Absolutely, Positively, 100% Normal

Epilogue

"I think it's safe to say you won't have trouble with our organization any more." Gray had appeared just as we were about to exit the front doors of the G.R.A. He had offered to exchange places with Riley and lead us to my house. Now we were standing in my backyard in the middle of the night.

"Are you sure?" I asked doubtfully.

"Just don't interfere anymore, okay?" I looked down at my shoes, suddenly very interested in their pattern. "Raina!"

"What? I can't promise you that!"

"You have to, okay. I won't be around to cover for you like before, and you shouldn't be bringing any attention onto yourself, Miss Mirror Guardian." 

"He's right, Raina", Shay said quietly.

"I know", I admitted. "I'll try, okay?"

"That'll do for now." Gray grinned. "I'll leave now. I know that Raina has something to tell you, Shay." I hugged Gray goodbye, feeling a little sad that we had to part despite everything he'd done to annoy the shit out of me.

"We'll see each other again, right?

"Of course! I'm always around here somewhere." Gray waved and melted away into the shadows. 

Shay and I entered my empty house - Dad was away on a business trip for another two days - and made our way upstairs where we both took showers and got dressed for bed. As we dropped back onto my pillows, both of us pretty exhausted, Shay shifted to face me.

"You've got something to tell me?" he inquired around a yawn. My eyes drank him in and I felt complete now that I had him back and we were safe. Impulsively, I gently brushed my lips against his.

"I figured it out, Shay." I smiled at him. "I'm in love with you too." There. I'd finally said it to him out loud. It felt so much better to have things out in the open, you know?

I watched as a slow smile eased across his lips and made me feel warm inside. It was a special smile, one of my favorites because it was meant for me and only me. I liked being the one who got to see the many facets of Shay Mcallister. We were so right together. Maybe this would seem just to good to be true to other people. What's the catch? They'd probably wonder. It's not. Shay and I are a work in progress that's been under construction for years. We'll work on us together, like we always have.

So, maybe I had ended up turning into some cheesy teen novel heroine, and maybe I'd become a cliche by falling for my best friend. Yes, I saw things and no, I wasn't completely human. I now accepted these things. They made me who I am - I might as well own my strangeness. Maybe one day I'll go in search of answers, or maybe I won't - who knows? 

As long as I had Shay and my family, life for me would be absolutely, positively, 100% normal - just the way I like it. 

 ****

several months later...

"I'm leaving now Mom!" I called as I made my way to the front door. My mom popped her head out of the living room doorway.

"What time will you be back tonight?"

"Ahh...around eleven? Shay's taking me on a date after we get out of class." Mom grinned widely.

"Well, tell your boyfriend get you back home before midnight, Cinderella." 

"Bye mom", I replied. I shut the door behind me and made my way to campus. On my way there I spotted a familiar figure go into the library and impulsively followed. I stood in the library doorway, searching for him. I thought I'd spotted him, but as I approached the man I'd mistaken to be him I saw that it wasn't. As I passed by a window something caught my eye and I paused. Gray stood on the sidewalk, looking completely the same as usual.

"Bye", he mouthed before donning his signature smirk and melting away into a crowd of pedestrians.

"He's gone", a voice stated the obvious from behind me. I spun to find myself face-to-face with the library's spirit. She floated several inches off the ground, her long dark blue hair curling around her and seeming to blow with a wind that was not there. "Are you finally going to talk to me, Ponytail?"

"I'm not wearing a ponytail today", I felt the need to point out.

"You should have answered me much earlier. Maybe that business with the reapers could have been less messy than it had turned out to be." She floated around me, giving me a smug look. "I know more about you and your people than you could imagine. In fact.." Her face was suddenly very close to mine, giving me a closer look at her silver and blue eyes. "I know everything." 

                                                             THE END

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A/N: It's done. It's over, finally. 

I am definitely taking a writing break before I start a new story.

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read and vote for this story. 

I won't be making a sequel, though I am aware there are many questions that haven't been answered in this story. Should I decide that Raina isn't done telling her story, then I'll take up my pen and work on a sequel, but I highly doubt that will happen.

So, this is it. Tell me what you think in the comments below. Come on, don't be shy! I won't bite, I swear. :D