Year 2036
(So... this is the last chapter of this series. This is so hard for me to write, and I'll make a mushy statement at the end, but for now here are the details you need to know lol.
• It's 2036
• Theo, Philip, and Georges are 18. Angelica is 16 and Frances is 14, but they're in the same class. All of the meme team is about in their late 30s.
• This isn't the last book of the series, however! I'll start a book of random one shots soon, and not just when the kids are 18, like when they're 5 and stuff too lol. It'll basically be the same as this book except the chapters are in non-chronological order lol)
Alex's POV
I never expected this.
I never expected to go to Liberty University (now called Columbia University, to the saltiness of all the hoodies i bought.)
I never expected to meet my friend group, who I still talk to everyday.
I never expected to meet my husband.
I never expected to adopt 3 kids.
I never expected to make millions doing what I love.
But I definitely never expected this.
"Theodosia Esther Burr-Alston." called the announcer, to which the meme team cheered, and Burr almost comically-loudly sobbed.
I took a deep breath. How is Philip about to graduate already? A few more names were called and we all politely clapped, until they got to Florence Habib, and I knew Philip was next.
"Philip Hamilton. Class of 2036." called the announcer, as he walked across stage in his, honestly extremely ugly, regulation blue and white graduation robe.
Don't cry. Don't cry. Don't cry. And, I'm crying.
Philip shook hands, gave the audience a thumbs up, received his diploma, posed for a picture, and walked back to his seat like nothing happened.
How can he be so nonchalant about this? Doesn't he know he's growing up?
"Georges Washington de Lafayette-Mulligan. Class of 2036." called the announcer, completely butchering his name as Georges strolled across the stage in his illegally bedazzled graduation robe and cap, shaking hands.
We all wiped tears (and Laf and Herc sobbed even worse than Burr) when Georges received the diploma, and laughed our asses off when Georges tried to do a backflip.
Soon everyone had walked across stage.
"Now, our valedictorian and her speech, Theodosia Burr!" said the announcer, to which we all cheered again, and Burr sobbed even harder while Theo walked up to the podium, and her face zoomed in on by the giant screen behind her.
"Hello. I would first and foremost like to thank my classmates and especially my friends for always standing by me and encouraging me to strive and not be afraid of failure. I am sure everyone graduating today could not be here without the help and support of their family along the way. From my Uncle Hercules encouraging me to apply to Columbia University this year, to Georges Lafayette encouraging me to put a tack on Mrs. Bratton's chair in the sixth grade, you have never failed to instill bravery in me in times of uncertainty." she said, which got a couple laughs.
"I would like to thank God, for without him I would've given up many times. I would like to thank my teachers, who have given me the knowledge and emotional strength to help me succeed in life, and especially Mr. Paine for helping me realize my love for journalism." she said, then smiled and took a deep breath.
"I would like to thank my dad, who taught me the value of education from an early age, and who managed to support his daughter as a single father working 80 hours a week, and still be the best dad ever." she said, her eyed tearing up as she read more of the paper in front of her.
"And I would like to thank my mother. She taught me how to be a strong, fierce, woman, who didn't care what others think. Even though she is no longer on with us..." she trailed off, crying and looking like she was unable to say anything else.
"WE LOVE YOU THEO!!!" screamed Angelica, who was sitting right next to me, and everyone cheered while Theo gave a watery laugh and got back to the speech.
"Even though she is no longer with us, I believe she is watching me in Heaven right now, and I believe she is proud, not only of the person that I have become, but the entire class of 2036's continuous growth as people over the years." Theo said with a smile.
Theo went on with her incredible beautiful and inspiring speech, but I wasn't listening to a word of it. All I could focus on was hugging Philip and wishing he was 4 years old again.
John's POV
~2 Months Later~
"Are you sure you don't want a new laptop for school? We're already getting Philip one for when he starts at NYU next week." I said to Frances, and she rolled her eyes.
"I'm fine dad. Unlike you I wouldn't waste my multi-million dollars on things like a fancy Manhattan townhouse and electronics." said Frances.
"Okay, first of all, you sound exactly like your Pops. Second of all, you know we donate like 50% to Eliza's orphanage, 'Who Tells Your Story', and are basically the reason she could open up three more buildings! And third of all, that's literally what most people spend their multi-million dollars on." I said, ruffling her hair as she rolled her eyes.
"Um, I'm pretty sure Who Tells Your Story is only successful because Georges keeps supporting it on his Instagram with 20 million followers, along with the fact that Georges friends with Stormi Jenner." she said, sticking out her tongue at me.
Philip had already gotten into NYU and was planning on studying creative writing. Even though he was staying in the city, it was a little upsetting that he was growing up so fast.
Angelica had her sights set on Juilliard and was going to study vocal music. It is pretty much a given that she'd get in after her debut in The Princess and The Frog on Broadway last year, so at least she's also staying close to home too.
And Frances... well... Frances wants to go to Harvard. It's her dream school, and she wants to study Political Science, which Alex is also kind of upset about, since he keeps warning our kids that politics are evil. (despite him being BFFs/basically son with our senator, being his campaign manager, and being editor-in-chief of a political news source.)
The meme team burst through the door, along with Theo and Burr.
"WE BROUGHT A CAKE!" screamed Angie.
The bakery spelt 'Congratulations' wrong, but Georges, Philip, and Theo appreciated the effort.
"Let us listen to some tunes for the party!" yelled Laf, and turned on the radio, and we all groaned.
"AND I'M NEVER GONNA STOP UNTIL I MAKE EM DROP AND BURN EM UP AND SCATTER THEIR REMAINS!" blasted into our ears.
"Uncle Lafffff, just because your rap career is taking off doesn't mean you need to play your songs every five seconds!" whined Angelica while he laughed and put on another song.
Lafayette is currently a part-time rapper, part-time stay at home dad, but I guess since Georges is moving to his own (fancy) condo soon, he'll be part-time rapper part-time whatever job he feels like at the moment.
Maybe modeling, maybe teaching a French class, maybe a Sephora makeup artist, maybe a zookeeper. Classic Laf.
"It is not my fault that the radio people and the teens love me!" he said happily.
"Yeah, you don't see me going around and playing my video game everywhere!" yelled Peggy.
Peggy is the animator, writer, and main voice actor in her new highly successful video game 'And Peggy'. It's about a revolutionary war-era teenage girl who's kind of a nerd, but ends up being kind of a brutal assassin of Red Coats.
It's totally unrealistic.
But I guess it's pretty fun.
"Yeah, but Angelica does try to show strong people how she can beat them up everywhere we go." countered Herc, and Angelica punched his arm, basically proving his point.
Angelica now works full-time at her kickboxing business, which is most famous for helping moms get back into shape after pregnancy, which was partnered with 'HERC', Hercules's fashion company.
Hercules... has the most interesting late-30s life, I think.
He was on Project Runway, and although he got second place, he became the fan favorite and his clothing line was doing really well. He's most popular for making maternity wear and clothes for all sizes that isn't ugly. He's also weirdly good friends with Tim Gunn.
"Can we all just agree to eat cake and shut up about how mildly successful we are?" said Alex, and we all shrugged and agreed while Philip cut us each a piece.
Philip's POV
"Jesus Christ, I can't believe I'm going to college!" I marveled while eating cake downstairs.
"Sameeeeeeee." said Theo, taking a huge bite of cake.
"YEET!" screamed Georges, and we all laughed while Frances rolled her eyes.
"Just because you think school is some kind of 'creativity jail' doesn't mean that it's not the right choice for others!" she whined, but she just laughed harder.
"I do not doubt that it is the best option for you, but I also do not doubt that traveling the world is a much better and funner use of time, non?" Georges said while we laughed, and Frances good-naturedly rolled her eyes at them again.
"It's not even funner, it's more fu—"
"FRANCEEEEEEE, THERE'S A LETTER FOR YOU!" screamed Dad. Frances pouted even more, and went upstairs.
"Mon ami, I do not understand why you will not take a 'blank year' and travel with me!" complained Georges as Frances came down the stairs.
"It's called a gap year, Georges. And we can always go somewhere for Spring break, or even next Summer!" I said, and he frowned.
"Okay..." he said sadly.
"I can't believe we're going to two different schools!" moaned Theo as she rested her head on my shoulder.
"Shut up. Your schools are literally 6 miles apart. That's like a 20 minute Subway ride!" yelled Angelica while everyone else laughed and Theo and I glared.
Frances suddenly looked down at her envelope, as if she had just noticed it.
"Frances? What's wrong?" said Georges, concerned, but Frances ignored it and tore it open.
"Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god." she kept repeating over and over, and I was getting pretty fucking concerned for my little sister, so I looked over her shoulder.
Dear Frances Eleanor Hamilton,
Harvard is delighted to offer you a spot for the 2037-2038 school year. We have looked at your transcripts, test scores, and school activities, and decided you would be a perfect fit for the class of 2041. This means that you will graduate highschool next year, your junior year. You do not need to apply, please just contact admissions director with the contact information below.
"Oh my god... holy shit, Frances!" I yelled.
"My baby sister's going to Harvard! Wait, fuck, my baby sister's graduating a year earlier than me... DAMNIT! BUT MY BABY SISTER'S GOING TO FUCKING HARVARD!" yelled Angelica.
"Umm... who's going to Harvard?" asked Pops. Oh... didn't realize he was standing behind us.
"Dad... I'm going to Harvard." said Frances as tears formed in her eyes.
"WAIT, WHAT?" he said, gently snatching the paper from her, and reading.
"Isn't this so amazing? I've wanted this since I was three!" Frances squealed excitedly.
"Honey... you're fourteen." said Pops warily.
"Yeah, which makes it that much more impressive!" said Frances incredulously. "Why aren't you smiling?"
"Honey... you're gonna be fifteen on your first day of college. I don't... think this is right for you." he said awkwardly.
"What? You don't think I should go?" asked Frances angrily.
"Look. You're only 14. Why don't you just wait a year and—"
"Why would I wait a year when I can achieve my dreams now? Unlike you, I'm not scared of change—"
"Okay, that's not fair. Ange—"
"NO! What are you even afraid of? Me drinking? Me smokin 'the devils lettuce'? Me-"
"Honey, nobody calls it that..."
"SHUT UP GEORGES! Are you afraid of me having sex or something? DO YOU REALLY THINK WE'RE HAVING WILD FUCKING PARTIES AT HARVARD?"
"Ange, I'm just afraid of you getting hurt! You're not gonna be lonely two states away?" asked Pops.
"Whatever. I'm not a little kid anymore. Just leave me alone." she said, snatching her Harvard letter back and running to her room while Pops chased after her.
Lafayette's POV
"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" screamed Frances while I ate my fourth huge slice of cake. Alex came running up the stairs after her.
"What the fuck did you do?" asked John.
"Frances got accepted to Harvard." he said, and we all gasped.
"That's great! Why's she pissed off?" asked Herc.
"Because I told her I don't want her to go."
"WHAT?" screamed Eliza as she threw a fork at him.
"Well, she'll be 15 years old on her first day of college! She'll be a baby!" yelled Alex.
"You were seventeen on your first day of college." said Eliza, and I laughed.
"It's not funny. A 15 year old girl shouldn't be two states away from her dads." said Alex, and dramatically walked outside.
Eliza sighed. "I'll go talk to him." she said as she trailed behind him.
I decided that I would go talk to Frances, so I traveled up their fancy staircase and knocked on her door.
"Go away." she said, then sniffled.
"It's Uncle Laf." I said awkwardly.
"Oh, okay, come in then." she said happily, then sniffled again. I sat on her bed awkwardly while she kept crying.
"So... I want to say that I am proud of you. Harvard is a huge accomplishment, let alone being only 14. That is amazing. You are amazing." I said, and she smiled, then frowned again.
"My dad doesn't seem to think so." she said, and I sighed.
"Non. This is not true at all. He is very proud."
"Well he has a funny way of showing it. He doesn't trust me. He thinks I'll be scared."
"He doesn't think you will be scared, he is scared. He has the, how you say, abandonment issues." I said, and she laughed.
"Yeah. I know." she said.
"Well... let me tell you a story. It might help the feelings, non? Well, ass you know, I grew up as a marquis. My parents died when I was very young, and my grandmother raised me. Ever since I could remember, I had been infatuated with the idea of the USA. It seemed like everything was there. From hipsters in LA, to cowboys in Texas, to the most amazing city in the world, New York City, of course. I was naturally, loaded, so I had a lot of options. I invested $2 million in some real estate project, and they let me get a green card because I was 'creating jobs', whatever logic that is. I 'donated to' AKA 'paid' Columbia to let me go there, since my grades were non-existent, due to my fancy 'homeschooling'. My grandmother was naturally incredibly pissed off, and refused to let me go. So I did the only logical thing."
"What did you do?" she asked, interested in the story.
"I dressed up like a pregnant woman so no guards would recognize me, and bought a one way plane ticket from France to New York." I said, and she laughed.
"You dressed like a pregnant woman?" she asked.
"Yep. Boobs, belly, and everything else. Anyway, I arrived in America, called my grandmother, and told her that she could either accept my decision to move away, or she could never speak to me again."
"So what did she do?" asked Frances.
"She said, 'then I will chose the latter' and she hung up. And we were right, that was the last moment I ever spoke to her." Frances frowned as I told her the story.
"Uncle Laf, that's horrible." she said sadly, but I waved my hand at her.
"It is alright. She was a traditional woman, she did not take me being gay well either. Anyway, when I moved to New York, I was horribly unprepared. Everyone seemed so cold and rude, I kept getting lost, people were agitated at me for not speaking English well, and people kept staring at me. A week after I moved, she called back, and I didn't answer. I refused to let her win. And she didn't win, really. I began to love New York again. I learned my way around the city, I learned English, I saw the most beautiful buildings, I started college, and I found friends. To be honest, I thought that my grandmother could 'suck a dick' until a few years ago." I said.
"What happened a few years ago?"
"I got a letter from the Duke of Anjou, telling me that my grandmother had passed away. At first I did not care, but then a realization came to me of how hard me moving was to her. She was a lonely old lady, and her only child, my mother, had died less than ten years ago. Although she also had a funny way of showing it, she had my best interests at heart. Although I do not regret coming to America for one moment, I regret not seeing how hard it must be for her, and just getting mad at her when she tried to help. Anyway, the point is, Harvard is an amazing opportunity, your dad is being stupid, and you should go. But just try to think of how your dad feels. I was selfish, and I hope you do not make the same mistakes I did." I said while patting her head and dramatically leaving.
Less then 5 seconds later, she came sprinting down the stairs, and gave John and Alex a hug.
"I'm sorry, dads." she said.
"No, I'm sorry. I was being selfish and I didn't even tell you how proud I was of you. You're so intelligent, and you're gonna have a great time at Harvard." said Alex.
Me and Eliza high-fived.
Therapist friends to the rescue.
Alex's POV
"I'm not ready for this." I whispered while squeezing John's hand.
He sighed. "I know, baby girl. I'm not either."
"SMILE FOR SNAPCHAT!" screamed Angelica, taking a video of Philip, and he flipped her off.
Georges laughed while he stood next to me.
I can't believe my son's moving out. His own apartment. Fuck. It seems like just two years ago I was moving in to my first apartment with John.
We had finally moved all of his boxes to his new apartment, and his first day of college was today. We were all standing in his tiny living room.
"Promise me you'll call us everyday?" I asked.
"Dad, I live 30 minutes away." Philip said, then laughed.
John, me, and the kids all got in a cab to NYU. John squeezed my knee.
We walked into some building, John signed his name, and grabbed a lanyard and a free hat.
He looked exactly like me 20 years ago. Scared, excited, and probably just a little bit gay.
"FRESHMAN ORIENTATIONNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!" I heard some gross future-frat boys yelling.
"Well... I guess that's my cue." he sajd, discreetly wiping a tear while Frances and Angelica hugged him.
"Bye guys. I love you." he said while he hugged me and John, then walked away. Just like that.
I saw someone bump into him out of the corner of my eye. I turned around, and it looked like the guy spilt coffee on him.
"Oh shit. Sorry." the stranger said like he wasn't really sorry, and helped him up.
"No, it's okay, I really should look where I'm going. You know, I have a tendency to do that sometimes, my friends always tell me that. I can buy you new coffee if you want! So, where are you from? I'm from Manhattan, just more South. What's your name? What's your—"
"George Eacker. Senior. Pre-Law. New Jersey." Eacker said shortly.
"Oh, cool! My—"
"Can I offer you some free advice?" asked Eacker, with a strangely familiar smile.
"Sure, what is it?" Philip asked as he walked away with Eacker, and John and I not-so-discreetly stared at him walk away.
"Oh my god. He's gonna have, like, friends outside of our friends isn't he?" John asked while laughing through tears.
"Yep." I said, pulling my hair back into a ponytail, silently wishing for the weekend to come, and for Christmas break to come so I can see him other than when he makes me do laundry.
I looked at his new college, and then back at the city as if seeing it for the first time all over again.
"Hey. Cheer up, dad. You'll see him again." said Angelica.
"You think?" I asked, only half-joking. I saw Angelica try to wipe a tear without us seeing.
"Yeah," started Frances, "it's only a matter of time."
So... that was the end of the fic. You don't have to read this all if you don't want to, but I just needed to get it out.
I've been writing this series since I was barely in 5th grade, and now I'm in high school.
I would like to thank all of you for being there for the entirety of these 3 books and 106,273 words. Holy crap. That's fucking crazy.
For reference, that's about the length of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and a solid 9 hours to read the entirety of. 4 years in 9 hours.
Thank you all so much for reading, whether you've been here from the beginning or just now started.
I don't know what to say except thank you to you all so so much. This has been an emotional rollercoaster, from me starting a simple fic and it getting 600k+ reads, to coming back after being gone from writing for almost a year, to my main character's first born child's first words being 'shit fuck'.
Just so you know, I will start a one shot book about their lives pretty soon, so the series is far from over, but it'll be more casual than Domestic Life lol.
Also, I'm starting a lams fic based off Brooklyn 99, so stay tuned for that too haha.
I also hope to publish the new and improved 'Babygirl' soon.
So.... thank you guys so much! I've always wanted to do this, and figured I should before it ended, so here are some fun little polls lol. You don't have to participate, only if you want to. It doesn't effect the one shots, just for funzies:
Who do you ship more: Theo and Philip or Philip and Georges? (I left this intentionally unanswered to leave something for the one shots lol)
Favorite moment in the whole series?
Favorite character in the series?
Saddest moment in the series?
Funniest moment in the series?
Favorite "kid" in the series? (including georges and theo etc.)
Anything you would like to ask me about the series at all?
Hopefully I'll stop crying soon lmaooo. Well, that's that. I guess I'll see you all again in a matter of time.