Listen up Cause This Is Not the End

I drove, since I knew where the house was. Ronnie just sat there, holding my hand and looking nervous. I pulled up to the two story home and felt Ronnie squeeze my hand.

I laughed and said, "Ronnie dear, you don't need to be afraid. They're nice people!"

He turned to me and said, sounding not certain of himself at all, "But, what if they don't like me? What if they're still mad about what happened?"

I sighed, "Ronnie, Vic likes ya. If Vic likes someone, the rest of the guys like 'em. Now, come on. We don't wanna keep them waiting."

I shut off the car and got out. Ronnie did the same, then slowly followed me to the porch. I knocked on the door. Ronnie let out a breath, and Vic opened the door, smiling when he saw it was us.

"Hey, guys!" he exclaimed, moving out of the way. "Come in!"

Ronnie grabbed my hand and we walked in, seeing everyone lounging on the couches in the front room, watching us walk in, but in a friendly way.

"Hi, guys!" I said with a smile.

There was a chorus of "CJ" and "Cassie girl", then everyone got up to hug me. Mike was first, his big arms engulfed me, and I laughed and hugged back.

He pulled away and went to Ronnie.

"Hey, I'm Mike. It's nice to meet ya," he said, extending his hand.

Ronnie relaxed a little and shook his hand, saying, "I'm Ronnie."

Tony was next. He hugged me, kissed my cheek, then shook Ronnie's hand, introducing himself to him. Jaime ran to me and attacked me in a hug, making an odd noise, and everyone laughed.

I laughed as well and hugged back, saying, "Jaime, there is something wrong with you."

He let go and said, "No, there's something wrong with you, missy," he tapped my nose, "because you put up with it for as long as you did."

I shrugged and he went to Ronnie.

"Hey, man. I'm Jaime, nice to meet you," he said.

"Hey, I'm Ronnie," Ronnie replied, shaking his hand.

Audrey then ran up to me and hugged me tight. I hugged back and kissed her cheek.

She pulled away and said, "Hi, mom!"

"Hi, baby!" I exclaimed.

She turned to Ronnie and said, "Hi! I'm Audrey, and I'm a huge fan of yours."

Ronnie laughed and said, "Hi! It's so nice to finally meet you, honestly. You look so much like your mother, and you have so much talent. I'm a fan of yours as well."

Audrey's grin grew, and she held her arms out. He wrapped her in his arms and they hugged. Not letting go, Ronnie looked at me with a look in his eyes, like a 'my life is complete' kind of look. I don't know, but I could tell he was happy, and he kind of looked like he was going to burst into tears, but he didn't. I smiled at him, and he let go.

"Hey, Cassie. How are you?"

I looked up to see Steve, his black hair stuffed in a hat.

I smiled and said, "I'm doing very well, thanks! How about you? How's your arm, hun?"

He went back to his sheepish persona, and gave a weak smile, then said, "Still hurts, but other than that, I'm doing good."

I looked at him and said, "Steve, I'm not a bad person, you're allowed to relax around me."

"I know," he said, "It's just, I'm still starstruck when it comes to you, and your fiancee!" he pointed to Ronnie, who was talking to Jaime.

He continued, "Don't worry. I'll warm up to you sooner or later. It's nothing personal."

I smiled and said, "I know. Oh! I didn't get a hug from you!"

He smiled and gave me a hug. Then, he went up to Ronnie and they introduced themselves to each other. Tony went up to me, suddenly.

"Hey, Cas. I just wanted to tell you that I like him. He really seems like a nice guy. I'd like to get to know him more, hear him sing or something," he slapped his thigh and said, "That's what we should do!"

He turned to everyone and said, "Hey, guys! You wanna jam?"

"Hell yes!" Jaime exclaimed.

Everyone else said they wanted to, so we all went into the garage, where the stage and instruments were still there, just like they were six years ago. The guys got ready.

Vic said into the mic, "Cas, what song?"

"I don't care," I said as I sat down on the 'audience' row, as Vic liked to call it.

It was just a row of chairs, I'd sit there every time they practiced.

"Okay, but you're gonna help us sing!" Vic said, a little too loudly into the mic.

"Nuh uh!" I said, "I wanna hear Audrey sing, then I'll do it."

Vic nodded and began to play Besitos, and Audrey ran up on stage and stood near a mic. They played the song, Audrey singing her parts, Vic singing his. I looked over to Ronnie, who was nodding his head along to the song and smiling. They stopped and him and I clapped and cheered.

"Okay," Vic said, "Now it's your turn."

I nodded and went on stage. I was about to ask what song they were gonna play, when they begun playing Caraphernelia. How did I know they were going to play that? Vic began to sing, and I did the backup. I kept stealing glances of Ronnie, who seemed to love the performance. It got to my part and i took a breath and screamed the chorus, vic harmonizing in the back. Him and I switched the parts, and I did the harmonizing. We continued the song until the end, where Ronnie stood up and clapped. I jumped off the stage and hugged him. He held me and I felt him smile into my neck.

"Baby, you did great!" he exclaimed, muffled.

"Thank you!" I replied, laughing.

I then gasped and said to everyone, "Ronnie should sing next!"

"Okay!" Vic said, "Ronnie man, what do you wanna sing?"

Ronnie looked at him and said, "One of my old songs. Cas, sing it with me."

I nodded and began walking to the stage, when Ronnie grabbed my hand and walked with me. We got in position and Vic gave me his guitar.

"What song, babe?" I asked.

"Uh, Reverse this Curse," he replied.

I began playing it and he sang, I did backup. Everyone loved it.

"That was great!" Vic exclaimed, patting Ronnie on the back.

"Amazing!" Tony said.

"Now it's Steve's turn!" Jaime exclaimed.

Steve had that deer in the headlights look. I went off the stage and to him.

"Steve, hun, don't worry. We're not judgemental, and I'll be there for ya. Don't worry."

He smiled and said, "Thank you. i wanna sing Jane doe. Will you play the guitar for me?"

I smiled and nodded. Then we both walked on stage and got ready. I counted to three, then began to play. steve sang, sounding not too sure of himself, but after the first verse, he got more comfortable and sang better. I sang backup quietly, trying not to drown out his soft voice. Soon, the song was over.

I smiled and said, "Steve, I had no idea you could sing! You're so good!"

He blushed and said, "Thanks."

Him and I got off the stage and sat down. Audrey sat on his lap and kissed him, and I smiled. Ronnie grabbed my hand and kissed it; I didn't pay much attention to it because I was watching the stage. I stared, suddenly remembering the fight him and I had, where he threw the ring and said I was pregnant. That thought freaked me out, so I let go of his hand and walked into the living room, up the stairs and into the bathroom.

I locked the door and opened up the medicine cabinet, where I saw what I was looking for- a pregnancy test.