Thanks mucho to all my reviewers - -

Garnet-earth-Princess: Yep, Lex is leaving for college.

InvisibleWriter: Hahah I knew I should have mentioned in the last chapter that there was just ONE more. Thank you so much for all your reviews, I've really enjoyed reading them and I hope I've benefited somewhat from the constructive criticism. : )

and also to jamiesbond, miSs joVaNNa, and sketchingaCYNiC. Okay kids, we're here! The last chapter is pretty short but it's just summing things up. Sigh, I never thought I'd make it this far. Anyway, so as not to further delay things, I will stop rambling here, but please, if you have the time, read the author's note at the bottom!

CHAPTER TWENTY

I never told you, but it's all in your goodbyes.

Just as I was about to walk out the door the next morning to head over to Lex's, my mother stopped me.

"You can't go over there now!" she cried.

"Why not?!" I demanded, stepping back inside the house.

She appeared from the kitchen holding a wooden spoon. "Alexis needs to concentrate on packing. She can't have a distracting boy like you hanging around!"

"Mom!" I almost burst out laughing. "Lex told me last night to come over this morning!"

My mother raised an eyebrow skeptically. "If I were Alexis' mother, I wouldn't want Scott Fillman coming over to sidetrack everyone's plans. You'll delay her, Scott!"

I couldn't help from smiling. The times when my mother chose to worry were the times that she least needed to do so. "Mom, I know Lex, and trust me, she's been packed since last week."

"Why couldn't you say goodbye to her last night like everyone else?" my mom inquired.

"Because I'm not like everyone else. Not with Lex."

She sighed, putting a hand on the back of a chair for support. "You and Lex have always been very close. It's going to be very hard for you to lose her, isn't it?"

I nodded mutely.

She gave a small smile. "Go on, then. Don't be long!"

I knew I could crack her. "I won't."

"Promise?"

"Mm hmm."

The trunk of the McNeelys' minivan was open and Dex was just shutting the front door of the house.

"Lex is waiting for you upstairs," he said.

I nodded. "Listen, Dex…" I trailed off, meaning to apologize.

He shook his head, offering a grim smile. "You don't have to say it. I forgive you."

Like old friends, I shook hands with him and promised I'd see him before he left for college the next week. Then I turned my attention back to the house. I could probably waltz through the front door if I wanted to, yet for old time's sake, I climbed the drainpipe and sat on the roof, knowing that Lex was inside.

I would never walk to school with her again. Never again would she scoff at a new girl I had picked up, or a new girl I had dumped. I couldn't throw rocks at her window at all hours of the night just to ask for homework help or because I was bored. Everything was going to change and I wasn't sure if I was ready for it.

"There you are," Lex said, opening her window and sticking her head out.

I smiled sadly. "That's the last time you'll ever open your window to me."

She shrugged. "Maybe it won't be so bad. I mean, usually I open this window just to yell at you. After today, you can sit here in peace."

"I don't mind when you yell at me." She stepped away from the window and I climbed into her bedroom.

"That's the last time I'll ever climb through your window," I remarked. "That is, unless Jake opens it for me." I sighed, looking around. "Your room looks so empty." Her desk was no longer littered with papers and textbooks and her closet wasn't overflowing with clothes. All that really remained in her room was her bed, neatly made with a teddy bear sitting on the pillows. Lex noticed me looking at it.

"I decided to leave Paddington Bear at home," she explained. "I didn't know if he'd like it at college."

I laughed. "I don't know if college would like him."

"That's what I was thinking," she admitted sadly. We laughed.

"Are you excited?" I asked, sitting down on her bed.

She sat down beside me, nodding fervently. "Excited? Yes. Scared? Definitely."

"What have you got to be scared of? You're the smartest person I know, excluding Dex. You'll do fine," I assured her, patting her leg encouragingly.

"That's not what I'm scared of."

"What, then?"

She swallowed. "It's the first time in my life you won't be right next door."

I chuckled weakly. "That's probably a good thing."

She shook her head. "Not to me it isn't. If I'm not with you, I won't have that feeling of safety, you know? You always sit outside my window and I feel like you're protecting me." She laughed at herself. "I know it's stupid."

"No," I said simply. I added, "And just so you know, I won't be sitting outside anybody else's window. I've never exactly had a moment of comfortable silence with Dex, or anybody else for that matter."

"We have spent a lot of our lives in silence, haven't we?" she grinned.

"Lexi! It's time to go!" Mrs. McNeely called from downstairs.

Lex stood up. I did the same.

"I wish you could come with me," she muttered longingly.

"I can't," I replied, "I've gotta stay here and protect this window."

She gave a half-smile. "I'm going to miss you more than anything, Scott Fillman."

With nothing left to do, I wrapped my arms around her and buried my head in her shoulder. "Not more than I'll miss you."

I would have stayed there forever with Lex in my arms if she hadn't broke free and walked to her night table. She returned with a white envelope, outstretching her arm to me. It was identical to the envelope she had found in my bag at Tara's cottage—the envelope that contained my letter to her. I took it.

"You have to call me a lot," she ordered.

I let out a breath. "I will."

"Lexi! Let's go!" was the voice from downstairs again.

"I have to go," she finished softly.

"Okay," was all I could say.

With one last smile, she left. I stood motionless in the middle of the bedroom for a few moments, merely staring at the envelope in my hands.

She appeared in the doorway again. "Scott?"

"Hmm?"

Before I could react, she walked over to me and pressed her lips to mine. I responded.

"I'll be home at Thanksgiving," she breathed. I locked eyes with her one last time and then she was gone. I heard the van pull out of the driveway.

I sat on the bed and opened the letter. The first sheet of paper contained her address and her phone number. "Call me tonight!" it read. The second sheet of paper was a letter addressed to me. It was a response to the letter she had found so long ago. I read it quickly and smiled to myself.

Dear Scott,

I love you too.

Lex.

In a daze, I climbed out of the window again and perched on the roof like I had done so many times before. The sun was at its peak and I could feel the heat burning the back of my neck. I inhaled and exhaled slowly.

Seventeen years. Seventeen long, arduous years of doubt and sheer frustration, only to bring me to this point in time; this moment, this conclusion.

I must be in love. There's no other logical explanation for my feelings.

Some people are easy to get over. They only take a day or two, but sooner or later you'll find the one who has changed everything about you, and no matter how hard you try, you can't let them go. I wouldn't let Lex go. She was too much a part of me.

I noticed Steve on our driveway with a basketball in his hand. He shot it at the net and missed. I shimmied down the drainpipe and walked over to him.

"If you want to start playing again, you'll have to start getting your shots in, idiot," I commented.

He hadn't known that I was there, so he whipped around in surprise. He froze for a moment until he realized that I was joking. He smiled. His bruise was healing.

He threw the ball at me. I grinned. I knew then that words weren't needed. I wouldn't need to apologize and he wouldn't need to accept it. He had forgiven me. "Why don't you show me how it's done, then?" he challenged.

So I did.

- -

Final Note:

Whoopee! It's done! I'm pretty sure this is one of the first stories I've ever finished, so I think you should all join me in giving myself a round of applause. Thank you, thank you very much. Now, if you please, a few end-of-story notes:

Before you read on, if you choose to that is, I just wanted to post up the lyrics to this song. I was listening to it as I wrote this chapter and it fit really well with the circumstances and how things turned out, especially the chorus. So here it is:

Goodbye My Lover

James Blunt

Did I disappoint you or let you down?

Should I be feeling guilty or let the judges frown?

'Cause I saw the end before we'd begun,

Yes I saw you were blinded and I knew I had won.

So I took what's mine by eternal right,

Took your soul out into the night.

It may be over but it won't stop there,

I am here for you if you'd only care.

You touched my heart, you touched my soul.

You changed my life and all my goals.

And love is blind and that I knew when,

My heart was blinded by you.

I've kissed your lips and held your head.

Shared your dreams and shared your bed.

I know you well, I know your smell.

I've been addicted to you.

Goodbye my lover.

Goodbye my friend.

You have been the one,

You have been the one for me.

I am a dreamer but when I wake,

You can't break my spirit - it's my dreams you take.

And as you move on, remember me,

Remember us and all we used to be.

I've seen you cry, I've seen you smile.

I've watched you sleeping for a while.

I'd be the father of your child.

I'd spend a lifetime with you.

I know your fears and you know mine.

We've had our doubts but now we're fine,

And I love you, I swear that's true.

I cannot live without you.

Goodbye my lover.

Goodbye my friend.

You have been the one,

You have been the one for me.

And I still hold your hand in mine,

In mine when I'm asleep.

And I will bear my soul in time,

When I'm kneeling at your feet.

Goodbye my lover.

Goodbye my friend.

You have been the one,

You have been the one for me.

I'm so hollow, baby, I'm so hollow.

I'm so, I'm so, I'm so hollow.

I would like to credit my inspiration for the plot of this story to UnderOATH. Specifically, their song A Boy Brushed Red… Living In Black and White was my main motivation, but after a few chapters it sort of changed. I still continued to use the song throughout the story, but it was no longer based on it.

Also, I would like to thank Charles Schulz, the creator of Charlie Brown, (The Peanut Gang), for inspiring Scott's character. Charlie Brown was always so convinced that the world was out to get him, and because I thought it was so hilarious, I wanted to write about a character who felt the same way, which I think is very clear throughout the story. People are always saying, "You're so stupid, Charlie Brown," or "Charlie Brown, what did you do this time?" and I also found a way to add that into the story. Charlie Brown is an innocent, honest kid who makes a lot of mistakes, which for some reason is very endearing to me.

I'd really like to thank everyone who stuck with me throughout the whole story. Your reviews really kept me going, especially after I'd stopped writing for a long time. Thank you all so much. If you have the time, it would really mean a lot if you just left me one more review for this story.

One more thing! I recently posted up my second story, titled The Art of Trickery, which you can find on my profile if you click on my username, and I would be honoured if you could perhaps check it out and drop me a review to tell me how I'm doing. The main character of the story is Scott's complete opposite—a narcissistic, chatterbox Princess who is too absorbed in her own vain thoughts to realize what is happening in front of her. I hope it will turn out just as well as this story, if not better. I wanted to add a lot more humour too, which is pretty evident in the first chapter. Check it out! Pleeease?

Once again, thank you all so much for all your patience and your reviews. You guys are great! : )