Missing You (Sequel to Somewhere In Neverland)

Vegas

Alex's POV:

I stood on the side stage to watch my wife play.  Her last song of the night was Bittersweet Nineteen. It was so mezmerizing to see how a woman who was far from nineteen went back those 18 years to that exact moment. She broke a hold and looked back at me, that same smile from 18 years ago. "It's bittersweet, at nineteen, to find something that is your everything."

Of course it wasn't so bittersweet anymore. Just sweet. Just bliss. I was fourty four with an amazing family, amazing wife, and amazing job. It wasn't so scary anymore to be forced into a career before I'm even finished with puberty. We knew now what the future held because we lived in it. I decided to wander onstage and hand her a daisy I found today. She kissed me profusely and the crowd awed. Huh, same crowd. She said thanks to everyone and followed me off.

"Emily, Zack, and I were gonna head to the bus for drinks." Drinks meant wine nowadays, never anything harder. "You wanna join, Alley Cat?"

"I'd love to, Big Butt. And maybe later we can send all the kids to one bus for a movie marathon." I massaged her shoulders.

"Ooh, I like that idea." She winked. 

We headed back to the bus, where Emily and Zack came quickly. Soonafter, Jack and Rian joined too. Kianna and Colby were keeping an eye on the kids while we had our adult time. After a little while of alone time, one kid did show up. It was Gabe, so we figured he would just pop in quickly. 

"Hey, wazzup?" Emily asked him.

"Mom, Dad, I have to tell you something and you're gonna be really really angry," He began to cry. "But please don't yell at me because I finally got the courage to tell you."

"What's going on?" Zack said, kindly and without judgement.

"Do you want to tell us in private?" Emily put down her wine.

"No, everyone needs to know. You better pick up that wine again because you're gonna need it." He said, then took a deep breath. "Okay." And another pause.

"C'mon, man, the suspense is killing me!" Jack said.

"I'm gay." Gabe managed to say before bursting into tears.

Zack laughed. "Gabe, we're not mad."

"You're not?" He wiped his brown eyes.

"No." Emily stood, giving him a hug. "We've known for years. It's not even a big deal."

"How did you know?" He asked.

"You've been pointing at boys since you were little, saying you thought they were cute." Zack said. "It only stopped a few years ago, when you started to doubt yourself."

He could finally breathe. "Did everyone know?"

We all nodded. "Everyone but Delilah." Marina added.

"Oh shit, I should go tell the girls. Thanks Mom and Dad." He said to his parents.

As he walked out, three teenagers walked in. Before I could even see them I knew who it was. I could smell the pot. Peter was leading the crowd with his frontman persona. His hair was dishevled and overgrown. A black bandana was tied around his forehead. His shirt was a sublime tee with the sleeves cut off. He was in cutoff jeans and flip flops. Christ, what had I raised?

Behind him was Tucker. His jet black hair was greased upwards. His rectangular glasses were a tad crooked. But hey, at least he had a real t-shirt on, a Sum 41 shirt. His shorts were hemmed and his shoes were converse. Untied. But hey, at least he tried. Max was behind them in a stained white shirt and cargo shorts. He had on vans which were tied. Swell!