Butterflies (A Before You Exit fanfiction)

Chapter 34

BRAIDEN'S POV

"Guys, I think we need to owe the girls an apology.." I started.

"No way! They made up those lies about Kaitlin!" Toby exclaimed.

"They looked sincere."

"Then why did you break up with Kristina?"

"Because I wasn't thinking. Now that I have been constantly replaying this in my head and the looks on their faces while telling the story, I realized that they were not lying."

"Fine. We'll go. But I'm not apologizing. We'll just go and make sure they're okay." Toby finally gave up.

I don't know what's gotten into him lately, but he seems wrapped around Kaitlin's finger. As for the rest, they just stayed silent. They don't like seeing fights, but I truly believe that the girls were not lying.

Once we got there and knocked, no one answered. So, we tried the door knob, and it was surprisingly open. We walked in and soon realized that no one was there.

Then, we saw the letter on the kitchen table that was addressed to: The 5 Idiots Next Door, obviously implying that this letter was meant for the five of us.

Nobody dared open it, but I reached for it and unfolded the piece of paper.

It read:

Braiden, Thomas, Riley, Connor, and Toby,

If you idiots ever decided to reevaluate your choice to not believe us, it's too late. We've gone away. This is not to make you all feel guilty, but just to say that we don't give second chances to many people. If you want to walk out our door, we'll hold it open for you. With us, it's all or nothing. We don't let people treat us like you all did. Tamani and Jeremy have come with us. They've known everything for awhile. This is why we didn't tell you, you'd never understand. And we were right.

-Maria, Kristina, and Jenna

Tears formed in my eyes as I passed it to Thomas, then to Toby, then to Connor, then to Riley. We were all speechless.

"I can't believe they went away." I whispered, still not believing it.

"I know. And it's all our-" Thomas started.

"No. Do not say it's all our fault. They chose to leave. They could have stayed, but they didn't. We didn't force them to leave, so it's not our fault. We may be the cause of it but we did not tell them what to do." Riley said.

The rest of us shrugged and sulked back to the McDonough's.

"I'm going for a walk, guys. I'll catch you later." I mumbled as they walked into the house.

I decided to stop by my house and get my guitar. Playing and singing always made me feel better.

I walked down to the beach, even though it is December and it is very snowy. I didn't care. Along with my guitar, I put on my snowpants and a heavier sweatshirt. Then, I grabbed two beach towels and a blanket.

Once I got to the beach I lay the two beach towels down, sat down, wrapped the blanket around me, then rested my guitar on my lap.

I started to play Say Something by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera because Jenna, Kris, and Maria all loved it. I hummed along when they sang, and ended up crying.

Then, I played Wherever You Will Go by The Calling because of Maria. This song came out right after her father died from cancer. If she's 14 now, he died 13 years ago. I also played I Hope You Dance which was Maria's mom's and dad's wedding song. She always listens to these songs when she's upset, so I'm going to too.

Last but not least, I played Goodbye by Avril Lavigne. I know they couldn't here it, but I sang this song for my three girls, for I don't even know if I'll ever see them again. The lyrics may not be perfect for this situation, but the meaning is the same. I love my three best friends, and I will find them.

-

I ended up walking back and forth on the beach playing Goodbye for a half an hour. When I finally got home, but whole body was numb. I looked in the mirror and my entire face was pale. I guess that's what you get for spending almost 3 hours in 20 degree weather without the proper clothing on.

My eyes were also beat red and puffy from crying. I guess I didn't realize how important these girls were to me until they left.

I spent that whole night collecting all the pictures I had of all three girls and I and downloading them onto my computer. Then, I printed them all out. While the last batch was printing, I put the oven on, starting a cup of hot cocoa, and went into my mom's crafting room and found an empty scrapbook.

That night, I ate about three batches of cookies, drank about four cups of hot cocoa, made two scrapbooks of the girls and I, and wrote about two songs and five poems about them.

-

Although I could barely keep my eyes open the next day at school, it didn't matter because today was my Christmas party. Tomorrow is a half day, then I don't come back until January something.

As soon as I walked into the school I looked for the girls, hoping that they meant they were only spending the day away. But, there was no sight of them.

Then, the guys walked up to me.

"I thought we were still walking to school together." Connor said.

"Sorry, I overslept." I replied.

"You have to get over this, Brai. Yes, they left because of what we did. No, we did not tell them to go. It was all lies anyway. If the drama-queens want to go, let them." Toby said.

I was so not in the mood to argue, so I decided to let them have this win.

"Yeah, okay. You're right." I said.

Thomas patted me on the back, "That's more like it."

Well I guess they convinced Thomas.

-

Once I finally got out of that prison we call school, I did my homework and starting making flashcards for an upcoming test after break so I wouldn't have to worry about it then. Plus, I needed to get my mind off all of this crap.

But, I will find my best friends. I don't care if I'm involving myself in some murder crap. I will find them.

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hey! okay, this is just a filler chapter. I made it really sad so I couldn't continue lol. omg I almost cried while writing this!

well, thank you to all the people who commented such nice things on my last chapter, you know who you are!

anyway, no outfits because this is Braiden's pov.

ily all!

~Maria<3