After

James's P.O.V.

We came back from America about a month later. We immediately began working on the next album. It was hard. Some days none of us felt like living.

But we pushed on.

We eventually began to accept that Richey wasn't coming back. Well I accepted it. Not sure about Nicky. He took it the hardest.

"I just feel like... like my heart has broken. Like I have nothing to give to the world anymore," he said to me one day.

"It'll get better," I replied, trying to comfort him.

Nicky took over writing the song lyrics from then on. He said that that first song he wrote was to be as much unlike Richey's lyrics as possible. He wanted a fresh start.

And so, one day in early spring, he handed me a sheet of paper. "Here it is," he murmured. "You'll know what to do with it."

I took the paper and read the first line. Libraries gave us power... then work came and made us free...

The title of the song was 'A Design For Life'. After a few reads through it, music to it began forming in my head. It was to be a powerful yet joyful song. Full of emotion and pride.

I began working on writing the music straight away. Sean and I worked day and night, ensuring that this would be a song Richey would be proud of.

We were certainly proud with the finished result, as was Nicky when I played a version of it on my guitar. His face lit up, and I could see tears forming in his eyes.

"It's perfect," he whispered. "Our fans would love it."

It was good to see him happy again.

At this point we had to face the fact that we may never see Richey again. It was hard to simply let go of our friend, just like that.

But we decided that everything must go.

That was the name of the next song we wrote. It was about the fact that even though Richey was gone, we would carry on performing. We asked for forgiveness from our fans for carrying on. We hoped they would accept it.

Eventually, over a year after Richey disappeared, we released 'A Design For Life'. It was an instant success. In fact, it reached number two in the charts.

We should've been happy, but our victory felt bittersweet. There was something missing.

'Everything Must Go' was also successful. Along with it we released an album with the same name. It had a handful of songs left behind by Richey.

We became more famous than we ever had before.

"It's all I've ever wanted," I said to Sean and Nicky one day.

"Yeah," they agreed.

I continued. "And even though Richey isn't here, I can almost feel as though he is."

"I know what you mean," Nicky replied quietly. "And sometimes I feel like if I look hard enough, I'll find him. Like I'll turn around one day and he'll be standing behind me."

"It doesn't feel like he ever really left," Sean murmured.

He was right. From then on, every time we played at a concert, or recorded a new song, it felt like Richey was there, watching us. Just as he always had.

Welp this fanfic has become a biography now lol. Imma make sure the last chapter will be more fictional :))

The last chapter will be published on February 1st. Stay tuned for it!!!!