THIS LOVE | shayne topp

Epilogue

3 years later

   THE LAST OF THE boxes just got moved into the living room of the new house, Eleanore smiling to herself as she took a deep breath, looking around. This was a big moment in her life, finally owning her own home. Well, co-owning a house.

   She turned to see Shayne bringing Sadie in on a leash, and Loki in his carrier, setting it down and opening it. He let go of the leash as he closed the front door to their new apartment.

   Eleanore walked over to her boyfriend, gently grabbing his cheeks and kissing him sweetly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her in even closer, smiling into the kiss.

   There house wasn't big by any means, but perfect for the couple and of course maybe a kid many years down the line. It was perfect for them. The moment they stepped foot into it during the showing, they knew it was their's.

   A knock sounded on the front door, cutting their moment off. Eleanore placed a hand on Shayne's arm, walking around him to open the front door. There stood Laurie and Hunter, as their daughter, Danielle or Ellie for short, hugged Eleanore tightly.

   "Oh my gosh, my favorite girl came to see me!" Eleanore smiled, leaning down to pick up the almost three year old and place her on her hip. "How are you, Ellie?"

   "I'm good! Where's my room?" Danielle asked while still struggling with her words, signalling she wanted to be put down.

   The four adults laughed as Eleanore put her down. "Right over here. I'll show you." Eleanore grabbed her hand, slowly running down the hall to the guest bedroom. Danielle was running alongside her as Shayne watched with a smile.

   "Congratulations, Shayne. This is huge for you guys." Laurie said, pulling him into a hug. Shayne hugged her back with a smile.

   "Thanks." They pulled apart, Shayne running a hand through his hair. "I'm really excited for us. You know, I never thought this would happen."

   "Oh, come on. Everyone saw it from a mile away." Laurie laughed, putting a hand on Shayne's shoulder.

   He laughed along with her, nodding his head. "True. Everyone but us."

   The night went on, the four of them drinking wine on the living room floor as Danielle played with toys they brought over from their house. They began unpacking just a little bit earlier, but realized they had time, and could do it another day.

   Last year, Eleanore and Aaliyah started a podcast on Smosh, called Smosh Night In. It was really successful, posting every Thursday at 1PM on the Smoshcast channel. Shayne was actually the one to convince them to do it.

   Eleanore had fully joined the Smosh cast around that time too. Everyone had welcomed her with open arms, more than happy to have her join them. Courtney ended up writing and directing a Funeral Roast for her too, which was super fun.

   Life had been going really well. Eleanore was at a point in her life where she was truly happy. Things had finally been going the way she wanted them to.

   After Laurie, Hunter, and Danielle left, the couple was very hungry, not having anything in their fridge other than alcohol from friends and family giving house warming gifts. So, they decided to go to McDonalds for a late night dinner.

   The whole ride there, Eleanore was on aux, playing her favorite music and singing obnoxiously while Shayne drove holding her hand the whole way, with a huge smile on his face.

   Eleanore was using her phone as a microphone, leaning over the center console and leaning into Shayne who laughed as she loudly sang the current song she had playing, Love Story by Taylor Swift.

   Eleanore immediately opened up way more once the couple was together for about six months. And Shayne was enjoying every moment of it. Even with them being together for three years, he still felt like he was in the honeymoon stage sometimes.

   He caught himself just staring at her lovingly a lot, even at work where they wanted to keep their relationship out of it, but he couldn't help himself. He was in love.

   After getting their food, they got back to the house right before it hit midnight. They sat in their empty bedroom, not even bothering to bring in their suitcases earlier. They were too caught up in the fact they finally owned a place together.

   Eleanore was playing music softly through a speaker that was plugged in in the corner of their bedroom, lightly bobbing her head along while eating her food. She looked up at Shayne, noticing he was staring at her.

   'This Love' by Taylor Swift immediately began playing over the speaker, and Eleanore laughed softly to herself. This was the song that played on their first date almost three years ago.

   She chuckled. "What? Is there something on my face?" Eleanore said, grabbing a napkin and opening her phone camera to look at herself.

   "Marry me."

   Her eyes widened as she looked up at Shayne, maybe thinking it was a joke. But he was completely serious. He looked certain in his statement, not breaking eye contact with her. "What?"

   "Marry me. We can stay up late together doing this every night. Or ditching parties together just because we can." Shayne took a deep breath, leaning forward and grabbing her hand.

   "Shayne, I-"

   "Just marry me."

   Eleanore's eyes began watering as her face lit up, immediately smiling. She moved the food out of the way, making a mess and leaning forward and hugging him tightly, both of them falling backwards onto the floor.

   "Of course I'll marry you." She said only above a whisper, but Shayne definitely heard her. His arms wrapped around her tightly, not letting go. Never again.

   Neither of them have ever been happier.