Forever (Gareth Emerson)

Flash Forward

*2 YEARS LATER*
Time sure flies when you're actually happy. So much has changed in my life. Eddie graduated along with me and Gareth. He didn't think he could do it. With a little push from me and the rest of the group, he did it. Me and Gareth moved out of our parents into Claudia's old house. Claudia and my dad got engaged, and she moved in with my dad. Dustin moved out to Ohio to be with Suzie. Eddie decided not to go to college. Gareth, Jeff, Grant and I decided to go to college. We tour around Indiana promoting our band Corroded Coffin. We've made a great fan base and have made decent money doing so. Eddie still lives at home with his uncle, but he comes over to our house often. I never dreamed I would make it this far.

We decided to do a show in Illinois, my dad and Claudia were attending, along with each of our families. We thought branching out would be a good idea to kind of expand. We were making a weekend trip out of it. Eddie has bought a microbus as well, and we restored it. Eddie drove his van with our equipment, Gareth drove our microbus, and Jeff drove Eddie's microbus. Grant drove with his family.
We each got our own hotel rooms, and our families were staying at the hotels with us. I was excited because Dustin was going to be there, and I could finally meet Suzie.

Our show was on Saturday at a bigger venue, and we left Friday morning, leaving Friday and Sunday to spend time with family. Friday wouldn't be real eventful, but it gave us a chance to explore.
We finally arrived in Illinois at about 2:30pm. We went to the hotel first so we could rest. We woke up at 5:30, and found a restaurant big enough to hold us all.
E: "Thank you all for coming out with us to watch us perform. I hope we can make it special."
D: "Thank you for inviting us, Eddie! I can't wait to watch my sister perform in a big crowd."
Everyone was excited and happy for us. My heart felt warm and whole.

*SATURDAY*
Gareth has acted all weird today. He's totally not himself. I thought maybe he was nervous.
"Are you nervous for the show, Gareth?"
G: "What? No! Why?"
"You're acting weird.."
G: "I'm not acting weird. Guys am I acting weird?" Gareth asked the group.
They all said no in unison.
"If you're nervous, that's okay. It's okay to be nervous.."
G: "Babe. Seriously, i'm okay!"
I took his word for it despite him being weird the whole day. We headed to the venue. My stomach was in knots.
The venue security helped us carry in all our equipment. We walked on the stage and we're too stunned to speak. This was the best thing to happen for us. When we walked outside to grab the last of our stuff, we already saw a long line outside.
"Guys. There's so many people here!" I exclaimed
J: "Holy shit. This is the most people we've ever had."
Gareth wrapped his arm around my side.
G: "We finally made it, babygirl."
I leaned my head on his shoulder and smiled. I grabbed Eddie wrapping my free arm around him.
"We did. Eddie made it too." I said while looking at Eddie.
Eddie choked up when I said that.
E: Thank you sweetheart. We all finally made it."
We had a big group hug and said a prayer. None of us we're really religious, but we prayed before each show.

Well fuck. It was go time. Gareth was having me play the drums first, and he would play the second half.
We started our set off strong, and got stronger and stronger with each set. I looked up in the crowd and saw my dad smiling the biggest smile while watching me play.. Claudia too. Dustin was jumping up and down with excitement. He got to watch us grow as a band, and as people. I looked to the left of Dustin, and I about lost my shit.
Steve, Robin, Mike, Will, El, Max, Lucas, Nancy, Johnathan and Argyle were here.. I had no fucking idea. I smiled my biggest smile and they all smiled back at me.
We finished our first set and took our break.
"I had no idea all of our friends we're coming!"
E: "I didn't either!"
We took our break, and went back on set. Before they started their second set, Eddie grabbed the mic, and pulled me up front with him.
E: "I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who came out, but most importantly our friend group coming all this way to see us!" The crowd cheered.
E: "They even have signs! What do they say? I can't read that far." Eddie said as he let out a small laugh. I then looked at the signs, they each were holding one.
Steve: "Y/N"
Nancy: "Will"
Robin: "You"
Max: "Marry"
Mike: "Me"
El: "?"
Argyle: "I"
Johnathan: "Love"
Dustin: "You"
Lucas: "Baby"
Will: "!"
I turned around and saw Gareth on one knee with a box in his hand.
G: "I love you. Always have, and I always will. This is a dream come true. Will you marry me?"
"YES! FUCK YES!" I yelled as I hugged him. He picked me up and held me in his arms and the crowd let out loud cheers.
E: "FUCKING FINALLY!" Eddie yelled as he laughed.
All my friends in the crowd came on stage and we had a big group hug.
G: "See why I was acting weird?"
"I do now!" I said as I laughed.
We started the show as a happy couple, and left the show a happy engaged couple.
I never would of seen myself spending forever with anybody, but i'm glad I found my forever. My drummer boy.

1000 words