((Well, here I am with another fanfic! I started this one a year or two ago

It stars my Confederacy (CSA) OCs and several other OCs from the Hetalia Facebook community c:

I have bios up on my profile for my two CSA OCs if you want to know more about them. For now, here's a key so that everyone can keep up with all of the OCs.

Johnny=CSA

Sam=Nyo!CSA

Elizabeth=Statue of Liberty

Elias=Nyo!SOL

Mason=Empire State Building

These are all cute and precious OCs and I love them. Eliza, Elias, and Mason all belong to Strawbunny, though, so these characters aren't all mine :D

I also, obviously, don't own Hetalia or any brands that happen to be mentioned in this story and I'm making no profit from it. Just writing for the sheer joy of it.

This story is unbeta'd and there may be mistakes but it's my baby ;; it also isn't finished and I have no idea when's I'll get around to writing part two ;;

But enjoy anyway!

-Rae))

Everything Stays

Part I

.:Johnny:.

Life is just a bunch of horseshit. A bunch of cliché, horribly put together horseshit that doesn't matter in the end. It doesn't matter what you do, it doesn't matter who you are- you end up dead. Such is life. And I, Jonathan Samuel Whitlock, am the star of this horribly shitty life. Just peachy.

I wish I could say that this is a happy story. A story where a guy meets a girl and guy and girl fall in love and live happily after- but nah. That's not the story. Not the happily ever after part, anyway.

There was a girl. Key word. Was. She was perfect. Elizabeth Bonnefoy. She was everything I wanted and everything that I needed. Elizabeth was an immigrant from France- you know, the country famous for hairy women and nude beaches. She was just what you would expect a hot French girl to look like- blonde, glowing blue eyes, fair skin. A bright smile and a shining personality to boot. And when I first saw her, oh god.

I'd pretty much assumed that I was asexual before that point and thought I'd end up alone with a multitude of dogs. And cats. Lots of cats. My mom had basically given up on me finding a girl to be with and had just left me to my own devices- and honestly, that was fine by me. I wasn't looking for love; but damn, it sure found me.

It was a rainy day at school when Elizabeth first arrived. It was in the middle of history class- definitely one of the more interesting subjects- when the door opened suddenly, with the principal and Elizabeth herself standing in the doorway. And as soon as I saw her? This might sound stupid, but the whole world changed. Before that moment, everything in my world seemed monochrome, but after it was all technicolor. Clearly, I must have been drooling or something because a snicker sounded from beside me- specifically from one of the people who made life a literal living hell for me. Alfred Jones.

Alfred was just what you would expect from a jock. Tall. Good with people. Friendly. Horribly photogenic. Not that I would know. He also wasn't the smartest pitchfork in the barn. One time, I had the misfortune of being paired with him for a civics project. You see, we had to figure out how we could best improve the world, and of course, the moron said something like, 'Oh my god. We could totally do one on making a giant robot protect the whole earth from evil- we could call him Globo-man!' And of course, that being the most idiotic plan that I'd ever heard, I replied with, 'you really are a moron, aren't ya?'

...Let's just say that Alfred had been out to get me ever since.

Anyway, back to the jock in question. "Hah. Nice face, dipshit." The taller blond commented, a shit-eating grin on his face. Face heating up in response, I quickly looked away from the new student, just glaring over at the grinning teen. "What was that? I can't understand people with an IQ less than 40." I replied, smirking a bit. Anyone could practically feel the other teen fuming about that comment.

"...Oh! Oui! Allô!"

My gaze shifted upward when the voice of Elizabeth herself echoed through the now silent classroom.

Elizabeth, who was dressed in a crisp green dress, a pair of white Mary Janes, and a matching white barrette, smiled brightly as she greeted everyone. "It is so nice to meet you! Mon nom est Elizabeth Bonnefoy, but please, call me Libby. I am not zhat good wizh English as most, so I 'ope you can be patient wizh me!" She added, laughing straight afterwards. I could've sworn that her laughter sounded just like the tinkling of bells. "Anyway, it is nice to meet you all and I 'ope we can all be good friends!"

Of course, I wasn't expecting her to notice me whatsoever. After most experiences, I'd learned that most new people flock toward Alfred's group- especially the attractive girls. And so, I just decided to push this little – "crush?" – aside and would hope to just give up on it. Fortunately, fate just wouldn't let that happen.

"Welcome to the class, Libby. There's an empty seat next to Johnny- please go take a seat. And since we have no more textbooks, you'll have to share with him for the time being. Johnny, please raise your hand," the teacher said, to which I almost hesitantly raised my hand. There really was an empty seat next to me, that seat having previously belonged to someone that had moved away earlier that semester.

Heading over with a smile, Libby sat down in the desk, scooting it over slightly so that we could share the book. Once that was settled, the teacher continued on with his lecture. Libby was leaning so close- so close that I could smell her perfume. Blushing awkwardly, I moved away only slightly, trying to pay more attention to the lecture at hand.

Making a soft sound, Libby nudged me. "Hey. Johnny, right?" She whispered. I only nodded in response. "Would you mind showing me around? I 'ave never been to a school this... large and I don't want to get lost."

And of course, I nodded again. Showing her around wouldn't be so bad, right? I'd just show her to her classes and she'd make other friends and forget about me, right?

Wrong.

From that day forth, Libby declared herself to be my best friend. Pretty much against my will. Not that I minded, really. I hadn't had many friends in the first place. The only horrible thing that happened was that I really was developing a pure crush on her- and I wasn't sure what to do about it. And on top of that, Alfred was harassing me more. Whether it be at lunch, in the hall, or even in class, he'd find reasons to mess around with me.

Having noticed this, one day, Libby just got tired of hearing it. We were at lunch, just eating together when the yank himself walked over, placing his palms flat on the table. He sneered in my direction. "Hey dipshit."

I rolled my eyes. "How about you call me something other than dipshit?" "Like what?"

"How about sunrise land?" I jokingly sang quietly, making the jock reach over and grab my collar.

"How about I pound your face in right here?" The testosterone filled teen snapped. This finally caused Libby to snap. She stood up, promptly grabbing his ear. "Alfred F. Jones, if you do not stop picking on mon ami, I will kick you so 'ard that you will not be able to produce offspring!" She finally snapped.

Alfred and I both just stood there, staring at her with surprised eyes. Whoa. Actually, the whole cafeteria had fallen silent. No one ever stood up to Alfred Jones like that- let alone threatened him. She tugged on his ear hard. "Get it?"

"Yeah, yeah, just lemme go-" The blond boy mumbled, embarrassed. She let go of his ear. "Now go away. S'il vous plaît." And with that said, Alfred wandered back to his own table. I blinked at Libby, who just sat back down, moving to smile at me.

It was in that moment that I knew that I had fallen for her.

My younger sister was a pain. Samantha Charlotte Whitlock. Of course, the only people who called her 'Samantha' was Mom. And usually she addressed her as "SAMANTHA CHARLOTTE". Sam was a troublemaker from the very beginning.

The day she was born, she peed on dad. And barfed all over mom's hospital gown. Mom wasn't happy, from what I remember.

And from that day on, Sam and Mom fought and fought. They were polar opposites. Mom was a proper southern belle. And even though we lived in New York, she still tried to enforce southern traditions pretty darn heavily upon us; mainly Sam.

But Sam, well Sam would hear nothing of it. Even from when she was small, she didn't want to wear the girly things that Mom pushed upon her. I can even remember when she went into my closet and stole some of my clothes to wear to school one day. Mom was so pissed.

But by the time that Sam got into high school, Mom just gave up. I think that she was just tired of trying to get her to conform to what she wanted. Sometimes I feel bad for her because ever since dad died, she's had to raise us on her own, but then I remember the time that she made me dress up like a butler and serve tea at one of her parties. Then I say "fuck you mom" and go back to studying photography.

Photography was my life at this point. I loved seeing things come to life in a photograph. People, plants, animals- everything. Photography was something special. And Libby was quickly becoming one of my favorite subjects.

She was just so bright, so in touch with everything around her. She was the beautiful summer sunshine and I was... the cold winter snow, I don't know.

And Sam knowing me as well as she did, it didn't take her too long to figure out that I was crushing hard on Libby.

Elizabeth had been here for a full week- and she hadn't gotten tired of me yet. At school, she stayed constantly by my side, talking my ear off. I never understood why, honestly. She was pretty, smart, and bubbly. She could be friends with anyone that she wanted to- yet she stayed by my side. It didn't make it any easier for me to shrug off my crush. Not at all.

The Tuesday of her second week here, I was sitting at lunch, tinkering with my camera. And consistently, Eliza was by my side, asking me questions about my photography. Since I've never been too talkative, I just tried to nod and smile at the appropriate times. And also keep my blush hidden. She just affected me in the weirdest of ways. Crushing was weird. Love was weird. Life was weird.

Eliza was currently chatting along about the History quiz, asking me if I'd gotten certain answers for certain questions. I was so tongue tied- heart pounding, tongue in my throat, butterflies, nausea- that I could only nod or shake my head.

It was a nice arrangement, honestly. Eliza got to remain oblivious to my crush (I hope), and I got to be around her. To have her as my friend at the very least. That was all I wanted. I definitely didn't want to lose her just because I had a crush.

Eliza was in the middle of asking me about the short answer essay when suddenly Sam slid over into the seat next to me. "Hey Johnny boy!" She greeted, slapping me on the back. Ouch. "Ow," I said, promptly scooting an inch away. "Sam, I thought I told you not to talk to me at school."

Sam, the annoying little shit just grinned. "I know. I'm ignoring that because I want to meet your new friend. You don't have friends," She added, looking pointedly toward Libby, whose bright blue eyes were wide. She seemed shocked. But then she beamed. "Oh, Johnny, you did not tell me that you 'ad a little sister!" She chimed, immediately scooting over so that she could hold her hand out for Sam to shake.

"I'm Elizabeth Bonnefoy! You can call me Eliza or Libby- everyone else does!" She chirped. Her cheerful personality seemed to fluster Sam, who hadn't been expecting such an enthusiastic greeting.

"S-Sam," The short blonde girl stuttered, her freckled cheeks turning pink. Eliza laughed brightly. "Just as cute as your brother, I see~" She teased. Now my cheeks were pink. "Libs," I warned, only for the boisterous blonde to giggle. "Sorry! You two are just so easy to teasy!"

"...never say 'easy to teasy' ever again."
"Or what? You'll spank me~?"
I nearly choked on my own spit, heat rising to my cheeks.

Sam snorted, laughing. "Oh my god. I think you broke him, Eliza," She spoke up, her normal impish grin on her face now that she had recovered from Eliza's greeting. "S-shut up," I stuttered, only succeeding in making the two girls laugh. Oh god, what have I done. They never should have met- things can only go downhill from here.

Grinning knowingly at me, Sam reached for her phone and typed something out. Moments later, my phone buzzed. A message from her.

[Little Shit]: You liiikeeeeee herrrrrrrr :p ;)

Blushing heavily, I shot her a quick glare before I looked back over toward Eliza, hoping that she hadn't noticed. Luckily, the French girl seemed oblivious, actually turning her sights on Sam so that she could talk with her.

Sighing, I looked back down toward my camera. Well, this was my life now. And indeed it was.

Sam and Eliza became fast friends. While Sam didn't sit with us at lunch because she still wanted to sit with her artsy fartsy friends, she and Libby hung out constantly. Libby even came over to our house a lot.

Mom was delighted. She was happy to see that Sam had a girly friend that didn't have coloured hair, piercings, or illegal tattoos.

A month into their friendship, they had both dragged me along on a trip to the park. I was taking nature shots while they sat on a bench near to me. I actually got a few good shots in before I found myself listening in on their conversation.

"Actually, you're the same age as my sis—I mean, brother," Eliza was saying, throwing bits of seeds toward the birds that gathered around their feet.

"You have a brother?" Sam asked questioningly, grey eyes blinking in surprise.
"Oh oui, Elias. 'e's your age. 'e's 'omeschooled zhough. Papa is worried that people 'ere would pick on 'im too." Eliza responded, a frown suddenly appearing on his face. "I know that Elias gets lonely though. I was actually zhinking of bringing you and Johnny over to meet 'im," She added, glancing in my direction for a moment. Flushing at how I got caught eavesdropping, I pretended to go back to my camera.

"I'd love to meet him," Sam spoke up kindly. "But can I ask why yer dad thinks that people might pick on him?"

Libby gave a little casual shrug. "Elias is transgender. I am still getting used to it, 'onestly. Sometimes, I cannot 'elp but see 'im as my little baby sister. But I know zhat he's a boy and we all just 'ave to accept it."

Sam blinked, surprised. I was as well, honestly. But then Sam spoke up, her hand resting on Libby's shoulder. "I can't wait to meet him. We're gonna be best friends," She promised. Libby smiled, her eyes actually getting a little teary. "Oh zhank you."

Putting my camera away, I headed over. "Let's go meet him now." I spoke up. Sam immediately agreed with a nod.

Libby, wiping at her eyes, nodded gladly. "Well.. alright! Let's go zhen~" Said the French girl, who looked toward Johnny with what had to be the sweetest smile that she could muster. "Could you drive us zhere? Since you are zhe only one wizh a car here," She pointed out.

Honestly, she didn't need to butter me up to get me to do what she wanted. I was already wrapped around her finger. But it definitely didn't harm anything. "I was already gonna drive ya. Geez," I mumbled, my face hot as I slung my camera bag over my shoulder. "Let's go already."

And with that said, we headed to my black four door Jeep that I affectionately refer to as Bessie Heffer. After my favourite cow that I had as a kid. May she rest in peace. That cow lived on in spirit via my Jeep.

Once we all were in, I followed Libby's directions, driving through town as we headed toward her house. It didn't actually take long to get there, either. And parking in front of the huge house, I was immediately impressed. And intimidated. I hadn't realized that Libby's family was rich. But maybe they had to be to migrate from France.

"Whooaaaaaaa this is your house?" Sam asked, amazed as she looked out of the window. Libby giggled quietly. "It is. It is actually much smaller than zhe 'ouse zhat we 'ad in Paris," She responded casually. Glancing toward me, Sam mouthed a 'wow' at me before she got out of the car. Libby and I soon followed.

Leading us into the house, Libby told us to take off our shoes. Once they were off, she called into the house. "Papa! I am home and I brought guests!"

From the kitchen, a seemingly pleased gasp rang before the sound of footsteps sounded, signaling the arrival of a tall man with long blond hair and a bit of scruff on his chin. "Ah, zhere is my wonderful little Elizabeth!" The man, who I assumed was her papa, cooed before he went to pull her into his arms. Eliza laughed and gave him kisses on both of his cheeks. "Allô, Papa!" She greeted before she pulled back to gesture toward Sam and I.

"Zhese are my friends from school-"

"Ah! Johnny and Sam! I 'ave heard a lot about you!" Eliza's father said, seeming excited that they were here.

"Really?" I spoke up, nervous. This was my crush's dad. Of course I was nervous. I was surprised that I wasn't sweating buckets at this point.

"Of course! I am so happy to be meeting my sweet girl's new friends!" Eliza's father said, shaking my hand gladly before he moved onto Sam and shook her hand as well.

"Johnny, Sam, zhis is mon papa," Libby finished the introductions. "Francis Bonnefoy. Are you two staying for dinner?" The Frenchman asked, smiling so brightly. God, I know where Libby gets her personality. And her smile.

"Well, actually-"

"We'd love to!" Sam chirped, interrupting me before I could decline. I really hadn't wanted to call Mom and ask, but now that Sam accepted... I really had no choice.

"Great! Make yourselves at 'ome, children! I am making Coq au vin!" Francis exclaimed, clapping excitedly before he headed off to the kitchen.

Smiling toward us, Libby gave a little 'follow me' gesture. "Come on. I will take you to meet Elias now," She spoke up, leading us forward toward the back door. Looking out, I was met with the view of a boy who appeared very effeminate, hair a bit longer than mine. He honestly looked like a male version of Eliza.

"Elias~" Eliza called, waving happily. Elias, who had had his nose buried in a book, looked up. Immediately, he blushed when he saw that it was not only Eliza here, but Sam and I as well.

Leading us over, Eliza introduced us to the boy, who seemed to be really shy. But Sam took to him immediately, sitting right beside him and asking him what book he was reading. She even got him into talking about the book, explaining the plot to her. And she just happily listened.

It didn't take long for Eliza and I to be shut out of the conversation. Looking over at me, Eliza smiled. "She wasn't kidding when she said zhat she would be his best friend," said she, her voice light and amused.

I chuckled. "Well, when Sam wants somethin', she gets it. That's just how she is." I responded fondly, looking toward the two conversing teens for a moment. "She always makes friends so easily though. I'm kinda jealous of that." I confessed.

Eliza smiled. "I like my antisocial best friend." She replied. "You're great just as you are."

Blushing, I shrugged, trying to brush the compliment off like it wasn't making my heart pound heavily in my chest. Bomp bomp bomp bomp. Bomp bomp bomp bomp.

"Anyway~ let's go to my room! We can start binge watching Criminal Minds~!" Libs said excitedly, grabbing my hand and leaving me back in the house and up the stairs. I tried not to focus on how soft her hand was. Or how good it felt in mine. Nope. No weird hand thoughts.

So engrossed in my own thoughts, I almost didn't notice Libby leading me into her room. But once I was in the room, it was definitely hard to miss. Her room was huge. At the end, there was a bay window, the walls a beautiful lavender colour. On one side of the room, there was a mirror closet and her dresser, which had a flat screen TV settled onto it. Then she had a desk and bookshelf on the other. And finally, there was the canopy bed that had a mural painted on the wall behind it. Paris, I assumed, judging by the Eiffel Tower.

"Nice room," was the intelligent comment that passed over my lips. I nearly face palmed. I had such a way with words. Wow Johnny. Wow.

But Eliza didn't seem to be affected by my debonair wit. She just giggled and nodded. "Yes, I love it a lot." She agreed before she headed over to the television to set up Netflix. "Go get settled on the bed, I 'ave got it!"

Of course, I couldn't help but listen. Heading over to Eliza's bed, I sat down, sitting in a sort of criss cross applesauce position. And once it was all set up, Eliza headed over and the marathon began.

While we watched, Eliza made all sorts of witty comments that just made the show even better. They even got me to laugh. Really laugh.

Now laying on her tummy, Eliza peeked up at me, smiling. "Dieu, I do not think that I 'ave ever 'eard you laugh like zhat before," She said, her smile only growing.

Blushing, I shrugged that off. "I laugh." I protested meekly. But of course, she was very right. I really didn't laugh like that a lot. She just brought that out in me. Giggling, she sat up a little, her chin resting in her hands. "I just thought it was cute, zhat was all."

Cute. She thinks I'm cute. God, my face couldn't get any hotter at this point. She really needed to stop."I'm not cute," I mumbled, leaning down to cover my blush a bit. Which was probably useless, because it could probably be seen for miles, but it was worth the effort.

Luckily, she didn't embarrass me further. Instead, she smiled and went to click on the next episode.

And the evening continued like this. Libby and I laying on her bed. Me focusing on trying not to focus on how her leg was touching mine. Or how good she smelt. Or how beautiful her laugh was. God, I really had it bad.

But soon, too soon, Francis called us both down for dinner.

And dinner went really well. Sam and Eliza mostly spoke, lightening the mood. Francis joined in, even getting me and Elias to speak once in a while. I didn't quite get the chance to know Elias, but we did exchange a few respectful nods every once in a while so that was a good thing. I think that he could sense my crush on Libs because he did glare at me once or twice. But other than that, dinner was fantastic.

And afterwards, I let Sam say goodbye to Elias while Libby led me outside to my Jeep, the stars shining so brightly above us. It was a terribly beautiful night. Once we were at the driver's side door, I felt her arms suddenly wrap around me. Heart pounding heavily, I hesitated before I gently hugged her back.

"Zhank you so much, Johnny," She breathed sweetly, her forehead resting against my shoulder. "Y-yer welcome," I responded, waiting for her to let go. And as soon as she did, she gave me a little smile, seemingly about to say something else before she began to cough a bit.

And that tiny bout of coughing turned more intense, Libby's hand resting over her abdomen as if she were in pain.

"Libs?" I asked, eyes wide in concern. "I-I am alright," She croaked out, her coughs growing less intense, her hand still clutching. "Just a little under zhe weather- can you get Papa? He can 'elp me inside," Requested Libby, flashing what was probably supposed to be a reassuring smile at me.

"Y-yeah," I stuttered before I went inside and got him. I'd never seen a man run so fast. It was as if he was worried that her very life was in danger. But he did end up helping her inside after we said a last goodbye. And Sam came out shortly afterwards, seeming confused. "What's up with Libs?"

"I don't know."

Eliza was absent from school for two weeks. No explanation, no calls, no texts. Nothing. I tried calling her several times, but it always went straight to voicemail.

I got increasingly worried.

But then, Wednesday of the third week, she showed up, waving at me and smiling like nothing had happened. My heart just leaped.

When she was close enough, I tugged her easily into my arms, relieved. "Fuckin' hell, Libs. At least call me when ya disappear like that." I spoke up, trying to sound mad but I really couldn't. I was just so relieved, so happy that she was here. Because when she was gone, I hadn't known what to do. I just kept picturing the worst in my mind, remembering Francis' worried face, Libs' when she coughed like that, that small, frail hand clutching, seemingly in pain.

I had been terrified.

Eliza, of course, tried to lighten the mood. "Aw, you sound like you care for me or somezhing," She joked, the words only succeeding in making my arms tighten around her.

Now was my chance. Tell her how you feel.
But I couldn't. So instead, I said, "Yer my best friend, Libs."

So many better words came to mind. You mean the world to me. I love you so much. Please don't leave me again.

"You cain't just leave me hangin' like that. Rude." I added, finally letting her go. She giggled. "Alright, I promise not to leave you 'anging like zhat again," She promised, cutely butting her shoulder against mine. I tried not to think about the sparks that I felt when she did little things like that.

Repress, repress. "Good."
Repress, repress.

A whole month passed and Libs showed no more signs of sickness. At least no major ones as far as I could see. She would seem like she was in pain sometimes and she'd cough a bit, but it was never too bad. And I never really figured out what was wrong. We just didn't talk about that. Instead, Libby kept the focus solely on happy things.

She partnered with me on projects, hung out with me after school. We even went bowling.

This current afternoon, we were in the park. She was helping me out with my photography project. She was the model, of course. I had to make a portfolio of emotions with the same model expressing them. Right now, we were working on happy. That was why we were at the park.

Right now, I was taking photos of her on the playground equipment, children surrounding her as they all played together. It was adorable. Of course, that was ruined by the sound of a fight behind me.

"Get him!"

Of course it was him. Alfred Fucking Jones, always here to ruin my day. Turning back, I saw Jones and his posse gathered around a little freshman. I think his name was Mason.

But either way, they were picking on someone weak and I just couldn't tolerate it. Sighing, I turned my camera off and headed over. Honestly, I'm not sure what I was thinking. I was just reminded too much of myself. I remembered when I was the kid being pushed around and beat up. Libs changed all of that. Now I could help this kid at least.

Heading up behind them, I peeked through where a crowd was gathering. Alfred spotted me from where he was pummeling the kid. "Hey Shitlock! C'mon, take a picture!" What?

"No way, Jones, I'm not takin' the picture."

Alfred sneered a bit, his hands now pinning Mason helplessly in the dirt. "Take the picture, Shitlock."

"I said, no, Jones. Now let him go!" "Take the picture."
"Let him go!"

My words became loud, demanding. Alfred looked angry. Almost impressed. But luckily, that got him to let poor Mason go and immediately, I went to try and see if he was okay. But before I could, Alfred had grabbed me by my shirt with one hand and socked me in the face with the other.

The crowd began cheering and one of Alfred's jock friends even held me back as Alfred began punching me in the stomach. Of course, I struggled and kicked, wanting to damage them both as much as I was getting damaged, but it was two against one.

But then I heard Libby give a sort of battle cry. "GET OFF OF HIM! STOP!" She screamed before she pushed past the crowd and hopped on Alfred's back, slapping him in the head as she tried to get him away from me.

Growling, the American did turn his sights on her. "Get offa me!" He yelled back, trying to shake her off. "I don't wanna hurt ya!"

"Coward!" Came her yell as she kept hitting him, holding onto him tightly like a spider monkey. I could only watch in slight admiration and awe. I was definitely in love.

But of course, Libby wasn't strong. At least not as strong as Alfred. He only put up with her for a moment longer before he propelled her off of his back, leaving her to fall to the ground, right on her head.

And almost immediately, I knew that something was wrong. "Let me go." I spoke up. And when the goon didn't let me, I yelled. "Let me go!"

Startled, the goon released me from his grip and I immediately ran over to Libby, who wasn't moving. She wasn't getting up. "Libs," I shook her, my heart in my throat. She didn't move. "Libs, come on," I tried again, still shaking her.

But nothing was happening.
This was bad.
My eyes burned from what I assumed were tears filling them.

Someone! Somebody, please! Call an ambulance!" I cried, vision becoming blurry from the tears, holding Libby in my arms.

Vaguely, I heard someone in the crowd calling, but I couldn't focus on that. I could only focus on Libby, who was still. Libby, who looked so small, so frail. How had I never noticed that before? When did she get this small?

I don't know how long I was sitting there on my knees, holding her close and sobbing, but soon, the sounds of sirens and general chatter sounded from around me and soon I was being pried away from her.

"Sir! Sir, we need to get her to the hospital!" A paramedic was chastising me, holding me back as another got Libby onto a stretcher. I couldn't say a word. I couldn't even breathe. They were taking her away.

Eventually, I stopped fighting the paramedic and fell to my knees, sobs wracking my body. They tried to console me, but they did have to go. So they just left me with a police officer on scene. They wouldn't let me ride to the hospital with her since I wasn't family.

When I had calmed down a bit, I noticed that I had been moved to a police car, a female police officer at my side, holding a cup of coffee. When she noticed that I seemed to be a bit better, she looked over at me. "Is there anyone you need me to call, son?" She asked and I wheezed a bit.

"M-my mom. Please call," A breath. "My mom." "Okay, kid."

Before I knew it, my mom pulled up, looking extremely worried and ruffled. "Jonathan?" She cried, running over to pull me into her arms. When she did, I couldn't control myself. It all just came pouring out again.

"Oh, my sweet boy," Mom murmured, holding me close and rocking me in her arms as I cried. "Shhh, shhh, it'll be alright.."

Somehow, despite my hysterics, I ended up explaining what had happened to Mom and she did the most out of character thing. She took me to the hospital so that I could see Libs.

When I got there, Francis, Elias, and Sam were already waiting. As soon as Sam saw me, she ran over and hugged me. "Hey," She greeted quietly, leading me over to where Elias was sitting. "How are you holding up?"

To this, I gave a slight weak laugh that basically said, 'are you kidding?', but I did end up answering. "I'm holding. Any update on Libs?"

Sam bit her lip. "None that I know of. I think she's in the ICU right now being taken care of. Elias and Francis won't tell me what's wrong. Elias says that is Eliza's story to tell. Whatever that means."

I frowned before I looked over to Elias, who seemed to be barely holding on. He looked so distressed. After exchanging a look with Sam, I headed over to the boy and sat beside him. "Hey."

Blue eyes, so much like Eliza's, looked up. "...hey."
Neither of us said anything else after that. We were just quiet. Then Elias spoke up. "I 'eard what happened. Thanks."

Why was he thanking me? Didn't he know that this was basically all my fault? If I hadn't tried to save that kid... if I hadn't picked a fight...

As if reading my mind, Elias continued. "Mason told me what 'appened. 'e's a uh... 'e's an Overwatch buddy." Oh. "Thanks for stopping zhose bullies. And being my sister's friend."

Oh. Wow.

"She really... she really loves you, you know." He added. "A lot. She won't stop talking about you. It is... really annoying. But cute."

This made my chest hurt a bit. Oh god. Oh no.

"Listen, um, she didn't want me to tell you, but... Eliza..." Elias took a shaky breath. "She has leukemia. Ever since she was fourteen. It has been hard. Papa says it's gotten into her brain; that's why she wouldn't get up after a fall like zhat.."

And hearing that felt like a punch to the gut. I couldn't even speak.

Elias continued. "She didn't want anyone to know. Zhat it would make people treat 'er differently. But.. you needed to know just in case she..." He drifted off, unable to say more. We both knew what he was thinking.

This was real.

There was a very real chance that I was going to lose Eliza. Before I even got to...before I even got to tell her how I feel. Before I could ever ask her out. Before we could ever actually date. Before she could go to college, before I could one day just randomly propose to her out of the blue, and before we could ever get married.

I'd imagined that far.

But now all of that was slowly becoming less and less of a possibility. That hurt way too much to comprehend.

I could only hope, only pray that she would be okay. I needed her to be okay. I needed it more than anything.

But all I could do was wait.

End of Part I

"Everything stays

Right where you left it

Everything stays

But it still changes

Ever so slightly

Daily and nightly

In little ways

When everything stays"

-"Everything Stays", Adventure Time