Can We Just Call It a Tie? Chapter 13 (Final)

The last chapter!
I hope you like it as much as I do and a major thanks to everyone who has commented on all the other chapter, you made me so happy.
I'm a bit reluctant to say goodbye to this story after the epilogue (yes, I'll write one), I'm fond of the characters.

Enjoy reading!
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'You make it real for me'

Chapter 13

*Opal's POV*
Two more days had passed and I was starting to get hopeless. I had called his friends and asked them if they knew where Quinn was. Nate said that he'd seen him after our little trick with Thera.
But after that, no one had seen him anymore and no one had heard from him.
Where did he go? And why? What did I do wrong? I wasn't sure that I was the reason for him leaving, but I had a suspicion that was the case. A horrible thought crossed my mind.
What if he had been lying earlier? What if he did mind what I did?

'Maybe we should warn the police' I sighed.
'That is not going to help. They'll start looking when he's been missing for a week.' Nate said.
Nate, Chris, Shane and Harry and myself had gathered at Shane's place. We had all been looking in different parts of the city, without any luck.
'You're right' Harry agreed 'They'll start searching when they want to and within that period...'
'He could be dead!' I sobbed.
'Now, now, I don't think that's true' Chris said, rubbing my back, while glaring at Harry for bringing up the subject.

'I don't understand why he never told anyone where he went. Surely he must've contacted someone.'
I remembered.
'Wait! I might have something. I found a little note on the fridge at his home in his writing.'
'A note? And this is the moment you decide to share it with us? Shane said, rolling his eyes.
'I never thought about it, because it didn't make sense to me. But maybe you understand.'
I unfolded the little paper.
'It's a line and it sounds so familiar to me, but I can't place it. It says: The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love...'
'And be loved in return. ' The four guys finished the sentence.
My jaw dropped.

'You know this line?'
'You don't?' Harry said, looking at me like I was stupid.
'It's the most important line of our favorite movie.' Nate said, smiling.
I almost exploded with impatience.
'What movie!?'
Shane rolled his eyes at me and they all said together.
'Moulin Rouge!'
It was silent for a moment. We all processed the meaning of those two words.
'He left that note, knowing you would find it...' Shane said, slowly.

'And he also knew that you would ask us to help you find him...' Chris continued.
'And that eventually, you would remember this little note' Nate added
'With a quote from our favorite movie..' Harry said, a small smile on his face.
'So that can only mean that Quinn is at the Moulin Rouge!' I finished, happy.
We all stood up and grinned at each other, proud of ourselves that we solved the puzzle.
'I do hope that he doesn't mean the Moulin Rouge in Paris.' I murmured to myself.
Chris heard it.
'Don't worry Opal, I don't believe he'd go that far.'
And, as always, Chris' voice calmed me.

Within minutes we'd started my car and we were driving towards the Moulin Rouge.
Well, that was the idea.
'Would one of you be so kind to tell me how to reach the Moulin Rouge?' I said.
'Do you think you driving is the best idea?' Harry asked cautiously, who was sitting next to me.
'Do you have a problem with a woman driving?' I snapped. I was on the end of my nerves.
'No, no, of course not.' Harry said quickly. 'But, ehm, just look how fast you're driving.'
I glanced at my speedometer. Oops. I was driving way too fast. Stupid nerves. Stupid Quinn.

I hit the brakes and stopped the car.
'You're probably right.' I sighed.
'I'll drive!' Shane said and jumped out of the car and opened the door for me.
'After all, I'm the one who drove you there before' He winked.
I smacked his shoulder, a bit harder than I meant to.
'Ohw.' He said. 'You punch pretty hard for a girl.'
I sat in the back, next to Nate.
'You were the only who didn't know that' Chris told him, smiling sourly.
'I'm so...' But the rest of my words were lost in a bear hug from Nate.
'Don't say it. We started it.' He said, chiding, as if I were doing something bad.
'Nate, can't breathe'

He quickly loosened his arms around me, but I rested my head against his shoulder. I felt so tired suddenly.
'Do you mind?' I asked sleepily.
'Not at all, just sleep for a while.' Nate started humming a song, unfamiliar to me.
Harry's voice wound itself through the melody Nate was humming and the last words I said, before drifting of were
'Didn't know you guys could sing...' And then I was asleep.
And so I didn't hear Nate finishing his sentence.
'...because you're going to need it.'

*Nate's POV*
The poor girl.
'I think Quinn is going too far.' Chris said, giving voice to my thoughts.
'Oh come on' Harry said 'She'll survive.'
Chris grinned.
'Harry, will you forget that you were scared by that girl?'
Harry frowned.
'Hey, don't make jokes about that. It's like some girl defeated you in a wrestling match, big guy. Or some girl beat you in a surfing contest.' Harry said, while looking at Shane, who was secretly smiling.

'Okay, I get your point.' I said. 'But I still think that this is a bit too much for Opal's nerves.'
'A little bit stress is healthy' Shane reassuring.
'I don't think you realize how much she likes our prince charming.' Chris said and we all chuckled at the joke.
'But seriously, I so want to see her and Quinn when they meet again. He is so dead.'
Chris grinned.
'Nice to have her shouting against him instead of us.' Harry agreed.
And then the all too familiar barn came into view.
'Let's wake our guest.' I said.

I softly nudged her arm.
'Wake up little girl.' I said.
She frowned.
'Quinn?' She said, her voice sleepy and her eyes still closed.
We laughed.
'I told you so' Chris said in a singsong voice.
'Come on, let's find our fugitive.' I said, trying to cheer her up. She looked sad.
We entered the barn.

'How do we get in?' Opal asked, eying us suspiciously. 'I'm not lying in that hay again.'
Shane flashed me a broad smile.
'Don't worry princess. We're the owners.'
And he walked over to on of the walls and pressed a secret button. A part of the floor disappeared and stairs leading down appeared.
'This is the VIP entrance' Shane winked.
We walked down and once we entered the room, an slight blush rushed to Opal's cheeks.
Unfortunately for her, we all saw that.

'Thanks for the memories...' Harry sang softly, what made us all laugh, including Opal.
'Good for you I don't know your dates gentlemen.' She said.
No one said a thing, but we all thanked heaven that she didn't. I know I did.
'So, where is Quinn?' Opal asked. You could see that she desperately wanted to find him, but she was dubbing between never letting him go or kicking him.
'Isn't there a secret room I haven't seen yet where he could be?' Opal asked.
Shane showed her the remote control.
'Where have you been?'

'Only the Bat mobile cave' She said, smiling.
'No way! He didn't show you the sports room?' I asked.
She shook her head.
'Or the game room?' Harry asked.
'There is a game room?' She asked, her eyes sparkling.
A girl gamer? Nice.
'And the cinema room?' Shane asked.
'Nope. I don't, how many more there are, but I can tell you I haven't seen them.'
'Well, let's search then. Split up!'

*Opal's POV*
I had searched the game room with Harry, but no trace of Quinn. We returned to the main room. The others weren't back yet.
'There's only one room left.' I sighed. 'What if he isn't there?'
'You go and check that room, I'll wait for the others.' Harry said.
I nodded, pressed the button and another secret door appeared.
Before I walked down the stairs, I turned around and said.
'I'm starting to get worried about the amount of money you spend on all this.'
Harry winked. 'Don't even ask.'

I walked into the theater and again, I was jaw dropped. This place never failed to surprise me.
A mini theater, with stage and seats for the audience. Even a place for a little orchestra. Unbelievable.
I climbed onto the stage and looked around.
'Quinn?' I asked the dark room. 'Please be here. I...I need you.' No answer.
I sank down to my knees and cried.
How could he leave me? Didn't he know how much I needed him?
How much I loved him?
I pulled myself together and started to walk to the exit, until I saw something lying on one of the seats on the front row. On the seat was a remote control, a tissue and a little paper. The paper said 'Opal'. Quinn's writing!
I sat down in the chair and used the tissue to dry my eyes. Then I pressed the button.

A big white screen sank down and a movie started playing.
'The girl and the prince.'
I saw a field and I heard Nate's voice who started to tell a story.
'Once upon a time, there lived a girl, who thought that she didn't need a prince.
Harry appeared on the screen, with a brown wig and in MY skinny jeans!
'I'm a tough girl. I don't need anyone, especially not an arrogant prince!'
Nate, the voice over, continued.
'But the prince happened to come by one day, in a terrible mood.'
And there, on the screen, was Quinn. I almost started to cry again.
But I had to laugh, because his 'armor' was made of a garbage bag and his sword was made of plastic.

He walked over to Harry, as macho as possible.
'You, woman, are you going to be my slave!' He bellowed.
Harry threw him an arrogant look.
'Slave? Who do you think you are mister? A prince or something? Don't bother me!'
And he walked away, his hips swaying. I giggled.
And so the movie told our story, with Shane playing Jade (on his knees, with a blond wig.) and with a ninja performing Harry knocking out his friends. Luckily it left out the parts...that Quinn wouldn't want to repeat with Harry.

'But one day, the prince was missing! The girl was hopeless and went to the prince's noble, powerful and indescribable handsome friends if they could help.'
Harry was on his knees, begging the guys for their help.
Chris, Nate, Shane played themselves, flexing their muscles and making stupid jokes.
'The girl entered the theater and found the prince, who was sitting there. He said'
And the screen went blank.
I stood up. Why didn't the movie continue? I wanted to know what Quinn...er the prince would say!
The screen slowly went up and there stood the real Quinn.
With his black Converses, dark jeans, white shirt and his perfect hair, I melted on the spot.
'Hello princess.' He said, smiling.

That was too much for me. I jumped on the stage and ran over to him.
He opened his arms for a hug, but stopped in front of him and started to punch him where I could reach him. Shoulders, chest, arms, I didn't care.
All the stress and worry and here he was, smiling! Not a hair out of place.
'You...selfish...arrogant...jerk!' I yelled, emphasizing each word with a blow.
'Ow, Opal, stop it!' He said, surprised.
But I didn't. But he'd recovered from his surprise and he grabbed my wrists and pinned them against my sides. He stared into my eyes.
'Will you stop hitting me?' He asked.

The look in his eyes made all my anger go up in smoke.
I nodded weakly. He released my wrists and I fell into his arms.
I held on to him tightly, hoping he wouldn't disappear. He wrapped his arms around me, holding me tight. It felt like he'd been gone for a year, instead of three days.
'Why did you leave?' I wanted to know, even though I felt complete again now that I'd found him again.
'Well the plan was that you'd find me within a few hours. I thought that you would my friend immediately, but you had to wait for two days. Trying to find me on my own.' He tapped my nose.
'Oh so now it's my fault?' I asked sarcastic.
He chuckled. 'No.'

'But why? Why are we here? What is so important that I had to come here and watch a movie without ending.'
'Easy.' He said. 'We are the ending.'
I was seriously confused now.
'We decide the ending of the movie. And as the movie ended while the prince was going to say something, I guess it's my turn.'
He took a deep breath.

'Opal, after our trick with Thera, I realized how important it is to tell someone if you love her or not. Look what happens if you don't. And I realized that I hadn't told you that, not once. So I'd like to do that now. You're the most beautiful, caring, unselfish, no-nonsense, strong, funny and challenging girl I ever met. Quarreling with you is one of my favorite things to do...next to kissing you I guess.' He grinned. 'You're one of the first who ignores my money and appreciates my help. And you helped my forgive myself and my mother. And so, Opal Bushnell, I've fallen in love with you.'
It was silent. The only thing that I heard, was my ragged breath and the loud thumping of my heart.
He was in love with me! Only that little sentence crossed my mind over and over again.

'I...' I started. Confessing how I felt was hard for me, but I had to.
'You know, about a week before I met you, I'd sworn to myself that I wouldn't fall for someone. I didn't need a boyfriend. He would only try to take care of me and I didn't want that after two years of illness. But then you came around. You looked nothing like the guy I had in mind, for later. But after our first meeting, I realized that you are everything I never knew I wanted. Gone was my sworn strategy. You allow me to be me, nothing more, nothing less. You learned me to do instead of think all the time. I was always planning everything, but you changed it all.
And I came to the same conclusion as you did: I've fallen for you, inescapable.'
He smiled.

'Sounds like we are in an ultimate tie.
'Can we just call it a tie and get on with it?' I asked, adrenaline rushing through my body.
I knew what was coming.
'Means we both lose' He said, grinning.
'I think that, for once, I really don't care.' I said, a smile tugging at the end of my lips. How many times had we been through this conversation?
'Me neither.' He answered and finally, his lips touched mine.
Slow at first, but we were both wanting for more and soon the kiss got passionate.
He nibbled at my bottom lip, I moaned.
'I love you' He whispered.

'I love you too' I said, those words coming from the depths of my heart, but then again, I really didn't want to waste words and kissed him again.
But suddenly, I heard someone sing.
I looked up and saw Chris, Nate, Harry and Shane.
'The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love...and be loved in return.' They sang, with four voices, all a different melody, but together it was a harmony.
They walked over to us, grinning like idiots.
'Don't you guys have anything better to do than interfering with Quinn and me?' I asked, my hands on my hips. But after that I smiled and ran over to them. They almost buried me in a group hug.

'Thanks, guys.' I said.
'No problem.' Chris said, while the rest nodded.
'We always help a damsel in distress.' Shane added.
'If you're not kidnapping one.' Quinn said, grinning.
We walked out of the theater room and headed for the exit, me and Quinn walking together.
The others climbed the stairs, but just as I wanted to do the same, Quinn grabbed my wrist and pressed a button. The floor started to slide back into it's place.
'I think we deserve some time together, I locked it from the inside.' He said, while pressing another button.
'Definitely true.' I agreed. 'Maybe you could show that game room.'
He grinned mischievously.
'Yeah, maybe.'

~The End~
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