The Drummer || a.i [completed]

epilogue

i couldn't help but ask
for you to say it all again.
i tried to write it down,
but I could never find a pen.
i'd give anything to hear
you say it one more time,
that the universe was made
just to be seen by my eyes.

|| another insanely amazing song that I've linked on the side. please listen to it as you read, I'm begging you. I need people to cry with me ||

There are some things a person just doesn't get over. Losing two of my best friends in a house fire was one of those things for me. Yes, it began to hurt less after a while, but it never stopped hurting.

I took a year off after year 13, and spent it with Luke, Ashton and Calum. We went all over the world, did everything we could think of, completed our hypothetical bucket lists. But none of us did any of it with a genuine smile.

After that year, I went to university. I carried on with the life I had planned. Calum came with me. He's studying English at the same university as me. We meet for lunch most days and spend the weekends together.

Luke's gone to Spain. He's getting help from Di to learn the language and he's learning all sorts of different ways to make music. He even gets Di to dance to it when he plays.

And now, there's Ashton.

In one year, Ashton lost more people than anyone should ever have to lose at his age. He found Michael and Cassy's death harder than any of us. Three lives is too much to be taken from one person.

I agreed to meet him today. He was visiting family or something in the area, so he asked if we could hang out tonight. Of course I said yes.

I sat in the bar, listening to the pianist who was playing along quietly in the background. I had always appreciated piano, its elegance and grace was something I had always thought highly of. Yet, the integral essence of it that I craved the most was its control.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and I turned around and laid eyes on Ashton. A grin spread across my face and I didn't hesitate to pull him into a hug. He hugged me back tightly, then sat on the seat beside me.

"Wow, it's been too long," he muttered, taking me in and noting the subtle changes in my appearance. For one, my hair was brown now instead of red.

"It has. I've missed you, you know," I replied, smiling sadly.

"Now, why would you ever miss me?" He joked, tilting his head slightly with a cheeky smile.

"You know why. You were the turning point in my life," I replied a little too honestly, and Ash seemed taken aback by my words. He had obviously forgotten how blunt I was sometimes.

He paused. "And you were the point where mine paused, I guess," he said quietly, after a little while.

I smiled sympathetically and nodded. "What have you been up to recently?"

He shrugged. "Not much. I still play drums. I've been doing some gigs, playing for people. I even played drums for Kori's band the other day, which was fun," he paused and I smiled and nodded, "I also think I'm going to apply for university this year. Un-pause myself, I guess," he added.

I lit up with excitement, taking him by surprise again. "That's great, Ash! You'll have such a good time," I said.

He nodded. "Yeah, I think so too," he said. "Anyway, what have you done to your hair? It was nice ginger."