Author's Note: Here we are, the epilogue! It takes place a few years after the last chapter, I hope you guys enjoy! Thanks so much to new favourites and follows and to littlesisterrapture, ZoopBooper (response below), lostboyfan8797, TishaLiz, Guest (response below), Eveline Wulf, Jas (response below), ThePhantomismyLove and TheGoofyCat for their reviews! The ending author's note is longer and can be found at the bottom, so enjoy the chapter and please review!
ZoopBooper: Thanks so much for your review! I'm so glad that you loved the story and thanks so much for all your lovely reviews :) I'll be sad to see it end too and I hope you enjoy the epilogue!
Guest: I'll send your reply to your account Leeleeishere if that's okay! :)
Jas: Oh wow thank you so much for that awesome review! I'm so glad to hear that you liked the story and that I made you like Paul even more I was like whoah when I read that :D I have a note at the bottom regarding future stories if you want to read that, there definitely will be more don't worry!
Disclaimer: I do not own The Lost Boys, just my OCs.
My dark eyes scanned the selection of magazines, looking for something to pop out at me that I could browse through. I cursed Dwayne for getting me to read so many books, now I was forever looking for new material to scan over when I had free time, there was no bookstand here in the small gas station so I had been reduced to celebrity gossip, music or cars, basically. None of the above seemed very tempting so I gave up, moving to stand behind Taylor who was browsing the comics and kid magazines on the lower shelf, I followed his gaze to one that seemed to hold his attention.
"That one?" I asked, pointing to it, he hesitantly nodded and looked up at me.
"Is that okay?"
He was still so polite, his voice giving away that he didn't know whether I'd allow him to have it or tell him to keep walking, I took the magazine and bent down to his eye level.
"Of course you can. You can have anything you want." I said, he reached out and took the magazine before clutching it to his chest, chewing his lip. "Now, go and pick some sweets and a drink, you need to eat something. Anything you want, alright?" I said, he let a small smile slip.
"Alright. Thank you, Bryn." He said, turning towards the candy to look for what he wanted. I watched him go, wondering if he'd ever feel confident enough to not be afraid of any of us, not that we'd given him any reason to be, but growing up the way he did it would have made any of us afraid of grown ups.
It had been a year since we found him, and he had filled out well from when I found him picking through a dumpster one night after I was finished feeding, his clothes damp and dirty and his eye bruised from another beating from his latest foster parent. The fifth foster parent that year if I remembered, no matter where he was placed no one would treat him right, they all just wanted the cheque that came with him and none of the responsibility it took to look after him. He had run away at the age of nine, and that's when I found him. For the first few months with us he barely talked, it took gradual coaxing from just about everyone for him to string a sentence together, he had made progress but still had a while to go before he no longer felt he had any reason to be scared. Dwayne was probably the best with him, it was Dwayne he finally told about his life in foster care and how he had come to be living on the streets for the few weeks before I found him.
Now he stood a little taller with the year that had passed, he didn't flinch if you made a sudden movement anymore and he even smiled pretty frequently now, that was mostly down to Paul and his relentless quest to make Taylor laugh. Just about everyone had warmed to him, even David, who seemed the least favourable towards letting a child join the group. It wasn't as if now he was Taylor's number one fan, but someone messing with Taylor was now equal to someone messing with one of us to David, which I considered a big achievement.
In the midst of me watching Taylor I realised between his magazine, bottle of coke and the small packets of sweets he had chosen he was struggling to hold them all. I turned to grab a basket from beside the door and set it beside him, he dropped his shopping into the basket.
"Got everything you wanted?" I asked, he had only chosen a small selection, had I asked Paul the same question I'd have surely been left with two shopping carts full of junk. Taylor spotted a bag of chips and grabbed them, dropping them in with the rest and looking back at me with a satisfied smile. I held out my hand and he grasped tightly as I set out with finding the requests made by the other members of the group, Taylor willingly fetched them all as my hands were occupied by either holding his or the basket. By the time we got to the counter the basket was overflowing and the lady began packing things into bags for us.
"You excited?" I asked Taylor, who nodded enthusiastically back at me.
"So there's a rollercoaster and a Ferris Wheel?"
"Yep." I answered, "We'll take you there later, we should be back in Santa Carla in the next hour or so. We just wanna stop by the caves first and get things settled and then we'll take you to the boardwalk and we'll spend the rest of the night there."
"Really?" He asked, flashing a toothy grin.
"Really." I smiled back, handing the cash for the stuff to the woman, Taylor reached up for some bags and I gave him the lightest two, which left me with three.
I was about to grab mine when two hands from a much taller person reached over me and took them, I looked over my shoulder to see Paul wink, "Me and Superman got these Shorty, always willin' to help a lady out." He said with a tip of his imaginary hat, this drew a chuckle from Taylor who followed Paul out the front door while I got the change from the woman before heading out as well.
About half of the group lounged on the bench outside the shop whilst the other half were nowhere to be seen, I assumed they'd be back in a minute so I joined Taylor and Paul on the bench who were sipping away at their cokes, Taylor passed me one and the packet of twizzlers I had gotten for myself, he knew they were my favourite. I set my bags down and rooted through them before taking out Taylor's magazine, handing it into his waiting hands and leaving him to read away whilst Paul and I leant back on the bench.
"How long since we were last back?" Paul asked, breaking the silence.
I thought for a second, "A year and a half I'd say?"
He let out a low whistle, "Wow. Wonder if the caves will even be free when we get there or if they'll be overrun by homeless people." He mused.
I laughed, "No ones stupid enough to even search down there, it'll be empty just like the last time we went back."
He shrugged, "Even if it isn't, we wouldn't have a problem clearing anyone out that has been in there." Paul said with a sly grin, I hit his arm and gestured subtly to Taylor, who thankfully was too absorbed in his reading to notice the underlying tone in Paul's words.
Of course Taylor didn't know about us, and we preferred to keep it that way. It had been a long-standing rule in the group that after what I had almost went through at a young age we'd never turn children, we never even planned to take on any until we met Taylor. He was independent enough to be comfortable by himself if we went off feeding, he didn't ask questions so we didn't feel a need to tell him anything. We considered when he was older letting him in on things, but that would be years away from now, he could make the choice to stay and turn or leave. No one would force him into anything.
For the time being he was oblivious, and we liked it that way. Paul perked up as a gorgeous girl got out of her car at the gas pumps, shooting me a look to let me know what his plans were before jogging over to her, judging by his hand movements he was offering to help her, he seemed to win her over as she smiled.
Typical flirty Paul I thought with a shake of my head and a smile, I watched him lean on the pumps as he talked to her, multitasking perfectly between filling the tank and chatting her up. I realised it had been several minutes and the rest of the group still hadn't shown up.
"Hey, Tori." I called, gaining her attention quickly as she and David had been sharing a cigarette in silence for the past few minutes, "Where's the rest?"
She inclined her head towards the corner, "Around there, Dwayne's fixing Marko's bike before we set off. Got anything good?" She asked, gesturing to the bags of sweets at my feet. I lifted the one I knew had the most chocolate which she loved and handed it to her as I walked past, leaving her and David to take their pick.
I rounded the corner and almost ran smack into Marko and Emma, I laughed as I side-stepped their embrace, "Sorry to interrupt, you seen Dwayne?"
Marko pointed me in his direction where he was fiddling with Marko's bike at one of the pumps, his jacket off and shoulder muscles rippling as he tightened something on the engine. I found myself staring at his back a little longer than necessary before shaking myself.
"Thanks." I told Marko, who sniggered at my delayed gratitude.
"If you two need some private time before we go, around the back of the shop looks dark enough." I threw a piece of a twizzler at him with a chuckle before turning to walk over to Dwayne.
He looked over his shoulder as he noticed a shadow approaching, standing up with a smile to greet me as I walked over. He grabbed a rag that had been hanging over his shoulder and rubbed his hands to clean them before throwing his arm around my shoulder, stealing a twizzler from the packet.
"All fixed up?" I asked, looking to Marko's bike that bad been giving him problems for a few hours now, Dwayne patted the seat.
"As good as I can right now, it'll last till we get to Santa Carla and I can take a proper look at it then." He told me.
"Great." I smiled, "We're making good time, I told Taylor we'd take him to the boardwalk tonight if we got there early enough before it closes."
"Well let's get going then." He said, pressing quick kiss to my lips before starting to wheel Marko's bike over, another motorcycle engine approaching drew our attention to the last missing member of the group as he pulled up beside us after having been gone feeding.
Seth was Emma's brother, both were picked up in San Diego a few years back when they saved Marko's ass one night from a run-in with a rather territorial group, he had been out feeding when he was cornered by them but luckily Emma and Seth were there to help. They were from a large group that had dwindled down until it was just the two of them, they were eager to join a larger group again and Marko managed to convince us with the fact they had saved his life. They had more than proved their loyalty since then, now the fact that we didn't share the same blood hardly mattered, they were as much a part of the group as the rest of us.
"Leaving without me?" He asked with a teasing smile.
"Heavens no." I assured him, "Even if Emma would have allowed us we wouldn't leave you."
"Like she would notice." He laughed, looking to where Emma was laughing at something Marko had said without even realising her brother had arrived back. He didn't mean it in a bitter way, Emma had lost her partner years before we met her and Seth said she hadn't been the same since, it was only from when she had met Marko that Seth said she started to seem like her old self again.
I was grateful for her and Tori in the group, not being the only girl anymore was definitely a perk. We met Tori in New Orleans shortly after we left Santa Carla the first time, she was a travelling musician passing through their and she had somehow struck David's fancy, when we finally left there after experiencing the wildness of both Mardi Gras and Halloween, she came with. Not that her and David were a couple, but they were definitely alike in many ways and I suspected he had realised that too, they were close but only in a platonic way. For now anyway. Emma had only been with us for a few months but we were close regardless, it didn't take long to become part of the group when you joined. With eight members now (not including Taylor) we were one of the largest groups, most were in small numbers and lived in the city, we hoped Santa Carla hadn't been claimed by a larger group while we were gone.
Not that we weren't prepared for it, travelling these past few years like we had we'd become accustomed to dealing with inhospitable immortals, some were decent enough to let you spend a few nights in their town, others weren't so generous. Those were times when we had to watch our backs, a lot of us, myself included, had close calls with other vampires we sometimes just about survived. Luckily we were still alive, and heading home again for a short visit.
One by one we left the gas station and headed onto the open road leading towards Santa Carla, the closer we got and the saltier the air smelt, the more excited I was to be getting home again.
Hoots from the group sounded as we passed the familiar "Welcome to Santa Carla" sign that greeted new arrivals on the road into the town, I caught the words on the back that told a different story than the happy greeting on the front, the words "Murder Capital Of The World" still were painted on the back, illuminated by car headlights as they went passed. I turned back round and held on tighter to Dwayne as he and the others sped up, heading down towards the beach where we'd be heading to get to the caves.
I skipped along the wooden walkway leading to the entrance a short while later, helping Taylor who held onto me tightly as we manoeuvred over the missing planks that had been claimed by the sea since the last time we had left. We waited for the others to join us, Paul holding a piece of driftwood David had set alight with his Zippo to guide us as we made our way down over the rocky terrain I to the caves. I took my time leading Taylor down who was particularly wobbly on the rocks, luckily Dwayne joined us a few seconds later and scooped Taylor up into his arms and carried him down easily behind me, setting him on the rim of the fountain to look around the caves in wonder.
Emma and Seth were also new to the caves and were busy exploring, Marko was showing them around while lighting the candles with a lighter, slowly making our surroundings more visible. Tori, who had been here with us the last time and was used to the place by now, leaned on the back of the wheelchair David sat in with a proud smile, I knew he had missed it. Paul was busy searching through and around the boxes of tapes he and I had collected, I was about to ask what exactly he was searching for when he stood straight and held what he had wanted over his head with a triumphant grin.
"My Rock Box!"
I laughed as he hurriedly began checking to see if it still worked before throwing the first tape he could grab into it and cranking it up the full way, jumping around to the familiar music we always played.
Taylor jumped down off the fountain and gripped my sleeve, following me up towards the four poster bed at the back, I called to David to throw me his lighter, lighting the candles that rested on the bedside table. When I had finished I looked up to see all the sketches I had done while we were here were still stuck on the wall, I had stolen some of my art supplies from Julie and Peter's and sketched things around the caves when I could, several were of the guys.
"Who did those?" Taylor said, looking up at them. I lifted him so he could see properly.
"I did." I answered, showing him different ones of Dwayne I had drawn, he had been more than happy to stay still reading or just daydreaming whilst I practised sketching him, mostly he pretended I wasn't drawing him but there were a few where I managed to catch his eyes cast towards me and a smile on his lips. Others of Paul and Marko were less detailed because they hardly stayed still long enough for me to put in much detail, there was one of David I managed to get him to agree to once I had improved to his standard.
"Who's that?" Taylor asked, pointing to the only female I had sketched.
"That's my mom." I told him, "Rachel."
"She looks like you." Taylor decided, examining my face and Rachel's as he came to the conclusion, "Where is she?"
I set him back down, "She travels a lot, she actually sends postcards to the boardwalk for me. Check it out." I said, grabbing a tin box from one of my boxes beside the bed and opening it, I picked the seven postcards from different states she had sent to The Music Shop. I told Julie and Peter she was a pen pal that sent me them, I made a mental note to drop in and see if there were anymore while I visited them.
"Cool." He smiled, handing them back to me and looked at the large bed, then around for something else, "Where do I sleep?"
"Right there." I said, pointing to the four-poster bed, his eyes widened as he walked over.
"I get this huge bed?" He asked in disbelief, I helped him up onto the bed and he seemed to marvel at the size.
"Of course you do, best one in the place." Only one in the place, really.
He shook his head, "I can have a much smaller bed, someone else might need this one more. Where is everyone else sleeping?"
We didn't exactly need beds for sleeping, so I shrugged, "There's places here and there, but you can have this one to yourself. It used to be mine when I first lived here."
"Then you should have it." He argued, I smiled at his generosity.
"I don't need it."
"Me neither, I'm tiny!" He proclaimed, I thought for a second.
"Well, maybe we can find you a smaller bed at some stage if you don't want this one, but until then you take this one. Okay?" I asked, holding my hand out.
"Then you'll take this one when I don't need it?" When I nodded he shook my hand in agreement, "Deal."
"Okay, shall we go to the boardwalk?" I asked, to which he grinned and nodded excitedly.
"Hang on." Dwayne caught my arm where he had been looking through his book collection, "Think we could maybe catch up?"
"Sure, is everything okay?" I asked, wondering why he didn't want to go along with the others. I seemed to get my answer when his eyes darkened and I recognised the look and what he had in mind, butterflies dancing in my stomach. I turned to Taylor who was waiting patiently, "Do you mind if the others take you and I'll be up soon? I have to take care of some stuff first."
"Sure." He agreed happily, "I'll see you soon?"
"You betcha." I winked, grabbing the change from the shop from my pocket and handing it to him, "That should get you started on a few games before I get there, you'll need all the practice you can get if you wanna beat me."
He grinned as he took the money and went to join the others who were on their way out as well, Paul helped him up the slope and shot us a smile before disappearing, David was the last one to leave and shot us a knowing smirk, "Guess we'll see you when we see you."
And with that we were left alone, I let out a sigh when the other's voices were no longer in our hearing range, smiling as Dwayne's hand went from my arm to around my waist.
"Take care of stuff?" He echoed my earlier words to Taylor, an excuse for what I had really knew I'd be doing before we went to the boardwalk.
I laughed at his teasing tone before turning and jumping up to wrap my legs around his waist, kissing along his jaw, "And what way would you have phrased things to the ten year old of the group?"
"Fair point." He chuckled, catching my lips with his and walking easily towards the bed, laying us both down on the mattress before he sat up slightly to shrug his jacket off.
I mirrored his actions to do the same with my jacket, tossing it on top of my box of clothes several feet away, his disappeared somewhere at the end of the bed as did my shirt a few seconds later.
"Welcome home." He breathed against the skin of my throat as he settled back on top of me, I could only sigh in content at his words before I got too wrapped up in what was happening to even manage a reply.
A while later we lay still under the thinner sheets that we had left on the bed the last time, Dwayne's finger traced around the rose tattoo in my shoulder I had gotten at the boardwalk one of the nights before we left that first time, it was a bet I made with Paul who said I wouldn't have the guts to get one, when I won he had to let me put a pink streak in his hair which he sported like a champ until it finally faded out.
I watched Dwayne's eyes move with his finger before they noticed my staring and he met my gaze, "This reminded me a lot of our first time." I said, it had been a few days after I had turned fully as a vampire and I'd never forgotten a detail of it no matter how many years had passed.
"Me too." He agreed, "Except this time your Mom didn't come down right after and find us."
I burst out laughing at the embarrassing memory, we were lying in basically the same state as we were now with nothing but thin sheets over us when she had walked in, it was probably the most mortifying thing ever to happen to me.
'I still blame Paul for letting her come out here to find me." I said, remembering she had defended her interruption with the fact that she had asked the others where to find me and they had given her no indication of what she might have been walking in on.
"Well he was hardly going to tell her." Dwayne said in Paul's defense.
"It's Paul." I laughed, to which Dwayne couldn't help but laugh in agreement. Finally when we were silent a moment later I sighed and leaned into his shoulder. "We should head to the boardwalk." I said against his skin.
He hummed in disagreement, "Or maybe we just stay here and say we fell asleep."
I shook my head, "Nah, I told Taylor I'd show him around and take him on some of the rides. Don't worry, there's always later." I said, kissing his cheek before wrapping one of the sheets around me to stand up and look for my clothes.
"Hey." Dwayne said to catch my attention as I grabbed my shirt off the floor and started fixing my jeans where they had been turned inside out, "Wanna take the scenic route?"
I was about to ask what that was when it clicked and I got dressed as fast as I could, waiting on him to do the same before we ran up towards the cliffs.
I stood at the edge with my toes stretched just an inch over the rocks, looking down at the familiar dark waves. This was the exact spot I flew from the first time by myself, I remembered the fall being terrifying, I was convinced I'd hit the water to the point I covered my face and braced for impact, I was very surprised to find myself floating effortlessly above the waves. Dwayne noticed my smile and nudged my shoulder.
"What?"
"You remember the first time I flew with you? I was so scared, I was convinced you would drop me or something."
He chuckled, "Never have, never will."
"Shall we?" I said, gesturing to the water, Dwayne hesitated for a second before coming to stand behind me, his arms wrapping tight around my waist.
"For old time's sake." He told me when I looked at him in confusion, I quickly got what he meant and held on like he was all that would be keeping me floating. I knew full well I could manage by myself, but I missed the feeling of being carried like when I was a human.
Just like the first time he brought me to the edge of the cliff he pushed us both forward, this time a little faster than the first, he knew by now I wasn't scared. He stopped dropping just inches above the water and I got sprayed a little by the surf, laughing at the feeling of the cool sea water. He remained close to the water until the familiar lights of the boardwalk were visible ahead, then he got higher in the sky. Just in case anyone was out for a late-night swim, we didn't want to risk it, he headed for a dark part of the beach there were sure to be no bonfires around.
I stretched my legs out as we hit the sand and we both came to a graceful stop, landings hadn't been my strength for ages while I was practising, speed was no problem but I always stumbled when trying to right myself on the ground. Thankfully with his help we got onto the land with no bother, I took in the familiar lights of the boardwalk before turning towards the waves and taking a deep breath of the salty air coming off the water.
Dwayne tightened his hold on me, "Feels like the first time we came out here." He mused.
"Long time ago, I still remember it, probably one of the best night's of my life."
He turned to face me and the boardwalk lights glittering behind me and he raised an eyebrow with a teasing smirk playing on his lips, "Probably?" He asked, stopping me from going any further with his hand on my stomach.
I appeared to think about it for a second before stretching up on my toes, "Definitely one of the best." I assured him, he was just about to close the distance and kiss me when his eyes caught something behind me, without a word he darted around two feet to my right, I barely had enough time to turn before I realised what he had been sure to avoid getting hit by.
'Incoming!" I saw only a flash of Paul's messy blonde hair heading towards me before I was knocked off my feet and pushed several metres back on the sand just short of the water, rolling to a stop beside Paul who howled with laughter.
"Paul!" I cried in indignation, hitting him on the stomach before attempting to brush some sand off my arms. I was completely coated in the stuff, as was Paul, though lucky for him it wouldn't be noticeable in his hair, the grains would stick out in my dark red hair like a sore thumb. I got to my feet and shook my hair out, glaring at Dwayne who was trying to hide a laugh.
"Thanks for the warning." I said sarcastically, to which he merely shrugged and shot me a brilliant smile. I could hardly stay mad at him, but I kicked the blonde bundle of clothes still laughing loudly on the sand in his hip as hard as I could.
"Asshole!"
Paul held his hands up over his face when I grabbed more sand and threw it at him, "Sorry, Shorty, couldn't resist. You didn't expect to go to the boardwalk without moi now did you?"
"God forbid!" I said dramatically, holding my hand out to help him up, he took it but did most of the work, I wasn't forgiving enough to help him all that much.
He shook his hair out, spraying me with even more sand and I hurriedly wiped it from my face, he pointed to a spot on my cheek, "Missed a bit." He informed me, sniggering.
"I know." I said, slapping his hand away and brushing at my cheeks, I laughed in spite of myself, I probably looked ridiculous right now. Paul helped brush the rest of the sand from my leather jacket that I couldn't reach and slung an arm around my shoulder, considering himself forgiven.
Dwayne caught up on my other side and brushed my cheek until it was smooth before pressing a kiss there, Paul made a gagging noise, "Jeez, get a room."
"Like you're one to talk, I pity the girl that winds up with you bugging her tonight."
Paul raised an eyebrow, "Please, you know all the ladies come to me just begging for some Paul Love, who knows, maybe I'll find me a special lady tonight."
"Maybe she'll make an honest vampire out of you." I said, which made Dwayne chuckle beside me.
Paul snorted, "Nah, I ain't a 'one girl' type of guy, you know me. Besides, no one could be as special as Shorty." He said, pinching my cheek lightly.
"Well that's a given." I laughed, Paul vowed never to get tied down to one girl, he decided to remain the lady killer of the group, both figuratively and literally in some cases.
"You hear that?" Dwayne asked, we all stopped to hear what exactly he meant. Sure enough the sound of drums and guitars floated over the wind to us, too loud to be from a bar or a shop. That could only mean one thing.
"Concert?" I asked, turning to Paul who must have known it was on seeing as he came from that direction. He rubbed his hands together.
"Good music and an amazing food variety all in the one area, I really have missed this place." He grinned.
"Me too." I said wistfully, turning to face both Paul and Dwayne, "Bet I beat both your asses to the stage."
With a glance between us all we took off, kicking sand up as we went along, hoots and hollers mixing in with the music. Of course I wasn't as fast as them with their long legs, it took around three strides for me to match one of theirs, but I gave it my best shot and managed to stay neck and neck till we reached the concert, teens danced and jumped around to the band on stage, and I found myself joining in, feeling exactly like I had when I was human and I would go to the concerts here. Eventually I searched for Paul and Dwayne and found them up on the higher areas away from the stage with the rest of the group, Paul had Taylor on his shoulders so he could see the stage and he waved me over. I weaved through the crowd to join them, Dwayne extended his hand and pulled me up beside them.
After a while at the concert Taylor and I snuck off to the rides and food leaving the rest to enjoy the music, he had graciously waited until I had come to go on The Big Dipper and pretty much any of the other rides, although the carousel had proved to tempting and he confessed to having been on it twice before I got here. We ended up sitting on a bench located close to The Music Shop with corn dogs and popcorn shared between us.
I had dropped in to visit with Julie and Peter who were more than happy to see me, they looked older now and remarked how I still looked eighteen despite the fact now I was well into my twenties. Or so they thought, anyway. We had caught up for a while, Taylor had agreed to hang around outside, the last thing I needed was them wondering where he had come from. I talked for a while before promising to drop in later in the week for dinner, and I had two new postcards from Rachel waiting for me. One said she'd be in Santa Carla this summer, so I hoped I'd be able to catch her while she was in town, it had been almost a year since I had last seen her, we stumbled into each other in the middle of New York on New Year's, against all odds that we had been in completely different states only days before we managed to meet. So I'd finally see her again, I showed Taylor the postcards while we ate.
"It must have been so fun growing up here." Taylor mused as he looked around, the place was a goldmine for a kid that never got to do many good things, he was taking in every light and every person that walked past, taking it all in.
I nodded, "It was, and I always miss it when we're gone."
Taylor turned to me, "Why'd you leave if you loved it so much?"
"Because we wanted to see some other places, and we knew this place would always be here so there was no harm in leaving for a while. I do miss it but I'm glad we've been other places, we'd never have met Emma, Garrett or Tori if we had stayed here. And we wouldn't have you, so it all worked out for the best." I said, nudging his shoulder.
He smiled, "I'm glad you found me, you're like the family I never thought I'd get."
And with that he scooted closer to lean against my arm, which I then wrapped around his shoulders and leant my chin on his hair, "Well you got us, and now you're stuck with us. I hope that's okay?" I laughed.
"It's okay." He replied with a chuckle, we lapsed into silence and watched the crowds go by. Some time later he yawned and his posture slumped a little, I helped him off the bench and took his hand to lead him back to find the others.
"Hey." I called to Paul when I found him talking to a group of girls, "Can I borrow your bike? Taylor's tired so I'm gonna take him home."
"Sure." He said, handing me the keys and patting Taylor on the head, "Don't let the bed bugs bite, pal."
I took Taylor back and set about fixing the sheets on the bed for him, swapping the light blankets there for heavier ones that would keep him warm. When I was done I turned to see him eyeing the boxes packed with books Dwayne had accumulated over the years of us living here.
"Want me to read you one before bed?"
He looked at me, "Are you sure Dwayne won't mind?"
"Of course he won't! Take your pick." I told him, kicking a crate over for him to stand on so he could reach the top boxes. He carefully looked through them before handing me the one he wanted.
"Peter Pan." I said in approval, "I've read this a few times, it was always one of my favourites. Hop into bed and I'll read it."
I waited until he got settled before I sat on a crate close to the candles I had lit earlier so I could read, "All children, except one, grow up..." I began, keeping up a steady pace of reading and stopping to show Taylor some of the pictures the book had, it was one of those collector editions Dwayne had stumbled upon, he had built up quite a library while we were here. I looked up at Taylor just when I got to the part where Peter Pan and Tinkerbell arrived in the Darling's nursery in search of his shadow to find him fast asleep. I shut the book and tucked the blankets up to his chin, he would probably sleep right through to the morning.
I didn't want to leave right away so I began quietly looking around the caves, I hadn't explored much earlier when we got back except for up around the bed, so I acquainted myself with the rest again. It was all just how we left it, not a candle out of place, I guess people were too smart to even try getting down here. Resting against one of the walls was the acoustic guitar that was a birthday gift from Rachel, even I didn't remember my birthday anymore really but she had never forgotten since leaving me when I was little. I had sold the Fender Jaguar Peter had given me because we had no way to plug in an amp in the caves, so Rachel bought me a black acoustic and some tapes for learning to play so I could brush up on my technique. I sat on the couch with it my arms and quietly tuned it, I could play it properly the next night when Taylor was awake.
When I was setting it back I noticed David's makeshift liquor cabinet he kept fully stocked with alcohol of all kinds. The bottles had gathered a lot of dust while we were gone to the point I had to rub the labels with my sleeve to be able to read them. I knew David was more of a whiskey fan than a wine one so I looked through the wine for something I could borrow, well, steal. Not that he would probably notice or even care, we didn't need the stuff to have a good time but I guess with all the time we had it never hurt to have a collection of something to show for it. I grabbed a rather expensive looking red wine with a fancy name and put it in a backpack I located in my box of clothes, jogging back up the slope and leaving Taylor to rest.
I got back to the boardwalk and gave Paul his keys before going in search of Dwayne, bumping into Tori and Emma in the process who were going through the racks of clothes on one of the boardwalk stalls, Terri showed off a denim jacket to me as I passed.
"Like it?" She said, turning this way and that, brushing her dark out from under the collar.
"Love it, don't let Marko near it or he'll have it covered in patches." I joked.
"I know better by now." She laughed, "Emma wants to get a tattoo while she's here, didn't you get yours done in Santa Carla?"
"Yeah, the place isn't far. I might get another myself, something on the other shoulder." I mused.
"Does it hurt?" Emma asked.
I shook my head, "Not a lot, I'll go with you when you get it done. Have you seen Dwayne?"
"Nope, last I saw him he was looking for you." Tori told me, I stayed a few minutes to help her and Emma pick out more clothes before going to find Dwayne, I circled the boardwalk before standing at the railings overlooking the beach, just about spotting him in the distance.
"Hey." I said as I approached, taking the bag off my shoulders and opening it, handing him the bottle of wine, "Open that, will you?"
He eyed the bottle with approval, "I take it this is David's." He guessed, opening it with a corkscrew on his keys.
I shrugged, "I'll get him another, figured we could celebrate being home."
He took a swig from the bottle before handing it to me, "Cheers."
"I didn't search for glasses, didn't wanna wake up Taylor." I said once I had taken a sip, "Read him one of your books."
"Which one?" He asked curiously.
"Think faith, trust and pixie dust."
He smiled, "Peter Pan. Always loved that one."
"Me too." I agreed, lying back on the sand, not really minding it now, I was still wearing a thin layer of it after Paul knocked me over earlier so it wasn't like any more could hurt. I handed the bottle to Dwayne who took a drink before lying back to join me.
"Glad to be back?"
I smiled, "Yeah, I always miss this place when we're gone. I hope we stay a while, who knows how long it'll be before we visit again after we head to Europe."
"We'll come back." Dwayne said confidently, "I'll take you back anytime you want."
I traced the back of his hand with my fingers, "Where do you think we'll go first?"
"David's looking to hit France first and work our way across. Belgium, Italy and Germany won't be far behind on the list."
"That sounds cool, I've always wanted to see Paris." I said with a grin, "Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Mona Lisa. And Disneyland!"
Dwayne laughed, "You and Paul will be nightmares there, I can just see it. Taylor won't act as childish as you two will." He teased.
"I'll have to brush up on my French." I said with a wrinkle of my nose, it was never a strength of mine.
"I'll help."
I turned to look at him, "You can speak French?"
He shrugged, "Read a book on it once, still remember some of if. The only time I ever heard French was an old couple in a bar in Louisiana, it was Cajun French but they're kinda similar. You'll be able to order snails in no time."
"Ew." I laughed, that didn't sound appetising, I stared at the sky thinking of all the other places we could visit.
"Italy." Dwayne said suddenly, as if he had been thinking the same, "Always wanted to see it."
I hummed in agreement, "Spain would be cool."
"Germany."
"Moscow." I said, "Always wanted to see snow in Russia, never thought I'd actually get there."
"You will." Dwayne said confidently, "We can go anywhere."
I laughed, "We do have time after all."
Dwayne chuckled, "Forever."
We shared a smile before going to look back at the stars, I joined my hand with his and rested the other one behind my head, closing my eyes.
"Forever."
Author's Note: So there you have it! The reason the epilogue took a little longer than planned to be updated is that I had another version before this that I had written but I was very unhappy with it, it just seemed really boring to me and not the way I wished to end this story. I actually have to thank Leeleeishere for giving me the idea for this updated version, the PM I got from them sparked a whole new idea, even though I wasn't able to do exactly what they suggested it did really help me come up with this, so thank you very much Leeleeishere, I owe you one!
Also a song that was a huge inspiration for me when writing about Dwayne and Bryn has been Wild Horses by The Sundays, I think their version of this song fit the mood I was going for plus I just love the song haha, so if anyone wanted to give it a listen it's been sort of the unofficial theme of this fic :)
In regards to the characters of Star and Laddie, I really did try and figure out a way to add them in, I love both characters dearly but there was no way I could include them without calling into question what would have happened when Sam and Michael arrived, seeing as Max dies in this fic it would have been too complicated to rewrite the events of the movie so I decided to leave them out. Taylor's sort of a substitute for Laddie in a few ways, but seeing as Laddie was a half-vampire in the film at such a young age I thought Bryn wouldn't have allowed him to be turned so young like she almost was. I hope you guys were pleased with the epilogue anyway!
So finally I'd like to thank everyone who has read this story and stuck with me even through my horrible updates, to those who added it to their favourites and follows as well, I've never had a story with this many favourites and follows so this was a huge compliment! And especially to those who have reviewed because I never thought this story would get many reviews, and now with 225 I am just speechless guys, thank you all so much :D
I'd like to thank sadlyhuman1997 for asking me to write this, for giving me loads of ideas and developing the character of Bryn with me. I hope you like how it turned out! Also a big thank you to Eveline Wulf who has given me loads of encouragement through this. Thanks as well to TheGoofyCat, ThePhantomismyLove, TishaLiz, lostboyfan8797, littlesisterrapture, chloevamp, JaliceJelsa4eva, Leeleeishere, rose 217, DreamBigandBeUnique, shalmarrose, Fairydoll, Flowerchild23, LunarMaiden111, MinderEstrada, 20Luna20, SilverDragon13, The Shadow Next To You, Mystic Vampyre, walisi, NIGHTSCREAM, Emzy2k11, Pixiecropse, renn.I.B, kittykat6625, Texas Bobcat, tomieharley, PaperBooksInk, NinaVuelta93, LovelyGirl51, dreaminggirllivi2, , N3ko8 and TheXHushXSound for all their reviews!
I want to thank all the guest reviewers as well, unfortunately I haven't individual names for you all except those who had specific guest names such as Mr Thornberry, LostGirl4eva, Captain Grin, Me, D, Amber, ZoopBooper and Jas, so to those guys as well as all those guests that left reviews with just "guest" as their name, I appreciate every review guys thanks so much!
In regards to future stories I'll be taking a break from fanfiction writing for a while, I have important exams starting in May and I need all of my focus for them, in the past I've written during exams and it has been so stressful to balance the two so this year I'm gonna take a break and focus on exams because they're really important. But my last exam is June 17th and after that I'll be right back to writing! I have a story for The Lost Boys that needs finishing and I got a request for another which I'll be starting after exams so I'll be back soon enough! Until then thanks again so much for reading this story and for being awesome guys, see you soon!
CastleRockGirl x