Chapter Forty-One

-Miku-

"Is that everything?" Gumi asks, her hand desperately trying to compress all of the clothes that she packed into a single green suitcase.

"Yeah," I sigh, melancholy dripping down the corners of my mind. However, a part of my heart still shines brightly like the sun, but I guess it's not bright enough to reach the darker corners of my mind.

Last night I slept uneasily- in fact, I hardly slept a wink at all. The idea of having to sleep without having Piko just down the hall pained me. It didn't sit well with me at all. Knowing I'd have to go on without him made my blood rise and gave me this terrible, indescribable discomfort.

It hurt.

However, just like there's a bright side to every situation, there's a good feeling here too. He was right- there are dreams I want to chase, and both Piko and I don't want him to hold me down. It's a tough decision to make, but it's one that we made together. That's one of the things I like about Piko- he makes me feel so mature in situations like these. God, I'm gonna miss the kid.

"Miku!" Gumi tugs on the zipper of her suitcase, "My zipper's stuck! Help!" she groans, yanking on it one last time before she takes a second to relax.

"You're pretty anxious to leave, aren't you, Gumi?"

"Anything to get away from this place," she jokes.

"Well, aren't you gonna miss things about it?" I remind her. She doesn't answer, though she sort of pulls her face up into a squinty smile. Before she has a chance to answer, the doorbell rings rather loudly.

"I've got it!" I hear Piko's voice from down the hall, followed by the sound of footsteps creaking on the stairs. Only lightly tickling my ears is the sound of laughter and talking from the downstairs hallway. I let out a sigh and zip up Gumi's suitcase for her.

"Are you ready to go?" I ask her.

"One-hundred percent," she grins. I shake my head and smile too. "I think that everyone is waiting for us downstairs."

Turns out, she's right. After our trip down the stairs (Gumi almost dropped her suitcase on me), I watched as Piko exchanged hugs, handshakes, and pats on the back with my friends. What really grabs my attention is the fact that Miki's there too, doing exactly the same.

"Hey!" Gumi greets them all, exchanging smiles with the entire group. For some reason, it's a bit hard for me to even curve my lips up. They only curve in into a distorted grimace. Miki looks up at me and raises an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?" Miki tries to cease her laughter, Piko appearing at her shoulder.

"Miku…" Piko tilts his head as he shakes it slowly.

"Don't ever forget me!" Miki wipes a fake tear from the corner of her lined eye. She then giggles as she pulls me into a hug. "Really, though… I'm going to miss you! You were a really good model and an even better friend," she says.

"I'm gonna miss you so much, Miki," I break away from her hug with sad eyes. "But do one thing for me," I whisper in her ear behind my cupped hand, "Keep Piko company. Be a good friend to him, okay?"

She nods, "Of course."

"And Piko…" my eyes soften upon speaking his name. I can hardly even look him in the eyes.

"Oh, come here, Miku," he pulls me into what may be our last hug. I feel his breath tickling my skin as he whispers softly in my ear, "I knew I couldn't keep you forever."

I draw in a breath as I pull away. "Hey, Piko… Remember something for me, okay?" I take his nod as an 'okay' to go on. "When one door closes, another one always opens, alright?" He raises an eyebrow and looks up at me through the silky white hair covering his eyes.

"You mean…?" he almost can't get the words out. I nod.

"One more thing," I lean forward, "Keep Miki company. Be a good friend to her, okay?" I make sure Miki can't hear me as I give him the same words that I gave her. "Now let me go home, shota!" I giggle, pulling away from his face as I flick the signature oddly-shaped strand of snowy hair that sticks up on his head.

"Aww," Miki coos, a duplicitous grin rising on her face. She then giggles again as she flicks Piko's hair too.

"Hey, quit!" Piko protests, flicking Miki's perky nose in return. Miki flinches as her hands spas out all over Piko's face.

"You quit!" she whines with a laugh.

"Oh gosh," I raise my eyebrows and shake my head, "I'm almost afraid to leave you two alone," I joke, looking them both in the eye. They both laugh in return, but I can hear a bit of sadness dripping from their voices. "Hey," I offer with a shrug, "You're both gonna have tons of fun without me." I see the grin on Miki's face. "But not too much fun, that'd be awkward for when I come back next year," I wink at the both of them.

"You're coming back next year?" Miki gasps, her whole face lighting up.

"I dunno," I check my nails, "But let's just say… YOU HAVEN'T SEEN THE LAST OF ME YET!" I practically throw my suitcase out the front door and slam it behind me with an evil grin. My answer is mere silence. I swing open the door. "Okay, that was a terrible goodbye, let me try that again," I bite my lip.

"Miku, you're almost as weird as I am," Miki shakes her head.

"I try," I shrug. "Now look, you guys. It's hard to believe that it's only been a week, but looking back on it now, I realized… time flies when you're having fun… even though I guess that goes against my point since this week felt like forever, but-"

"Miku, where is this going?" Piko rolls his eyes with a laugh.

"I don't know…" I suddenly heave a sigh as I kiss the silly attitude farewell. "I really wish it would last forever, but well… forever's not nearly as long as you'd ever hope for it be, so… I guess I'll just say goodbye…" I drag on. "God, am I bad at this. Okay…" I press my fingers together.

"Bye, Miku," Miki starts, tapping me on the shoulder.

"Bye, Miki," I echo.

"Bye, Miku," Piko grins, tapping me on the shoulder too.

"Bye, Piko," I nod.

Suddenly, Piko wraps me up into a quick kiss.

"You guys are gross," Miki spits, "At least I won't have to see that again until next year." And with that, I was met with a door slammed in my face, but on the other side of it, I heard giggles and muffled chatter. It wasn't long before I was smiling too, picking up my suitcase and moving on.

And from there, it went on. Over time, Gumi had learned to forgive Kaito for whatever it was that he did, and the twins finally fixed their identity problems (turns out, Len had this awkward crush on Rin, but that's fixed now). The only problem is that they're not willing to leave each other's side. I thought it was cute. Luka's leg is in perfect condition now. She's actually gone on to fashion design, saying that all the cute stuff in Paris was the most chic inspiration that she's ever had. And the things that she's making… Elles sont belles!Aside from forgiving Kaito, Gumi actually started taking French lessons. She loved it, and still does. And best of all, our friends overseas are still in touch with us. Miki says she visited America and got me a gift. I can't wait to see everyone again…

But until then, au revoir!

Wow. This has been a great last chapter. May I say... this had to be one of the most fun stories that I've ever written on FF, and to think- it's only my second fanfic (I've got a long way to go)! I'm so thankful for all the reviews and follows that I've gotten over time, and to be honest, I never thought that this fic would get so popular. I hope I didn't end it too abruptly (p.s., Miku and Kaito got that ice-cream, too).

Funny story (keep reading if you don't mind knowing a bit about me)...

I actually love to sing and write songs. So much. Music is all that I live on. Since like... what? March?, I've been looking for a song to represent as the "theme song" for Miku and Piko's relationship in SS16. With no luck at the time, I decided to wait it out, and guess what? I actually wrote this song called 180 Dates that fits them perfectly. I was just about to give up looking for the song when I realized it was RIGHT in front of me!

Literally, I was in the middle of recording background vocals for it (ahaha it's awesome)

Oh gosh, I feel like I'm blabbing on!

Thanks for reading anyway! :)

Ashrox37... out!