The Book Thief 》Hemmings A.U

Epilogue

       (check out the last chapter if you haven't already, wattpad was being a little spazzy so idk if it said that i updated or not lol) frat boys michael luke and calum aye

      THINGS WITH LUKE REALLY weren't easy. Over the course of the past four years, things were hectic because we were both always busy and late night calls just weren't cutting it. It's hard to be with someone without really being with them, but that didn't mean it wasn't worth it. Because we were us, because we were Luke and Kendall, we made it work. 

         We made it work when Luke started separating himself from football --something his dad always pushed him to do and while he enjoyed it, it wasn't his everything-- and got more into to music. He still played because it was what had gotten him a scholarship to Duke in the first place, but music had quickly become his priority. His roommate, Michael --a music major himself--- encouraged Luke to think about music as a serious career, because he was pretty damn good at it. I liked Michael; he was good for Luke. Apparently Michael liked me too, because, before he knew that I was the girlfriend Luke "wouldn't shut up about for two bloody seconds", he had made his interest in me very clear. 

         Michael and Luke started playing together in between classes and they even got a few gigs around the perimeter of the campus via local coffee shops and small gatherings. When Calum caught word of his best friend doing something without him, of possibly getting a new best friend, he slowly but surely turned their duo into a trio, until there were the makings of a full fledged band in the works. 

         And of course, what's a band without a drummer?  I had repeated those words countless times to Luke over the phone until eventually, he listened to me. And getting Ashton to join their band was the best decision that Luke ever made because it didn't take long after them officially getting together for them to go places. Real places. Ashton still broke his drum set every so often but at least now, he could afford to replace it and not take months to do so.

          People liked this bumbling mess of Americanized Australians based in North Carolina who all went to school together and were on the fast track to aimless jobs had their passion, had music not stepped in. They got big, fast, and it wasn't long until not seeing Luke for six weeks had turned into six months. 

        They were touring, they were happy, Luke was happy. He was genuinely happy and doing something because he wanted to, not because his dad had made him. So that was enough for me, even when my letters were getting frayed at the edges from excessive rereading. Luckily, Luke sent me a new batch and as promised, we swapped his flannels back and forth. 

       We made it work when their first tour was over and mine was just beginning. When my first official book written entirely by my own accord without being stolen or forced to be written, was published. 

     I went to a writer's workshop that Columbia was hosting and by some sheer force of the universe finally not screwing me over, someone actually liked my writing. I was reading a chapter aloud up at this tiny podium because that's what everyone who signed up was supposed to do, and this woman in the back, this Godsend came up to me after I was finished and offered to publish my book. She said that she believed in me, that I could go places.

     Bookstores had shelves stocked with my name on it and I had signings around the country and then the world and by the time graduation rolled around, I had a job. The job that I wanted for as long as I could possibly remember. The Book Thief was selling out fast, and the thief himself was flying around the globe in between tour breaks to join me alongside my signings and we were good, we were so, so, good. I thanked him for taking Casual Affair, as ironic as it was, because my second book ended up being an even bigger, even better spin off of that story.

          The distance could have destroyed us, but it didn't. We both got exactly what we wanted from life and luckily for us, that included each other. 

          I didn't apply for a transfer to Brown after my first year at Columbia like I planned, because I realized that I didn't need to. Columbia wasn't my ideal choice to begin with, but I quickly realized that it was where I was meant to be. Brown could suck it for not accepting me in the first place.

           Lucy was a triple threat; an actress who designed clothes on the side and was my editor (she had fought my publisher for that position). Never once in the four years leading up to our graduation did we miss our Tuesday coffee dates, or our Saturday ditch everyone else and spend the day together dates, or our "I miss you I don't care what day it is let's hang out dates". 

      Things were good for all of us, and I couldn't remember the last time that the three of us were this happy, all at the same time. My parents were still together and were planning on staying that way, Luke and I had our own apartment, and when the four of us went to go visit Liz in Australia, where she had decided to move back to after her children went off to college, the twins made sure visit their dad, too. He was still an asshole, and they weren't about to get sucked back into his twisted world again, but, they did want some kind of a relationship with him. 

         Lucy and Calum broke up for about a month --not everyone can deal with distance-- until they realized that they really hated it and ended up getting back together. 

       Things don't always work out the way you plan them and sometimes you have to let go of what's most important to you, but, you'll be alright. In the end, we're all alright.

-----

     okay please read this!  first of all, i started a new luke story called goner so please pleased check that out! 

also, some people are interested in seeing more of the letters that luke wrote for kendall so please let me know which one's you're especially interested in seeing and i'll do a bonus chapter with a bunch of the letters :)) 

      this is it. this is a cheesy and semi lame epilogue (that i might come back and edit later bc i'm not completely thrilled about it, i'll edit the whole book eventually) but everyone is happy and kuke is good and i (hopefully) didn't leave anything unanswered. 

        i'm really sad to be letting kuke go, but i feel like it's time even though at the same time i kind of want to follow them to college and not let them go just yet, but... here we are :( 

        thank you so much for everything you've done for this story. for the constant love and kind words that you've sent my way, they mean the world to me. i love that you love this story, because i love this story, and i'm so glad that i got to share it with so many people. 

        fun fact: this wasn't even supposed to be a fanfic. it was supposed to be a teenfic with the main male character named nathaniel who was portrayed by ansel elgort. (s/o to those of you who were like "LUKE'S EYES ARE BLUE NOT BROWN!" when i missed editing out a couple things in changing it from teen to fanfic, i appreciate you helping me get rid of all of those mistakes) but one day i changed my mind and i'm so happy that i did, because it was one of the best decisions that i've ever made.

       i'm going to keep writing, starting with the michael fic that's already been posted and progressing for a while and then more luke. SO MANY MORE LUKE FICS. YOU GUYS JUST WAIT. YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME. i hope that this story will stick with you in some way and that you'll read the other stories, too, and that you stick with me because i honestly love each and every one of you so, so much. i

         this is dedicated to An_Untold_Story, who offered up the idea of the book thief being an actual book that kendall writes ( thank you for that. it was awesome :) ). not only is it dedicated to her, but it's dedicated to all of you guys too, for being the raddest fucking readers anyone could ever ask for.

        thank you for everything, i love you, and i hope to see you soon <3 - amanda

        p.s. keep a look out for that bonus chapter with kuke letters :))) 

        p.p.s if you have fanart or something feel free to send it over, i have a whole folder of it that makes me v v happy xx