Heyyyy guys. Wow, been a while since I looked at this story... How long has it been? 2 years? Anyway. I knowww you're all thinking I abandoned this story, and well... you're not exactly wrong. I kinda have, honestly. I'm gonna try and write a closure chapter to finish off this story, to give y'all an idea of what would have happened after living in the condo above the Pizza Shop in West Palm Beach for a few years. I'm really sorry for letting this story go. I guess I just lost the motivation and interest to write it.

Anyway, you might have seen my other fic that I'm working on (first one and maybe the last one I'll be committed to doing). It's called "The Life I Lead" and it's a very thought-provoking drama fic centered around Mordecai. In this story, I aim to show that depression doesn't need a specific cause to affect a person's life; it can happen because of everything yet nothing. Also that depression isn't "cured" when everything seems fine in a somebody's life.

Without further a due, let's finally end this shit-show once and for all!

4 Years Later

Kelly woke up to the sound of a baby crying. She rolled over in bed and looked at her clock. It read 8:15 AM.

"Uhhhhh..." she groaned. "It's too early for this..." the 19 year old blue jay muttered as she got out of bed and trudged over to nursery. It wasn't exactly a nursery, just a corner of the condo's living room that had a crib and a changing table set up. But it worked. The crying in question came from from Mordecai and Margaret's one year old daughter, Harper. Her birthday was just the week before. The two had gotten married three years prior- Mordecai did not in fact throw up due to nervousness when he proposed.

Margaret was cradling the baby to calm her down when Kelly walked in. "Good morning sunshine.." said Kelly sarcastically as she pulled out a box of cereal.

"Likewise" said Margaret.

"I was talking to the baby."

Margaret rolled her eyes. "Can you put a bottle of formula in the microwave and then give it to me? I think she's hungry."

"Whatever you say mama bird!" said Kelly as she put the bottle in the microwave.

"Doesn't Deryck come back from his tour today?" asked Margaret.

"Yeah! Well sorta. Yesterday was their last show of the tour. It was in Daytona Beach. Deryck texted me last night said they'd be home by the afternoon, but they're also gonna play the Charter Day festival in town today for fun. There is a battle of the bands thing going on, and the mayor asked if he would be the judge and play a half hour set with the band. He seemed excited about it, I thought we'd see all go and see him tonight. Clay and Mordecai already rented a food truck to sell pizza for the festival tonight." explained Kelly.

"That sounds fun!" said Margaret.

"Here's the bottle." said Kelly as she took it out of the microwave and handed to Margaret so she could feed her child.

Yes, it's true, Deryck got in a band. A few weeks after Clay first adopted him, he picked up an ad that said "guitarist and vocalist needed." That's when he met Tommy, Kennedy, Jason and AJ; his future bandmates. Tommy was a human with long, straight dark hair; he played guitar along with Deryck. His twin sister, AJ, was the petite hyperactive drummer. She was covered in tattoos and dyed her hair turquoise. Kennedy was female brushtail possum with lavender hair who's chill and laid back on the surface, but on stage, she sported a black fender thunderbird black bass guitar and was a very hyper stage performer, like AJ. Jason was an awkward ostrich boy who played keyboards. He was the most shy during interviews. Deryck became the energetic frontman of the group, and together they formed the hardcore-punk band Rusty Bicycle Chain. They gained popularity on youtube and played local bars until the following summer, when they got on Warped Tour. They've become very successful for a band of their genre. Since that summer, they did various tours with big name rock acts such as Trans-Siberian Orchestra, A Day to Remember, Falling in Reverse, Blink-182, and Green Day.

"I can tell you're excited to see him." said Margaret.

"I really am! He's been on tour almost all summer..." replied. After Clay adopted him, Deryck finally agreed to officially date Kelly, since he knew he wouldn't be endangering her anymore. Although it was a little weird, considering Deryck was technically her step cousin, from a legal standpoint anyway. They brushed it off since Clay was his legal guardian, not so much as his parent.

Just then, they heard a crash coming from the Pizza Shop downstairs.

"What the hell was that?" asked Kelly.

"Clay and Mordecai got up early to prepare the food truck or something."

"Do they need to be so damn loud? i'm going down there." said Kelly.

Downstairs

"Aw, jip! That's a week's supply of grated cheese right there!" exclaimed Clay as Mordecai got up from the ground. Mordecai was taking out a bin of grated cheese to the truck when he slipped and fell.

"It's not my fault man, you're the one who left that old tomato sitting on the floor!" retaliated Mordecai. Just then Kelly walked down the stairs.

"Alright! I'm gonna say this and I'm gonna say it once so listen!" Kelly said. The two avians looked at her. "What the fuck?"

"Technical difficulties loading the food truck..." said Clay.

"I'll say, there's cheese everywhere!" said Kelly.

"Heh, reminds me of Mardi Gras that one year.." snickered Mordecai. Kelly rubbed her temples.

"Get it together boys, we have a restaurant to run.." said Kelly as she went back upstairs.

"Hey, aren't you gonna help us clean up this mess?" asked Mordecai.

"Pfft, no." said Kelly as she disappeared up the stairs.

"Welp. Looks like it's just you and me, Clay. Clay?" asked Mordecai. Clay was gone. "Perfect."

That Evening

Clay's pizza truck attracted the longest lines of the day. Clay and Mordecai worked tirelessly while Margaret was walking around with Kelly as they looked for Deryck. Harper was in a baby carrier on Mordecai's chest. Margaret and Kelly finally found Deryck by the stage where the Battle of the Bands was taking place. Deryck was sitting in the judge's booth. A deathcore band just exited the stage and Deryck was critiquing them. Deryck grew out his hair, which was a disorganized mass of brown curls. Margaret giggled. "Heheh, Mordecai had hair like that in high school!" she said.

"Alright guys, that was good stuff! Very technical, loved how the drummer kept switching between regular and traditional grip. Frontman, your screams are very good, but you need to interact with the crowd more. And guys- don't be afraid to move around when you play! The stage is your playground. Look at me! I use my drummer's drum set as a freaking jungle gym during our shows!" said Deryck to the amateur band. As the next band was setting up, Kelly and Margaret walked up to him.

"Kelly!" he exclaimed as he picked up and spun around his girlfriend. "And Margaret! It's been too long guys!"

"We missed you! Especially Kelly.." said Margaret as Kelly kissed him on the cheek.

"It's true." Kelly giggled.

"So how's the little one?" asked Deryck, referring to the baby.

"Harper is doing fine, except for the fact she starts screaming every time I try to put her down for a nap. That kid will just not sleep!" said Margaret, rolling her eyes.

"I'd give you advice but I'm not exactly what you'd call experienced with kids. Babies, namely. I'm good with kids, don't forget I used to teach orphans guitar lesson in exchange for a place to live and food to eat. When Harper turns 5 or 6, I'll be glad to start helping out." Deryck chuckled.

Margaret smiled at this. "I'll hold you to that!"

"So when do you go on?" asked Kelly.

"20 minutes. That was the last band, they're setting our personal rigs and drum kit now. The others are walking around and we're supposed to meet backstage in 10. I'm happy this is the last show of the summer, I need a break." said Deryck.

"What's touring like? I've always been curious." asked Margaret. "Yeah tell us some tour stories!" inquired Kelly.

"Haha, well... it's definitely something to do while you're young. Our most recent tour was with Sleeping With Sirens and Chunk! No, Captain Chunk! They're great guys." said Deryck.

"Chunk No what?" asked Margaret, confused on the band name.

"There's this French pop punk/metal band called Chunk! No, Captain Chunk!- their band name is literally a line from The Goonies." explained Deryck.

"Ohhh.."

"Anyway, they're all great guys, every few nights we'd have after-show parties and some of Chunk's band members would get so drunk they'd forget how to speak english and would resort to a slurred version of french. As for actual touring, it's been really wild to see the country. On one of the dates we were playing in Oklahoma and the venue was literally so small. The place was packed, like overflowing with people. Kids were literally climbing on the stage. That was also the night Tommy got hit in the face with a damp pair of panties and accidentally fell off the stage. Kennedy was literally laughing for 2 minutes straight."

"Wow!" exclaimed Kelly, giggling furiously. Deryck exhaled.

"But I'm so glad to be back for some R&R." he finished. Just then, Kennedy came up behind him and tapped on his shoulder.

"We're on in 2 minutes, shitlord!" she exclaimed.

"Welp, that's my cue. See y'all in half an hour."

Rusty Bicycle Chain played a very energetic set. It was the first Kelly had really seen the band perform. She was blown away at how the music possessed Deryck and how it made him move around like an energetic kid. Soon, it was time for the last song.

"Alright guys, this our last song." said Deryck as he picked up his acoustic guitar. "I'd like to thank all the bands that came out to compete today, we're honored to close out the festival tonight." The crowd cheered. "The winner tonight was the 5th band that came up: 'Fortnight'! Head over to my good friend, the Mayor, to claim your prize, he's sitting right over there in the judge booth! Wave hi buddy!" The mayor waved to the crowd.

"We are Rusty Bicycle Chain from right here in West Palm Beach, Florida! This last song goes out to a special someone in the crowd tonight. It's called 'With Me' and it goes out to my girlfriend Helena Kelly Quintel. I love you baby, you're probably gonna kill me later for using your first name in public, but I love you!" The crowd awed, and the music started. Deryck began to sing.

I don't want this moment to ever end,
Where everything's nothing without you.
I'd wait here forever just to, to see you smile,
'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you.

Through it all, I've made my mistakes
I stumble and fall, but I mean these words.

The whole band came in.

I want you to know,
With everything I won't let this go.
These words are my heart and soul.
I'll hold on to this moment, you know,
As I bleed my heart out to show,
And I won't let go.

Thoughts read, unspoken, forever in vow,
And pieces of memories fall to the ground.
I know what I didn't have, so I won't let this go,
'Cause it's true, I am nothing without you.

All the streets, where I walked alone,
With nowhere to go, have come to an end.

I want you to know,
With everything I won't let this go.
These words are my heart and soul.
I'll hold on to this moment, you know,
As I bleed my heart out to show,
And I won't let go.

As the song ended, Kelly jumped onto the stage and grabbed Deryck into a kiss, catching him off guard. The crowd hooted and hollered.

The two avians met eachother's gaze. As fireworks set off into the sky, the two came together for one more kiss. Mordecai, along with Clay and baby Harper joined up with Margaret in the crowd. Mordecai and Margaret shared a kiss and Clay shed a tear.

The Quintels have been through quite a lot in nearly two decades, but finally, this brother and sister found happiness.

Ahhhh well wasn't that sweet! I hope this gave good closure to the story! And I hoped former fans of the story got a kick out of this!

Thanks for reading everyone, and go check out The Life I Lead if you'd like!

Till next time!