Love to Hate You

Epilogue

In the end, Justin got what he wanted. After the other Heartbreakers quit the band, Justin was twice as determined to get what he was after. With the help of Laney and his website, he got extremely internet famous—famous enough that a record producer found him and offered to produce his music. That was the end of senior year. The town was crazy-happy for him. The Lunch Box was put on the news, Justin kept showing up on TV, and everyone was talking about him. He turned into a hit. However, from what I’ve been seeing in magazines recently, Justin keeps getting into a lot of trouble.  He keeps getting arrested for drug use and has gotten violent with the paparazzi. His life seems to be spiraling downhill.

After the gig with Karma, I went back to the life I used to live before the Heartbreakers. I spent a lot of time painting and teaching Sean how to paint—which always ended with one or both of us smeared with paint and our lips joined in a sweet kiss.

I made a lot of enemies. Fans of Justin’s lashed out against me and I spent most of senior year being bullied relentlessly. My junior year mural was even laughed at and mocked—but I didn’t take it down. I didn’t mind what people thought about it, it was one of my favorite and most memorable pieces.

Austin and Kris stayed together throughout the rest of high school, but now they are on-again-off-again in college. Austin still remains a close friend of mine, though all of us are still friends. Every once in a while we get together to play at different gigs and open up different bands. It’s not a steady thing, though. It’s just a hobby.

Now, I’m your average college kid. I’m majoring in art in hopes of becoming a freelance artist and getting my art into the museums.  I manage to wiggle my way out of debt with a side-job and the Karma gigs. I am currently single, working independently to work my life out.  Yes, Sean and I are just friends now. We are both busy with our own lives. He’s going to school to be a criminal profiler and is getting highest honors in his class. I’m proud of him. He’s my best friend and I love him very dearly.

I look back on everything that happened two years ago and laugh. What were we doing?  It’s strange how things change as you grow in and out of love.  You can go from hating someone to loving someone and back to hating someone in an instant. I think I understand why that is now. I think it’s because nobody’s life is a cliché, and honestly, I like it better this way.

The End