yee-haw boys! the final chapter- well, not really a chapter, considering it's only about 800 words. point is, thank you so much to everyone who's read and enjoyed this story, and i hope you love the ending!

Chapter Thirteen: Epilogue

I woke up to the feeling of sweat running down the back of my neck and a horrible sting in my chest. I hissed as I opened my eyes, only to be met with my own reflection. It left me disoriented at first, my breathing heavy as I frantically tried to figure out where the Hell I was. The fluffy pillows gave my location away immediately; I was back in the Honeymoon Suite.

The sting returned and I cried out, producing a small chuckle from someone in the room I'd yet to see.

"Will you calm down?" The voice teased and I instantly recognized it as Daphne, who started at me like I had two heads. She sat hovered over me, dabbing peroxide on the wound on my chest, which had apparently been stitched up without my knowledge. "The doctor said to clean your chest and arms every two hours," she concluded.

"How long have I been here?" I asked, propping myself up on a heart shaped pillow.

"I don't know," Daphne said, continuing to clean my gash. "Seven hours, maybe. You took some melatonin to calm your nerves after leaving the hospital and you've been in and out ever since. This is the third time we've had this conversation."

"So what happened?" I asked, having to force my eyes to stay open. Daphne finished with my chest and moved on, taking my left hand in her own as she began to rub peroxide on it.

She sighed, not looking up at me as she said, "everything worked out, Freddy. Don't worry about the details."

"No," I argued, pulling my arm out of her grasp. "The sheriff shot my dad. Why? What happened?"

Daphne took my hand again, but this time she didn't try to clean it. "Your dad threatened the sheriff and his family- forced them to do his evil bidding and whatever. Remember our pal in the pickup truck? Apparently, he's the sheriff's son. There was something about his daughter drugging Steven Adams in some club, but I don't know the details. Anyway, the sheriff didn't want the mayor to hurt people, and him trying to kill you was the last straw or something."

"Weird," I hummed. "After all this time- after you hit him with a paintball- he still saved my life."

Daphne nodded before turning over my arm and continuing to clean it. She squeezed my hand, replacing the sting I felt with warm electricity. I wasn't exactly sure what our official relationship status was ("dating" felt presumptuous, and we both knew that "just friends" would be a lie as well), but I didn't really care. There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between us that whatever happened, we were in this for the long haul. Whether or not the same could be said about the rest of our friends, I didn't know.

"What happened to Shaggy and Velma?" I inquired as Daphne traded my left arm for my right.

"Burger Binge. Shaggy insisted he would never eat again after what happened at The Ritz, but that only lasted about an hour."

I pulled myself out of bed, searching around the messy suite for a pair of jeans and a shirt that hadn't been dirtied, ripped, or covered in blood over the last few days. I put on some clothes and grabbed my keys before stepping out into the dusk, where repair men were hard at work fixing the "Welcome to Paradise!" sign. I opened the driver's door to the newly-named Mystery Machine and nearly climbed in before Daphne chased me out of the Honeymoon Suite.

"Where are you going?" Daphne snapped. "You need to rest."

"What I need is to go meet up with my friends for some all-day breakfast," I countered. I reached into the backseat of the van and searched around before retrieving Daphne's old vintage roller-skates, which she hadn't worn since before all this started. It hadn't felt right to wear them before, she had reasoned- but now the timing felt better than ever. I tossed the skates in her direction, and she caught them with ease. "Coming?" I asked.

Daphne slipped into her roller skates and wheeled towards the passenger's side, slamming into the door in an awkward attempt to stop. She climbed into the seat next to me and we drove to The Burger Binge, laughing and smiling all the way. It was as though whatever dark cloud had been looming over Coolsville had passed, and things could finally return to the way they were.

I'd had my big adventure. And now that the fog had lifted, I knew what exactly it was that I was meant to do. I wasn't destined to save the world, but to enjoy it- to drive my friends around in my van, loving every second of every tiny adventure we faced. So that's what I did. And for the first time, without any regrets, I was able to say that all I ever did was drive.

and that's it! this is the first multi-chapter story that i've ever written, and i had such a good time with it! i'm so glad so many people loved it, and you can expect my next fic very soon!