After

Chapter 1: Fiji

"I can't believe how nice it is here! It feels like it's been forever since we were here last!" Kirstin smiled as she lay out in her beach chair, relaxing near the waters of Fiji as the warm sunrays shine down. "I know! It's only been...one year, I think? It's so good to be back. We should move here!" Nathan laughed, only half-kidding about the move. "What do you think boys?" He asked as he and Kirstin looked over to their partners. "I'm so in!" Ben approved. "Mitch?.." Nathan asked, trying to get his attention. The three exchanged looks, noticing Mitch seemed to be a bit distracted. "Babe?.. you okay?" He asked, moving to place a hand on Mitch's shoulder. "Huh? Oh...yeah, sure. Whatever you want, hun." Mitch mumbled, clearly unaware of what was going on.

Kirstin sighed, having a feeling she knew what was up. Sending a look over to Ben, Ben then got up from his chair, saying "Hey, Nate! How about you and I go catch some waves? Give these two some time to talk." "Great idea!" Nathan nodded before giving Mitch a peck on the cheek. "I love you!" He exclaimed before running off into the water with their friend.

"Mitchy...what's going on? We've been here nearly a full day and you've not been excited one time. You used to love it here!" She spoke gently, knowing Mitch had a tendency to get upset easily. "Used to.. it's not the same anymore." He pouted. "Sure it is! Just without-" "Without the others, Kirst. It's not the same." "No, but at least Benny and I are here..and Nate! You love Nate!" She reminded him, though he didn't need it. "Yeah.." Mitch nodded, giving a long pause. "I'm gonna go up to my room. I'll see ya later, okay?"The boy spoke, not once making eye contact with his best friend.

As he walked away, Kirstin watched him with a sigh of defeat before looking back out to the water to see their men attempting (and failing) to surf.

Up in his room, Mitch laid in his bed, flat on his back and staring at the ceiling. He let out a heavy breath, thinking in his head before turning over onto his stomach and shoving his face into the pillow, staying in for the night.

Life wasn't the same after Pentatonix came to an end, and the five members knew it would be a bittersweet change in each of their lives. For Matt, he happily married his long-term girlfriend, Sarah, and eventually had two kids - a boy and a girl! Kevin and Leigh welcomed a set of twin boys when Kaia was around four years old. Kirstin and Ben were still together, though they weren't yet engaged, and as for Scott and Mitch..well..let's just say Superfruit never came back.

***

Two days later, Mitch has had plenty of alone-time and his friends missed him dearly. In hopes to cheer him up, the three came up with a beautiful plan that they hoped he'd like.

"Mitchy!" Kirstin called as she knocked on his hotel door. "Are you up? It's already twelve thirty. We gotta go get lunch at the TikiHut!" She knocked again. "C'mon, Mitchy! Ben and Nate are waiting for us!" Mitch huffed to himself, finishing up getting ready in the bathroom before grabbing his phone and answering the door. "There you are! I thought you'd never answer.." she joked. "I hope you're hungry. Ben said they're serving Fiji Kokoda!" "I'm not very hungry, actually.." He spoke softly as the two walked side by side. "You're not? But-" "I'm gonna go for a walk, Kirst.. I'll catch up with you guys later, okay?" Mitch spoke before walking another direction.

   Kirstin knew her friend was upset, and she had a feeling as to what was bothering him too, but she didn't dare tell the others.

"Is he okay?" Ben asked as Kirstin sat with them at the table. She gave a nod. "Yeah.. he'll be okay..he's just taking a short walk! He'll be here in a little..How's the Kokoda?" she asked before taking a bite of her own.

Meanwhile, Mitch was alone, free to feel or say whatever he wanted to while on his walk. During his walk, the poor boy was all in his head. So much so that he didn't pay any mind to the gorgeous scenery around him. As he walked, he soon heard a few voices near him - a group of people also on vacation, enjoying their time on the island. As they laughed and joked in their conversation, Mitch couldn't help but be reminded of the time he was genuinely happy during his time with Pentatonix. He missed it.

While he continued his walk, he heard a familiar laugh from around the corner, or so it seemed to be familiar. This brought him out of his head, replacing his saddened thoughts with curiosity. He decided to take a look and see if his suspicions were true. Could that laugh belong to his once best friend? While he approached the corner of the hall, the familiar laugh got louder and that made him both feel sick and have butterflies.

As he turned his head around the corner, just to take a quick glance, the man he thought would be standing in the room next to him was not there at all. This answer to his curiosity gave him a sigh of relief but also a tiny bit of disappointment. He missed Scott, even just as a friend.

After nearly an hour, which he hadn't meant to do, Mitch started his walk back to his friends with new thoughts in his mind. "Stop it, Mitch. That's all in the past now. Let it go." He thought to himself. "Scott's not here. You just thought you heard him. There's no way he's-" Mitch stopped in his tracks when he heard the laugh again. Turning his head immediately, he saw a tall blonde haired man in the ugliest shirt that dad's typically wear on vacation. "There's no way.." he mumbled to himself, staring at the man from behind. He inched closer to try and steal a better look, just to be sure, but accidentally bumped into a potted tree, causing the pot to tilt and nearly fall over. The blonde man and his friends heard the rustle of the leaves. Looking over to see what caused it, they assumed it was just a random gust of wind when they saw nothing out of the ordinary.

Mitch practically ran back to his friends. "Hey! There you are!" Kirstin smiled as he returned. "We-" "I need to talk to you.." Mitch spoke, cutting her off and pulling her to the side. "What's going on? Are you okay? What happened.." she asked, shooting a confused look between Mitch and the boys back at the table. Mitch was still catching up on his breath as he spoke. "Scott's here." he stated. Kirstin stared at him for a second before giving a small laugh. "There's no way! He moved to Iceland and practically dropped off the map after marrying Mark. Besides, what are the chances he would vacation at the same place at the same time as us?" Mitch returned the stare as he thought about what she said. "Yeah..yeah, I guess you're right. He just REALLY sounded like Scott and when I saw him..I guess I convinced myself it WAS him." the boy shrugged. "Wait, you saw him AND heard him talking?" Mitch shook his head. "Only his laugh and the back of him." he explained. "Oh..then I guess it could be him, but I still highly doubt it. Either way, don't let that distract you from YOUR vacation! You've been distracted enough." She teased, getting the smallest smile from her friend. "Now come on. You've gotta eat SOMETHING before we go snorkeling later!" She smiled, happy to see him smile again, even if it were hardly one at all.

***

Later that night, around sunset, the group went to a small party hosted by the hotel where they were met by staff and provided drinks and dinner around a bonfire. Music played as guests mingled and made new friends. The sky was perfectly clear, the water was calm, and it was looking to be an amazing finish to a long day. To finish off the night, Mitch took a stroll down on the shore, letting the water brush his feet as he watched the calm ocean. "Hey.." Kirstin spoke gently as she approached him from behind. "Do you have minute?" Mitch nodded, moving to sit on a large rock nearby. The two sat in silence for a few seconds before she finally spoke up.

"You miss him..I know you do." She spoke. "It's okay to be upset, but you can't let that take away from your life in the moment. What happened, happened years ago, Mitchy. I don't want to see you throw away possibilities or opportunities over something that happened so long ago."

"I know..I just-" he paused, trying to think of what to say. "I wasn't expecting to see him here."

"You don't know it was him! It may have..but it sort of seems like you hope it was." She said softly, looking over to her friend.

He nodded. "Maybe I do.."