I don't own HSM. Just the idea and Annie

"Hey dude wait up," Chad said to Troy

"I'm sorry," Troy glared angrily, "You must be mistaken me for someone who's talking to you."
Chad caught up with Troy and grabbed onto his shirt so he couldn't run.

"We need to talk," Chad said, "You can't be mad at me without telling me why you're mad at me."

"LIKE YOU DON'T KNOW," Troy snapped.

"Obviously I don't know," Chad said.

"Do you have any idea why I fought with Ryan," Troy snapped.

"Um... not really," Chad commented, "and I'm not sure what that has to do with anything"

"He was making fun of me about my sister's suicide"
Chad gasped.

"Troy," he said, "I had no idea."

"You didn't bother to ask what the fight was about. You should have taken my side."

"Dude you didn't give me a chance too. You just stormed out."

"Cause of what you said earlier," Troy said, "It hurt my feelings"

"Do you really think I meant it," Chad asked, "Don't be an idiot"

"EXCUSE ME!"

"GOD Troy we've been like brothers since we met. I would never act in a way that was hurtful to you. You should know that"
Chad knew Troy well enough to know when he stormed out he needed to take the time to cool down.

"Look," Chad said, "I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings. What did Ryan say anyway?"

"He said that thank GOD my sister killed herself. She's was such a loser. She was NOT a loser. She was my big sister. Annie was my first friend. She was the one who could always make me feel better after I had a bad day. She was the one who would always stick up for me. She was-"

"Ryan is the only loser Troy," Chad said,

"Whatever," Troy said, "I'm really upset. I need to go now."
As Troy left Chad ran into Couch Bolton.

"Chad, have you seen Troy today. I'm worried about him. He seemed really upset today."
Chad sighed. Troy's dad had to know.

"Yes Couch," Chad said, "an incident happened today. You need to know about it."
Chad told Jack all about what happened between Ryan and Troy.
To say Couch Jack Bolton was fuming would be an understatement. If he could kill Ryan he would have done so gladly. Still, for Troy's sake he had to stay calm.

"Thank you for telling me Chad," Jack said calmly, "You handled the situation well. I'll take care of it from here."

"Thank you," Chad said, "Would you give Troy a message for me"

"Of course," Jack said

"Tell him he's my best friend... he's like my brother and I would never ever hurt him"
Jack smiled at Chad gently, fatherly.

"Of course I'll tell him"

"Thank you," Chad said
Troy sat on the swing-set. His school was right next to a park. Tears were streaming down his face. His heart was broken and nothing could fix it. Suddenly he felt two strong hands on his shoulders. He looked up and saw his father.

"Troy," his dad said gently. Seconds later he was in the comfort of his father's arms.

"It's so hard," he cried, "It's like when I was 6 but this pain doesn't go away in a couple of days. It just stays on and on and on and on and on.

"I know Troy," Jack said, "Chad told me about what happened"
Troy sighed.

"I know I shouldn't have fought with him dad but he touched on a raw nerve. This pain... it's deep. Any mention of anything LIKE that any memory... it's just... it's not only exhausting it's excruciating. Things I used to take for granted... things I used to not even give a second thought to... I hear it or I see it or I somehow know it and it just opens the wound all over again. I blame myself for Annie's death too"

"Troy there is nobody at fault for Annie's death including Annie. She had gone through a very horrible disease and made the difficult decision not to spend her final days as a vegetable. It is not your fault. It's not anyone's fault. We all miss Annie but you also have to know this isn't the end. Annie's dead but she isn't gone. We'll see her again when it's our time."

"Will it ever stop hurting," Troy asked.
Jack wanted to lie to his son. He wanted to tell him it would stop hurting. He wanted to say that one day Troy would never hurt again. He was reminded of a six-year-old little kid who was hurting and in tears after a bad day that started with a teacher being mean to him and ended with him breaking his arm.

"It will get easier," Jack said finally telling the truth as gently as he could possibly tell it. Troy knew he would always miss his sister but he also knew he would be alright. His father would see to that.