Cole:
2020
You ran into the nearest coffee shop, clutching your books to your chest. You check if any of your textbooks were wet and, seeing that they're still readable, shrug your bag off of your shoulder. You pulled off your hood, sighing in contentment at the cold air.
"Bad day?" you whipped your head around to see a guy sitting at the table you put your bag on. "Oh! I'm so sorry, I'll move." You move to get your bag but the stranger holds up a hand and stops you. "No, it's fine. We can share." You tilt your head in confusion but smile gratefully.
"The complete opposite actually, just finished my mid-terms." you answer his previous question, doing a little happy dance. He chuckles at your enthusiasm. "I'm Cole, by the way."
You stop dancing at the mention of his name. You knew that name. 6 years ago, you would have been squealing at only the sight of him. 6 years ago you would have fainted in this very spot. "Cole... Pendery?" you ask shakily, clearly not processing the moment. He smiles sheepishly, running a hand through his hair. It grew slightly longer and a few strands of white were peeking out.
"Yeah. That's me." You wince slightly at his tired tone. You sit down next to him, pulling your knees to your chest. "What's wrong?" He looks at you strangely, copying your position in his chair. "Nothing's wrong... It's just that." He takes a deep breath before speaking.
"I didn't think anybody would recognize me after everything... you know." he gestured wildly with his hands and you nod in understanding. "It's just a lot to process that I'm not in the band anymore."
"Do you miss it?" You ask, shyly taking his hand in both of yours. To your delight, he squeezes them tightly, finding comfort in your touch. "I miss it everyday. The fans, the singing, performing, my brothers..." You listen to him talk of his time in IM5, nodding at the right times and patting his back whenever there was a moment of silence.
He wipes a single tear from his eye, letting out a silent sob. "Sometimes I feel like I'm the only one who regrets ever leaving." You stare at him in shock, almost at a loss for words. "Hey... That's not true."
You take your laptop out of your bag, pulling up tumblr in just under a minute. You type in the IM5 tag and he stares at the screen in confusion before transforming into the smile that was in your dreams years ago.
I wish IM5 were still together!!! :(( But I still love them!
Look at this picture of baby Cole! Ain't he cute?
Why have I never seen this cover before? This is amazing! #5er5ever
"You see? The fans will always support you. Past, present or future." You say and he smiles even wider. You close your laptop and place it on the table in front of you. "Now why don't you give the boys a call? A reunion is long overdue, no?"
You never thought he could grin even wider but he did as he pulled out his phone and clicked the contacts he's been dying to call.
Dana:
2018
It was a busy day at the diner. Dinner rush was a bitch sometimes but you needed the money to continue college. You sigh as your boss yells at you to cut your break short and serve a customer that came in. "I'll go deaf every time he talks." you mumble to yourself, getting a notepad and a glass of water before going behind the counter.
Your fellow waitress points towards a guy at a bar stool and you walk over to him. "Good evening, sugar. What would you like?" You ask the guy in the snapback and he looks up at you. "Yeah, can I get a black coffee? I have a lot of work to do tonight." He gestures towards the sheet music next to him and you nod.
After setting his black coffee in front of him, you glance at the sheet music he was working on. "You writing a song?" He chuckles at that and shakes his head. "Nah, just going through a few songs. I have my first concert next week." You raise an eyebrow at him and maybe internally squeal that you're serving a celebrity.
"Oh? Are you in a band?" You ask, leaning against the counter. He smiles sadly, shaking his head again. "Not anymore. Going solo since 2017." He says, doing some unenthusiastic jazz hands. You look at him in confusion. "That's great Mr..." You gesture towards him and he smiles.
"The name's Dana Vaughns."
Your eyes widen at his name. "Dana? From IM5?" you ask, your breath catching when he nods. "Correction: I was Dana from IM5. Now it's just Dana." That sad smile crept up to his face again and you couldn't help but feel sorry for him.
IM5 split up last year and you were one of their biggest fans. The ironic thing was, 2016 was one of their biggest years with a world tour and 3 albums released since 2012. They were more talked about than any other celebrity that year and was dubbed as IM5 Heaven Year by the fans.
In the middle of 2017, they had a falling out and went their separate ways. Will wrote an entire album and climbed up the charts in under 3 months. Gabe was currently making a rap career and is slowly building up the charts as well. Cole was an Oscar winning actor. David had his own chain of dance studios world wide.
You slapped yourself when you didn't recognize Dana. He was your favorite, being the one who was closest to your age. You never saw him in news unlike Will or Cole. He didn't post any youtube videos like Gabe or David. All this time, you thought he may have retired or gone to school.
But the reality is that he is a struggling artist and that made you want to cry. You didn't want to believe it but the evidence was right in front of you. You took his hand in yours, smiling at him comfortingly when he looks up at you. When he returned your smile, you grabbed a plate of cookies behind you. He raised an eyebrow but you continued to smile.
"Where's the concert? I might just be in the first row." you say, laughing at his shocked yet grateful smile.
