Oh my God...this is the last chapter.

Hey, I'm almost done my summer stuff! I have a few more math problems and that's it. I start high school in a week...I'm so nervous! I don't want to grow up :( It's weird that when I started this story I was still in grade school...Makes me very sad.

Thank you for clearing up the whole PruCan thing. I was totally unaware of the April Fools' thing. I still don't like that pairing, though. I'm sorry.

And btw, I know that most managers of Chick-Fil-a don't give a rat's ass if a gay couple walks in, but this is a big country and there's douche bags everywhere, right? It might happen somewhere.

The Final Chapter

Enjoy!~

Feliciano moves around his room in a hurry, smiling at the orange tint his room has taken from the setting spring sun. It looks so pretty! He scurries to his closet and pulls out a pair of black trousers. He shimmies into them and his stomach is filled with butterflies. In an hour is his school dance. Because it was a Catholic school, they did not have an actual prom. Fear of premarital sex, the staff and Father Brooks had said. Instead they had a dance where the students could act like it was a regular prom, but the teachers, priests, and sisters would be there to keep a sharp eye on them. Students could slow dance and hug, but no kissing. Feli thought of the time when a lady came in to talk to his class about chastity. It's not surprising that chastity would be taught in a Catholic school. No, premarital sex is a sin in the Church's eyes. But the things they said were so…stupid. They gave out a pamphlet with a bunch of things Catholic teenagers shouldn't do. Girls shouldn't wear bikinis, or any kind of clothing that revealed skin. The pamphlet also said:

"Do not French-kiss. It is arousing for a girl."

Feli just couldn't understand that one. How is it not arousal for a guy? It is for him when he does it with Luddy…

That reminded him of last Friday afternoon. He was in his room with Ludwig and they were French-kissing. Ludwig had his arms wrapped around Feli's small frame and Feli's fingers were running through Ludwig's messy hair. They were far too hot and in their own little worlds to hear the bedroom door slowly open.

"What are you doing?" a small voice asked.

They jumped out their skin and turned to see Feli's baby cousin, Ella, staring at them. Feli loved kids and loved his cousin, but he was very pissed. He pushed her out of his room and locked the door.

Something else from the chastity pamphlet that made him laugh was that it had a picture of the Eiffel Tower with the symbol for "no" through it. Francis laughed the most saying, "Ohonhonhon, well can we French help it that we show our love with our bodies?"

Along with the chastity lesson, the lady also talked to them about masturbation.

"Is it a sin?" a boy asked. When she told him that it was, he said quietly, "I'm going to Hell…"

Feli looked at his reflection, a flash of metal catching his eye. His smile widens when he looks at the iron cross around his neck. It was a gift from Ludwig for Christmas.

"It's an old family tradition," Ludwig said once Feliciano opened the box, "to give a necklace like this to someone you really c-care about," he averted his eyes with pink cheeks. "I, uh, thought I'd give it to you to show that you….mean a lot to me."

Feli's eyes sparkled and he quickly put the cross around his neck. "That's adorable!" he kissed Ludwig's cheek. "I promise to keep good care of it! Veh, I'll never take it off! Ooo, you have one, too! I never noticed!"

Ludwig smiled. "Yeah."

He's kept that promise since then. Every time Lovino sees it he just rolls his eyes and mutters something about Feliciano being "branded as that potato-bastard's bitch."

He put the cross inside his white shirt and fumbled with his blue tie. The tie was close to the color of his graduation robe. They were delivered to the school and a few weeks ago, the students took a big group picture in them, and then individual pictures.

"I can't believe we're wearing these," Kiku commented. "Kind of surreal, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Feli frowned. "I never thought I would actually wear this. When we were little we would look up at the seniors and think how big they were."

"Now we're the big kids," Arthur sighed.

Feli smiled. "Hey, we still have a month left! It isn't over yet!"

Feli thought about slicking his hair back with gel but decided against it. He never liked the way his hair looked with gel. Besides, his curl would never stay down. He looked himself over and smiled. He looked good! He grabbed a bottle of cologne and applied some on. He wanted to smell nice and pretty.

"Stop worrying about your appearance like a girl," Lovino said from the doorway.

"Hm? But you always worry about what you're going to wear when you go out with Antonio."

"Want me to strangle you with the chain of that cross?!"

"Ahh, no!"

"Then shut the hell up!"

Feli looked at himself in the mirror one last time before walking past his brother. "Well, I'm off to Luddy's and then to the dance. Bye-bye!"

"Just leave already," he muttered.

Gilbert answered the door when Feli knocked. "Hey, Feli!" he smiled. "You look adorable!"

"Thanks! Is Luddy ready?"

"Hold up a sec, little guy. LUDWIG!" he yelled. "GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE AND SEE HOW CUTE FELI IS BEFORE I TAKE HIM FOR MYSELF!"

Hurried footsteps were heard and Gilbert was yanked away from the door by his brother. Ludwig wore a suit similar to Feli's, except his tie was red instead of blue.

"Veh, you look so handsome!" Feli gaped at his boyfriend's flawless appearance.

"Thank you," he smiled shyly. "You look great." Actually, Ludwig thought he looked unbelievably beautiful in every single way possible to the point where he felt like his heart was going to explode, but he didn't say that.

"Wait!" Mrs. Beilschmidt appeared with a camera. "I need pictures of you two! You're too adorable!"

"Mom, please don't," Ludwig pleaded.

"Hush and…oh, the sunset is a perfect background! Stand next to Feli. Now!" she added in a forceful voice.

Ludwig groaned and stood next to Feli on his front porch. "Is this necessary?"

"Yes. Shh. Now don't stand there all stiff!"

Feli giggled and Ludwig's blush deepened. This was not in his comfort zone whatsoever.

"Grab each other's hands and smile," Mr. Beilschmidt said from inside.

Ludwig's jaw dropped at his father's suggestion. "That's a perfect idea!" Rosa smiled.

Ludwig's pale fingers were intertwined with Feliciano's tan ones, hands up near their chests with wide smiles (although Ludwig's was pained).

"Ludwig," Mrs. Beilschmidt frowned. "Can't you genuinely look happy in a picture for once?"

"It's embarrassing," he mumbled.

Feli was the only one who could really make Ludwig laugh anytime, anywhere, and he knew this. So he stood on his toes and whispered something into Ludwig's ear. The others didn't know what it was, but the instant Ludwig started to laugh his mother pressed the capture button on her camera. On the camera's screen she saw the result. Feli was smiling brightly at Ludwig, who was laughing with a slight blush on his face, their hands still locked together. She showed Gilbert.

"D'awwww, look at that!" he half-mocked.

Ludwig stopped smiling and removed his hands from Feliciano's to try to grab the camera.

"Oh no," she put the camera down her shirt. "I'm keeping this and getting it developed so we can put it in a frame."

"No!" he hid his face in his hands.

"Hey guys!"

Ludwig looked up to see Elizaveta smiling at him in a black dress with green trim. Her brown hair was pinned up in a bun with a few wavy strands falling onto her face.

"Well," Gilbert smiled. "You clean up nicely!"

"Yeah, quiet," she snapped at him. "Anyway," she smiled, "you two look great!"

"Want to see the picture I took of them?" Mrs. Beilschmidt asked.

Eliza squealed and Ludwig knew it was going to be a long night.

The three walked a few blocks down the banquet hall where the dance was being held. Surprisingly, the school wasn't being cheap and actual rented the place from seven in the evening to twelve. They even had a photographer, who immediately took a picture of Feliciano and Ludwig when they started holding hands.

"Dummkopf," Ludwig huffed.

The open bar was only for the adults, as expected since the students were under the age of twenty-one. The person who had the most drinks was Father Brooks. Every time Feli looked at him, he had a new glass of wine in his hand. None of the sisters drank one drop, though.

At Feliciano's assigned table were Ludwig, Eliza, Kiku, Arthur, and Francis. They were eating dinner when Mr. Jones pulled up a chair.

"Shouldn't you be with the other teachers?" Arthur sighed.

"They're getting drunk and it's getting kinda creepy. Man, I wish they had hamburgers here."

"What banquet hall serves hamburgers?" Arthur narrowed his eyes.

"Awesome ones!"

All in all, the dance was pretty fun. The teachers were too drunk to care about what the kids were doing. The priests and sisters left around nine and that's when the DJ started to play some real dance music. Ludwig never liked dancing, but he at least attempted to dance. The dance floor was so crowded that no one noticed his awkward movements, anyway. The teachers were out dancing with each other (which was quite disturbing to watch). Mr. Jones stayed with Feli's group and turned out to be a pretty good dancer.

"Alriiiight," the DJ said over his microphone. "I'm gonna play a slow dance for ya. Don't make those faces! There's one at every dance! Pair up with your special someone!"

Mr. Jones smiled at Arthur and winked.

"Don't. Even. Think about it!" Arthur quickly stomped away.

A good chunk of the students left the dance floor, making Ludwig nervous.

"Feli, I really don't want to-"

"Come on!" Feli pulled him close and put an arm around his neck and the other arm connecting with Ludwig's. "Put your hand around my waist!"

Ludwig may have been embarrassed at certain points during the school year, but this had to top it. Holding his boyfriend on the dance floor for everyone to see…His face was so red it looked like he was sick. There may have been other couples dancing, but most eyes were on them. Ludwig felt the stares burning into his skin and making his blood boil.

"Hey," Feli quiet voice brought Ludwig out of his dismay. "No one is going to hurt us anymore. Don't be afraid."

Ludwig released a shaky breath he didn't know he was holding and nodded. After what seemed like hours, the song ended. Ludwig was expecting someone to come up to him and call him a faggot. Someone to give him a dirty look. But nothing happened. Everyone just got back on the dance floor and danced to whatever pop song was now playing. He smiled. Feli was right. He didn't need to be afraid anymore.

The day that every kid dreams of finally came. June 13th was the day of their graduation. Right after Mass, awards would be given out in the church. The students were lined up outside of the church in size-order, shortest to tallest. Feliciano had mixed feelings. He spent most of his life in that school. He knew the surroundings, staff, students and rules like the back of his hand. He remembered his first day at that school back in kindergarten. That's when he met and instantly became friends with Elizaveta, Kiku, and Francis. He didn't become friends with Arthur until sixth grade. Up until then, he was afraid of him (he doesn't know why to this day). Grade school was fun for him. High school was hell for obvious reasons. He hated living in fear each day he attended class, just waiting for them to harm him in some way. This year was the worst the bullying ever was, and yet the more Feli thought it over, the more he realized that this year was his favorite. For the majority of the school year, he spent time with Ludwig and with his friends. What isn't fun about that? Plus, he found out he got accepted to college (the same college as Ludwig).

"Feli?" Ludwig waved a hand in front of his face. "You okay? You were in a daze."

"Yeah. Just spaced out," he smiled, his blue cap almost falling in his eyes because it was a tad too big.

Ludwig felt sort of neutral about graduation. He only spent a year there, and the first three months were nothing short of torment. However, he had to admit that the greater part of the school year was pretty fun. He made great friends and a marvelous boyfriend. The graduation started and they processed down the aisle, camera flashes from parents blinding them. Sister Katherine was leading the choir in song, her horrifying voice cracking at each note and making people grimace. The weird music teacher was there, laughing weirdly on the side. It was just like a regular Mass until Father Brooks started his homily.

He stepped in front of the altar and fixed the little microphone clipped on his collar.

"Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls," he starts, "I stand before you now with mixed feelings."

Ludwig rolls his eyes. Ja, right. Prick.

"You know, this is the best time of your lives," he addresses the kids. "It makes me so angry when people my age say they don't want to be younger. I'd pull out every tooth in my mouth to be eighteen again." This earns chuckles from the adults, but none from the teenagers. "But seriously. Nothing is better than youth." He reached in the pocket of his robes and pulled out a piece paper. "It reminds me of the song 'Forever Young' by Bob Dylan. Don't worry, I won't sing it. I'll just read the lyrics."

Cut the crap, Feli thought as Father read the lyrics. This is just all part of his I'm-a-nice-pastor-who-cares-about-the-kids act. He finished reading a looked back up at the crowd. "You're going to have to make some tough decisions in life," he started to walk down the aisle. "You're going to have teachers, co-workers, bosses that you won't like. But you can't give up. You have to prove them wrong. There's the easy thing to do, and then there's the right thing to do." After a short pause, he continued. "I have to say, I really enjoyed this class. I would come into your classroom every Wednesday or Thursday with my little maroon Bible in my hand and at least try to teach you Catholic values. I watched you grow from kindergarten. It's bittersweet to let you go, but in order for you to grow, we have to let you go. God bless you." He walked back up to the altar and continued the Mass. After Mass was over, everyone was told to sit back down so awards could be given out. Most awards were scholarships to Catholic high schools, so Ludwig and Feliciano didn't expect anything because their college was public. These awards mean nothing. No one will remember who won what, Ludwig thought indifferently.

"The award for highest general average goes to," Sister Katherine looked down at the paper she was holding, "Kiku Honda and Ludwig Beilschmidt," she smiled. The two exchanged surprised glances and stood up, taking their certificate and shaking Father's hand (Ludwig would remind himself to wash his hands later). When he sat back down in his place Feli beamed at him and gave him the thumbs-up. Ludwig and Kiku also won first honors along with Feliciano, Elizaveta, Arthur, and others.

"The religion award goes to," Sister Katherine fixed her glasses, "Feliciano Vargas and Ludwig Beilschmidt."

Their classmates and family members looked at them like "seriously?" and the two looked at each other with the same mystified expression. The got their award, which was a Bible, and sat back down, both suppressing laughter.

Most of the same people won most of the awards. They were the teachers' favorites. But Feli and Ludwig didn't mind. They were still staring at their Bibles in awe. The last award was handed out and Father Brooks talked over his microphone.

"Well, that's it. I am please to announce the class of 2012, the 104th class of our school, officially graduated!"

The parents and staff cheered and the former class threw their caps in the air and cheered as well. They collected their caps from the floor (a pretty difficult task since they were the same color but some different sizes) and went into the school's cafeteria for cake and snacks. Gilbert ran up to Ludwig and shook his head. "The religion award. You. The religion award?!"

He shrugged, "I'm just as surprised as you are."

"Let me get a picture of you with your brother!" Mrs. Beilschmidt held up the camera. "Hans, get in there with your sons!" The three smiled with Ludwig in the middle and Rosa took the picture. "My little schnitzel graduated high school," Rosa shook her head.

"Mutti!" Ludwig blushed. "Don't call me that in public!"

"It's so cute!" Feli appeared beside him. "Can I call you my little schnitzel?"

"NEIN!"

"Feliciano!" Roma called. "Take a picture with me and your brother!"

Feli skipped away and Mr. Beilschmidt smiled. "Even thought the religion award is a mystery, congratulations on the awards for your grades."

"Thanks," he smiled.

Mr. Beilschmidt put an arm around Ludwig and gave him a half-hug, "I'm really proud of you. Not just for graduating."

"I know."

Roma, Feliciano, and Lovino came over to them. "Ciao!" Roma held out his hand to Hans and Rosa. "I'm Feli's grandfather, Roma. You're Ludwig's parents, right?"

"Right," Rosa smiled and shook his hand. "I'm Rosa and this is my husband, Hands."

"Hallo," Mr. Beilschmidt shook his hand. "You look pretty familiar…"

"I was a good friend of your father's."

"Now that you mention it…I do remember you around him a lot…"

Feli saw Mrs. Tori and tugged on the sleeve of Ludwig's robe. "Let's ask her why we got these Bibles, eh? Mrs. Tori! Hey, over here!"

She smiled and walked over to them. "Congratulations," she said.

"Thanks," Ludwig furrowed his brows. "But we have to know; why did we get the religion award?"

Her smile only widened. "I believe you two understand the subject better than anyone here, including some of the staff." She walked away and left them in confusion.

At the end of the night, the group of friends was standing in front of the school, just staring up at the building.

"We'll never come back here," Arthur said quietly. "After all these years…"

Ludwig didn't have the same feeling, but he did feel sorry for his friends. He felt the same way about leaving his school and home in Germany.

"We've been here since we were five," Eliza said.

Feli sniffed. "I don't want to leave!"

"We have to," Francis frowned. "It is a part of life, oui?"

"I don't wanna grow up," tears slid down Feli's cheeks.

Ludwig wiped them away. "Feli, I don't think you'll ever grow up. In a good way."

Feli grinned. I guess not. You're only as young as you feel, no?"

"Yeah," Ludwig grinned back.

"But," Feli frowned again, "I don't want to never see you guys again."

"That is the beauty of technology," Kiku reassured. "We all have cell phones and have each others' numbers. We all have Facebook accounts, as well."

"Yeah," Eliza put her arms around Feli. "I would never forget about my little Feli!"

Feli started to cry and they formed a group hug around him. Luckily, they weren't the only ones so they didn't look like total weirdos. Most of the other kids were hugging and crying, too.

"Pinky promise to stay in touch!" Feli's lower lip was quivering.

They all made a pinky promise and Ludwig kissed him softly on the lips. "I'll never leave you," he whispered. Feli laughed and hugged Ludwig.

Mr. Jones walked up to them and smiled sadly. "Man, you guys were my favorite students. I'll miss you."

"But you have a Facebook, right?" Arthur asked. "We can still talk to you on there."

"Aw, Artie still wants to talk to me!" he trapped him in a huge hug.

"Let go of me, git!" Arthur pushed him away.

Mrs. Jones chuckled. "All joking aside, I really hope you guys do well in college."

Right before Feli and Ludwig said goodbye to each other, Jack and Joey walked up to them.

There was a long moment of silence before Joey smiled. "Good luck, guys."

"You too," Feli pulled them both into a hug.

Ludwig offered them a small smile and nod. "See you around."

"Yeah," Jack smiled. "Keep in touch, okay?"

Ludwig nodded and they walked away and before getting into a car, took a hold of each other's hands.

Four weeks later, Feliciano and Ludwig were sitting under a tree at the same park they visited on Halloween and when Nicky, Vinny, Jack, Joey, and Feli got arrested. "Brings back memories, doesn't it?" Feli rested his head on Ludwig's broad shoulder.

"Mhm," Ludwig leaned his head on top of Feli's. "Don't they get out of juvy in a month or so?"

"Yeah. But they don't know where we live, so it's all okay." They watched children play in silence. "Ludwig?"

"Yes?" he looked down, seeing Feli's iron cross sparkle in the sunlight.

"Nothing. Just wanted to stare into your eyes. They're so pretty."

Ludwig smiled and put his forehead against Feliciano's. "You're too cute sometimes."

He purred and rubbed his nose against Ludwig's, then kissing his soft lips. They kissed a bit lazily, but sweetly for good bit before pulling back. Ludwig's brushed one of Feliciano's bangs away from his face and kissed his forehead. "You know that I won't break my promise," he whispered. "About leaving you."

"I know," Feli smiled. "I won't leave you either. Veh, I hope we're together forever and ever and ever because I love you so much!"

Ludwig hugged him and hid his burning face and Feli's hair. "Hm, yeah. I hope that because I feel the same emotion about you, too."

Not exactly the most romantic confession, but it was perfect for Feliciano. He hugged him tighter. "Veh, I'm so happy!"

Later in life, Feliciano would become a gourmet chef and Ludwig would be the engineer for the city. They visited each other all the time just like they did in high school. They still hung out with their friends. None broke their pinky promise. On their 8th anniversary, Ludwig proposed to Feliciano on Valentine's Day. Feliciano burst into tears of joy and happily accepted. Being in a state where same-sex marriage was legalized, they got married a few months later. Kiku, Elizaveta, Francis, Arthur, Antonio, Jack, Joey, and Mr. Jones were among the guests who came to their wedding. The people who cried the most were Gilbert, Mrs. Beilschmidt, Elizaveta, and Mr. Jones. Kiku took a video the whole time with additional pictures for Eliza.

"My awesome little brother," Gilbert hugged Ludwig at the ceremony, "is married! I remember when you were all small and adorable!" he sobbed into Ludwig's shoulder. Ludwig gently pushed his brother away and smiled. Although he would never admit it, Lovino was actually happy at the wedding. When Antonio would point out that he was smiling, he would quickly frown and curse in Italian.

No more bullies. No more homophobes (at least who directly affected their lives). No more priests or deacons. They were married, forever bonded and keeping their promise. They didn't even think about their senior year of high school anymore. If they did, it was only the positive parts of it. They were far too happy and far too in love to care about what happened to Nicky and Vinny. They weren't bothered by those people. They knew that those kinds of people are a prisoner to their own hatred. They also knew that they weren't wrong. Love is love, no matter what gender, and they were a perfect example of that.

The End

Oh my holy balls...It's over!

Thank you SO MUCH for the reviews and support. I honestly didn't think this would get as many reviews as my last one, let alone more! With the reviews of this chapter (please review :D) this might go to 300 reviews! Awesome!

I'm so sad! I didn't want this to end. I only thought the maximum number of chapters for this would be 8 and it turned out to be 15. Just wow. I'm going to miss writing GerIta! :'( I also loved writing about my school. I loved reading your reactions to certain characters and certain things. By the way, the chastity lady didn't visit my class, but my sister's when she went to that school. Yes, the pamphlet said that. Yes, Father "Brooks" really said that stuff at my graduation.

With the real Mrs. Tori...I think I convinced her about gay marriage. At the beginning of the year, she was outright against it, but by the end, she kind of just had no comment like in this story. But when she was really against something, she would ALWAYS fight against it. For instance, she's completely against abortion (I'm just giving this as an example, not to comment on where I stand). There were a good bit of us who were Pro Choice and she fought with them to no end. But with this...she didn't by the end of the year...

I didn't forget about the teacher!Alfred and student!Arthur story. I need you to tell me this: do you want the school to be set in this one? Do you want there to be the same teachers, or different ones? Do you want the school to still be Catholic? I'm telling you right now that for that story, the Church and homosexuality will NOT be an issue. It may be mentioned, but not an actual conflict.

If I put it in the same school there will not be references to this story. If there is, they would by tiny. Please let me know on these things. I need to know what you want.

I was genuinely surprised by the amount of people who messaged me saying that they're gay or bisexual and saying that their parents don't know or are against it. Time to give another prep-talk like the last story.

I can't truly comment. I'm straight (although my father thinks I'm gay because I like gays...little does he know that I think two gay guys together are sexy. I hope he never finds my computer pictures). But I'll try to relate the best I can. Listen, I won't sugar-coat this. There are going to be people who have hatred. In some cases, those people will be in your own family. Is it right? No, but that's the way it is. You just have to keep your head up high, fight for what you believe in, or sometimes, it's better to just walk away. Leave the past behind you. Sometimes it's better to forget. There will always be people who will not accept you for who you are. But for every person who rejects, there's one ready with open arms. You're not alone. If you're afraid to tell your parents, tell them that it's who you are and nothing will change it.

I know it's difficult. Those people are unhappy because of their amount of hatred. They get what they deserve just by hating. I have never understood racism or homophobia. My attitude is the more people you accept, the more friends you can have! Seriously, life's too short to go around hating people for no reason at all. Please never think for a second that there is something wrong with you. That's completely false.

I loved writing each and every bit of this story, and I hope you loved reading it.

With all of my love,

Gianna~