A/N- Er, hi guys. This is a story I've been meaning to write ever since I watched 13 Reasons Why. Honestly I've probably cried more times watching that show than I have my entire live and it's honestly amazing. Anyway this is a what if story where Clay finds out that Hannah's planning on killing herself and tries to stop her before it's too late. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 1

"Clay, your friend Tony is here to see you."

Clay Jensen looked up from his desk in his bedroom to look at his mother, who was standing in his doorway. Nodding his head, Harry closed his English textbook and walked down the stairs to see a flustered Tony, who was breathing heavily with his red Mustang still running behind him, which was parked outside the front of the Jensen's home.

"Clay, you have to come with me, Hannah's in trouble," said Tony urgently, and without waiting for a reply, ran back to his car.

Clay sensed the urgency behind Tony's actions and quickly followed Tony to his car, climbing into the passenger seat. Tony and Clay sped off, and Clay was forced to brace himself, his eyes widening in shock.

"Shit Tony slow down! You're breaking like every road rule!" yelled Clay.

"Can't, Hannah's in danger," answered Tony.

"What do you mean, she's in trouble?" said Clay, his heart sinking.

"She's going to try and kill herself!" shouted Tony, swerving to avoid hitting a pedestrian who was crossing the road. The pedestrian flipped the bird at them, but Tony drove on.

Clay felt as though and icy hand had gripped his heart and was squeezing the life from it. Why would hannah want to kill herself? He knew she had been down lately but was it really that bad?

"How do you know this?"

"She came to my house and left a package at my door," explained Tony. "Inside were these tapes that she made explaining why she killed herself. I left as soon as I heard the first tape and thought you needed to be here to help."

"Fuck," whispered Clay. He couldn't think, he couldn't feel. Was the girl he had fallen in love with really that broken?

They turned into the street where the Bakers lived and before Tony had even stopped the car outside Hannah's house, Clay had already jumped out and sprinted across the well-cared for lawn and over to the door.

"Hannah! Open up!" shouted Clay, pounding his fist against the door.

There was no response.

"Fuck! Hannah, please! It's me, Clay!" Clay's pounding against the door was getting harder and harder. He was panicking now. What if it was too late? Was she already dead? Would he never get to tell Hannah how he felt?

"Move out of the way," said Tony, coming up behind Clay. He obeyed and Tony kicked against the door, forcing it off its hinges and crashing to the ground. Clay gave Tony an impressed look before he raced up the stairs.

"Hannah?!" he yelled. There was still no answer from the girl.

"SHIT!" cursed Clay as he almost slipped on the wet floor, bracing himself against the wall. Wait, wet floor? Clay's eyes followed the trail of slightly pink water which seemed to come from the closed door across the hall. The bathroom!

Clay opened the door and gasped at the sight. Hannah was laying in the bathtub filled with water, which was taking on a pink shade. She still wore her clothes, a grey shirt and jeans, and her face was pale and her eyes had taken on a glassy look. The most horrifying sight was the long, red lines that stretched from her wrists all the way up to the top of her forearms, from which blood was pouring freely and dying the water. Lying on the ground was a bloodstained razor blade. The only sign that she was still alive was the slight rise and fall of her chest, indicating that at least she was still breathing.

"Oh God, no, NO!" shouted Clay as he ran over to Hannah. He carefully grabbed her head and raised it gently. She didn't even seem to be aware that somebody was trying to help her. Behind them, Clay heard Tony run in and swear under his breath before grabbing a towel and tearing it into two pieces.

"Hold her steady, I need to tourniquet her arms," instructed Tony, crouching beside Clay.

Clay obeyed and held Hannah, the whole time crying and whispering words of comfort.

"I'm so sorry... Hannah you'll be fine... please be okay..."

"Done," said Tony. "Now we need to get her to a hospital now."

Tony's improvised tourniquets had slowed the blood flow coming from the ugly wounds.

"She's lost a lot of blood, we have to move Clay."

Clay nodded his head, feeling numb inside. Ignoring the water, he reached down and scooped Hannah up in a bridal carry, grunting at her weight. Her head rested against Clay's chest as he stood up.

"You need a hand?" asked Tony.

"I'm fine," growled Clay. Tony nodded his head and led Clay out of the bathroom. Clay was careful not to jostle Hannah too much as he climbed down the stairs, and Tony opened the passenger door when they arrived at his Mustang. Clay climbed into the car slowly, still clutching Hannah and Tony drove off towards the hospital.

"You're gonna be fine Hannah," said Clay, trying to convince himself as much as he was trying to convince Hannah. Hannah stirred slightly and groaned, her face nestling deeper into Clay's chest. In any other situation Clay would have felt over the moon at the intimacy of the action, but right now he was more concerned with keeping Hannah alive.

"We're nearly there," said Tony. Clay noticed that his t-shirt was coated in Hannah's blood, which was still dripping from her cuts.

"Dammit Tony step on it!" said Clay. Tony obeyed and slammed his foot on the accelerator, and the red Mustang shot forward, rumbling loudly like a lion chasing a zebra.

"We're almost there Hannah, just hold on..." whispered Clay, running his hand over Hannah's hair softly. Hannah groaned into his shirt, and Clay felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

They finally pulled up to the hospital, and Tony jumped out first, ran around to Clay's side and opened the door, allowing him to get out, still cradling Hannah. They wasted no time in running into the hospital.

"SOMEBODY HELP!" screamed Clay. Immediately several doctors and nurses heads popped up and looked at the bloodstained Clay and the dripping wet Hannah in his arms, with Tony standing beside them. They quickly rushed over to them, two nurses bringing over a hospital bed. One of the doctors extracted the limp form of Hannah from Clay's arms and carefully laid her on the bed, before they left Clay and Tony alone in the reception room.

Clay feet felt rooted to the floor, like a statue carved straight from the ground. And, like a statue, he couldn't breathe. He had to move, to do something, anything, to take his mind off Hannah. Thankfully, Tony seemed to have had the same idea, because he grabbed Clay by the arm and pulled him over to sit in some chairs in a corner of the reception. Clay leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, his eyes focussed on his feet.

"You okay man?" said Tony.

"No," replied Clay bluntly, not looking up from his feet.

"Me neither," said Tony quietly.

The two were silent for several minutes, but then Tony stood up and walked over to a vending machine on the other side of the reception hall, then went over to the front desk and talked with the receptionist, probably to give Hannah's details. He came back with two chocolate bars.

"Want one?" asked Tony. Clay shook his head. Tony nodded in understanding and sat back down next to Clay. He opened one of the wrappers and took a bite out of the bar, chewing slowly as he thought.

"What did you mean about tapes?" Clay asked suddenly. Tony didn't answer, because his mouth was full of chocolate.

"She came to my house," Tony said finally when he swallowed. "She was carrying a package and knocked on my door. I didn't answer because honestly I didn't want to deal with her drama, so she left it at the door. I think she knew I was home too, but all she did was walk away.

"When she was gone I decided to check it out. Inside the package were these audio tapes and the first tape said they were the thirteen reasons why she killed herself. So I ran to my car and drove to your place and, well, you know the rest."

"Why would she try to kill herself?" said Clay, shocked at what Tony had told him.

Tony shrugged. "She's been going through some shit Clay, we all know that. I guess it was just too much," he said.

"But she has people who care about her. She knew I care about her," said Clay.

"Did you ever tell her that?" asked Tony.

Clay was just about to respond angrily when he stopped. He never actually had told Hannah that he cared, had he?

"No," Clay finally said.

"Exactly. I think we all could have done a better job and showing Hannah Baker we cared," agreed Tony.

"We should go over the tapes. Try to find out why she tried to..." Clay's voice drifted off. He couldn't say it, not when the her death could still be a very real possibility.

"Okay," was all Tony said, sensing the internal struggle within Clay.

Just then a panicked-looking couple barged into the hospital and ran straight to the front desk. Clay recognised them as Hannah's parents.

"Where is our daughter?" Clay heard Mrs Baker demand shrilly.

The receptionist looked up from her computer and gave the Bakers a sympathetic look.

"Your daughter is in critical condition and is undergoing surgery right this moment," she said. "Your daughter lost a lot of blood, ma'am."

Mr and Mrs Baker visibly paled at the news.

"Don't worry, everything will be fine. Those two boys over there were the ones who brought her in," said the receptionist encouragingly, pointing to Clay and Tony. Clay stiffened slightly when he saw the Bakers looking at them, and quickly looked away, suddenly finding the contents inside the vending machine very interesting.

He heard the Bakers thanking the receptionist, then heard their footsteps coming closer. Please don't come here, please don't come here, Clay silently pleaded, but it was in vain. Mrs Baker stood directly in front of him and Tony, blocking Clay's view of the vending machine. Mentally kicking himself, Clay looked up at the tear-streaked face of Mrs Baker, and stood up to look at Hannah's parents eye to eye.

He certainly didn't expect Mrs Baker to suddenly pull Clay, still wet and covered in Hannah's blood, into a bone-crushing hug, and definitely didn't expect Mrs Baker to start crying on his shoulder.

"Thank you, oh thank you thank you thank you," weeped Mrs Baker.

Clay was stunned. Being a socially awkward teenager, he was never used to public displays of affection. Mr Baker came over once Mrs Baker had let go of Clay and shook his hand, while Mrs Baker hugged Tony.

Clay felt even more uncomfortable. This was not how he wanted to meet Hannah's parents for the first time- that is, if he even had the courage to ask Hannah out and they got to that stage in their relationship.

"Thank you for saving our daughter," said Mr Baker, his voice thick with emotion.

Clay could only nod his head, his mind going over all the things he should have seen when he was around Hannah. Looking back, there were signs that she was struggling, not coping well with her life. Clay had heard all the rumours that had been spread around the school about Hannah, but he never believed them. They were just so different from the Hannah Baker he knew and worked with, the one he had fallen for.

"How did you know she was in trouble?" asked Mrs Baker, snapping Clay out of his reverie.

"Er..." was all he could say.

"We were worried about her," cut in Tony. "Clay and I both noticed that she had been looking a little down and we decided to come over to your house after work to check on her, but we realised something was wrong when she wasn't answering our calls or texts. We uh..." Tony smiled sheepishly at the Bakers, "had to bust down your door to get to her."

The Bakers' eyebrows rose up and looked at Clay and Tony in surprise. Clay himself was surprised at Tony, he hadn't mentioned the tapes at all.

"You- you bust down our door?" said Mrs Baker incredulously.

"We're happy to pay for the repairs," said Clay, speaking for the first time since the Bakers arrived.

"Doesn't matter," said Mr Baker. "What matters is that these boys may have very well saved Hannah's life."

Feeling uncomfortable again, Clay nodded his head awkwardly and sat back down. The Bakers followed Clay's example and sat down in some empty chairs across from them. There was silence in the reception hall for several minutes until Clay's phone started to buzz. He pulled it out from his pocket and saw a text message.

Mom

Where are you?

At the hospital.

Are you ok? What happened?

I'm fine. Just had to take a friend to the hospital, she hurt herself.

Is she going to be ok?

Not sure. We're waiting for the doctors to come back.

Ok. Let me know when you're finished and I'll pick you up. Be safe.

Ok.

Pocketing his phone away again, Clay turned his attention to an outdated magazine and started reading, and soon became bored. His thoughts however, never strayed too far from Hannah, and what might happen if she couldn't be saved. What would he do? The idea of a world without Hannah seemed inconceivable to him.

There was complete silence in the hospital as they waited for news on Hannah. Mr and Mrs Baker sat close together, holding each other's hands tightly as if they were physically transferring comfort to one another. Tony was reading one of the outdated gossip magazines intently, though every now and again his eyes would flicker up to look at either Clay or the Bakers. Clay himself had discarded his magazine, and was sitting in his chair stiffly with his hands clenched into fists.

It was over an hour after Hannah's parents had arrived when a doctor walked into the hall with a tired look on his face. Tony was the first to notice and he tapped Clay on the along with the Bakers stood up and waited nervously for the doctor to come to them.

"Hello, I'm doctor Barry," said the doctor. He looked at Hannah's parents and said "You must be Hannah's mother and father."

"Is our daughter going to be fine?" asked Mrs Baker nervously.

"She's in a stable condition, but has deep lacerations on both her forearms and has lost a lot of blood," explained Dr Barry. "If her friends hadn't gotten her here when they did, it was very possible that she wouldn't have made it."

Clay let out a deep breath that he didn't know he had been holding. Hannah was going to be okay. She was going to live. But then it hit him. If he and Tony hadn't gotten there when they did, she would have died. The thought sent a cold chill down his spine.

"Can we see her?" asked Mr Baker.

"Of course. But she's sleeping, and it's likely that she won't wake up for a few days," said Doctor Barry.

"Thank you," said Mrs Baker.

"Are you coming?" asked Mrs Baker to Clay and Tony.

Clay was confused for a moment. "Huh?" Clay asked stupidly.

"To see Hannah? Are you coming with us?" said Mrs Baker.

"Oh, I uh..." stuttered Clay.

"You saved her life. The both of you did," said Mr Baker. "We would appreciate it if you would join us."

"Of course," said Tony politely, grabbing Clay's arm. Clay was beginning to feel like he was invading the Baker's privacy, and if he were to be honest with himself, wasn't ready to see Hannah yet.

Dr Barry led the Bakers, Clay and Tony through several corridors before stopping at a white door. He opened it and gestured for the group to enter. Hannah's parents were the first to enter the room, followed by Tony and then Clay, who kept his head down. Dr Barry closed the door behind them, effectively preventing Clay from making a silent exit. Not having any other choice, Clay slowly walked over the the bed in which Hannah was resting in.

If Clay didn't know any better, Hannah could have been sleeping. She was wearing a white nightgown issued by the hospital, and her torso and legs were covered by a white blanket. Her arms were bandaged up, hiding the horrendous wounds that would leave scars for the rest of her life. Her pale face had a little colour in her cheeks, which were tinted slightly pink. A blood bag was hooked up to her left arm, slowly pumping blood back into her body.

Mr and Mrs Baker both took the seats on either side of Hannah's bed, looking at their daughter with pained expressions. Tony stood next to Mr Baker, a sad look on his face. Clay slowly walked over till he was standing at the foot of the bed, and for what felt like a millionth time that night, his heart stopped. He couldn't bare to look at Hannah laying there so fragilely, like a sneeze would be enough to finish the job she had started. She was always so strong, so confident in Clay's eyes, like a light in Clay's gloomy world. But now her light had diminished until it was almost completely snuffed out.

Clay noticed that the other conscious inhabitants of the room were looking at him sympathetically, and he realised that he was crying. He was about to wipe his face with the sleeve of his shirt, but it was covered in blood, Hannah's blood, so he stopped.

"E-excuse me," Clay choked out and he quickly left the room.

Once outside Clay sank to the ground, curled up into the fetal position and wept. He felt guilty for not realising Hannah needed him. He should have seen the signs, he should have known that Hannah needed him, he should have...

"Son?"

Clay looked up to see Mrs Baker staring at him in concern.

"Are you alright?" she asked.

"Y-yeah," said Clay.

Mrs Baker looked at him skeptically. "How well do you know Hannah?"

"We used to work together at the Cresmont, and I have a lot of classes with her," said Clay. "We sometimes hang out together."

"So you know her well?"

"I'm not sure. I-I'd like to think so, but I didn't know she would try to-" Clay stopped and looked at Mrs Baker apologetically.

Mrs Baker sighed. "I didn't think she would either," she said. She sat down on the floor next to Clay and rested her hand on his shoulder, rubbing it gently. Clay found the gesture oddly comforting.

"You care for her a great deal, don't you?" she asked, though it sounded more like a statement of fact.

Clay nodded his head, then he stood up. "I have to get going Mrs Baker. Thank you," he said. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to come visit Hannah if I can."

"Of course," said Mrs Baker, smiling gently. Clay nodded his head and turned to leave, but Mrs Baker's voice stopped him.

"Wait! I never got the chance to ask your name?"

"Clay," he replied.

"I can't thank you enough Clay, for saving my daughter's life," said Mrs Baker earnestly.

Clay had no response to that, so he turned around and left Mrs Baker standing alone in the hallway.

Barry is the last name of a friend of mine who committed suicide nearly four years ago, and this is my tribute to him.