Epilogue 1 - 10 years later

[10 years later]

Despite a change in time, the location did not move at all. Even as 10 years passed within a flash, two people gathered in one spot.

A spot that was a common area for them. Although it's not the same house it was always at, the house was lived in by the same person.

"Why are you at my house, Ethan?" Owen asked as he rapidly prepared for an assault of people after the sudden reminder of his past. Running around, preparing snacks and drinks of alcohol for the onslaught of people.

"No reason. We haven't hung out like this in a while. When are the others getting here?"

"Don't know… Ruby's shouldn't be too long. Sean and Lily are on their way and I'm guessing Simon and Claire will show up eventually… you should know where Kaylee is."

Ethan spread his legs out across Owen's carpet in the living room. Even as they were around several chairs, the two of them sat on the floor with several cans of opened beer, sighing into their drinks as if they were depressed. Maybe this is because they are.

The two of them hadn't aged at all. Ethan didn't grow any taller and Owen didn't get any happier. The only difference is the slight growth of facial hair under Ethan's nose.

"Where has the time gone…" Ethan said as he casually sipped to not make Owen think he became an alcoholic.

DING DONG

"Who is it?" Ethan sat up like a dog as Owen unreluctantly had to unwillingly answer his own door.

"Are we late?" A rather cheerful voice said only to be followed up by the somewhat opposite.

"We brought beer…" The soft shy but sunny voice said.

"Come on in…" Owen took their coats. "Ethan's already in."

"HELLO SEAN AND LILY!" Ethan announced as soon as he saw them enter his vision. "It's been a while!"

Ethan charged at the two of them, pulling them in for a hug. As he did, he was secretly groping Sean's newly developed muscles that weren't there 10 years ago.

"You've gotten taller?" Ethan didn't know what else to say as he was too entranced with how Sean was overtaking him in many ways.

"Have I?"

"You have…" Owen added from the kitchen as he went to get more drinks.

A few moments later, when Owen returned from the kitchen, the four of them sat down and began their nostalgia trip.

"Nice to see you don't wear the hoodie anymore, Lily," Ethan said, remembering just how bad he was at talking to the people, especially girls.

"Yeah… I decided to put that all behind me. It's been great!"

Lily's smile never aged. Her twilight hair was as clean as ever and neatly wrapped in a bun. She dressed in a hoodie that one would call the same. But this was not bubble gum pink, it was instead blue.

SMASH

"ARE WE LATE!" A voice shouted after everyone heard the door break open at the unprecedented force of a visitor who clearly didn't know proper etiquette.

"Claire?" Owen said, smiling maliciously at his new visitor. Hammer in hand alongside some new hinges. "This has happened a lot. Do you mind?"

Claire stared at Owen's sinister smile, wanting to back away into Simon who managed to sneak passed and already started drinking, forgetting about his wife.

Claire couldn't dance away as Owen pushed her further into a corner, eventually giving in and taking the tools.

"Have you guys got a babysitter?" Simon said as he sat down next to Sean who stared at him.

"Of course not… he's 5… he'll be fine."

The others looked at Sean and turned to Lily to see if it was true. Of course, it couldn't be true that a 5-year-old be left alone. But with Sean as the parent, anything could happen.

"It's alright…" Lily added to calm the crowd. "Matt's looking after him."

Despite trying to reassure them. It only made matters worse. What came next, added to the mountain of issues.

"I can't wait to have kids." Claire slumped down next to Simon after fixing the door, pouring in sweat and taking off a hardhat she somehow got. "I wonder what they'll look like."

"Probably really ugly…" Ethan said under his breath, only to be hit by an empty can from Owen who was in charge of babysitting Ethan.

"Sorry, I'm late…" A rushed tomato called Ruby said as she ran in wearing a strange leather jacket that was out of character for her usual self. Melting in a chair with her bags still in hand. "Been a busy last few days…"

"Oh! The tour!" Ethan screamed. "Can we have your autograph!"

"I'm too tired to write." She said as her hair melted into her face, looking as if it was a pool of blood.

"Being in a band is tough…" Owen said. "You are doing well."

"Thanks…" Ruby said jumping on him. "Where's Maya? Is she with your parents?"

"Yeah, I dropped her off earlier."

With 6 of the 7 having arrived. The night carried on. They all sat around a table as if they were studying for the exams which caused them tons of stress. They each shared stories of their lives up to this point and will never miss an opportunity to insult each other.

"How's all the school kids, Lily?" Claire asked an already tipsy Lily, who was latching onto Sean and never letting go. As if she was a cat that had found its prey.

"Gooood…" She slurred. "They cause problems but my class is really lovely…"

Lily, among the rest of them, continued to pursue their dreams. She quickly graduated from university and did teacher training to become a teacher for a primary school. Making sure no one ended up like her.

"What about yoooou?" She asked back.

"Same old… You know the country at the moment… not fun times…"

Claire stayed on her determined path to become a politician. She charged at every opportunity to crush her opponents whilst trying to be as legal as possible. Everyone if the room may not know it, but she has dirt on all of them.

"From what I hear it's not that bad?" Simon added.

Simon, just like Lily, works for a school. Not as a teacher, but instead as a counsellor. He helps his students every day. Helping them climb their way out of a pit of depression the system pushed them in. He even gives Owen the free session every now and then, even if he doesn't want it and refuses.

"Working in schools is really strange…" Whereas Lily worked in a primary school, her husband, Sean, worked in a secondary school. He worked as a PE teacher and football coach on the side to bring passion to all the young athletes who work hard to not break their bones every day.

"All you have such active jobs…" Ethan said wishing he had more to talk about. "I'm just a physicist…"

Even if he wouldn't admit it. It was certainly impressive. Ethan was smart and there was no denying it. Having spent several years in another country to pursue his goal, everyone was already annoyed by hearing about it. He quickly learnt not to bring it up.

"My life is just as boring as you," Owen said only to be hit by Ruby as he tried to stretch his legs out on top of her.

"Your life isn't boring." She said, "You've got that new film coming out."

"Oh, you did the soundtrack for the first two, didn't you?" Simon asked, not hiding that he wanted details about the upcoming new film that Owen was the composer for.

"And he also wrote a few of my songs…" Ruby said exposing her ghostwriter.

Ruby was currently the lead singer of a rock band. It was strange for a girl of a classical background to become a rock band singer, but after her performance during the festival of their final year. She never wanted to go back and practised every day to achieve the level of fame she had at this moment.

"But none of us can compare to Kaylee…" They all said, wondering where she was.

"I don't think she'll be coming… Sorry guys…" Ethan said, just as let down as the others. Destroying the mood for the night.

"Can't be helped," Claire said. "Worldwide actress and star… all this dashing about the world for interviews and filming… what a life…"

Kaylee continued to become an actress. During her first year of university, she was scouted and never looked back. Even during the hard parts of her relationship with Ethan, the two of them kept working their own paths to one day reunite at the edge of the world.

"Don't be sad," Owen said. "You are married… I'm sure she loves you."

"Ew… cringe…" Ethan said as he wasn't able to hide a slight smile that was exposed by his flustering eyes. Only to down his beer to try and hide it.

"Will she be at the wedding?" Claire asked.

"The wedding…" Sean and Lily spoke in unison.

"That's next week, right?" Ruby asked as she was almost asleep.

"Yup," Ethan said. "She'll be at Charley's wedding."