Sketch

116 - Emmy

This is it - The final chapter of Sketch!  Thank you so much to everyone, old and new, who has been/is following this story.  I seriously wouldn't be able to hug you all hard enough.  It's been a journey, one that's taken longer than I expected, but it's been fun all the same.  I hope you've fallen in love with Sam, Emmy and Sketch's story as much as I have.  It's been a pleasure to write and I hope it's been an enjoyable read, too!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking Sketch out!  I hope it's been worth it :)  I love you all <3

I lean in closer to the radio, like it'll enable me to hear the news first. 

It's almost six, minutes before this week's chart positions are announced.  Ollie's refreshing the chart show's website like a madman and Vince is pacing the room, followed closely behind by Alex.  Tandy's chatting Tanya's ear off and Sam is next to me at the breakfast table.  He looks just as nervous as I feel.  I fight the urge to twist the dials on the front of the radio, wanting to sharpen the hosts words but not wanting to lose the station unintentionally.

The announcement begins just as Ollie stops clicking.  Tandy shuts up and Vince and Alex stop pacing.  Time stands still as the room goes quiet, except from the radio hosts voice.  Counting down from forty never seems to have taken so long before.

My heart feels like it's beating in every part of me, a rapid thud making my chest vibrate and my feet twitch.  And then it happens.

"Imagine is eighth," Ollie shouts over the only other voice in the room.  "Freaking eighth!"

Sam throws his arms around me and I squeal into his shoulder.  We hadn't been expecting anything under twentieth position.  Getting in the top ten is unbelievable.

"And Sketch is third in the album chart," Tanya states proudly.

I hug Sam harder still.

"We knocked Haunted Vegas back a place, too," Ollie adds, hands braced behind his head in disbelief.  "That's mental."

"We're finally playing in the big boys league!" Vince exclaims.

Sam nods, pressing his forehead to my temple so I'm the only one who can hear his whispered words.  "We're finally where I've always wanted to be."

It's still dreamlike three hours later, when the champagne's been drunk and Jeremy's rung to congratulate us.  It's even more mental when Sam and I are finally alone in our room.  We bounce on the bed and hug and scream and cry. 

When we finally collapse into each other's arms on the floor, I sigh, feeling the most content I've ever felt in my life.

"I can't believe we finally did it," Sam says, his brown eyes wide in disbelief and amazement.  "It's been in my head for so long but now it's real."

"And I got to be a part of it," I say. 

"You helped it come true."  Sam kisses me, only drawing back for air.  I'm left dizzy, heart and head pounding.

I change into my pyjamas to clear my head, before climbing under the duvet with Sam.  I end up in the same place as always, between his arm and his chest, taking in his warmth and the feel of his skin on mine.

We lie in the darkness, listening to each other breathe, neither of us mentioning what we both know the other is thinking. 

Michelle's song didn't chart.  A part of me still feels sorry for her and I know that even after everything that she did to Sam, a part of him can't hate her either. 

I heard him talking to Tanya yesterday, asking her to speak to Michelle's manager.  He wants her to come on tour with us.  I'd loved him even more then, knowing that he was willing to look past everything that has happened, willing to give her another chance.  It's a waiting game now.  If she comes with us then it's a chance to build bridges again.  She'll get to spend time with Tanya too and I know that Sam had this in mind when he made the decision to include Michelle again.

But if she refuses, then we all know what kind of person she's happy to become.  Either way, it's not up to me.  I can only hope she makes the right decision.

I blink out of my thoughts to the feel of fingers in my hair.  I look up at Sam, catching the way he smiles as he watches me when he doesn't think I'm looking.  It's an expression that's so open, so him, that I can't help but smile when I see it.  My whole body is alive at the thought of getting to start a journey with him, one that will carry on way after we've finished touring and released more albums.  A life that will hopefully include a house and marriage, and maybe even kids.

Every inch of me lifts with my smile as I admire him in the dim glow coming from the lights of London.

His eyes seem to soften and I know what he's going to say before he gets the chance to say it.

I thumb his eyebrow and lean in to whisper in his ear.

"I love you too."