A Twist of Fate SERIES (Pentatonix)

(23) When A Dream Won't Die

( KIRSTIE )

We're all seated in Jonathan's office, Kevin and Avi and I on one couch, Scott and Mitch and Jonathan on the one across from us, and a table with fruit platters in-between the two.

"So," Jonathan says excitedly, leaning his elbows onto his knees, "let's talk. What's been going on? How did you five cross paths, and, you know, not immediately start fighting?"

"It was how we crossed paths that made us refrain from fighting," Avi explains, and I look over at him as he talks. "But it had also been six years, so we definitely matured in all that time apart, too."

"Kirstie and Mitch were in a car accident," Scott says then, and I move my eyes down to my lap. "I was, uh, camping with my nephew down in the woods below the street when it happened. God, I've told this story countless times, but it never gets any easier. Um. So, yeah, I heard the crash, and when I, like, went to investigate and call 911 and such, that's when I realized it was Kirstie and Mitch."

"After we broke up, I decided to use the prerequisites I had from pre-med school and become a paramedic," Kevin continues. "I was called to the scene, and, just like that, four-fifths of Pentatonix was back together."

Scott nods. "And I work at a music studio now, and Avi happened to get a job there, too, so that's how we met again. And...here we are, I guess."

Jonathan's expression is unreadable; it looks like he's having the hardest time of his life trying to interpret what he was just told. He's quiet for a couple of moments, but finally he says slowly, "So, Kirstie"—he points to me—"and Mitch"—he points to Mitch—"were in a car accident?"

We all nod in response, and then Jonathan asks, "Was it bad? I mean, you both look fine, definitely not like you were just in an accident."

Mitch snorts, and then Kevin explains, "It was...pretty bad, to say the least. Mitch's car had flipped over, and he was in a coma for about a week or so afterwards. And then Kirstie's car was, like, folded in half, and she unfortunately suffered from post-traumatic amnesia."

I smile a little at Jonathan, who looks like he's going to start crying any minute now. Before he can answer, though, Scott adds, "And now Mitch is sick, like, twice a month because the coma fucked his immune system." My heart breaks a little when Scott pulls Mitch into his side, burying his face into Mitch's shoulder.

"Oh my God," Jonathan whispers, rubbing his eyes with his fingertips. "Damn it, you guys. You have to warn me before you throw all of this at me." He sighs, then removes his hands from his eyes, and looks over at me. "Can I get a hug now?"

I give him a small smile, and then walk over to the other side of the table to give Jonathan a hug. He squeezes my shoulder blades, holding onto me for longer than I had anticipated. Finally, he breaks away, and sadly smiles at me with tears in his eyes. I return to my spot on the couch, and then Jonathan sighs.

"Alright, well," he says, rubbing his eyes again. "Now that the emotional part is over, what brings you five here now? What made you want to become Pentatonix again?"

Mitch meets my eyes, and we both smile a little, but thankfully no one notices. Avi is saying, "Well, us minus Mitch decided at, like, one in the morning on New Year's Day that we should do it. Kevin was the one who brought it up, actually; he was like, 'You know the whole story behind our song "New Year's Day"? I think we should, like, listen to that story, and stop dreading on the past.' Mitch was sick, so he couldn't be there, but we contacted him, and he agreed, as well. Then, we secretly road-tripped from Fort Worth to L.A. a couple of days ago, and now we're here—as Pentatonix."