Katie's profile. After building enough guts, Freddy took a deep breath and finally spoke:

"Erm..Katie?"

"What?" Katie said, looking intently at Freddy.

"Er…" Freddy paused, not really knowing the exact words to say. 'On second thought…don't do it…you'll just make a goofball out of yourself' he told himself. Katie waited for Freddy to speak but not a sound or even a groan was heard.

"What?" Katie repeated.

"Er…I…ah…"

"Just say what you want to say." Katie said edgily.

"Well…I was…wondering…"

"What? Quit stuttering and just ---"

"Would you like to go to my house on Tuesday?" Freddy finally said. Katie stared at him looking confused. 'Is he asking me out? No…I think he's not 'cause he's asking me to come to his place but… it's totally the same thing right?' Katie spoke to herself feeling a bit panicky. She found herself staring at Freddy, completely lost for words.

"Your look tells me that you don't want to go." Freddy said feeling a bit disappointed.

"What? NO! NO! It's not that." Katie said jumpily. "I was just wondering…why…you…want me to come…"

"Oh…ah…my dad's gonna arrive from…Rome and…he wants to meet you."

"He wants to meet me?"

"Well…" Freddy paused. He didn't want Katie to know that he always talked about her whenever his father called home. "Ah…mom always told him about you." Freddy lied.

"Oh…ah…okay. I'll come." Katie said turning pink-faced.

"Besides that, my dad wants to know if you could stay for…dinner…"

"Oh…er…sure."

"Great…"

"Should I wear something formal?" Katie asked foolishly.

"No. Of course not. You can wear a skirt or jeans…"

"Right." Katie was blushing intensely. It's as if she's going to meet Freddy's family for marital purposes.

"You know, we should like, hang out sometime. I mean, we do hang out but what I'm saying is---"

"As in go on a date?" Katie finished nervously.

"Er, yeah. Not a romantic date…just a…friendly date." Freddy felt so stupid.

"Well, I'm not allowed to go on dates yet."

"Oh." Freddy said feeling a bit disappointed though he didn't really show that he was.

"I'm sorry. We can still hang out with the band though." Katie said trying to lighten Freddy up a bit.

"Yeah." Freddy said, smiling faintly. He still thought that spending time with Katie alone was a whole lot more different.

"But if you could wait until I reach 16…then I guess by that time we could already…see a movie or a concert." Katie gave Freddy a small smile. Freddy saw a sign of hope by hearing Katie's words.

"Well 3 years isn't a long wait. I can definitely wait." Freddy said assuredly.

"Are you sure? I mean, there are a lot of prettier girls out there…" Katie said teasingly.

"Hey, I'm not that kind of person." Freddy said sincerely. "There's only one person I like. And If I had to…wait for a thousand years just to---"

Freddy's heartbeat suddenly stopped. He felt butterflies swim around his stomach as he felt Katie's soft lips pressed against his. Soon, Katie pulled away. How Freddy wished she kissed him a little longer.

Katie smiled at Freddy, her face was pink all over. She stood up and rushed back inside the house. Freddy sat on the couch, still utterly shocked. He touched his lips and grinned. It was his first kiss and he was glad to have shared it with the girl of his dreams, no other than Katie.

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Back at the backyard, everyone was still very much hyperactive. The kids were still getting funky on the dance floor as they danced to "I Wanna Be Sedated" by The Ramones. Katie sat on an unoccupied table, smiling as she watched her friends dance crazily. Deep inside she felt so embarrassed for kissing Freddy. She didn't even know exactly what pushed her to do it. 'I hate his cuteness. Now look what it made me do.' Katie whispered to herself. She definitely wished that Freddy would not go back to the yard and hoped that he'd fall asleep instead. Sorry, Katie. Your wish would not be heard this time.

Katie pretended to be watching her dancing friends but the truth is, she was nervously watching Freddy, who was walking towards her, at the corner of her eye. But to Katie's surprise, Freddy sat on the chair at the table across her. Freddy didn't feel embarrassed or awkward with what happened. For the first time, he felt normal about things dealing with Katie.

"Erm…attention please…attention." Ned stood in front of everybody, holding the microphone right below his chin. "Again I just want to congratulate the School of Rock for a job well done!" Everyone applauded. Ned continued, "…and now, here's a song I want to sing for all of you. You can also…get a partner and slow-dance the night away."

Ned started singing "All You Need Is Love". Alicia and Leonard were the first one to slow dance, followed by Dewey and Ross. The others danced as well except for Katie and Freddy who did not move from where they sat. Katie felt so awkward and wished that the night would just end. The awkwardness she felt just got worse when Freddy stood up from his seat and approached her, extending his hand to her.

"Care to dance?" Freddy said with a wide grin on his face.

"Ah…" Katie couldn't express her thoughts in words. She was just dumbfounded.

"I would take that as a yes."

Freddy took Katie's hand and walked towards the dancefloor. Everyone swayed slowly with the music. Freddy sank his eyes into Katie's, as if a strong magnetic field was pulling through between them. All of a sudden they saw each other in a whole new light; a light wherein they didn't think of arguing and fighting but rather, a light wherein they learned to appreciate the companionship and care they never realized they had for each other for so long.

"At last…" Freddy whispered. Katie smiled and as the music faded, they remained on the dance floor still clinging to each other not really thinking about what lay ahead of them but instead they had their minds set on that very moment; a moment that they will surely treasure forever.

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Erm…thanks for reading this fanfic. I had so much fun writing this and of course reading your reviews. Again, I want to apologize for the very delayed update. A million thanks to all of you!

I do not own the Ramones and the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love".