So.
This is really truly it.
No more updates. No more chapters. No more Lexi and Ian and Joe and Bridget and Sloane and Anthony and Kalel. Actually, they all ended last chapter.
This epilogue isn't about them. So if you're happy with how the entire story is now, you can stop reading if you want. Remember how, I think it was last chapter, I said I updated the prologue? Well, if you haven't read it yet, go read it. You need to if you want to understand the epilogue. So like I said before, this has nothing to do with the last 34 chapters. Kind of. Only the first. Sort of.
I'm wrapping up the loose ends from the prologue. So really, you don't HAVE to read this. I recommend that you do, though, since I find the whole dream-is-real idea very interesting. And right now, I'm in shock, I think, which is why I sound soulless. Please, enjoy this epilogue.
Oh. Right.
I'm not Cheyenne Lexi Reiyne.
I haven't even been to California.
Yeah, I'm just a little girl with a big dream to one day meet Ian and Anthony themselves.
But that's never going to happen, now, is it?
Nope, I just spent my entire night dreaming about a fictional girl who went back to her home state and rediscovered the man of her dreams. She doesn't exist. And the chances of that happening are so small.
I yawned and stretched out before sitting up. When my eyes finally fluttered open, I realized - I wasn't in my bed at all. In fact... I was in the family car, and we were driving through a suburban neighborhood that was certainly NOT in Ohio. I glanced over to see my 15-year-old brother glaring at me.
"Y'know, Jennifer, this is a one-time thing. I'm not letting you sleep on me again." James said, pushing his dark brown hair out of his dark brown eyes. I sighed and adjusted my stupid glasses so that they were lying on my nose correctly.
"Mom... why are we all in the car..." I asked, completely confused as to what we were doing. James scoffed and looked out the window again.
"Yes, go on, mother, tell her why you decided to wait till NOW to tell us that we were moving back to Indiana."
If it weren't for the seatbelt that had somehow stayed attached while I was sleeping, I would have jumped out the car.
"WE'RE WHAT!?" I yelled as loud as I could, my voice echoing around the small car.
"I'm sorry, dear... but your father and I weren't sure how to break the news to you... so we, um, didn't..."
"Do you guys realize that you are uprooting our LIVES?" James replied, his eyes still hard as stone. Now I understood why he was annoyed at me earlier.
"Now, honey, you had friends in Indiana too! Why, I'm sure that some are still here, and you can catch up again!"
I just signed in annoyance and looked out the window. Funny, I seemed to recognize that knothole in that tree that looked like a horse. And the fence around that lot that bent inward near the gate seemed very familiar. I gulped.
"Mom... is this our old neighborhood?" I asked quietly, dreading the response.
"It is, in fact!" she said, pulling out a homemade banner from her purse as we drove into an unfamiliar driveway.
Ohhhhh, no. No no no no. This can't be happening.
This was exactly... EXACTLY... like my dream.
And that means that...
I got out of the car very quickly. A woman opened the door to the house in front of our car and said brightly, "Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Madley! I'm Tracy Sheridan, from Sunny Homes! We're SO glad that you decided to buy a house through us! Come, I'll give you the 'Grand Tour'!"
I didn't stick around. I sprinted down the driveway and ran a block or so until I felt like I had to slow down. I finally collapsed on a bench near a park and buried my head in my hands, my long brown hair shielding me. My heart and head were racing, but I didn't know what thoughts were going through there.
I felt a slight pressure on my shoulder and I slowly looked up. There was a boy who looked to be around my age standing in front of me with a smile on his face. He had dirty blonde hair and and few freckles across his nose and cheeks, accenting his warm hazel eyes. He seemed almost familiar... but I was sure I wouldn't have recognized anyone from Indiana after all these years.
"Hey..." he said softly. "Are you okay?"
I smiled up at him and replied, "Yeah, I guess, there's just a lot going through my mind. I... I just moved here, and I'm kinda overwhelmed. My name's Jennifer Madley, but call me Jenn."
His beautiful smile faltered a tiny bit when I mentioned my name, but he gained it back just as quickly.
"My name's Tob-" he cut himself off and I looked at him, confused. He sighed and sat next to me. "No. I'm not going to lie to you. That's not my name. My real name is Jude."
OMIGODOMIGODOMIGOD IT'S OVEEEEEEEER! AND DAT ENDING! IT'S SO BEAUTIFUL!
Oh my God... This is the very last update. I MISS YOU ALL ALREADY!
Oh God, just a sec, lemme get my box of tissues...
Firstly, I just want to quickly thank myself, for actually FINISHING A STORY FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE!
Secondly, and most importantly, I want to thank YOU. Yes, YOU. For all of those who read Name's Memory, who reviewed, followed, and favorited. YOU PEOPLE are the ones who really kept me writing this story. There are a few people I would like to mention: UnselfishSacrifice, EpicEmma (Emma Panda now, but I still know you as EpicEmma :D), WritingIsMyLife426, ArrogantPlatypus, and ChloeHeidrich1228. There are many others, of course, but these people really stood out to me as inspirations, big/long-time supporters, people that made me feel fuzzy, and other things like that. I LOVE YOU ALL!
Thirdly, I want to thank Smosh. For existing. And making Name's Memory possible in the first place. Yup. :)
So now that Name's Memory is over, what will happen? Well, you all will go back to your lives and other stories. And I will retreat into my small, dark thinking corner. And think. Because I want to write a new story for you. I love writing. I've tried so many things over the years, like painting, drawing, dancing, singing, and acting, And I have zero talent with everything I've ever tried. (Except maybe acting... and makeup. I could be a makeup artist. Maybe.) I'm not saying that because I want sympathy from everyone because I can't do anything with my life. I'm saying that because it's true. But when I write... I feel like I can actually DO something worthwhile. I can actually create something that people like and enjoy, and THAT means the world to me. Every single review and follow and favorite makes me smile so much! So this isn't MY story. No, this is OUR story. It wouldn't have been finished if I didn't have amazing support from every single one of you. But I did, and now I've completed something that I'm SO proud of.
Anyway, PLEASE favorite Name's Memory if you haven't already, and feel free to recommend this story to people! I really don't want this to simply drown into a sea of stories. I want this to live on. This story was started (Or published, I should say) on February 11th, 2012, and was ended (or last updated, I should say) on January 6th, 2013. That's almost an entire year! Well, actually, seeing as I had the first several chapters already written when I published, I HAVE been writing this for a year! Isn't that amazing? 35 chapters, 43,920 words. And please remember that when I hit the 'COMPLETE' button today, this isn't the last you'll see of me. Nope. This is the beginning.
Happy Reading, I'll Be Writing! ;)