Chapter 37

I turn around when I hear someone calling my name.

It's Mitchie.

She runs up to me and catches her breath.

"Holy shit, what happened?" she asks.

I point to the door of the room that Nate's in. "Nate has some weird disease our dog died of."

Mitchie frowns. "I was at the concert… is he gonna be okay?"

"I hope so," I say.

Her giant purse falls down her arm, and she pulls it back up. "Can we go in the room?" she asks, signaling to the door.

I shake my head. "They won't let us in."

She sighs and leans up against the wall.

Jason comes over to us, holding a Snickers bar. "Hey Madeline!"

"My name is Mitchie!" Mitchie hisses, sending Jason a harsh look.

He frowns. "Fine. Don't take the Snickers bar," he says and unwraps the candy, eating it.

I lean up against the door and blow some air at my forehead, making a strand of hair fly up a bit.

Suddenly, the door opens, sending me flying backwards a bit. I run into the doctor that was coming out of the room and blush, laughing awkwardly. "My bad," I say.

The doctor looks very serious.

I suddenly frown. "How is he?" I ask.

"He's stable for now, but his liver is failing," she informs me.

I gulp. "Well is he gonna die?"

The doctor shakes her head. "We can operate to repair the damage caused by the Leptospirosis."

"Fine," I say, "do whatever."

"Well we need a parent or guardian to sign the forms. Are his parents here?"

"His parents are dead," I say.

"Okay well where's his guardian?"

I look over at Jason and we exchange worried glances.

"Uh…" I start.

She raises her eyebrows. "Where are they?"

I hesitate. "Well… I… Really, he doesn't have any parents. Jason, Nate, and I live together."

"Wait, so he has no guardian over the age of eighteen?" she asks.

I point to Jason. "Him," I say.

"Legal guardian," she says.

Jason nods. "I'm legal. I've never gotten in jail before. And I don't drink. Or drive."

I kick him for being a retard. "She means like you have to have legally adopted him." I laugh a bit. "And that would be weird if you were his dad."

The doctor frowns. "Without a legal parent or guardian, we can't do the surgery."

"What!?" I exclaim. "Even if he's gonna die a horrible and terrible death you're not going to save him over some stupid signature?"

She nods. "I'm sorry but it's the law."

I turn to Jason. "I knew we should have moved to Canada right when Bush was elected!" I turn back to the doctor. "What if my parents sign it?"

She shakes her head.

"Well fuck!" I exclaim. "Damn this fucking country and their fucking rules!"

The doctor stares at me a bit.

"I'm sorry," I apologize. "I just really hate this place." I sigh. "And now my best friend is going to die because of it."

The doctor places her hand comfortingly on my shoulder. "I'm really sorry."

She starts to walk away, but I stop her.

"There has to be another way!" I call out after her.

She turns around.

I get that awful lump in my throat I always get before I cry. "You can't just let him die. There has to be another way."

"I'm really sorry," she says. She hesitates a moment and then walks away.

I stand there in a silent shock.

"Shane…" Mitchie starts.

I wipe away a stray tear and then go into the room. Nate is laying in the bed there, his eyes closed. The room is painted in this disgusting red colour, with just one window, the blinds closed. There's some random-ass painting of a tree and a barn over near a green chair.

I walk into the room.

Nate opens his eyes and smiles. "Hey," he whispers.

I just nod, and sniff a bit, wiping away freshly fallen tears.

"Why are you crying?" he frowns.

I shake my head and more tears come out.

"Are you like in love with me but afraid to tell me? Is this going to be a crazy-ass bromance?" he asks with a hint of amusement in his voice.

Nate is one of those people who can always make a joke about the worst scenario. He's the comic relief in life.

"You're gonna die," I say.

He lets out a huff of laughter. "No I'm not. Don't talk like that."

I nod. "You are. You need surgery, but because you don't have a legal guardian to sign those damn forms, you can't get it. So yeah, you really are gonna die."

Nate laughs. Then stares at me in horror. "Okay if your fucking with me, it isn't funny."

I try to hold back a sob, but it comes out as more of a gasp.

He looks around. "Okay, Ashton, you can come out any second now… This isn't funny… Dude, if you're fucking with me again, I swear…" He turns to me. "He isn't here. Oh my god, Shane! Why the hell isn't Ashton popping out of a bush saying, 'Nate, you just got punked?!'" He starts hyperventilating. "Fuck! Shit! Ass! Tits! I really am going to die!" Nate bursts out in tears. "I'm too young to die!"

Nate reaches over and pulls me into an over-friendly man hug.

I start crying. This is such a bromance.

Jason opens up the door. "Hey guys – holy shit! Sorry to interrupt!" He closes the door.

Nate pulls away from our hug. He wipes away some tears. "I can't believe it…"

"You know, this is only because we can't get a parent signature. That's the only reason," I say.

His jaw drops. "I'm going to die because of a stupid piece of paper? Damn it, let me forge the signature! I did it all the time in school."

I shake my head. "They're real assholes."

Jason knocks on the door. "Is it safe now?"

"Yeah," I call to him.

He and Mitchie come into the room. Nate is still sitting on the bed, sniffing, and I wipe away some tears when they come in.

I stand up. "That's it. Pack you're bags; we're moving to Canada."

Jason shakes his head. "No need to."

We all turn to Jason.

"I've decided to adopt Nate!"

"WHAT?!" Nate screeches.

Jason nods. "Yes. I'm going to sign those forms so that you don't die."

Nate's jaw drops. "Jason, you do realize that when you adopt me you'll be my… guardian. Which is gonna be so awkward since we're best friends."

"Well it's either that or you die."

Nate scoffs. "This doesn't seem like a good idea."

I turn to Nate a shake my head. "No. It is. For once Jason actually has a good idea."

Nate raises his eyebrows. "You can not be serious about this."

A\N: Review becuase I'm gonna start this thing where until I get atleast 25 reviews, I will not put the next chapter up. And you guys will like the next chapter. So 25 and new chapter, yes?