The Orchids in the Garden - A Milliot Fanfiction

Chapter 34 (Finale)

"I have something to say too," Zander said. He fidgeted with his hands nervously.

Milly raised an eyebrow. She was pretty sure she knew what Zander was talking about, but she didn't want to be wrong.

"I'm sorry," he blurted out. "I shouldn't have excluded you. We're a group which means we need to stick together no matter what. I only said what I said because I was stressed." He paused and quickly corrected himself. "That's not meant to be an excuse, I just meant I shouldn't have said it and I didn't mean any of it."

Milly felt herself smiling.

"I swear if anything else goes wrong it will be all of us. I will never exclude you again." He looked down at his feet, not confident like he was normally. "I'm sorry for making you feel like you were being a bad friend in the first place."

"It wasn't only you, Zander," Milly replied. "Thanks for the apology, it means a lot. But what you said made me realize some things, and while it did hurt," he flinched at that. "I think it helped me grow."

Zander nodded and they pulled in a hug again.

They heard a sniff and turned around. Luke had tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry," he bawled. "These things just make me cry so easily."

Sean started to cry as well, he was a sympathetic crier.

"Crap guys," Hailey fanned her face.

"No crying! We just made up, we're supposed to be happy!" Milly exclaimed.

"Okay," the three whimpered, even though they had already started crying.

"I guess we should break out the cake." Zander said, back to his usual neutral and sometimes annoyed expression.

"Oooh cake!" Jake exclaimed.

And they all laughed together.

They weren't the same from before their journey started. They changed, and for the better too. This wasn't their first struggle, and it wouldn't be their last, but together they could accomplish anything.

It wasn't a goodbye, more like a see you later. For all stories must have an ending. And the one for this tale has been found.