I'll be the Brightest, You'll See

Mike walked off the RV and looked towards me, the realisation hit him and he ran over to me, engulfing me in a hug. "Scarlett oh my God, how are you here?" He asked excitedly, picking me up off the ground.

"I got out." I whispered, Mike set me down on the ground and we both looked over to where Vic was standing, still staring at me.

"Vic, what the Hell are you doing!? Scarlett is here!" Mike screamed over at his brother.

Vic frowned and then slowly backed away, walking around the RV and I presume into the house. "Well that was awkward." I laughed nervously.

"You caught us off guard." Mike said reassuringly. I knew it wasn't because of that, I don't know how much Mike knows about the break-up but it wasn't pretty.

"It's okay Mike, shit happens." I shrugged.

"You look so different." Mike smiled, picking up a strand of my hair. "Why is it brown?" He frowned.

"It's my natural hair colour Mike." I said rolling my eyes.

"It's different, I like it." He smiled approvingly.

"I'm dying it back to red and orange." I informed him.

"That'll look good too." He nodded.

"I hope so, it's been awhile since I had that colour of hair." I laughed, shifting my weight from one leg to another.

"Mike!" Jaime called from across the street. "Get your ass over here." He shouted.

"Jaime come here, got a surprise for you!" Mike called back, looking at me with a grin upon his face.

Jaime came running down the steps and around the RV, his eyes widened when he seen me standing. "Oh my God, Scarlett!" He screamed and attacked me with hugs.

"Nice to see you too Jaime." I laughed, hugging him tightly.

"You look so different, are you okay? What happened? Did you get released?" He bombarded me with questions as he let me go.

"I'm good. I got released today and I'm so happy to finally come home." I grinned at him.

"Have you seen Vic?" He asked. I nodded and looked at Mike.

"He literally saw me, froze on the spot for about 3 minutes and then walked off." I shrugged, there was nothing else to really say.

"Well isn't that just grand, whys he being such a butt head?" Jaime asked rolling his eyes, his choice of words made me laugh. After all these years he was still so childish and hilarious.

"Do you wanna come over, we are having a BBQ." Mike asked me. I looked up at him with fear in my eyes, is it really a good idea?

"I dunno Mike things are a little too fresh and raw at the moment." I tried to think of any excuse.

"You can't say no, my mom will be so angry if she knows you're back home and refused to come." Mike tried to make me feel guilty.

I groaned loudly. "Fine, but if it gets awkward then I am leaving." I warned him.

He high fived Jaime and then grinned at me. "I knew I'd convince her." He said proudly to Jaime.

"I'm gonna get changed into something a bit less, shitty. You guys wanna come in?" I asked, looking between them. They both nodded and followed me up the path.

We got into my house and I walked up the stairs, Mike and Jaime following me. It feels weird being back here, the feeling of nostalgia became overwhelming. I could feel my eyes beginning to tear up, so I quickly wiped away the tears. I walked into my bedroom and found Oli sitting on my bed, searching through his phone. He looked up and smiled. "Mike, Jaime this is..-" I began to say but was cut off.

"Oli." Jaime finished for me. I looked at him with confusion all over my face.

"You guys know each other?" I asked, looking between the three guys in my room.

"We just toured together." Oli announced. I looked at Jaime and Mike.

"Okay what have I missed?" I asked in disbelief.

"We kinda made it." Mike smiled, he looked so happily.

"Oh my God, that's so amazing." I smiled at them, they made their dreams come true.

"So all this time the Vic you were talking about was Vic Fuentes?" Oli asked.

"Yeah." I laughed, nodding. Oli just laughed and stood up.

"Well, you're invited to come to the BBQ." Mike told Oli.

-

Mike dragged me across the street, Oli and Jaime behind me to make sure I didn't turn around and change my mind. "Look guys, maybe this isn't a good idea." I said trying to turn back towards my house. Jaime and Oli both stood in front of me, blocking my way.

"Scarlett." Jaime said in a warning tone. I huffed and turned around again, continuing across the street.

"It's gonna be fine okay." Mike reassured me, for what felt like the millionth time. We entered Mike's house, walking through the hallway. The smell brought back so many beautiful memories. It felt like I was 17 again. We walked into the kitchen and Vivian was standing, cutting up salad. "Mom." Mike said softly, she turned around and looked at us. Her jaw almost hit the floor when she realised I was standing there.

"Scarlett, dear I can't believe you're here." She placed the knife in her hands down onto the counter and walked over to us. She pulled me into her arms and hugged me tightly. "How are you?" She asked, pulling back and looking at me.

"I'm good, much better now." I told her, a small smile on my face. She always made me feel welcome.

"I'm glad to hear it, I'm also glad you've decided to come over." She told me. I always loved her presence because she treated me like the daughter she never had.

"We'll be outside mom, call on me if you need any help." Mike smiled at his mom and then dragged me outside.

There was a table set up and his father was standing at the BBQ. Vic and Tony sat at the table, chatting. Tony looked up and saw me. "Scarlett???" He asked in disbelief. "Oli?" He then said looking beside me.

"The one and only." Oli grinned at Tony. Vic looked up at me and his eyes were so filled with hurt. Maybe I really shouldn't have come here.

"This is weird." Tony shook his head.

"I met Scarlett 5 years ago in the hospital she was admitted to, we kept in contact and today she was released so I said I would collect her." Oli explained, taking a seat next to Tony.

"That's cool, what are the odds." Tony laughed, looking at me with a smile.

Mike pushed me forwards to go and sit down. I sat as far away from Vic as possible, next to Oli. "So I hear you guys are famous?" I asked looking around the table.

"We aren't that famous yet, but we do have a fan base." Jaime grinned at me.

"Who wants drinks?" Vic announced, standing up. Everyone told him what they wanted and then his eyes fell on me.

"Just water, thanks." I said politely. He just nodded and walked off, probably thankful for the excuse to get away. Everyone went quiet and looked at me. "So how much does he hate me?" I asked, feeling awkward.

"He doesn't hate you, he's just confused." Mike tried to defend his brother.

"I wouldn't blame him for hating me because I hurt him." I sighed, rubbing my face with my hands.

"All you have to do is remember that time heals all wounds." Oli said softly. I looked at him and smiled, he was right.

Vic walked back out to the garden with drinks, and somehow a happier look on his face. "Here you go guys and lady." He announced and placed the drinks on the table.

I grabbed the bottle of water and took a drink.

-

I walked into the Fuentes' living room and smiled, the memories engulfed me. So much of what made my teen years bearable happened within this house. I looked at a few pictures that were in frames. One clearly from the Warped Tour that they played in San Diego the summer I was admitted to hospital. It was of the four of them, all standing with their instruments, the happiest look on their faces. "That show was so amazing." I heard from behind me. I turned and saw Vic standing about 3 feet away from me.

"I wish I could've been there." I said softly placing the frame back on the fire place.

"We got offered a record deal not too long after that, everything since then has been a whirlwind of madness." He told me, standing beside me. I watched him lift the same photo up and inspect it. "It was probably the best thing that happened to me that summer." He smiled. I missed that smile so much.

"I can't imagine being broken up with was the highlight." I regretted the words as soon as they left my mouth. I closed my eyes and silently cursed to myself.

"It was not." He laughed softly. I opened my eyes and he was putting the picture down. He walked away towards the door. "But it wasn't the worst thing." He said softly, and then disappeared from the room. What is that supposed to mean? What else happened to him that summer?

Notes

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