Author's note: Hay guys. So, I just want to thank you all again, for the reviews. They mean so much, and you guys leave such nice comments. So thank you. I hope you liked the previous chapter. Things are heating up, huh? But OMG PLL book 12:Burned came out today and I got it and I'm reading it and I'm so happy and I wish Toby wasn't dead in the books…but Reefer's cool to. I like him and Spencer. Anyway, I'm taking into account what you guys said you wanted, so I'm putting some of that in here. Be ready for an emotional chapter, guys. We have Cam crying. It just got real, right? LOL, so here's chapter seven.

Oh, and before I start, CamRox2010, girl, stop making Ben 10 references. That's actually something Zig wore. I put up with enough of your Ben 10-iness at school and when we hang out. And I could kill you and Tracey from in the hall the other morning. You two need to learn to behave in public! And what does nombre de didios even mean? You keep saying it at school and on kik and it really confuses me. Whatever. Rant over. Ok, chapter seven, for real this time.

Chapter 7: A Hidden Outsider

Maya's POV:

I wake up to the smell of medicine and sick people. Almost like a hospital. My mom needs to buy some different air freshener. For real. I blink a few times, wipe the sleep from my eyes, and lift my head up, examining the room around me. I am in a hospital. And Tori and Tristan are sitting at the foot of my bed. Tori's face is tear-streaked and Tristan's face is red. The Ice Hounds are there too. Well, Dallas, Owen, and Luke are, anyway. They look tired and distressed. Now, the realization that someone's clutching my hand hits me. I turn my head to the right. It hurts to turn my head. Why does it hurt to turn my head? Whatever. Cam is sitting in a chair next to the bed. He looks like he's been crying and that he might burst into tears any minute. And, he's holding on to my hand for dear life. Why am I in a hospital? What happened to me?

"Maya! You're awake!" Cam says, excitedly, but his voice still cracks, like it does when he's about to cry.

"Hey, My. How are you feeling?" Tori asks cautiously.

"Confused.", I say, shaking my head slightly, "Why am I here?" I really don't know what happened…Tori opens her mouth like she's about to say something, and then presses her lips together, like she changed her mind. Reminds me of a fish.

"Something happened, Mini Matlin. Owen, Luke, and I…we found you almost unconscious, we heard you say 'No' and you sounded scared…we tried to get there in time, but whoever else was there was gone by the time we found you."

"Do you remember anything that happened, My?" Cam asks gently

"No…no. Sorry, I just…can't." I say, trying to remember. What was I doing? Who was with me? Nobody sighs, but I can tell they are, inside.

"Okay. That's ok. Maybe you'll remember something later."

"Yeah. Maybe." Dallas, Luke, Owen, Tori, and Tristan all stand, and mutter something about getting food. Now it's just me and Cam. He sighs shakily.

"I…I don't wanna scare you, My…but…you, you were in a coma. Out for three days. I-I didn't know…i-if you were gonna die or not." His voice breaks and tears start to fall from his eyes.

"I was?"

"Yeah" he says, wiping his nose and drying his face, which doesn't do any good, since old tears are almost immediately replaced with new ones. We're both silent for a minute.

"Did…did my parents or Katie come to see me…?" I ask timidly

"Katie did. She was here all day yesterday and stayed over. She left earlier today, but, she said she'd be back later." He answers

"But…but not my parents?" My voice sounds weak and child-like. It's cracking. Like me.

"I'm sorry…they didn't. Not yet anyway."

"Oh" I try to blink back tears

"It's okay to cry, you know. I already did. And you have every right to cry right now." He says, noting the look on my face and my voice. With that, I let it out. Tears rush out of me eyes and I wonder how it's humanly possible to have so many at once. They just keep coming. Endlessly. Cam just leans over and lets me cry into his shoulder. Once I'm done, I sniff and say,

"Sorry I ruined your shirt."

"It doesn't matter"

"Why haven't they come, do you think? They stayed with Katie the entire time she dealt with her drug addiction. Now I'm in the hospital, apparently in a coma, and they don't even bother to show up." I ask bitterly. Cam looks a little helpless. Like he doesn't know what to say. Like he doesn't know how to make that all better. He doesn't know how to make it better. Because he can't. He can't decide for my parents to show up or not. He can't make me forget that they don't seem to care enough to even visit for god's sake.

"I…I don't know, My…"

"Maybe they just don't love me"

"Don't think like that."

"Why? I'd consider not thinking like that trying to ignore it. But it doesn't really matter, anyway. I'm used to it, I guess. My parents have pretty much numbed my feelings for them, after all." I say, laughing bitterly. Fake. I don't find it funny. It doesn't amuse me. It makes me sad, and angry at the same time. It conflicts me. Like, in The Outsiders, Ponyboy isn't sure if Darry loves him or not, right? And it makes him sad, but he pretends to forget it. I remember one line from that book. 'I don't care', I tell myself. I'm lying. I lie to myself all the time. But I never believe me' or something like that. He's saying he doesn't care that Darry doesn't seem to care about him. He's lying to himself and he knows it. So am I. Do my parents love me? Now that I think about it…I'm not sure what to think. Yes, they paid for cello lessons and met Cam and stuff…but…they're not even here. I wish they were here. (A.N.: To any one of you guys that haven't read The Outsiders, sorry for confusion, but basically, Ponyboy is a 14year-old kid who lives with his brothers, Soda and Darry, because their parents died. They are not wealthy so they are considered 'Greasers', which is almost like a hood. At one point in the story, Pony thinks Darry doesn't love him, after Darry hits him, causing him to run away with Johnny, a member of their gang. The story takes place in the sixties. If you haven't read it…read it)

Cam notices my silence and attempts to cheer me up.

"They'll probably come by. I'm sure they will. And just 'cause you're hurt, when they walk through the door, I won't say I told you so. Just this once." He teases. And I smile. I'm not happy. But smiling through your tears is something I've learned to do by now. It's not genuine though. I'm pretty deflated right now. Sad. Hurt. Angry. Confused.

"Yeah, I guess." I say

"Yeah, well, I know. They'll come. They will. Trust me."

"Ok."

"Good" he says as he buries his face in my hair and kisses the top of my head. "Do you want me to send anyone in?"

"Dallas, Owen, and Luke." I say

"Okay. I'll check on you later" He says and starts to leave. But, he stops in his tracks and turns to face me in the doorframe.

"You know I love you, right?" He asks. I look at him incredulously. Well, of course I know that!

"I know. I love you too". He nods leaves the room.

…

Dallas, Luke, and Owen all enter the room with their hands shoved in their pockets, eyes downcast. Never breaking eye contact with the tiles on the floor. Nobody says anything for a little while. Silence. I don't like the silence. In the silence, I start to think about my parents. And how they aren't here right now. I wonder if I'll have to break the ice here. But they're the hockey players. They deal with ice, I think to myself and smirk slightly. I crack myself up. Just as I'm contemplating forming a conversation starter, Dallas lifts his head.

"Hey, Matlin."

"Hey, Dallas." I say. Owen laughs nervously.

"Geez, Mini Mat, you look shorter than usual" Owen says, examining me. I sorta grimace, I guess.

"Yeah? You callin' me small, Milligan?"

"Never" He says, laughing lightly. I laugh a little too, despite myself and what's going on with me right now.

"Good to see you at least think the same as usual, Katie 2.0" Luke says, smiling a little

"Do. Not. Ever. Call. Me-"

"Maybe?" Dallas cuts off and launches into another Carly Rae Jepson song, 'This Kiss'

"No! Ever!"

"Like. Ev-er." Luke says

"Nooo! We are never ever everrrr getting back together! Weee-EEE are never ever ever! Getting back together!"

"Alright that's enough from all of you" I say, trying to look stern, but I crack a smile anyway. Can't help it.

"No!" They chorus. Of course. I knew they wouldn't agree to stop 'singing'.

"I know, we got issues baby, true, true, true, but I'd rather work on this with you, then start with someone new." Dallas starts rapping

"As long as you love me! We could be starving, we could be homeless, we could be broke." Owen cuts in.

"Omigod! Guys! If you aren't gonna shut up, get out!" I shout. I don't mean it though. I don't want them to leave.

"Get out, get out, get outta my head! And fall into my arms instead! I don't, I don't, don't know what it is! But IIII neeeeed that one thing! And youuu've got that. One thing." Luke sings…er…tries to sing.

"And…scene. " Dallas says, as he, Owen, and Luke all bow. I clap.

"Amazing, you guys. Really. In no time, you'll be bigger than One Direction, Taylor Swift, and Justin Beiber, all put together, the way you just sang their songs."

"Obviously. Once we retire from hockey, we're gonna make it big in the music biz."

"Oh, yeah. Totally. I'll be you're #1 fan girl, of course."

"Well, that's a given." Owen says. We all laugh. It really feels good to laugh. Well, kind of. I mean, it hurts my ribs but ya know. We're all calming down when we hear a knock at the door. It opens and Katie comes in slowly. Cautiously.

"Hey, My. Um, can I borrow Owen, Luke, and Dallas?" She asks

"I don't know. You'll have to ask them." I say, shrugging. She smirks and shakes her head at me.

"Fine. Can I talk to you guys?" She asks them this time

"Sure" Dallas answers shortly. You could cut the tension in the room with a butter knife. He follows her into the hall with Luke and Owen trailing behind them. Well, that escalated quickly.

Dallas's POV:

Katie, Luke, Owen, and I stand in the hall. Nobody says anything. Finally, Katie speaks up.

"Uhm…I wanted to thank you guys for helping my sister. I know we haven't been on the best of terms…but, um, could that just…just be water under the bridge?" WOW. I never thought I'd see the day where Katie Matlin, Little Miss President, Drew's Ex-girlfriend, The Girl who stomped on my heart, The Girl whose garden I wrecked…The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, as I called her, would swallow every ounce of her pride and ask to start over. To not hate each other.

"Sure. It's in the past." I say, and Owen and Luke nod in agreement. Her face breaks into a small smile.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

"For forgiving me. And for helping Maya. And, I know she can't remember what happened, but, did you guys see who was, um…you know…who made her end up here?" She asks in a small voice, fumbling on her words.

"No. Sorry. Really, I wish we knew but, we didn't see." I mean it. I'm sorry that I don't remember. If I did, I'd tell Cam and boy, would whoever hurt Maya be in for it if Cam figured out who it was.

"I understand. I just wish we knew who did this. If I ever find out…" She mutters the last part.

"Yeah. We will too. And Cam. Maybe even Tori." I say and smile a little

"Miss Tori Santamaria, Pageant Girl, beat up some guy. I can just see it…" Owen says, and Katie laughs. Maybe we can be friends.

Cam's POV:

These past few days have been the scariest ones of my life. Maya could have died. She could have died. If she had…I don't really know. I wouldn't be able to function without her. If she died…I would have been broken. I'm worried about her. Now I know that someone tried to hurt her…and she'd upset about her parents. They probably won't come unless someone tells them to. Maybe Katie can call them and tell them they need to get here. But Maya wouldn't like that if she found out. She'd think they only came because Katie said to. Emphasis on Katie. The way she talked about them earlier…she thinks they don't love her, which is crazy. How can you not love her? I mean, really. She's sweet; she can be obedient, sometimes; and she gets good grades; she's a good sister; a good friend; a good daughter; a good girlfriend. And they're her parents for god's sake! How can they not love her? I bet they do. It might take some peeling back of layers, but I bet they love her, and can show her. I'm not saying they should do some crazy, incredible gesture of love, but they could just show up. I think that's all she really wants. To feel like a Matlin. To feel like part of her family. To not be an outsider.

Author's Note: Okay, I know, I know. I said I'd have certain things happen in this chapter, but I thought that this was a good place to stop. You'll get the rest in the next chapter. Thank you guys for reviewing, and sorry: I know the PLL book didn't come out today, but I started this on the sixth, when it DID come out. And O.M.G. But anyway, I'm glad you guys like this story, I get such nice reviews! I do not own Degrassi, Pretty Little Liars, 'As Long As You Love Me' by Justin Beiber, 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together' by Taylor Swift, 'One Thing' by One direction, the book/movie 'The Outsiders', the show 'Ben 10', or Kik. Okee, even though you guys already knew that. Also, next chapter we have something triggering Maya's memory of Zig and realization is gonna hit her hard(Flashbak time!) Xoxo.

~Ginny