forever // m.c (book 3)

25 - this life's a mystery

song for the chapter: right where we left off by the downtown fiction (check them out if you don't know who they are)

Michael's POV

We decided to rent space in New York for rehearsals so that I could stay close to Summer and Hope. Luke's girlfriend Rachel was staying in France until the tour. She was taking a leave of absence from her current photography job in order to take photos for the band when the tour started. Calum had finished up university but was having a tough time finding a job, so he had been spending his days playing video games with Ash or with his new girlfriend. I was happy for him, that he found someone and from what he told me about her, she seemed great.

"Daddy, can I come to rehearsal?" Hope asked as I was getting ready to leave. She was dressed in skinny jeans and a white top, a light pink beanie over her blonde hair. She was getting taller every day, I couldn't believe how fast she was growing.

"Sure, baby, but it might get boring."

"I won't get bored. My uncles are funny guys," she said, causing me to laugh. She loved seeing the guys and I wanted her to spend time with them, as well as me.

***

"Hope!" Calum exclaimed upon our entrance, him being the first of us to arrive. She ran into his arms, Calum picking her up off the ground. "How's my favorite girl?"

"Good," she giggled, tightly wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Don't hug so tight, I can't breathe," he said, pretending to stuggle over his words. When Calum put her down, he gestured to a petite girl that was standing off to the side. She had long dark hair and was quite beautiful. "I'd like you to meet Sarahi, my girlfriend."

I stuck out my hand to her. "Nice to meet you," she shyly smiled.

"You're pretty," Hope said, looking up at her.

"Thanks, sweetie," she said. "Your beanie is adorable." Hope smiled and ran off to a chair in the corner, pulling her iPad out of the bag she brought with.

Ashton and Luke arrived ten minutes later, with coffee and donuts.

"We have the goods!" Ashton exclaimed, holding the box of donuts over his head and doing a little dance.

It took us an hour to get rehearsal started, having started an argument over what song to start with. We ended up deciding on Social Casualty because Hope kept yelling it from the corner and we didn't want to have an angry little girl on our hands.

"1, 2, 3, 4..." Ashton said, starting the song.

We practiced for a couple hours, our songs pretty rough since we hadn't played together since the fundraiser at Hope's school. Seeing Hope singing along from her chair as she played games on her iPad made me smile. I was definitely going to miss her while we were on tour.

Summer's POV

"How was rehearsal?" I asked when Michael got home. I was standing near the stove, stirring the mac and cheese I was cooking for dinner.

"Good. It's fun getting back into the old songs, remembering why we started a band in the first place." He came and gave me a quick kiss before taking a seat at the kitchen table. I was finally coming to terms that he was leaving, but I was still having a bit of trouble with it. "I met Calum's new girlfriend today," he said.

"Yeah? Is she a good fit for him?"

"I think so. He seems happy. Not that he wasn't before, but I think having her has helped him since he's having trouble finding work."

"Good," I nodded, though I was skeptical. I wanted what was best for Calum, him being one of my closest friends. He had helped me through so much and even though I treated him like crap at times, he deserved to be happy.

***

I had the next day off work, so I texted Calum to ask if he wanted to catch up. I hadn't talked to him much since he arrived in New York for the band's rehearsals. We agreed to meet for lunch at a small diner in town. It was one of my favorites and when I found out he hadn't been there, I said it was a must.

We were sitting in a booth, milkshakes in front of us and burgers and fries on the way.

"This is incredible," Calum said. "And I've had plenty of milkshakes in my time."

"I told you," I laughed, shaking my head. "So, tell me about this girlfriend of yours."

Calum's cheeks turned a light shade of red. "I met her at a club. Ash made me go out to celebrate after graduation because he said I was studying too hard. She was standing at the bar and I just couldn't take my eyes off of her. At first she thought I was creepy-"

"You probably scared her," I teased.

Calum paused, narrowing his eyes and feigning anger. "But then I won her over with my great dance moves."

"Well, I'm happy for you."

"And I am happy for you. You've come so far over the past few months," he flashed his perfect smile. "You really do scare me sometimes, Sum." He shook his head and sat back in the booth, crossing his toned arms over his chest.

I didn't know what to say, so I nodded. I knew I had put him and Michael through some tough times over the years, but that's taught me that we could stay friends through anything. It's made me realize that Michael is the only man I will ever love and Calum will always be there for me. I want to always be there for them, prove to them that all that happened in the past was worth it because it led us to where we are now, finally finding happiness. I knew I still had a long way to go until I was back to "normal," and I wasn't sure if I would ever be the same, but I was happy. I still had those days where I was riddled with sadness and didn't want to get out of bed, but I wasn't filled with darkness any longer.

A part of me felt that everything had changed since I moved to Australia and met Michael, the rest of the guys, and even Jordan. Another part of me felt that nothing had changed because we were all still close. A lot had happened over the years and we lived in different places, but somehow it seemed we were back to how we started.

hi loves. i hope everyone is doing ok and if you aren't and want to talk, i'm here. i'm sorry this chapter is kinda boring. i'm on spring break so i'll try and update sometime next week. please vote and comment. xx zoe

p.s. this chapter is dedicated to @horanstrong because she's amazing and everyone should check out her books. (:

also: i'm upset that zayn has left one direction but i'm also happy that he's doing what's right for him and no one should send him hate. if you are truly a fan of his, you'll support the choices he makes, especially if he is doing what's best for him. i just want him to be happy and the rest of the boys to be happy as well. ok, rant done. (and i'm sorry if some of you aren't fans of one direction, i know this is a 5sos book.)