Even Forever Doesn't Seem Like Long Enough

When Brendon gave Hannah, Ruby and Pauline their letters from Amber, he couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment inside him. He wanted a letter too. He figured that Amber would have something left to say to him- Something that could help him through the dark times.

It’d been a few months since the funeral and everyone seemed to be carrying on with their lives. They were coping well and even Pauline seemed to be coming to terms with it.

Hannah and Brendon’s friendship had blossomed into a bond stronger than they expected. Though Amber had asked Brendon to look after Hannah (which he had done), Hannah helped Brendon through the times he found hard too- The times when he needed someone who’d gone through the same experience and the times when Ryan, Jon and Spencer couldn’t help (basically the times when he needed a girl’s support).

Both of them relied on each other and they were both there for each other through thick and thin.

And Hannah still had the one thing that Brendon was oblivious to- The sealed envelope Amber had given to her a week before her death that remained unopened until one fateful day…

Brendon heard the phone ring and he sighed. He threw down his gardening gloves and pulled himself to his feet. He’d taken Amber’s advice and started doing some of his own gardening- After all, what was the point in getting a garden if you don’t take pride in it yourself?

He picked up the phone and held it to his ear as he pushed his thick-framed glasses up his nose, “Hello?”

“Hello? Is that Brendon Urie?” An unfamiliar voice asked.

Brendon frowned slightly, “Yes, who’s this?”

“Um… My name is Josh Parker- I was just wondering if you know an Amber King?” The man’s voice seemed slightly desperate.

A lump formed in Brendon’s throat, “Yeah, I do,”

“Oh thank God, I’ve phoned about six Brendon Urie’s trying to find you,” He seemed very relieved, “Listen, I know that this is going to seem completely random and crazy but this isn’t a prank, I swear,”

“I’m listening,” Brendon spoke with intrigue.

“Well, I was at the beach yesterday and I was swimming in the ocean and I found this bottle floating- But it wasn’t just a bottle on it’s own and I almost put it in the bin because I thought it was just a normal bottle-” Brendon rolled his eyes at the man’s rambling, “Anyway, that’s beside the point- Well, this bottle had a message in it. I know you’re probably thinking, ‘surely nobody actually throws a message in a bottle’ and I thought the same thing-”

“Listen mate, I’m sure this is a great story and I’m sorry but could you possibly get to the point?” Brendon rubbed his forehead exasperatedly as he furrowed his eyebrows together in an irritated frown.

“Oh, right, sorry- Yeah, so anyways, I opened the bottle and took the message out- It had something written on it like that saying, you know ‘live, laugh, love’?” Brendon’s heart nearly froze right then and there.

“Yeah… I know it- I was there when she threw the bottle in,” Brendon sighed, smiling somewhat at the memory.

“Really? Oh right, so you already know what’s on the message? Because it sure seemed like you wouldn’t have known-”

“I don’t know what was on it; I was just there when she threw it in. Why, what’s on it?”

“This is going to seem so weird but do you want to meet up and I’ll show you it? It just seems to make no sense to me you see- It’s sort of cryptic like she didn’t want to give out too many names. She seemed quite optimistic with it because not many people would’ve called around so many different people to find the right person,”

“I appreciate it, really I do but I don’t really want to give out my address to a random person- Which beach did you find the bottle at?” When Josh gave out the name of the same beach the couple had thrown the bottle in from, he figured that his throw mustn’t have been strong enough but at the same time he was glad it wasn’t, “I think it’s safe to assume you’re in the same state because that’s the same beach we threw it in from. Are you alright to meet me now or are you busy?”

“No, I’m not busy, where do you want to meet up?”

Brendon thought this man was heaven-sent. They arranged a meeting place and Brendon was so excited he almost broke the phone as he slammed it down in a rush.

At one point, he had to take a few seconds to force himself to calm down. Once he’d relaxed a little, he made his way to his car and jumping in.

It took about twenty minutes for him to reach his destination and he was shaking slightly from the nervous adrenaline rush that was flowing through his veins.

“Calm down, take it easy, relax,” He whispered to himself after he shut off the engine.

Nothing being a stupid person, Brendon had arranged to meet at a playground area halfway between his house and Josh’s claimed whereabouts, so that there were people. He already mostly suspected the guy was genuine because he wouldn’t know Amber’s full name or the beach they threw the bottle into unless she had a stalker she was oblivious to.

Brendon got out of his car and locked it before glancing around the surroundings to see if he could find this mysterious ‘Josh Parker’.

As he looked around, his eyes landed on a guy who didn’t look much older than him- he could even have been younger- who was rocking back and forth on his feet, looking around the area also and tapping a rolled up piece of paper onto his open palm. Brendon cautiously approached him.

“Josh Parker?” He asked timidly.

The guy eyed him for a brief second, “Brendon Urie?” His lips twitched into something of a smile.

“That’s me,” Brendon stuck out his hand and Josh shook it enthusiastically, “It’s nice to meet you,”

“And yourself,” Josh shot him a wide grin, “I think this is what you’re here for,” He held out the rolled up piece of paper and Brendon took it slowly and carefully, fearing destroying it in some way.

“Thanks,” Brendon whispered meekly, unravelling the message.

He had to stop himself from crying as a lump formed in his throat- It was Amber’s message alright.

He recognised her handwriting immediately.

‘Live. Laugh. Love.

If you find this message, then can you please try to find Brendon Urie who lives in the Vegas, NV area. Tell him to find the girl I’d consider a sister and ask her for the thing I gave her for him.

Thank you
Amber King’

“It’s a little cryptic for me to understand really but I thought you’d know what it meant. She must be really optimistic. That bottle could’ve ended up anywhere! You might never have gotten this ‘thing’ she’s talking about,”

Brendon looked up at him, “Yeah, she was a massive optimist,”

Josh picked up on the ‘was’ in his sentence and he looked at Brendon apologetically, “I’m sorry, mate,”

He shrugged, “It’s alright. But thank you so much for this- You’re a God-send. Can I keep this?”

“Yeah sure and you’re welcome, I’m glad I could help,”

They shook hands again and they both left for their cars. Brendon read the letter over around three times before he started the engine. His mind was focused on the words ‘consider a sister’. He knew Amber wouldn’t have written consider without reason.

So he headed for the person he knew she meant. Hannah’s.

“Please be in,” Brendon begged in a whisper as he knocked on the door.

A few seconds later, Hannah pulled open the door and sent Brendon a confused look.

“Hey… What’re you doing here?” Hannah smiled unsurely.

“Do you have something for me?” He asked vaguely.

“You’ll have to be a bit more specific,” She chuckled, stepping aside so that he could go inside.

Brendon pulled the message out of his pocket and handed it to her. Her brow furrowed as she opened it and then her expression softened as she read it.

“Oh my gosh,” She breathed, looking up to meet Brendon’s eager brown eyes as she held a hand to her mouth.

“So, do you have something for me?” He repeated.

Hannah nodded, smiling slightly even though her eyes were watering, “Yeah, come with me,” Hannah led him upstairs and into her bedroom where she then wandered over to her shelves, pulling a book from it and opening the front cover, “I thought you were never going to ask for it- I would’ve given it to you earlier but Amber asked me not to unless you specifically asked for it,” She then pulled the letter from the book and then returned the book to its original place.

“She did write me one,” Brendon spoke more to himself than Hannah as he took the envelope from her, “Thank you,”

“You’re very, very welcome,” Hannah beamed, reaching up and planting a kiss on his cheek, “I’m just glad you finally came for it. I’ll leave you alone so you can read it in peace,”

“No, Han, wait-” He began as she headed for the door, “Stay with me?”

“Are you sure?” Hannah didn’t want to invade on his personal moment.

Brendon nodded profusely and they both sat on the end of the bed, Hannah watched in anticipation as he tore open the envelope. Brendon unfolded the piece of paper and then slid his hand into Hannah’s, locking their fingers.

‘To Brendon,

Do me this favour and make this your motto for life-

Live every moment
Laugh every day
Love beyond words

But, most importantly, remember that I will always be with you.

And remember that I will never regret any moment that I lived with you because it was you who helped me live in a way I never thought I could. I was prepared for what was to become of me, I was prepared for death but I was never prepared for you.

But I’m glad I wasn’t prepared, because sometimes the things that you’re not prepared for end up being the best thing that ever happened to you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me, it’s just a pity that I didn’t meet you earlier.

I also want you to remember that I don’t want you hiding away from relationships because this one didn’t turn out so well. Don’t shy away from love- And you better not think anything about me when you’re with someone. I don’t care who you fall for- Even if it’s someone I know or someone who was close to me- you better not think about me. I don’t want to get in the way of you falling in love again. I don’t want you to regret letting a wonderful girl go because you thought it was wrong. Falling in love is never, ever wrong. I’ve made sure that someone will look after you in every way possible- to be your friend like I was (just without the kissing and stuff…).’

Brendon chuckled at this and Hannah removed her hand from his and wandered away to look for something.

‘I love you, Brendon.
Never forget that.’

Hannah sat back on the bed and opened her own letter, pointing to a certain aspect of it.

‘Look after Brendon for me. Make sure that he finds someone- and make sure she’s worth it. If she’s not a good person then she doesn’t deserve him. Oh, and let him know that you’re there for him and that you care about him- That’d mean the world to me Han; promise me’

Hannah slid her hand into Brendon’s and he locked their fingers.

“I promised,” Hannah whispered, “I’m going to kick any girl’s ass if they’re not good enough for you,”

Brendon laughed, “I promise to do the same to any guy who screws you over,” He unlocked their fingers and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug.

The two stayed in the embrace for a long while, the bond between them strengthening with every second as Amber watched over, proud of them both for keeping their promises.

Brendon and Hannah had learned more than they ever thought they could from Amber and they were thankful for it because neither of them would’ve found a friend in the other if it wasn’t for her.

Just like they were asked, they lived, they laughed, they loved and they kept their promises...

But Amber was never far from their thoughts.

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I promise, I won't let you down, you down
If you take my hand tonight
I promise, we'll be just fine, this time
If you take my hand tonight

Simple Plan- Promise

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