*this epilogue will be pretty long*
Wandering through the wood, Brooklyn was glad to be out of the flat. It was surrounded by a bubble of sadness a lot of the time, nobody really having enough effort or motivation to do anything other than get upset. Being somebody who wanted everyone, including himself, to be happy, Brooklyn spent a lot of time outside the flat, on the park with fans, distracting himself from the emotional entities that were swirling in his stomach.
But being in the woods was something new for him. The last time he'd been in these woods was when him, the guys and Aria went on that midnight trek for Aria's bucket list goal, and that was when it was pitch black around them - it was completely different in the light. More beauty than Brooklyn had ever seen in one place, and it made him feel happy.
He knew exactly what he was looking for. He didn't know where he would find it, but he knew he would know immediately when he did. He searched and he searched, up, down, high, low, across, back, every single place he could've looked, believe me he looked there but didn't find a thing. He was going to give it up as a bad job, and come back tomorrow to try again, when he came across a sprout, a small, oak tree shaped sprout, which was just up to his thigh, maybe a little taller. It stood there, strong trunk, strong branches, fresh leaves, proud among the other tall tree's which it would be just as big as one day.
He crouched down in front of it, feeling himself well up as he realised this was the one. This is what he'd just been looking for for the past two hours, and he'd found it.
"Aria" he breathed softly, touching the leaves softly with the tips of his fingers, like they were delicate and would turn to dust at his touch. "I told you I would find you. I promised you I would, and I did. I was never going to give up on you, and I found you. And one day, you're going to be just as big as the rest of these tree spirits around you, and I'm going to be here to watch"
The day before Aria had passed, she'd made Brooklyn promise to find her tree spirit in the exact same woods she taught him about them - and a few weeks later, he did just that.
— — — — — — —
It was quiet in the flat, only Andy and Rye being in there. Mikey and Brooklyn had taken Jack out to see Aria, it bringing him comfort to visit the place they buried her, and that was okay. It gave Rye time to do what Aria had wanted him to do. It'd been a few weeks now, and every time Rye tried, the boys were around, so now they weren't he couldn't pass the opportunity down.
"Andy?" Rye asked gently, and Andy looked at him from his bunk. "Can I talk to you for a minute? It's kinda important"
"Sure thing buddy, I'll come down" Andy said, jumping down from his bunk to come and sit on the couch with him. "Okay, what's up?"
Rye took a deep breath, not being able to find his words.
"It's just- I just- I don't- I like" I said, stuttering my words, and Andy chuckled.
"Cat got your tongue mate?" he said. "Go on, just say it, you know I'd never judge you"
Rye didn't know what to say, but he knew what to do. He kissed him. Just like that, like it was the most normal thing in the world. Rye kissed Andy, and Andy kissed him back. There was no hesitation, no backing away and shouting crazy things. It was perfect.
Rye was the one to pull away.
"You have no idea" Andy said, stopping to chuckle. "How bloody long I've been waiting for you to do that. I've been waiting so long for that moment"
And Aria was right. She always was. Rye listened and received. And it was all because of her.
— — — — — — —
Andy didn't know exactly what time it was, but something had woken him up, and he was pretty much 100% sure it was the sound of crying. He lay in bed for a while, listening intently to see whether he'd been dreaming the whole thing, but there it was again, the crying and the sniffling, until he saw a body remove itself from Jack's bed and move out into the hallway.
Andy remembered what Aria had said to him the day before she died, and he remembered what he'd promised her, so he clambered out of bed and followed the footsteps right out into the hallway. He found Jack outside the flat, sat on the stairs, crying. He did this a lot lately, but it was understandable. He'd just been through the loss of his girlfriend, nevermind the fact she'd been his best friend for just over three years. This was obviously going to be hard on him.
He sat down beside Jack on the stairs, and Jack leaned against him, which Andy didn't mind. They sat there for five minutes, while Jack cried on Andy, until he could finally get something out of him, but it was all still a mess of stuttering and broken words.
"Now come on" Andy said, lifting Jack's chin up with his hand. "What's wrong"
"I had that dream again" Jack said softly, and Andy knew exactly what he was talking about. "It's always the exact same scenario. She's there, we're happy and things are okay and then all of a sudden she disappeared and I couldn't find her no matter how hard I looked. It was like she disappeared, and then I woke up crying because it felt like somebody was ripping my heart out"
Andy put his arm round Jack and pulled him close to him.
"You know she's not completely gone" he said softly. "You know that. It was just a dream Jack, and despite how many times you have it and how much it upsets you, it will always only be a dream. The best people are taken from us because they're needed elsewhere, and Ari is in a good place I promise. She's not gone like your dream says, she's still here, you just have to find out where she is. But I already know you know this"
Andy poked his chest gently, where his heart is.
"You know she's in there" he said gently, and small smile appeared on Jack's face. "She's living in there, and she's going to live in there until the day you join her again. I know you miss her, I can see it in your eyes, but everything will be okay in the end. It isn't always going to hurt like this, I promise. Things will get better, stick around to see it yeah?"
Jack leant against him, but he was smiling this time.
"I love you Andy" he said softly. "Thank you so much for looking after me"
"Hey, don't sweat it buddy, I love you too" Andy chuckled. "Now come on, it's late. Get into bed with me and we can have a cuddle, and if you have the dream again tonight you've got me"
They went back into the flat and both climbed into Andy's bed, Jack not long after falling back to sleep with Andy playing with his hair - but Andy was awake for a short time longer, thinking things over.
"I'm looking after him for you, just like I promised" he whispered into the darkness. "And I'm looking after myself too, don't worry. Things are going to be okay"
And he was right. He was looking after everyone, including himself, and things would be okay, just like Aria said they would. Aria always seemed to be right.
— — — — — — —
Mikey was alone in the flat, the boys all having gone out into the park to see fans, but him not being able to bring himself to do so. He was thinking things over, and the same words and phrase were spinning round his head like a stuck record.
"You need to believe in yourself more"
He was listening to Aria's advice. He'd managed to get two vlogs, and a cover out this week and he didn't even feel bad about it. He was happy.
The boys had noticed a change in him also, as he'd been singing more to himself openly, instead of hiding it, and the content from him had been flying in and it hadn't worn him down one bit. They liked this new change Mikey had acquired because he was happy and that's all the boys asked for.
There wasn't a day that went by where Mikey didn't think about what Aria had said to him, and there wasn't a day that went by where he didn't believe in himself; his quality of life was so much better because he was happy and more confident. He even found the confidence again to go outside for fans, something he hadn't done since Aria's passing, to scared it would upset him further; but they were really supportive and made him feel better. They all knew about her by now, what she'd been through and what happened but they didn't as questions unless Mikey started the conversation about her. They were respectful towards him and the boys in their time of need and that's what made Mikey believe in himself.
And it was all down to her. Aria fixed everything.
— — — — — — —
Walking out in the centre of London was something Jack rarely ever did alone, even when Aria was around. The huge city scared him, and the bustling people made him panic, and think he was going to become lost in the income of people from every direction.
But today was different. Jack felt like he needed to be in London. He never usually got premonitions unless it was about Aria, but today he was getting one that something good was going to happen, but he needed to be in the centre of London for it to happen.
He wandered around a lot t first, trying to find out whether the feeling he had would just happen to him or whether he had to find it himself. Eventually, after two hours of waiting for something that wasn't going to happen, he went into a Starbucks to try and figure out what would draw him close to something that would fill hi with happiness.
Just being in a Starbucks made him feel a little happier than he had been doing, as him and Aria used to come to the same Starbucks all the time and he was sat where they used to always sit, but he couldn't feel anything other than them two small happiness strings. He was curious, and pretty confused, about why his heart had dragged him all the way out into London, alone, when there was nothing for him to find.
He was going to give up, and head back to the flat where he could confine in Andy about what had just happened, when he collided with somebody, and the coffee she was holding went all down Jack's white t-shirt. She looked up from the tray she'd dropped, and she was mortified.
"Oh my god" she said softly. "I am, SO sorry. I can't express how sorry I am"
But Jack was looking past the fact tat she'd just spilled coffee down his best white t-shit, and he was looking past the fact that the stain was probably never going to come out; all he noticed was how, in his eyes, this was one of the most beautiful girls he'd ever seen.
She had chestnut brown hair with blonde highlights, and it lay on her shoulders like a waterfall flowing mildly; flaming as bright as a sunrise. The breeze from the open door blew through her curls, straightening them into waves that whipped about behind her. From under side bangs shone eyes the colour of a dazzling emerald green, which travelled uneasily from one person to another. No one couldn't help but notice that they glistened every time she moved them. They were the ones that seemed to draw you into a daze; not letting you go. Her eyes seemed to shine in the sunlight, but hide in the darkness. Below them is a nose so freckled that the brown splotches overlapped much like autumn leaves after harsh winds blew. Her smile was warm with a hint of shyness and her lips were like a frozen rose, dangerous but beautiful.
Jack was enthralled. He'd never seen a girl as beautiful as this, apart from Ari. She was still apologising but he put his hand on hers to stop her from babbling.
"Hey, hey, shhh" he said gently, chuckling slightly. "It's okay, I own about 20 of the same t-shirt, having a little coffee stain on one isn't going to make a difference"
She smiled a little and then apologised again, which subjected Jack to shush her once more.
"Now, considering it was me that collided into you, can I treat you tot eh Starbucks you just lost by repaying you and buying you a new one?" he asked and she seemed unsure.
"You don't have to do that" she said wearily, but Jack took her hands.
"Listen, I want to" he said. "I don't mind"
Jack bought then, himself and this mystery girl a drink, as they sat at a table together and chatting. He learnt her name was Steph, and she'd only just recently moved here. Jack was letting her in, and he was proud of it. There was still a long way tot go yet before it even came remotely close to what he ever started to feel for Aria, but he believed that he could do it. He'd promised Ari he would, and he wasn't planning on breaking that promise.
Aria made people happy even when she was gone. And that, was her biggest goal.
*THIS IS THE END OMG FUCK, END NOTE NEXT I CRY*