Beatty & The Beast

EPILOGUE: Where the Beauty and Beast Make the Great Escape

It would take three days for the authorities to track Benny down. Considering he was hiding out in Marmontel, the place he always went to when Villeneuve wasn't an option, three days seemed a bit pathetic.

There were suspicions that Benny's uncle – Villeneuve's sheriff – had dragged his feet on the search, most likely hoping to give Benny ample time to get as far away from Villeneuve as possible.

Apparently Benny failed to take the opportunity given to him. He was discovered in a hotel in Marmontel and immediately taken into custody, arrested for arson, aggravated assault and attempted murder.

At least, that was the list of charges a certain ex-brain surgeon and his troop of lawyers were hurling at the young Wolf Fang. Armed with statements from Keefe and Andie, confessions from some of the Wolf Pack (loyalty to the gang be damned), and evidence from the barn (being analyzed by a forensic investigator via Whistlebeck), the good doctor and his lawyers had enough to take Benny to the state court, far from Villeneuve and where his intimidation and parents' money had no power.

It seemed Benny Wolf Fang had finally gotten his comeuppance.

Or at least he would once the trial commenced, which wouldn't be for several months. Until then, Benny was being held in a penitentiary upstate, just outside Marmontel.

The town of Villeneuve was finally free of him.

It seemed things were finally looking up.

~*~

June 16th, graduation day and Andie's eighteenth birthday

Keefe was irritated that they had to sit in alphabetical order during the ceremony.

Because of the surplus of last names starting with "C", he was forced to sit a whole row and a half away from Andie, with him far on the left and her far on the right. He groaned at the idea of having to sit during all the boring speeches – not to mention the carnivorous anticipation – and not have her next to him to whisper his smart aleck comments to. Who would he share laughs over the general idiocies of graduation ceremonies with if she wasn't next to him?

Phones were barred from the event so they couldn't even text each other, which was even more annoying.

Andie was disappointed too, but glad to find that the alphabetical arrangement put her right next to Lindy Kenderwick, who – after declaring that the two of them would be great friends even if they never saw each other again after this day – held Andie's hand for most of the ceremony out of pure, bright-eyed excitement.

Normally, behavior like this – especially from someone she really didn't know that well – would have put Andie into a snarling rage. However, she couldn't help but be moved that a person who wasn't Keefe or a family member would willingly touch her scarred flesh without the slightest sign of disgust or wariness.

Andie allowed the strange girl to clutch her hand as if they were the best of friends. Whether it was true or not didn't matter. It made Andie feel normal.

And, because of the surplus of "M" and "S" last names, Oscar Tenderfoot was three and a quarter rows behind the girls.

It was all dreadfully irksome.

Before they were forced apart, Andie and Keefe huddled together on the grassy generally-unused-except-for-graduation-ceremonies-field, just a yard away from the stage and rows of folding chairs. It was time to exchange their "special little somethings" for the ceremony.

Because, really, a damsel and his prince had to look their best on such an occasion.

For Andie, Keefe handed over a large purple bath towel and a plastic lightsaber – his princely duds from when he had picked her up on horseback so many months ago. As a prince, he told her, she was required to look regal when being honored. High school graduation was no exception.