Not as long as before, but don't want to reveal too much.

DJ didn't stay long enough for me to beg him to take me back. I looked around disappointed. The fact that it was a gloomy day didn't help either. I looked up at the massive clouds and wiped of the teardrop I felt on my cheek.

Later

How long has it been? Long enough for either side to win? How would I know? Will I ever know?

I stayed in the same place and kept my eyes trained on the clouds. Looking for what I don't know, but for something.

"Come on" I whispered; my eyes stinging. My fists clenched.

To my astonishment, the clouds started to part and light seeped through.

"TRENT!"

I turned away from the sky and blinked several times, due to not blinking. It was my mom.

"Trent where have you been! What happened to you! You're bleeding!" my mom blurted in a mess.

When I didn't respond she hauled me inside. "You look horrible. You are going to have to go to the hospital too."she said to herself.

"Is Paula in the hospital?" I choked.

"Don't you remember the car crash? You called the ambulance, but they only found Paula."

"Is she okay?" I asked missing a step as I walked, nearly slipping.

"Okay, you need to lay down. I'll drive you to the hospital. Your father is already there. He'll be glad to hear you're okay,
well mostly."

I tuned out after that. I let myself fall asleep through her rants. I let myself think that the arcs won and that's why the clouds parted. I smiled.

The Next Day

I stayed in the hospital for a couple weeks. I left with a cast on my arm and a head bandage. My parents wanted me to stay, but I wanted to see if anything had changed in the outside world.

On the ride back home, I looked carefully through every window in the car. Not much to see, except a few houses here and there. The only thing that reassured me was the sun shining brightly.

Paula thought the crash was an accident and it was...sort of. She left the hospital before I did. All she had was a concussion. As for my parents, I told them I called the police and when they didn't come I went looking for help, but ended up lost. I'm still grounded but I have my wounds on my side. For now.

A Week Later

"You don't have to go to school" Paula commented while watching me struggle with my cast.

"I want to. I'll finally get out of the house." I wasn't lying. I did want to get away from my parents' supervision, but I also wanted to look for DJ.

"At least everyone seems to be back to normal at school now" I heard Paula say after I finished zoning out.

"What?" I asked

"Huh? Oh, nothing."

This made me even more eager to find out. I rushed out the door.

"Hey wait for me!" she called after me.

The ride lasted longer than I remembered, and I bolted out of the car as soon as we arrived. I thought I heard Paula mumble something, but ignored it.

The first thing I noticed, was that most of the graffiti was gone. I started to feel optimistic. The early students seemed to be dressed in their regular, normal was no cussing that I could hear, and nobody was fighting. I sighed with relief.

"Trent."

I turned around immediately at the feminine voice.

"Bridgette? Oh hey" I said disappointed.

"Where have you been? Everyone has been worrying about you, especially Katie and Sadie" she started off serious but joked at the end of her sentence.

"Oh, I was in the hospital, but I'm fine now" I said quickly to look around more.

She looked at me concerned. I felt like I was being interrogated so I smiled to reassure her.

"Listen, I have to look for someone. I'll see you later" I said and returned to my search before she could ask me anything else.

I practically ran to the bench where Gwen and DJ always sat, but before I got there I checked the floor for any paintings. None. I shrugged it off and continued for the bench.

Empty. I stood there gloomily. I decided to sit down and leaned my head back. I looked at the sky and listened to the noise of everything the birds, the people, anything as a sign that they could still be here. The bell rang and I eventually stood up.

Class went on as usual, except that everyone whispered about what happened to me and Paula the night of the car crash. Most of the time I could ignore it, but some rumors really got on my nerves. Well they weren't exactly rumors because some of them were slightly true, which made them even worse. Now that I know everything is back to normal and neither Gwen or DJ is here, I really want to leave.

Lunch came,and I saw it as an opportunity to be alone. I returned to the bench happily, and tried to drown out the gossip. I sat in peace until my stomach grumbled. I was in such a rush to get here that I missed breakfast. I went through my pockets for any loose change and was surprised to find five bucks. I got up and headed for the lunch line.

The line was surprisingly short, so I rushed through, to avoid any interaction. Once I got out of the cafeteria I looked down at the "spaghetti" and made a face. When I found the bench again, it wasn't empty. DJ. I immediately threw the tray into the garbage and paced towards him.

He noticed me instantly but his expression remained the same, neutral. I was standing right in front of him but he didn't move. I swatted at him but felt nothing ,so I still didn't know if I was hallucinating or not.

"DJ?" I said finally.

"Trent." he answered

"Don't you want to explain anything to me?" I urged impatient.

"I think you can see for yourself the outcome of the battle, and since I'm still here..."

"So if you guys won then, why are you still here?"

"I won't be here for much longer."

Silence.

"And ...?" I asked irritated.

He looked up at me.

"What happened to the others?" I explained.

"Lashawna and Courtney returned from where they came."

"You know what I meant. Where is Gwen? Did she make it out okay?" I asked anxiously.

"It's best that we don't discuss Gwen" he said dismissively.

"Why not? You were willing to tell me about the other two! What happened to her? Why won't you tell me!" I shouted loudly.

Instead of answering he disappeared.

"Come back here!" I shouted even louder. I groaned angrily and sat down defeated. When I looked up, everyone in hearing distance was staring at me.

"What? What are you all looking at? Mind your own fucking business for once you bunch of low lives! " I yelled at all of them.

I stormed off when they kept staring, and walked right through the front door with no one trying to stop me. Since I have no car I started walking. Maybe the walk will get my mind off things and tire me out.

I walked angrily for maybe half an hour until my stomach growled again.

"Shit" I muttered when I remembered I threw away my lunch.

I continued walking since there was no other option. Later, my eyes started getting blurry and my body ached, but I dragged my feet forward.

BEEP BEEP! A horn raged. I ignored it.

BEEP ,BEEP ,BEEP! It continued, and started to give me a headache.

"Go away!" I yelled walking into the weeds that separated the road from the fields.

BEEP BEEP!

I turned around ready to throw a rock before I realized it was Paula. She pulled up next to me and rolled down the window.

"Calm down,it's me. I told you, you shouldn't have gone to school today."

I looked at her expressionless and opened the door to get inside.

"What happened? Why did you leave?" she asked after a couple minutes of silence.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"It must have been pretty bad to make you leave like that."

"Like what?" I asked irritated.

"Everyone said you were yelling at a empty bench like a lunatic, then yelled at everyone else before you stormed off."

"Everyone should mind their own business" I muttered.

"So...?" she continued

"So nothing, keep driving."

"Okay, but it's better to vent these things out. You know like a normal person."

"Shut up already Paula."

"Whatever, you'll tell me eventually" she said to herself.

She left me alone for the rest of the ride, and thankfully didn't mention any of it to my parents.

After dinner, I locked myself in my room and listened to my i-pod full blast. I was on the verge of falling asleep, when someone just had to knock on my door.

"Leave me alone!" I yelled over the music.

The knocking continued even louder.

I got up angrily and swung the door open. Paula stood there impatient.

"I'm not telling you anything Paula go away" I said about to close the door. She put her hand against it before I could.

"I'm not here for that. Someone is at the door for you" she said left.

"Who is it?" I yelled after her, but got no answer.

I went down stairs curious. Bridgette maybe, she seems the type that would come to your house to check up on you. I opened the front door,

"Bridgette?"

My face froze as I realized it wasn't Bridgette.

"Gwen?" I blurted. It was her, she stood there smiling weakly her clothes were dirty and torn, her skin was bruised and purple, and blood streaked across her forehead.

"Gwen, you're bleeding." I instinctively reached to clean it, when I remembered there was nothing I could do. I started to take my hand back, but before I did, I actually felt a strand of her hair. I immediately reached for her again. She winced when I touched her cut but continued smiling.

"I-I can feel you.." I stuttered shocked.

"I know," she whispered and reached for me " I can feel you too."

This is not the end! I will write more! Hopefully soon since school is almost over. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it, if you didn't well... I'll try harder next chapter.