Take A Walk With Me (One-Shots and More)

If I Don't Make It Back (The Pack)

We went out for beer
And a couple laughs
Knowing full well that every bad joke
Jerome made might be his last

We never thought it could happen. A man from YouTube, called off for war? It should have been impossible.

And yet, Jerome got a letter on his doorstep one day, requesting that he join the forces on their final bout against ISIS. He had told all of us, except Mitch, who wasn't here today. Rob had guessed why (it was a well-known fact the two were together), and had told me not to tell Mitch about Jerome's deployment. It was then that I figured it all out.

So, there we were, August 27, 2018, clustered around a bar table in downtown Orlando. Jerome had flown us all out here at his expense, and when Mitch questioned, he just said he thought it would be fun to do. We'd gone late at night, after Mitch had fallen asleep, and left Jerome to explain in the morning.

So we laughed like the world
Wasn't at war
Told him things
We'd never said before

Vikk had made a pun about Coors Lite (which no one liked), and once the laughter died down, Lachlan looked over at Jerome with a very serious expression. Slowly, we all fell silent.

"Jerome?"

"Yeah, Little Lachy?"

"You saved my life."

Jerome just kind of stared at the Aussie, muttering, "Why?" and "How?" over and over. Lachlan just smiled.

"Before we started recording together... I was a fan of you and Mitch. You know that. Your videos pulled me out of a depression."

"Same here," I murmured, and Jerome turned to look at me.

"Preston... I kind of expected Lachlan, but..."

I smile up at him, holding back the pain.

And he teared up
As he raised his glass,
He said,
"Boys, if I don't make it back..."

Vikk told him that he had always looked forward to recording with Jerome, and that it made his stress a little easier to cope. Rob admitted that he was an open book.

By this point, Jerome looked like he was about to cry. I hadn't seen him this open or vulnerable in a long time, and, in all honesty, it scared me. It was as if he could read the future, and was seeing something bad.

"Boys?"

Rob, Lachlan, Vikk and I all looked up at him in the same motion. He was smiling softly, sadly, and the first tear leaked as he said, "If I don't make it back, there's a few things I want you to do."

"Have a beer for me
Don't waste no tears on me
On Friday night, sit on the
Vistitor's side and
Cheer for the home team,"

We sat in silence as he draws a shaky breath, and says, "Don't cry for me. It's not really helping anyone. If you ever go out drinking, drink a beer for me every once in a while. Any sports, any at all... Be a jag. Sit on the visitor side and cheer for the home team. It'll be worth it."

I know that I wouldn't be able to carry out his first request. Already, I could feel the heat of the tears. Jerome smiled again.

"Purrston, don't cry."

"Then don't act like your not gonna make it!"

"I'm not acting. I have no training. I'm probably not going to come back."

That truth sunk in and I let myself sob. Rob put an arm around me, but I pushed him away.

"Drive my Infinity
90 miles an hour down
Red Rock Road with
ERB blasting on the radio,"