I'VE BEEN SITTING ON THIS CHAPTER A WHILE, BECAUSE I WANTED TO MAKE SURE THAT IT WAS NICE AND EMOTIONAL. REVIEW AND TELL ME HOW I DID!

REVIEW REPLY TIME!

WINTER-SHINY-DRAGON: THANKS! AND NO I'LL NEVER UPDATE THIS EVER AGAIN- WAIT NO SHIT

IVOLUNTEERTOJOINYOURFANFICTION: WOW I'VE NEVER BEEN A BAE BEFORE! HOW DO I QUALIFY SINCE I TOTALLY DON'T KNOW YOU ANYWHERE ELSE...

XxUNWRITTENxX: YES, I DID NAME A CHARACTER AFTER YOU- YOU GAVE ME INSPIRATION TO ACTUALLY ATTEMPT TO MAKE THIS STORY PUBLIC. WITHOUT YOU, I WOULD HAVE LEFT THIS OLD NOTEBOOK IN MY DRAWER AND NEVER TOOK THIS STEP. THANK you, YOU LOVELY PANCAKE.

IAMTHEOUTCAST: THANKS FOR THE FIRST COMMENT, LIKE I SAID I'M NOT GONNA UPDATE THIS.

WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, HERE'S THAT UPDATE I JUST SAID WASN'T HAPPENING:

MATT'S POV:

"I didn't know it was that bad! Why didn't you say anything?" Mari asked me. I sighed, something I've found myself doing more often lately. "Because that wasn't the worst of it. While we spent time together, he spent time with 'his fiancée.' " I said, putting air quotes around the last part. "What? What's with the air quotes?" Asked Anthony. "Well," I began, "You may not know this, but they broke up." "What?" They yelled, eyes widening and jaws dropping. "She left him about a month and a half after Joshua disappeared. She said she couldn't handle him."

I'm sitting on the couch when I hear the doorbell ring. Groaning, I pause the game and fix my hair, trying (in vain) not to look like I've been gaming all day, which I have. Opening the door, I see David and Jennifer standing there. David's staring blankly at me, and Jennifer's glaring, face stitched together with anger. "Hey Matt," She greets me, long brown hair flaring out. "Hey Jenni. What's up?" I ask, fixing my shirt a bit. "Well," She says, "I'm dropping off David. He's doing that thing again. I can't take this anymore. When he snaps out of it, tell him to come and pick up his things." With that, she storms off, leaving me alone with a comatose-like David. "

What 'thing' was she talking about?" Asked Ian, interrupting me. "Oh, yeah. You guys don't know…" "Don't know what?" Yelled Mari. It was obvious how anxious and worried she was, which was really adorable. In a way, she was like Mama Smoshgames. "Sometimes, David would kinda zone out, but it wasn't a natural daydreaming kinda thing. He'd just sit there, and while on the outside he looked fine, he was having a nightmare- but without being asleep. It was terrifying. He wouldn't wake up, either. He would just sit there, occasionally muttering something. There was this one time…"

"Hey Dave? Do you wanna go get a pizza or something?" I yell, walking into David's room. Looking around, I see Lasercorn seated on the floor, arms wrapped around his legs and chin resting on top. He's staring straight ahead, eyes focusing on nothing. Groaning, I drop down beside him. "Come on, buddy. Don't do this. Why don't we get up and get some food?" I ask, only to receive no response. No recognition, nothing. "David. Stop. Don't do this to yourself anymore." I murmur, jumping up and pulling on his arm to try and stand him up. Still nothing. He doesn't even budge. " It's my fault…" He mutters, tightening his grasp around his legs. "No, it's not. You couldn't have done anything. It was Joven's choice, not yours. Come on Dave. Look at me." I plead, stepping in front of him and crouching down, forcing him to look at me. His expression doesn't change. I start to panic a bit when he begins shaking. "David? Can you hear me?" I ask him, my heart starting to race. "Snap out of it buddy. I need you to listen to me. It's not, and never will be your fault. Joven made the decision, not you. You couldn't have done a thing to help him, and you need to stop being guilty about something you couldn't control." Tears begin to fall down his face. He shakes his head a tiny bit, but its enough to reassure me that I'm getting through to him. I lean over, forcefully pulling him into me. "Come on, buddy. Come back to me." I say over and over, holding my best friend until he stops shaking.

"Does he always act like nothing happened?" Cried Mari, who'd teared up. "Generally? Yeah. But once I tried to forced him to talk about it. It didn't go so well." Raising an eyebrow, Anthony asked what I meant.

It happens after I find him curled in a ball on the kitchen floor. It's taken me a long time, but David's starting to focus again. "Hi Matt. What's up?" He asks, starting to stand up and close off from me. "No." I growl at him, yanking him back down towards me. "What?" He says, confused. "No. For once, you and I are going to sit and talk. I'm going to sit here, and you're going to talk about… well… everything. I'm tired of you closing yourself off from us. You are going to spill everything you're feeling to me, or you're not going to leave this room." I state, daring him to disagree or argue with me. "Matt. I'm fine, I promise." He says, trying to worm his way out of my grip. "When did you get so damn strong?" He tries, hoping to change the subject. I glare at him. "Dammit Matt! I said I was fine!" He yells, annoyed. "Really?" I start. "So you think that its 'totally normal' for me to find you having nightmares not only at night but now during the day? To see you curled up and to not be able to wake you up? Because news flash: it's not." "I…. I'm, uh…" He stutters, biting his bottom lip. "Falling apart at the seams." I finish for him. "You just need to accept that he's gone and there wasn't anything we can do. He left us, not the other way around."
As I say this, Dave turns pale. "I can't… It's… I…" He says, looking around the room rapidly. "Just take a deep breath and start with how you're feeling." I advise, not realizing that something's wrong. "It's… He's… She left… And I can't… I… I…" He rambles, panting. "David?" I ask, leaning over and grabbing his shoulder. "Joshua's… She left me… And you… I can't breathe." He chokes out, starting to shake again. I immediately let go of him. Shit! I think to myself. "David? Listen to me. I need you to take a big breath, like me. See?" I say, trying to help him match his breathing with mine. But now he's not looking at me. He's staring at the floor again, shaking. I begin to wish I had asked Anthony how to handle someone who's panicking. I stupidly try to grab him again. He shifts himself away, pressing his back up against the wall. "Don't touch…" He gasps out. "Dave, it's okay. It's only me. See?" I coo, holding my hands in front of me and stepping closer to him. His body is quivering and his eyes are dilated. "I could've stopped him… He'd have listen to me." He whispers. "No, He wouldn't have." I argue, bending down to look at him like I've done too often recently, yet it's different this time. "He...hates… me…" He wheezes out, sounding like he's six. This gives me an idea. I crouch down below him. "Dave? What's Joven's favorite thing?" I ask him. "Batman... and the Golden Girls…." He puffs out. "You see? You're his best friend, and he's never shared that with me!" I lie, looking at him like I do with my nephews. I let him look down at me. "Really?" He asks. "Absolutely." I respond. "Can… can you just.." He gulps, the words catching in his throat. Thinking he wants some privacy, I turn and start to leave. This is clearly the wrong thing to do because he starts to hyperventilate again." Don't… Leave… Matty…" He wheezes again. So I turn back and cradle my best friend. "Don't leave…" He hiccups. "I wont. I promise." "It took me a while, but he eventually calmed down and fell asleep." I concluded, staring at the shock on my co-workers faces.

I HOPE THAT YOU HAD SOME KLEENEX, BECAUSE I CRIED WHILE WRITING THIS PIECE. I WANTED TO INCORPORATE THE IDEA OF EVERYONE PAIRING UP: IAN/ANTHONY; MARI/SOHINKI. THEY WOULD BOND TOGETHER TO GET PAST THE TRAGEDY, WHEREAS LASERCORN WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO BECAUSE HIS "PARTNER IN CRIME" WAS MIA. HE'D BE LEFT TO TRY AND HIDE HOW HE FELT BECAUSE HE WAS AN ODD MAN OUT.

PLUS, GOOD FRIEND!MATT WAS JUST TO CUTE TO GIVE UP.

STAY SASSY AND STAY CLASSY FOLKS.

~Interview A Sarcastic Demon