Last chapter. </3 Thank you for reading and commenting!
I start noticing the changes almost immediately. Esther could probably kick back and relax and let us do our thing, since we've been at it so long, but she's taking her new role very seriously. She puts together a fifteen year plan—fifteen years—with a PowerPoint presentation and everything. Kirstie prepares some covers and Broadway songs, with a couple originals she made as class projects as well. She'll perform first, followed by Avi with three songs from his last EP and two he hasn't released yet.
I can't decide what's normal. Is it normal to be this happy? Is this my life? Everything Scott and I went through is over, at least for now. Maybe it was just a dark blemish on an otherwise perfect life, or maybe it was reality showing through as I ran out of glossy paint to cover it up. Maybe I'm just floating in a brief reprieve. Maybe I don't get to keep this forever. For today, the wind is blowing strong in our sails, but what about tomorrow? Maybe we'll have to row, and maybe a hurricane will overtake us the next day. There's no telling the wind.
It's eerie how similar it all feels. It's like nothing has changed, and it creeps me out. Scott and I are together now, but that's the biggest difference, and it's not all that big considering how close we were before. Where's the evidence of it? Scott's wearing headphones, but I can almost hear the music he's playing just by watching his face. I can see that, yet I can't see what he's lived through. Where are the scars? What does he have to show for it?
It's not real. That's what it keeps coming back to. This isn't life as usual. Soon it'll melt away. I walk up behind Scott and rub his shoulders. He leans back as I press my palms into his shoulders and lets his fingers slip off the keys. It helps to feel how solid he is.
The time leading up to tour is almost chaotic enough to convince me this is real after all. The first few shows are a train wreck. We have too long with no upbeat songs, too much choreo for the dancers, not enough commitment in the pre-encore ending, and not enough time for each person at meet and greet. Kate selects some of the most active fans from online to let in, but there are just so many. We need to set aside more time for that. Avi reminds me the fans still loved it. We work in our changes and settle into a rhythm by the eighth show or so.
By the sixteenth, it's like clockwork. We even have some free time once in a while. I like to spend a little of it each day teaching the twins some piano. They've gotten so old! Not quite old enough for "Flight of the Bumblebee," but enough for "Hot Cross Buns," and hopefully "Mary Had a Little Lamb" soon. I look up from their little fingers and just about hit my nose against a camera. "Scott, what the f—ascism?"
"Just collecting footage. Carry on, queens."
"You're recording? You think you can just point cameras at me whenever you want? Can he just point cameras at me, Mikra? No he cannot." Mira and Mika shake their heads with me. "He's gotta go talk to my agent and give me money. That's how it works."
Scott chucks his whole wallet at me. Yay, I'm rich. When we get to the hotel, he sets up a tripod and points the camera at the bed. "I'm afraid I couldn't reach your agent."
"Are you crazy?" He's absolutely crazy. I need to turn off the camera.
"Okay, fine, I didn't even try. Sit. No, there. Stage right." He directs me to the edge of the bed, then walks around the camera and sits beside me. He fixes his hair quickly with the viewport, sits up, and says, "Welcome to Superfruit, the best show on the Internet! My name is Scott!"
Oh. "And my name is Mitch!"
"And together, we're together!"
"Married."
"To each other."
"And it is about time. We probably should have done this, like, 500 years ago."
"You're so right. So, um, that's it. We don't actually have anything planned for today's episode, we just wanted to tell you."
"I think they knew. What should we do now?"
"Make out."
Some things never change. "We totally should. Is Superfruit starting again?"
"One hundred percent. My song of the week is Brown Eyed Girl."
"We're on song of the week already? We haven't had any content yet!"
"That's the beauty of editing. We can get songs and weekly obsessions out of the way, then make out as long as we want."
"Are you serious?"
"I was always serious."
"We can't actually post it, though. They'll probably turn it into slow motion gifs and watch it on loop for hours."
"Probably? No, definitely. And?"
"Ew!"
"Doesn't appeal to you even a little?"
"The making out part, that I'm on board with. I'd just rather it not be in front of every teenage girl on the planet."
"What happened to the exhibitionism?"
"It doesn't extend to you. They ogle over my husband enough as it is."
"They're not even gonna believe we're married. They'll think we're teasing, as usual."
"Well, marriage certificates are public. Someone's already accessed them at City Hall and posted pictures. And it's not like they didn't suspect when you started wearing a shiny new ring, and then I started wearing one not too long after."
"Maybe we shouldn't tell them. We could pretend nothing happened."
"We could just keep saying we're BFFs. We'll tell them it's a marriage of convenience."
We end up playing the newlyweds game, then making out, then switching off the camera. Scott cuts the film the moment our lips are about to touch, and, of course, makes that frame the thumbnail. I curl up beside him and watch as it slowly uploads. "You did this, you know." He should know that. "You made this happen. Superfruit, the band, everything."
"No, it was all Kevin. He figured everything out and even hired our managers."
"It wasn't your fault it ended, Scott. It was never your fault, but you worked so hard afterward. It took you being one of the most famous people on earth for Kevin to be able to do what he did. It would never have worked if you weren't so indispensable to your label. Even I wouldn't have been able to join you, and look where we are now." It's not the same as before. It's better.
"Was it worth it?"
Was it? I think so. It's not like it was some kind of trade, but between this world and a world where Pentatonix ended and Scott and I stayed friends, which would I choose? This world wasn't as hard for me as it's been for him. During the worst parts, I had Alex walking alongside me and keeping me afloat. I had control of my mind and will, more or less. It was bearable most of the time. "Was it worth it for you?"
"I'm just glad it's over," he sighs, holding me a little tighter. So am I. "But I would do it again."
The end
