-Newly Edited-

New and refurbished! Anywho, sorry this one took so long. I totally forgot about a wedding that I'm supposed to be going to this weekend, so I've been running about trying to make last minute preparations (ex: dress adjustments). Something kinda funny that happened was, Blaze finally moved and I went to sleep, caught my flight to N. Carolina, got to the farm, only to sit down with my computer to have Nelly (John's dog) sit on my feet, once again forbidding motion.

Thanks to:

HPSmallCharm29: I guess I'm just on a roll today. That and Blaze is forbidding me from moving so I might as well keep going. Thanks so much!

(1) Maybe I'm the only one who does this, but when I'm nervous, upset, or confused, I run my fingers through my hair. Josh is doing this because of a combination of emotions.

Chapter 4

First on the mental checklist was Amanda. To Josh and Lori it seemed right to tell her first. After all, they were best friends.

"Amanda," Lori began nervously, as she stood behind the blonde girl.

"Oh, hey Lori, hey Josh," she smiled, oblivious to the tense air surrounding them.

"Is something wrong?" she asked, her smile beginning to falter, noticing the still somber expressions on the Trager sibling's faces.

"Kyle was in an accident," Josh mumbled, running his hand through his hair (1).

"Oh...God."

"But he's all right. Isn't he?" Amanda half sobbed.

"No," Lori began before being interrupted by a choked sob from Amanda.

"He's alive, but he's not doing too well," she continued, almost crying herself.

The two could offer little comfort as Amanda turned and fled to the girl's bathroom, tears streaming down her face.

She'd pull herself together; she had to get through the day. But when she got home, she climbed in the bathtub, clutched the necklace Kyle had given her, and cried herself to sleep sobbing "Why him?"

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Declan took the news better than anyone else so far had. He had been Kyle's closest friend and confidante, so Josh and Lori were extremely worried about how he would react.

"What?" he had asked disbelievingly.

"He's in a coma, Declan" Lori muttered sadly.

The look on Declan's face abruptly became one of distress to one of…nothing. His face held no emotion whatsoever, but his eyes told the entire story. He was just as shocked and scared as the rest of them.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

By no means did Charlie like Kyle Trager, Noah Peterson, or whatever the hell his name is. He didn't like him, but he couldn't help but to respect him. No matter how much Charlie, or anyone else for that matter, hated him; he was still kind to them. Respect would probably be the extent of any relationship with Kyle.

When Charlie heard the news, all he could do was stand there numbly. He hated Kyle so much, but why did it hurt so much? And as the pain and emotion completely overwhelmed him, Charlie Tanner wept.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

Hillary could always tell when something was wrong with her friends. At the moment something major was on everyone's mind.

"Hey, guys. What's up?" she greeted cheerfully.

The silence that she received as an answer only reinforced her original thoughts,

"Guys, seriously. What is it? You're starting to freak me out."

As the Tragers relayed the information given to them that morning, Hillary felt her eyes water and her heart break. Kyle was an angel. And it just didn't seem right that he could die.

………………………………………………………………………………………………

"There's only one person left to tell," Lori stated solemnly.

"Who?" Josh inquired.

"Deichman"

"Why?"

"Because Kyle was…is his friend too."

With that brief exchange Lori and Josh turned to find the school's resident geek. The task was not as difficult as expected; Deichman was leaned against his locker reading some obscure comic book that surely neither of them had ever heard of. Lori cleared her throat and the startled teen looked up.

"Uh, is there something, you, uh, need?" Deichman stuttered, clearly flustered. After all, it wasn't every day that beautiful, popular girls like Lori Trager just came out of the blue to talk to him.

"It's Kyle," Lori began, her eyes tearing for the thousandth time that day alone.

"What? What's wrong?" He asked, quickly becoming frightened by the young woman's emotional outbreak.

"He's in the hospital." She cried, tears beginning to stream down her face.

"What happened?"

"He was riding in the car with his parents, they crashed"

"Oh my God, is he alright?"

"Not really. He's listed in severe condition in intensive care."

"Oh…no." Deichman whispered in anguish, sliding to the ground.

"I know."

"I…I just talked to him two days ago. How could this have happened?" He sobbed, oblivious to strange looks from passerby.

Just as Josh was about to say something, most likely words of comfort to the distraught boy, the bell signaling the beginning of classes sounded. Deichman shakily stood up, and wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Sorry about that," he choked out still visibly upset. "I guess…I'm gonna get to class. Please…keep me updated."

Lori nodded silently before the three parted ways, everyone wondering if the next time they spoke would carry news and whether it would be better or worse.