Don't Leave Me IV

Miles pulled into the first parking spot he found, and counted Winston lucky that there was one next to it - there was someone who was more important on his mind. Tristan. Tristan. He had to see Tristan. To know that he was safe and that they still had each other. He didn't know what he would do without Tristan…

But he shook the thought from his head and forced a confident smile on his face. "You ready?" he asked Frankie. "I'm sure Jonah is perfectly fine. He always struck me as kinda… you know, tough?"

"Mhm," Frankie vocalized with a nod. "He's tough. He wouldn't let a bus crash take him out… plus, I've been thinking. We're really just getting worried about the the worst of this. I'm sure everyone is fine…"

Miles nodded absently as he turned to the backseat. "You two ready?" he asked Hunter and Yael. They agreed silently as they stepped out of the car.

He saw Winston's car and waved his hands above his head to get his friend's attention. It hit him suddenly – right in the chest with the density of a rock that left him feeling like the emptiness of a balloon. He felt nothing inside him – a very real nothing that was trying to burst out of him and eat him alive.

Was this what Hunter felt all of those months? All of those years? A nothingness? Every movement being a motion rather than a desire? Damn, no wonder he cracked. I should have known...

"You okay?" Winston asked as he got out of the car.

"Yeah, yeah," Miles muttered as his eyes followed Zoë coming around the back. Her eyes were red, not that it surprised him that she had been crying. If his siblings hadn't been in the car, he would have been crying the whole way…

"Is she okay?" he asked Winston. Zoë looked up to him with blank eyes as Winston put an awkward if supportive hand on her shoulder.

"She's just worried. She and Tristan were at a disagreement when… well before. And she really wants to talk to Grace about stuff…" Winston said.

It struck Miles that Winston was hiding something, but as it was a matter dealing with Zoë, that was hardly surprising. He knew that she and Tristan were at an outs, though they tried to keep it under wraps. He had his suspicions, but was going to leave Zoë to figure this one out on her own… and if her rushing off to Grace at the first sign of trouble after whatever falling out they had was a sign, his suspicions may very well be correct.

Not too long ago Zoë ranked up there as one of the more important people in his life, if just as a person to keep him company and stop him from feeling like complete, worthless shit. He would have to make sure to talk to her later… in a way, he was just another person to have abandoned her, and he understood that all too well. Not for the first time in his life the words were like a chant in his head.

Don't leave me. Don't leave me. Don't leave me.


"Frankie, where are you? Are you at the hospital yet?"

It was a text from Shay, and a part of Frankie felt elated that her friend cared enough to text… given recent events. But at least their friendship was back to what it used to be.

"Yeah," she sent in reply as they walked into the hospital door. Miles went to the front desk to ask about the Degrassi students. She noticed the sheer crowd in the front lobby, and knew that it wasn't normal. Her heart clinched for all of the people here. If their pain was a tenth of hers… in fact, it was probably worse as the sheer intuition she had told her that Jonah was fine. It was bizarre knowing everyone here was suffering together…

She looked again at her phone and took a moment to process what Shay was going through – Lola too, no doubt. They were likely still in a panic over Tiny… and she couldn't will her intuition to tell her that Tiny was okay. They were going to need her support.

"I got a ride with Miles," she added. "Are you on your way? I can ask around about him if you want."

"We're on the way now. That Baaz kid is giving us a ride. Said he lost your little brother and that you likely left with Miles," Shay sent in return. Frankie eyed the dancing ellipses with concern as Shay continued, only to chuckle at the addition. "This weird Vijay kid won't stop singing."

"What's so funny?" Hunter asked from beside her. "I wouldn't think you'd be laughing at a time like this."

Frankie shook her head with amusement. "I'm just intrigued how you have a friend like Vijay."

Hunter squinted at her. "Random," he muttered, before turning his attention back to Yael. It was nice to see her little brother with friends now; staying locked inside for a good two or three years of his life after she left him behind on the social ladder hadn't been the best for him. She wouldn't allow herself to be jealous. She had been selfish enough already.

"Let's go," she heard Miles order. "I couldn't get to the front desk, but I heard all those with minor injuries are in Wing C. We'll just hope that they're there… if not, we'll ask around." `

Frankie nodded as she followed Miles' lead. It struck her now that Miles knew this hospital well, and she was sad that she hadn't been able to visit him the two days that he was in here to recover from his overdose last semester. She had been too busy crying about boys to notice as both of her brother's fell down a hole that only they could save themselves from…

Jonah would tell her not to think that way, and she could only hope that he was well enough to tell her again.


Zoë frowned as she followed Miles through the hospital. As much of a walking disaster that he may consider himself to be, she trusted him to be a leader. It was no small part in why she had sought him as a prize for so long. He was rich, he was powerful, and he was someone who could make her feel important if he loved her. That hadn't worked out for more reasons than one. She didn't want to feel important… she just wanted to be loved. What was wrong with her friend group that they were all so desperate for the basics of humanity? Perhaps it was being gay or whatever in a society that hated you...

She wondered if he knew about her. Miles' sexuality was as fluid as she had ever seen, so surely he suspected something about her spat with Tristan. That sent a fresh wave of guilt through her as she realized that her best friend hadn't ratted her out to his boyfriend… though she wondered if Miles had guessed nonetheless. He had been the first to suspect her attraction to Grace, almost before she herself knew.

But she was out now. Sort of. Winston knew… and those words would be the first Tristan heard when she saw him. You were right. I'm sorry for hurting you… and myself. I'm sorry I let my hatred of myself turn into hatred of you. I love you. You're my best friend…

Her thoughts reached a sudden end as she ran into someone. "Shit, I'm sorry, I…" she lost her voice as she saw who it was. Frankie… someone who hated her guts, and rightfully so. One of the many people who played the role of victim on the rise to being the psychotic bitch Grace saw her as.

"I…" she stammered, before Frankie stopped her.

"We don't have time to fight… are you okay? I heard you were worried about Tristan and Grace…" Frankie said. "I'm here for Jonah… and to support Miles."

Zoë nodded slowly. "Thanks… I hope Jonah is okay. I don't really know him, but I just want everyone to be okay. Everything… just hurts so much." She gasped as Frankie pulled her into a hug.

"Things will be fine, I just know it," Frankie said. "Are you okay? You're crying."

"Ye-yeah, I'm just emotional… and my leg hurts. And my heart. I just..." and then Zoë let herself fall into Frankie's arms just like it was old times.


Hugging Zoë was not a thing she had expected to do ever again after Zoë showed her true colors back with Degrassi Nudes, but as she saw the other girl crying she knew she had no choice. It was the right thing to do. A selfish person would hold onto their hate as someone suffered, but a good person would put all of that aside and spread love in its place.

Her heart stopped as she saw Zoë's lips quiver, and she put as much of her love into her as she could. She didn't keep track of Zoë much these days – short of the fact that she had managed to take her ex without even meaning to – but she knew that Zoë had few people to find comfort in. And, if there was anything she could see in the faces of all these people she knew, it was that everyone needed someone to get through this.

"We'll get through this, Zoë," Frankie said. "Everyone is fine, I just know it."

Zoë attempted a nod, but snatched her hand away as Frankie's fingers brushed her wrist.

That was a burn, Frankie thought, as Zoë hid crossed her arms. She's hiding it. "If you need to talk, I'm here… or Miles, I'm sure, if you feel more comfortable. Tristan's fine, I just know it…" she wanted to say more, but a call of her name caught her ears.

"Frankie?" she heard a deep voice speak, and her heart jumped with glee. Jonah!

"Jonah!?" she cried as she ran toward him, throwing herself into his arms and lips meeting his without a care for the people around them. He was safe. She knew he was, but now she had proof. She rubbed her hands up and down his arms, his back, and his chest. She touched his face to pull him closer as they kissed. He was real. He was alive.

She wanted so much to be happy, but there was only one other person in the room she recognized... and it wasn't the one who would make Miles whole.


A/N: So Jonah is alive and apparently well - at the very least, Frankie hasn't noticed him missing any limbs. I'll be honest with you though, he's the best off! So, that leaves us with 2 of our beloved characters unaccounted for... dun dun.

Also, as you may have noticed, chapters are getting longer the further I get into the story and the more developed it becomes. This will lead to rewrites of earlier chapters when I republish this :)