Don't Forget

Ch. 9

AN 1: And the final chapter of Don't Forget is here! I hope I'm not too hated because of the cliffhanger of the last chapter, and I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I went in and edited a lot of it, so I really hope it is appreciated. Thank you a million times to the people who followed/reviewed this story. It means a lot. And for anyone who commented on how they loved it...you guys are awesome. Thank you so much. And this is the spot where I once again say that I do not own anything - because I don't. However, I do own the storyline. Without any further delay, here's the last chapter of Don't Forget. Enjoy guys!

Alex's P.O.V.

I arrived in Philadelphia around eight at night, only a few blocks away from my destination. Burying my hands in my jacket pockets, I made my way over to the concert. My heart was already pounding violently in my chest. What would I say? Would she even want to talk to me? I felt my hands trembling in my pockets and clenched them tightly, willing the shaking to stop.

After a short walk, I found myself outside of the Bryce Jordan Center. Come on, Russo, I thought, willing my legs to carry me towards the door. After moving towards the back of the building, I came up and knocked on a door that I hoped led backstage. Shane's face greeted mine after the second knock. "Thank God," he muttered, passing a hand over his face tiredly. "I realized I didn't give you any way to let me know you were here or anything after we hung up, but Mitchie made me give her phone back. I've been wandering around checking the backstage entrances for an hour now." He pulled me inside hurriedly. "Okay," he said once I was inside. "Mitchie's room is the second door on the left, and she just started, so it'll be a while."

My face must have shown the mixture of relief and disappointment I felt, because Shane let out a laugh. "Don't worry," he assured me. "You can watch her perform from the TV in her room." How he guessed that this is what I was wanting was beyond me, but I was grateful for his reassurances nonetheless.

He led me to her room, turning to leave after he had shown me in. "Um, Alex?"

"Yeah?" I asked, tearing my eyes away from the room and turning back to face him.

"Thanks. For doing this, I mean. It means a lot to me," Shane said sincerely. A wave of understanding washed through me as he said this; he cared about Mitchie too. Not in the same way that I did, but he cared nonetheless. Unable to really express my thoughts, I simply smiled slightly as he closed the door and left me standing alone in the brightly lit dressing room.

I settled on the couch, eyes trained on the TV. "Now if I could just figure out what I'm going to say," I said aloud, then groaned. I really needed to get my act together. What was I supposed to say? "Hey, Mitchie, I know I dumped you, but that's all in the past now. Please take me back?" I bit my lip. Even in my head that sounded beyond lame.

"I wrote this song while on tour, and it's the first time I'm playing it at a concert, so bear with me." Mitchie said, and I couldn't help but smile at the sheepish look on her face. Slowly, she started strumming.

Did you forget

That I was even alive

Did you forget

Everything we ever had

Did you forget

Did you forget

About me

Did you regret

Ever standing by my side

Did you forget

What we were feeling inside

Now I'm left to forget

About us

But somewhere we went wrong

We were once so strong

Our love is like a song

You can't forget it

So now I guess

This is where we have to stand

Did you regret

Ever holding my hand

Never again

Please don't forget

Don't forget

We had it all

We were just about to fall

Even more in love

Than we were before

I won't forget

I won't forget

About us

But somewhere we went wrong

We were once so strong

Our love is like a song

You can't forget it

Suddenly, the slow pace of the song altered, and a rock anthem started up. I found my heart breaking a little bit more as I watched the tears making their way down Mitchie's face. I knew the girl I was seeing perform better than I knew myself, despite having only really known her for a week. She had written this song after I walked away from her, possibly that same night.

Somewhere we went wrong

We were once so strong

Our love is like a song

You can't forget it

At all

The song slowed back down, and I felt tears making their way down my face as well. How I could have been so incredibly stupid was beyond me. It was obvious now that we were both miserable without each other.

And at last

All the pictures have been burned

And all the past

Is just a lesson that we've learned

I won't forget

I won't forget us

But somewhere we went wrong

We were once so strong

Our love is like a song

But you won't sing along

You've forgotten

About us

"Good night everybody, you've been amazing! Thank you so much," Mitchie called, making her way backstage. Crap, I thought, ducking into her closet. Fingers crossed she doesn't look in here, I thought, hastily burying myself among all the clothes.

I heard the door open, then close, and then, nothing but silence. Cautiously, I peeked out of her closet and found her back to me. I swallowed nervously. "Mitchie?" I called, my voice shaking slightly as I stepped out from behind a coat. She gasped, from what I could tell, shocked, and spun around.

"Alex?" she said disbelievingly. I nodded, throat too tight to speak. Now that I saw her up close, I noticed the dark, bruise-like shadows under her eyes, and I feel another wave of guilt and remorse well up inside me. I caused this, I realized. Vaguely, I wondered if I looked much better, although I somehow doubted I did.

I took a step towards her, reaching out for her hand out of habit. She tensed, and looked like she was about to hit me. "If you're going to hit me," I said calmly, although my insides felt like they were doing the world's wildest conga, both from the nerves and pleasure of seeing her again. "I won't stop you. I know I deserve it."

Her eyes filled with tears again, and I almost wished she had hit me. "Hey," I guided her to the couch and gently sat her down. She didn't flinch away from my touch as I did so, which gave me a small measure of hope.

"Why?" she asked in a broken voice. "Why did you leave me?"

The little bit of my heart that wasn't already shattered was crushed by her voice. "Mitchie," I whispered. "I'm an excellent liar; I had to be, otherwise you never would have believed me." Her head jerked up at that, and I hurriedly went on, mentally kicking myself for how that sentence had sounded. "When I first met you, I felt an instant connection with you. Why else would I offer to show you around? I wasn't lying when I said you made me the happiest I've ever been. I mean, I never really bother with people. It takes a lot for me to really open up to someone new. It was never that way with you. But I did lie," I put a finger under her chin and tilted her face towards me, "when I said I couldn't be with you anymore. That was the hardest thing I've ever done."

"But, why, if-" she asked, her deep mahogany eyes searching mine.

I cut her off gently. "Mitchie," I sighed. "I'm a selfish person by nature. What I see, I typically get. But you, you make me want to be different. Be good, if that's possible for me. I thought I was protecting you when I walked away. I thought I was protecting your career. I wanted what's best for you. I always will."

She sniffed, and I took the opportunity to brush the pad of my thumb across her cheek, tenderly wiping away the tears there. "But now I see that all I did was hurt you. Shane called me, told me how depressed you were, and knocked some sense into me." I moved off the couch so that I was kneeling in front of her and gripped her hands tightly. "Tell me you didn't do anything bad," I pleaded, desperately hoping that I hadn't shattered the wonderful girl in front of me beyond repair.

She looked away, but not before I caught the flash of pain on her face. "I wanted to," she confessed softly. "There were so many times I almost slipped back into bad habits, but I couldn't do it. Shane was acting like a very overprotective guard dog for most of the past month." Her lips twitched into a self-deprecating smile.

I sighed in relief and allowed myself a small smile at her words. "He's a pretty good guy, you know," I stated.

She nodded. "He's like the big brother I never had," she admitted softly.

I found myself trailing my fingers gently over her arms as she spoke, causing her eyelids to flutter shut. "Mitchie, I know I let you down, but if you give me another chance I'll do everything I can possibly do to make this – make us – right again." She opened her eyes and I could see the doubt flickering through them. I smiled, trying to lighten the mood. "I could never forget about us, even if I wanted to. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

She shook her head, causing my smile to fade. "I tried to call you. You never answered."

"I didn't," I agreed. "I couldn't; I wasn't strong enough to pretend I was doing fine when really I was a wreck. I could lie to my family, but not to you." Time to leave everything on the table, I decided, and took a deep breath, before speaking the words I had been dying to say to her since the first day I met her. "I love you."

She must have finally seen the open honesty in my gaze, because she replied, "I love you, too."

I kissed the back of her hand, and looked into her amazingly warm brown eyes. "So, Mitchie Torres, would you be my girlfriend?"

She kissed me, soft and deep. "Yes," she whispered once the kiss was over. I smiled widely.

"Good," I said, and stood to spin in a circle giddily. "She took me back," I crowed, my arms outstretched beside me, causing her to burst into giggles. I pulled her off of the couch and into my arms before kissing her again, gently. "I really wasn't going to take no for an answer anyways," I admitted after it was over.

She laughed and looked at me with bright, hopeful eyes. "So, you didn't forget?"

"Never." I said, looping my arms around her neck. "I love you too much to be able to do that."

Her answering grin caused my heart to melt. "I don't want you to forget," she mumbled as she buried her face in my neck.

"I won't forget about us," I murmured back, repeating her song back to her before I closed my eyes. Whatever else happened, we would face it together. We had found our way back to each other, and I knew I couldn't let the girl in my arms go again. All was right in the world.

Our love is like a song

You can't forget it

I won't forget about us

AN 2: Well there it is. That's the end for this story. I hope you guys liked it, and am in the process of working on a new multi-chapter story, so be on the lookout for that. Once again, a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed/commented on this story. I hope it was enjoyed. Pretty please review/comment, and I will be back with a new story as soon as possible.