Decimation (Ianthony Apocalypse AU)

one year later

I hadn't stopped smiling the whole night. From helping set up, to the ceremony, to now - during the reception - the same goofy smile had been plastered to my face, and I knew it would probably be until I got home.

Jonah looked so incredibly happy, clad in his tux. Michaela, by his side, had one of the most gorgeous wedding dresses I'd ever seen, and looked absolutely stunning. I was so happy for the two of them, and witnessing their wedding was such a tremendous event.

I still had no idea how he'd contacted the old group; I was positive I'd never see Ken, Martha, Gwen, Joel, Dean, and Tyler ever again. But, sure enough, their place cards sat around the massive table we all were assigned to, and, just a few minutes after Anthony and I had found our way over to the reception hall, everyone had taken their places.

Seeing Dean and Tyler again was the best. I had a feeling they wouldn't even remember me, or care to talk to me, but they instantly ran into my arms, hugging me tight. Reuniting with Ken and Martha was definitely awkward, especially since we had chosen to ignore the obvious elephant in the room; but, nonetheless, I was still thankful for all they'd done for us, and seeing them again was nice.

Everyone looked amazing, too. I knew a stupid zombie apocalypse wouldn't be able to ruin us.

Actually, the world itself was recovering at an astonishing pace. Some aspects would take much longer than a year, obviously, but, for the most part, life was back to normal. A chomper hadn't been spotted anywhere in many months, the population hadn't decreased as much as we'd predicted, government quickly reformed and reshaped much of the world's destruction, jobs were sprouting up all over and the money system was a full go, and transportation was in full swing. Life was almost back to normal. If it weren't for the trauma in everyone's hearts and the millions of lives lost, it would almost be like it never even happened.

As for me? I was happy as ever. Smosh restarted a few months ago, basically picking up right where we left off. Somehow, our whole entire crew remained, and all were happy to create more content like nothing had even happened. Videos were released on our regular schedule, our view and subscriber count was high as ever, and we couldn't be more happy with our work.

Also, with the exception of my dad, my family was okay. My mom had went to live with my aunt on the other side of town, and I found her just days after my dad's death. She said he'd sacrificed himself for her, and as horrible as it was, she knew he was with us every day. And I knew she was right.

Most of my friends had made it, too. A few unlucky ones were either missing or dead, which sucked, but so many more than I was expecting were alive. 

I was sure my life would never be as great as it is now. From the moment I was awoken by those TV warnings, I was sure I'd either be dead or miserable a year from then. And here I was, satisfied with my job, reunited with family and friends. Oh, and there was Anthony, too.

"We should dance," Lizzy said, standing up. She pulled Rico along with her, and not long after, the whole table followed. I still didn't know Jonah's family too well, but I did know this: they knew how to have a good time. Just about every person in that room was on the dance floor, laughing and dancing like they didn't care who the hell saw.

Some upbeat pop song was playing, and I spent a few minutes on the edge of a large crowd, flailing my limbs in some sort of way that I guess could be considered a dance. I went off to grab a drink after the song ended, and was instantly joined by someone else.

"This wedding's not too bad, huh?"

I looked up at Martha, noticing how much she'd changed in a year. Or maybe it was just the way her hair had obviously been dyed from the graying-blonde color to light brown. Or the makeup that stuck to her face.