The Player and the Played

EPILOGUE

Hailey waited patiently for her parents to open the door. She tapped her foot against the ground repeatedly when suddenly she heard a few muffled voices, a giggle and the sound of someone shushing the rest of the people. She rang the bell again. The sound of a lock opening was heard but the door didn't open.

She slowly pushed it open to find...nothing? Wow, and she had actually thought that there'd be some kind of surprise for her. It was Christmas Eve after all and she had just come  back from college for the first time. Finding no one at home, she hurried up the steps and reached her room.

'Ah, so the party is here,' she thought but when she opened the door she saw no streamers or cake or giggling family members. What she did see was pretty up to the mark, however.

"Oh, my God, is that a signed copy of the Harry Potter series?" she whispered, unable to believe that there was a Deathly Hallows book open to its first page with JK Rowling's signature on it.

"You know what's better? The person it is from," came a familiar voice.

"It really isn't. Tyler, I do love you but you can't beat this."

"Aw no thanks Ty you're the best? Or oh how I've missed you?"

"Well you aren't the best. I'm the best. But I have missed you. Where's everyone else?"

"Theyre supposed to be here. Looks like they're running late..." he said with a smirk. He then walked right up to Hailey and kissed her. The shock wore off and she kissed back with a sigh. She had missed this.

"Merry Christmas, Hails," he whispered, stepping away, a little taken aback after the kiss. The two of them hadn't met for months and yet it had been like they were together for years. Tyler was as familiar to Hailey as she was to herself and meeting him after so long was like a breath of wind on a hot day.

"It's Christmas Eve, idiot," she replied, still whispering.

"It's probably Christmas in Japan. Count this as an early Christmas gift."

"Thanks, Ty. I really did miss you. God, I missed you."

"I know, me too."

"Why are we whispering?"

"I have absolutely no idea," he replied, still extremely close to her. She longed to reach up for another kiss but she wanted to talk to him first. They hadn't spoken face to face in too long. Besides, her parents could come at any time. 

"We're here! We got it!" Bianca panted.

"B! I've missed you!" Hailey cried, reaching for her.

"I've missed you too but you don't see me acting like a hooligan, do you?"

"Oh, it's just a hug, come one," Hailey coaxed. Bianca gingerly placed the object she was carrying on the bed and returned the hug.

"College has turned you into a sap," she remarked.

"Oh, don't worry. I'll be back to normal after Christmas. Also, what's that?"

"Cupcakes. Red velvet," came Haileys Moms voice from behind.

"Mom. Dad. You're back," she said warily.

"For good," her dad added. She raised an eyebrow sceptically.

"For good," her mom echoed, confirming it.

"They stayed after you went for college. I mean, someone had to take care of me and it couldn't be you anymore," Bianca added, trying to lighten the slightly tens atmospheric.

"Yeah. That's great," Hailey replied, a genuine smile making its way across her face. Her parents smiled back.

"Can we go decorate the Christmas tree now?" Bianca asked, impatiently.

"Yeah, sure," Hailey replied.

"I'll go now. See you later?" Tyler said.

"You can count on it."

And he could. Because they'd be seeing a lot of each other. Our stories don't have beginnings or endings but if Hailey had to pause at a part in her life where she had a happy ending, this would be it. Of course, her story continues and isn't all that happy. But right now, with her parents back, her sister happy, college going well and Tyler being there, you couldn't  deny that Hailey Greene got a happy ending. Sometimes, when two people are broken, they complete each other but Hailey and Tyler didn't just complete each other but taught each other how to complete themselves. How to discover themselves. How not to limit themselves and to try new things. How to break free of stereotypes and become who they wanted to be.

And right now, the both felt pretty fucking complete.

A/N

And we're done. Phew.

I dont think I'll have bonus chapters as while I reached the end of the book, I found it to be too cliche so I started another book which is dystopian. I've always found books to be predictable so I started writing one with twists and stuff. It's called Game Over and its on my profile. It's LGBT and features POCs. It's basically like a straight romance in a dystopian setting but is mainly concentrated on the dystopian so it isn't pure romance. 

Anyway, I've felt like I did really badly on this book so Game Over is like a better one. I've put more effort because I don't want to feel disappointed. It has tons of diversity and basically focuses on social issues, homophobia being one of the most important but it's in the form of a normal story and if you guys are interested, please give it a try. It's in third person and has better language, I guess, because I've expressed thoughts of the characters and put in my own thoughts much better.

Anyway even though I think I did terribly in this book, you guys, my readers, are freaking AWESOMEE and I love yall for still reading this even when I never updated because of writers block or exams.

So I'd like to thank you guys because without you, I wouldn't even have finished this. 

Seriously love you guys

Xoxo

Anu.