Author's Note: Hugs and cookies go to Awesome Rapidash, kelley28, Kin756894, Ekoaleko, klutz586, and kiri268 for reviewing! Thank you so much, you people are awesome! hugs

I can't tell you people how sorry I am for not updating this in so long. Feel free to smack me for being completely lazy; I'd be happy to get some sense knocked into me. XD Anyway, enjoy this new chapter. (Also, if anyone has any pairing suggestions, regardless of what's happening already, let me know. It might provide me with more inspiration-juice later on. And yes, I AM open to yaoi/yuri pairings, just so you know.)

----------

Sanatorium
Summer 8, 11:10 AM

Blue awoke suddenly, realizing that his face was drenched in sweat. He picked himself up off of the cold tiled floor, attempting to recall where he was.

"Hey," a voice came from just above him. Blue recognized it immediately.

"Kurt?" he blinked, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. "What… where are we?"

Kurt smiled at the other boy, whose hat had fallen off in his sleep. "Sanatorium," he said. "You must have been awake until four in the morning. Alex would kill you."

Blue stood with a start, but found himself incredibly dizzy, and had to lean on Kurt for support. Kurt, however, seemed to not mind this. He steadied Blue, allowing him to stand on his own after a few moments.

"Sorry," Blue mumbled, brushing himself off casually.

"Don't worry," Kurt said. "I've had worse."

"Hmph," Blue shrugged, avoiding Kurt's gaze as he normally did. "So what makes you so cheerful this morning?"

Kurt said nothing, only smiled and motioned to the bed on the other side of the room. Rather than a lifeless, sleeping figure – Dia, Blue knew the name by now – his eyes met wide, emerald ones, finally opened and bright.

"Gina's been ecstatic," Kurt said. "Alex says that she's coming close to recovery. She can't speak yet… but we can all tell she's frightened of something. And she doesn't…"

"Doesn't what?" Blue found himself demanding.

Kurt sighed, gazing over at the girl, who was herself gazing out the window. "She doesn't like us. Except for Gina; she seems to recognize her… but I can't even go near her."

"Doesn't that upset you?" Blue asked, unable to hold his tongue.

"I thought it would," Kurt admitted. "But for now, I'm just glad she'll be all right."

"Yeah," Blue said, "me too."

Kurt turned his gaze over to the charred face of Ann. "And… how's she?" he muttered.

Blue was ashamed to notice that he'd completely forgotten about Ann during his conversation with Kurt. "Ann? I'm not sure," he confessed. "She woke up last night… but I don't remember much after that." He rubbed his temples anxiously. "I wish I could."

"Maybe you need some more rest," Kurt suggested softly, his hand resting on Blue's back, guiding him to the door. "Go home. I'm not planning to leave anytime soon, so if you need to come back, I'll be here to talk."

"Appreciate it," Blue grumbled sleepily, blinking a few times to focus on the door before he attempted to exit the building.

Kurt smiled in Blue's direction, then looked back at Ann and Dia. Both girls were now awake. Ann's confused expression caught Kurt's attention, and he walked to her bedside.

"Where's Blue?" she breathed. Kurt could tell it hurt her to speak.

"He's sleeping at home," Kurt said to her. "You should sleep too. It'll help."

"Okay…" Ann's eyelids fluttered, then shut, and she had drifted back to sleep.

Kurt sighed, and took a seat by a table at the back of the room. Alex, Gina, and Martha hurried in and out of the room, checking up on the patients, including Basil, who had been newly admitted. As much as Kurt wanted to know why Basil was there, he just assumed it was because of a poisonous plant he'd come into contact with, and shrugged it off – he couldn't ask anyone anyway; Liz had just left and the doctors were as busy as ever.

Without anyone to talk to, Kurt could only gaze out the window, occasionally catching Dia's eye before she turned away. He found himself unable to stop thinking about Blue, wondering how he was doing and when he would be back. He had to wonder at some points if he was actually all right himself; if maybe he should get himself checked for mental illness. No way would he ever think about Blue like that on a normal day… or anyone, for that matter.

Life could be so complicated. Especially, though Kurt would never say it to Alex's face, when you didn't have enough sleep.

-----

Spring Farm

Summer 8, 12:04 PM

It was just after noon by the time Liz finally got home to the Spring Farm. She burst into Nina's room without thinking, and was surprised to find her daughter there, wearing a long-sleeved, dark blue top with a simple flower design on the front.

"Nina, you shouldn't wear that! It's blazing hot, you'll sweat yourself to death!"

"I'm fine," Nina lied – her mother was right, she felt the heat even more intensely under the long sleeves, used to disguise the fresh cuts in her wrists. "Why'd you barge in here, anyway?"

"Oh, Nina, it's Basil! He's…"

"I don't really want to talk to him right now," Nina interrupted, applying a coat of black nail polish to her thumbnail. Liz noticed it then, but decided not to say anything.

"He's not here," Liz said. "He's at the Sanatorium. He's been beaten, Nina, just outside Lyla's gift shop, and –"

"He deserves it," Nina snapped suddenly, startling her mother. "He was there last night, after the Festival, and Goddess knows what they did! The minute she opened that cutesy little shack, that bitch stole him!"

"Nina! How dare you talk about Lyla that way?"

"Try me!" Nina cried, anger boiling in her veins. "I've known Basil since we were kids. Lyla… I don't know what she has that I don't! What's wrong with him? I thought…"

Suddenly, the fire in Nina's eyes was extinguished by waves of tears that spilled from her eyes. Liz walked over to comfort her daughter, but Nina stopped her.

"Don't, Mom," she begged, then finished her previous statement. "I thought he loved me."

Liz felt something pull at her heartstrings. She recognized it as pain, the pain of reaching the point where she no longer knew what to do. Without another word, Liz backed away from Nina, departed the room, and shut the door behind her.

-----

Hearty Lyla Gift Shop

Summer 8, 12:11 PM

Maria tapped on the already-open door of the gift shop, wide brown eyes scanning the small building for any hint of what had gone on that morning. The drops of blood that made a trail from where they found Basil continued into the back room, where Maria knew Lyla slept.

"Is anyone there?" Maria called, truthfully not expecting anyone to reply. But instead of her expectations being met, she was acknowledged by a sob and a weak voice.

"I'm here," it came, and Maria knew in an instant that it was Lyla's voice. She dashed into the back room without even thinking and found the pink-haired woman curled up in the corner, shaking, her eyes squeezed shut.

"Lyla!" Maria cried, dropping down to the floor beside her friend and placing her hand on Lyla's shoulder. "Goddess, what's happened? You look awful!"

Lyla sniffed, quivering at Maria's touch. "Basil – I – I didn't mean for anything to happen, I…"

"Did you see who attacked him? Oh, Lyla, I'm so glad you're all right!"

Maria was surprised when Lyla didn't answer – she was usually so open and honest. The pink-haired woman gulped, finding an uncomfortable lump rising in her throat. She coughed.

"Lyla, it's all right. Basil's safe, you don't have to ever see that happen again. You –"

"You don't understand," Lyla interrupted, fixing Maria with a serious gaze. "Maria… I did it…"

"What do you mean?" Maria inquired, taken aback by Lyla's comment.

Lyla gulped again, her body tensing. "I… Basil… I think we were both drunk…"

"Oh, no," Maria breathed, awaiting the rest of the explanation.

"I woke up this morning and… Goddess, Maria, this is a nightmare… I think we…"

Maria gasped. Lyla didn't have to say another word; she merely fell into Maria's embrace without saying anything else, shaking and crying with every bit of fear and uncertainty she had in her. Maria felt tears coming to her eyes as well, but fought to blink them back. If there was one thing Lyla didn't need, it was for her friends to crumple as well.

"I will never be able to trust a man again," Lyla managed to say after about five minutes, her breath quick and her words painful. "If they think they can just – take advantage at whatever opportunity –"

"Lyla, that's nonsense, you know not all men are like that."

"Is that so?" Lyla sobbed. "You remember Ray? He practically cheated…"

"That's not true!" Maria returned. This time the tears were hot and painful. "He didn't care about me, and he certainly couldn't be trusted…"

Maria slowed her speech; she realized that what Lyla was saying was very true for the both of them.

"Cheated on you with fish," Lyla whispered. "Worthless is what he was. Basil's the same. They cannot be trusted, I swear to the Goddess…"

Maria sighed, helping Lyla to stand. "Come on, Lyla," she said softly. "We should get you to the Clinic, to make sure you're all right."

"Only if Basil's not there," Lyla said coldly, brushing another tear from her reddened eye.

"Listen, I'll make sure you don't ever have to talk to him again, Lyla, just come with me. I've read about some of the stuff that can get transmitted during… you know…" She shook her head quickly. "And it's not pretty. Come on, we'll get you checked up."

Lyla had no choice but to comply as the two made their way to the Clinic, hand in hand, as if they were children again and all was right in the world.

-----

Moonlight Café

Summer 8, 5:58 PM

Eve burst into the Moonlight Café just as Carl was finished wiping the tables. Her slender form crashed into one of the tables nearest to the door, knocking the salt and pepper shakers onto the hard wooden floor. The shakers smashed, tiny glass shards mingling with the spices that had been isnide them. Carl was just about to erupt with anger when he saw Eve's face.

Her eyes, though the irises were always reddish-pink, were almost wholly that hue now. Tears flowed in torrents down her blush-powdered cheeks, smudging the many layers of eyeshadow and mascara that had painstakingly been applied to her eyes. Spots of black and red, no doubt from the makeup, dotted the top of her red dress. Eve's blonde hair was coming out of its ponytail, falling about her face in an unkempt fashion, and she was breathing hard. It was apparent that she had run all the way here, and that she had indeed been crying.

"Eve, what's wrong?" Carl cried, offering a hand to help her up. She took it, and he felt an electric tingle, the same one he felt when he looked at her each day.

Looking Carl in the eyes, her body wracked with sobs, Eve spoke.

"Grandpa – Grandpa Terry," she managed, choking on her words. "He's dead!"