Epilogue

Time Skip to Graduation Day...

"Blaire! We're gonna be late!" Jax yelled from downstairs...for the fifth time.

It was graduation day, and I was getting ready up in my room. I was almost done, but for some reason, Jax was really eager to get to school. I wanted to graduate as soon as possible, too, but I also didn't want to show up with only one shoe on.

"I'm almost done!" I responded, clipping on my other earring.

I had decided to stick with my new style (I kinda really liked it now), and just make it more formal for today. I was wearing a black, off the shoulder high low dress with some black heeled combat boots for shoes. I had let my hair grow a little longer, and dyed it to make it ombre with purple, so I just had the front pieces pulled back and clipped, with my normal curls as well. My makeup was the same, and I had my blue graduation gown and cap sitting on my bed. My necklace was, of course, sitting on my neck. Over my time living in my new town, I had gotten more ear piercings (and maybe a bellybutton one, but my parents don't need to know about that). I had two diamond hoops at the normal lobe, with a small diamond flower and a single diamond above that on the upper lobe. At the top, I had a diamond hoop helix and a triple-flower piercing on the flat part of the ear.** This was only on the left ear. On my right, I only had the lobe piercings so that it would be easier to sleep. All in all, I felt like I was really stepping out of the hole the fear of discovery kept me in. Now, I could be myself. Well, most of myself.

"Ok! I'm ready!" I said as I slipped on my gown and bounced down the stairs.

When I got down there, I saw that my entire family had been waiting for me. Jax was wearing a simple white dress shirt and black slacks, his gown slung over his shoulder, and my parents were both dressed semi-formal. They were all staring at me with open mouths, though, which I didn't understand at first.

"They think you look good, you idiot!"

I let a smile slide onto my face at that realization. I was ready to graduate and start my life. I was ready to become who I was meant to be.

"What're we waiting for? Let's go! We're going to be late!" I ran past them and out the front door.

They caught up to me just as I was hopping into the backseat of the car. We had all decided to take one car for convenience.

As we were pulling out of the driveway, my dad said, "You guys ready? Big day!"

I smiled over at Jax, "Born ready."

"Oh, yeah! Let's get a move on people! I want out of this hellhole!"

"Khione, you do realize that we still have to graduate, right?" I said, not even caring that I was around other people.

My family had finally started to notice when I was talking to them and when I was talking to Khione. It helped when I addressed them by name, too. Of course, I could only do this in front of them.

"Details, details. Who needs a diploma anyways?"

"People who want to go to college," I answered smoothly.

"WAIT! We're going to COLLEGE!? More school?! I thought we were done!"

I laughed at her antics as we pulled into the school parking lot. The place was jam packed with cars and people, all there to watch us walk across that stage.

My thoughts started to drift to our old home, in our old town, where our old friends lived. They would be graduating, too. Lucy, Caitling, Lux, Lucas, and Cole. I didn't even know how they were doing. We couldn't even really say goodbye to them. Not properly, anyways. All we knew is that they had kept our secret, as asked. They had risked their lives for us, people who had abandoned them. A pang of guilt shot through me. I had put them in that situation. It was my fault that we had to leave. Just as I was letting my mind spiral out of control, Jax shook my arm.

"Come on! We're here!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Don't be so pushy," I grumbled, climbing out of the car.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the direction of the football field, where the ceremony would be taking place. There was a long line of people waiting to be seated all the way out to the parking lot, and balloons of the school colors, purple and white, were hung up along the walk. There was a sign that led to the entrance of the school building that told the graduates to go there. We had already practiced the entrance multiple times, so I knew that that was where we were going to be coming out from.

"See you guys later," I called out to our parents, wanting to be the one to tug HIS arm this time.

However much I wanted to keep the 'I don't care' facade, it was pretty difficult to keep a smile off my face at my own graduation. As we entered the school, we saw more signs pointing us towards the hall that led to the football field. We would line up there in two lines, before slowly walking out when the music started. When our classmates saw us, there were a few doubletakes, but most of them had gotten used to me not completely ignoring their existence after I had come back from the FBI (but they didn't know that I was ever there). They just thought that it was because of a certain someone, but not Jax, Kai. Speaking of Kai, he was coming our way to greet us.

He gave me his big, sweet grin and pulled me into a hug, leaving one arm around my shoulders as he pulled away to greet my brother, "Hey, dude. How'd you get her to part with the leather jacket?"

I punched him in the side, "I know when it's not needed, jerk."

"First, OW!!! Second, I know. I was just teasing. You look beautiful by the way," Kai said, leaning down to peck his lips gently to mine.

Oh, did I forget to mention that we're dating? I guess I did. Yeah. After I came back, we had a long discussion about secrets and what we were...which ended with us making out. After that, he asked me on a proper date, and it's blossomed from there. Jax liked to act like he knew it all along, which was probably true, but I knew that he was itching to give Kai the 'big brother talk.' EVEN THOUGH WE'RE TWINS!!!

"Thank you," I grinned up at him.

"Ugh! Can you guys not do that while I'm within a fifty foot radius? I think I'm going to throw up," Jax said, and faked gagged.

I turned to him and gave him my 'icy' glare. It usually worked better when my eyes weren't already white so that I could make them flash, but it worked nonetheless. He gulped, and kept his mouth shut.

"So, are you ready to tell me what school you're going to?" Kai asked, narrowing his eyes.

I had been keeping it a secret about which school I would be going to for college, and I knew that Kai and my family were itching to find out. They knew I had gotten into a couple photography programs, but they weren't sure which ones. It was more fun to watch them guess.

"Nope! You'll find out soon enough," I kissed the corner of his lips before heading over to find my place in line.

I could imagine Kai's exasperated exchange with my brother before they came over. Jax was, obviously, behind me, and Kai was a couple people in front of us. A quick glance at the clock on the wall revealed that we had five more minutes until we would be starting. I tried to keep them out, but butterflies popped up in my stomach, fluttering about. I was still nervous about moving away from my family; away from the safety to fall back on. But I knew that it had to be done, and that we could handle it. Plus, I would never be alone. I had Khione with me always.

"Yep! You can't get rid of me that easily!"

I laughed. Our relationship had blossomed even more in the recent months. We learned to accept each other and that we were two different people living in the same body. Now, that sentence may sound weird to some, but to us, it was just part of our normal.

"Okay, kids! Get ready!" A teacher, Mrs. Clue, instructed, pacing up and down the line checking we were all ready.

By her actions, you would think SHE was the one graduating, not us.

Before I knew it, the music was starting, and the people at the front of the line were walking through the doors. Jax and I gave each other big, excited grins before we took the first few steps towards adulthood.

Everything passed by so quickly. Honestly, my mind sort of blanked out after seeing our parents sitting in the audience, Dad on the edge of tears and Mom already wiping her eyes. If you thought they were big, strong superheroes, you would be wrong. They are big marshmallows.

Then, I was up on the stage, accepting my diploma. There was cheers and hugging, I knew that for sure. I'm pretty sure Kai and I ended up practically making out before Jax pulled us away from each other, a playful glare directed at his best friend. Luckily, he had done it just in time before our parents walked up, a group of teenagers our age anxiously waiting behind them.

I thought I was hallucinating at first. Maybe my mind had finally broken under the pressure. I was ready to start blaming Khione when one of the girls came running up to me, crushing me in a hug before I could even get a word in. It was Lux. She was really here.

They were all really there! Everyone: Caitlin, Lucy, Lux, Lucas, and Cole. The rest followed Lux's lead and soon enough, Jax and I were in the center of a huge mess of a group hug. Happy tears were slipping down my face, and I wasn't even trying to stop them. I hadn't seen my friends in a year, and I before, I wasn't even sure if I would ever again. This was the best graduation gift I could've ever gotten.

"What are you guys doing here?! I thought you were still in Apple Valley!" I exclaimed when we reluctantly pulled back.

"I know! But we couldn't miss your graduation! Your parents brought us down," Lucy answered.

I looked over at our parents, who had stepped back to give us room with the proudest smiles I have ever seen on their faces. I sent them a thankful look before turning back to our friends and giving each of them their own separate huge while Jax did the same. They all looked relatively the same, but if you looked closely, you saw the subtle differences. Caitlin was wearing more makeup than she used to, which meant that she had finally started to come out of her shell. And Lucas was way more muscular, so he had probably finally made it on to the school soccer team. I was definitely the one who looked the most different, and Lucy couldn't wait to comment on it.

"Who are you and what have you done with Blaire?" she asked, looked me up and down.

I clamped a hand over her mouth and whispered, "Remember, Brooklyn Maxwell. And I changed my style."

"Well, I, for one, love the new you, Brooklyn," Lux stepped up.

"Thanks."

Just then, a throat was cleared behind me. I had totally forgotten about Kai! I gave him a sheepish, apologetic smile.

"Care to introduce me, babe?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and loosely hanging his arm over my shoulders.

"Babe?" Cole asked, smirking at me.

I blushed, but introduced them, "Guys, this is my boyfriend, Kai. Kai, these are my friends from my old town, Lucy, Lux, Caitlin, Lucas, and Cole."

I pointed at them respectively. I noticed that the boys and Lucy were sizing Kai up, almost to say 'what's so special about him?'.

"How'd you get past her guard dog over there?" Lucas jerked his thumb at Jax.

I rolled my eyes at Jax's smile at that statement. He was not, and would never be my guard dog. I didn't need him to protect me all the time, and it was time my old friends learned that.

Kai spoke, "Well, I wouldn't say she needs any protection. She kneed me in the balls the first time we met."

The way he said it was so casual that you would've thought he was talking about heading to the store later, not the assault of his private parts. He was trained well, though, I'll give him that.

"Good boy!" I made a show of patting him on the head.

"Not again! Stop being so cutesy all the time!" Jax threw his hands up.

I rolled by eyes, but before I could make my usual sarcastic retort, my phone went off. It was an unknown number, but for some reason I pressed the accept button.

I wish I hadn't.

"Hello?" I asked, turning away from my friends and family.

"It's me. We're calling you in. We'll pick you up in five minutes," Agent Knight answered.

I groaned. Didn't he know that I was graduating right now?

"I'm at my graduation, where you should be, celebrating with your son," I replied icily.

I knew that I had to go in, but that didn't mean I would make it easily for him. That's just not me.

"If I punch the guy in the nose, do you think we'll be arrested?" Khione asked.

"Yes."

I did not have time for either of them. I was supposed to be having the time of my life. Not getting a call from the FBI asking me to work for them.

"Brooklyn," Agent Knight sighed.

I let out an even more annoyed sigh, "Fine. Bring something for me to change into."

I hung up before he could respond.

Then, I turned back to my friends, who were all staring at me in confusion. I gave them a sheepish smile in response.

I looked over at Kai, "That was your dad. He needs my help."

His expression went from confusion to furious in a second, "That son of a bitch. Seriously?! On our graduation day? He waits this long, just to call you today of all days!"

I let him get it out before placing my hand in his. I didn't have to say anything because he knew it wasn't my fault, or his dad's really. He was just sad that our big day got cut short.

"I know. It sucks," I said.

"Care to fill us in?" Lucas asked, breaking us out of our bubble.

Oh, yeah. Our old friends. They didn't know about any of what happened in the last year. That was a conversation that I did not want to have.

"Short version is...I got arrested by the FBI and now I have to help them whenever they need me in return for them keeping our secret. Kai's dad is sorta my handler of sorts. I just got called in to help them on a mission," I said.

Lucas' eyebrows shot up and Lucy's mouth literally fell open in shock. Jax and our parents looked like they were on the same page as Kai; they were angry about this.

"I'll be careful. You know I got this, and I'll be home soon. Love you," I gave each of my parents a quick kiss on the cheek.

I hugged Jax and my friends before turning to Kai and giving him a real kiss on the lips. He seemed to understand that it meant more than I was saying. I was putting on a strong front, but inside, I was scared. I was clueless on what I was about to walk into, and Kai could sense it. We had grown to understand each other more than I ever could've imagined in our time together. He was the person that I could turn to in times of stress or fear, and he would hold me and whisper that 'everything was going to be okay.' It sounds cheesy, but it's true.

"Ok. I've got to go," I gave him one last hug before turning and jogging off towards the front of the school.

A blacked-out SUV was waiting for me on the curb, still running. Agent Knight opened the door to the back seat once he saw it was me. He had a bag of clothes waiting for me on his lap. I took one last look at the school before climbing in.

He started to explain the mission as I changed, but I was only partly listening. My mind had somehow drifted to how far I've come in so little time. Khione and I are finally on completely good terms, I had control, and I was working with the FBI part-time. How had that happened?

I was comfortable with myself and that was a badass, superhero teenager.