Brad bounced the rubber ball against the wall, watching it collide with the floor before returning back to his hand. He repeated the process, trying to focus on the basic task. He felt secure in the tiny, patted room. Only a bed rested in the corner of the room, nothing more to ensure he didn't hurt himself.

He was desperate for one thing only - to get better. Not only for his sake, but for Chester and the band's as well. He wanted to push past this chapter in his life, not being able to take the torment anymore as memories flashed through his head. He remembered all the times he hurt Chester and himself, it was too much to bare. Only hope surfaced his thoughts and brought light amongst the angst and pain he had put everyone and himself through. He saw a light at the end of a tunnel for the first time since he felt that immense pain that never left until now.

The band knew things were getting better the moment Brad began showing more innocent affection and care towards his friends and himself. The scars began to fade and the band wanted to ask how he was able to progress so fast, but didn't want to disrupt.

'How are you overcoming this so quickly?'

The unasked question had the most obvious answer of all - the support of his friends. If the band hadn't forgiven him, he was sure that he would've hanged himself in the room the first night. Knowing that he had something to fall back on once he got out of the mental facility was something worth living for. The thought that he still had people who loved him was the only force driving him to push forward.

Brad sighed contently as he snuggled onto the bed. He didn't care if the room was cold, the warmth in his heart was all he needed to help him sleep. The thought of his friends acted like a thick, comforter, which brought enough heat to drag him into a restful sleep.

~

Mike felt Chester cuddle closer to him as they laid together in their king-sized bed. He felt a sense of fullness with the vocalist by his side, safe in his arms. He wanted to squeeze him tightly and beg him to never leave him like that again, but remained still. He was too focused on the fact that Chester was there, with him, to surprise the singer with a sudden burst of happiness.

The presence of the vocalist left Mike in a state of awe. He still wasn't sure if this was all real, not knowing if Chester was actually still in the mental facility and he was just having vivid hallucinations. He knew Chester was safe in the facility, but he didn't belong anywhere other than in Mike's arms. His stomach felt settled and at peace as he glanced over at the man next to him. Mike thought back to when he found Chester, barely breathing, which had been the reason for him being put in the watch in the first place.

~

"Chaz? You here?" Mike called out in the house, not receiving a response. He frowned, that familiar ping in his stomach that alarmed him whenever he felt Chester was hurt went off. He suddenly grew nervous and broke into a stiff tremble.

He wondered up the stairs and to the bedroom, still not seeing anything proving Chester was even home. He was certain, although, and pushed forward. He went towards the bathroom, hearing staggering breathes struggling to get through to whoever was gasping for air. Mike quickly rushed towards the figure passed out on the floor.

"Chester!" Mike practically screamed at the unconscious figure. He quickly dialed for an ambulance, noticing the nearly empty bag of cocaine on the counter, a few rows of the drug being left out on the counter. Chester must've bashed his head on the corner when he went down, as blood coated the corner and Chester's forehead. Mike tried not to sob, but couldn't help himself and held his dying boyfriend close to him as he waited for the ambulance to arrive.

~

Mike suddenly decided he couldn't sleep amongst the thought of finding Chester overdosing. He noticed the singer was already asleep and decided not to disturb him. He left the room, stopping before heading downstairs as he noticed his friends hadn't left from their visit from earlier that day, as they knew neither Mike or Chester would mind - as long as they didn't care if they happened to hear suggestive sounds erupting from the Bennoda couple's bedroom. Mike took a seat on the floor on the upper level, still having a clear view of his friends.

"Brad's doing so well," Phoenix said confidently, gaining the attention of the others. Joe was resting on the couch, next to him, and nodded softly, looking over to Rob, who silently agreed as he sat on the oversized chair. "I'm actually proud of him. I thought that after everything that happened, I'd hate him, but... I don't. I'm not sure what that says about me as a person."

Mike, who was still silently listening on, quietly slipped away, thoughts buzzing through his head. He had to agree with what Phoenix had said. He didn't hate Brad like he thought he would, he still remembered him as the friend he used to know. He wasn't a huge villain, he just made a huge mistake. Though Mike still didn't necessarily forgive him, he knew that one day, everything would be alright. Brad would have a lot of making up to do, but for now, everything was the way it was meant to be.

Mike returned next to Chester and laced his arm over his lover's thin body. He pulled him closer to himself and snuggled his nose into his hair. He couldn't help but smile as the familiar scent of Chester surrounded him. It was the first time he genuinely felt like everything would be okay. Perhaps it was meant to be this way.

~

A/N: Well, there it is! The ending! I hope you noticed that this final chapter mirrors the first and hopefully that makes up for the lack of more story and adds a sense of depth. I originally wanted this story to be the average, around 20 some chapters, but decided that with all the stories I'm writing and collab stories, at least one of them had to end. I hope you enjoyed this fic and will check out the other stories I'm currently writing! Thank you so much for reading, voting, commenting, etc. I truly do appreciate it. <3