Strong (merome)

eleven

Jerome wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me close to his body, his warmth surrounding me. He ran his thumb over the scratches that covered my face. He leaned down and kissed the middle of my forehead. I stared up at him lovingly, giggling every time he made a stupid face. Recently, everyone has been recovering. I can see Lachlan improving on his coping skills, he's eating more often now, and he is all smiles and laughter. We still have the bad days, but they are few and far in between. It's almost as if everything was back to normal.

Though it can never be completely normal.

The couples in the house have been growing closer in closer, but of course Rob and Preston were always close. Lachlan seems to be alone, but we try our best to make sure he is never third wheeling. In fact, while one couple is off doing something, the other is bantering about with Lachy. I believe that as of right now the trio was playing monopoly.

"You cactus!" Preston shouted, followed by the sound of game pieces falling to the tile floor. "I can't believe you put hotels on one piece of property and I land on it! This game is rigged!" Rob and Lachlan burst into a fit of giggles followed by a scowl from the third. Jerome and I walked down the stairs, watching Preston tackle Rob and throw him into the couch.

"Hey guys!" Lachlan said in between laughs, "Where you off to?"

"Well, I'm off to find a job, and Jerome is just going to hang out here." It was official, we had all quit YouTube. Maybe a vlog here and there, but other than that, nothing. Jerome was going to go back to university and study to become a teacher, and as much as that sounded like fun, I wasn't in to mood for school. I decided I would find a random job at a restaurant or something.

I wandered along the quiet streets of London, looking through every window to see a lack of help wanted signs. As I strolled, my phone began to shake in my back pocket. I picked it up and recorded a call from Lucy, whom I hadn't talked to since before I left for the UK. I told her everything, about Vikk, about Jerome, about moving. She was sad to see me move and to see me deal with such a great loss, but excited to hear Jerome and I were together. We talked for hours as I stared into shops, finding nothing but empty Windows. It took me almost an hour to stumble upon a small restaurant, family owned, with a small flyer plastered on its front window. I walk inside, shielding myself from the rain.

It is not very busy, only a few people sit at the small tables. I see one waiter, talking up a small crowd. He seems to know them, as if they'd all been friends in high school. I step near the cash register and wait for someone to come and 'serve' me. In reality I just wanted to see if they were still looking for extra help around the place.

The single waiter turns his head and walks up to me so I can see him. Lots of stubble grows around his chin. His skin is darker, his eyes wider, and though he looks like he's been working for days on end he still holds a bright smile. "Are you here to order?"

"Actually, I'm here to apply." I said smiling, suddenly wondering if I should've brought a resume or something with me. Not that it would have anything on it, but just to look prepared.

"Oh, that's wonderful! My name is Benny and it would be a pleasure to have you start working here! When are you free?" He spring into things, not even taking my name. We talked for a bit and decided I would start working tomorrow, for eight hours. 9-5. This was a small business in a town where everyone knew everyone. He wanted me to start as early as possible so I could start meeting everyone. Apparently Benny was close with anyone who walked into this restaurant, and he wanted me to be the same.

I smiled and waved to many people on my way home, feeling a lot better than I was originally. I couldn't wait to get home and see my wonderful friends and beautiful boyfriend, and I couldn't wait to rest for the night and go to work tomorrow. Life was improving, even when I thought there was no way I could ever recover from the pain of losing Vikk.

I threw open the door to find Preston tearing apart the house. He looked at me, smiled, and continued to slam cupboards open and shut. "Hey Mitch, I can't seem to find my keys. I've looked everywhere, but I can't remember where I put them. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I drove the car." He groaned and began to rub his temples, hoping he'd get a striking memory where he watches him set his keys, I don't know, in his bedside drawer or something. Somewhere like that. Preston always lost things where they were supposed to go.

"I'll help you in a second, okay? I just need some water, I've been out all day." I opened the fridge, my eyes scanning the shelves for a bottle of water, but instead they land upon a ring of keys. I quickly grabbed them and hang them in front of Preston's eyes. They lit up and snatched them out of my hand.

"Thanks Mitch, you're a lifesaver." He ran out of the house and I heard his car engine start. I was glad to see him excited to drive, but there was one thing I couldn't get out of my head.

What pushed him to leave his keys in the fridge?

A/N

The next part of this book is going to be kind of sad, but not super bad sad. Anyways I'm sorry about not updating, I've had a lot of stuff going on with funerals and just other stuff. Also, if you're into the sidemen, I just started a wroetofreezy fanfic (CalxHarry) and I'll be uploading to that soon. Thank you guys for everything! Love all of you!