Thank you so much to my awesome beta-reader epic LEMON HEAD :) Your help is greatly appreciated :D
Hope you enjoy and please review to help me out with my next story if I do Lemonade Mouth again :)
Five Years
Wen lay in bed, unable to sleep. He kept tossing and turning, but he still couldn't sleep. He checked the time on his phone and moaned when it said 3.00am, as that meant he had a longer time to lay there. He regretted staying up late playing the X-Box with Charlie and Scott. He just started falling asleep, when his phone started ringing. He knew something was up, because no sane person would be up now. He checked the caller id and noticed it was Olivia.
"Olivia? Are you okay?" Wen asked.
"Wen, I'm in the hospital." She said while breathing heavily.
"What? Are you okay? I'm coming in." He says and got up from his bed, looking for his pants.
"Don't come in, please. I don't want you to get worried. If it's serious, you can visit tomorrow." She said.
"Don't want me to get worried? You're in hospital; of course I'll be worried." Wen nearly shouted, but stopped himself from doing so because he knew that his family were asleep.
"Wen, please. I just thought you'd like to know. Don't come."
"Okay. Okay, fine. I won't come. I'm just really worried about you now. What happened?" He asked her.
"I collapsed. Gram called an ambulance and when I wake up, I see her crying while talking to a doctor. I'm sorry for calling you so late, but I'm worried about why she's crying while talking to the doctor. That has to be bad news right?"
"So much for not making me worry." Wen yawned. "I'm sure it's nothing, just her crying about the ordeal she'd been through today. Does anyone else in the group know?"
"You're the first one I called. Gram's coming, I have to go." She said.
"Wait, Olivia, I'll be there first thing in the morning." He told her and she hung up. So much for getting to sleep tonight, he thought. Why wouldn't she want him to visit her? He hated the thought of her being in a hospital, and that he couldn't do much to help her get over her fears. He closed his eyes. He knew it was going to be a long night. He started thinking about ways to get him to sleep. Don't people count sheep, he thought. He tried that, but nothing happened. Then he remembered his grandmother offering a glass of warm milk when he was younger and afraid of going to sleep in the dark. He quietly got out of his bed and went into the kitchen. When he was done warming the milk, he turned around and saw Sydney come into the kitchen.
"What are you still doing up?" She asked him.
"I can't sleep." He answered.
"What's wrong?" She asked, and sat down. She pointed to another chair, so he sat down opposite her.
"Olivia called. She's in the hospital. She collapsed and saw her gram cry when he was talking to the doctor. She's worried. So am I." He replied.
"I'm so sorry to hear that. Are you okay?" She asked him.
"I am, she's not. What happens if she gets really sick? What do I do then?" He got really upset and Sydney went over to comfort him.
"I'm pretty sure the two of you are the only people who haven't realized yet, but you are destined to be with Olivia. The spark between you and her is so electric. It's the same from when I met your father." Wen stared at Sydney after she said that. "You're going to be with her, every step of the way, good or bad. You're so close with her, you'll both be okay. You need to be strong for her, if something is wrong. If she's okay, she'll notice that you were kind, and she'll realize how much she needs you."
"Thanks, I suppose." Wen said as he got up, his milk in his hand.
"Okay, go to bed Rockstar." She laughed and he did a little. That was his nickname since joining the band, and he used to hate Sydney call him that, but they got closer and it didn't bother him anymore.
The next day, Sydney drove Wen to the hospital on her way to college. She was in a rush, but she knew how worried he would be the whole day, so she offered him a lift, which he didn't want to turn down.
"Thank you." Wen said as he got out of the car.
"No problem, I'm here for you." She sighed and drove off.
He ran into the hospital and when he was brought to Olivia's room, he had to stay outside, as it was too hard to go in. He saw her crying and her grandmother trying to comfort her, but she was crying too from the window. He knocked on the door and they both looked a little relieved for him to be there.
"I'll leave you two alone then." Her grandmother left the room.
"Livy, are you okay?" Wen asked.
"I've got leukemia." Was all Olivia could say through the tears.
Those three words made his life come crashing down. Why was this happening to her? She was the one that was the healthiest in the band. When they ordered take away, she went to the shops to buy vegetables to make her own dinner. It should be me, he thought.
"Didn't you realize you were sick?" Wen asked.
"I thought it was just because of stress from school and then from joining the band." She told him.
"So, when you got sick backstage, that wasn't from the nerves?" Wen asked.
"I guess not. Can you tell the rest?" She asked.
"Okay, I'll go outside." Wen walked outside and banged his head against the wall.
He took his phone out and dialed Stella's number. If he told her, she could tell the rest. He wouldn't be able to tell everyone else. He dialed the number and after a few minutes of mentally preparing himself for the conversation, he rang her.
"Wen, what's up?" Stella said as she answered the phone.
"I'm at the hospital with Olivia. It's not good." He told her.
"What? Are you okay?" Stella asked.
"I am, it's Olivia." He stopped and he tried to prepare himself. "She's got leukemia."
That was the quietest that Stella ever was. Wen swore that he heard her cry, but she would never admit that so he kept quiet too.
"That's funny. You should be a comedian." Stella finally said.
"Stell, I'm not joking. Can you call the rest? I have to go back to Olivia." Wen asked.
"Yeah, I will. We'll meet you there, okay? I'll get them all to come. Tell her, please?" Stella hung up.
Wen went back into the room and he was talking to Olivia. They spoke about everything, even the incident from first grade where she threw up during her music recital. There was a knock on the door and Olivia's gram asked to speak to Wen. He followed her gram outside, and Olivia continued writing her list.
"Are you okay?" Wen asked her.
"The rest of the band are here, but so are the paparazzi." Her gram told him.
Since their performance at Madison Square Garden, they were followed all the time by press. Stories about them were in the newspapers and the guesses of how they formed were there too. No one ever got it right. The worst they did was revealing that Olivia's father was in jail, which made her so upset. She wrote to him to explain the situation, but he didn't seem to be too angry. They all had to comfort her after that.
"The paparazzi are here? They weren't when I got here." Wen pointed out.
"There they are now." She pointed to the four other band mates. "I'm going to go back home, take a shower and get more of her things. She gave me a list of what she needs. Please, look after her Wendell. She's the only thing that I have left of my daughter."
"I will." Wen barely got the words out, as he was overcome with sadness. "Take your time."
"Stella that was pretty bad ass out there!" Charlie said to Stella and she smiled at him.
"What happened?" Wen asked.
"She just attacked the paparazzi, literally shouting at them for being there." Scott told him.
"The girl needs privacy." Stella added.
"So, how is she?" Mo asked Wen.
"She's strong. She's got the right attitude. I know I definitely wouldn't be as positive about it as she is." Wen replied.
"Can we go in and see her?" Scott asked.
"Let me just tell her you're here. She's kind of busy, and you know how she hates getting interrupted." Wen saw the look on all of their faces, smiling at memories of her getting flustered after being interrupted when they went on tour.
Wen knocked on the door and opened it slowly. He saw Olivia looking at her phone, laughing.
"What's so funny?" Wen asked.
"You know how we were asked to perform on So Random! for next week's show? Did you read the script they sent you yet?" Olivia asked.
"No, is it bad?" Wen went closer to her bed.
"It involves us acting! No one else in the band, just us." Olivia was still laughing. "The first sketch is about some student class president thing, next is our introduction which is pretty weird, then it's a sketch about a talk show which I'm interviewed in," she was scrolling down her email on the new phone she bought. "Next, which is pretty cool, you're Ron Weasley and I'm Hermione Granger and we go to the cinema which Harry Potter works in."
"Wait, I'm Ron? I always preferred Harry!" Wen joked.
"It's your ginger hair. But wait, it gets better! You're in a sketch all on your own and I can't wait to hear your Scottish accent." Olivia laughed.
"Give me that, I want to see." Wen grabbed the phone off her. "And it's strawberry blonde!"
The group looked in through the window and saw Wen and Olivia laughing. They all had the same look on their faces, pity. The two people who were destined to be together, only had a few years left. He was the only person that made her smile and gave her confidence.
"Guys, you can come in now." Wen told them and they all squeezed into the small room.
"Hey guys." Olivia waved at them.
"How are you feeling?" Scott asked her.
"Tired and a little dizzy, but I'll be okay for the show next week." Olivia smiled at them.
"No, you're sick; we're pulling out of it." Mo told Olivia.
"I don't even know how bad it is yet. I'll be fine, I promise." She smiled at them and they didn't believe it. There was a knock on the door, and a doctor came in.
"We'll get out of your way Doctor." Stella said and they all left.
"Wait, Wen can you stay with me?" Olivia asked.
"Y-yeah. Sure, okay." Wen was shocked he chose her but he went up to her and she held onto his hand.
"Miss White, are you sure you want him to be here?" The doctor asked.
"Oh god, it's bad news, isn't it? Please stay." Olivia looked at Wen.
"You've got chronic lymphocytic leukemia." The doctor told her. "It's most common in older people, but you somehow got it. It's the worst type of leukemia there is."
"But she can get better, you know? Chemotherapy could get her back to normal wouldn't it?" Wen asked.
"We can offer you treatment to keep it under control, but I'm afraid it's terminal. You have stage C of this and it means you have a shorter life span." The doctor answered.
"How long?" Olivia asked.
"You have from one to three years left. I'm so sorry Miss White." The doctor said and Olivia started sobbing.
"As I said, we could offer you chemotherapy, it won't help you survive, but it could give you an extra year." The doctor added.
"No thank you Doctor." Olivia said.
"Are you crazy? Why don't you want a few extra years to live?" Wen shouted.
"Why would I? I continue living for an extra year and be sicker then I die? Chemotherapy makes you really sick and I don't want to spend my last few years in hospital all day every day. I want to die, knowing I lived my life to the full. I want to be me when I die, not some really sick person." Olivia stopped crying.
"But, we get to have you around for longer!" Wen pointed out.
"Are you going to support me or not? If not, get the hell out." Olivia shouted. Wen was shocked at this. This was the loudest she ever spoke and he was surprised at the Olivia that was in front of him. Then, he remembered what Sydney told him. You need to be strong for her, if something is wrong. He smiled at her but she continued to look angry.
"I'm staying with you, every step of the way. Even though I think it's completely crazy, I support your decision." Wen said and he hugged her.
"Thank you. This means a lot to me. Can you tell the rest? I don't really think I could manage telling them without crying." Olivia asked, drying her eyes.
Wen went outside, while the doctor continued talking to her. The rest saw him coming and they realized it was bad. He slumped down on a chair beside them.
"She's dying. She's got some time of old person leukemia and they say she could have at most, three years." Wen told them. "She's refusing treatment as well." He stared at all of their faces, shock on all of them. Mo started crying on Scott's shoulder and Stella ran off.
"I'm going to go back to her." Wen told Charlie and Scott.
"I'm really sorry. I know how close you two are." Scott said to Wen.
"Well, I have to go back to her and pretend to support her stupid idea." Wen got up and went to her room again.
He looked into the window. The doctor was gone, and it was just her. Wen saw Olivia staring out the window in her room, drying her eyes. It finally hit him, she was leaving soon. He cleared his thoughts, knowing he had to stay positive for her. He walked into her room and she smiled at him. Normally, that smile would make him melt and change him into a complete loser, but he had to stay focused.
"That was quick, did you tell them all?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah. There were some tears. So, what do you want to do?" Wen asked her.
"I want to plan out the rest of my life." Olivia grabbed her notebook and pen and started writing.
"You brought that with you?" Wen asked, laughing a little.
"I was unconscious, of course I didn't. My gram brought it for me; she knows how important it is to me." Olivia informed him and dropped her pen. "I don't really know what to do."
"Do you have any lifelong dreams or ambitions?" Wen asked her, dragging the chair beside her bed.
"Well, I have one. I want to see my dad out of prison, but he won't be released for another ten years, so that won't happen. I'll visit him!" She started to write.
"That's good. Is there anything else?"
"I've always wanted to go to Paris and see the Eiffel tower." She admitted to him. She wrote that down too. They spent the whole night talking about this. Of course, when her gram came back, he left the room so they could talk. It was pretty emotional; he could see them from out of the window. Her newly found confidence was a nice thing to see, and he enjoyed seeing the new Olivia White.
…
"That dress is so nice!" Olivia smiled as Mo showed a dress to her in a shop.
"Should I get it?" Mo asked Olivia and Stella.
"Whatever. Can we go now?" Stella asked, wanted to go to the music store.
"What about you go and the girls stay with the dresses!" Mo said to Stella and she ran off. Olivia laughed and she continued looking for a dress. Mo put that dress in her huge 'maybe' pile.
"I'm no good at clothes shopping. I normally just chose what's there in front of me and if it's cheap." Olivia admitted.
"Honey, you're the lead singer of a worldwide famous band. Spend a little money, it won't harm you!" Mo laughed and Olivia smiled at her. "What about this dress? It's so nice."
"I don't know if it's me. Could I pull it off?" Olivia asked.
"You could pull off wearing sack with those looks. Now try it on." Mo pushed Olivia into the nearest dressing room.
"I knew I should have gone with gram like she offered." Olivia said sarcastically.
"She wouldn't force you into buying the cutest dress in the shop like I would though." Mo added. "Are you ready? We need to look for shoes."
"Just a second." Olivia shouted back. She looked at herself in the mirror. Wow, Mo was right, she thought, it does suit me. She opened the curtain and had to listen to Mo go on about how much it suited her. It was a silver metallic dress and it was pretty short. (It's the dress Bridgit wore for the premiere.)
"I can't get it, it's too short and have you seen the price?" Olivia said, going back into the dressing room.
"Wow! It's a Dulce & Gabanna dress. You have to get it, for me! It's on sale too." Mo begged.
When Olivia got out of the changing room, she noticed that Stella had returned, and she was eating a pretzel.
"Pretty dress." Stella pointed to the one Olivia was holding.
"You see? Even Stella thinks it's nice! Now you need to get it." Mo argued.
"But, I like this one better." Olivia went off to show them another one.
"I swear if there are any flowers on that dress, I'm ripping it up." Stella shouted over to her, causing some of the other customers to stare at her.
"Fine, I'm putting it back." Olivia said, defeated. "I'll get the stupid dress, but I won't have enough money for shoes."
"Use an old pair or use a pair of my secret heels that I hide from my father." Mo clapped her hands and chose a dress from the 'maybe' pile that they all liked and they went to the till. "Trust me, you'll look gorgeous. I think a certain red-headed boy we know would be impressed." Mo winked at Olivia and Stella started laughing.
"Why would he be impressed?" Olivia asked, but she didn't get a reply.
When they were ready, they headed out to the party. It was New Year's Eve and Lemonade Mouth was performing for some rich person's party. Olivia decided not to let anyone know about her leukemia and that she would continue performing until it got too bad. After Livin' On A High Wire, the last song they were supposed to perform, they started partying too. When it got to 11.50, Olivia went onto the deck of the house.
"Imagine, this person's house is so big, he managed to have a concert in it." Olivia heard Wen say. She turned around and noticed him coming towards her.
"I know, it's crazy." She said.
"Are you okay?" Wen asked.
"Yeah, I just can't stop thinking about what if this is going to be my last New Year's Eve?" Olivia started crying.
"It won't, you have at least three." Wen said, even though he knew it wasn't comforting.
"I haven't experienced much in my life." She sighed.
"You're in a band, toured the whole of America and had to go through the pain of losing two parents, I'm pretty sure you've experienced a lot more than most of the people at this party." Wen said to her.
"Not like that. I never had a birthday party, never been to a sleepover, never been kissed, never went to that cool festival that comes during summer, never had a real boyfriend." She laughed at her choice of words. Ever since The Music Scene, she had to pretend to be dating Wen. She still stood by protecting Mo and Scott, but she does regret it a little.
"How about you stop pretending?" Wen asked.
"What do you mean?" Olivia asked, confused. Wen walked up to her and kissed her gently. At first, she was shocked, but she kissed him back, more passionately. They would have stayed like that, but they were interrupted by their friends. There was a few 'awws' and a few 'I told you so' but they were all happy for them. They started the countdown together, hand in hand.
"10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" They all shouted.
"To the best year so far." Olivia said and they all cheered.
…
"Olivia, your friends are here. Olivia?" Her gram called from downstairs.
"Be down in a second." Olivia shouted down and ran to the bathroom across from her room. She started getting sick again and Wen must have heard her, because he ran straight to the bathroom.
"I'm okay now." Olivia said, getting up.
"You're still getting sick?" Wen asked.
"It's a symptom. I'm used to it. I try not to make a big deal because I know I'll scare gram." Olivia went over to the sink and brushed her teeth. Wen went back to the group.
"Um, she'll be down in a second. I guess we should go wait for her outside." Wen told the group and they sat down on the grass.
"Spill it Gifford." Stella said. They all stared at him as he sat down beside them.
It had been a year since she was diagnosed. She was getting worse, but she kept hiding it from everyone. She realized that she would be going soon, so she didn't want to bore them with stories of how she was sick.
"She was getting sick again, it's okay." Wen told them.
"It's okay? How is that okay?" Mo asked.
"She's been through fainting and coughing up blood. This is nothing compared to those." Wen added.
"Yes, so if we can keep it that way it would be nice." Olivia said as she sat down beside Wen.
"Sorry." They all mumbled.
"So, what is everyone doing here?" Olivia asked, smiling.
"We were planning on a writing session, haven't done one in a while." Charlie told her. For someone so dim, he was great at lying, that's what Wen always said. Truth was, she didn't leave the house for weeks, and they were worried about her. Wen visited every day, but she saw no one else.
"Oh, well I wrote a song a few days ago. Do you want to hear it?" Olivia asked.
"Yeah, sounds good." Scott smiled and she went inside to get her notebook.
"Good thinking Charlie. She probably would have been angry if she knew that we were just here to check up on her." Mo said to Charlie.
"She's wrote loads of songs, they're all really good." Wen informed the group.
"Really? Well, she did have a lot of time to do it." Stella added.
"Okay, I got it." Olivia came back and sat down again. She opened it up and showed Wen.
"Are you going to sing or play 'Pass the Parcel' with it?" Stella joked.
"Fine." Olivia stuck her tongue out and laughed along with everyone else.
"If there's an ocean
It's just a puddle
That I've got to get across
Any mountain, I'll climb over
Like a kid on the monkey bars
I know you're out there somewhere
I know you miss me just like I miss you
No matter what, I'll get there
And you know I'll never stop
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
You know I'll find you, I'm never far behind you
I swear these words are true
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
Can you hear me?
Hear me calling?
I know sometimes it's tough
To hold on, keep believing
When you don't feel strong enough
Everyone out there gets scared
You know I love you
Just like you love me
No matter what, I'll get there
Ain't no way I'll ever stop
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
You know I'll find you, I'm never far behind you
I swear these words are true
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
Every minute
I'm getting closer
I'm gonna show you
Any second
I'll walk through that door
Here I come, yeah
Oh, here I come
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you
You know I'll find you, I'm never far behind you
I swear these words are true
I'm gonna run, run, run, run, run
I'm gonna run to you.
"So, what do you guys think?" Olivia asked, her cheeks blushing.
"Wow. It's amazing." Mo clapped and they all clapped along with her.
"It should go on the next album!" Stella suggested. They all stared at her in shock. "Oh, did I forget to mention that we were asked to do another album?"
"That's amazing!" Wen gasped.
"You know what this calls for, right?" Charlie asked. They all stared at him, with no clue what he was on about. "Lemonade!"
"Ooooh."
…
"Come on, it will be fun!" Wen said to Olivia, who was still in her pajamas.
"I can't." She moaned.
"Why not?" Wen asked.
"Because I don't have the energy to do it. It took everything I had to get out of bed to answer the door. Go without me."
"No. Look, I know you're sick, but you need to go. It comes once a year and you did complain about not going there before. For me?" Wen asked.
"I hate you." Olivia threw a pillow at him as she got up to get dressed.
"Love you too." Wen said sarcastically.
Even though they were young, they got into the habit of saying 'I love you' to each other, in fear that she wouldn't make it to the next day. As she went downstairs, he smiled at her.
"You look gorgeous." Wen kissed her and led her to his car.
"It's too warm, let's walk." She suggested.
"Are you sure?" Wen asked.
"Come on, if I get tired you can give me a piggy-back." She laughed.
"Well, I made you go out of the house, so deal." He put his hand in hers and they started walking.
When they got there, she got so excited. He knew this excitement probably wasn't good for her, but she deserved to be happy once in a while. She went to every stall, and there were a lot. They were selling different types of food, home-made jeweler, plants, furniture, clothing and lots more, but the only things she bought was a new notebook and a picture of her and Wen from that day in a fancy frame.
"For more songs?" Wen asked.
"Yeah." She smiled, but Wen knew she was lying. He was too happy to try figure what she was up to, so he let it slip.
They walked down the beach, and went on lots of the rides. She was scared and kept holding onto him. He was scared too, but he wouldn't admit it. They spent the whole day and she loved it. They finally got home at six pm.
"Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek as he opened the car door to drive home.
"For what?" Wen asked.
"This was just what I needed." She smiled and walked inside. She went upstairs and started writing again.
" There's a street, there's my right, my left feet,
There's a road of nowhere that ends meet.
I've got the sun, I've got the sand,
I've got that rock 'n' roll band,
Here I stand!
I've told you that when the morning comes,
I'll be there my left hand in your right one.
This is my this is my paradise,
I'm at home above all I got it by
Let the sun on my shoulder shine!
We can run beneath this clear piece of sky,
This is my paradise!
Lemonade, summer games we remember,
Colder days with a haze in December
Let's get some groove
Going through with being too cold to move,
Sunshine is overdue.
I'm breaking out in my summer dress, yea!
I'm singing, I'm dancing, I'm obsessed, yea!
This is my paradise,
I'm at home above all I got it by
Let the sun on my shoulder shine!
We can run beneath this clear piece of sky,
This is my paradise!
Breaking the waves out on the sand
And I still hear that band,
Knowing tomorrow comes I'm not scared,
Cuz I know sunshine's gonna be there.
This is my, this is my paradise!
This is my, this is my paradise!
This is my, this is my paradise!
I'm at home above all I got it by,
Let the sun on my shoulder shine,
We can run beneath this clear piece of sky.
This is my Paradise!"
She closed the notebook, stared at the picture and smiled, turned her light off, and went to sleep.
…
It was close to three years, and she was still around. She was still staying at home unless they dragged her out or if she had to do something for the band. Their second album went straight to number one, and This Is My Paradise went straight to number one as well, which she thought was sweet.
One day, she heard a knock on the door and when she opened it, she saw Wen in a suit.
"Okay, I never see you in them unless it's a special occasion. What's up?" Olivia asked.
"Get dressed, I'm taking you out." He smiled.
She was too curious to decline because she felt sick, so she ran upstairs and looked at her clothing. She wanted to hide the bruises that were appearing on her skin, from the leukemia. She put on a pair of jeans and a fancy t-shirt. She followed him into the car, and even though she kept asking where they were going, he wouldn't give an answer. Finally, he pulled up in the park and took out a picnic from the car.
"Your gram made this, so you can already tell that it will taste good." Wen said as he sat down on the grass.
"Yeah, cooking runs in the family." Olivia admitted.
"So do you cook?" Wen asked.
"No I'm terrible." Olivia replied.
"You're probably just being modest, like when you told me you couldn't write, but you proved us all wrong."
"I set the oven on fire once." Olivia started laughing and Wen did too.
"That bad? I thought Sydney was bad!" He joked and she slapped his arm.
After they were finished, he went to the car to get something. Olivia closed her eyes and lay down on the grass, full from all the food she consumed.
"I know this is sudden, but Olivia White, will you marry me?" Wen asked. Olivia sat up straight away and saw that Wen was down on one knee and with a ring in his hand.
"What? Wen, don't you remember? I have about a year left, at most. Be happy I made it this far. The engagement, or marriage, won't last long. If you stick with me for much longer, you'll be stuck with me through the tough times that will come. Run away now while you can."
"Livy, I'm not asking you because I have to, I'm asking you because I've always dreamed of becoming your husband. I want to be there with you through the tough times. I want to support you during the tough times. I'm doing that now, right?. What's so bad about loving you for the rest of your life?" He notices the tears that start streaming down her face. He pulls her in closer, and she starts sobbing into his chest. This is the first time she cried this much since finding out.
"You really mean all of that?" Olivia asked, after she stopped crying.
"I love you with my whole heart. Knowing that I got to marry you, would help me get through the loss."
"Then, yes. Yes I'll marry you!" She jumped into his arms and he kissed her.
It turns out, he already spoke to her gram and the band, and they all agreed it was a good idea.
The only person who didn't think that was Olivia.
…
The ceremony was beautiful. It was in Olivia's garden, because they had so many good memories there and it was big enough. She wore a long dress to cover the bruises that had multiplied. Mo and Stella helped her pick it out. After the ceremony, they all had food in the house. Wen and Olivia were sitting at the table where they wrote Determinate and lots of other songs, talking.
"I can't believe I lasted this long." Olivia sighed in relief.
"I can't believe you actually married me." Wen laughed.
"Why wouldn't I? You're the Prince Charming I always dreamed of." Olivia smiled and kissed him.
It started to rain and they went inside to join everyone else.
…
They bought a house a few days after the wedding which was close to Olivia's gram. They were a proper married couple now. They were both very happy, even though Olivia's condition kept getting worse. He was always there for her, to try lift her spirits when she was ready to give up.
"It was four years today I was diagnosed with it and I'm still around." Olivia smiled as she sat down beside Wen on the sofa.
"I love you Mrs. Gifford." He smiled and kissed her.
"I still love getting called Olivia Gifford." She said which made him laugh.
"It suits you."
"It does! You better go then, you don't want to be late for the lads, do you?" Olivia gets up and helps Wen up.
"But I'm comfy here with you." He moaned.
"I'm going to gram's house, she's a little lonely. Now go!" She kissed him one last time and they both left the house.
…
"Wen, she passed out. We're in an ambulance, meet us at the hospital!" Her gram panicked in the phone. It was a couple of months after they moved in together, and she was close to four and a half years.
"What? I'm on my way." Wen said and he hung up. "Olivia's in the hospital."
"Oh my god! Is she okay?" Charlie asked.
"Probably not. She's going into the hospital." Stella slapped him on the arm. They were all meeting up to plan Olivia's surprise birthday party. The only person who wasn't planning was her gram, so she could keep her busy. They all rushed to the hospital and they were brought into Olivia's room. She was barely awake, while her gram was saying her goodbyes. Wen stood there, staring at what was happening, letting it all sink in. After a few minutes, her gram let him go in to say goodbye.
"Thanks for taking care of me these past few years. You won't have to deal with it anymore." She tried to laugh, but she started coughing.
"Don't even think like that, I loved every second of doing it." Wen tried to keep the tears from falling.
"Remember the day at the beach?" Olivia asked him. "The notebook that I got, I used it for my goodbyes. Read yours and give everyone else theirs will you?"
"Sure." He knows there is no point in denying that she doesn't need to say goodbye.
"Move on. Find someone who deserves you, who'll love you more than I did. Don't be afraid to move on because of me."
"I don't want to move on Olivia." Wen started crying as he sat down beside her bed.
"No, you need to stay strong. Things will get better. I'll be waiting for you, hopefully for a long time." She put her hand on his cheek. "Would you change any of what happened?"
"Anything if it meant we had more time." Wen rested his head on the pillow beside her.
"Please, don't go."
"I'm staying right here sweetie."
"I love you so much. I'm sorry for putting you through the goodbye."
"You're worth it. Livy, please don't give up. You can fight it, I know you. You're strong. Don't leave me, please. I love you so much."
"I love you." She closed her eyes and, maybe she was sleeping. He was hoping she was, but he knew, she wasn't. He couldn't leave.
"I love you." He kissed her forehead and he had to go tell the rest the bad news.
…
"Five years. That's how long it's been since you told me the worst news ever, but it was the start of the most amazing years of my life." Wen said as he got closer to his usual spot. "I hope you don't mind, but I brought some company with me today."
Mo, Scott, Stella and Charlie followed him and sat down beside the old grave.
"We decided to open our letters today." Mo said and sat down beside Wen.
They all opened theirs the same time, all crying. Wen took a deep breath and started to read his.
Dearest Wendell,
You always knew the right thing to say, so I hope I don't screw this up! Remember, when we were backstage at So Random! getting our costumes on for the Harry Potter sketch, and I kept complaining about the wig? You told me that I still managed to look pretty with the big fuzzy wig. Remember when we wrote Determinate and you told me that you liked my smile? I remember them, plus more of the great times we shared together. These are what get me through the times I'm so close to giving up. So, thank you. I'm sorry we couldn't have the future that Scott and Mohini will have and the one that Stella and Charlie will have, but I hope you can find it with someone else.
Remember when my cousin Lily showed up when she was three? She asked me, "Do you love Wen?" and I replied with, "To the moon and stars, and all the way around the world." She laughed at me and said the obvious, 'boys have cooties' thing. It's true though. I do love you to the moon and stars, and all the way around the world. If you want to put it in science terms, my love for you could not be defined. Well, I'm not sure that's a science term. You know I'm no good at science! Went off track, anyways, what I really wanted to say was; Thank you. Thank you for being the amazing you that you always are and thank you for helping me when I'm down.
I know this is hard to read, and believe me, it was harder to write. This is the third try since the others got smudged with teardrops. I couldn't imagine life without you and luckily you stuck by me and I will forever be grateful to you.
Love always,
Olivia Gifford.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
P.S. Still loving the last name!
The others had gone by the time he finally finished the letter. He kept getting too teary eyed to read it.
"I love you to the moon, to the stars, around the solar system and then back all around the world." He laughed while he dried his tears. "Not as catchy as yours, is it?" It started to rain and he took out his umbrella.
"Goodbye."
This is the first story I wrote for them, so because I didn't want it to focus on couples, I just mentioned two that I liked. Still haven't decided who I like Stella with more!
Hope you enjoyed and again, please review!