BONUS CHAPTER

I've always wanted happiness for everyone else. Not me, but for everybody else. I guess you could say I was some kind of martyr who suffered just to get people to smile. Isn't it the best feeling in the world when you made someone smile because you made them smile?

My life was always so dull. My parents always had so many fights regarding pretty much anything. Know the saying 'opposites attract'? Well, my parents were complete opposites. My mother was so carefree and loved everything in life. She saw goodness where there was only badness. My father, on the other hand, was one of the strictest people ever. It may have been because of his family but he always needed everything to be perfect. He was a total skeptic and could only be exposed to the cruelty of reality. When they met, it was a big spark. They got married before anyone knew it and they had me as a honeymoon baby. It was such an amazing time. But then again, when opposites attract, there are bound to be clashes.

Soon enough, my father was criticizing everything my mother did and my mother did everything my father hated. I did the best I could to stop them. Cry, whine, go between them, but the reality was, I was only so young. Even so, at that age, I knew this was horrible for my family. Too many close calls have my parents almost signed the divorce sheets. The only reason they stood by each other for so long was because of me, the glue to the whole family. I was willing to do everything I could to keep this family together and for some time, it worked.

But that didn't mean it could go on forever.

As soon as I started elementary school and was out of the house, the clashes grew stronger. I would come back home with a smile on my face for making a friend but it would instantly vanish when I could hear the screams and cries of my parents.

My father was too uncomfortable leaving my mother alone in the house and requested night shifts instead. He literally gave up his most desired job and switched to an apartment guard because he didn't – no, couldn't – trust my mother.

He became the one thing he hated the most – a drunkard. Every afternoon, the time I came home, I would hear screaming and occasional objects smashing to the ground. My mother was barely alive once when I came home.

I had decided to stop going to school, just to protect my mom. But it turns out, I didn't need to. My father just disappeared one day. He was never to be seen again.

My mother was heartbroken and it took until high school started that she started to smile at me again. I took an oath that I would do whatever I could to make people happy.

I would do anything to see them smile. The risks that came with it meant nothing to me.

~.~

The moment I saw Jeb's face, I knew he would pull out that gun in his pocket. I noticed it when we barged it but I would have never thought that he would actually bring it out. I knew what he was going to do, it was so obvious. And yet, nobody could have predicted what he would have done after it.

He raised the gun towards Fang, one of my deepest friends whom I did whatever I could to make him smile, to no avail. Of course, to no avail until he met Max, my childhood best friend. Soon enough, bringing them together gave Fang the smile I always wanted to see. I was so happy to see the tip of his lips cringe up. It was such a rare sight in the beginning and I just loved it – I couldn't get enough.

And Max. Oh, my Max. You, who have been deceived for one too many times, had opened your heart to Fang and you two were to perfect couple. Who would want to break you two apart? And here was the answer: greed.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't scared of the decision I was going to make. I was actually so terrified I was about to pee my pants. But there was this determination that kept me from doing that and actually start moving. My oath was at its climax and I wasn't bound to let that oath get out of my grip. I was not going to let one of my friends to be robbed of their happiness. I absolutely forbade it.

I could see from the corner of my eye that Max had also started to move but we both knew that she was one step too late. I, on the other hand, had the upper advantage. That is, I thought I did until I realized that one more step meant getting the bullet through my heart.

To be honest, I never planned on dying so early. I thought that when I intercepted the bullet, it would lodge onto my side and though I would be bleeding and having horrible pains, I would still be alive enough to get to the hospital and get patched up. I never would have thought that it would go straight into my heart. Jeb has good aim, I'll tell you that.

The moment the bullet went inside me, I felt that pain, that horrible pain. I always wondered what the feeling of a bullet shot would feel like and let me tell you, it hurt so much. Everything around me was going so blurry, I could barely keep my eyes open. I could hear stomping coming from the door and I knew it was police who had come to the rescue. I was no longer needed.

Even with my fading eyesight, I could see people crying out my name and crowding above me. My breathing gets harder and I try to helplessly grasp for oxygen. Through the chaos, I hear the words 'Ella' and 'why'. It makes me wonder. Why did I do this? Well, the answer was easy, wasn't it? It was because I wanted to see my friends smile. Was there more to add?

For the last seconds of my life, I try to focus my eyesight once more and see one person running out of the door. And I know it is Max.

Why? Why did she leave like that? Why was she leaving Fang all alone?

I urge out a cry and the pain in my chest hurts me even more. My vision slowly gets enveloped into darkness and my lungs refuse to work anymore.

I hear Fang distantly trying to make me keep holding onto the line that is reality but the truth is, I am too weak to hang on now. I can feel my fingers slowly losing its grasp around it. The truth is, I am one second away from falling.

But I don't want to leave this world just yet.

I want to hold on.

I want to climb to my recovery.

I do my best to hold onto it once more but the pain too great for me to handle. I want someone to help me carry this painful burden but I know no one is willing to.

If I just had enough strength for one more second in this world…

Everyone, I love you. Please smile for me again.

And that is the end of DM DL DL!

It's finally over.

Its finally over.

I never thought I would live to see this day. I feel like crying.

For those who weren't really satisfied with the epilogue chapter, I admit it myself that I could have done better on it. The truth is, the idea of my finishing this story was so great that I just wanted to get this done.

Now I realize that I was selfish and stupid so I did my best to try and make up for it in this bonus chapter. We all deserve to give Ella what she desires and smile at her and every chance we get :)

Thank you all for supporting this greatly when I was on the verge of just forgetting about.

And so, without further ado,

Peace out :)