Eventually

Chapter Twenty

A.N. My MAIN INSPIRATION for this WHOLE BOOK was a song by Tame Impala called Eventually, which I've linked in case you guys wanted to see how this story came to exist!

THE FINAL CHAPTER! Before you all hop into it, I'd like to take this chance right now to tell you how much I appreciate the fact that you've stuck through me with this story (and my other stories). When I started writing this, I was in a really shitty place and I wanted to write a (semi?) happy story for once, since I hadn't written one in so long. Writing this book really helped me, and I only hope you guys enjoyed coming along for the journey.

But now it's finally over, so thank you so much for reading, voting, commenting, and sticking with me this far. It means a lot to me. Now get ready for this, and don't be afraid to comment or message me anytime, and I really hope you enjoyed this book, and that you enjoy this final chapter.

Xoxo, Clay.

Chapter Twenty 

December 31st 1999 - Frederick Pepper  

The countdown to the New Year started.

Everyone around me was screaming down the numbers - ten, nine eight, seven, six...

Their faces were carving beautiful smiles. The smiles of happy strangers were always the best to see. I looked around and saw the world shining in bright and effortless lights, as far as the eye could see.

I saw bursts of yellow and orange flying up into the sky, fireworks brimming on the streets and shooting up into the gorgeous galaxy above me. And everyone was where they were supposed to be. Everyone was with who they were supposed to be with - their families, their friends, their soulmates - but not me. And I knew why.

It was because I'd fucked it, and I'd driven Arthur away like I was always terrified I would. Some part of me was even angry with him for forcing me to go, for trying to move on with another guy and blaming me when it didn't work out. I knew I was partly to blame, but I couldn't take it all on myself. I didn't ask Ben to push me out of the way.

Arthur still felt like the love of my life. The only boy I'd ever love. I knew if I searched for another thousand years, I'd never find a guy like him. And no matter how much he screamed and kicked, no matter how much he wanted me to go, I'd never be able to forget him. I'd never be able to get over him. That's the hard thing about loving someone so completely - they become a part of you, even when they're gone. He was still a part of me even though he was so far away, even though I'd probably never see him again.

I stood alone on the street corners of central London, and I watched it all go by. The end of the year, the new millennium, and all the hope and happiness that came with it. The whole world, the entire human race, on this day, was looking out into tomorrow, and what they saw made them the happiest that they could ever be.

But yet, I was still alone. I'd wandered through Piccadilly Circus and passed the celebrations by the London Eye, until I found myself sitting on a park bench in Parliament Square. Just as the clock struck midnight, I was somewhere near central London. The ancient, timbered clang of Big Ben echoed through the city, striking away the last thousand years in seconds.

People danced up and down the streets, couples walked arm-in-arm, and I saw nothing but smile after smile after smile. Red double-deckers flurried the streets, and black hackney carriages, and everything else you'd expect to see in London, it was all right in front of me.

I wasn't without hope, though. Not yet, anyway. I watched the glowing face of the clock strike midnight - five, four, three, two, and one.

I watched 1999 become 2000. It should have felt like the whole world had changed, had grown into something better. But as time passed, the fireworks stopped and the screaming and shouting had died down, and it felt exactly the same.