Serenity Falls

Epilogue

Okay, so here it is! IT ENDS HERE. The epilogue :( Hope you enjoy it, because it's the last one! And yes, sorry it's short - but this is the rounding off of the storyline.

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"You look cold."

Olivia stared up at him as she sat down on the edge of the fountain, beside Ethan. There was no denying it – it was absolutely freezing outside, and the bitter air was biting at her exposed arms. Before she could even form a response, Ethan had taken off his tux jacket and draped it around her shoulders.

"But now you’re going to be cold," she protested, looking at the thin white shirt that he was wearing underneath. That would be useless against the harsh air that they were submerged in. Even though she could immediately feel the heat being trapped by the jacket and warming her up, she could not help but feel bad that he was now without it.

"I’m fine," he assured her. "I’m not the one in a skimpy dress."

Olivia opened her mouth, looking down at her ivory-coloured dress, which wrinkled around her waist and legs as she sat. "It’s not skimpy!" She paused. "Do you really think so?"

Ethan chuckled lightly at her blinking brown eyes staring up at him. "I’m kidding. You look beautiful. You always do."

She could feel the warm blush spreading on her cheeks as she heard his words – the only warm part of her entire body. "Thanks."

Ethan noticed her shivering slightly, even with his jacket placed around her shoulders. "Come here," he said quietly, enclosing her in his arms and pulling her closer, until she was sitting closely beside him, her head leaning on his chest.

"You’re so sweet."

He chuckled in response. "Why, do you want me to be meaner?"

"No, it’s not that... I’ve just never met a guy like you before. You’re always thinking of me, and doing cute things. Like what you did back there..."

"No other guy could feel the same way about you as I do," he said simply, kissing the top of her head gently. Her brown curls were already beginning to drop out, even though the night had not yet ended. They hung around her face in soft waves, flowing smoothly downwards and stopping just below her collarbone. "I love you."

"I love you too," she mumbled into his chest. "I’m glad I decided not to leave this place."

Her words startled him slightly – he hadn’t known that she had been considering that option. She had never mentioned it before, and the thought of her moving away made his heart sink, even though this was now clearly not the case. "You were thinking of leaving?"

"At one point, yes," she admitted, with a small sigh. "Everything was going on all at the same time... I was upset about you, my brother was kicking off, and it all just didn’t seem worth it. I’m glad I stuck it out though."

"I’m glad you did too."

Olivia exhaled deeply, watching the small cloud that her breath left lingering in the air. A shiver rippled through her and she huddled closer to Ethan in an attempt to retain some of her body heat. The fountain behind them sent streams of water flowing constantly, filling the silence that had settled between them. However, despite the fact that neither of them were saying anything, and the frigid air stood free of spoken words, the silence was comfortable instead of awkward.

"Seems like everything’s coming to an end, don’t you think?" Olivia said quietly, after a moment of hesitation.

"How do you mean?’"

"Well, everything’s just... calmer. Alyssa and Courtney are friends again, we’ve ended up together, so have Chelsie and Fred... it’s like the ending to a cliché romance novel, don’t you think?"

"Based on Serenity Falls?" Ethan inquired, smiling amusedly.

"Yeah..." Olivia said vaguely, as her mind trailed off into thought.

"And we’re obviously the star couple," he said, with a playful grin as he squeezed her tighter. "And we always will be."

"Definitely," she agreed, as a feeling of ecstasy began to wash over her.

The comfortable silence had settled in again, but this time it did not last for long. It was interrupted by the sound of Ethan’s voice only seconds after it had arrived.

"I don’t know about you, but it’s freaking cold out here. How about we carry on this meaningful conversation in my car? My car... you know, the one with heating?"

"Sounds good," Olivia responded, pushing herself upwards into a standing position, pulling Ethan’s jacket tighter around her when she felt it begin to slip downwards.

And as she began to walk, maintaining her pace so she was able to keep by Ethan’s side, his hand slipped into hers and she gripped it tightly. A warm feeling spread through her at the feel of his fingers intertwined with hers, the sparks that shot through her skin still the same intensity as when they had first met.

Everything had worked out for the better.

She looked up at Ethan, a smile on her face. He turned to her, responding with the same warm gesture. And as she gazed intently at his beaming grin, it became apparent that it was true.

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That's it! It's over :( It feels so weird after 6 months of uploading it, ahaa. To mark the occasion, here are 3 things you probably didn't know about Serenity Falls!

#1: This story took me 10 months to write in total.

#2: Until about Chapter 20, Chelsie's name was actually Bridget, until I decided I didn't like it and changed it completely.

#3: Anyone remember the initials in the first chapter? FT+CM? Fred and Chelsie ;) (and yes, they weren't originally like that, but then I had the genius idea and changed them a while ago) :P

So, that's it guys! Thank you so so so so much for reading, I never thought this story would get almost 150,000 reads. You are all amazing and please please please as a parting gift, vote for this chapter? :D

If you're stuck for something to read now, you can always check out my other story "Musically Gifted? Well, I Used to Play the Recorder..." and I will be uploading my next one very very soon! <3