Prank War

Epilogue

    I had been staring at the textbook for the past five minutes. Just staring without actually reading the words. I glanced up to see Caden sitting on my chair. He had what looked like a biology textbook on his lap, and was reading it with deep concentration.

    The thought of how he was still extremely good-looking with a serious expression crossed my mind. My lips curved up into a small smile unconsciously, and I rolled around on my bed. I dropped the textbook I was holding onto the floor, and let out a loud, dramatic sigh.

    Caden glanced up from what he was reading. He didn’t say a word, but instead, raised his eyebrow in question.

    “This is boring,” I told him. “I shouldn’t have let you convince me to even hold a textbook.”

    “In my defense, I never actually said this would be fun,” he gave me a small smile, and returned back to his textbook.

    I narrowed my eyes. “Really, I’m starting to think you like the textbook better than me.”

    He laughed, and ran his hand through his hair as he gave me a smirk. “Don’t tell me, you’re jealous of a textbook?”

    I made a face at him, and buried my face into my covers. I can’t believe I still had to study for the finals. I was really expecting to receive some sort of special treatment for winning the Prank War. But it was as if I had never won in the first place.

    The school had decided to give the prize of one million dollars directly to my mom. And my mom, of course, put it in a savings account. Something about needing it to pay for my college tuition, and not being able to get a scholarship with my current grades.

    So I pretty much never got my hands on the money. Heck, I didn’t even get to see the money.

    “Hey,” Caden said without glancing up from his textbook.

    “What?”

    He leaned forward, his arms on his textbook, supporting himself. His eyes met mine, and I couldn’t decipher his expression. “Are you going home for the summer?”

    I nodded. “I think I need to try and patch up things with my mom.” I paused, wondering what the meaning behind his question was. “What about you?”

    “Nah. Mackenzie and I always stay here."

    “At school? I knew you liked school, but I didn’t know you liked it that much.” I teased him. “So what? Is it some kind of in-school-summer-camp?”

    “You could say that,” he nodded slightly.

    “So I won’t see you in the summer,” I said - not as a question, but as a statement I hoped wasn’t true.

    “We still have senior year, don’t we?” he said. The smile he had one his face wasn’t one hundred percent happy.

    I stood up from my bed. “Well, then. Why are we wasting our time studying?” I picked the textbook up from his lap. As I set the textbook on the desk, I sat down in his lap.

    “Well …” he hesitated, eyeing the textbook.

     I scowled. “You are not going to choose a textbook over me, Caden Stewart.”

    He grinned at me, and slipped his arm around my waist, pulling me closer towards him. “I wasn’t even thinking about it.”

    I leaned forward, my lips touching his.

---

    All the finals occurred during the last two weeks of school. Caden pretty much ended up living in the library, as he had insisted he needed to study. I hardly got to see him because of that. I personally liked to stay far away from libraries.

    I guess that’s what I get for dating a nerd.

    Of course, I didn’t bother to study. It just wasn’t my thing. Plus the fact that now Mackenzie and Max were together, I was pretty bored the whole time. So naturally, I pulled a few pranks.

    Which is why I ended up in the principal’s office on the last day of school.

    I had been there a couple of times during the year. Scratch that. I’ve been there a lot of times. Really, the whole staff of administrators probably knew me pretty well.

    After a long lecture about … something, I was finally released. I went back to my room, and grabbed the bags I had packed. The school year was over, so we were all free to go. I knew my mom was wanting outside, but I wanted to see some people before I went.

    First, I went to Max’s room. Apparently, he was staying too. I didn’t find Mackenzie in her room, so I headed to Caden’s.

    I knocked on the door. Five seconds later, the door swung open, and Caden stood on the other side, looking as good as ever. He gave me a smile. It wasn’t completely happy smile, as we both knew we wouldn’t see each other for the next two months or so.

    “So,” I started, not really sure how to say goodbye. “See you in two months?”

    “I guess I can’t really ask you to stay with us,” he said. “I hope everything goes well with your mom.”

    There was a short moment of silence. I rolled me eyes.

    “Alright, I don’t want this to turn into a cheesy and uncomfortable goodbye. Just kiss me, you idiot.”

    “Idiot?” he raised an eyebrow, giving me a grin. “If I’m not mistaken, I’m the nerd here.” But he did as I told him, and leaned down to give me a last kiss.

    “I should go,” I said after pulling away. “My mom’s probably waiting.”

    “I’ll see you next year,” he said as I started leaving.

    “Don’t miss me too much,” I grinned at him.

    “Don’t meet any good-looking guys,” he told me.

    “You don’t have to worry about me. But you better not even look at any girls. Just stick with textbooks.”

    He shook his head with a smile. “You should come and visit sometime.”

    “Of course,” I nodded, and gave him a final wave. “See you soon. Oh, and say goodbye to Mackenzie for me.”

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Thank you so much to those who have supported Prank War. I know some of you feel like the story was a bit rushed, and I apologize for that. Please keep in mind that this story was started in late 2010/early 2011, and was finished in 2012. A lot of breaks happened between the start and the end, so I admit it could have been written better. I hope you enjoyed reading it nonetheless.

ANNOUNCEMENT: This ending was supposed to lead up to a sequel, but as of now, there are no plans for one. Sorry for the confusion.