I paused in the middle of tugging my suitcase across the floor in order to listen to the voice over the intercom. The message repeated in a few different languages after the initial one in English, but it didn’t matter. The call wasn’t for my flight. I let out a sigh of relief and began my trek once more.
“Why did you insist on taking the largest one, Dae?” Ashton’s voice groaned before he appeared next to me, snatching the handle out of my grip and replacing it with the handle of the smaller suitcase he had previously been toting. I grunted.
“Because it’s all my stuff, Mr. Superstar. If you were in my position, you wouldn’t let anyone take the biggest suitcase either.” I retorted. Ashton rolled his eyes.
“I’m still Ashton to you, missy.” He scolded lightly. I giggled, lifting an eyebrow.
“Then how come you have a hat, sunglasses, and a hoodie on?” I quipped. Ash’s mouth opened, as if he had a retort, then closed when he realized that he didn’t. I let out a short laugh and shook my head, turning towards the baggage check station.
After the bags were checked, Ashton and I went over to a small couch and sat down. I suddenly felt nerves kick in. I was about to fly back to the United States, and it would be my first time back in the country of my birth since I moved to Australia almost two years ago. I’d finished my senior year of high school here, but my heart was set on being with my best friends in Michigan. I’d be joining Kendra at Northern Michigan University, though I would be a year behind her.
I was going to be studying Zoology, and I couldn’t be more excited about it. Kendra had only recently declared her major; Communication Studies.
Wyatt, though not attending NMU, was nearby, at another college called Michigan Tech University. Apparently the two schools had a very intense rivalry, and Kendra and Wyatt bantered about it constantly.
The past year had been very uneventful for me. Megan, Taryn, and I, due to our connections to 5 Seconds of Summer, had quickly become popular at school and online. The boys had left two weeks to the day after Luke and I fought, and their previously small amount of fame skyrocketed. They had new songs—ones I still haven’t heard. In fact, ever since the fight, I have barely listened to any of their old songs. Hell, I don’t really even look anything about them up any more. The only news I get is from Twitter when I happen to catch a tweet, or Ashton. Out of all four boys, he’s the only one who keeps regular contact with me. Calum and Michael don’t have anything against me, but we had never been as close as Ashton and I. Though, they did hijack the Skype conversations between Ash and I every once in a while.
Luke, however, had not spoken to me once since the fight. I spent those two weeks before the tour going over everything I did wrong and trying to muster up the courage to make my way back to Luke’s house and apologize. But not everything was my fault in the termination of our relationship. It was actually Ashton who had pointed that out to me one night as he pried the ice cream tub from my hands. Luke had been in the wrong as well for keeping me in the dark—Ash had informed me that Luke told them I knew about the tour, and was upset, and that they shouldn’t talk about it near me. It was for that reason alone that I began to force myself to get over him. By the start of my senior year at school, I no longer cried about the breakup. Well, not very often, at least. I still got upset over it from time to time. Even now.
“You look really calm for a girl about to go back to her home country.” I turned at the sound of a new voice. My face lit up in a huge grin as my gaze landed on Calum. Just behind him was Michael, his hair now dyed an almost white blond. I let out a short squeal of happiness and leaped up from the couch to engulf Cal in a hug. After him, I hugged Michael.
“Your hair!” I gasped, letting my fingers gently tug on a strand. Michael grinned at me.
“You’ve missed out on quite a few hair colors, Daeyna.” He quipped. I chuckled, nodding.
“Yeah. Last time I knew, it was black with a blue stripe or something.” I commented. He nodded. “I actually quite liked the blue, to be honest. Maybe I’ll take a tip from you and do something with mine when I get back to the USA.” I mused.
“You will do no such thing!” Ashton gasped. “Your hair is too precious to ruin with hair dye!” I lifted an eyebrow at the other boys, but they merely laughed. There was a momentary pause in our conversation, and I couldn’t help but glance past Cal and Mike. I knew he wouldn’t be there, but part of me desperately wanted him to be. Calum noticed.
“We did try to get him to come, Daeyna. Went over there and everything. He wouldn’t have it.” He apologized. I shrugged nonchalantly, though inside I felt my heart deflate ever so slightly.
“It’s fine. I get it. Tell him I said bye, okay?” I requested. Calum nodded, saying he would.
Not too long after, I had to say goodbye to the guys. I passed through security and turned around to see that they were still there, waving. After my last final wave, I turned and headed towards the plane terminal.
I was excited. A new part of my life was about to begin, and I couldn’t have been more excited about it. I was finally getting away from Australia and the painful memories it brought with it. It felt like forever ago that my mom disappeared, and it had been over a year since my dad laid hands on me. It was going on three months since I’d last spoken to him. But he didn’t really seem to care. And neither did the twenty-something blonde woman he called his fiancé. It had been over a year and a half since I’d seen Luke in person or even talked to him, and less than five days since I’d visited Liz and Molly.
And speaking of Liz and Molly, I thought about the good things that I was leaving behind in Australia. I was leaving behind Taryn and Megan, the two girls I bonded with as soon as I really got to know them. I wished they could have come to the airport, but it was move-in day at UNSW, and they had a ton of shit to do. We promised to keep in contact like I had done with Kendra and Wyatt, though, so I wasn’t really leaving them behind. I probably wouldn’t see Molly again. She was getting up there in age. Though, ever since I found her on the street and brought her back to the Hemmings’ house, she’d been more Luke’s dog than mine.
And, of course, speaking of Luke, I was leaving him behind as well. Not just physically, but the great memories we shared. Like the time he tackled me over that damn penguin in his room, or the surprise on his face when I brought him to that little music festival—the very same festival where I bought him a cute Lego Man necklace and made out with him for the first time. Or even the day he got back from London and I cried. And, of course, the memory I’d never forget—Halloween night—when Luke made me feel like I was the most important thing in the world.
And, maybe at one point, I was the most important thing in his world. And it was very likely that he was the most important thing in mine.
But that was over. I was starting new once more, a clean slate waiting for me on the campus of Northern Michigan University.
And I couldn’t wait to start again.
///////
**The sequel is titled 'Forgive Me'.**
Oh.
My.
Gosh.
I really cannot believe that Bully is over. Like, WHAT? I feel like I only started it yesterday! I just really cannot believe the amazing support I've been given throughout the entirety of this book. Like, seriously. How did I go from promising early updates for ten votes to drowning in comments, votes, and reads alike? I literally am so, so grateful to all of you guys who have put up with my grotesquely off-timed updates that ranged from one day late to three weeks late. I'm in awe with the commitment to reading Ive seen mentioned in some of the comments. Seriously, the fact that you've read the story at all warms my heart, but some of you have read it multiple times!
Look at me! Getting all mushy and sappy at 1 in the morning.
Anyways, a last thank you to all you beautiful readers out there!
However, I'm pretty positive that the next paragraph is one that you'll want to read very carefully.
Why do you want to read this paragraph? Well, silly, it's the one that is going to give you all of the juicy details about the sequel to Bully! Yes, you have heard that right. There will be a sequel. It's not going to come out right away, though. In fact, I'm going to make you wait until New Year's day. Sorry not sorry my dears. But hey, at least the sequel will exist! So, put that in your calendars! January 1, 2015 is the say the sequel to Bully will be out!
But, while you wait, I promise there will be other entertainment. As The Memories Fade and When We Go are two fics that will be regularly updated (well, as regularly as I can get. you know me and timliness aren't exactly best pals). ATMF is a Calum fic, and WWG is an Ashton fic. They both deal with loss, though in completely different ways. Take that as a warning to bring the tissues, because if I need them while writing, you're gonna need them while reading.
On that note, I bid you all farewell! Bully has been an amazing journey, and I'm so glad to have been able to share it with you! Thank you again for reading, I look forward to seeing your familiar icons on my other stories, or if not them, on January 1st, when we are reunited once more for the sequel! Love you all to bits, and I hope your weekend (and/or next few months) goes swimmingly!