Rebuild. Restart.

Good music, The smell of food filling the air, and being surrounded by friendly faces. Could it get any better? Turning to face the stage as Stephen began to speak Ayita listened as him introduced himself as well as the others, a smile forming on her face as the realization hit her, it really was the best thing in the world. No fighting, No pain, Just happiness. Hearing the music kick up Ayita subconsciously began tapping her foot and didn't notice Ziggy coming up behind her. Jumping as she felt her girlfriends hands wrapping around her Ayita quickly relaxed when she realized who it was. "Das ist erstaunlich."(This is amazing.) she said.

Beginning to move her body in line with her girlfriend Ayita leaned her head onto her lovers when she felt it on her shoulder. Staying like that in silence as the song continued on Ayita's smile grew as a blissful feeling swept her. Hearing the song come to an end Ayita felt Ziggy pull away from their embrace and begin to clap. The smile staying firmly planted on her face Ayita began to clap along and only stopped when she heard Ziggy do so. Turning to her girlfriend she let the smile on her face fade and leaned in placed a kiss on her lovers lips. "That was fun." She said upon pulling away.

Looking passed Ziggy towards the stalls Ayita felt her stomach rumble which caused her hand to grasp it, having taken notice of this it seemed Ziggy then spoke up. Overly excited as always Ayita laughed aloud when she heard what she had to say. "Yes, Food would be nice." She said, trying her best to play the quieter of the two of them although the exited look on her face betrayed this. Reaching the stalls Ayita let Ziggy go first in getting her food, seeing the array the stalls had to offer had begun to make Ayita's mouth water and the excitement she now held only grew. "Is that... Beef?" She said in disbelief.

Looking passed Ziggy and to the people behind the stalls Ayita saw Mikayla dishing out food, she had mentioned that they were all limited to one piece of each meat save fish. Understandable ruling in Ayita's mind, they were sure to have a limited supply of them. Watching on as Ziggy said she'd have a burger Ayita noticed Mikayla brandish a black sharpie and mark a B on Ziggy arm. From the sounds of it they were using it as a means of tracking who had been served, which was only cemented when she heard her tell Ziggy that she'd know if she washed it off. Stiffing a chuckle Ayita waited for Ziggy to move on before stepping up herself. "I'll have a burger as well Ma'am." Ayita said politely. Waiting for her burger to be served Ayita presented her arm for Mikayla to mark what she needed to mark and heard Bridget call Ziggy by her newly earned nickname. "Valkyrie huh?" She teased with a wink. "Meine Walküre."(My Valkyrie) she said.

Collecting her food from Bridget she saw the girl smile at her. "And another for The Brave."

Going red from the nickname Ayita chuckled lightly and shook her head, still not used to being given a nickname from others outside her circle of friends Ayita was always terrible at accepting them. "Thank you." Ayita said quickly before rejoining Ziggy who had apparently done something to queue Mikayla to reiterate the one piece per person rule. Staying quiet as the two talked Ayita took the plate in one hand and took her girlfriends free hand with her other. Taking the lead Ayita took the two of them to the table Cam and the rest now sat at.

"Beef, Beef, Beef, Beeeeeeef!" Cam sang while she admired her burger. To her left sat Brody who unlike her took notice of their approaching friends. Nudging Cam to get her attention Brody smiled to Ayita and Ziggy. "Hey guys. Mikayla give you any trouble?" He asked.

Feeling Brody nudge her Cam looked up. "What?" She said before noticing Ziggy and Ayi. "Oh! Hey guy!" She greeted with an energetic wave of her hand. "Come on! Sit! Sit!"

Taking the seat across from their two friends Ayita chuckled when she saw the way Cam greeted them. Further down the line she saw Justin and his family talking among themselves. Feeling the warmth in her heart from the scene Ayita looked back to her friends. "Where's Thomas and Ellie?" She asked.

"Apologies, We just arrived." Ellie spoke from behind Ayi and Ziggy. Red cheeked she brushed the hair behind her ear and looked to her friends. "So... How do I look?"

Having taken a seat to Ziggy's right Ayita set her plate down and looked among her friends for a moment as they all said their greetings, Chuckling at the humorous way Cam had been cheering about being able to eat beef while they woke up Ayita nodded to her friends before looking to her hamburger. Staring at it for a time she blinked in amazement. While it hadn't been that long since they'd eaten meat, They'd never been able to prep it like you could before the end. Reaching up Ayita took ahold of the burger and inspected it closer, as she did she heard Ziggy respond to her first bite saying that what they would say was true; That you always found the best barbecue in the states. Chuckling lightly at her girlfriends words Ayita wasted no more time and took a bite of her own, the pleasure of the meat mixing with the toppings was instant.

"Holy..." She breathed with a mouthful of burger. Taking her time to enjoy each bite Ayita chewed slowly with closed eyes. Soon she heard Ellie greet them from behind but Ayita didn't turn instantly, choosing to enjoy her burger for the moment she swallowed the mouthful she had taken before setting what remained of the burger on her plate. Grabbing a napkin she brought it to her face and wiped it thoroughly before turning. What greeted her was something of pure beauty.

"Wow. You look amazing Ellie." Ayita said, looking to Ziggy she thought of all the times she had teased her about hooking up with someone else earlier that night, a sly smile forming on her Ayita decided that she'd have some fun of her own. "If you swung our way, Sieglinde here would have some serious competition." She added as she shot Ziggy a face letting her know she was only joking. Leaning in she placed a quick kiss on her girlfriends cheek confirming the joke. Following Ellie and Thomas as they made their way to join the group Ayita returned to her burger.

Staying quiet while she enjoyed her burger Ayita didn't talk much after that, Hearing Ziggy talking to her burger caused her to smile and shake her head while she chewed, swallowing she listened as her friends began talking about the origin of the Hamburger, hearing as they continued on and began half heartedly arguing about whether it started in Germany or the States she wondered which was true. The meal had become completely associated with America by that point but did it start there? Or was Ziggy correct? Swallowing her current bite Ayita looked to Ziggy and her friends. "Where did it start?" She asked, genuine confusion on her face.

"I believe Ziggy's correct here. From what I remember they were named After Hamburg after becoming popular in the 19th century in the region. They would take beef from German Hamburg cows which were then minced and combined with garlic, onions, salt and pepper, then formed into patties. Before the turn Hamburger though they were simply referred to as 'Hmburg Stakes.'"

Shaking his head Thomas chuckled. "You are too smart for your own good sometimes babe. Love you, But let me win sometimes." His tone wasn't angry, in fact it carried a certain admiration for his girlfriend.

Still enjoying the last of her burger in silence Ayita chuckled once again as she heard Thomas's response to Ellie's knowledgeable answer to her question. Laughing aloud she covered her mouth. "I see."

Going quiet again she returned to her burger and listened to what her friends continued to discuss, The discussion shifting somewhat serious now she listened further as they all discussed going to Disneyland, Thomas and Brody spoke about their trip during senior year. Looking to Ziggy as she responded by saying that she'd gone as well and that none of it was while they were sober she shook her head but chuckled. 'sounds like fun.' She thought.

Going quiet again Ayita set to downing the rest of her burger in short order. Wiping her mouth once more she turned to her friends with a smile, behind her she could hear another song kick up and before she knew what was going on she was pulled to her feet by Ziggy towards the dance floor. Shouting in happy surprise Ayita caught her balance before setting to trying to keep pace with her very excited girlfriend. Picking up her step Ayita soon saw as Mallory and her sister began making their way towards her.

Still being pulled forward by Ziggy Ayita watched the two approach further. "Hello Mrs. Mallory." Ayita greeted, watching as she nodded a greeting of her own she soon felt as the woman leaned in to her and whispered in her ear. She spoke about the boat she had asked for and said that she had it moved to drydock two earlier that afternoon. Hearing the news managed to pull Ayita's already wide smile even wider. "Thank you Ma'am." She responded.

Looking back to Ziggy as Mallory and her sister moved away Ayita let the smile fade to a smirk as they made it to the dance floor. Dancing with her girlfriend for a moment the song soon faded out and the next one began, Having turned the recorded music off again Manbuns siblings and their friends took the stage again. "Alright folks, Hope you all liked those toons, they were Mikes favorite." Stephen said with a smile into the mic. "Now let's slow it down yea? For those couples out there, Who knows folks. You may get lucky." Stephen said with a wink. Turning to the rest of the band he mumbled the name of the song and music kicked up once again.



Hearing the music start Ayita smiled and wrapped her arm around Ziggy. Leaning her head on her shoulder she smiled. "I don't want to be anywhere else right now." She said quietly as the two began to sway back and forth.

Sara had finished her burger rather quickly as did Troy with his wings. He sat back and sipped on his beer as he looked at Ziggy who was giving a rather over the top German accent and looked at Sara slightly confused. She smirked at Troy before looking at Ziggy. "Very good Doktor Sieglinde. I say it was a success!" said Sara in a over the top German accent. Troy smirked and put his arm around Sara as he found it to be cute. Of course she was just being herself around her friends but it was perfect. When the top of hamburgers and their origins came up she knew the answer but she just smiled deciding not to say anything as Ziggy and Ellie were right. She joined in the laugh as did Troy and when Disneyland was mentioned Troy chuckled and shook his head as he looked at Thomas and Brody.



"I was there a few years ago with my nephew, his wife and my fiancee. We had an absolute blast! Hell who knows maybe once Bar Harbor is good we could take a trip there sound good?" asked Troy half joking to the group. He decided to open up to the group a bit more he wasn't a Hell-Rider anymore he felt as if he was apart of the group. Once the new song kicked on it seemed like everyone was going to dance and as he got up he decided to go see what his friends were up to but Sara grabbed him by the arm. "Hey mister you aren't getting off that easy!" said Sara with a smirk to Troy who chuckled and smirked back. "Alright fine." said Troy with a smirk. The two started to walk towards the music but once Troy saw Mallory he gave her a nod and patted her on the back. It seemed as if she was in a hurry and he didn't want to bother her besides the night's still young. Troy wasn't much of a dancer and just awkwardly stood there rubbing the back of his neck. He tried to walk away but Sara grabbed him by the arm. "Come on just let the music flow through you!" yelled Sara over the music. Troy rolled his eyes and then he watched Sara as she moved and soon enough he was dancing as well although he knew he was looking like a total goofball.

When the second song came on and it was a slow one Troy was more comfortable with this and he swayed with Sara. The two of them looked deep into each other's eyes and what they were feeling was real. "I'm glad I met you." said Sara softly as she looked at Troy. "I'm the luckiest guy here." said Troy to Sara. The two kissed and Sara put her head on his chest and closed her eyes as she listened to his heart. She was in love and for the first time since Jake she didn't feel as if this was a prank or anything like that. It was perfect to her. Soon the second song ended and Stephen cleared his throat before speaking. "Me and the band here are going to take a quick break but we have a special guest here, our local celebrity Poe Addams!" said Stephen to the crowd who started to clap. Soon Poe was up on stage and he looked at the crowd with a smile. He was something of a celebrity in Bar Harbor as he auditioned for American Idol in the past but sadly he was turned down as they felt his music was to "folksy" but they did praise him for his good voice but they felt that the show wasn't for him.




Soon the crowd went silent and Poe chuckled before speaking. "I wrote this song just yesterday so please bear with me." said Poe with a chuckle which the crowd chuckled back. "Before I play I'm just going to ask for complete silence for the fallen..." said Poe to the crowd. It was dead silent for a few moments and then Poe started to strum on his guitar getting the feel for his guitar before he started to play.

"The people of Bar Harbor lived in fear for so long
'Til they grew so tired, they could no longer bare
They could no longer bare

"Oh Lord, Oh Lord, will you do one thing for me?

Will you open me up and find my will to live
And find my will to live."


"Oh no, cried a voice, "That's a thing that i can never do

If I lose the flower of Bar Harbor, I shall lose the branch too

I shall lose the branch too"

There was fiddling, and dancing on the day the battle was won

But those that fallen beloved lay in our hearts now
Lay in our hearts now."


  

Slow dancing with her lover, the sound of happiness around her. This was bliss. A kind of bliss Ayita hadn't felt in months and months. Leaning her head on Ziggy's shoulder she smiled and swayed gently back and forth as the song continued to play. Sighing contently she wrapped her arms around Ziggy's midsection and pressed in to her. Staying like that until the song came to an end Ayita looked up and placed a kiss on her lovers lips. "I love you." She whispered happily.

Yet another song coming to an end Manbuns siblings introduced a new person, a man going by the name of Poe. Apparently he was something of a local celebrity and judging by the song her began to play Ayita didn't have much to question on that matter. Listening to the song play on Ayita leaned her head back down on Ziggy's shoulder and continued to sway. Staying that way until this song too came to an end Ayita repeated the process of lifting her head up and planting a kiss on Ziggy's lips.

A few minutes later Poe had left the stage and a silence descended on the stage. Manbuns siblings and their friends had yet to come back on the stage and no music had begun to play through the speakers. 'what's going on?' Ayita questioned. Quickly though, she received her answer as a familiar voice came through the speakers. Hearing Thomas begin to introduce the next song by dedicating it to Ziggy Ayita realized what was going on and smiled. Leaning in to her girlfriend as their friend introduced the song Ayita was caught completely by surprise by the songs material. German heavy rock was something she'd not experienced yet, the loud guitar, the loud vocals, everything was loud. Looking to Ziggy though she was greeted by the look of pure joy on her girlfriends face. 'so this is what she used to listen to back home.' she thought. Trying to get into the swing of it all to understand her lover even further Ayita soon found herself enjoying the harsh noise and overbearing vocals of the music. From what Ziggy had said the bands name was 'Rammstein', and judging by the fact that all the lyrics were in German there was a fair certainty that it wasn't a gimmick. Soon Ayita found herself jumping and pumping her fist with the rest, It was just as good as the slow song, but just, different, totally different.

As this song too came and went Ayita heard Ziggy say that she needed a beer before asking if she wanted one as well. "Do I want a beer?" She repeated as she looked to the ground, She'd already done so much with Ziggy so what was a beer? "Uhh.. Sure!" She said. Watching her walk away Ayita found herself alone on the dance floor, although she felt eyes on her after a time. Soon though, Ziggy returned beers in hand. Handing one over to her Ayita looked at the glass bottle for a moment before mincing her girlfriends motion. Tilting the bottle up she let the liquid hit her tongue, at first the taste was enjoyable but then the aftertaste hit, that bitter, bitter aftertaste. Still, she soldiered through and swallowed without complaint. "That... Was different." She noted.

As the next song started Ayita saw a rather good looking boy approach her and Ziggy, his eyes on her she looked to Ziggy for reassurance, but of course there was none. The upbeat song coming to an end Ayita heard another slow song start. Looking to Ziggy to start dancing again she was caught off guard when the boy that had approached a few seconds before asked her to dance and Ziggy answered for her. "Wait!" Ayita called out, but Ziggy was only smiling and giving her a thumbs up. "Oh you are soo getting it after this blondie!" Ayita shouted back with a shake of her head, but on her face was planted a wide smile, a smile she hadn't had since before the end of the world, the smile of someone having the time of their life without a care in the world.

Getting to the dance floor with Chase Ayita looked to the man with a little apprehension. "Uh.. I guess.. If you, uh.. Want.. To... Uh... D-Dance.. We.. Can." She stammered.

"Thank you." Chase answered looking down at her with a million dollar smile that would have made any single girl go weak at the knees, but strangely, Ayita felt nothing. Her heart already belonged to Ziggy. Slow dancing with Chase Ayita had to move his hand from her butt a number of times, on the third time she stepped on his foot which made him suck air in through his teeth. "Hands. Off." She said.

Not soon enough the song finally came to an end and Ayita broke free of Chases grasp. Turning to return to Ziggy Ayita found that her girlfriend was gone. "Babe?" She questioned as she looked around, but she wasn't anywhere. "Where are you?" She asked. a soft panic setting in she looked to the stage and the next thing she knew Ziggy was standing on it, guitar in hand. She introduced herself and then introduced her song, dedicating it to her. The fear that had surged disappeared at that moment and her heart melted.

Listening as Ziggy began to pluck at the guitar Ayita's heart was a puddle in her chest as her voice met the air, the lyrics, the playing, the singing, it was all perfect. As she sang their eyes never left each other. She may be preforming for a crowd but, Ayita couldn't shake the feeling that this song wasn't for them, this song was for her. Nearing the end of the song Ayita felt a hand pull her to the side. Looking to who the arm belonged to Ayita was met by Brody who was pulling her to the stage. "What's going on?" She asked, but Brody wouldn't answer.

Lost in a blissful trance brought on by her lovers music Ayita failed to notice her two friends approaching her, They may have called her a few times, they may haven't. In any case they gently guided her closer to the stage and, without warning, Teamed up to lift her onto it. The sudden movement startling her she frantically looked to her friends. "What's going on?" She asked, but broad smiles were all she received in response. The next moment she was on the stage with Ziggy, before the crowd. Her heart racing from having the spotlight on her for some unknown reason Ayita looked to Ziggy, her song had just ended and she set the guitar down. "What's the ma-" was all she managed to get out before her words caught in her throat. Before her Ziggy had dug something out of her purse and was on one knee before her. 'this.. This can't be what I think it is.. right?' she thought.

It was.

A tear meeting her cheek as she heard Ziggy ask the question of all questions Ayita's hands covered her mouth. 'This is what you guys meant... Isn't it.' She thought back to what her parents had told her in her near death experience. Seconds felt like minutes and the tear in Ayita's eye was now joined by another.

"Oh you are soo getting it tonight Blondie." Ayita repeated in a shaky, excited voice. Dropping to her knee's she fell into Ziggy's arms. "Yes. du verrücktes deutsches Mädchen. Ja, das werde ich. Ich werde dich heiraten." (Yes.. You crazy German girl. Yes, I will. I will marry you.) she said, her voice breaking as tears of joy began to flow. Holding her hand out Ayita watched as the ring was slid on to her finger.  'this is a dream right? Any second now I'm gonna wake up right' she thought, her mind still trying to wrap itself around what was happening. But it wasn't a dream, this was reality, and it was really happening. This was defiantly, the best day ever.

Without another word Ayita leaned in and kissed her girlfriend. No, Her Fiancé.

Sara couldn't help but feel a hint of sadness as she heard Poe sing the way his voice carried the song you could tell it was from the heart. When Poe got off stage she turned to her friends and Troy. "Wow I almost forgot what his voice sounded like it's been so long." said Sara to her friends when Thomas left to go talk to the DJ she wondered what he had planned and soon enough it was heavy metal music. She was brought to the front with Ziggy and she grabbed Troy's hand bring him with her. They rocked out hard with Sara headbanging and as she did her hair would hit Troy in the face but he just smirked as he didn't mind. As the song ended Sara took a breather and when beer was mentioned Troy smirk and nodded as he could use one. "Hell yeah sounds like a plan!" said Troy to Ziggy. He followed her out of the crowd but instead of going over to where the beer was for everyone else he went over to Roger's bike where his cooler from earlier was still there. He grabbed a Heineken from himself, an Angry Orchard for Sara and a Budweiser for Brody. On the way back he ran into Cutler who had the weapon he made for Claudia in his hand. Troy looked at the weapon and was impressed he could tell Cutler put a lot of work into it. "Damn bro that is sick!" said Troy as he lightly slapped Cutler's arm. 

The big biker let out a hardy chuckle and nodded. "Yeah well I figured this is a wonderful gift and what's a better way to a women's heart then giving her a weapon?" asked Cutler jokingly. The two men shared a laugh and Cutler patted Troy on the shoulder as he walked away heading over to Claudia's house to drop off the weapon.




Troy walked back to the group as he heard the other song playing and he shook his head as he didn't like it but it seemed other people were having a good time. It seemed Ziggy came back as well and he handed Brody his beer followed by Sara. The two of them opened their beers and sipped on them as they looked at everyone else having a great time. After a few more songs it seemed that Ayita was dancing with a guy which seemed odd to Sara and she looked at Troy with the same confused face but he shrugged as he didn't see a problem with it. She looked around for Ziggy but soon enough she turned to the stage and she had a huge smile on her face as she knew that Ziggy was going to kill it. When she heard Thomas and Brody's remarks she just shook her head at them. Her heart practically melted as she heard Ziggy dedicate a song to her and she put her arm around her for a moment and smiled at her friend. She then looked at the blond girl who came up to Brody and Thomas whispering something in their ears. "What's going on?" thought Sara. Soon enough after the song ended Thomas and Brody took Ayita to the stage and she looked to Troy who shrugged once again but when she saw Ziggy get on one knee she gasped and covered her her mouth out of shock. 

When Ayita said yes tears were forming in Sara's eyes and held Troy tightly as she looked on at her friends on the stage. Soon the crowd erupted in a cheer and Sara felt right to join in.




"You go girls!" yelled Sara over the applause.