Chapter 57 – Final Chapter!

"And one more time for Miss Nicole Brooks!" Derek echoed Mrs. Whimsley's roll call and audience cheers from last night. The play was pretty successful despite the constant changes and interruptions.

"Oh stop," Nicole smiled, rolling her eyes.

"They loved you," Derek chuckled. "And me, of course. Even Alexia got her roll call, and she doesn't even go to our school,"

"What can I say? I'm just that amazing," Alexia replied, getting into a more comfortable position against Victor on the couch.

Nicole, Derek, Tori, Allan, Victor, Alexia and both dogs were all at Allan's old apartment, celebrating the lucky turn of events in their plans to bring people together. They even managed to keep some of the props that they had used for the play.

Alexia hugged Victor tightly, Nicole sat beside them on Derek's lap, and Allan lay sprawled across the other couch with his feet on Tori's lap.

"I still don't know why you agreed to keep the pink fluffy pumpkin dress, Nicole," Derek chuckled as he held the dress in awe. "It's really… frilly," Princess and Oreo barked in agreement.

"Who knows, I guess I've grown used to it. Besides, it's very memorable!" She laughed casually, remembering what had happened on stage just over twelve hours ago. "Anyways, we even got the prop swords too!" Nicole smiled, trying to shove the pink dress away from her.

"That's true, maybe you can use them to whack Derek when he does something bad," Victor laughed.

"Exactly," Nicole nodded in agreement as Derek made a hesitant laugh.

"It kind of sucks that we didn't get first place though, now we don't get a free cruise... I mean, how could the judges vote for that stupid play about cavities?" Allan wondered.

Tori slowly pushed his feet away from her. "We weren't even a part of the musical; there would be no cruise for us anyways. And do you ever wash your feet? They smell like a dumpster," she said, crinkling her nose.

"Oh, sorry. I was in there this morning searching for food since I barely get fed at your house," Allan smirked.

"Ew!" Tori shrieked while Allan laughed. "You can eat whatever you want; you just choose not to eat food unless I make it for you!"

"Well you are the woman in this relationship..."

"Speaking of relationships... what's going on with you two?" Nicole wondered. "Weren't you guys secretly dating or something?"

"W-What?" Tori asked, wide-eyed. "Oh! Well that was a bit of a lie,"

"And by a bit she means a lot," Allan corrected. "We actually had a little bet and I won, so now Tori has to do whatever I wa-"

"Shush! You blabbermouth!" Tori exclaimed as she desperately covered Allan's mouth with her hand. "That was supposed to stay a secret!"

Suddenly, in a quick motion Allan reversed the situation and pinned Tori by hugging her tightly. She was unable to escape.

"You will be quiet and make me some food..." Allan said in a hypnotizing tone.

"Ugh fine!" Tori grumbled as she squirmed. Allan patted her on the head and let her go. She slowly headed to the kitchen. "I'll be plotting my revenge..."

Victor laughed while in the background Tori began to pour water in a pot. He turned to face Derek. "By the way, have you talked to your dad yet?"

"Nope, I haven't even seen him since he left with Miss Ruan..." Derek shivered. "I can't believe they're... dating..."

"Have you checked his apartment next door?"

Derek's eyes widened. He quickly snuck over to the wall and pressed his ear against it, hearing the sound of snoring.

"He's in there alright, but I don't know if he's alone," Derek frowned.

"Shall we check?" Alexia suggested, hopping out the window and over the balcony like Nicole did before.

"Hey! Alexia, don't-"

"I think I see a pair of heels over by the front door, but I can't find he- AH!" A girlish shriek echoed in the air, making everyone's faces go pale.

"You!" Miss Ruan's voice gasped. "What are you doing here!"

"Nothing! You should learn to keep your curtains shut!" Alexia exclaimed, jumping back over and through the window.

"Who was that?" A groggy voice asked quietly: Mr. Rietz.

"Oh no!" Nicole slammed the window shut and rushed to the door, but before she could lock it, Mr. Rietz and Miss Ruan burst through.

"There is such a thing as privacy, you know!" Miss Ruan growled.

"Says the one barging into my apartment," Allan grumbled softly.

"Hey! I mark your tests Mr. Waltz. Now respect your elders and our privacy, and apologize - NOW."

"I didn't do anything, elder one... That was all Alexia," Allan said smoothly.

Alexia jumped at her name and then looked around the room innocently. "Me? Why, I don't recall peeking into anybody's apartment..."

"Alexia, I saw you and you even talked to me!" Miss Ruan said heatedly.

Mr. Reitz cleared his throat to gather everyone's attention and then stared with confused eyes at Nicole, forcing her to speak.

"S-Sorry! I – we- she didn't mean to!" Nicole stammered, embarrassed.

"You... why are you still here?" Mr. Rietz questioned. He looked as if he was still half-asleep and trying to think straight. "That stunt you pulled yesterday was unacceptable, stealing my son away from me!"

"Hey, Mr. Rietz... It was actually mine and Tori's idea, we had it planned all along, so don't take anything out on Nicole, okay?" Allan stated sadly. "I swear, I'll take full responsibility for it,"

"Wha-?" Derek's father looked at him bewilderedly. "Allan, why would you do that?"

"I think we both know why. Derek's my best friend and I want him to be happy. Don't you want your son to be happy?"

"Well, of course, but..."

Mr. Rietz looked around and then into Miss Ruan's eyes.

"Kurt, he's right. The boy confessed and you can't blame Nicole for what she hasn't done. I think it's about time there's a little more love and a little less hate, wouldn't you agree?" she asked, wrapping her arms around him.

Mr. Rietz seemed to awaken fully, rubbing his eyes to get all of the sleep out. He looked almost... in love. "You know, you remind me of my ex-wife. She was a free spirit and was really good at convincing me to do things..." he sighed. "Why don't I take you out on a cruise sometime as an apology for all this mess and ruining your play?"

"I'd love that!" Miss Ruan cheered. "How lucky am I that you're a captain?"

"You're a WHAT?" Allan gasped. "Since when?"

"I told you my dad worked overseas," Derek mumbled.

"I didn't know you meant as a captain!" Allan turned to Derek's father. "Take us too! Our – I mean, Mrs. Whimsley's musical should have won! And it can be an apology to us as well!"

"Apology?" Mr. Rietz asked gruffly. "For what?"

"Ruining their chances of getting to go on a cruise, causing Nicole and Derek a lot of grief, and if you had let Derek stay here, he wouldn't have crashed my motorcycle," Alexia chimed in. "My very, favourite, expensive, motorcycle," she added darkly.

With another deep sigh, Mr. Rietz closed his eyes. "Fine. But I'm being very generous right now, so you kids better not ruin our time there,"

"Why don't we bring the whole musical cast and Mrs. Whimsley so she can take care of them while we... have our alone time?" Miss Ruan asked softly.

"Okay okay! I'm going now before any of you tempt me into something else," Mr. Rietz shouted.

Miss Ruan winked at them, and then followed Mr. Rietz back to his room, grumbling under his breath about kids always causing problems.

"I'm not sure if she did that more for us or for him..." Nicole said.

"Either way..." Derek burst into a huge smile. "He just accepted you!"

Nicole gasped and everyone cheered as they realized what had just happened.

"So that means..!"

"We can be together forever!" Derek shouted, grabbing Nicole and kissing her excitedly.

"Hey! Soup's ready!" Tori announced, walking into the room carrying a filled pot.

"Did you hear what happened just now?" Nicole screeched. "Mr. Rietz just let me be with Derek!"

"NO WAY!" Tori screamed, tilting the pot forward and spilling it onto Allan.

"OUCH! Watch it!" he yelled, lifting his shirt so the soup wouldn't touch his skin. "You're so clumsy sometimes!"

"That's what you get for making me do all your cooking for you, jerk," Tori grumbled, sticking her tongue out at him.

Nicole and Derek exchanged surprised glances.

"They sound... exactly like we did,"

"I don't like where this is going..." Nicole mumbled.

"Well on the bright side, if they turn out anything like we did, they'll be together forever too!" Derek smirked.

"Yup, just like your dad and Miss Ruan..."

Derek paused. "You... really think they'll get married?"

"He's completely in love with her! What other reason would there be for him finally giving in?" Nicole laughed.

"Maybe he's just hypnotized, or drunk, or... or sleep-talking!"

Nicole grinned. "Want to bet?"

Derek quickly shook his head. "No thanks, I've had enough bets for one lifetime... But I wouldn't mind betting on how long it will take for you to guess what's in my pocket..."

"Mmm... depends. Does it count that Princess is holding a heart shaped pink velvet box in her mouth and drooling all over it?" Nicole giggled and pointed behind him.

"What?" Derek exclaimed as he turned to see what Nicole had described. He checked his pocket and sadly his gift was not there.

"Pr-princess! Come here girl!" Nicole laughed as he chased Princess around the house.

"Hey Nicole!" Alexia called. "Your dog's fast, but I bet mine's faster. Why don't we make them race?" she asked devilishly.

"A… huh?"

"GO OREO! Get that pink box before that dog Derek gets it!" she ordered. Oreo chased after the two with his tongue hanging out.

"Hey, my boyfriend is not a dog!"

"I bet he begs to differ! It's a dog trick, get it?"

"For the last time, it wasn't my fault, jerk! I was just excited," Tori complained.

"Sure clumsy, make all the excuses you want," Allan replied, taking his soup-stained shirt off.

"H-Hey, keep that on!"

"Either my shirt comes off or yours," he grinned.

Victor looked around at the room of chaos and couldn't help but smile as Derek and the dogs ran around while everyone else argued.

"I think this is the best ending we're going to get," he chuckled. Oreo barked in agreement while chasing the others.

"I have a better ending in mind," Alexia suddenly purred from beside him. She quickly pinned him down on the couch and kissed him passionately.

"Alexchsia.." Victor sputtered, trying to politely get her off.

"Oh please, you know you like it," she smirked.

Nicole glanced at them then rolled her eyes, looking back at Derek who was now playing tug-of-war with Princess. "Well, the cards of love have been dealt and I see the King of Hearts is my card to keep," she giggled.

"Y-Yeah," Derek said while struggling to keep his grip. "And the Queen of Spades becomes my Queen of Hearts,"

She walked over and slipped the box out of Princess' mouth smoothly. Derek looked at her in awe.

"Forever," she winked, planting a kiss on him.

Epilogue:

A pleasant warm breeze brushed against Nicole's loose brown hair making it flow elegantly. She let out a relaxing sigh as she let her hands free. She could hear the seagulls cry and the gentle waves as the ship parted the sea on their journey. Glancing up at her hand, she could see the gift that Derek had gotten her. It was a promise ring, and he had a matching one.

"Now if you ever decide to slap me out of anger you'll see the ring and remember you already promised to love me forever!" he had said with a huge smile.

Nicole laughed quietly to herself as she began playing with the ring. "Ahh Derek, you might be more of a joker than a king,"

"Well whatever I am, I'm most definitely yours," Derek's voice sounded from behind her. He hugged her waist gently and kissed her cheek. She looked so beautiful in her yellow summer dress; it made Derek's heart skip a beat.

"So, how are you doing on your dad and Ms. Ruan... or should I say Mrs. Reitz?" Nicole giggled.

"Ugh, it's not like I hate her or anything, she makes my dad happy," Derek shrugged.

"Are you happy Derek?" Nicole asked.

"Well, I'll definitely be happy if Ms. Ruan will upgrade my C's to an A," he chuckled.

"Like that will happen," a familiar voice laughed. They both turned around to see Tori in a cute blue swimsuit. It was one piece and had frills on the side; she almost looked like a child.

"Pfft," Derek said trying to control his laughter. "You look like a five year old!"

"Well, it's not my fault! Victor wouldn't hand me his shirt and shorts, so I had to go to the gift shop... this was the only thing that fit..." She said in an embarrassed tone.

"I think she looks adorable! Allan approves!" Allan announced as he came behind and lifted Tori up as if she was a kid.

"H-hey, put me down!"

"What's that? You want to be an airplane? Okay here we go! WEEE!" He exclaimed as he ran around holding Tori like a princess. Tori's screaming echoed on the cruise.

The ship's horn honked loudly, making Nicole jump. Derek chuckled and hugged her even tighter while calling her cute.

"Will there even be any moment where I don't see you two hugging?" Victor suddenly said. Nicole looked up on the deck to see him casually leaning against the fence pole. Their eyes met and they both smiled.

"Jealous," Derek smirked as he started squishing Nicole's stomach, almost making her unable to breathe.

"No, I got someone better," Victor motioned his head forward. They all looked in Victor's direction to see Alexia walk out from around the corner. Her long red hair was tied up in a pony tail that made her seem older and more mature, and she was wearing a very revealing blue bikini. She caught Victor's glance and waved hello.

Derek's mouth dropped. He looked at Nicole with puppy dog eyes. "So you want to wear that for me?"

"Off the plank with you, King of Hearts," Nicole jokingly said as she shoved Derek to the side. He chased after her.

"Pretty please?"

"No!" Nicole said sternly.

"Pretty pretty pwease?" He said again, this time catching her by the wrist and spinning her. He dipped her gently as if they were now dancing as he stared into her beautiful eyes. He slowly leaned in and kissed her gently.

"F-fine," Nicole blushed. "But just for a minute or something…"

Derek smiled, his heart filled with joy.

"I love you Nicole Brooks,"

Nicole looked into his eyes and smiled back.

"I love you too, Derek Reitz."

The End

Hey reviewers, I would like to say an enormous thank you for reading this story. Its all thanks to you that we reached (even further) to our # of review goals (we honestly didn't expect more than 100 in the beginning.. but 200+! woo!). In other news, we only had one chapter to put out and we left it out for such a long time, we really apologize for the inconvenience.

By February, we will become dedicated once more and send out our new series we have been working on for a while! Here's a quick summary of it:

Aiden Skye, a man of his word and the sweetest guy you will ever meet. That is, until a certain incident from his lying girlfriend that ruined his life and reputation. He seeks revenge now by abducting her to his father's cottage, in hopes that he can make her admit the truth and somehow make her fall in love with him again. But even with his perfect plan, he happens to kidnap her twin sister by mistake and all hell breaks loose when they are stranded in the cottage for two weeks.

-Tori

Yay my turn! Okay um.. wah she said it all. I'm really sorry for not finishing this chapter sooner, it was actually 3 quarters done when I got lazy and stopped working on my part, sorry sorry sorry! But thanks SO much for all the support, all your reviews are really appreciated, and I'm so glad I got to work on this story! The DH crew (well that would just be me and tori) love you all! And I know it's late but HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE!

-Nicole ^_^

Alexia: so why wasn't I in the epilogue more? I didn't even get to say anything! Oh, it's because I'm going to star in the next story right?

Victor: Just because the main character of the next story is a redhead does not mean that it's you, honey

Tori: Well they would be plain silly if they didn't put ME in the new story

Allan: are you guys trying to advertise it by talking about it so much or something?

Nicole Brooks: Nonono, I think they just don't want to be left behind..

Derek: Well it's a new year, so there's a new story! Don't worry, this won't be the last time you see US.. hehe..