The Art Of The Blogger Family

Places To Go, Secrets To Keep; Chapter 23: Epilogue.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot.

A/N: Even though we didn’t get to 300 reviews (pouts) I’ll post this anyway. You lucky people, I spoil you, :P

This is the final chapter. :’( I’m happy to be finishing this story, but I shall miss it. (For anyone wondering about a sequel, the poll was taken down because for some reason it wasn’t counting any votes, and I knew people voted because they messaged me saying that they did. So, change of plans. If you’d like a sequel to this story, say so in a review. Remember, this is just to see how many readers and reviewers the sequel would have. It is not a promise.

I would like to thank everyone who ever read or reviewed and made this story one of my most popular.

If you’re looking for something to read, I would recommend some of my other stories.
A Little Sprinkle Of Fashion is another of my more popular stories. Like this story it is OOC, AU, AH.
Collision is an AV (All Vampire) story. I tried to keep it more IC. It’s a sequel to the very badly written and first fan fiction, Bookworms. I’ll get to editing both of the stories, since they were my first.

I’ll also be coming out with new stories once I have those finished. If you’d like a blurb on my new ideas, say so in a review.

On we go. (I’m stalling, can you tell?)

BPOV

After all of the drama from our huge (and actually faked) mission things went on a lot smoother.

As it turns out, Carlisle took my words seriously and thought a lot about how he was taking people from the lives they could’ve had.

That is when he made then decision to let all agents graduate at 18.

(He was aware that Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie were older and also that Alice was only seventeen, but he was letting them all graduate this year.)

Basically, that meant if we wanted to we could continue our spy work, or we could go to college. (Carlisle promised to give us recommendations to help us get in.)

I was almost positive that the whole gang was going to college. (Gang meaning Rose, Em, Jasper, Alice, Edward and myself.)

It was decided that all of the spies of age eighteen (with the exceptions of Rose, Em, Alice, and Jasper) would graduate in June, a mere month away. We wouldn’t have to go on any missions, though.

Speaking of missions, my mom was thrown into the top-secret high-security jail. When she woke up, I went to see her.

(Flashback)

Edward followed me all the way down the hall to her cell.

“Thanks for coming,” I whispered in the general direction I thought would reach him. Us being down underground, it was too dark to see clearly.

I could almost hear his smile as he said, “I’m always here. Besides, if I wasn’t here, who would—” He broke off to catch me as I took yet another almost-tumble in the darkness. “Be here to catch you.” He finished.

I blushed in response.

We walked all the way down the hall-like passage. My mom’s cell was the very last on the right. Given that cells were organized with crimes in mind, my mom was one of the most-guarded cells for her crimes.

When we reached her cell, my mom was sitting up. Over her head was a dim light. I could just see her grimacing and that her hair was a mess. It seemed weird to see her this way, after years of her being all formal and organized with her appearance.

I did feel bad for her. I mean, she was my mom and she was in jail. But she was also the person who tracked me down and tried to kill my best friends. There is only so much pity you can have for a person like her.

“Bella,” Her voiced cracked. “I didn’t believe them when they told me you were coming to visit.” She gave a short laugh. “But here you are.”

“Here I am,” I paused. “I didn’t come here just to see you. I came to give— well, return—something to you.”

“Really?” Her voice rose with her skepticism.

“Yes.” I pushed my shirt sleeve up, revealing the stack of bracelets I wore. There was also three rings on my hand as well. “You gave me these. I don’t want them anymore.”

“Oh.” My mom looked away. “I see.” She took a deep breath. “Well, you’ll have to give those to my prison guards to hold until—or if—I get out.” Her eyes met mine. “If I don’t get out…If I spend my whole life here, in jail, where will they go?”

“Anywhere but me.” My voice cracked involuntarily. Edward patted my arm gently to encourage me. I nodded my head towards him in thanks. “I don’t want them, mom.”

“I heard you’re going to go to college.” My mom grinned. “Sell them for tuition money.”

“I don’t need your help to pay it off. Carlisle said he’ll pay for what my scholarship doesn’t.”

“My baby got a scholarship.” Her voice was full of pride.

“Who wouldda thought,” I said coldly. “I guess I’ll sell them.”

My mom smiled.

“Mom, you know what really sucks?” I started. “After every horrible thing you’ve done to me, or to the people around me, I still love you.”

My hunched over, her shoulders shaking, “I don’t deserve it…the love.”

“You’re right. You don’t. Goodbye, Mom.” I turned around and started walking back up the passage with Edward trailing behind me.

Once we were out of the jail and in the fresh air, Edward pulled me into a hug. After a short—but oh, so, sweet—kiss, he asked, “So, why didn’t I know about this scholarship?”

I laughed in response.

(End Flashback.)

It’s been two weeks since that visit. I haven’t talked to her since then.

Edward has been there for me since the mission. We’re basically inseparable. (It annoys Rose and Alice sometimes, but they really can’t talk since they’re also just as attached to their guys, too.)

“Bella, are you listening to me?” Alice whined, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Uh, no, not really.” I shrugged.

“Fine, then I’ll repeat myself. Do you want to come shopping with me and Rose tomorrow for graduation dresses?”

“Alice, it’s a month away! I could gain weight or something!”

“Shut up.” Alice laughed. “You need it, you skinny little thing.”

“You’re one to talk, miss pixie!” I shot back.

“Look., if your weight changes I’ll have the dress tailored accordingly, okay?” Alice pleaded.

“Fine.” I relented.

“Great,” Alice grinned at her victory. “So, is Eddie-boy coming over today?”

“Yeah. I think he’s bringing Jazzy-boy, too.”

Alice squealed.

“That’s some welcome,” Jasper said, walking in.

“Didn’t anyone ever teach you to knock?” I joked.

“That’s my fault, actually.” Edward said, following Jasper inside. “I know where you stash the spare keys.” He grinned, holding up the keys.

“Stalker.” I said, walking over to him.

“So, what are we doing?” Jasper asked, his voice carrying out from the kitchen.

“I don’t know, anything’s fine.” I said.

“Because we’re together.” Rosalie and Emmett finished in unison, walking in.

“God, you guys are so corny.”

One Month Later:
Graduation Day

Alice was bouncing up and down. “Just think, in exactly one hour we’ll be in our graduation gowns and marching in a line…”

“I know.” I said nervously.

Rosalie sighed, “I’m gonna miss this place.” She let her eyes wander around the room. Rosalie was moving in with Emmett somewhere closer to NYU. She was studying for her mechanics major.

“Me too,” Alice said. She was moving down to Rhode Island for RISD. Jasper was moving with her, but he’d be attending Brown.

“Me three.” Pretty soon, Edward and I would be moving to New Haven. I was going to Yale and Edward was going to Harvard Medical School. “Actually, I’m kind of glad to be leaving. Moving out and moving on.” I looked down at the necklace I was holding.

“We’ll keep in touch.” Alice demanded suddenly.

“Duh, that’s why we have cell phones and email.” Rosalie snorted.

Alice just grinned.

EPOV

“Dude, I hate ties.” Emmett groaned.

I laughed. “Have Rose do it for you.”

“But then it looks like ‘I can’t tie my own tie.’” Emmett made quotation marks with his fingers.

“But you can’t tie your own tie.” Jasper pointed out.

Emmett groaned, throwing the tie onto the bed. “Stupid tie.”

I rolled my eyes and walked over to one of my drawers. “Here.” I shoved the fabric at Emmett, just missing his jaw.

“What’s another dumb tie going to help?”

“Emmett, it’s a clip on.”

“Oh.” Emmett smiled sheepishly, clipping the tie onto his collar. “Thanks.”

I rolled my eyes.

“Graduation day,” Jasper murmured, taking a seat on the bed.

“Yeah.” Emmett and I said back in unison.

()()()

From the balcony above the seats, all you could see was rows and rows of graduation caps.

“Hey,” I greeted Bella as she came to stand beside me.

“Hey,” She said back.

“Are you excited?”

“Nervous, mostly. I’ve been at the academy so long the change is…unnerving.”

“I haven’t been here long enough to feel like that…I guess I’m still nervous, though. Moving onto college…it’s a big step.”

“True.” Bella smiled.

“I always pictured this differently,” I said, breaking the comfortable silence.

“I bet,” Bella laughed. Her laugh was cut short by a buzz from her purse, though. She took out her phone, her eyes moving back and forth, reading whatever was on the screen. “Alice is texting. Time to get in line.”

()()()

I gave Bella a final kiss as I took place with the other C’s.

“It is a great pleasure to see these magnificent teenagers move on.” Carlisle spoke from his place at the podium on stage. “I have to admit, I’m a bit grouchy that I have to give my best students away.”

I laughed as Carlisle stumbled over the word ‘students.’ He was perfectly aware of the non-spies or non-spy-related people in the room, and that appeared to make him nervous.
“Since this graduation is a bit…different from the norm, we do not have a valedictorian and such. Good for the audience because you won’t have to sit through any boring speeches.” Carlisle paused as the audience laughed. “So, we’ll get right to the diplomas.”

I wiped my sweaty palms on the outside of my graduation gown as the C’s loomed closer.

“Edward Cullen,” Carlisle said, his voice a little more proud then usual.

I walked up the stairs onto the stage, shook my dad’s hand, and went to take my seat in the audience.

I paid attention the most when he named someone I was close to. The rest of the time I daydreamed.

The approach of my future was the subject of the most of my daydreams. Bella and I would be living together in a small apartment, which was a plus. However, we’d be at different schools, which meant there would always be at least six hours a week day that we would be a part. I frowned. Not to mention how much work we would be doing soon.

College in general was a scary thought. Being swamped, quitting from the pressure, and then losing most of the chances for good jobs later in life were the most prominent of my fears.

“Isabella Swan.” Carlisle called, smiling. The name was enough to snap me out of my daze.

Bella walked up to the stage, smiling also. She shook Carlisle’s hand, and he brought her closer to say something to her. I could only see the movement of their lips and not hear what they were saying.

Once she had her diploma, she did not come to sit within the audience like the rest of us. Instead, she took a chair on the left side of the stage.

Once every name was called, Bella stood up and walked over to the podium.

“I know Carlisle promised you that you wouldn’t have to sit through a speech, but he asked me just now to give one.” Bella blushed, turning her head towards Carlisle, “Thanks for the forewarning.”

A few members of the crowd chuckled.

“Since this is last minute, I don’t have a speech prepared. You know, the ones with the cheesy jokes, and corny metaphors, along with the cliché ‘A door is closing but another opens’ kinds of sayings.”

More chuckles from more people.

“So, I guess, I’ll just say it bluntly. We’ve graduated. Time to go off to college and get roughed up in the real world. We’re all scared out of our minds…well, I am. But I think that the preparation Carlisle gave us has built us a firm foundation for the rest of our lives. Oh, no, corny metaphor alert.” Bella blushed as more people laughed.

“Anyway, goodbye to you all. Have a nice life, drive safe, and all that good stuff.” Bella stepped down from the podium as the audience clapped.

She giggled as she sat down next to me.

“Nice speech,” I grinned. “Just short enough. I don’t think anyone had time to fall asleep.”

Bella punched my arm while giggling more.

()()()

“We’re graduates!” Rosalie cheered loudly.

“Woo!” Bella cheered back.

“We have to do that thing with our hats before we leave.” Alice said excitedly.

“What hat thing?” Emmett asked.

“The thing where we all throw our hats up in the air and freeze for ten seconds.” Alice explained as if it was obvious.

“’Kay. All together now, throw on three. One, Two…Three!”

Six hats were airborn as we froze our expressions. After that we all laughed, joined our arms, and walked out of the building to further celebrate our graduation.

A/N: Unsatisfied with ending. May change in the future.

That’s it. Fin. The End.

Side Note: Now that this story is finished, I’ll be focusing on my two other twifics mentioned in the top A/N. But, like I said, I have tons of ideas for more stories. (:
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The final chapter to the spy story, meet writing blog, XP

xoxo

-{mari}