A/N - Hahahaha guess what? The previous chapter wasn't the last chapter and what happened at the end of the last chapter was NOT the ending to this story! This, however, is the last chapter (I promise this time) =D

This one's going to be a long read so brace yourself! Hope you all enjoy the last chapter of Dying For Love 'The Luke Version'!

Chapter 18 – Loyalty in Hope

Sorry Zack. Sorry Cody. Sorry… Nate…

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… Luke…

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Luke!

… "Huh?" I groan as my eyes open. I immediately find myself listening to Zack's voice, but in a different light. Instead of him crying out to me in fear, he's simply trying to rid me of my slumber.

Was all of that a dream? Surely I wasn't drowning, but at what point did I actually fall asleep?

"Where's Nate?" I ask, hoping that maybe, just maybe his being taken away was all in my head.

"He was taken away by Moseby, remember?" Zack reminds me. "Dude, are you feeling okay?"

I stare at Zack in confusion. So I did lose Nate. It seems as if the crap in my life is still present, but my release from it was prevented. A part of me still wishes I had actually drowned. Anything would be better than living with the plague I have been given.

"I'm fine. So what's up?" I try to change the subject. Of course I'm not fine, but I've already established that with myself so I don't need to talk it out with a friend.

"Cody was looking for you. Since it's the last night aboard the ship he was wondering if you wanted to swap rooms with Woody and sleep in his room tonight. I said I'm okay with Woody crashing in here so now it's up to you." Zack smiles at me. It's as if both of our minds are on completely different matters. He's concerned with utilizing these last few moments while I'm torn on the past. Sleeping with Cody does sound like a good idea though. He's pretty much the only person I have to live for anymore.

"Yeah, that sounds good to me." I say as I hop out of bed and advance toward the bedroom door.

As soon as I exit my room, I stare down the hallway. Vivid images of the dream I'd had only a few minutes ago begin to replay in my head. I picture myself dashing down the hallway in response to Nate's call. I can't believe that what I thought to be so real was only a dream. I was so close to leaving this world and all of its burdens behind, yet now I'm as far away from doing so as I'd ever been.

I immediately find Cody's bedroom door already open. Cody smiles once he notices me. "Hey Luke. Feeling better?"

"A little bit." I state honestly to Cody. In comparison to my response toward Zack on that same question, I was much more honest with Cody. I guess I just can't lie to Cody anymore. Zack might be a good friend, but Cody is the one that I trust above all.

"Well guess what? I have some good news!" Cody yelps ecstatically as he pulls me into his room.

"What is it?" I ask, still a bit monotone. It sounds like Cody's nerd voice. You know, the one that he uses just before he's about to announce some lame discovery of his. Usually I'd pretend to be proud of him, but today is an exception.

As soon as Cody shuts the door behind us, he continues talking. "I think I might have found a way for us to get Nate back!" Cody states.

My eyes widen. "Really?" I ask in doubt. That was not the reply I expected at all, but I'm certainly not complaining.

"Well I was researching the legal requirements to adopt children and the only requirements are that the caretaker must be at least twenty five years of age, and have a stable lifestyle. In other words, almost anyone can adopt Nate." Cody tells me.

"But I'm not twenty five and neither are you. And for all we know someone might adopt him before we are old enough." I sigh. Did Cody really miss such a fatal flaw?

"True, but that is not where I was going with this plan. I was actually thinking that maybe you could talk your mother into adopting Nate. I would ask my mom, but it is much more difficult to adopt if your parents have divorced." Cody explains to me. "Besides, I think that you want Nate more than I ever could!"

A smile forms across my face. This plan might actually work. My dad might be out the picture, but it's not because of a divorce. In fact, my mom is the one who stood by me and raised me. My dad kind of got her pregnant in their teenage years and just vanished.

"Should I call my mom right now?" I ask my boyfriend.

"Go for it!" Cody insists. "It's not like you have anything to lose."

"Now that we're on the topic of Nate again, how exactly did Mr. Moseby find out all of this?" I bring up to Cody. That question had just hit me. It's not like any of us told Moseby about Nate.

Cody looks down. "You mean, you don't know?" Cody clarifies with me. Did I just strike a nerve? Well, it couldn't be Cody's doing because he seems to want Nate back as well. I wonder…

"I have no clue." I repeat.

Cody takes a deep breath. "Well, apparently Nate found one of the guest's room keys aboard the ship. He said he tried to tell you about it this morning, but you were worried Zack might wake up so you told him to stop talking." Oh, so that's what Nate meant when he said "guess what I found" this morning. "So apparently those room keys have tracking devices on them and when the guest told Moseby that he lost the key, they tracked it back to Nate. From there Mr. Moseby found it odd that Zack and I were hanging out with a child until eventually he put two and two together. And, well, you know everything from there." Cody sighs.

So, it's my fault that Nate is gone. Had I let him show me what he found I could've taken it from him and prevented any of this…

Cody notices my face of discontent. "Don't feel bad. You didn't know the importance of your action. What's done is done." Cody pats me on the back. He's right though. All I've been doing up until now is beating myself up and it took me until my boyfriend pointed it out to even realize this. Well, now that there's a spark of hope I refuse to let myself be beaten down again!

I give Cody a kiss on the cheek and move my lips toward his ear. "Thank you for being the best boyfriend ever." I whisper. Cody smiles at my flattery toward him as I pull out my cell phone. It's time to give my mother a little call.

I put the phone to my ear after dialing the numbers accordingly. Cody lays down on his bed and watches me as I eagerly await my mother.

"Hello? Who's this?" The women on the other line asks.

"Mom? It's me, Luke."

"Oh, hey sweety! I'll be there tomorrow at ten to pick you up! I can't wait to see you."

"I can't wait to see you too."

"So, did you call just to say hi?"

"Well, not exactly. I kind of have a big favor to ask." I swallow in hesitation. I'm not sure why, but I feel intimidated to actually ask my mom if she can adopt a child.

"What is it?" She replies.

I finally muster up the courage needed and spew out my response. "Can we add a new member to our family?"

"Awww, did you find a new lady friend?" My mother excitedly asks.

"Not exactly." I tell her. Technically I'm not lying. I am not dating a girl. "I meant like a child."

"I'm glad you said that!"

"Why?"

"Well I was going to wait until I got there tomorrow to tell you, but I'm pregnant!" My mom proclaims. Wait a minute… PREGNANT! That's not what I meant…

"Pregnant? Who's the father?" I immediately ask. It's not like she's married. Cody also pops his head up in shock. He's clearly as surprised as I am.

"Shortly after you left I fell in love with this amazing guy named Cody and a few weeks ago we decided we'd start trying to have a baby. I guess the first time was a charm!" She exclaims. Her boyfriends name is Cody and she had sex with him around the same time my Cody had sex with me? Go figure…

"That's great mom." I sigh. So much for taking Nate home. I look at Cody and swing my head from side to side to indicate that it's a no.

"I'll bring my boyfriend with me to pick you up tomorrow. I have to go visit my doctor right now though for my weekly checkup."

"Okay. I'll talk to you tomorrow then. Bye…" I try to stay positive as not to alarm her.

"Love you!" She states as I close the phone.

"So, it didn't work out?" Cody asks.

"Yeah, apparently she beat me to it. She's pregnant." I roll my eyes as I plop onto Cody's bed.

"I thought you said she wasn't married?" Cody points out.

"She did it with her 'amazing' new boyfriend." I use air quote to emphasis my sarcasm.

"Oh…" Cody sighs. "Well maybe I can talk my mom into it."

"Then give her a call!" I yelp as I reach for his phone.

"I talked to her this morning. She's performing tonight and after she sings she's typically not in the best mood. I'll just ask her once she gets here tomorrow." Cody tells me.

"I really hope this works out. I don't want to never be able to see Nate again." I stuff my face into my pillow in a panic.

"Whatever happens will be for the best. Now let's get to sleep so that we can wake up early enough to say our last goodbyes." Cody smiles at me. He just seems so positive even in such hard times.

"Sounds good to me. Goodnight" I say as Cody shuts off the light. "Coderific!" I continue with extra annunciation. Cody begins to blush in the moonlight as he joins me under the covers.

"I love you." Cody whispers as he grabs my hand under the blanket.

"Love you too." I smile as I stare into Cody's eyes. We continue gazing at each other until we fall asleep.

*Yawn*

I slowly open my eyes to find Cody's face buried into my chest and my hand on his butt. Not exactly how I fell asleep, but okay then.

I gaze at the alarm clock and notice that it is seven in the morning. Knowing that Cody takes a while to get ready, I begin to shake him a bit to wake him up.

"Cody." I call him. I guess being a heavy sleeper runs in the Martin family.

"Mmmph. Luke." Cody says. Did he just groan? What the hell is he dreaming about?

"Faster Luke, faster." Cody begins to thrust forward into me. This can't be serious.

I begin to burst out in laughter. Seeing Cody acting like a pervert in his dreams is actually somewhat of a sigh of relief for me. I guess I'm not the only one with dirty thoughts.

As soon as I begin to laugh, Cody's eyes begin to open. After gaining consciousness, he realizes that he is quite literally humping my leg. "Ahhh!" Cody yelps as he jumps up.

Cody then turns a bright red. "Awww, it's okay Coderific. That was the most adorable thing I've ever seen. It actually made me happy to know that I am in your dreams." I smile at my lover.

"Well at least Woody wasn't here or that could've turned out bad." Cody begins to chuckle himself.

"Anyway, it's seven o'clock. How about you and I get ready and head down to the Sky Deck for one last meal together?" I ask Cody. I may be acting like I'm over Nate right about now, but trust me when I tell you that I'm far from it. In fact, I'm more eager to find out if Cody's mom will say yes than anything else right now.

"That sounds like fun!" Cody scratches his head. He has the most adorable morning hair.

"Okay, let's meet there in an hour!" I inform him as I get out of bed.

"Got it!" He winks at me as I walk out the door and head to my room. I can't believe this is going to be the last meal I have with Cody for a long time.

After getting ready while avoiding to wake up Zack and Woody, I make my way to the Sky Deck and find Cody staring off the edge of the boat.

"Hey Cody, I made it!" I state as I join Cody on the railing. I immediately notice the land before us. "We docked already?"

"Looks like it." Cody sighs. "I can't believe we'll be going our separate ways for a few years."

"I know what you mean. I'm going to miss you so much." I give my boyfriend a hug.

"Don't forget to call me!" Cody muffles through my shirt which his head has been dug into.

"How could I forget? I can't wait to hear about your success in Yale!" I wink at him.

"Haha, yeah. Well let's go grab some food." Cody says as he marches toward the buffet table.

"Wait a second. What's that?" I state as I point toward the car pulling up in front of the boat. Cody immediately comes running back. I squint my eyes to read the logo planted on the car door. "It says 'American Child Care Inc.'" My eyes bulge open. "They're taking Nate away already? But they told our parents to be here in another two hours!"

Cody remains silent and stares at the car with a serious expression drawn across his face. "I guess breakfast can wait. Let's go see Mr. Moseby." Cody says as he stands upright. I nod and follow him. I'm glad me and Cody are both on the same page here. Now matter what, Nate isn't leaving us without a fight.

Upon arrival at the front desk, Cody and I find Mr. Moseby furiously writing. "We noticed that Child care is already here." Cody speaks to get Moseby's attention.

"That's correct. I'm filling out some documentation on the matter. Nate will be leaving in the next thirty minutes." He informs us.

"No! You can't let him leave yet!" I shout at the manager of the ship.

"I'm sorry boys, but as manager I have no choice."

"What Luke meant to say is that you can't let him go because I was going to see if my mom can take Nate into our family." Cody replies.

"That is easier said than done. You're mother will need to be investigated and actually agree to raise the child before any of that can happen. Unless you can get her to at least agree before Nate leaves, I will not be able to help you." Mr. Moseby tells us as he resumes his task prior to our arrival.

"Fine!" Cody states as he pulls out his cell phone. "Since she won't be here until it's too late, I'll have to call her."

Cody holds down the "8" key which immediately triggers calling his mother's phone. I hope this works…

After about thirty seconds of holding my breath, Cody shuts his phone. "She didn't answer." He sighs. "I'm so sorry Luke. I know how much you wanted this."

I notice tears beginning to form in Cody's eyes. For the first time, it looks like he's more upset over this than I am. It's as if he's upset because he'd let me down though. I guess my feelings are his main concern.

"It's fine. Let's go down and talk to those Child Care people." I take Cody by the hand and advance toward the boat's entryway. For the first time since Nate has left, I feel confident that whatever happens will truly be for the best!

Cody and I walk hand and hand until we arrive at the car. Apparently it seems to be vacant though. I guess the people here to pick up Nate are already aboard the boat.

"They're not here…" I sigh as I scope the area.

"Do you wanna head back?" Cody groans. Seeing him in discontent alongside me makes it not quite as bad for some reason. I feel as if we can go through this as a team instead of struggling all alone.

"I guess so." I state as I begin to walk back toward the boat. Suddenly, however, a noise begins to form in the distance. I quickly turn around and notice a light quickly approaching from far away. After about five seconds of focusing, the sound becomes clearly identifiable to me.

"Is that… a police car?" I ask Cody. Why on earth are the police coming? Did something happen?

"I think so." Cody says in confusion. I guess he's as clueless as I am.

The police car pulls up in front of the boat and a cop gets out of the car. Don't police officers usually travel in groups of two or more? I wonder why this one is alone.

I look at his badge which reads "Marcel" on it. Officer Marcel, huh?

The officer takes out a note pad and begins to scroll through it. Once he reaches a particular page, he places a finger on it and looks up. "Is this by any chance the S.S. Tipton?" He asks with a relaxed tone.

I swallow and take a deep breath. "Yes sir." I reply. Talking to authority figures can be really intimidating!

"Are you boys students aboard this ship?" He glares at us.

"Yeah. What's wrong officer?" Cody responds this time. Good thing too because apparently he's less frightened by authoritative figures than I am.

"Hmmm." Officer Marcel begins to scratch his chin as he stares intently at me. I begin to quiver in fear. The last thing I wanted was all of this attention. "You wouldn't happen to be Luke, would you?" He continues staring at me.

"Y-yes I would… how do you know me?" I mutter uncomfortably.

Without speaking, the police officer walks toward me. I begin to furiously shake without even knowing why.

"The name's Cody Marcel. You're mom told me to come meet her out here to pick you up." The young man flashes a smile as he offers me a handshake.

"Oh, so you're my mom's boyfriend. Cool!" I smile and shake his hand. What a sigh of relief. I thought something might've happened. Maybe to Nate…

"Wait a minute Luke. You never told me your mom's boyfriend has the same name as me!" Cody yelps.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention that…" I begin to laugh a bit.

"Oh, so you must be Cody then? I assume you're a good friend of Luke's?" Officer Marcel says. Good friend? Way to downplay our relationship Mr. Marcel.

"Yeah." Cody just plays along. "So is it true that you guys are having a baby?" Cody asks. He probably didn't believe it the first time.

The police man takes a deep breath. "Well, we were going to have a baby. You're mother was even pregnant, Luke. However, last night when she went to the hospital for her check up we discovered that she had a miscarriage."

A miscarriage? I know I shouldn't be happy about such a thing, but the largest grin just begins to crawl across my face. Maybe things might really be falling into place!

I turn to look at Cody and we both begin to smile together. "Okay, I have a huge favor to ask of you." I get straight to the point. I know my mom won't be here for a while and if I don't talk Marcel into helping, then we have no hope of getting this plan to work.

"Wow, I just met you and I'm already being asked favors." Marcel beings to laugh.

"Please! I promise I'll never ask another favor of you ever again!" I gently bow my head.

"I'm just messing with you. What is it?" He stops laughing. I'm actually starting like this guy. He's straight to the point and can handle a little humor. Mom can really pick 'em as strange as that may sound.

"LUKE!" A familiar voice cries out. I quickly turn around as my face lights up. It's Nate!

Nate jumps into my arms and gives me a hug. "Hey buddy!" I greet him with excitement.

"Who's this young boy?" Marcel smiles at the cute little scene before him.

Nate sees the police officer and jumps down to talk with him. "I'm Nathan. Nice to meet you mister… ummm…" Nate tries to read the police officer's badge. "Merkle?"

Marcel begins to chuckle at the Nate. "It's pronounced Marcel."

"Awesome! I can't believe I'm talking to a real policeman!" Nate exclaims with joy. I begin to smile. Nate always seems to have that effect on me.

"Hahaha, you're a really cool kid. Did you know that?" Marcel says as he gives Nate a high five.

"Luke thinks I'm cool too!" Nate tells him.

"That reminds me. Luke, how do you know this boy?" Marcel looks back at me.

I freeze up again. "Ummm, he's just a friend of mine."

"You know kid. If I were to have a youngster I'd want him to be half as cool as you. So, where are you parents?" Marcel asks.

"Nathan, there you are! You are not allowed to just run around talking to people. Besides, it's time to go. Come on! We have all of the paper work we need!" A middle aged lady in a business suit yells. My eyes widen as the women begins to walk down the ship. It's as if with each step she's ripping a piece of my heart out.

"Who's that? Your mom?" Marcel asks.

I quickly snap out of my shock and take action. "Okay, look! That isn't his mom. He doesn't have a mom or a dad. That woman is here to take him to a foster home. I'll tell you the details later. Just please take custody of Nate for now. PLEASE!" I beg.

The police officer looks down at the frightened boy and back up at the women marching down the railing. He takes a deep breath and reaches into his pocket.

"Police Commissioner Marcel reporting! I am taking custody of a child without parents for investigative purposes. Please stand by for contact by a Child Care worker!" Marcel shouts into his communication device. A smile begins to form across my face.

"Roger that!" A woman replies through the device.

"Wait a second. You're a commissioner! That's like the highest ranking police officer in the state!" Cody gasps.

Marcel ignores Cody's comment and advances toward the woman that has come for Nate to meet her halfway down the railing.

"Commissioner Cody Marcel! I am taking custody of this boy for now for investigative purposes. If you have any questions consult the twentieth precinct!" Marcel flips out his badge.

"Commissioner, huh? I'll have to verify that before leaving this boy in the hands of anyone else." The woman whips out her cell phone.

After an extensive chat on her phone, the woman takes a deep breath. "I'm so sorry to have held you up officer. Wait, I mean commissioner!" The women blushes as she walks back up into the ship. "If you would follow me, we just need to inform the manager of the ship of the situation."

Marcel nods and follows the woman onto the ship, with Nate, Cody and I behind him. "What's going on?" Nate asks.

"Don't get too excited yet, but I think you might be able to stay with me." I tell him.

"REALLY?" Nate shouts in ecstasy. I quickly cap his mouth. "Sawee." Nate mutters through my hand.

After a bit of questioning by Mr. Moseby, it was determined that Marcel could have custody of Nate for the remainder of the day. This is just too good to be true.

For the next half an hour, the four of us guys eat breakfast together. It really feels like I am back to the good old days when Cody, Nate and I could hang out together with nobody to tell us otherwise. To top it all off, hanging out with the commissioner is absolutely amazing. If my mom were to ever marry, this is the guy!

I also speak with Marcel about everything that happened with Nate. From him sneaking onto the boat to me taking care of him and falling in love with him. For an enforcer of the law, he was really cool about it. At this point, if my mom breaks up with him I just might have to start dating him myself! Well, not really, but you get what mean. He's really the best.

About an hour later, my mom arrives in a taxi cab. I immediately hug her and say sorry about the miscarriage. Marcel tells her the whole situation with Nate and she too falls in love with Nate at first sight. Who couldn't love that kid?

So as a result of this, she agrees to adopt him. She says it gives her something to look forward to now that she isn't going to be having a baby and I will be off to college. Nate gets really excited at all of this news. However, apparently the adoption process takes a while. Since my mom has Marcel working with her though, they predict it will take only a few months instead of the two years a typical adoption takes to finalize.

So, after explaining to Nate that he will have to live in a foster home for just a little while, I immediately dart into my room to grab my suitcase. Upon arriving there, Zack seems to be finishing his own packing.

"Hey bro. You're leaving?" Zack asks

"Yeah. I'm really going to miss hanging out with you. We'd better not lose contact." I raise my voice a bit to show my seriousness.

"Don't worry about it. It's the last time I'm going to see you for a long time. I think there are more important things to worry about than losing contact." Zack winks. He runs over to me and gives me a big hug. "I love you so much bud!" Zack cries out as tears begin to form in his eyes.

"Are you… crying?" I look at him in shock. Zack is crying over me? Wow…

I begin to tear up myself as a result of him. Then, without even the slightest expectation on my part, Zack kisses me on the cheek. It was obviously his way of saying I'm going to miss you, not in a boyfriend kind of way. Still though, Zack is not the type of guy I'd expect to even go this far.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have kissed you. That was really gay. I'm acting like such a girl right now." Zack wipes the tears from his eyes.

"No, it's fine. I know that was just your way of saying you'll miss me. Don't sweat it. I'm really going to miss you too." I smile.

"You truly are the best friend I've ever had Luke. Nobody has ever been as fun to hang out with as you!" Zack places his hand on my shoulder.

"Same can be said for you my man!" I stick my thumb up.

"I'll walk you down to the ship. I want to spend these last few moments with you until you leave." Zack tells me.

"But what about Violet?" I reply as I pick up my suitcase and make my way to the door.

"She left about a half hour ago." Zack sighs. If he reacted like this to me, I can only imagine how hard it was to say goodbye to Violet. Then again, Cody did tell me that little story about how Zack had trouble saying bye to his mom when he first got here. I guess he is like me in that way. I just don't want the good times to end and the people in my life to leave.

"I see… well I'm really glad that you two stuck together until the very end!" I state. Even though I'm not Violet's biggest fan, I am happy for Zack that he has someone to love in that way.

"Thanks. We don't want to keep your parents waiting though. Let's get going!" Zack says as he runs out the door. I begin to giggle at Zack's eagerness. He's so light spirited sometimes. I'm really going to miss him. That part of me that was once madly in love with him may not be here, but that doesn't mean I don't care about him anymore. He truly is my best friend.

On our way back to my mom, I run into Cody walking along the Sky Deck.

"Oh, Luke. I was actually headed back to see you." Cody tells me.

"Why? What happened?" I immediately begin to think the worst.

"Nothing really. I just thought I would say goodbye to you here where your mom wouldn't see us instead of down there." Cody points out.

"Oh… well… bye then." I begin to blush.

Cody stares at me. "Ummm… later." Cody waves his hand in the air as he too blushes. This is getting very awkward very fast. It's not exactly the way I'd pictured saying by to my boyfriend.

"Oh, come on you two. That was the worst goodbye between two lovers that I'd ever seen. Seriously now, you're making it look like the couple here is me and Luke when you compare our goodbye to that awful display." Zack rolls his eyes.

"Awww, did Zack get emotional again?" Cody smirks and makes Zack blush.

"Oh would you just shut up and kiss already?" Zack swings his head upward to try to hide his strawberry-colored face.

"Fine." Cody smiles. And with that, Cody gives me the last kiss I'll receive from him in a long time. It doesn't feel any different than any other kiss we'd ever had, but the fact that it will be our last kiss for a few years makes it one of the most special kisses I will ever have.

"Let's make a deal." I look into his eyes. "In six years, when we're both out of college, we will live together. Because I don't think I could wait any longer than that."

"You got it! That's definitely something to look forward to." Cody starts to kiss me again. This truly is going to be one of the most memorable days of my life.

After Cody and I finish our goodbyes, we head back down together with Zack. At this point, their mom is also waiting as well as many other parents surrounding the boat.

We then all say our temporary farewell to Nate and Commissioner Marcel hands him back over to the lady. He also gets all the paper work we need to fill out to apply to adopt Nate. I'm relieved that my parents are so serious about taking in Nate. He's really one of a kind.

As we drive home in Marcel's police car, I think about how amazing today had ended up unfolding. I went from dreaming suicidal thoughts and feeling like there was no hope left last night to gleaming with the hope of the days to come. I have all of those in my life to thank for creating such an unthinkable transformation in me. Zack has been and amazing friend who has accepted me no matter what and always helped me if I'd ever needed it. Cody has been the most thoughtful and loving boyfriend I could ever ask for. Nate has really helped me mature as a person and has been the sweetest little kid there is. Even my mom and Marcel have done their part by helping me be able to stay with Nate forever.

Zack…

Cody…

Nate…

Marcel & Mom…

These are the people that are a part of my family. These are the people that I feel like I could always trust when I need them. I truly love every one of them and I can't wait to see how my relationships with them continue to grow as the years go by. What can I say? I guess I really do have the best life and the best people in my life to make it that way. They're people to die for because they love me unconditionally. I'm not saying I would just want to die for the hell of it like my dream had dictated. Rather, I am saying that I would die for those that I love. I mean, what better way to go down is there than dying for the ones you love? Dying For Love… what a great philosophy…

I would like to thank everyone who read this story! Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

Please don't forget to review. Express your thoughts on this "new" ending and on me tricking you! =)

Remember when I said I would be making a preview for the sequel to this story? Well that was just a lie to keep you all on standby for this update! There will NOT be a preview for it. Sorry, but you'll just have to wait until 2011 to read it!

In regards to my prior statement about not posting the sequel yet, I do plan to update "The Reality of it All" quite a bit though so you can still be expecting that story to be updated!

Also, I started a poll on my profile where you can vote for the story you want to see updated most of mine. If you're interested then by all means VOTE!

Once again I'd like to thank you all. I hope nobody takes my trickery to heart and all of you continue to read my writing! I love you all and am excited to continue to write Fanfiction! ^_^