Final chapter! Originally, this was going to be two chapters, (a normal one and an epilogue) but the epilogue turned out to be really short, so I added it in here so people wouldn't kill me. I would like to thank everybody who reviewed this story and gave positive comments, especially Ayumi Kudou! Many thanks, and your guess was almost right on the nose!

Chapter Sixteen

Conan went to Ayumi's, feeling much more cheerful than he'd felt the day before. He stopped by a local gift shop to pick up a beautiful necklace for her, since he hadn't been able to give his last gift to her, and continued the rest of the way there.

Ayumi was crying in her room when the doorbell rang. She didn't want to talk to anybody, but no one else was home, and the person didn't seem to want to leave, so she got up and went to see who it was. She hadn't received Ai's message yet, since she didn't want any contact from anyone.

"Who is it?" she asked, hiding the fact she wanted them to leave.

"It's Conan-desu. May I come in?"

"No! Why are you even here? Why aren't you on a date with Ai-chan?"

"Ayumi-chan, if you let me in, I'll explain everything. Please?" Conan was practically begging now.

Ayumi thought about it, and decided to let him in, if only to hear him out. "Fine. Come in, then, if you must." She unlocked the door, and Conan soon entered.

Ayumi went in the living room, and Conan soon followed. They sat in chairs facing each other, and waited in silence.

Ayumi finally spoke up, "Conan-kun, why are here, anyway?"

Conan sighed, "It's a long story. The truth is, I never tried to go out with Haibara. It was all a hoax perpetrated by others."

Ayumi looked up, stunned. "What do you mean?"

"I mean someone dressed up as me in order to make you mad at me. They wanted me for themselves. Then they met up with Haibara and somehow convinced her to play along. So, I've never been on a date with Haibara, nor did I say romantic stuff to her on the playground Friday."

"What about that bracelet, then? You were planning to give it to Ai-chan, weren't you?"

"No, I was actually planning to give it to someone else. When Haibara confronted me that day, I offered it as a peace offering, but she didn't take it. When she stormed off, I couldn't give the bracelet to the person I wanted to give it to anymore, because they would've thought they were a substitute."

Ayumi was starting to cool off a little from her anger and sadness. But she was curious about something. "Who was the bracelet for then?"

"…Ayumi-chan, it was for…for you." It was hard for him to say, but he did it anyways.

Ayumi was speechless. That bracelet had been for her? It had looked expensive. So why?

"Why, Conan-kun? Why? Why would anyone try to trick you like that?"

"They tried to trick me because they saw I loved someone else, and not them. So they got a bunch of people together and set up an elaborate scheme to make the girl I loved jealous enough to leave me and not give me the time of day anymore."

"Did it work, then?"

"Yeah. She did get jealous. It made me think I was going crazy, too, since Haibara was making me think I was with her when I knew I wasn't."

"Then shouldn't you go tell her it was a trick? Shouldn't you say that you had nothing to do with it? You should go tell her the truth, that you love her!" Ayumi figured that if Conan was talking to her about this, then the girl he loved wasn't her.

Conan just smiled and said, "Maybe I should. Thanks, Ayumi-chan." He stood up, and Ayumi fully expected him to leave. Instead, he walked up in front of her. He took a box out of his pocket and held it out to her.

Ayumi, curious, opened it. Inside was a necklace. It was simple, but elegant, and Ayumi loved it immediately, and she loved even more that Conan had given it to her. She asked, "Conan-kun, why are you giving me this?"

Conan took a deep breath, as if he was preparing himself, and said, "The reason I'm giving it to you, Ayumi-chan is because the girl I love is…is you."

Ayumi was thunderstruck. She wasn't sure she'd heard him right, but his red face, flustered, proved to her she had. "You…love…me?" Ayumi squeaked out.

Conan just smiled and said, "I do, Ayumi-chan. I have for a while. That's why this whole business made me so sad, because I thought you'd never listen to me again."

Ayumi just sat there, holding the necklace, listening to him talk. Then she patted the couch beside her and said, "Sit down, Conan-kun." Conan did, and he took the necklace and put it on her.

Then Ayumi looked at Conan and said, "Thank you, Conan," and kissed him. The fact he didn't back away proved to her that his confession was sincere, and she was happy for it. They broke apart, and Ayumi said, "Conan, you probably already know this, but I…I love you, too!"

Conan just grinned, and he put his arms around her and they went back to kissing.

Epilogue

From that point forward, they officially became 'the married couple', and were known as such for the rest of their school careers, until they grew up and married for real.

After having Conan for a boyfriend, Ayumi forgave the other three for tricking her and Conan like that, and they all gave her their blessings, when they saw how happy she was with Conan.

Ran eventually married Masato, and Ai married Mitsuhiko, since she'd 'dated' him a few times while he was in disguise, and eventually warmed up to him. And of course, Genta warmed to Maria, too.

There were no more incidents, and everyone was happy for everybody else, forever and ever.

This is the official end to this story. I completely enjoyed writing it, and I might write more fics with Conan and Ayumi in the future. I know the epilogue is short, but I didn't really know what to say, besides what I've already written. So again, many thanks to everyone who read, reviewed, and responded in some way, shape, or form!

-CoolKid94