The Pack and Sidemen Oneshots

Mitch/Merome- See You Again? Part 2

Mitch's P.O.V.

In the end I gave Jerome my number and unblocked him on Instagram- on the condition that he didn't mention it to anyone else. I didn't want anyone to know that I might be coming back because if I, in the end, decided that I didn't want to, it would only create disappointment. Jerome agreed, and also agreed to get all of the Pack boys together one last time- so I could see them again.

The plan was set. About a month after I met Jerome for the first time in the park he got all the boys together in Florida and I drove down, with the three kids in the back seat, to meet them. The boys had no idea I was coming, they had no idea that Jerome even had contact with me, they just knew that it was important.

Violet, Lily and Daniel slept in the back set for most of the ride and I was grateful because I thought they would fight and squabble, but they didn't. The drive was only a couple of hours and we arrived in Florida, pulling up outside Jerome's house. I sighed, taking a minute to look at the house. It was same one I had lived in with him.

Mitch: I'm here, kids are asleep.

Jerome: I'll come out and help, the others are all in the living room.

I saw Jerome open the front door and step outside, his face relaxing when he saw me there. It was clear he hadn't believed I was actually going to come.

"Hey Mitch." He said quietly, peering into the backseat. "How are you? How're the kids?"

"We're alright, they slept the whole ride which was awesome." I undid Daniel's buckles, gently pulling him out of his seat and handing him off to Jerome. I could carry two kids while sleeping, but not all three of them. I had to get him to hold Lily for a moment as well while I got Violet out of her seat, and thankfully none of them woke or even stirred.

"God, they've grown so much even in just a month." I smiled, because they had.

"I know. I can't believe they're almost three and a half now because... it's been a ride." I shut the car door with elbow, wresting my keys out to lock it. "Are all of the boys here?" Jerome nodded.

"All of them. It's been awhile since Vikk has seen any of the others so there was quite a lot of excitement." He managed to open the front door with Daniel still in his arms and at once I heard the boys laughing and chattering down the hall, and I hesitated. Jerome saw, stopping with me. "What's up?"

"Nothing just... give me a moment."

In reality, I was scared. This would be my first time seeing the boys in three and a half years, and I had no idea how much they would have changed. I hadn't checked their social medias and so hadn't seen any photos of them, in essence I had no idea what they looked like now.

"Ready?" He asked, taking one step towards the living room. I nodded slowly, taking in a deep breath.

"Yeah."

Jerome went into the room first and the voices tapered off into silence as they realised that he was holding a child, and then I stepped into their view behind him. I averted my gaze, partially hiding behind Jerome as I held both the girls because I couldn't bear to look them. My knees were shaking. And then Vikk practically exploded.

"Mitch!" He shrieked, barrelling towards me in a flurry. He made me stumble when he crashed into me and I almost fell, but he managed to restrain himself because he knew I was holding the kids. When he pulled back I took a moment, glancing at all the boys and how much they had changed.

Vikk was much the same as he had been three years ago, still short and lean but now with a little bit of muscle, and it was clear he had grown up quite a lot. God, the last time I had seen him he had just turned 21, he was 24 now. Preston and Rob hadn't changed a lot either, Preston had the same baby face and constant grin and Rob's beard with thicker and he looked older, but it was definitely Lachlan who had changed the most. He was a couple of inches taller, he had something of a beard along his chin and he looked so much older. In just a couple of years he appeared to have aged double that. All of them looked surprised to see me, their jaws almost on the floor.

"Mitch?" Rob uttered, standing up from his seat on the couch. "Oh my god..."

In my arms Lily started to stir and whine and I bounced her a little, my attention taken away for a moment. I heard Lachlan speak up, his voice quiet, his accent mixed more between Australian and American than I remembered.

"Wha- how...?" He breathed, his eyes wide. "Mitch... kids? You've got kids...?"

"Yeah. I know." I said, rocking from side to side to keep the kids asleep. "Jerome can I put them upstairs? They'll probably sleep another hour or so."

He nodded silently and showed me up the stairs to his room- the same one that had been his room years earlier. Two of the bedroom doors were open, and I could recognise Vikk and Lachlan's luggage in one and Preston and Rob's stuff in the other. The door to my old bedroom was closed. Jerome followed my gaze to it, but he didn't explain until all the kids we on his bed and tucked in.

"I've still got your old stuff Mitch, I couldn't throw it away. We thought you were missing, maybe dead or something and... god I just couldn't do it." He looked to be on the verge of tears but turned away, going back down the stairs. I froze for a moment, only just then realising how much my disappearance had effected him.

Downstairs the boys were still silent, glancing between each other, stunned and in shock. Rob came up to me the second I got back into the living room and just hugged me as tightly as he could, just... rocking from side to side. When he pulled away I was surprised to see that he was crying and the shock must have shown on my face.

"Mitch... god it's been three and a half years! Why did you just disappear of the face of the earth! Do you know how much it wrecked us, how much it wrecked Jerome?!" My gaze switched to said boy, who looked like he was about to cry. "Mitch he was destroyed for years, why? Just please tell us why!"

I sighed and rubbed my arm, looking around at the other boys. I suddenly noticed that Vikk and Lachlan were tangled together, hands quite clearly intertwined. They both smiled at me, sharing a look.

"It was to protect my kids." I started quietly. "I didn't want them to grow up in the spotlight and be bullied or let down because of who I was. I wanted them to have a normal life but... I never realised what it would do to you. When I left I was thinking of what would be good for the kids, not even what was good for me. It was all for them."

I closed my eyes, burying my head in my arms.

"I just... I'm sorry."

This time it was Lachlan who got to me first, barrelling into me and squeezing so tightly that I gasped. The others quickly surrounded me and it was then that I finally dissolved into tears, letting everything out that I had been holding in for so long- I hadn't wanted to cry in front of my kids. Jerome tilted my chin back with his hand.

"Mitch, you're always going to be welcome here. I don't care that's it's been three years, if you want to come back to YouTube or even simply come back into our lives then you can come back. Your kids too. I want to get to know them, just like I thought I would have in the future."

I let out a wet laugh, wiping away the tears. As kids, Jerome and I had discussed our futures and if we ever had kids, we wanted to help raise them.

"I think I'd like that." I whispered, leaning back against him.

-----------------------------------------------------------

Lily was up first, about an hour after I put them upstairs. Jerome and I were tangled together on the couch and although my tears were gone I was still a bit upset, trying to gather myself.

"Daddy?" Lily said, coming around the corner rubbing her eyes. I smiled at her, opening my arms for her to climb onto the couch beside me. "Where are we?"

"We're at a friends house kiddo, a friend I haven't seen since just after you were born." I heard a tiny oh. Her eyes flickered to Jerome and he smiled.

"She looks just like you." I smiled.

"I know. Carbon copies." I hauled Lily up onto my knee, turning her to face Jerome. "Lily, this is Jerome. I've been friends with him since I was about your age."

She looked at him, a little apprehensively at first, but when he cracked a smile she gave one in return.

"He's funny." She whispered, but loud enough that Jerome could hear it, and he barked a laugh. We shared a look and that moment I knew that it was going to be alright- he liked at least one of my kids and she liked him back.

Yeah- I could get used to this.