Alex’s POV:

Graduation was the day of liberation. It was all I had been working towards. The deal with our parents was that we could be in a band instead of going to college as long as we got our high school diploma. I was over it. Exams didn’t matter, really. All I needed to do was pass. So, that’s what I did.

I did wonder a little how Mickey had been doing during the exam season. To be honest, I hadn’t seen her much since prom. I saw her in the exams and occasionally I’d see her outside her house while I was at Rian’s. But she never acknowledged me. After she walked out, she didn’t really want anything to do with me anymore. I really blew any chance I had there… if I even had one in the first place.

She was at graduation, though, which could only mean good things. We were all sitting in alphabetical order, meaning I wasn’t close to her but also not all too far away. I could see her when I looked back, but I still never seemed to even get a glance back. My only wish was to not leave things this way. Getting back together was probably not even an option anymore, but I didn’t want to leave high school behind on a bad note with Mickey. She hadn’t been my first love, but she had been my first true love.

I couldn’t help but be proud of her as she walked on the stage to receive her diploma. It shouldn’t have made me feel this way, but it did. When we first met, she was on her way to failing yet another year, maybe even becoming a drop out. And now, here she was finally finishing high school and on her way to our local community college. She was doing good.

I was finally starting to accept my fate. Mickey and I weren’t together anymore, and that was the way it was going to be. As much as it hurt and as much as she meant to me. I knew that. All I wanted was to end things on a good note and maybe, just maybe, become friends again. I couldn’t imagine my life without Mickey in it.

After everybody had walked and gotten their diplomas, we were finally allowed to socialise with friends and family again. I reunited with my parents and quickly after found Jack and Rian. Our parents let us go while they started talking to each other amongst themselves. I took this opportunity to see if I could spot Mickey around anywhere, to talk to her one last time. To try and set this right.

But there were so many people around. Everybody in our class was here, and then they had all brought along a few extra people as well. It was a mess of human bodies gathering in groups, talking through each other. Mickey didn’t even have her red hair anymore that let me spot her from miles away.

I was starting to realise that things probably weren’t ever going to end up okay with her. This whole time, I kept trying to keep my expectations low but was distracted by a little sliver of hope. I really had ruined it for myself and was only constantly making it harder and harder.

But then she appeared out of all the chaos, coming straight for us. She was wearing a smile that could only light up my entire day.

“Hey, guys!” She stopped in front of us, her voice sounding so melodic after I hadn’t heard it in ages.

Before any of us could respond, that guy from the mall also appeared from the crowd. Jogging to try and keep up with her. He still had that stupid swooping black hair, leather jacket, and was even wearing sunglasses like an asshole.

“Mickey!” He called out with a hint of panic. “Don’t leave me! I don’t know anybody here.”

“That’s not my fault, is it?” She retorted back, looking over her shoulder as he approached.

“If you want to get into specifics, yes it is.” He crossed his arms, glaring at her, making me want to punch him in the face even more. “You’re the reason why I graduated in the middle of nowhere in Texas.”

“Get over yourself. That was two years ago.”

“I’m just saying.”

I was overly confused. Who the actual fuck was this guy. Two years ago? Was this another friend from Mickey’s past that she had never told me about? But this was so different to that guy we met back on tour. In a strange way, Mickey was closer to this guy. Just the fact that they had gone out to the mall together said so.

“Anyway,” the guy changed the subject, looking at all of us one by one, “you must be Mickey’s friends.”

“Well, friends…” Mickey implied, back to her posture about us not actually being her friends.

“Hey!” Jack screeched in offense.

“Rian’s my friend,” she corrected herself, gesturing towards Rian, “Jack just kind of exists–”

“And you must be the infamous Alex,” the guy interrupted, taking off his sunglasses to get a better look at me and leaning against Mickey with his arm up on her shoulder.

“Can you stop being a fucking asshole,” Mickey groaned, pushing his arm off her harshly.

He held up his hands in defense. “It’s my job!”

“You’re literally two months older than me, and I could totally beat your ass.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“You’re literally the chubbiest nerdiest guy I’ve ever known.”

“Excuse me!” He gasped and took a step back, pointing at himself. I could see what he meant. He wasn’t exactly chubby. If anything, from what I could tell, he was pretty muscular.

Mickey gave him a disgusted look as she gave him the once over. “Gross. Disgusting. Repulsive.”

“Dad!” The guy finally whined, his whole bad-guy facade crumbling down. “Mickey’s being mean!”

“Mickey!” Mr. Kingsley shouted from the group he had joined with our parents.

“He’s the one being a dick!” Mickey argued back.

“Both of you, behave.”

“You’re disgusting,” the guy mumbled under his breath.

And then it hit me. Dad. They both called Mr. Kingsley dad. This wasn’t some guy that Mickey was seeing. This was her brother. My brain practically imploded. It made no sense but so much sense at the same time. She had never mentioned a brother. Never even gave off the sense that she had a sibling. It even seemed like she was an only child. But then again, I did see a kid recurring in some old family photos; I figured it was a cousin or something. She also occasionally wore guy’s shirts that she always said weren’t hers. And their guest room… it also had a few belongings, but nothing that screamed out that she had a fucking brother.

Suddenly, her brother’s mood switched back as if they hadn’t just been bickering. “Anyway, dad and your mom want to know where you want to go out for dinner tonight.”

“It doesn’t matter what I say,” Mickey crossed her arms, “you’re going to tell them I want to go to that place you’ve been eyeing for the past week.”

“You are one-hundred-percent correct! I’ll go tell them.” He smiled and bounced away.

Mickey sighed and shook her head, brushing out her hair with her fingers.

“You have a brother?!” Rian was the first to ask, almost sounding like he was accusing her of something.

I got it though. How the fuck didn’t we know this– how the fuck didn’t I know this? Why didn’t she ever tell me? Why did she keep it a secret? Had I been dating a stranger? Did I ever even know anything about her? Or was everything a lie?

“Yeah.” She nodded like it wasn’t a big deal. “Well, step brother, but he’s the only person in my family that I can stand.”

“Why– How–” I sputtered, my mind still all over the place. “Why didn’t you ever tell us?”

“It never came up.”

“Never came up? Usually it’s one of the first things people get to know about each other.”

She shrugged. “The past few years, it’s just been me and my parents. He used to live with us, but then went to live with his mom and rich step dad when we moved around too much. Didn’t want it affecting his education apparently.”

“I’m sorry, what the fuck?!” Rian practically freaked out, taking all the words out of my mouth. I was just glad he felt just as offended, I was hoping to smooth things out with her, not start another fight.

“Don’t blame me. The only time it got close to being mentioned was when he pissed me off for canceling on my birthday, leaving me to fend for myself. And then Alex thought he was my boyfriend.”

I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. “That would have been the perfect moment to say something! I thought you had already moved on to someone else!”

“That shouldn’t matter,” she retorted. “But I’ll say sorry for not telling you guys, I didn’t realise it was so important.”

“So… what are you going to be doing over the summer?” Jack awkwardly asked, trying to quickly move away from the fight that was going on.

Mickey answered, “not too much, really.”

“You can still come with us to Ocean City if you’d like.”

I honestly hadn’t even thought about asking Mickey to come with us. But then again, it didn’t really seem like I had the right to ask her that after prom. I fucked up so badly then. Although the alcohol had been a huge factor, it was all me and my desires that started it. Asking her to join us for a week of just drinking and partying was a disaster waiting to happen. It would still be a mess if somebody else asked her, but then if something did happen, it couldn’t be all my fault.

“Oh no,” she declined, making both disappointment and relief rush through me, “Steven’s taking me to Mexico with his college friends. They’re renting out some house or something.”

“Dude, that sounds fun,” Jack gasped, obviously a little jealous.

There was also jealousy coursing through my veins, but of a different kind. Yes, partying in Mexico at some fancy house did sound wild. But Mickey was going to be there surrounded by college guys and alcohol. There was only one thing that could happen with that combination.

Fuck, I needed to get over her.

“Mickey!” Her brother, who’s name I now guessed was Steven, called out. “We’re leaving.”

“Alright! Give me a second!” She shouted back and looked back at us. “I hope you guys have fun recording your EP.”

“I’ll miss you!” Jack declared and pulled her into a hug, causing her to stiffen up and not reciprocate it.

“Okay…” she patted his head awkwardly and waited to be let go before nudging Rian. “I’ll see you out on the road occasionally.”

“Yeah, don’t be a stranger.” Rian nodded back.

She then gave me a small wave. “Bye, Alex.”

I could barely mumble back a ‘bye’ before she left. It hurt seeing her walk away. I didn’t want this to end. I wanted to go back to when everything was okay. When she let me love her, when the thought of her made me smile instead of cry. I didn’t want us to end and our relationship to disappear in the wind. This wasn’t right.

“Wait, Mickey!” I called out and jogged up to her.

She stopped and turned around in confusion.

“I just wanted to apologise,” I started, feeling like she wouldn’t listen to a word I said. But I had to try. “I’ve been such a dick. I’m so sorry for the shit I pulled at prom. I have no excuse. It wasn’t okay. I was too ambitious, hoping we could be friends so soon after breaking up. I shouldn’t have forced it, I obviously wasn’t ready for it. And that was a sucky thing to put you through and do to you. The same goes for how much of an asshole I was. You were right to get mad at me when I didn’t tell you about our record deal. I shouldn’t have made it all about myself and kept it a secret. It was such a selfish thing to do, and I understand that now… I just– I– I don’t want to hurt you any more, but I need to tell you that I still love you and these past few months have been some of the best of my entire life.”

She hugged me tightly. So tightly that I never thought either of us could let go. Tears formed in my eyes, knowing that there was nothing I could do. We had to go our separate ways and say goodbye.

Notes

Only the epilogue left now. I'm so sorry. I totally had this ending in mind with a sequel, but I have to many things on right now and another new story (replacing another one), so I don't want to over do it like I have the paste few months.