"Kitty, what's going on?" Marley asked when she finally entered the Lima Hospital. She took a couple of deep breaths and sat down on one of the hard, plastic chairs. It was a good thing the hospital was close to school. She didn't think she had ever run faster in her entire life.

Kitty looked up at Marley, tears streaming down her pale face.

"Is it my mom? Oh my god." Marley started to panic. Her dad left them when Marley was five; she couldn't lose her mom either.

"It's Jake," Kitty croaked. "He was in a motorcycle accident." She reached for the box of tissues next to her and started wiping her tear-filled eyes.

"What? How? I don't-"

"I got a call from the hospital that someone found him laying on the street, and his motorcycle was totally damaged," Kitty cried.

"Oh my god." Marley covered her mouth with her hand, a single tear escaping down her cheek. "I-Is he okay?"

"I don't know. Nobody has told me anything!" Kitty shouted, kicking a chair in protest. "I'm such a horrible person," she sobbed. "If I hadn't yelled at him yesterday, he probably would have come to school today, and this would have never happened."

"Kitty, it's not your fault." Marley rubbed her friend's back soothingly.

"I just hope he's okay," Kitty continued to sob. "I can't lose him."

"Neither can I." Marley rubbed her eyes.

"I'm just glad you're here." Kitty hugged her so hard, Marley could hardly breathe.

"Come on, let's just sit down, and wait for the doctor to tell us everything," Marley said, sitting down on one of the chairs, motioning for Kitty to sit next to her. "Here, read a magazine." She handed Kitty the newest issue of Us Weekly.

"I don't even think celebrity gossip can get my mind off this," Kitty said. "But it can try."


"Are you two ladies here for Jake Puckerman?" One of the doctors asked an hour later, waking Marley up from her dreamless sleep.

"Yeah," Marley yawned. "I-Is he okay? What happened?" She started to panic again.

"Mr. Puckerman has a broken arm, a fractured rib, and a lot of cuts and bruises," the doctor said. "He just got out of surgery."

"Is he going to live?" Kitty asked.

"Yes, ma'am, he will. He was lucky. It could have been a lot worse."

"Oh thank god!" Kitty said, a smile finally appearing on her face.

"Can we see him?" Marley asked.

"Well, right now he's unconscious, but I'll let you know when he wakes up."

"Thank you so much, doctor," Marley said. She hugged Kitty one more time. "He's going to be okay," she said soothingly. "Everything's going to be okay."


Half an hour later, Marley spotted Tina walking through the doors of the waiting room.

"Tina? What are you doing here?" She got up and walked over to her friend.

"I heard about what happened."

"How?"

"Mr. Schue told me."

"I texted him," Kitty said. "He needed to know."

"Is he okay? What happened?" Tina asked, her face full of fear.

"He was in a motorcycle accident," Marley explained. "But he's going to be okay."

"I'm so glad," Tina said, pulling Marley into a giant hug. "You must have been so worried."

"Yeah, I was," Marley said truthfully. In fact, for the past two hours that she's been in this hospital, she had totally forgotten about her possible break up with Jake. It was a stupid fight, and it didn't even matter to her anymore. Too bad it took Jake almost dying to realize that.

"Mr. Puckerman's awake," the doctor said, walking into the waiting room. "He wants to see you two," she said, looking at Kitty and Marley.

"I'll stay here and watch your stuff," Tina said.

"Are you sure?"

Tina nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Tell him I said hi."

"Of course," Marley said before following Kitty into Jake's room.

"Oh my god," Kitty said softly, her eyes filling up with tears again at the sight of him. his arm was in a sling, and he had a giant gash on his forehead.

"I'm okay guys, really," Jake said.

Marley walked over to his bed and instantly grabbed his hand. "I'm so sorry."

"It's not your fault. It's not your fault either, Kitty. I was being an idiot by going way too fast on the stupid motorcycle.

"But if we hadn't yelled at you, you would have gone to school today, and this would have never happened," Kitty said.

"I deserved it."

"I'm sorry for yelling at you, though," Kitty whispered. "I was just angry that you kept that huge secret from me for all those years."

"Are we okay, then?" Jake asked hopefully.

"Of course we are, dumbass," Kitty laughed. "Now go talk to your girlfriend. I'll be in the waiting room with Tina."

"You're the best." Jake smiled.

"You know it," Kitty said, then closed the door, leaving Jake and Marley alone together.

"Do you still want to break up?" Jake asked, staring at their intertwined fingers.

"I never wanted to break up in the first place," Marley said. "I just wanted all the secrets and lies to stop."

"I know. I'm so sorry. You have to believe me."

"I do," Marley said after a couple of seconds. "Just as long as there are absolutely no more secrets."

"I promise there aren't," Jake said.

"Right now, I don't even care about all that stuff. I'm just glad you're okay." Marley smiled, feeling tears well up in her eyes again. But these tears were different. They were out of happiness.

"I love you," Jake said so quietly, Marley almost didn't hear him.

"Love you too." Marley squeezed his hand. "So how long do you have to stay here?"

"A couple days, I think," Jake groaned.

"Well, I'll be here everyday."

Jake grinned. "You're the best girlfriend ever."

Marley giggled. "I try."


"You guys ready to get going?" Marley asked once she got back to the waiting room. "Whoa. What's going on here?" She smirked when she saw Kitty and Tina really close to each other, both reading the same magazine together.

"Tina and I were just keeping each other company," Kitty said. "We got to know each other very well. Isn't that right, Tina?"

"Yeah, totally. I'm so sorry I misjudged you," Tina said.

"No worries," Kitty purred. "Anyways, I should get going. My mom's probably wondering where I am."

"I'll drive you home, Marley," Tina offered.

"Thanks, T. See you later, Kitty!" Marley waved.

"So," Tina said once they got into her car, "are you and Jake okay?"

"Yeah, we're great." Marley smiled.

"Good. I'm glad."

"So what were you and Kitty talking about? Last time I checked, you wanted nothing to do with her."

"Well, I was wrong about her. She's actually really nice. She even tried to hit on me a few times. I think that's why she was leaning so close to me."

"I bet you liked it," Marley teased.

"Shut up." Tina playfully shoved Marley's shoulder. "I'll have you know, I'm perfectly happy with Mike, and he doesn't need to know about this."

"Okay, okay," Marley chuckled. "But thanks for coming. It really meant a lot."

"That's what best friends are for, right?"

"Totally."


Marley skipped school the next day to spend time with Jake at the hospital. Not that she told her mother that, of course. Marley definitely didn't want her to know that her boyfriend's in the hospital.

"Hey Marles," Jake said when Marley entered his hospital room.

"Hey. How are you?" She asked as she grabbed a chair and sat down next to his bed.

"Super bored," he groaned. "There's nothing to do here. The stupid TV only gets like five channels. And they're all Spanish soap operas."

"Well then it's a good thing I came," Marley said.

"Come here." Jake patted his bed, motioning for her to join.

"Jake, that bed isn't big enough for both of us. I don't want you to get even more hurt." Marley frowned.

"I promise you won't hurt me. Just come here. Please?"

"Okay, fine," Marley said, not being able to resist Jake's puppy dog eyes. She lay down on the bed and cuddled up next to him. He put his good arm around her and started to play with her hair. "I'm glad you're not mad at me anymore," he said softly.

"How could I be? I mean, look at you."

"I didn't do this on purpose, you know." Jake turned to look at her. "It really was an accident."

Marley smiled. "I know. But can you please tell me what happened? Why didn't you come to school that day?"

"I know it sounds stupid or whatever, but I just couldn't face you or Kitty. You guys really hated me."

"I didn't hate you," Marley interrupted.

"Yeah, but you still were mad at me. Anyways, I took my motorcycle and went on a little ride around Lima. After a couple of hours, I found this meadow and just lay on my back, thinking about everything. It was really peaceful. But then when I got back on my bike to go home, I wasn't thinking straight, and I lost control and crashed." Jake closed his eyes, reliving the memory.

"I'm so sorry," Marley whispered.

"Stop saying that." Jake put a hand on her cheek. "It's not your fault."

A couple tears made their way down Marley's cheeks. "I'm just so glad you're okay. I wasn't ready to say goodbye to you yet."

"Me neither." Jake kissed her forehead. "And I promise you won't ever have to."

"You don't know that for sure. What about after graduation?" Marley asked. This was the first time she brought it up. "It's only three months away."

"The year has gone by really fast," Jake commented. "But I promise we will be okay."

"But, Jake, my dream is to live in Los Angeles. I want to be famous. But it's not what you want."

"Marley, I don't care where we end up," Jake said sweetly. "I just want to be with you."

A fresh batch of tears welled up in Marley's eyes. "Really?"

Jake leaned in to kiss her on the lips. "Really," he said after he pulled away.

"I love you." Marley grinned.

"I love you too." Jake lifted his hand and tucked a piece of Marley's hair behind her ear. He saw that in a movie once.

"I should probably get going. School ended ten minutes ago so my mom's probably expected me home soon," Marley grumbled, getting up from the comfortable bed. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Babe, you don't have to miss school everyday to see me." Jake smirked.

"Trust me, I'd rather be here," Marley giggled. "Bye!" She kissed his cheek and ran out the door, determined to get back home before her mom started frantically calling.


"Mom, I'm home!" Marley called out when she walked through the front door. She sniffed the air. That's weird, she thought. Her mom was always cooking dinner at the time she usually gets home. But tonight, there was no telltale sign of chicken cooking in the oven, or spaghetti on the stove. In fact, her mom wasn't even in the kitchen.

"Mom!" She called out again. She breathed out a sigh of relief when she heard footsteps coming downstairs. "Hey. Why aren't you making dinner? Are you sick?"

"Yes, Marley, I am sick. I'm sick of you lying to me," Ms. Rose snapped.

Marley stepped back. "What are you talking about?"

"Why didn't you tell me Jake was in the hospital, huh? Why would you want to keep that a secret from me?" Ms. Rose said angrily.

"How did you find out?" Marley sighed unhappily.

"Tina's mother told me. I guess Tina told her mom, and her mom decided that it was a good idea to tell me."

"I'm sorry, mom, I-"

"Do his parents even know about this?" Ms. Rose interrupted, getting angrier by the second. Marley knew she really messed up this time.

She took a deep breath. "His mom's at a business meeting in Atlanta. Won't be back for another two weeks."

"Then where has he been staying?"

"Um, his house. He is eighteen, after all," Marley said, trying not to come across as being snarky. Unfortunately, that's exactly what her mom took it as.

"I thought I raised you not to be one of those snarky teenagers!" Ms. Rose yelled.

"Every teenager is like that, mom!" Marley yelled back, running up the stairs to her room.

"Well what happened to the sweet, polite daughter I had six months ago?"

"She grew up!" Marley shouted before slamming her door, not coming out for the rest of the night.


So I think there will be around 3 more chapters left of this story. I'm not sure, but I plan for it to be around 3 or 4 more. But don't worry! I'm working on a long Jarley one-shot right now that will either be updated on Start Of Something New, or just posted as its own story. Depends how long it is. And after that, I'll be starting on a new Jarley multi-chapter fic! Summer's coming soon, so I'll have a lot of time to write! :D