I have never met Team Starkid. I love them all and this is just fiction, none of it is true.

Lauren's POV

A blast of cold air blew in my face as I pushed the hospital door open, even though it was only the beginning of October. Despite the circumstances I was coming out here, I couldn't help but admire the view. The hospital was placed right next to the beautiful Lake Michigan. It was these little things that made me miss Michigan and Chicago so much. New York was nice in its own way, but the Midwest was home.

The man I was looking for was standing on the other side of the parking lot, staring at the lake.

"Brian?" I approached him cautiously. He didn't answer. "Bri," I now grabbed his hand. He turned to face me, his blue eyes filled with tears.

"Why does she have to go through this?" He asked, barely loud enough for me to hear. "She doesn't deserve this."

"Oh, Brian…" I felt my heart break in sadness as I hugged him. "Oh, sweetie, I know it's hard. But you know what? It would make it so much easier for her if you went back inside. She needs you there, you're her son."

The 26 year old backed out of our hug, although our hands were still entwined. He wiped his eyes with his free hand. "I'm just scared. They said she's going to die. I don't want my mommy to die."

Holding back my own tears, I assured him, "She won't. If they really thought she would die, she wouldn't be getting this surgery right now, would she? God will do the right thing for your mom. Now will you, and come back upstairs?"

Brian didn't answer out loud, but started leading me back to the heated building.

"I miss Michigan. When Starkid gets back together we totally need to move to Ann Arbor." Brian said to me as he pressed the elevator button.

"I was just thinking the same thing." I replied with a small smile. He seemed so assured that our group would reunite. Well, like I said just minutes before, God will does the right thing for us. And we all know that breaking up wasn't the right thing.

By the time we got to Gail Holden's room, she was back from the surgery. Sleeping in the hospital bed, I couldn't help but notice how small she looked. Her straight gray hair wasn't gone yet, but instead was sticking up in all different directions. Her skinny wrinkled arms were wrapped tightly around the blankets. I really hoped that the right thing was her living.

The ride back from Traverse City three days later was quiet. As Brian's fiancé, I felt like it was my duty to cheer him up.

Pulling into the semi-full parking lot of the Walgreen Drama Center, I couldn't help but smile. It still felt like home. Man, I wish Michigan had a graduate program.

"Brian! Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!" I yelled, shaking the man sleeping in the passenger seat.
"Wha?" He jumped up and banged his head on the roof of the rental car. "What the hell? Why are we here?"

"Surprise! Come on, let's get out!" I squealed and basically leaped out of the car. "Ali says that the shows for 24 hour theatre are playing later today!"

"So what are we going to do until then?" Brian asked me, looking skeptical.

"Don't you remember what we did in college at all?!" I asked, grabbing his hand and started dragging him to the sidewalk. "We're going to get awesome UMich style pizza!"

"You know, if you think about it, this will be our first date." Brian stated, now matching my quick pace.

"Second. That awkward coffee talk could count, too. Isn't that kind of sad, considering we've been engaged for a month?"

Brian laughed. I was glad to see him smile again. "Not as sad as the fact that we haven't kissed once."

"Would you like me to kiss you?" I asked jokingly. We stopped walking and faced each other. Staring into his bright blue eyes, I answered, "Anyway, we did kiss. A long time ago." He now started walking again, blushing and avoiding my gaze.

"I know. I remember." He did? Why wasn't he looking at me? Was he embarrassed? Did he not like me like that? Like I liked him? Damn, why'd I bring it up!?

"You do?" I questioned.

"Yeah. You gave me the picture."

"...So would you like a kiss?" I asked again. Butterflies that I haven't felt in years let loose in my stomach.

He looked into my eyes again. Then, he bent down and kissed me. It was quick, without any tongue. Is it actually possible to feel fireworks?

I began walking again with awkward silence in the air. Did he know that the crush I admitted to never went away?

An awkward ten minutes later, we were sitting in the student center with two slices of pizza on the table between us.

"Oh my god, this is so much better than Papa John's!" (A/N: Nothing against you Papa John's)

"You should say that to your boss. That would get you fired." I told him

"I honestly think my boss is in love with me. He just doesn't want to fire me, no matter what I do! I even started a fire last week!"

"Why hello there! Didn't think I'd see you two around here again!" A familiar face dragged a seat to our table.

"Professor Tulip!" Brian greeted the brunette. The man who played Nigel Waters in LWL was grinning at us. "Fancy seeing you around here!"

"Well, considering I work here it shouldn't really come as a big surprise. How's everyone else? Any new Starkid shows coming soon? Haven't heard anything in a while!"

"No, we all ended up going our own ways." I told him. Saying it out loud to someone made it seem more final. It sucked.

"Aw, too bad. Congrats to you too, though! Since the day I saw you lot meet I knew you'd end up together!" He motioned towards the ring on my finger. Brian choked on his pizza.

"R-really? You knew we would be together?!"

"Of course! Everyone did! It was just a matter of time until the two of you realized the other one had a crush on you, too. As you say, Mr. Holden, kindergarteners who like someone tease them. That's all you ever did to each other!"

"Wait, everyone thought we would get together?" I asked, still shocked. "Who do you mean by everyone?"

"Well we made bets on when you would get engaged. When did you, anyway? I bet Lauren's final year of college, but I was wrong."

"About a month ago." Brian replied, looking at our old professor as if he had twelve heads.

"Oh! Sarah Ashley won! She bet sometime over the 2011 summer."

"Well," I turned to face Brian. "Looks like we'll need to make a little detour to tell Sarah she won!"

I tried to make this chapter to remind y'all about Brian's mom. Who do you think they'll run into when they catch up with Sarah?! If you review I'll update faster! :)

~Bri~