Wow, I had a lot of feedback from that last chapter! For those of you who guessed SchizoDolls identity - congrats! But it was a lot of fun reading the shocked responses too! I think action scenes are pretty hard to write, so I was happy to receive so many compliments about it. Anyway, here's the promised epilogue! Hope it wraps everything up nicely.

Epilogue.

"...so I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank all my fans for their support these last few months. You can't know what it means to me, I have such a great, great community here... the doctor says I may never fully get the movement back in my hand, but it's about 80% of what it was. You'll have to forgive me for being a little worse at games from now on! But my long-term fans should be used to that! Haha... Anyway, I should stop recording before I start crying again... This is America, thanking you all for 8 million subscribers. The next video is going to be a special edition of Five Nights at Fuckboys with me and the gang, drunk off our heads, so I hope to see you all there! Bye-bye!"

Alfred kept smiling as he turned off the camera, wincing at the pain in his arm as his hand contorted in a way it no longer liked to do. After sending the footage to Arthur, he stretched, shoulder pulling again. It was only a vlog, so really it didn't take too much editing, but he had earned a day off after reaching this enormous milestone.

Realising he was getting hungry, he got up from his desk chair and went to the bedroom, putting on a pair of jeans and an over-shirt. He briefly checked his shoulder in the mirror – the wound had healed, but was still bright red and angry looking, making him self-conscious that it would be seen through a white shirt or a vest. The knife had severed some vital nerves and connections, resulting in the loss of movement and feeling in his hand. Physiotherapy had helped, but it would never be what it was, even with the daily exercises the doctor had given him to do.

Pulling on his shoes, he took his keys off the side and grabbed the leash.

"Carter!" he called into the house "Walkies!"

There was a loud 'thud' as something was knocked over, followed by the thundering of excited footsteps as the Alsatian bounded through the house, wagging his tail happily as it got to the front door. Attaching the leash to his collar, Alfred led him out into the sunshine.

It was a nice day, feeling all the sweeter for the massive achievement he had reached today. He would never get used to how quiet the streets were in this gated community, devoid of all life but for a few housewives and retirees tending their gardens and the occasional Benz or Bentley gliding past. Truth be told, he still felt very out-of-place here, like a fraudster trying to blend in, but as he passed one of the two entrances, staffed by the private security that noted everyone who entered and exited, he felt like the elevated mortgage was money worth spending.

He let Carter off the leash at the dog park, where he happily ran around chasing birds and squirrels, fetching the sticks Alfred threw until he was tired out, putting his head on his owners lap as they watched the ducks in the pond for a while. When the dog was sufficiently recovered, Alfred put the leash back on and exited the park, appreciating the foliage in the avenue as he walked along to his favourite restaurant.

"Hello?" he called as he poked his head in the ornate wood-and-glass door "I've got Carter with me, is it okay to come in?"

"Oh, Alfred!" Eduard greeted, looking up from his business ledger at the bar "We're not technically open just yet. Has he done his business already?"

"Yeah, we've had our walk already." Alfred assured "I was just going to pick up some lunch to go, if that's okay."

"Sure, come on in."

Eduard put the ledger aside as Kat wondered in from the kitchen, decked out in her chefs whites, carrying a basket of fresh produce.

"Alfred!" she greeted as she saw him "Welcome!"

"Hi, Kat." he said back "What's good today?"

"It's all good!" she insisted "But just between you and me, we just got an especially good delivery of fish from the market – it's so fresh, it might just swim right out of the pan! It's being prepared with a fresh tomato and herb sauce, sautéed potatoes and fresh greens."

"Sounds delicious." Alfred agreed "One to go, please!"

"Coming right up." Kat laughed "But hey, did you hear? A certain someone just reached 7 thousand subscribers!"

"You did?" Alfred turned to Eduard, who blushed and scratched his cheek self-consciously "You didn't say anything!"

"Y-yeah." Eduard stammered "It's pretty amazing... it's all thanks to your advice, though!"

"Don't be silly." he insisted "You had a great idea with your series, and your hard work is really paying off!"

"Your promo didn't hurt."

"Alright you two, enough with the 'who can be the humblest' contest." Kat teased "Take a seat, Alfred, it'll be a few minutes."

"Thanks."

Alfred hopped up onto one of the bar seats as Kat went back to the kitchen, Carter laying down at his feet. Eduard got a bottle of coke from the fridge and cracked it open, placing it in front of Alfred.

"On the house." he insisted "In celebration of reaching 8 million."

"Hey, thanks! I didn't want to say anything..."

"Your achievement doesn't take away mine." Eduard insisted "Got anything good planned?"

"I've filmed a vlog, and Kiku's doing an animation for me. Other than that, I thought I'd have a nice lunch, a long bath and night off!"

"Sounds like a plan."

"What about you?"

"We're going out for a drink on Wednesday, since we both have it off."

"You're not going with Toris and Ravis?"

"Well... it's kind of a special occasion as well." Eduard confessed, blushing again "It'd be better with just he two of us."

"What, you going to propose or something?" Alfred teased.

Eduard just blushed further. Realising what that meant, Alfred nearly choked on his coke.

"Oh my god!" he squealed happily.

"Sshhhhhh!" Eduard pleaded "It's a surprise!"

Alfred just clapped his hands like a happy baby, grinning widely.

"Message me Thursday, tell me how it went!" he pleaded quietly.

"Okay, I will." Eduard promised "I know you like to keep up to date with things. S... speaking of 'up to date', there's been some news..."

He looked away, going a little pale and fiddling with the pen in his hands.

"With Natalya?" Alfred guessed, just the sound of her name still bringing uncomfortable tension to the back of his neck.

"Yeah." Eduard admitted, looking back "They've finished her evaluation: she's been declared to be sane."

"Are you kidding me?!" Alfred cried "After everything that happened?! How can she be sane?"

"It's some kind of sociopathy, apparently." he relayed "She's able to rationalise everything she did... it's a twisted kind of logic to us, but it is logic. Apparently that makes her sane..."

There was a moment of tense silence as they realised exactly what that meant.

"So, what happens now?" Alfred asks.

"She goes to prison." Eduard assured "She's looking at about 15 years. It's probably better this way – if she was institutionalised, she'd be out much quicker: she's smart, and good at manipulating people, so she could convince them she was cured pretty easily... apparently those are well known traits of sociopathy, but when you throw in the anonymity of the internet, everything got a bit strange and serious. The doctor said her fixation on you was just chance..."

"Just my bad luck." Al summarised.

"Seems like it...While we're on the subject, we've had some people coming in here asking about you: apparently some of our take-out boxes could be seen in one of your vlogs last month."

Alfred felt a cold shiver run down his spine.

"Maybe we can organise a small meet." he suggested "For the local fans – then they won't be curious."

"Are you sure that's okay?" Eduard asked.

"Yeah – I'm sure they're just normal fans: if I give them what they want, they'll stop looking."

"If you think so, I can ask the insurance company about the cost of it. But it's up to you, though, if you change your mind."

Kat reappeared from the kitchen, plain white bag in her hands.

"Don't you dare put this in the microwave, or you'll ruin it and poison yourself!" she warned as she gave it to him "If it's cold when you get home, put it in the oven!"

"Yes, ma'am!" Alfred laughed.

"I also put in an extra large serving of chocolate cake to celebrate your 8 million subscribers!" she told him with a wink "We're going out on Wednesday to celebrate as it is – why don't you come with us?"

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm a bit swamped at the moment." he lied "Maybe next time."

"Okay." Kat sighed in exaggerated disappointment "Give us a call next time you're free, okay?"

"... Does the restaurant have caller ID?"

"It doesn't record the numbers." she assured "It's older than any of us, and the owner refuses to buy a new one."

"I see... then sure, I'll give you a call. You guys have a good one – and have fun on Wednesday!"

"You too!" Kat finished, waving him off with a smile as he got off his chair.

"See you soon." Eduard joined, also waving.

Carter jumped up from the floor to follow Alfred, sniffing at the bag with great interest.

Half way home, the phone started going in Alfred's pocket, 'Arthur' flashing up on the screen.

"I'm just calling to make sure you haven't forgotten about tomorrow." his older brother said when he answered "I don't want to be sat outside for half an hour again because that jobsworth at the gate won't let us in."

"I haven't forgotten." Al laughed "I'll let them know to expect you guys."

"Good. And hey, congrats on the 8 million. I just sent you back the footage, so you can upload it as soon as you get home."

"Thanks – I'm pretty stoked! I thought I'd take the rest of the day off to celebrate."

"Call mum and dad." Arthur all but ordered "They called me yesterday wondering why you hadn't told them about it. I also got an earful about you changing your name from dad, like it was my fault, so prepare for that."

"I will." Alfred assured "Sorry you got bitched at. I'll see you tomorrow!"

"See you then."

He hung up just as he got to his front door, fishing his keys out of his pocket. Carter ran inside, flopping down gratefully on the rug in front of the tv.

"You're only 4, stop acting like an old man." Alfred teased the animal, who just huffed at him in response.

Alfred turned the oven on, unpacking the food and putting it on appropriate trays. Putting it in to warm up, he decided to post the vlog while he waited, so he could really enjoy his afternoon off. Passing the front door, he double-checked that he had locked it, finally putting that chain on and setting the alarm, before going to his office.

So, that was that, short and sweet. I wanted a more sedate feel than the last chapter, especially with the way it ended. I'm sure anyone who's ever been alone in the house at night has felt that creeping unease of things just not being safe, even when they are (anyone who hasn't, watch the part of the original Grudge movie with the sister alone in her flat... you'll get it then) - I know I used to get it a lot, and I hope I was able to bring some of that paranoia out in this story.

I've never received anon hate myself (I've never courted popularity, I guess, or perhaps I've just been lucky), but I've seen some of the messages other people have gotten - I found them pretty weak, but I'm more creative than the average troll, and I've always found the whole concept to be strange and kind of sad. That being said, I can understand how being told to kill yourself and other horrible things every day can wear you down - I'm old enough that the internet wasn't even really a common thing until I was a teenager (I'm not as old as all that, the technology has just progressed so quickly!), so it really concerns me that some people have this disconnect between what happens online and what happens irl: it's easy to forget that people online are still people, especially when we protect our anonymity behind avatar and screen names. I think SchizoDoll was one of those people, only seeing other users as meaningless names or personless spambots in the way of her connection with Alfred: I thought of some very vicious things for SchizoDoll to say, but in the end I just couldn't type them - even as part of a story, it just wasn't in me to put such words together. I guess I'm just soft :P

While Natalya's screen name was 'SchizoDoll', I think it was important that she not actually be schizophrenic - while some schizophrenic people can be violent, they're much more likely to be the victims of violence, and are more of a danger to themselves than others. Thanks to the media's misrepresentation of what schizophrenia is, a lot of people associate them with violent murderers and sociopaths, or those suffering from multiple personality disorder - an association I admit I used to my advantage when I cast Kat as the red herring! (Believe it or not, I do do a little research when I write these stories!) I think it's got to be one of the worst mental disorders to be afflicted with, since the hallucinations can make sufferers question reality itself. If you ever find yourself questioning reality, try reading something - it doesn't matter what - since the part of the brain that processes words is on the other hemisphere to the dreaming part. If you find yourself questioning reality often, please see a doctor!

Anyway I hope you all enjoyed reading 'I Love You Most'. I always wanted to have a little heart at the end of the title, but I could never get it to work right...