The whole world became muffled, and my ears felt numb from the words I had just heard. I forced myself to move, watching with disbelief as my more sobs racked my mom's body. My dad hugged her close. I followed behind them, staring straight ahead as my mind ran the words over and over, until they were dissected of any further meaning. Maybe it's just a prank! Ava probably arranged it. Once we get into the room Ben will be there smiling and Ava, Andrew and even London will jump out at me. Another lump quickly formed in my throat. Even if I convinced myself that it was all just a prank, I couldn't stifle my emotions.

Before I even knew it, we were standing before a door. I knew that behind it lay my brother. My twin. My heart and mind continued to reject it, but I knew full well that it was true. It didn't do much to muffle the torment in my head. Don't let this be true… don't let this be true… The phrase continued to repeat itself as I stepped into the room, and my stiff head looked towards a bed that lay against the wall. The room was mostly white, and a confusing array of instruments and tools filled almost half of the room. A steady, quiet beep sounded from the heart monitor.

My eyes widened and flooded with tears, and I uttered a choked cry. There on the bed was my twin. Ben. His face had bandages covering an eye and most of his head. White band-aids and pads covered bloody cuts and bruises. The rest of his body was concealed by a thin blue blanket.

He didn't look like my other half. He looked broken.

His eyes were closed, but once the nurse had left and the door closed with a small click, his eyes opened. They scanned over the three of us. His usual colored eyes looked gray and pale, as if he saw something we didn't. A little smile appeared on his bruised lips. "Hi guys." He croaked out, his voice sounding startling weak. By even just looking at him you could tell he was fading. "Sorry about… about all of this." He said, no more than a whisper.

I slowly walked towards the bed, stopping right by his side. I stared down at him, my mind having shut down. Now only my heart bled. "What…?" I said quietly to myself. Ben looked over at me, turning his head slightly. I could tell it caused him enormous pain even though he didn't show it. "How…Why… Be-" My pathetic words were cut off when a flow of tears suddenly fell down my cheeks, and my throat refused to voice anything but the sounds of crying and despair. I crumpled, falling down onto my knees so that I was level with Ben. My twin. I looked over his soft expression, and I smiled weakly, wanting to show him strength in his final moments. "What are you without your other half?" I asked quietly.

"Nothing but a… but a sack of flesh… and bones." Ben replied, his voice just as weak as my smile.

"Spoken like a true introvert." I responded, finishing the exchange. I laughed with a cracked throat and a cracked heart.

Ben's smile grew and his eyes fluttered. "Spoken like… like my twin… yeah…" He looked back up at the ceiling. "We really are the same aren't… aren't we?" He said, his eyes drifting close. My heart rate quickened, the muscle being revitalized by the sudden change of sound. It took me a moment before I realized that the heart monitor was no longer beeping. My head spun towards the heart monitor screen. The green line was no longer spiking with each heartbeat. Instead it was flat. The monitor was letting out a long, painful sound, as if it were singing the proclamation of another death.

"No…" The word fell out of my mouth like a breath and I spun back towards Ben, but he was already gone. The monitor fell silent with a defiant click. "Ben… No…" I whimpered, staring at his lifeless face. The smile was gone, and so was the light that had always surrounded him. My lip trembled and more tears flushed out of my eyes. I laid my head down on the hard rim of the bed. I cried.

Three days later everyone was garbed in black. I watched with hopelessness and despair as some abled bodied men lowered a wooden casket down into the grave. I was standing at the front of the group along with my mom and dad, while everyone else who was attending the funeral were behind us. Once the casket had reached the bottom of the rectangle ditch, the same men from before shoveled dirt into the grave.

It was on that same day when I learned that Ben had perished in a car accident. He was with his friends, driving home from football practice at five when another car drove directly into the side of Ben's jeep. It was then that I had also learned that the article I had seen earlier that day was actually about that car crash, and not the one from before.

While I watched the men finish filling the grave with dirt, I couldn't help but feel angry with both Ben and my parents. They didn't even bother calling me when they learned about the crash… they could've told me sooner, and I could've spent more time with my twin before he died. I glanced over at my mom and dad. Despite my anger, there was a sense of understanding between us. If I were in their position, I also would've been too overcome by grief to make a phone call… And they probably wanted to tell me themselves, instead of the police… I felt the familiar burn in my nose as I felt more tears rising, but I suppressed them. I had already cried enough. My other half wouldn't have cried so much, so I won't.

After the funeral was finished, people began to separate, some who we didn't know as well leaving the cemetery. Andrew, Ava and London soon walked up to me. All three of them didn't say a word. Instead, they all hugged me at once. I buried my head into their embrace, allowing some tears to leak past my barrier. I looked up at them, seeing the remorse and sympathy that they held in their eyes. "Thanks for being here." I muttered, embarrassed to be seen crying in front of them.

They smiled. "No problem, Charlie." Ava said, her usual mischievous glint in her eyes long gone. Instead, a sweet sympathy filled her gaze.

"I'm really sorry." Andrew said quietly. I lowered my gaze from them. Because of the shock of Ben's death, I hadn't had time to think about anything. Now that that was over, my mind was rudely running through memories I had with Ben, making the pain worse.

"It's not your fault." I replied, becoming lost in my mind. I'm surprised I haven't been akumatized yet. My heart skipped a beat. I was surprised by the sudden thought. I looked back up at my three friends, and I smiled at them. It's because of them, isn't it. I reached out and hugged them again, and they all smiled as we formed a small circle.

No words were said for a while until London had to go. I nodded at her apologies, smiling with understanding. Ava and Andrew stayed behind, talking to me casually, Ava throwing in her usual witty remarks. I smiled and laughed with them. It was nice to have my mind off of the grief I had been feeling over the past few days. However, there was always that nagging thought. Ben's dead. You'll never see him again. I did my best to cover it with my friends comments and conversation.