Hi!

So here I am, giving you the epilogue of this story...

It's sad to see it end and at the same time I'm happy because I'm proud for finishing my first story! :)

Go ahead! I hope you like it! :)

(I do not own Nick nor Jeff)

WARNING: Look at the trigger warnings in the summary (Death and suicide) Seriously! Do not put yourself in risk if you're easily triggered!

After that night, Jeff talked with his parents, who came back from their vacation shortly after, he wanted to apply to a college away from there, he wanted to leave that town as soon as possible. And so he did. And when he completed his studies he started working where he thought he would be farther from that place, in Australia.

There were nights when Jeff cried for Nick, begged to no one for him to come back, hugged his pillow trying to pretend it was him, but nothing of that would make him feel better, it was quite the opposite actually.

But Jeff's life continued, he never actually found love again. He once tried to get close to a guy, but everything in him made Jeff think of Nick, how different this guy was from him and how wrong everything felt, so after that every time someone would get close to him he would push that person away. He couldn't forget Nick, not even ten years after. The way he had kicked him away that night still made his heart ache, still made him cry, still made him scream in his sleep. The image of Nick with his fangs out and his face showing pure anger and disgust would scare him in his worst nightmares, and as the years passed Jeff would get more and more scared of that mental image.

But there were sometimes when images of a softly smiling Nick, or a laughing Nick would pop in his mind and that only made Jeff feel more heart broken and betrayed.

There were also those times where he would just watch a random vampire TV show or a vampire movie and scream to the TV everything that was wrong there. Especially when the vampire and the human would end up together, if he couldn't have that why could they? It was so unfair! Jeff wanted to be with Nick so much, but they were too different, with two too different natures! But there, the human would get the vampire and they would go over all the obstacles and be happy in the end. And Jeff wanted that. He wanted that so desperately!

He was thirty five when he decided it was enough and that he needed to come back to the house. He needed to see Nick again, hear his voice again, hear his laugh, feel his arms wrapping him making him feel secure and protected. He also knew there was a chance that would never happen again, Nick could very well send him away again, or kill him for good, which was the choice Jeff was holding on to. To either be with Nick or to die, living like he was now wasn't a choice, he would never get over Nick and he knew it.

He booked a one way the flight, he wasn't planning on coming back, not that his "friends" would ever notice and miss him anyway. He lived unnoticed by everyone around him, almost like he was a shadow of the happy boy he once was, it would take too long for them to notice he didn't come back and by then it would be too late.

The plane journey was bearable, Jeff slept through it, it was too long of a journey to be awake anyway.

But then he found himself on the train ride to the small town, and he couldn't help but feel extremely nervous. He felt like throwing up, his stomach was bubbling and turning in his body. The years hadn't been kind on Jeff, and he probably looked older than he actually was, even if Nick considered taking Jeff back for a second, then he would look twice at him and probably say no.

Jeff walked through the streets slowly. The sun was still setting so there was no rush, Nick wouldn't open the door if the sun was still peaking behind the horizon. He avoided looking up at the known buildings, when he dared to lift his eyes slightly to see if he was still far he recognised the alley at his right, it was where Nick had stopped him, when Jeff had tried to run away. He ended up throwing up to a garbage bin that was near him.

At least he felt slightly better now.

Jeff walked the rest of the way, looking down, only lifting his eyes when he recognised the stone path that would lead him to Nick's house. He could feel his heart beating fast and hard against his rib cage, his breaths were becoming faster as he looked up at the door and on his forehead a thin layer of sweat was forming.

Jeff raised his hand slow and hesitantly to knock at the door. He knocked twice and waited.

But there was no answer. He knocked again. No answer again.

Was Nick ignoring? Or did he move out? Jeff swallowed hard before trying to push the door open. It wasn't locked, but it didn't open easily, like it hadn't been used for a really long time. Jeff found that weird, but again, Nick could have moved away.

"He-hello?" Jeff stuttered out stepping inside and closing the door behind him with a loud noise.

A shudder ran through Jeff's spine and for a second he felt weird, but then he felt alright again and ignored. "Nick?" He called out slightly more confident.

Still no answer.

Could he be hiding from him? It was possible. "It's-it's me Jeff..." He mumbled, not like it would help much if Nick was hiding, but he felt like he had to say it.

Jeff decided to look for Nick around the house, he started by the basement and slowly he made his way from the basement to the second floor of the house, Nick was nowhere to be seen, and things looked weird, almost like a hurricane had passed by there, but even with that mess there was a thick layer of dust on top of everything.

At last, Jeff decided to go inside Nick's room, he wasn't anywhere else and it was his last chance. But the state of the house indicated anyone had been living there for a while, Jeff's hope was dying slowly inside of him.

But then he opened the door. His heart fell to his toes and shattered. He felt like screaming but no sound would come out of his mouth, and the air refused to get inside his lungs.

Nick was laid on the floor with a wooden stick through his chest and a dead rose on his hand – Jeff could even guess that was the same rose Nick had given him. Jeff's stomach flipped but it was empty so he didn't throw up. His muscles were frozen with shock, he couldn't bring himself to step forward or to run away.

Jeff stood there for only a few seconds before finally stepping forward and falling on his knees beside Nick. "No," He mumbled, he couldn't believe this was really happening. "No, no, no, no, no, Nick, come back," Jeff said pointlessly pulling the stick out and then pulling Nick to his arms. "Don't leave me, please!" A dry sob escaped Jeff's lips and soon after tears started streaming down his face and the sobs became more frequent. "Nick, please don't leave me! Come back to me! I can't-I can't live without you!" Jeff screamed desperately holding Nick's body close. He knew there was no use, Nick wouldn't come back, he was dead for good now. "Don't do this to me! I love you! I still love you! I need you!"

How did Nick's body not even rotten, was kind of a mystery for Jeff, he decided it had been because Nick was a vampire, it didn't matter anyway.

Jeff continued to cry hysterically wetting Nick's hair slightly, begging pointlessly for Nick to come back to him. After a few hours, Jeff didn't have more tears to shed, the sobs continued for a while but then he calmed down. He didn't have a doubt of what to do next. It was already decided before he had stepped inside the house. Either he would live with Nick or not live at all.

He cleaned the tear tracks off his face with the sleeve of his shirt and reached for the wooden stick. Jeff slowly laid Nick down carefully straightening up and stretching his arms in front of himself with the sharp end of the stick pointing directly to his heart.

Jeff remembered something Nick had once told him, and for a second he didn't know if he wanted that to be truth or not.

Jeff took his last deep breath and was ready to stab himself when something seemed to stop him, he shuddered and the same feeling he had had when he stepped inside the house filled him again. He tried to move his arms but something was physically stopping him, like there was someone holding his hands not letting him do that. "I want this," He said trying harder but still not succeeding. Then it was like the stick slipped from whatever was holding it and went through Jeff's chest in a fast move.

The pain blinded Jeff for a few seconds, and instinctively he gasped for air, it was more painful and slow than he thought it would be, but soon Jeff's mind was turning into a blur and he couldn't have the strength to stay straight ending up falling back to lay down and falling into unconsciousness.

Jeff woke up with a gasp, sitting up quickly. Wait, what? Why was he alive? How was this possible? No! This wasn't what he wanted! He had killed himself, why didn't it work?

"Hi," A quiet soft voice said beside him, Jeff knew that voice, his head snapped to the side.

"How...?" He mumbled covering his mouth with his hand in shock, but strangely he didn't feel it. In fact he couldn't feel a thing and he felt lighter, like he never did before. "You were dead! I saw!" He said and looked forward to find Nick's body still there. "What is happening?"

"I guess both of us had unfinished business on Earth." Nick said softly.

It took a few seconds for Jeff to realise it. "Ghosts." He muttered and Nick nodded.

Jeff looked over his shoulder down to his dead body. He tried to get up to leave it completely, supporting himself on the edge of the bed, but his hand went through it making him fall, before his ghost body would go all through the bed, Nick grabbed his arm.

"Take it slow," He said.

"I can feel you," Jeff stated looking down at Nick's hand.

"Of course you can... We're both ghosts now," Nick said getting up and helping Jeff up too.

Jeff threw his arms around Nick's neck pulling him to a tight hug, he felt... Happy. Nick was there and they would spend the rest of the eternity together! Or so Jeff hoped, Nick might not want to be with him. "I missed you." Nick said softly.

"I missed you too... A lot." Jeff said smiling a little and leaning away from Nick a little.

"You shouldn't have done it." Nick mumbled after a while. "You should have moved on, you shouldn't have come back."

"I never moved on, I couldn't. I had to come back to you. I would do it anyway." Jeff hugged Nick slightly closer.

Nick sighed. "I'm so sorry, Jeff." He said quietly.

"Don't be. I'm finally fine." He mumbled and leaned a little away looking up at Nick's eyes, they were different, but it wasn't for the fact he was a ghost now. "You look different," He muttered after a while to break the uncomfortable silence.

"I'm in my human form." Nick smiled.

"You're still gorgeous."

"Thanks," Nick's cheeks turned to a light shade of pink. It was the first time Jeff saw it, he couldn't help but smile wider.

Nick sat on the bed but when Jeff tried to do the same, Nick had to grab him so he wouldn't go through it.

"Why can you sit, and I can't?" Jeff whined.

"It takes some practice." Nick said softly.

Jeff nodded and decided to sit on Nick's lap hugging him by his neck. It was a lot to interiorize, he had actually killed himself and now he was ghost, just like Nick was.

"Were you serious when you said it?" Nick asked softly.

"When I said what?" Jeff asked looking down at him.

"When you said you still loved me." Nick mumbled.

"Yes, I still love you. I never got over you." Jeff answered.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you, but when you said I could drink your blood... It freaked me out." Nick said guiltily.

"It's okay," Jeff smiled softly. "We're together again." He leaned down and for the first time since all those years ago, their lips met. It felt a little weird, but they would end up getting used to it.

The fact Jeff was a ghost didn't change what he used to feel when he was a human, even though Nick was there now, he still felt broken and depressed and he didn't quite trust Nick completely, he was waiting for him to disappear at any moment. But he didn't want to feel this way, he wanted things to be just like they were before that night that ruined everything, but he couldn't because he couldn't control his emotions. Part of him was slightly happy for being there with Nick the other, bigger, part of him didn't let him be like he wanted and pulled him to the shadows.

The first century together was miserable, yet since they were together it was bearable. It wasn't just Jeff was psychologically damaged, Nick was too, so it took a lot from them both to try and make things right again. It took a lot for them to fix each other and be happy. But slowly it happened, and they started to get happy like they were before that night.

Slowly they started growing again in each other's hearts again and that love they had once shared was there again.

Jeff was finally over his insecurities and everything that was keeping the happiness away from him, he felt like he was a newborn and he never felt so alive, even if now he was dead, in his last years of life as a human. Nick was better too, he felt like it was time to put his vampire self well locked away from them, he still had an eternity ahead to forget his past but he felt if Jeff could feel better every day that passed, he could too.

And so, finally, the two ghosts were able to live their afterlife happy, they'd still have their problems but they easily can go over them with each other's support. It was like Jeff had never left.

They ended up haunting the house together, scaring off anyone who dared to step inside. They found it was something they both liked very much to do together now. The house became feared in the town after a while, but still some people would come in to complete a bet or a dare and Nick and Jeff would unite forces to scare them away.

They were finally happy.

I hope you liked it, not only the epilogue but the whole story!

Thanks for sticking with this story and reading it and reviewing it!

It means so much to me!

Thanks again! You were the ones who made me continue it until the end! Thanks!

I love you all! -heart-