Epilogue
That was it. The end. The rest of the story everybody here knew – the house was rebuilt over the course of two years. Where did Ned and his family live during those years? With Moze's family of course- their house had enough room for the both of them. It was a very bittersweet two years- Ned and Moze had a lot to work out between them. But it worked out in the end.
"That's it?" Missy scoffed.
Ned looked at Moze, and replied, "Yeah, that's pretty much it. Everyone else here knows the rest of the story." He gestured around the room. "Here we are now."
Ned's voice hardened and he spoke again. "All of you know the story now. What is your decision regarding Jennifer?" He spoke with deadly calm. His blue eyes pierced through the room.
Everyone looked indecisive. Then they seemed to make up their minds. "We want her to leave the room until we decide."
Ned's face tightened. "Inexcusable. I will not allow it."
Moze shook her head at Ned, though. "Its okay, Ned."
She stood up, glanced around her peers one last time and headed outside.
She pushed the door open-
WHAM! "OUCH!"
Moze startled looked around to find Gordy listening in at the door. "Gordy?! How long have you been listening in?"
Gordy stood up and stretched his back – there was a series of small pops as he moved his various joints and muscles. "A long time." He eyed Moze. "How are you holding up?"
Moze said, "I'm fine, Gordy."
"You sure? 'Cause I've got some stuff in my closet that can really brighten up your day."
"Are they illegal?"
Gordy looked edgy. "And if they are?"
Moze laughed and said, "No thanks, Gordy."
She sighed and sat down next to the gym door. Once again events were out of her control – but whatever happened, this time she wasn't alone.
Ned/Moze
Ned and Moze were all alone in Moze's room. Their parents had gone to sleep long ago, and they were still awake. The events of 5 days ago still heavily weighed on their minds. They had much to discuss regarding their wrecked relationship.
But were they? Nah, in typical teenager fashion they were both just simply making out and having the times of their lives. It was Friday – that meant Pizza, Video Game, and Movie Night. They were both up late, but hey, it was all to help the relationship.
Moze's parents were extremely generous in letting the Bigby's stay in their house until their own home could be rebuilt. It would take awhile; but Ned and Moze could wait, though.
But there was the price to pay. Always a price to pay in the end. Ned and Moze's relationship could no longer exist, with the events that had so recently transpired still on their minds.
They were living a lie. It could no longer continue. It was Ned, though, who broke the news to Moze on that Friday night.
"Jennifer." Ned's voice was cautious. He knew that they couldn't go on pretending that everything was going to be fine. They needed time to heal.
Moze knew that this day was coming. "Yes, Ned?" Her eyes were already starting to fill up with tears. No, not this. Not now.
"Jennifer. I need you to put down the video game controller. We . . . need to talk about the current state of things." Ned's voice was trembling. He knew this was coming since he had fallen asleep on the hospital bed with Moze next to him, but that did not make it any easier.
"Do we need to talk about it now?" Moze didn't want this to end. Not after everything they had been through together. The past five days had been peaceful – the calm before the storm.
"Yes, Jennifer. No more lying or pretending." Ned measured his words carefully. "I'm afraid our relationship has to end . . . for now."
She hung her head. She knew it. "How long does it need to end, Ned?"
"I don't know. It's not at an end, though! Don't think of it like breaking up – we just need time to heal."
She looked at him, her eyes dry, but sad. "It's because of me, isn't it?"
"NO! No, I don't want you to ever think that. It is not because of you." Ned drove home his point. "I just think we need time to heal that's all – the boyfriend/girlfriend thing can't happen though. Not for awhile."
Moze sat next to Ned, and laid her shoulder on his head. "I'm so sorry, Ned."
"Its okay, Moze. It's not your fault."
Ned was the one who was crying now. Moze held him. "Damn", he said miserably. "Look at me losing control of myself. Damn it. I'm sorry, Moze."
Moze chuckled and looked into Ned's blue eyes. She softly kissed Ned on his cheek. His tears were sweet-tasting. "You know what, Ned? It's okay."
"Ah, Moze-how is it that I have you? You deserve a man that is strong and won't cry." He rubbed his eyes tiredly.
Moze laughed out loud. "Ned Bigby, is that your definition of manliness? It's sadly outdated, though. You HAVE been strong – stronger than me. Physically, no. Emotionally, yes. Women seek men who can keep their head under stress, but that also have a sensitive side as well. You're one of those Ned. Where would I be without you? Not here. Here, next to you, is where I want to be from now on till the end of my life."
Ned smiled. " 'Till death do us part'?"
Moze punched Ned lightly on the arm. "Yeah."
"So that's it, huh? We're just best friends again, until we can work it all out?"
Ned shrugged and picked up his video game controller. "Yeah, something like that."
"Do we have to see other people?"
"No."
"Okay, good."
"Too bad, though. I had Suzie first on my waiting list."
A quick punch to head, and Ned corrected his mistake.
"Jennifer?"
Moze turned to look at him. "Yeah?"
A kiss came from nowhere, and Moze was pulled in. The fireworks exploded throughout her entire body. It was electric!
"I forgive you." Those three words, so little, meant more to Moze than anything else he had done for her. "I want you to know that you're never alone."
Moze grinned. "Never?"
"Yup. I'll even go into the bathroom with you."
Moze grimaced. "That's disgusting, Ned!"
"Love makes you do crazy things."
And that was that. From that second on, they never kissed, or held hands, or even stared at each other funny, for another two years. During the next two years they were just two best friends having the times of their lives.
And everything was as it should be.
Present Time
Moze snapped out of her little reverie. She heard footsteps approaching from behind her. The door opened and an unsmiling Ned Bigby stepped through.
"Moze, time to go in. They've made their decision." His eyes and body language revealed nothing to her. She was nervous.
"Ned, can you tell me?"
"You'll see", he said cryptically and he led her inside.
She stepped inside-
A rush of bodies pushed her to the floor. Everyone was hugging her!
"WELCOME BACK, MOZE!" Everyone was happy – they had forgiven her!
"That was it?" Moze asked them, skeptically. "I didn't have to do anything?"
They all looked at each other, then said at once, "Nope."
Moze was stunned. "Why?"
They stared at her, unbelieving. "Moze – you're our friend. Need we say more?"
Moze hugged them all back, and each one shouted and cheered for her – even Missy.
Everything was right in the world, on this one very special night.
"Come on, come on, everybody we're going to be late for the dance!" Cookie shouted from the doorway. He waved at them furiously. "Hurry up! I'm not missing Vanessa Carlton's A Thousand Miles. HURRY UP!"
Everyone was getting dressed for the occasion. The big school dance was getting ready, and more people were arriving. They had to hurry.
It was going to be a special night for all of them.
Moze's POV
I was nervous. What could I say? This was it; the big night, when Ned and I were getting back together officially as boyfriend/girlfriend. I had butterflies in my stomach.
"Mosely, you look fabulous", Missy said behind me. "There is no way Ned is going to be able to resist you in that outfit."
"Thanks, Missy." I meant it.
I still nervously wringed my hands, though. I couldn't help it.
Several minutes passed, and sooner than I liked it was time to go.
"Time to go, ladies! Looking good, Moze", Suzie said from the front. "Here we go!"
Everyone stepped outside. All the boys were there, and I had to admit, they all looked pretty nice. Everyone went with their respective dates and headed toward the dance. I looked for Ned. He wasn't there.
Cookie was, though. "Where's Ned, Cookie?" I asked.
"Ah, sorry, Moze. The cafeteria lady came by and asked him to sample some of the dishes she made for the dance."
I grimaced. "And how did that go?"
Cookie shrugged, and looked vaguely disgusted. "Well, he's not here, obviously. He had the runs. He should be out soon, though." He noticed something behind me. "Ah, speak of the devil. He's here." Cookie grinned devilishly and pointed behind me.
I slowly turned around . . .
Oh, Lord. My knees went weak, and I almost took a tumble.
Ned Bigby stood there dressed in a tuxedo – he looked handsome. I couldn't believe my eyes. Yet, there he was. God, he looked – perfect. And to think; he's with me! Every single girl at the dance will be swarming all over him.
I grinned. Oh, yes. I was going to love this.
Ned
I had to admit, I didn't look too bad. Hopefully, though, it would show how much I cared for her; just to let you in on a little secret, I despise suits. It's all for Moze, though.
Moze. God she looked beautiful, so heart-achingly beautiful. I felt as though my heart would explode. She was dressed in a simple, but divine white gown. A necklace hung around her neck (handpicked by me) and she wore her Best Friends Forever bracelet around her right hand.
"Ah, Moze. I'm sorry I'm late. The lunch lady, stopped by –"
"I know, Ned." She grinned at me.
"What? Haven't you ever seen a guy in a tuxedo?"
Her gaze softened, and her grin widened. "Not one as handsome as you."
Ah, Moze. How I love you. "Well, my dear, I must say that you must be in the wrong place."
"Why?"
"This is Earth, my fair lady. You're a long distance away from all the beautiful angels residing in Heaven."
She blushed. Oh, yeah, strike one for the Nedmeister (God, I'm so lame)! I took her hand and placed my lips upon it.
"You look beautiful, Moze. But you didn't need all the makeup and the special dress for me to tell you that." Oh, man, I'm on a roll!
"Stop it! Look at me; I'm a freaking cherry, now." I laughed. It was true – Moze's face was extremely red. I held out my hand.
"Shall we go, my lady?" I asked.
She looked at me with those big brown eyes. "Yes, we shall."
We headed toward the dance hall with our friends.
Ned/Moze
The dance hall was packed. There was a band on stage, and everyone was dancing to a familiar sounding song. Ned led Moze to the center of the hall and they began to dance to the beat.
"You know, I can't help but think that I've heard this song before", Ned said.
"Big brown eyes, and a gust of wind,"
"Really? Where?" asked Moze. Her head was lying on his shoulder, as they danced to the song's beat.
"Not sure. But I'm almost positive I've heard it somewhere . . ."
"And the cherry burns the corner of the page that says 'The end"
They moved together. It was really peaceful.
"You know this song reminds me of someone." Ned said, a slow smile creeping across his face.
"Who?"
"Is coming soon, but it won't be long"
Ned rolled his eyes. It was kind of obvious. "Are you kidding me?"
"No, really. Who does it remind you of?" Moze asked. She added, "It better not be Suzie Crabgrass." Her tone was mock serious.
"No, dummy, it reminds me of you."
"It takes a worried man, you know, to sing a worried song"
"Me? Really?" I felt her smile.
"Big brown eyes? Moze you have the prettiest and biggest brown eyes out of everyone here. This song speaks of you."
They continued to dance holding each other tightly. "You know, I think I remember where I heard this song before."
"I've got issues, yeah"
"You do?" Moze's tone was absentminded. She was enjoying herself immensely. Ned's chest felt so strong and solid to her.
"Yeah. Do you remember our 8th Grade Field Trip?"
That caught her attention. "Yeah. How could I not remember?"
"Like I miss you, yeah"
"Good times, eh, Moze?" Ned chuckled.
"Yeah. It's also where we confessed our love for each other." Moze pointed out.
"Well, I was running from some security guards after the cell-phone rang exposing my hiding spot-" He noticed Moze's guilty expression. "What's wrong?"
"I was the one who called you. Sorry about that." Ned shrugged the apology off.
"It's alright Moze. It's because of that, that I made my choice between you and Suzie."
She looked curious. "Really? How?"
"And I wish I weren't so thick"
"Well I hit a tree head-on, while running away and that caused me to fall over and land in a field of these weird flowers called 'Brown-Eyed Mozealas'. Then I saw 'NB+JM' carved on a tree nearby, and I swear, that the clouds above me spelled out 'Moze'." He noticed Moze's skeptical expression. "I swear it's true, Moze."
"Really? Huh."
"I'm making myself sick"
"Yeah. I swear, I had a weird sort of epiphany – like my life flashing before my eyes. I saw my life with you as it had been up until that point. Every single moment. It convinced me – I thought I had found love, but it was there with me all along."
"If that phone don't ring one more time"
"Ned . . ."
"I'm not lying to you, Moze. It's the absolute truth. I found you that day."
She hugged him back tightly. "Sounds far-fetched to me, but I believe you."
They danced on enjoying each other's presence.
"I'm gonna lost what's left of my mind"
Moze finally felt the events of two years washing away from her soul. Ned held her close and she finally began to drift away entering a happy zone somewhere in her heart and soul. She was finally free! Everything was right, everything was perfect.
"You made a big impression of a girl of your size"
Ned and Moze waltzed through a sea of dancing bodies, each one reminiscing about good times in the past. Ned looked at Moze, her big brown eyes unfocused and beautiful. Ned lost himself in those eyes for a moment – then shook his head.
"We really should stop doing this", he muttered.
"Doing what?" Moze asked quietly.
"Thinking about the past. I know I sound evil for saying this, but we need to stop thinking about the past! It's over, done with. We had good times – but we can still continue to have them. We forge our own path, Moze. You want to live good times, then we live them now, where we are, with what we have, with who we're with."
"Now I can't get by without you"
Moze's eyes were magnetic. Ned was drawn in. Those big brown eyes – they were like bottomless pools of chocolate. He was lost in them – he swam in them, he breathed them, he loved them. He loved Moze. Moze loved him.
Moze had a sudden epiphany – the future. She saw a wide range of events that would happen; the future misadventures that she and Ned would face; the trials of love and life they would be put through. She saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. And she welcomed it. She loved every single moment of it.
"Eh, Moze. You okay?" Moze looked up to discover that a tear was running down her cheek. Surprised, she wiped it off.
"I'm fine, Ned." She smiled that secret smile, like when you know something the other person doesn't.
"And your big brown eyes"
The song finally stopped, and everyone stopped dancing to applaud the band on stage. Ned and Moze didn't hear the end of the song, though. This was an event to change their lives. They danced and danced, holding each other tightly through the night.
They continued to dance even after everyone had left. Cookie left with Lisa; Loomer with Suzie; and everyone else left to go home. In the end they were all alone. But it was okay. They continued to hold each other, and they danced laughing and singing and living their lives with everything they had.
Ned saw in his mind's eye, carrying Moze home in his arms. She was laughing with delight. He laughed with her (trying to ignore the fact that he WAS struggling) as he carried her home like a groom with his bride to their new life.
And all was as it should be.
Sniff, sniff. I'm really sad now. That was the end of the story. I just want to thank to those who were patient with me, and who applauded my work with much vigor. You know who you are-I thank you all very much. This story will always have a special place in my heart, and I again thank all of you faithful readers very much. So review and well just wait for my next story.
On the bright side, though, I'm not done writing about Ned/Moze just yet! I see much potential for their future stories. There is lots of stuff to be written for them. I'll let you all in on the scoop for the next title for my newest story:
Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide: To Physical Urges
Ned and Moze's relationship is flourishing and the young fledgling couple is continuing on with their lives after the necklace incident. But now something has come up: Moze wants to take their relationship to the next level. She wants to go all the way! With Moze's libido on the rise, Ned must find an answer to that age old question: Should you wait to do it or not?
Well, yeah. If you love it, just mention it in your review. If you don't well . . . don't worry because I'll be tweaking it a bit before I start writing. It'll probably be different by the time you start reading. It doesn't really have a plot line – just posing the question: Should you wait to do it before marriage or not? I'd like to hear some of your opinions on that, if you don't mind. Thanks, again. Later.
P.S. - For those of you who don't know the song mentioned in the epilogue is the song played during Ned's little epiphany about Moze when he fell in the field of flowers. It's called 'Big Brown Eyes' played by the band Old 97's. I think it fits Moze perfectly - unless you have any other suggestions. Thanks again.
The song goes like this:
"Big Brown Eyes and a gust of wind,
And a cherry burns the corner of the page that says 'The end
Is coming soon' , but it won't be long
It takes a worried man, you know, to sing a worried song
I've got issues, yeah
Like I miss you, yeah
And I wish I weren't so thick
I'm making myself sick
If that phone don't ring one more time
I'm gonna lose what's left of my mind
You made a big impression for a girl of your size
Now I can't get by without you, or your big brown eyes."