Chapter Thirty-Three: End

Matthew Seymour was never one to be gloomy but for the first time since she'd met him, Terra found the little boy standing in front of the front door, looking rather desolated. Her heart broke for him as she watched him kick the invisible sand under his feet.

Her motherly instincts kicking in, she walked over to the boy and picked him up from the floor. "Hey there, buddy," she said with his big, round eyes staring at her. "Want to talk?"

He shook his head, still pouting.

She nudged his nose with hers. "Come on. Please?"

He giggled. "Stop," he said between his giggles. "It's twicklish."

"Oh, is it?" Terra said and nudged him one last time. She kissed his forehead and said, "Hey, you know I'll be back, right? I love you, Matty."

Still pouting and looking at his fingers, he nodded.

"I love you too, Tewa."

"Hey," she said, her eyes beaming with pride. "You said 'love' not 'wove'!"

He nodded excitedly, feeling as proud as Terra. "Big bwother Ocean taught me to say it!"

She laughed deliriously and then, gestured for him to lean closer towards her. "Can you do something for me?" she whispered.

With a very serious expression, he nodded.

"Can you tell me if your brother ever brings another girl home?"

Matthew gaped at her as if he couldn't believe what he heard. But then, he looked like he was in a state of conflict as he thought about it before eventually saluting her.

"Aye-aye!"

Once again, she chuckled. She didn't know what sort of shows he'd been watching lately but seeing him respond that way was beyond the threshold of cuteness that she could take in a day.

Out of nowhere, she suddenly heard Scott yelling, "Hey, you two! Stop goofing around and start moving. Geez, Terra. How long have you been staying here and how much stuff do you have?"

Terra put Matthew down and walked towards him.

"Oh put a sock in it. You volunteered to help – I didn't force you to."

"I wouldn't have if I'd known there'd be this many things."

"That's just an excuse. I don't see Tony complaining."

Just on cue, Tony stuck his head out of the front door as if he'd been listening to them all along and said, "Damn straight."

Scott rolled his eyes. "He sees it as his daily workout and don't deny it, Tony. You told me that yourself."

At that point, Tony shrugged and went back into the house, leaving Terra alone to battle it out with Scott. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.

"You can leave, you know."

Scott looked at her, held his hand up and opened his mouth. But before he could say anything, he smiled and slid an arm over her shoulder.

He grinned. "What are friends for right?"

Terra shook her head but elbowed him gently. The both of them went back into the house and worked together to carry some of her stuff out. While they were all busying themselves inside the house, she stood in the middle of the living room and paused for a while.

Her friends had all returned to her. Mercedes, Tony and Scott – they were all very important people to her, each to their own significance in her life. Without them, she would never be able to be where she was because she was never that strong to be able to struggle alone. It was symbolic and somewhat befitting that they were all here once more to help her through another one of her big moments in life.

One, two, three –

Wait, where was the fourth one?

Terra frowned. He couldn't be slacking off at this moment, could he? She scanned the house and when she saw no sign of him, she slipped into her shoes and went out the front door. She searched the garage and the lawn and still, no sign of him.

Confused, she pulled out her cellphone and was just about to dial his number when she heard him groan.

She turned and started walking towards the back of the delivery truck before she saw him right at the edge, ransacking a box she'd personally marked 'personal items'.

She crossed her arms. "Ocean."

Ocean froze as if he was caught doing something very bad. Then, when he turned around and saw that it was only her, he rolled his eyes. She gaped at him, surprised that he reacted that way upon seeing her.

She was expecting more of a smile or something of that nature.

She climbed onto the back of the truck and towered over him. "What're you doing?" she said, sounding rather irritated that she was being completely ignored.

"You're missing something."

She snorted. "How'd you know?"

"You just are!"

"Ocean, I know you think you're a stalker," she said patiently. "But I don't remember you archiving my items and I believe I got pretty much everything in."

He finally turned around to look at her and when he did, he looked so puffed up in mixture of frustration and anger that she couldn't help but let out a small laugh.

"I'm glad you're finding this funny."

"Finding what funny?" she said, chuckling. "Really, you're losing me here."

"You lost it."

"You mean you finally lost it? Your sanity?"

He stood up and grabbed her arm. "Am I the only one who remembers?" he said gruffly. When she simply stared at him, he shook her arms. "Terra."

She blinked a few times as she looked at his face. She kind of knew what he was talking about from the very beginning but found it fun to see him being this way. She never thought he was the type to feel insecure from that small little thing she thought he wouldn't recall ever existed.

She giggled. "Of course I remember."

His face softened considerably. "You do?"

She nodded, finally deciding that she'd tormented him long enough. Then, she took his hand and led him all the way to the garage where the brand new car her mother had bought her was parked. She opened the door to the passenger's seat and right there was a teddy bear with a seatbelt strapped onto it.

While he looked at it, she put her arms around his waist from behind him.

"How can I not remember the first thing you've ever given to me?" she said. "I'm surprise that you remember though."

He kissed the top of her head.

"That thing took a lot of effort to win."

"Mm, was it well worth it though?"

He cast a sideway look at her. "Well, that depends…"

She laughed. "Okay then," she said and began to walk away before he pulled her back into his arms.

"Every penny," he said.

Then, he leaned in to kiss her but once again, they were stopped by Scott who coughed out loud right behind Ocean.

"Get a room," he said as he walked past them.

Ocean looked at him, clearly bothered. "Why's he even here?"

"Because he's free labor."

"Well, I don't like him."

Scott raised his middle finger at him and smiled cockily. Terra laughed and shook her head while the boys' egos fought against one another in a glaring contest. Then, after Scott eventually finished loading the stuffs into her car, he left the scene.

Terra patted Ocean's cheek as he pouted. She then laughed and kissed him on his lips. "Oh, come on. Don't be jealous. It's unseemly on you."

"I think I deserve to be jealous, don't I?"

"Why so?" she said, smiling innocently.

"Because I'm your boyfriend."

"Are you?"

"Wait, was that a breakup kiss?"

She tilted her head. "Is it?"

Suddenly, in one short, swift movement, he pulled her roughly against him, and groaned. "Oh baby, you really ought not to tempt me."

She threw her head back and laughed. "I shouldn't?"

He groaned again and burrowed into her neck. Almost reflexively, she kissed his cheek. He then sighed. "I'm going to miss you," he said.

"Me too."

"Me three."

Abruptly, the both of them got off each other. He straightened his clothes while she ran a hand over her hair. Ocean coughed, both feet firmly planted on the ground as he nodded at Terra's mother.

"Mrs. Seblanksy."

Petra looked from Terra to Ocean. She looked as if she was sizing Ocean up as she gazed at him from head to toe. After that, she just shook her head while she wore a tight smile and walked past them.

"Get a room," she said.

Terra felt a giggle bubbling up her throat as she glanced sideways at Ocean who was obviously trying to stifle a smile too. He held her hand and quickly kissed her cheek before he led her back into the house and continued to help her move.

In life, she'd come to know and appreciate the moments where she had everyone she loved in one place. One moment, life could be putting you down and the next, it could be lifting you up. Her past had taught her that anything could happen at any moment, and that she needed to be grateful for the present. Maybe it was all destined or maybe she was just lucky but she knew one thing was for sure – she was definitely blessed.

And in that moment of wonder, she looked up into the clear, blue sky.

"I love you, papa."

A/N: It is officially the end! After a very LONG, LONG time, JSYK is complete. Thank you to all my lovely supporters who've been there with me since JSYK started. I owe you a big, big apology for the unannounced hiatus of the story. But if you've been there since the very beginning, do let me know in the review! I would very much like to thank you personally for your unconditional support.

Terra and Ocean forever 3