Saved: A New Beginning//Sequel to Saved

Still Alive

Mike and I walk down the street in a comfortable silence. I can tell he wants to say something, but he's organizing how he will say it. I am in my own mind, thinking about how I should apologize to Billie and Adie. I know I overreacted to the whole situation; after all, they're just looking out for me. They didn't mean to pick me out of the bunch. They're new at this whole "bringing up a dead girl walking" thing. I don't exactly know how to apologize though.

"We have to go on tour soon," Mike suddenly breaks the silence. "Oh...for what?" I ask, even though I already know. "Well, we just released the new album, so..." he trails off. "For how long?" I question, realizing that I won't see Billie, Tré, or Mike once they go.

"It'll be awhile...probably a little more than three months at a time."

"Oh."

"But we'll definitely try to come home any time we can. And we'll definitely go out of our way to play as many shows around here as possible."

"It's not nice to lie to people."

"How do you know I'm lying?"

"I grew up around two of them; I've got it down to a science."

"Alrighty then. Fair enough."

We continue on our walk and come across the park. I turn to look at Mike but he's already running towards the swings and sits down on one. I sit down on the swing next to him, but I don't swing. I simply look at the kids across the park playing soccer. I wonder if they know how terrible life can turn out to be? Everyone has this perfect image of life, but it usually never works out the way they think it will. Those poor, innocent kids. They have no clue what's coming, yet they are completely happy...or maybe they aren't. Maybe they're like me and hide their feelings as best as they can. But, then again, they are kids. Maybe they haven't seen the terrible things the world possesses. Maybe they haven't seen true pain yet.

"Are you zoning out, or do you just not want to talk? Either one is fine," Mike interrupts my thoughts. "Zoning out...why? Did you say something?" I ask, feeling guilty for not listening. "I was just saying how good of a day it is...temperature-wise, not school-wise," he says, not swinging anymore. "I guess so," I mumble, looking down at my shoes that Adie had bought for me earlier last week. They are just plain Converse, black and white, but I have already scuffed them up all over. I feel bad about that. They are brand new shoes that must have costed a bit of money, and I already ruin them.

"Man, you are really spacey today," Mike laughs, again interrupting my thoughts. "Sorry," I say bluntly. "Don't be...maybe we should head back so you can get some rest. It was a pretty stressful day for everyone," he suggests, getting off of the swing set. I get off as well and we head back home.
*
Once we open the door, Billie runs over and smiles at me. I give a genuine smile back and decide to go to my room upstairs. I hear them talking to each other behind me, and Mike doesn't even bring up anything other than the fact that I was "tired." I walk into my room and softly close the door behind me. I get into some pajama shorts and a tank top as well as a black Green Day hoodie(don't forget that Billie was the one who filled my closet). I lay down on my bed and get comfortable underneath the warm comforter. I look at my phone and see that Andy texted me.

Andy: hey. Just thought I'd let u know that they found out that the shooter was some kid trying to show off his gun to his friends...pretty stupid. All the school is gonna do is expel him for three days...isnt that stupid??? Only three days

Me: yeah. That's very unfair to all of us that got scared. He should be kicked out completely.

Andy: that's America for ya ¯\_(ツ)_/

I laugh slightly at his remark and plug my phone into its charging chord. I place it onto my nightstand and decide to take a nap. I drift off into a pleasant sleep and for the first time in awhile, I have a pleasant dream.
~~~
I walk into the kitchen and see my dad talking to Billie, joking about something because they are both laughing. Adie takes a seat at the kitchen table and talks to Jake and Joey. Everyone was much younger than they are now. Then, my dad yells that he'd like to make a toast. Everyone quiets down and listens intently to what he has to say. "Well, it's been about six months of trying, but me and the Mrs. are finally going to have a kid!" my dad chirps, a huge smile plastered on his face. Everyone claps and cheers and when I take a step back, I bump into someone. It's Mike and Tré but they don't seem to notice me. 'A third-person dream,' I think to myself. As I turn around, I notice that it's actually my dad's birthday party. There were about thirty other people in the living room, who I had never seen before. He was talking about me. He was announcing that my mother was pregnant. He looks so happy and proud of himself. I miss him.
~~~
"Chelsea, honey, wake up. It's time for dinner," Billie shakes me gently, waking me up almost immediately. Ever since...the incident, I've been quite jumpy, and a very aware of my surroundings. I turn over and look at him. "Sorry if I scared you.... Are you hungry at all? You don't have to eat dinner if you're not," he says, sitting at the foot of the bed. "I'm not that hungry, but I can eat a little bit," I quietly answer back. "Okie dokie," he says before getting up. "My dad used to say that a lot," I mumble, smiling slightly at the faint memory. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know," he scrambles. "It's fine. I just forgot about it..." I tail off. "I'm sorry about earlier," I continue after a few moments go by. He sits back down on the end of my bed and looks at me, "You had every right to be upset...Adie and I did kind of single you out." "Yeah, but I still overreacted," I say honestly. He thinks for a moment about what to say. "I would've been angry too...and if it makes you feel any better, we talked to Jake and Joey about everything as well," he continues sympathetically. "It kinda makes me feel better.... I don't know if I want to go to school tomorrow," I suddenly cry out. I begin to softly tear up, letting a few tears fall. I can tell I caught him off guard because it takes him a second to console me. He climbs into bed next to me and hugs me tightly. "You don't have to. You never have to go back there if you don't want to," he coos, which calms me down. We stay like this for a few minutes and he starts humming a song to calm me down. It comforts me greatly and I begin to drift off into sleep again. After about fifteen minutes or so, he tucks me back into bed and kisses my forehead before leaving my room, leaving the door cracked behind him. Again, I fall asleep and hope for a good dream.

A/N: heyyy beautiful people!! How are all of you doing?? I hope all is well! I also hope u enjoy this chapter! If u could, please leave a vote and comment if you liked the chapter! It means so much to me! Ilyasm! XOXO
-Victoria