Beauty From Ashes

Chapter 31 Part 1: Farewell

Well we're finally here at the second half of the story, where we're finally going out to New York where we come to the church from the future interviews.

After the final song written by Albert was over, this giant kerfuffle of a party was over. However, that didn't mean everybody was done for the night.

Most of the people who showed up for the high school reunion have left and gone home. And then Travis, the main pastor's son, offered to take his father to the hospital and Curtis' family back home. But most of them, mainly the Divinity crowd and the Fresno visitors are still hanging around, sitting in the cafeteria area, eating the last of the snacks and drinks that are remaining, including a few beer bottles that Donnie and a few other Conquerors had packed in their bags for a victory shot. Speaking of which, the defective Conquerors are sitting there among these people as they all talk and share stories to each other. Despite the fact that things started out, understandably uncomfortable, as soon as we all got down here, it was like a switch had been flipped.

It's been made clear that these Conquerors like the strong connections that these people bave showcased and after Albert's speech, many of them are willing to give them a chance. And now, none of these guys have been able to shut up or separate from one another. Nearly all of the tables are occupied and filled as we all interact.

"No, we used to beat up people just as badly, you guys will fit right in," Duncan snickered.
"And yeah we may be Christians but, we just may surprise some of you," Patrick said with a wink, which made two PC girls chuckle.

"And there we went, running straight through the woods in our underwear, until we tripped over a wire and BOOM, a cooler of iced water poured all over us!" Wes hollered.
"Oof, that's cold bro," Joshua said.
"RIGHT?!!"

"Yeah, I met my husband because of your guys' work, and, now here we are. Weird how it all works," Miranda commented.
"Do you know who he was watching?"
"It wasn't you, I can say that."
"Ohhh!"

"Yeah, I was serious when I said I work with cars. I'm even running my dads company," Vinnie said to a few Conqueror guys.
"Oh that's dope, you need some help on that?"
"You serious?"
"Yeah!"

"Geez, and I thought I was a piece of crap to Albert," Bryce said as he and Zackary sit with Hunter.
"Yeah this Sean dude sounds like such an asshole," Zackary said.
They don't realize that he was the guy they knocked out at Vinnie's house.
"Yeah he was a dick," Hunter said, with Najee and Scott snickering.

"And that's when he said, 'That's not a mountain, that's my girlfriend,'" Theresa said, slapping Andre on the shoulder as a few Conqueror guys, including Jerome, chuckled at this.

"Yeah, they let me do other crazy guitar stuff all the time, maybe we can show you guys," Levi said, talking to two Conqueror guys who play music.

"It sounds bad, but trust me, the way this priest went running tripping on his robes, you can't unsee it nor contain the giggles," Carson laughed, sitting with his brother Jason, and Andy's worship team from Fresno.

Sierra smirks and comments on that. "During a Shabat dinner."

"Yeah," Jason said.

"Somehow, I can't see that happening," Sierra added, waving a hand over her blind eyes.
"OHH!!"
"Sierra!!" Andy hollered while everyone else laughed.

"I can't believe you guys are really okay talking to people who worked as pornstars?"
"Ehh it's no big deal," Tyler said.
"As long as you don't say anything to our parents," JT joked, with Tyler shaking his head.

"So, does this mean we're on good terms now, barbie doll?" Colton asked Donnie.
"Yeah, only if you promise to stop calling me that."

Cheyenne, Albert, Mark, Phoebe, Madison and a few others are sitting with Lexi, Antoine, Veronica and Raymond, talking about some of their early experiences wirh Cheyenne.

Madison snickers loudly. "Wait wait wait! How did that turn out?!"

"Oh, that first time we went to a bar with Cheyenne was the worst!" Antoine hooted.

"Yeah. And because she made herself that HORRIBLE fake ID card, the bartenders were so unimpressed that they served us all dishwater instead of the actual brew!" Lexi laughed.

Cheyenne covers her face, stifling in her laughter. "And then I DRANK my whole thing because I had never tasted beer to know the difference!!!"

Wes and Vinnie are nearly dying of laughter.
"And they say we're the innocent ones!" Albert joked.

"Oh absolutely. It got better as time went on, but also worse," Raymond said.

How does it get worse and better?" Mark asked with a grin.

"Because that's when they started getting more....Angela crazy," Venus said.

"Yeah. Like that time Snake and Griffin got so hammered they tossed their wine bottles ar Ronny's window and smeered it with the booze!" Raymond said.

Veronica then taps his shoulder. "Oh no no no, they didn't just steer my windows. They smashed in my windows! That was after Snake and I broke up for the last time."

"Oh yeah!"
"I remember that."

"Why did that breakup happen again?"

"Well, that's when I found out Snake was cheating on me with....Lex," Veronica said, glancing at Lexi.

Lexi then looks at Veronica softly. "Yeah, well, that's his loss," she said with a smirk.
This is ironic because, from what I remember, Lexi and Veronica have been best friends for a long time.

"Hmm, so the guy was always a major dick, huh?" Mark jabbed.

"Marky?!" Phoebe said, slapping him on the elbow.

"Hey, he can be bad, but he has his moments," Veronica commented.

"You All do!" Venus said sitting down beside them.

"I can only speak for some of you guys," I said.

Raymond sighs. "This is crazy. We just found out YOU were alive, and, now you're just taking off again."

"You can blame me for that," Albert said.

"Yeah? Well, at least now we know the trutb," Lexi said with a smile. "And I'm thankful for it. And I also thought for sure that.....Venus was gonna be gone forever."

"I thought the same about you guys," Venus said.

"Wo what do you think Cheyenne, Madison?" We both glance at Albert. "Is it just as scary or angering just, sitting down talking with these guys?"

"I mean....not as much as the other guys."

"Yeah and....this, will definitely take some getting used to," Madison said, as the others laugh. "But...for now they don't seem as bad when they aren't swinging at us."

"Thank you, that's really sweet."

"Just like the drinks," Wes said.

"Well, we'll let you back to the gossip, so excuse us," Albert said as he and Wes step aside.

"You know Albert, when you're not scolding us or punching us.....you're quite handsome," Veronica commented.

Lexi tilts her head to the side peeking at them both. "I agree!"

"Guys!!" I teased. And as Johnathan and the other men sitting around us begin to laugh out, Albert and Wes glance at each other and perk up their eyebrows.

Albert sneaks over and whispers into Wes's ear. "You know dude....first Cheyenne was flirting with me before, the other day it was Angela, and now tonight it's Lexi and another Conqueror girl? Even that Tobias guy mentioned I was sexy! Am I- Am I just a chick magnet for pornstar girls? Am I SERIOUSLY noticing a trend?"

We snickers. "Dude. Don't tell me you're suddenly complaining. You've had 4 new women who suddenly found you intriguing on this ONE night more than you've had throughout the majority of all the ten years you and I have been friends.

Albert snorts. "Are you trying to make me depressed, man?"

"Better you be depressed than me buddo," Wes commented.

"Oh gee, thanks."

Cheyenne then glances over, seeing Lacey at a table far in the corner by herself. Feeling moved, she stands up. "Hey guys? I'll be right back."

"Okay. Sure."

Lacey is nearby at another table......just, staring at her arm in awe.

Cheyenne slowly steps over to sit down with her. "I.....I still can't believe that actually worked..."

Lacey lifts up her head to glance at Cheyenne. "What did you even do?"

"I just.......thought about Him and......prayed. I......I don't think I really did anything, honestly."

Lacey lowers her eyes in sadness.
"Yeah.... Maybe you.......didn't...."

Cheyenne sees her expression, and holds onto her hand. "Lacey...? I just want you to know, I don't blame you for the things you did. I never have. If I was put in your circumstances, I'd probably do the exact same thing..."

"And yet.......I did this all over a guy who.....never cared for me in the first place...
I let anger consume me over that. Ugh, I feel so stupid...."

"I know what it's like to let anger to blind you." I then close my eyes. "I practically grew up learning that..."

"Is that because of you? Or your brother?"

"Both..."

Lacey then closes her eyes and has a bit of a nervous look on her face. "You know if I'm being perfectly honest, after seeing you do all that to Angela, I'm not even sure if I want to mess with you again."

I shrug. "I wish some people felt that way."

Lacey looks up to her and nods. "I......I don't know if It'll mean anything but......I'm sorry about your brother. And...... I- I'm sorry about how I treated you, Cheyenne...."

Cheyenne smiles softly at her. "It means a lot, Lacey. And I accept your apology..."

Lacey furrows her eyebrows and glances up at her. "That.......That's it? You're.....willing to forgive me so easily, when I was.....just a monstrous bitch to you?"

"I am... Because I'm tired of running and hiding from my problems. And, I ran away from.home without making peace and settlements with any of the people I left behind. I'm leaving tomorrow.......and I don't wanna repeat that mistake...."
Lacey looks.......deeply touched by this.
Cheyenne smiles again. "And again, I don't blame you for what happened. If anything, I only blamed myself more, for......letting things transcend into what they became..."

Lacey then takes a quick glance around the room. "And do you still blame yourself? Hmm, now that we've all seen what your old choices have led to?"

Cheyenne looks around. "A little bit. People got dragged into this, and people got hurt when they didn't need to."

"Maybe. But......you've clearly inspired some of them. I've known Albert back when he was still short, saw him get picked on by all kinds of losers. And......I never would've expected him to stand his ground against someone like Brock. Before, and after. But he did.....and, it seems like he's finally found his voice and his strength. And you've clearly inspired him, somehow."

"Somehow?!" I asked with a chuckle.
"Yeah. I know what that's like."

"Hmm. And apparently, so do they."
Conquerors are sitting all over the cafeteria, chatting with various youth members and guests.
Lacey smiles in amusement. "And to think....I stopped believing in miracles a long while ago.."

Cheyenne turns to Lacey. "I hope that tone in your voice means you aren't gonna beat them up like you did with me."

Lacey turns to Cheyenne with an annoyed look. "Don't ruin it."

Cheyenne grows bashful. "Sorry... I guess those guys are rubbing off on me..."

Lacey looks around. "Hmmm. Hang around them long enough and, yeah." Then she looks over to Albert. "Hmmm. Johnson's gonna be out of my life, and the Conquerors are taking your places. Life should, prove to be more interesting."

Cheyenne smiles with pride. "I have faith in them. Same with the rest of you." I said looking at her directly.

Lacey glances at me, and closes her eyes before putting on a soft smile. "Mmm..... I'm gonna grab some more punch," she says walking away, with a rather timid look on her face.

Susan walks by, patting me on the arm. "I think she likes you now." I chuckle at this. "Well, I'm gonna head out now, it's been.....fun, being with you guys," she said with wide eyes.

"Okay, see you."

As Susan leaves with her sister Rebecca, Albert and Wes sneak over to me. "We noticed you sitting with Lacey. You make it out okay?"

"Wesley?" Albert said.

"You guys were right," I said before looking up at them and smiling. "It has felt good to make peace with her and everyone else. Ive....ive been running away for so long, that...it feels unique that this works as singly as it has tonight."

Wes shrugs. "I know the feeling. And it doesn't work every time, but at least now you can step away without leaving any major problems behind."

Albert turns to Wes. "Hmm. That was well said Wesley."

I sigh. "Still, I wonder how she's gonna do now that her-"

Suddenly we get interrupted when someone yelps out behind us. We turn around and see Tyler stumbling back, having accidentally knocked into Lacey who has spilled punch all over his shirt.
"Oh! S- Sorry!"

Tyler stands tall and snickers with a grin.
"Oh no no, don't be! I was wanting some more punch anyway."

"But......it's on your shirt."

"Eh. Take what you can get?" Tyler said, grabbing into part of his shirt and sucking some of the liquid on it.

I begin to grin. "Hmm......"
"Wait. Wh- Why did you just go-?"
"Shh, shh."

Tyler then steps back with Lacey looking at him curiously. Lacey then follows him, "Hey? Hold up?"

"Huh?" Tyler turns around.

"Uh, why did you do that earlier?"

"Hmm? Why did I do what?" Tyler asked.

"When you....offered to fight my ex for me?"

"What else would I do? Let the cheating dirtbag distract you? You're a badass, we all needed our heads in the game."

"But- you don't even know me. I didn't tell you, or ask you to help."

"So I need permission to help somebody? That didn't stop you from saying something. And come on, that Chase prick doesnt know crap if he could dump you over that garbage. Someone as tough and pretty as you, that's a package,'' Tyler said with a smirk.

Lacey parks up her eyebrows. "Really?" He shrugs. "Well, it's no secret......that I'm a GIANT challenge for guys to handle."

Tyler grins and steps forward. "I can see that."

"And you're not nervous?"

Tyler shrugs. "I like a challenge..."

Lacey then blushes, folding her arms stepping over to the side. "Well.....I wouldn't wanna bother you. But, if you mean that, then, would you be down for possi-" Suddenly Tyler interrupts her by backing her against the wall and kissing her twice.

"Definitely, bright eyes....." Then as Lacey grows frozen, Tyler sneaks the cup out of her hand. "Allow me."

Lacey looks over in surprise, seeing how this is the only other time that anyone has kissed her since I offered to be her friendly prom date.
"O- Okay..."

Me and Cheyenne pull Wes aside as he is amused. "What just happened?"

"Hey, sometimes......love is all we're looking for," I said grinning.

"Tyler and Lacey?" Cheyenne asked, and she chuckled. "Why not?"

I turn and chuckle. "Oh him? Yeah Tyler has a thing for tough girls."

"Wait until Johnathan hears this!" Wes teased before he walks over to Johnathan, who's sitting with Mitch and Amelia as they're telling stories with Donnie, Bryce and Zackary.

"Speaking of which?" Colton said carrying me along.

"Oh there you are. Hey if you could come-?"

"Can I ask you something?" Colton asked. Albert stares at him blankly and shrugs. "How do you feel?"

"Could ya.....be more specific?"

"About bow chicka-wow-wow!!" Colton teased. Albert squints in confusion. "C'mon man, you got a kiss from Cheyenne!"

"Yesss and we've kissed before. I guess mom didn't tell you?"

"Uhhhh, not really? But....why are you SO laid back about it?"

"What are you talking about, she was playing an act to annoy Angela."

"Pffft! Act, smat! You just got kissed by a super awesome girl who is super hot and who clearly has a super big crush on you!" Colton exclaimed, trying to stay quiet Albert quickly turns to Colton with wide eyes. "And you're gonna act this blasé about it?!"

"Cheyenne?" he asked. Colton nods, causing Albert to laugh in amusement. "Could anyone like her POSSIBLY have feelings for me?"

"Let's go find out."

"Ohhh, hahaha. I'd have more Luck and success fighting Ryan while he rides a real Rhino!"

"Dude-?"

"Look at me, I have enticing eyes, sure. No muscles on my bones, no abs, no fancy hair. Heck, I can BARELY talk to these other girls while they flirt with me!!" I said while we laugh.

"I can't. I can't believe you're doing this," Colton said, shaking his head.

"Hey I'm just telling the truth and being self-conscious like always, why can't I do that?"

"Bro? More than half of these things have never been anything you would focus on," Colton dragged.

"Of course not, but if Cheyenne was that afraid just to talk to me, imagine how afraid she would be to ask anyone out right now," He said. "And honestly Colton, saying that a woman as beautiful and awesome and special as Cheyenne could have the heart eyes for ME is....practically blasphemy."

"Oh yeah? And you're gonna say that, when you also have a crush on her?"

Albert then scoffs and folds his arms while shaking his head. "Hey Tyler?!" Tyker after exchanging numbers with Lacey. "Grab JT and come over here for a moment, okay?!"

Tyler nods. "Be right back bright eyes."

Lacey turns and watches him walk off, getting all flustered. "O....Okay. Ha ha!"

"Dude, did you see that? Even Lacey is finding sparks tonight? Why aren't you, and why are you avoiding the question? You know you have a crush on Cheyenne?" Colton asked.

Albert keeps his eyes glued to the ground. And sighs with a shrug. "What's your point?"

Colton groans. "See. You're not denying it. If you're not gonna deny it then, you might as well share some debts with your brother on why you're into her."

Albert closes his eyes and folds his arms. "Because I......I'm awkward around every other girl. But, she's the first one who's ever made me feel.....comfortable. and she embraces that side of me, to the point that, I don't even feel scared around her anymore. She's far different than almost any other girl I've ever met. And.....I'd be lying if I said kissing her isn't a fun time."

He and Colton laugh. "So? What's stopping you from making something happen?"

"Colton? Even I'd you're right, i..... I shouldn't focus on that right now. Now that I know.....everything else."

"What are you talking about?"

"As much as I may want to.....I need to take some more time. Til she feels safer, and until she feels ready to feel.....worthy of that kind of leap with anyone else in general. And maybe if you're right.....and she does have a crush on me......I'm sure I'll find out, becuase I'll know when she's ready. And besides, we promised that we wanted to be just friends after the first time we kissed. And as of right now, that's who I need to be for Cheyenne. It seems impossible, me and her. But I'm just focusing on what's important, what she needs. We can focus on......wants, later."

Colton nods his head with pride. "Wow. Now that's very adult. No pun intended."

He scoffed. "We've gotta stop doing that."

"Whatcha need bud?" JT said.

Albert then pulls Colton out from the corner. "Come here. These two gentlemen, are my roommates from college. And they've been subscribed to the YouTube channel since the first few months of us posting."

"Aaaaahhhhh!!! So these are the FANS you talked about!!" Colton said, shaking their hands as they all chuckle in surprise. "Colton Johnson!"

"JT and Tyler! And man, you two really are just as awesome off camera as you are on camera!"

"Well thank you!" Then colton throws his arms around JT and walks away while telling stories. "But if you think this is good, just wait until you hear-"

Albert then stands back up, groaning when he strains his bruised knee again, and as he's walking away, he can hear Johnathan groaning after beating Antoine in an arm wrestle. And Amelia rushes over to him and groans. "Seriously? You're still looking to get yourself hurt like an idiot?"

"He asked for it, and I never back down from a challenge," Johnathan said. Amelia scoffs and shakes her head, smirking at him.

"Still, I can't believe how badly you beat up Snake and Brock," Lexi commented.

"Even I was surprised," Venus added.

"What can I say? I've grown up with a lot of discipline, determination and dedication to the real deals, and a little wackiness along the way," Johnathan said.

Cheyenne giggles. "I- I'm sorry for doubting you J! Clearly some of you giys could hold your own."
"Yeah, uou don't mess with the king of pranks."

"Whatever that means. I've seen craftier pranksters then your loudmouth self," Donnie said from behind.

"Oh yeah?"

"Uh oh!" Patrick chuckled.
"Man, I really am getting too old to be dealing with this guy," Mark said.
"You and me both," Venus said.

Vinnie then steps over. "Be Careful, you don't wanna challenge him with his pranks."

"I agree. He's like Batman if he wanted to tease people with his toys," Albert said.

"So Batman then," Donnie asked.

"YEAH!!" Albert said before he and the others laughed out loud.

Camera flash!
"Hey thanks man!" JT said.

"You're very welcome. Hey, it was a pleasure meeting you guys, but I really must be getting to our motel by now. Hey Ginny," Colton said, stepping off with Ginny.

"Absolutely. Congratulations by the way!" Tyler said with him and JT walking off.

"Thanks. HEY ALBERT, CHEYENNE?!! Good luck to you two!!" We both wave him goodbye. They holler out as they walk out the doors.

And all the way up to 11:30 there was much rejoicing from Everyone. But then, we had to get home and get straight to bed, since we have a flight out of town in less than 13 hours.
Venus stuck around, saying she and Curtis were gonna discuss ideas on how they're gonna take care of these Conquerors, since they're obviously stuck here. But of course, these guys are willing to help.

The next Day.....
We slept until sunrise, and that next morning, our last day, we finished packing our bags into the car. Everything except for all of his musical equipment, as Albert was asked to make an arrangement where all of his musical gear would be shipped to New York separately.

I finish packing my last bags into the car as I turn around to see Albert hugging his parents, Isaiah and Leanne. His brother even stopped by earlier to send us farewell before he left for a honeymoon cruise.

Leanne lets out a sigh. "Well, now my kids ARE officially grown."

"Yup. My little boy is finally becoming a man, and a MAN....on a MISSION."

"Yes. It's....time to officially be on my own." Albert sheds a tear. "Thank you for everything you've done to raise me, and for forcing us to move back then, dad. I can only hope that someday, I'll be as good of a parent as you two were to me and Colton."

Isaiah lays a hand on his son's cheek. "No. You'll be even better than that."

"Stay healthy for me, dad."

Leanne kisses his cheek. "You are going to do SO much good up there. I know it."

"I believe so, too. And I promise, I'll visit whenever I can."

"Ohh...!" She then wraps her arms around him tightly, causing Albert to strain and groan. "Oh I'm gonna miss you!"

"Mom, you're squeezing my bruises. And Choking Me!"

"Okay, that's enough honey," Isaiah said.

He steps back and looks at them both. "I love you mom. And I love you dad...." He walks down the steps.

I give a big warm smile before approaching them "Thank you. For everything. And for putting up with me."

"Our pleasure. It was fun," Isaiah said. Then he rolls his eyes. "And......full of unexpected turns and talks." I know he's referring to, whenever Albert and I opened up to them about our rendezvous at camp.

I grin. "Yes. And I'll always remember them."

She rubs my back. "I'm so happy for both of you. And....Jillian, and the two of us? We already knew, you know?"

"Who you were before," he continued.

"Tch. Of course you did. And.....never told him for me. Because THAT would've been easier and harder." They both grin. I sigh. "I promise, I'm gonna look after him."

"We know you will. And he'll do the same for you, always." I smile and start to walk off. "And Cheyenne?" I stop and turn back. "Just remember this, no matter what everyone else may say about you, NEVER forget who YOU are. Not who you were, and not who others say you are."

I smile brightly and hold onto her hands. "I won't. And neither will I." I then decide to come in between and.embrace them both and single. "I didn't get to say goodbye to my parents the first time. So....at least I'm able to do it correctly this time....."

Leanne smiles and rubs my back. "Sweetie..." I let go of them and gave off a wave before walking to the car.

Isaiah squints. "Am I the only one who's looking too far into the point of her considering us as family?" He asked.

Leanne sighs. "Let's not jump to conclusions. We've done a good job of that so far."

I step into the car and sit down in the passenger side. Albert sighs and holds onto the wheel. "Family is out of the way. Next stop, it's our friends at the airport. In L.A."

"So.....this is it then. The next chapter and story in our lives." I look over to Albert. "Do you think we're actually ready for this?"

He sighs. "I have NO IDEA if we're ready or not. But I've grown to learn that.....I like not knowing what's gonna happen." He turns to me. "I didn't know I was gonna find you, become friends, and we'd be going to do this together." Then before he can start the ignition, he reaches and holds onto my hand and he smiles. "And......I would never want to have it, any other way......."

I hold onto him too and smile back. "Me too." I feel so warm. And sure enough.....my feelings for him are still present. "Um, between you and me, when I was a little girl, one of my biggest dreams, was to see New York.

"Really? Well, now we'll be living there. It's not gonna be easy......but that would be boring."

I sigh and smile. "Yeah maybe." I then look over to him. "Okay. Let's go."

He nods with a confident grin, and lets go to turn the ignition. And with a final honk, we drive away from our old house, and prepare to start a new life once more.

I peek into the back for a moment. And notice that the trunk isn't as full as I thought it would be. "Are you sure you got everything packed up in here?"

"Not everything. Vinnie swung by yesterday and packed a lot of the other bags into his car so the others could help us load onto the plane."

"Others?"

"Yeah Curtis and some of the others are gonna meet us there for some....farewells and all that."

"Isn't that what last night was for?" I asked with a squint.

"Yeah. But this is a more.....intimate one. Personal."

"Hmm." And while we're driving, I can hear something over the radio.

"Onto other matters, last night, Bakersfield underwent one Hell of an experience last night, for lack of a better word, in regards to one of our local church groups."

"Hey, you hear that?" I asked.

"Hmm?"

"Turn it up."

Albert turns up the volume. "-how they like to talk about how nothing of interest occurs in Bakersfield these days. Well that just might start to change. Word has been spreading like wildfire over the past 12 hours, after a party at the local Divinity Church's youth group unexpectedly broke out into an immense church brawl, with the students, a 2014 High school reunion and other alumni against what many people have confirmed to be the, appropriately named. PUSSY Conquerors of Anarchanal Kingdom. Many people who were In attendance have already posted videos and comments about their encounter, and multiple things that they witnessed about the infamous group leader known as, Angela Fox.

"Not only how staff among the Youth group supposedly threatened her, but also how the woman arranged to have then killed, and possibly molest many of the other people around, as these people have a tendency to exploit and assault people. While all these claims and incoming information is alarming and concerning, newly found evidence shows that there WAS a public livestream released last night that seems to confirm many of the claims people have been releasing about the Conquerors involved. We hope to have more information brought to you on the matter within the days to come. Brad Johnson, got any news on your end?"

"Uh yes Beth. For this upcoming weekend-"

We turn off the radio after that. We look to each other for a moment and I scoff. "Sucks that you can't stick around to enjoy your accomplishment."

"Like I said, I didn't want all of that just to be my own accomplishment. It was all of ours. Plus, I can tell you right now that nearly everyone else I know, who wasn't at the Center, have all blowing up my phone like crazy. Probably wondering what, how and why I got myself involved into all of that?"

"Probably?"

Albert shrugs. "I didn't go to bed until like close to midnight. Only got about 6 hours of sleep and had to work on cleaning my room and getting these bags into the car. I've barely had any time to check anything on my phone other than my lock screen notifications!"

And.......speaking of which.......
I sit in the passenger seat, and suddenly start looking down thinking. "Hey, uh.....can we pull over for a moment?"

"Hmm? Whatcha need?"

"My.....My laptop is in my backpack and that's the thing I put in the trunk. I wanna take it out, and sit in the back for a few minutes."

"What for?"

"I just....I wanna do something.....before I lose the courage to do this."

Alber then grins at me. "Are you literally taking inspiration from me after my molestation confession with you?"

"Yes. And.....I'm not gonna stop taking inspiration from you. Never...." I softly spoke looking deep into those.....hypotisint crystal blue eyes that I love so much.

He smiles with that glorious smile. "Here. Why don't I park into Walmart real quick. I wanna see What you do."

"Are- Are you sure we have enough time?"

"Curtis and I arranged this so that we could have half an hour to chat with him, the Amigos, and the worship team at the airport. Why do you think we're leaving so early?"

I chuckle. "Are you always gonna be so secretive for now on?"

He snickers. "I promise.....I'm not making fun of you. I just.....like surprising you. Which is what I do everyday apparently." He then parks the car.

"I- I just wanna get my laptop and then I'll hop in the back. I'll get back up front when I'm done."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. But just, get back on the road before we go.'

"Deal."

I rush out of the door to sprint to the trunk where I grab my backpack. I jump into one of the backseats, turn on my laptop and start typing. And he moves the car again.

Five minutes later, I finish. "Yes. Oh wow..."

"What?"

"Just finished typing and.....wow."

"What'd you say?"

I smile. "I'll tell you once we get to the plane. You need to focus on getting us there. And besides, the last time I was in a car with someone using their phone.....well, you know how it went."

Albert scoffs. "Smart aleck. Okay, here we go."
We shortly pass by the Bakersfield exit sign and get on the highway.

And then.......we leave the parking lot, and drive last the exit sign.

After 2 hours of driving, we arrived at the Los Angeles International Airport. We've checked in with our tickets, handed over our bags and luggage, keeping our phones in our pockets, gone pass security (who surprisingly, didn't seem to react very much when he noticed my Phoenix tattoo, probably due to my hair) and now we're heading down to find our gate.

When we turn our heads, we see Curits, Vinnie, Johnathan, Wes, Phoebe, Mark and the rest of the worship team sitting in some of the lobby chairs.

"Ah there you guys are," Curtis said.

"Almost starting to think you were hurt too badly to miss your flight," Mason commented.

"Eh, it does hurt. But, I've been waiting too long for this to back out now," Albert said.

"We know you have, bud," Mark replied.

"But after all of the pain, it's all gonna be worth it," Phoebe said.

"So, how's everyone else doing? The ones we left with you guys," I asked.

"They're doing good. We're working on settling them into some apartments and, some of them have already volunteered to help out the ministry."

This widens my eyes. "Really?"

"Yeah, Venus signed up first and eventually they just kept lining up. Although, now that I'm gonna be taking over as head pastor, I'll need the extra assistance," Curtis said.

"Looks like you really did get through to them after all," Vinnie encouraged.

"I'm surprised you guys managed to show up our here after....that whole kerfuffle last night," I said.

"Oh come on. You didn't think you were gonna leave for an Apple without saying goodbye, did ya?" Vinnie said.

"Tch. Very cute," Albert said.

"Yeah, but....you should all really be taking it easy this morning. I mean, you guys look terrible," I said, seeing how they have noticeable injuries and beat up faces.

Phoebe chuckles. "It looks worse than what it actually is."

CJ scoffs. "Well, most of us. Then there's Johnathan and Mason who got the worst of it. Isaac too."

"Yeah. So it's a good thing we took our group photos before the fight broke out," Miranda said.

"Don't worry kid. We'll be fine," Mark said to both of us.

"Yeah. We all will be," Curtis said.

"I believe that. Right?" Albert asked.

"As long as I don't have to worry about any more attacks coming onto you guys or us, I think I'm well good and ready."

"Yeah? Well you're definitely in luck," Miranda said.

"Why is that?"

"The Conquerors passed us shortly after we arrived here. They were just boarding onto a flight, some of them scoffed and then a few of them flipped us off. So that was a fun way to start our day in LA," Mark said.

"You said it," Vinnie said.

"Yeah but we totally flipped them off right back!" Wes said nonchalantly.

"I flipped them back. You just stood there, chuckling nervously with a smile," Mark corrected.

"And I gave them a good riddance wave."

"More like a see you next time wave," Mark said.

"Look, Wesley doesn't share the same hate boner you have for those guys," Vinnie defended.

"I wouldn't call it a hate boner," Mark exclaimed.

"It's a pretty hateful boner," Johnathan said.

Finally Miranda and Phoebe speak out.
"Stop!"
"Shut up!"

Everyone chuckles. Curtis then nods his head. "I thought we were here to send off our church friends, not atart a dirty, one upping chat."

"My thoughts exactly," I said.

Albert looks around. "So....this is really it, huh?"

"For now anyway," Felicia commented.

First we look to Isaac, Mason and CJ, who next to Johnathan are easily the most banged up from that entire night. Isaac has a cast in his arm and a black eye, CJ is on crutches, Mason has a neck brace and a cast in his left arm, Felicia has some bandages on her cheek and neck, and Samuel has a black eye.

"Well you were right about one thing, ugh. Last night was definitely a high note to leave off on," Isaac groaned.

I grimace. "Hey? I'm uh, sorry that I got you all dragged into that whole mess last night... i really didn't-"

"Mess?" CJ scoffs. "Ha ha, we knew what we were getting ourselves into."

Mason and Isaac chuckle. "More like one of the most fun nights we've had In a long while. Both before and after the whole throwdown!"

"Besides, if everything we did is gonna result in bright new changes yet to come, for all those Conquerors and all the people they hurt......then this pain is worth it," Isaac commented.

Felicia chuckles. "Of course you two would say that." She then looks to me and smiles. "But he's right. We wouldn't have changed a single thing about it. Especially if your fear is gone because of it....sister."

I smile warmly at the four of them. Then Samuel waves his hand. "God bless you, Cheyenne."

I can't help but smile science, I've barely spent ANY time with Samuel, and he still feels obligated to say that to me.
"And you guys too."

I walk past as Albert shakes hands with all five of them. "I'm gonna miss you guys."

"Us too, brotha," CJ said. "You're gonna kill it out there."

Mason chuckles. "So many good memories, especially bashing your head those years ago."

"Mason!" Felicia scowled.

Isaac scoffs. "Stay blessed and smiling, man."

"So long, Albert," Samuel said.

I step over and I shake Mark's hand.

Mark snickers.. "Take care kid. And remember to give us a good stomping for 'em demons next time."

"I'll bear that in mind," I said with a smirk. Then Phoebe throws herself onto me tightly. "Whoa!"

"We'll miss you both...."

"Ugh, choking! Can't breathe!"

"Oh! Sorry...!" she said pulling back looking mervous.

Then my heart softens and I just hug her back. "No, don't be. I'm gonna miss you too. I just wish we had more times to hang out..."

Phoebe sniffles snd holds onto me gently. "Ever need me for another girls talk, don't be afraid to message me. Whether it's here or out there, just know that you can feel like you belong here now..."
This strikes me in the heartstrings a little bit, since ny first heart to heart talk with Phoebe involved me debating whether or not I really belong with this church, even though I enjoyed coming.

Then as we pull away, Miranda taps me on the arm. "Same with me. We've never had many moments either but, it's never too late to make some."

I smile and shrug. "I guess not. Just be sure to take care of V."

Miranda smiles confidently. "Always." She briefly embraces me and pats my back. "And I'm counting on you to do the same with him."

"I'll try my best," I said.

Miranda snickers, then she embraces mr for s moment. She then approaches Albert and hugs him. "God bless you, Albert. It's been a blast."

"Yeah you too."

Albert then comes to Mark and Phoebe. Phoebe sniffles. "This is it then, huh."

"Yeah. It's funn,your when I first moved here, I was the most awkward with girls and, you were one of the first new friends I made. And, it took 2 years of being intimidated by you before I felt brave enough to talk to you."

"Too intimidating to lead worship?" Mark teased.

Albert scoffs. "Honestly, yeah! Especially after that first night we all led on stage together."

Phoebe grimaces nervously. Mark sighs. "Yeah, we don't talk about that night." Albert chuckles. "Still, we couldn't have had a better partner. And hopefully, you'll keep growing on your own as a worship leader."

"Thanks man," he said. "But I couldn't have done any of it without learning from you two. There's no way I ever could've had two better leaders to fall back behind."

"Yeah well. I was slightly hesitant to take up the worship pastor role. But, having teammates like you who were so eager and ready to do anything, made it all the more better. And I just hope you find similar folks on your new team...."

Phoebe sniffles. "I'm sorry, I promised myself I'd stay strong....!" He smiles as she looks up to him. "I'm gonna miss playing with you every night...."

"Me too. Phoebe, you've always been there whenever I needed you..... You're....almost like a sister to me."

"Wouldn't that be amazing if we were siblings."

They both chuckle. Albert sighs. "You know, you didn't need to fight as hard as you did. I know that violence isn't your Forte..."

"It isn't. But I wouldn't have forgiven myself if i didn't do anything while the rest of you got hurt," Phoebe softly said. "Besides, they're just lucky that Tabitha didn't hit me hard enough..." she said with a wink.

Albert squints. "Uh- what do you mean?"

Phoebe smiles then warmly embraces Albert.....and she takes his hand and presses it against her stomach. "And this one.......is from the three of us."

Albert's eyes widen, and when Phoebe pulls back, Albert holds onto her shoulders, staring down at her stomach in shock. When he looks back up to her eyes, Phoebe chuckles quietly. "Phoebe.....?!" Phoebe giggles and nods her head. Albert smiles and laughs. "Holy crap!"

Mark and Phoebe, since getting married 4 years ago, have been struggling to have children, and Phoebe being someone who often works with the church kids, has been wanting to be a mother for a long time. Now, she's finally getting her chance.

Mark sighs. "Like you always said, being patient, even for a few years, is something that'll be rewarded." Mark then whispers into his ear. "....she said if it's a boy, then she wants to name him Albert......"

Albert shakes his head with a sigh. "Well......I hope it's a girl."

Phoebe slaps my arm. "Hey..!"

Albert chuckles and hugs her again. "Congratulations...!" Pheobe giggles. Then he turns to Mark and they share an embrace. "Good luck man."

"You too. God bless you."

I come up to the Amigos and point my finger at them. "You guys aren't gonna pull any last minute prank on me, are you?"

They all start to grimace, especially Johnathan. "Uhhh, we thought about it. But.....I think we've given you more than enough surprises," Wes said.

"Yeah and, I'm probably not gonna be doing any of those for awhile," Johnathan said, poking out his elbow through the cast.

"Is your arm really that bad?"

"Meh, according to Mitch, the bullet just BARELY missed hitting anything lethal. Still, this is easily the second most painful thing I've ever experienced."

"What's the first?"

Johnathan grins. "I don't think we have enough time for that story."

I smirk and shrug my arms. "Well the bright side is, now you'll have a great story to share, and a scar to prove it."

He grins. "You got that right!"

Vinnie then looks to me and sighs. "Hey, we- we didn't really get a chance to say it but...we- we're really sorry about your brother."

I look down in softness. Wes chimes in, "Yeah that's gotta be rough. And like, we expected him to be an angsty, moody short tempered shorty. But something tells me, he didn't used to be this big of an asshole."

"Wesley-?!" Vinnie mumbled.

"No," I immediately spoke up. "He didn't. And...I was already scared by the thought of you four fighting the Conquerors but....fighting my brother is something I didn't think would ever be a problem."

"He's tough as stone, too. Like, my gosh."

"Yeah but, I just got word from Jillian that he's getting flown back home to Reno. Said that someone's already covered for his treatment over there, anonymously, apparently," Johnathan said.

"Did she say anything about Brock?" Vinnie asked.

Johnathan closes his eyes and sighs. "I haven't asked. I- haven't really thought about what I did until getting back home yesterday. I just....didn't wanna see the same thing again..."

Wes perks up his eyes. "Oh....crap, man."

I lay my hand on Johnathan. "Hey, you were just trying to keep your friends safe. Just like everyone else."

"I still can't believe Albert brought him back to life. That was amazing," Wes said.

"Yeah. And....i guess that would be the second time he's helped rescue someone from..." Vinnie trailed off. "Well, you know?"

I nod my head. "Yeah, he did...." They all glance at me. "I'm glad he did it cause, as terrible as some of them might have been.....he was always under Angela's influence. And, as horrible as Hell was......I wouldn't have wanted any of them to go down there....."

"Neither would we. But that won't ever stop us from keeping our friends safe. Much less our brothers and sisters...." Vinnie said.

Wes shrugs. "And hey? From what John's told me, recovering from stuff like that takes at least a few months. So who knows? Spending that much time away from Angela could be good for him. Maybe he'll even be the next one of them to come through the doors, wanting to join our family."

I close my eyes and sigh. "Well.......if anyone had brought up that idea three years ago, particularly with Brock or any of the other 6, I would have laughed it off, marking it off as impossible." Then I look to all three of them. "But here I am, accepted by you guys, who are living with half of the ones I knew."

Vinnie then lays his hand on my shoulder. "Yeah well.......we don't care who any of.them are. We aren't gonna treat or accept them any differently than how we did with you."

"I'd hope so," I said. "Though.....I'm still partially nervous about leaving you three here with some of those guys."

Vinnie and Wes snicker. "You shouldn't be. Surprisingly, they're quite friendly once you get to know them properly. Heck, some of the ones I've talked to have actually offered to help me run my father's business once they heard i work with cars. They've even considered helping pay for professional treatment for my dad as well."

"A few of the guys and I were discussing all of these ideas for new pranks, ABSOLUTELY GENIUS ideas!" Johnathan said. "Especially the newer guys , they just never stopped spewing out these ideas. The king

"And really, you guys are always gonna be my best buds, but as much as you guys don't get my sense of humor, i think I've finally found a crowd that gets my humor," Wes said.

Johnathan chortles. "Oh yeah that Sunday morning, Wesley had the entire group of Conquerors dying from laughter when he made fun of their titles. And I mean, ALL of them!"

I snort. "I mean that's not.a surprise, given how they've been insensitive snd dirty with jokes before. And looking back, Snake was actually a lot similar to you than I remember."

"Also that Lexi girl?" Wes asked with a grin. "After that little bump.in last night, I think we might have something going on...."

"Seriously? I don't mean to burst your bubble, but I think that blonde is a little far out of your league!" Vinnie jabbed.

"Not only that, but she's still a Conqueror girl, so she might too wild for you!"

"Whaaaattt?! C'mon!"

I chuckle and slap him on his shoulder. "Don't listen to them, Wesley. The leagues are stupid. But a word of advice.......she's fresh out of a 6 year relationship with Snake, so- just take it slow with her....and maybe she'll come around."

Wes slowly smiles at me. "You think so...."

I smile. "Yeah, and I'm sure you'd be real good to her." Then I look to Johnathan and Vinnie. "And you two had better be good to your partners too."

Vinnie chuckles. "We will. Promise."

Johnathan scoffs. "Yeah, I've already been on Amelia's bad side enough to know that, it's not fun to deal with. She basically turns into Angela where she's a brick wall. But don't tell her I said that!"

I then smile. "She sure seems strong enough to handle you. Speaking of which, how is the little guy?"

His eyes glisten up and he nods emotionally. "He's good. Lookie here," he said pulling out his phone pulling up a picture.

"Awww...! Oh he looks just like you...!" I squeaked.

"Only less handsome," Johnathan said.
Vinnie blows a raspberry and Wes snickers. "Good news is, he's just heavy enough to where I only need one arm to hold him. But.....now he's stolen my heart."

"Fitting, given how you almost stabbed someone else's heart out," Wes commented.

Johnathan then awkwardly looks over at him.
Vinnie then grimaced, hanging his arm ocer his shoulder. "Wesley...?"

Wes sighs. "Sorry...."

I look at each of them. "I love you guys. I'm really gonna miss you a lot."

"Mmm, us too," Wes said, embracing me.

Vinnie chuckles. "Didn't think we'd ever wanna add a sister to the party," he said before hugging me.

"Yet, here we are," Johnathan said before wrapping his arm around me. "This isn't goodbye forever."

"I hope not."
Then Albert comes up and I step away.

Wes sighs. "So this is really it, huh? Where we're officially being demoted to, the Treso Amigos."

"Oh come on Wes, we all agreed that we're still the same quartet no matter where we are," Albert said.

"I mean, yeah I still believe that. And I belive we're still going to be solid as stone no matter what. But i just......." Wes then starts to tear up.

Albert steps over and lays his hands on his shoulders. "Hey. Hey come on, buddy..."

Wes sniffles. "I'm sorry, it's......it's just always so heavy for me whenever hoh guys leave indefinitely..." Wes emotionally said. "I......like up until i met you guys, I.....never had any real friends. I hsd people I would hang out with, but......Albert you, Colton, and these two, were the first guys I would hang out with and......actually feel like myself, as well as make me feel like I could be something more in life. So, I know I've never been as influential as some of your other buddies.......but my life has definitely been changed because of you three. You especially.....!"

Albert smiles, and he briefly remembers.
He, Vinnie and Johnathan were hanging out at the house one day, when Colton came back home with a new friend.
"Hey guys?"

"Hey Colton!"
"Hey little buddy," Johnathan added.

I turn around and see another kid behind him. "Hey, who's your friend there?"

"Oh, this is Wesley Campbell. I just brought him here to help him study for his new classes."

"Yeah, clearly I need to learn how to be more of a stud for these classes," Wes joked, letting out a snicker, which results in them looking at each other.

Vinnie snorts. "Alright."

"Well we'll be down here if you need anything." Albert said.

And then later, he came back downstairs, stressing over a talent show he signed up for, where we heard him listening to some....boy band songs.

"Hey, was that 4Count?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, you know this song?"

"Uh, yeah. It's not our thing but, at the same time it kinda is," Johnathan said.

"So whatcha pacing out here for?"

"Oh, nothing much. See, I signed up for this talent show coming soon at the high school. And, I made a bet that I could do something that would make all the seniors remember a freshman like me. But I can't think of anything!"

"Oh, well. Do you need some help coming up with ideas?"

"Wait what? You guys don't even know me."

"Yeah but, our pastor always reminds me to help people whenever we can," Vinnie said.

"Oh. So you guys are Jesus people?"

"Yeah. Are you?"

"I mean, I was raised in a church growing up but I grew out of it later. I ain't triggered by it though."

"Well that's good. So, you want some help?" Albert asked, to which Wes smiles warmly.

Later, as they all collaborated on Wes's act, they started working together on more fun projects and tricks and the four of then were hanging out all the time.

Albert smiles and lays his hand on Wes's shoulder. "You're the reason that we even became Amigos. We're all as close as we are because of you. You guys always say I'm the glue that holds us together....but that's you, man."

Wes smiles, sniffles, then clings onto Albert who chuckles. "I love you man. Really.."

"Haha, I love you too Wes. You're my little brother in spirit."

"Darn right...!" Wes choked. Then he steps back and wipes his eyes. "Ahem! Sorry.. .!"

Then he steps over to Johnathan. "Well hopefully, I'll be getting into less trouble now."

Johnathan chuckles. "Please, if it weren't for your suggestions, I could've done something to put all four of us in jail!"

Albert snorts. "Alright, fair enough." He then smirks at Johnathan. "You know, it's actually kinda funny. Today we're saving goodbye, after you protected me, and saved ny life from the conquerors-"

"Let me guess? Because I protected you from bullies the first time I ever came into your life?"

Albert chuckles. "Pretty much! Hahaha."

He then remembers their encounter.
"No, please! Please I'm too hu- Oww!"

He gets punched down in an alleyway by Duncan where he and Patrick are beating him up.

"When you live on the streets, then complain to us about hunger. Now hand it over!"

Suddenly Duncan is punched away.
I look up, and I see that it's the tall new kid.
He smirks at Duncan. "So you're homeless? Gee, that sucks. But that doesn't mean you have to be thugs."

Patrick throws me back over to Duncan.

He turns to us. "Hey, let him go, punk!"

"Are you his mother or something?" Patrick asked.

"Or something."

Patrick the. LInges up, trying to kick him between the legs but Johnathan grabs onto his leg and judo flips him down before punching him in the face.

Duncan shoved me down and rushes in to tackle him and tries to punch him but he gets blocked, slapped and kicked down to the ground hard.

"Alright. Now unless you two ladies wanna start tasting blood, I'd suggest that the two of you get up, and BEAT IT!!" Both of the brothers quickly get up and run away
"That's right!!"

"Ugh....! What a bunch of douchebags...."

The man then turns to me and steps over to lend a hand. "Need a lift?" He pulls me back up. "You okay, dude?"

"Yeah. Just a little sore."

"You'll survive though, right?"

"I......I think so " I shyly look him in the eye. "Thanks. I'm...really grateful."

"Well I'm Johnathan. Nice to meet you Really Grateful," he said with a big smile.

I nearly hurt myself from laughter after hearing that. "Uhhh, haha! Uh no, actually my name is Albert."

"Hmm! Now that's a first. When you hear somebody say their name and they actually look exactly like how you would envision that person to look like with that name."

"Oh. Uh.....I'll. ..take that as a compliment. And I guess this is a first time for me too. Getting saved by a tough guy who.....looks more like one of those doofus sidekicks uoud see on a sitcom."

Johnathan folds his arms. "You know, I never really get tired of hearing that!" Then we both chuckle. "You're a funny little dude."

"Thanks, you too."

Johnathan chuckles. "And it was nothing but chaos and shenanigans from that point on."

"Some days more than others. Out of everyone I've met here, you're the guy who has remained the same compared to how I first met you, even though you're one of the oldest guys I hang out with!" Johnathan grins. "If there's one thing you've taught me the most, is that you don't need to change who you are when you get older."

"Darn right buddy! And you've taught me a lot too, including not to give up on stuff you wanna work towards." Albert smirked in response, turning his head. "Knock them dead, man!" he boasted before slapping his left hand against Albert's back. Suddenly he screams out, and bends over straining hard, pressing his hand against his sore back. Johnathan flinches when he realizes Albert's still sore from Brock's Beatdown last night. "Ohh, shoot! My bad!"

But he just sticks his thumb up in the air. "It's.....it's all good, buddy...!" he squeaked out.

Vinnie then chuckles. "Well, so much for being the back that's carried us up to this point!"

"Yeah yeah, very funny!" Albert remarked as Vinnie helps him stand back up.

Then some aspirin pills fall out of Alberts shirt pocket and Vinnie leans down to pick them up. "Hey hey? I found these first, finders keepers," Vinnie said.

Albert squints at him, until they're both smiling and laughing. Albert then remembers their first encounter.

The first day of Albert's school in Bakersfield, 7th grade. He felt so shy, scared and anxious. During recess all he could do was sit around until Albert suddenly felt the desire to wanna please himself once again. So he awkwardly looks around and grips onto his back, trying to sneak away and find a bathroom indoors.

However, before he can reach the door, someone slams into him and knocks his bag out, spelling several of his supplies. The other kid laughs. "Whoops!"

"Ahh! Aww.......MAN!!!!"
Albert desperately scrambles to pick them up.
"Why.....? Why?! Why do I have to hate my fucking life?" He almost screams but contains himself and focuses to pick them up.
"This is so unfair...! Ughhh...!"

The last thing he had to pick up was a calculator and a notebook, and as he tries to pick them up, another hand presses down on them. "Eh eh eh?!"
Albert looks up, and there's a young Asian kid in a hat and a green sweater.
"Hang on. I saw this calculator and monkey book first," the boy said with a smile. "Finder's keeper's." He then chuckles at Albert who rolls his eyes with a sigh. The boy then stands up straight looking down at the two items, but then he immediately hands them to Albert. "Here you go, dude."

Albert squints and hesitantly reaches for his things. "But....But I thought you said-?"

"Oh c'mon, I clearly saw you picking stuff up, I'm not gonna loot off of you, dude."
Albert stared at him in confusion, until he handed them out again. "C'mon, take them."

"Uhh....?" Albert nervously retrieved his items. "Th- thank you..."

He smiled and nodded his head, right before he gazed at Albert's face. "Hmm. I don't recognize you. You one of the new kids?"

"Uh, yeah. I- I just moved here a few days ago. First day."

"Oh my. Have you come from a land faraway?"

"I....I didn't travel that far, actually. I came here from Arizona. Uh Tu- Tucson."

"Hello Canyon Crawler! Sounds like you're already accustomed to the confusing winter weather in this region."

"Yeah. We won't have any snow days."

"Not unless global warming worsens!" he joked. Finally Albert giggled and the kid snapped his fingers. "Ahhh, there we go! I knew you were a smiler, hehehe. So how's your first day going here?"

"Its......going about as well as I expected. It's hard to find my way around and, I haven't made any friends at all."

"Ah, well today's your lucky day!" the boy boasted with a smile, extending his hand out. "My name's Vincent, but everyone calls me Vinnie."

"Uhhhh, okay?" Albert nervously shook his hand. "I'm Al- Albert Johnson."

"Johnson? Wow. My last name is Joen. It's pretty close to the alphabet."

"Uh, I- I guess so."

"Yeah, if we have any classes together, we might be sitting closeby. Ain't that cool?"

"Sure?"

Vinnie tilts his head. "You're one of those shy introverts, are you? Or am I just coming on too strong."

"K- kinda. I ain't, really used to this."

"I see. Well I know just the solution for that!"

"Huh what do you-?"

"Hey hey Phi? Hey, come here. Yeah Phoebe, get over here, I want you to meet somebody."

I immediately grow shy and nervous when I hear that it's a girl's name.
"Actually, I- I gotta go back insi-"

"No no no no you're gonna love her!" Vinnie said as he pulled him back in. Then a young brunette approached. "Phoebe? This is Albert Johnson, one of the new kids at school."

"Hey, nice to meet you," Phoebe said, immediately shaking his hand.

"Uh- uh, hi."

"Seems to be like he's a bit of a shy one. So who better than the two of us to whip him into shape."

Phoebe turns around. "Umm, so Albert? We were just getting ready to play some Headbanz with our friends. You wanna join us?"

"Great idea!"

"Uh, what's Headbanz?"

"You'll see. C'mon."

Then he started hanging out with them more and, the first time he invited them to his house.....
"Well, thank you for inviting us over, Mrs. Johnson. I hope you're all settling in A-Okay?"

"Oh it's going along, swimmingly. The neighbors, well we're still trying to get used to."

"Speaking from experience, you might make faster friends with the dogs than any of the people here. They take time though. Don't worry," Vinnie said.

"So you say," dad said.

"Good to know," Albert added.

My mom then lays out the dishes. "Here we go. Be careful, it's a little hot. But they're always the best when they're fresh."

"Ooooh this looks good."

"Right?"

My mom smiles and Pat's them on the arms. "Help yourselves."

Vinnie attempted to dive right in. "Wait, Vinnie. You're forgetting something."

Vinnie squinted his eyes and then widened them. "Ohhh, right. Right."

I turn my head over in slight confusion. And..... Vinnie and Phoebe both bow their heads and hold their hands against their foreheads.
"Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for providing this meal unto us. We ask that you will bless it to our bodies, and bless this house for allowing us in. Please help them to feel safe and content in this new home."

"Thank you Lord for your blessings unto us, and we are grateful. Amen."

"Amen."

We all glance at each other in confusion.
"Uh, what was that about?"

"Oh, sorry. Our Pastors just always encourage us to pray before every meal. It's not always easy to remember but-"

"Pray?"

"Well, yeah. We're Christians."

And the house grew silent.
"Is that a club title?" Young little Colton asked.

"We......We don't believe in that here," the dad said.

Phoebe widens her eyes. "Oh? Uh.....I'm sorry. Did we just make things awkward."

"Please, don't worry. We arent trying-"

"Now now now," my mom said.
"Theres no reason to worry kids. We don't have any issues with religious folks."

Albert just stayed silent.

A couple weeks later.
"So I was thinking this Friday, we could go to the movies?"
Phoebe and Vinnie then look at each other awkwardly. "What's wrong?"

Phoebe looks to me and sighs. "Albert...? We- We actually have plans already...."

"You do? What for?"

"Well, you know who the guidance counselor is at school?" He shook his head no.
"Seriously?" Albert shrugs. "Well, he's a guy named Curtis, and he works for both the middle school and the high school. And, this friday night, he's starting up this new club. It's called the Divine Fellowship Team and we were invited to.come with some friends."

"Uh, maybe you can come with us!"

"Oh? I.....I don't know about that. I'm not really a....Jesus kinda guy."

"I mean you don't have to be. You can just come with and see how you like it."

"I, ugh.....I'll think about it..."

And then, after joining them at the last minute, Albert grew deeper into the faith and Curtis, Vinnie and Phoebe helped to teach him about their beliefs.
Then as Vinnie and Albert grew closer, especially when they started jamming together. They later met Johnathan and Wes and the rest was history.

Albert.....starts to get more emotional after remembering these moments. He looks up to Vinnie, trying not to cry. "Vinnie, I.....I don't know where I would be if we didn't cross paths... I may have accomplished and achieved these things on my own with my own skills......but I owe it all to you. Youve all changed my life, but....you've changed it all at the start."

Vinnie then smiles at me with pride. "I'm proud to call you my friend. And it's....crazy seeing how much you've grown. You're not that same, fidgety paranoid boy I found on the playgrounds anymore, for sure. You stood up to a crazy gang of Conquerors, casted put a demon, brought a man back to life and, you've turned the life of an ex pornstar around."

"And all of that was just in the span of one week!" Albert commented.

"YEAH!!!" Vinnie chuckles and nods his head.

"Still, I wouldn't have been the man who did all of that if you hadn't led me to God. I'm...I'm thankful that you guys helped me come out of...where I was before..."

Vinnie softly nods. "I know buddy. And now irs your turn to lead. You're gonna do so great. And I'm always gonna be in your front rows, cheering you on."

"We all are dude."

"Hmm. Quadro Amigos for life?"

"For life!" And they all shake hands and start murmuring together.

I smile watching this, and then Curtis comes up to me and places a hand on my shoulder. I turn around confused, but then smirk and turn back to the guys. "It's still confusing. How, I've hardly spent the same amount of time getting to know the three of them and yet....I still feel like I'm that close to them."

"Hmm. The same goes for all of us. You've stood by us just as much as we stood by you."

"You think you're all gonna be okay working alongside those other former PC's?" I asked.

Curtis sighs. "I have no idea. But I'm more than willing to try. Because I know God's love was always available to them too, and now that I'm the lead pastor, no one else in our church is gonna tell them otherwise."

"If anything, God allowing Albert to save Brock should be enough proof of that." Curtis glances at me after hearing that. "And after last night, at the very least they won't have people like Lacey harassing them the same way she did me."

"Yeah. Ha ha. You know, I had almost forgotten how Lacey looked when she smiled."

"In my opinion, it made her scarier," I teased.

Curtis chuckles softly. "A little bit...!" Sigh. "Still, I'm done letting others chase people away from grace. If Thomas can't accept that then too bad," Curtis whispered.

"So what? Aren't you in charge now?"

Curtis snickers for a moment. "Point taken."

"Is he doing okay? Him and your family?"

"Melanie's a little sore but, Hannah's doing good. She keeps beaming about how a superhero kept her safe."

I can't help myself from giggling. "She really said that...?!"

"Yeah. As for Thomas....I'm not sure. Travis arranged something so, I'm gonna check on him in the hospital as soon as I get back into town. But still, seeing the guy he just given the authority of the church to, allowing a gigantic fight to break out and trash my Youth center Sanctuary, knowing Thomas, I'm gonna have to endure a very harsh lecture. And considering our livestream has started going viral.....I don't think God's gonna bless me by having that punch to the head smack out his memory of that."

"Hmmm. He didn't do that for me so, probably not."

Curtis looks to me and sighs. "You are who you are because of your memory. Taking that out....only changes more than you think." I stay silent, just closing my eyes. "I-I do wish that I could've done or said more to help what you had to go through. But what I have, I hope it sticks with you."

I smirk. "It HAS. Your ministry- It's changed my view of the church in so many ways. And...I can only hope that this one does the same."

Curtis's eye then twitches and he lowers it down with a sigh. "You know, that one guy. Your brother? He was the one who handed over the money to me, after we did the deed. I saw him, and I saw how he had 'Mitchell,' on a nametag and how he looked, similar to you." I look to him and stare at his eyes for a moment. "I should've said something as soon as we spoke again but....you were feeling guilty on so much else I.....didn't feel like you needed more things to feel bad about at the time."

I lower my head. "So.... So he was working with Angela even back then?"

"He made it sound like it was a new thing. A first time doing any favors for her."

I shake my head for a moment. "All if the times i wss attacking you guys lately. Shouting at you, accusing you, belittling you. Indid the same thing to my brother and family, where I said things that I didn't mean, but i just said them to release my anger....and ee didn't get any closure after that. Kevin seems to have let his anger and emotions change him into somebody else.....which is what Ive been doing. I- I know now that...... I was being so horrible to some of you. I....I said things that, I know really hurt you guys."

"You're not the only one," Curtis whispered. I quickly turn my head and look at him, sympathetically. "And.....listen. When you, uh......when you came to me to talk before, I feel like I said a couple things that were out of line for me to say. To say it was out of frustration, wouldn't exactly be the full truth. But, I just want you to know, I didn't mean anything malicious or-"
But I immediately interrupt him by hugging into him tightly. "Wh- What is this...?" He asked with a chuckle.

"I know how hard it is," I whispered. "Wanting to threaten that kind of person. But I've always told myself, that we prove ourselves to be the strongest.....when we have the strength to keep our hands away from each other....so we don't harm our own family members....." I spoke tender, smiling with tears. "But after losing my own.....I'm glad that I'm part of yours now."

Curtis sniffles and holds onto me as well. "Yeah. I can relate...."
And I know that he does, after losing his own family due to rebellious reasons as well.

"You've all been a blessing to me. I just hope that'll continue going forward."

"Hmm. It will, and more than that. I believe that something's coming for you. A great blessing, something powerful. I don't know what it is for sure.....but I believe God's given you the potential for greater achievements than any of us." He turns with a smile.

I scoff and close my eyes, stepping in to hug him. "Thanks for everything.... I really hope this isn't goodbye. Forever I mean."

He pats my back. "It won't be. One way or another, you're part of our family too, Cheyenne. Youre a member of our body too." Curtis said.

I nod my head. "Thanks, Curtis. Pastor Curtis." He smiles and turns his head.
"Oh. And uh......." As I'm hugging him, I sneak something into his pocket.

Curtis squints his eyes and as I release him, he steps back, reaching into his pockets. Then he pulls out a $20 bill and turns to me with a squint. "What's this for?"

"You were right. You won the bet," I said.

Curtis stares at me and then shakes his head with a snort, chuckling as he remembers. "Alright. Alright, fair enough. Well, good luck out there in the Big A."
Albert then steps over towards us.
"Oh and speaking of the big A."

The three of us chuckle and I step away for a moment..Albert and Curtis shake hands together.
"Well look at us, taking over as pastor of your head church after youve atarted the youth group all by yourself. Now I'm off to do the same thing."

"I'm sure you're gonna continue doing great work out here, Sir."

"And obviously I'm believing the same thing for Albert. I'll be expecting retweets and boosts of his first messages very soon."

"Haha. I'm sure you will be."

Curtis lays a firm grip onto Albert's shoulder. "I.....I don't even know what to say. You...... Youve been bere since I started the whole thing. You were one of 9ur first bug impacts, and we've seen you grow up so much wince then." Curtis then snickers. "And dude, if last night didn't give any of us enough proof that you're becoming a powerful vessel lf God and hks power, then I don't know what willl!"

Albert smirks. "Yeah, not too bad from the scared little boy who was.....afraid of ever being inspired by an authority figure in the schools."

"Yeah I was thinking about that last night. How you were so small, quiet, timid and anxious. Skeptical of my beliefs and of me in general. And now you've become someone who inspires ME, not the other way around. To be more hopeful, more hungry......and stronger in faith...."

I shake my head and wipe my eyes, looking up at him. "Well I have you to thank for it. You were the one who gave me those words in thr first olace......and he was right about us. God's changed mu life......especially through You.....Cheyenne.....and all of our friends here. won't make my youth group a copy of your own ministry and I won't be trying to....better version of yours. But you're always gonna inspire my choices in that ministry."
I sniffle a little bit and Curtis pats me on the back. "Just.....promise I can still call you if I need help, or advice?"

"Anytime kid. Listen, even if we're far apart I'm still here. But I can't do everything for you. Like you said, you're becoming an adult, so at some points, you'll have to figure out some of this stuff on your own."

"Hmm. I know. Speaking of which, I sure hope you can figure out how to manage the guys without me. And the newbies."

"Ha ha, i think I'll survive." Curtis then nods to me. "Good luck in the big city, and good luck with the big boys." Albert nods and sniffle a proud tear. But then, Curtis pulls him over into a corner. "And hey. Good luck with Cheyenne."

"Hmm? Why would I need good luck with her?"

"Why wouldn't you? We all need good luck with the ladies.....even the ones that obviously like us."

"What?!" Albert laughed with his eyes widened. "Oh come on, NOT you too."

"Hey. I did work as a counselor, you know, and my dad was a couple's counselor. I've seen the ways that people look at each other......" he hangs hks arm over his shoulder. "And I've seen a lot more than just the way she looks at you........Like how you look at her too."

He then chuckles silently, and turns around to see me hugging goodbye to Wes and Johnathan. "You actually think someone like her would be into me? When she's far beyond my league?"

"I don't believe it's my job to give the answer. But you know, that whole league thing is just as outdated as the Pharisaic laws," Curtis teased. "And like Angela said, you didn't even deny it...."

Albert then scoffs. "Am I really gonna have to say goodbye to you by giving you a second black eye?"

"That would only prove me right. Ain't that what you said....?" He said with a snicker.

Albert sighs. "Curtis. We're just friends. And it doesn't matter how I feel, because I don't think pursuing a relationship with her would be the best decision. At least not right now...." He said.

"Why not?"

"Maybe because I was lying to her for the whole week, and I got her brother ran over, AND I just found out what she used to do for a living. Do you really think that's a good sign to start something? No." Curtis folds his arms with a scoffing grin on his face. Albert turns to him. "Besides, you of all people know how I think and feel about this stuff. I still have a belief around it."

"I know. Still, that didn't stop you from pursuing girls before. And.....may I share another thought."

"As long as you don't push it."

"Just think about it. I think theres something there. And personally......I think you two getting together sounds poetic. Especially with how....according to your words, God gave you a sign that led you to her, and He introduced you to a new girl, and He did it all the night after we had just prayed over your future soulmate back at the camp."

Then Albert's eyes widen.

"And I dunno, I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought-"

"Wait! What did you just say?" Albert asked.

"Huh? I'm just, saying, given how we prayed over your future match back at that camping trip, and given the fact that she was the first new person you met after that prayer, I think....it would be interesting if that future match ended up being Cheyenne after all.
Curtis has actually been thinking about this ever since Cheyenne accidentally blabbed out that he loves him. Knowing that, Curtis grins.
"But hey, that's just me. Don't you think that would be an interesting coincidence if it happened?"

He looks to her and remembers his prayer
"Lord God, wherever this girl is.......I just hope I'll be able to meet her soon. I'm ready, whenever you're ready to send her towards me....." I thought to myself.

Then he remembers holding her in his arms after he rescued her our of the car. And then, the first time he saw her again in the hospital, and how fast his heart was pounding at the first sight he caught of her. And lastly.....remembering how he felt so nervous after getting so awkward with her.....only to feel so much more comfortable talking to her shortly after seeing the smile she made in response to him.

"God, can you just stop being cute."

"I like you, Albert. And I care about you."

"If I'm being perfectly honest...at that time, I-uh...I kinda had these little feelings for you..."
And he thinks to the first kiss they shared in the camper truck on the campgrounds.

Remembering all for this, Albert just lowers his head in deep thought.
"I, suppose....it would......"

Curtis hears this and smiles subtly to himself. "Be blessed. And God Bless you Albert. We're all rooting for you."

Ding!
Attention, our flight to New York City will be boarding in 20 minutes.

Hearing this, I then step away from the Amigos and walk back pat Albert on the shoulder. "Okay I think we got everyone. You ready to go?"
Curtis steps away, and....Albert looks like he's thinking about something. I squint my eyes.
"Hey? Albert?"

"Hmm?! Oh what?"

"You ready to get on the plane? Get to work?" I said with a cheeky smile.

He looks back to me and smiles. "Definitely."

"Then, what are you guys waiting for?" Mark asked out.

We step forward and turn back one last time. "We'll see you all again some time."

"Until then we meet again! Bye!!"

Byeee!!

They all wave us off, and as I wave back, Albert pokes me in the side and sprints off carrying his cases, causing me to chase after him. "Oh you did NOT just do that!"

"What, you thought you were done with the Amigo antics! I still AM an Amigo!"

"Oh that's it! You're gonna get it!" I said running after, causing him to run away.

"Yeah? You'll never catch me!!"

"Oh yeah?! I know your seat!!"

"Leedleleedleleedlelee!!"

Our friends laugh at this, and then leave the hallway. Curtis smiles. "Safe travels!"

Wes chuckles. "That's our boy!" Vinnie and Johnathan snicker, shaking their heads.

"Alright well, suppose we better get going. We'll see you guys tomorrow morning," CJ said to the others before walking off.

Felicia leaves eagerly yelling out. "Hopefully we'll see you sooner than we know!" She follows after CJ.

Standing in the corner, Mason folds his arms and whispers to Isaac. "They go so fast. Hmm. And, we sure are lucky that those Pussy Cats or.....whatever went away just as fast after last night. I'm sure they won't be a problem to Us anymore."

"Yeah. We all left a pretty precise example of our own ferocity and capabilities, despite them being apparent....professionals at this," Isaac replied, before he turned away from him. "Buutttt don't forget Mason, John said you came out the worst out of all of us so who are you to talk so boldly.....?" Isaac whispered sotto voce into his cast.

"Hmm?!" Mason turns his head to Isaac irked while he snickers. But then Mason lifts his head high with a grins and turns around to go back. "Hmm, well maybe that's the case....But at least I'm not one of the guys who got beaten by a GIRL!" he boasted while walking off.

"Wha-?! rrrrRRRRR!!!" Isaac turns back, and growls out annoyed with anger before storming after his friend.

"Oh boy." Samuel chuckles and follows after them. "See you guys next week."

"See ya Sam!" Mark said.

"Well, these next chapters in our lives should be fun. Johns a dad, Vinnie's ahusband, Wes is a cop, I'm carrying, and we've got new trainees from a group we just exposed online," Phoebe said.

"Let's just pray it'll be less scary getting along with them. The same way we pray about you guys," Miranda said slapping Vinnie and Wes on their backs.

"Oh, very funny," Vinnie commented.

"Speaking of which, we should probably get out of here before the city starts tempting us," Mark said. "Or before the others run into us here."

"I agree. Let's go home." Phoebe, Mark and Miranda walk away.

Vinnie, John and Wes smile and look on. "I guess now we really are Three Amigos now," Wes said.

"Maybe in name. But not in spirit."

Vinnie stands beside Curtis. "They both have impacted our lives. Just imagine how many more they're about to do the same for."

"Heaven might need to make some room," Curtis replied. He and Vinnie smile, and he turns to the other four. "Let's go guys."

We finally reach the plane and get past security and enter the inside. "Oh wow... Dif they tell you what class of flight you were gonna be going on?" I asked, noticing how nice and arranged this plane interior looks.

"Not particularly, no. Okay, we're looking for, 11c and 11d."

"Uhhh....." I look around squinting, passing a few rows. "Oh, here we go."

We take our seats, with me sitting at the window and Albert on the edge. "Well here we are. No turning back now."

"Yeah."

After that, they both start reflecting on memories. Cheyenne with how she left Reno Nevada in hopes of moving right here to Los Angeles for fame and fornication, only to he leaving Los Angeles after being here for less than an hour, excited to see the fruits of a new ministry for a religion she once despised and rebelled against.
And Albert with how he first moved into California, nervous and anxious after leaving Arizona, only to be coming out stronger than he's ever been.

Albert then sighs. "Are you still feeling a little nervous?"

I nod gently. "Slightly. And.....beyond that, I'm just....... Haha, I don't even know how to describe it, you've left me speechless Johnson. Which is......something I thought no one else was gonna be able to do after awhile," i said.

"Oh? And how have I done that?"

"Just with......EVERYTHING you've done. You survived Bock, you overcame your assaulters, you survived an onslaught with all of the Conquerors plus 100 more and.......of all people, you beat Angela at her own exposure game. I......I legitimately don't know where I would wanna start asking about how you made all of that possible."

"Well the way I see it, once we settle into the new living quarters, I'll have more than enough time to explain everything." She makes an annoyed expression.
"What? Do we really wanna start talking about it now where we can bore all of the other passengers?"

I then giggle loudly until I have to cover my mouth to stifle the volume.
"Only you could say such a thing."

"The guys back there would say the same."

"Still, for as long as i was showering that morning, you guys were talking to her? I'm surprised she didn't try her little spells on you."

"Oh are you now?"

"Hey I've seen what you've given into, and judging by my memory with her, she's quite enticing," I teased. "I know you're a truthful man, so are you gonna tell me that out of everything Angela might have said to you, she didn't tempt you at least one bit?"

"Well.......she did try to offer me a job at Anarchanal, suggesting that maybe we could get down in the work."

"Tch, of course she did. And how did you feel about that?" Albert quickly looks at me flustered but then he quickly looks away. I perk up an eyebrow. "Don't lie now."

Albert then sighs and smirks. "Well......it was tempting. Dare I say the offer even had me......intrigued. Especially with the way that fox had phrased it..."

"Figures. Still, I didn't think she was your type of chick."

"She's not. But.......for a split second, she had me thinking otherwise..."
My eyebrows perk up and I bite my smirking lip, trying to imagine Albert doing anything with Angela or the other girl Conquerors. And then his eyes widen as he turns back to me, pointing at me as he says:
"But if you tell anyone that I said that then we really are gonna stop being friends, and I'm not just trying to sound dramatic."

I chuckle at his reaction and pat him on the arm. "Your secret's as safe with me as mine is with yours."

"Hmm. Good."

"So, let's say we're back at the day you first moved into my house all those years ago. If I had told you that some day, I was going to find our who you were, we were gonna fly out to New York and a total of 46 people who used to work in your same group are now about to live peacefully alongside the friends you would soon make from the church, what would you have said."

"I'd say....shut the hell up, you don't know anything about anything because that is all impossible."

"Impossible. Hmm, there's no such thing."

I then close my eyes, grin and wave my finger at him. "There it is...."

Ding.
"Good afternoon and welcome aboard the L.A. American Airlines. Just giving you all a heads up that we are going through some last minute preparations, but just hang tight and we will be taking off on our route to Manhattan, momentarily."

"I'm feeling a lot better about this so far. What about you?"

Albert sighs. "Yeah. More or less?"

"More or less?"

"Well, I've never been on a plane before. So I'm more nervous about that."

Cheyenne grins. "Trust me, it's not gonna be so bad. Up until a few years ago, I had a terrible fear of heights."

"And what stopped that? Your first plane ride?"

"No." I smile. "I think it was being with him. Up in the clouds. And I think I'll do fine. As long as we don't crash or anything."

He chuckles. "Don't worry, we're perfectly safe. This isn't Left Behind or anything."

"Isn't that the Nicholas Cage movie?"

Albert closes his eyes. "I'm gonna pretend you didn't just remind me of that movie?"

"Why? I don't remember watching it but what's wrong with it?"

"Everything, just....ughhh!"

I chuckle at this. Then I widened my eyes. "Oh and, speaking of reminders let me see your phone for a moment."

"Huh? Why should I be putting jt on airplane mode by now?"

"In a moment." I open up his Facebook app and make him send a request to the account I made a few years ago. Then I pull out my own phone and accept that request be before handing his phone back over. "There we go. Check it out."

"Hmm? Check out what?"

"What I wrote. On the way here."

He squints then scrolls on his screen. His eyes widen when he sees the GIANT post I had texted. "WHOA, that's a LOT!!! You typed all of that in five minutes?!"

"I've always been quick with a keyboard. Once something comes to my head it's like, my fingers work like a machien gun printing press. Or at least....that's what my dad says about it," I said lowering my head.

"Still, that is ONE Long Facebook post."

"And it's my very first.....actual post ever since.....Jillian and I left the hospital, and I made this new account. After that.....I only used it for messages. But.....this is something I'm gonna start doing from now on. Under the name of.....C."

"Why's that?"

"Because Venus told me about how Bianca, Eli, Steph, Drew and Trent took the internet by storm with their abbreviated accounts." Then his eyes perk up. "And my only other post is about.....how much I just wanted.....a new beginning. And it took just now.....to finally have it start. So I wanna start helping myself remember while I share about it. I'm ready to start sharing myself.....and one day I'm gonna share everything. Including my identity, when I'm ready."

He nods. "I know you will. And I'm prepared to wait however long until that comes. Because now I don't regret how long I had to wait to get to know you myself."

I blush and smile. "Good. Because, everything I talk about at the end, is all inspired by what you've done and what I've learned because of your actions," I said smiling. "And you can share it with these other.....Disciples. So they can start having an expectation as to who's coming over today."

Albert then sits sideways in his seat. "Alright."

I nod my head. Then I nudge my bead. "Well, go ahead and look at it, before we take off."

"Okay okay. Don't be so pushy," he replied. I chuckle in response. I sit by and watch as he reads my post.

"Hey guys. First of all, thanks for stopping by....whoever you weirdos reading this are." Albert scoffs and snorts loudly. "Thank you. I.......I don't know if I can say who I am......and I'm not ready to share all the details. Some other time, I promise. But, for now, I wanna say something. As you can see.....it was almost four years ago when I posted anything else. And......that was literally when I was trying to force a new beginning onto my life, and that's why I couldn't get what I wanted. I was so used to getting things my way, handed to me on a silver platter, and not earning it on my own, for my own. All that I knew back then was that......my entire world had fallen apart. I got confused. I was alone. And I thought I got lost. Except.....I wasn't lost. I've just now realized.......everything happened.....because I took the wrong road. But then when I made the post.....I was looking for the right one. Only I couldn't find it. Because I wasn't ready to trust God again. Because despite what I saw then, the faith I had wasn't what it is now."

"Now I am not a Christian. I'm not gonna label myself yet. I didn't even feel worthy to even speak out loud, publically, that I knew He was real. Because I saw proof of his existence in the most horrible way anyone could ever know. But now......I think that was the point. I saw what I ended up seeing......because God knew the bad stuff was going to be the only thing on my mind. Not just what I witnessed.....but also what I had done before it even happened. I saw a truth that broke my heart.....it destroyed who I was.......and it made my own life and story the most terrifying thing in the world to me. I thought that I was a monster. That because of the things I had done, that I only had deserved pain.....even when I begged for my own suffering to stop. But I couldn't forget what I saw....nor forget what i had done. And if I was posting a week ago, I would've said......I am not worthy of a new beginning."

I then giggle with excitement. "But that wasn't the point. None of us are worthy. Deep down.....we are all disgusting terrible evil people. I am just as deplorable and disgusting as the adulteress as Jesus rescued from the Pharisees. But what splits us from being good and evil, it the very line that he drew into the sand, because it represents everything in between. Where our good snd evil title comes from: our own choices, through the sacrifice of the cross that Jesus endured to purchase our salvation and the free will to decide where we go. I don't believe that......that God showed me what he did because he wanted to show me a lesson through pain. No. I believe he let the pain and the guilt and the evil destroy who I am.......so that I could experience the wrath.......through love.

"I went through pain and I had suffered, and it mostly happens because, I witnessed a glimpse of the love of Christ, but I didn't want to pursue it, only retracted it because of my guilt and fear. But every day I have woken up, regretting the refusal to pursue with tears. And somehow I even forgot about the feeling of listening to the love in his voice, or just the feeling of his hands lifting me up by the shoulders when I wish I had clung on. Like I said, I only chose to remember the bad. The wicked. The evil. Because I saw something that made me regret everything, I did a lot of it to myself. Now here's the catch:

"When I made this account.....that's what I was looking for. But I couldn't find it, and one of my best friends told me why SHORTLY after: that I was going to fall because I didn't trust him enough. And i have fallen........and it was horrifying, just HOW I kept falling. How I let the all of the things I should've handled differently.....destroy all of my hope, and it took away my trust. I did it to myself. All because I wanted to forget. I wanted to hide. But that's over now. and heres why: the truth about who you are and what you've done......it sets you free. GLORIOUSLY so."

"My best friend is a man named Albert Johnson. And he's ofticially the first person I ever told the truth to. The first person I ever confessed it to. I met him not long before that post, and up until last week, my biggest fear, was looking him in the eyes after he finds out who I am. I though he would hate me.....and abandon me. but instead........he helped me find the road. He reintroduced me....to the love I lost touch with when my experience ended. And that's because the purpose of being a Christian is to be live your life as someone Christ-like. And the kindness and the love that I have discovered in his... Powerful Heart, pressing my chest against his and letting him hold me, I could feel the same love that I felt on my shoulders. And I was held onto......long enough for his Christ-like love to calm down a storm that stirred up fear, guilt, shame and despair for the last 8 years of my life.

"I am branded by fire, in more ways than one. But now.....I have felt fire on the inside, a fire so strong it could consume the whole planet in only a minute.....And the planet would have rejoiced because the fire doesn't destroy, it brings life. And I still feel the feelings I did Seven days ago.....and I don't think it's ever gonna go away. Because last week, I didn't surrender my life to God. Rather, I surrendered my mind. My patience. Because now I wanted to see what He could do if I stop fighting and just see what he does. And In just this one week, I've seen everything I believed to be impossible.....happen so easily. No challenge. No difticulty. And I don't need to be a Christian to know why. I already KNEW that this was God's doing.

"So it was 4 years ago where I encountered him first, and I got off track, last week, I made a decision and was promised a test. And last night the test came, and one of the thoughts I dreaded rhe most, it came true. And it was a nightmare that I was begging to wake up from. But.....once again, I witnessed the fear and terror before my eyes, just so I could experience love. And the most scariest night of my life......immediately became the most beautiful night of my life. The most miraculous. And I don't know how I could ever doubt anything being possible now. Make no mistake. Its only just started now. This IS a new beginning. The one I was hoping for. And to cap this off, let me tell you what I believe, and spread it around for me, because I need the world to see the words I say. Read these, and remember:

Some news articles are released, now that the footage Albert released starts to leave online rumors of, 'Dead Phoenix Pornstar still alive?' Or, 'The truth of Cece Phoenix's success, or was it success?' Addressing claims about her rape by Angela.
"Don't ever say that this won't be possible or that there's no hope. No way out of the dark. Because your answers are out there, maybe even right before your eyes. And there's always a light in Every dark tunnel."

Throughout the past week, as DeFranco said, pornstar from all over the country are finding most of the pastors and churches that Angela attacked and shut down....And they're posting a hashtag of #restart, as they are taking time off of filming porn to help these people get their jobs snd miniatures back. At least 10% of the churches are confirmed to be reopening by summers end, where NYC Church of the Rock will have its first service.
At the party, Curtis shook hands with Donnie and the worship team shook hands with one conqueror each, proudly welcoming them to the staff. And Theresa and Madison join the staff too, welcoming Lexi. Mark, Duncan and Patrick declare their new staff members with the confetti cannon and everyone else, including Lacey cheered.
"Don't ever say that someone doesn't belong in your ministry or congregation. You never knows gonna change your life or how, and what you can expect when an unlikely individual, steps in to accept a walk forward in faith. It'll affect them, and those around you."

The entire LionHeart youth group from Reno is gathered outside the front door to Storm X Malcolm's mansion, and Elijah is explaining why they came back so late. Drew and the youth group walk away laughing, as they head for the beach.
"Don't say who God can or can't use. You'll be surprised by who he's gonna involve in His plans, and not just the plans for your life. The actions of certain people can break down certain barriers, even if it takes a while for others to realize that."

On the way to the beach, Trenton stops Bianca and tells a joke, and offers his hand with a silly grin. But bianca smirks and slaps his hand away before she stands on her tip toes......to kiss him.
"Don't ever say you're alone. Your family and the ones who love you, are waiting in the world. You gotta know where to look. It may catch you by surprise, but you won't wanna push it away."

Elijah sees this and laughs hysterically as does Stephanie......the latter of whom smile as they stare ar each other. And they kiss too.
"Don't say that it's impossible for you to do something. The potential is always with you. There are no losers. Only Champions. And they're always the ones we don't unexpected."

A few days later, Tyler and JT come to pick up Lacey so they can help her move with their new home....wherever it is. And Lacey and Tyler embrace as they are dating as of today.
"Don't ever say you are someone who doesn't deserve love. You do. No matter who you are. Or how wicked your heart is. Love is your medicine. And it's affordable for all.....just like God's love."

Jillian is checking on Brock's vitals and pressure rates. She was successful at operating on Brock overnight but he hasn't woken up since. And it's unclear when be will but she knows that he'll survive. Jillian gazes at his unconscious body on the bed thinking of the stuff she knows he's done, but despite that, she knows the right thing to do is treat him back to health.
Cheyenne's parents, David and Sylvia are called into the Reno hospital, where they discover Kevin in a coma and Snake is in the room with them. Her parents are concerned and alarmed when they see him, but after pleading with them, asking for a talk, they finally sit at a table downstairs and talk. Snake......apologizes, and says he wants to make some requests and promises.....since Angela is sleeping. He meant it when he said this time to make some changes, and David and Sylvia seem pleased by what he's offering.
"Don't ever say, that someone is your enemy. That they don't deserve a chance. I have seen it. When you give the same chances I was given, and I had seen some from others? It's the most life changing experience. And it's worthwhile."

Ryan and Tobias carry Angela onto her bed. They shake the hand of her step father, Mayor Jason Lockwood before they leave.
"And most of all.....sont say someone in your life is not worthy of grave, and forgiveness. That's not up to you. God knows when he wants you.....and how he'll decide to change you. I changed. And I've seen the most miraculous changes on one week. Becsuse a chance of forgiveness it seems impossible, but sometimed.....its easier than we think. God has the plan. Just like Jeremiah said. So just be patient. Their moment will come."
And.....Jason gets a phone call from 911. He answers it.......and is asked a question about his missing daughter.

I smile even bigger now. "This Is what I've seen. This is what I've learned. This Is what happened to me. The short version. I'm hopeful again. I trust Him this time. Today......my life is restarting all over again. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, or who I'm gonna meet, what I'm gonna see, where my life is going to go, or why and how things are going to happen the way they will. But heres a little secret. Our lives......are a book that God is writing. Yesterday, was just the end of a chapter. Today is a new story. And tomorrow is s new beginning, where the next story under your name in Heaven's ink.....is only just starting..this is my true new beginning. As I have finally looked down at where I came out of, and out of it, I've found Beauty from Ashes. It's your choice if you wanna follow along. All you need to know about my name......is that it starts with C. God bless."

He shuts off his phone when he reached the end and I raise my eyebrows waiting for his response. "Thoughts?"

His smile......has NEVER looked more beautiful than this. "Wow. I.......I was already excited to get to New York." Then he sheds a proud tear. "But noe I wanna get there right now."

"Yeah. We've lived your high note, now ots time to see the rest. And whatever happens........" I grip onto his hand. "Let's experience it together."

Albert has a.......new look in his eyes. He looks like he feels warm and.....satisfied. But- before I can ask him, he chuckled and nodded his head. "Yeah. And hey?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for letting me be part of your journey."

I smile. "You too." Then I feel a shift.
Ding!
We then take a deep breath, and look at each other. "Uh oh. Here we go."

I take a deep breath. "Yup..."

Shortly after, the plane takes off. As Vinnie, Curtis and everyone else begin driving out of Los Angeles, they turn around, and see the plane flying into the air, about to leave the state.

She said it! She said the thing!
And now......the REAL Christian story of Beauty From Ashes.......the Christian side of Cheyenne Mitchell's story......