Adora was not expecting to be woken up in the middle of the night by her phone vibrating like crazy the night after Christmas. She had woken up to her ringtone ringing loudly beside her head since she'd apparently forgotten to turn it to silent before bed and she sleepily grabbed her phone and hit decline without checking who was calling. She paused for a split second when she saw there was over 60 unread text messages at the top of her screen and she unlocked her phone to see what was going on.

She didn't know what she'd expected to see but it wasn't this.

The text messages were from her best friend's dads, they'd both been frantically texting her and when she began reading the texts her heart sank.

'Adora, Bow was in a bad car accident on the highway and he's in the hospital and he might not make it! Please come as soon as you can.' -Lance

'Please give us a call when you have the chance! I know Lance messaged you already but you need to come now! Give us a call when you get this message.' -George

Adora couldn't read through the rest of the messages as tears were blurring her eyes as she frantically dialed George's number while rummaging through her closet to try and find a coat to throw on. Tears were streaming down her cheeks as she tried not to wake her roommate with all her noise.

"Hello?" came George's voice from the other end after a period of agonizing silence while she waited for him to pick up, his voice clearly hoarse from crying.

"Hey George, it's me. I'm heading out now. What hospital are you at?" she asked, keeping her voice low as she glanced back at Mermista who was still sound asleep, snoring away as the blonde grabbed her car keys and rushed out of her dorm.

"Bright Moon State Hospital. Please hurry."

"I'm coming as fast as I can. I'll be there soon, watch over him for me until I get there, ok?" she asked, already knowing what his answer would be as she dashed into the cold winter night and raced to find her car in the student parking lot. The night sky was pitch black with no stars in sight and she could feel the harsh winter wind freezing her tears as she buried her face in her winter coat.

"Of course, we're looking after him as best we can."

Adora smiled sadly to herself as she choked back a sob, collapsing into the front seat of her car as she gripped her phone tighter to her ear. "Thank you." she choked out, before hanging up and breaking down in sobs.

/

It was a short drive from Adora's university to the hospital but the drive felt like it was taking hours, every red light causing her to curse under her breath as she waited impatiently for it to turn green, the red light seemingly taunting her as her hands clutched the steering wheel with every ounce of strength she had left.

Bow had been her best friend since she was five. Adora's parents had been killed by a drunk driver when she was less then a year old, they'd been out on a date and she'd been left home with her babysitter when the accident happened. She had no living grandparents or relatives of any kind and she was thrown into foster care. She'd eventually been placed into a decent home with with a friendly couple and everything was good for the first couple years. They had officially adopted her as their own and then out of nowhere the dad had abandoned them when she was three and her adopted mother became an alcoholic and was extremely abusive towards her, physically, verbally and emotionally.

She'd met Bow at the start of kindergarten and although she'd been closed off and cold towards everyone in her class, Bow had persisted on trying to befriend her and eventually she caved in and became his friend. They were close for years and their friendship only continued to strengthen over time. Bow was the first one she came out to when she realized she was a lesbian, he was the first person she'd told when she was struggling with anorexia and he helped her realize she needed help and was the main reason why she decided to seek therapy and get better.

But most importantly he was the first person she ever confided in about her adopted mother's abuse and he had encouraged her to go to the police and report her. He had gone with her with his dads and together they filed a report and got her thrown in jail. She'd been 15 at the time and his family had taken her in and given her a roof to live under. She had become a part of their family and she felt at home with his dads and they often referred to her as the daughter they never had.

Bow was an amazing friend to her and she loved him like a brother. Now they were attending the same university and everything was going perfectly. They saw each other regularly and would hang out all the time. Bow had gotten a girlfriend less then two months ago who she'd briefly met once and they were still as close as they were when they were five. Everything was perfect until now.

Adora slammed her head against the steering wheel as she was stopped by another red light. "Damn it!" she screamed, her lungs burning as she tried to contain herself so she wouldn't lose control and barrel through the red light. "I don't have time for this!"

As if on cue the light turned green and her foot eagerly slammed on the gas pedal as she drove towards the hospital, her heart beating out of her chest as her mind focused on her best friend who was probably getting closer to dying with each passing second.

Eventually she reached the hospital and she ran out of her car and into the emergency room. She ran up to the secretary, practically out of breath as she tried to force her words out."I'm... I'm Adora Ross. I'm here to see Bow Pearson."

The nurse typed something into her computer screen as she rubbed her chin before pointing in the direction of the elevators. "You have permission to see him as per the request of his fathers. The elevator is to your left, he's on floor six room 139."

"Thank you." Adora replied before rushing towards the elevator. It wasn't long before the elevator reached ground level and when she entered it was completely empty. She stepped inside and hit the button for floor six and closed her eyes as she tried to think positive thoughts.

'I'm sure he'll be alright, this is Bow we're talking about! Bow won't just die, he can survive anything.'

Try as she might she knew that hoping he'd make it was wishful thinking and that believing he'd survive would just devastate her further when he did succumb to his injuries.

When the elevator reached floor six she stepped out with a heavy heart as she prepared to say goodbye to her best friend. The halls were empty and quiet as she searched for the correct room number. Eventually she found it and she pushed the door open gently as she walked in.

George and Lance were sitting on opposite side's of the hospital bed where Bow laid. He was covered in bandages and hooked up to all kinds of machines as his chest fell up and down. His face was bloody and he had bruises and cuts everywhere.

Tears filled her eyes as she walked over to her friend and bent down to see him. His eyes were barely open and upon seeing her a small smile crossed his face.

"Hey Adora." he choked out, his voice raspy and hardly there.

"Hey." she whispered, trying not to let him see her cry as she gently reached a hand out to stroke his cheek. "How are you feeling?"

"Like shit." he said, chuckling before he began coughing up a storm, blood trickling out of his mouth as he groaned.

Adora gasped as she pulled her hand away, trying to force herself to remain calm and to not break down. "Don't worry Bow, you'll get through this, I promise. We made it through everything together and this is no different, right?"

He shook his head and Adora broke down in tears as she felt Lance wrap an arm around her. "Adora... I don't think I'm going to make it. I need you to be strong."

"You can't leave me!" she wailed, sobbing into Lance's chest as she felt George's arms wrap around her as well. "I... I need you. Who am I going to talk to at three am when I can't sleep? Who am I going to binge watch stupid movies with who won't mock me for it the whole time? Who am I going to take road trips with and rock out to old rock songs on the radio while we get lost in some small town along the way that nobody's ever heard of? Who's going to be the best man at my wedding? I can't lose you, please!" she yelled, her body shaking violently as tears poured down her cheeks, her heart heavy in her chest as everything came pouring out.

"Adora, please look at me."

Adora pulled away from the embrace of the two men she'd ever truly viewed as father figures and looked over at Bow who had tears running down his cheeks as he extended a hand towards her.

"Please come here." he said quietly, his hand shaking as he began coughing once more.

Adora grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed it as she felt his hand reach up to brush her tears away. "I love you Adora. You're my best friend, you're like a little sister to me. I would give anything to stay but I know I won't make it. Please be strong for me, I'll always be watching over you."

"I'll try to be strong." Adora said through tears as she planted a gentle kiss on the boy's hand. "I love you too Bow, thank you for everything. I don't know where I'd be if it weren't for you."

He smiled back at her, his face paler then before as he struggled to keep a grip on her hand. "That's my Adora." he said half jokingly as he held back a laugh. "Can you do one more thing for me? Look out for Glimmer for me. I haven't been with her for long but I know she's going to need a lot of support and she doesn't have any friends. Please look out for her for me."

Adora nodded as she wrapped her arms around her friend as she cried into his shoulder. "Of course I will. Thank you Bow. You're my best friend."

"You too... Adora."

She felt his body go limp against hers and she knew he was gone before she heard the loud scream of his heart monitor flatlining. The tears came faster as she clutched his lifeless body closer to herself as if she could somehow bring him back if she hugged him tight enough. "Come back please." she sobbed quietly into his shoulder, only to be met with no response.

She pulled away, burying her face in her hands as George and Lance's sobs echoed throughout the room. The grief filled the room to the brim and Adora could only help but wonder why someone as amazing and kind as Bow had to be taken away from them.

She heard the door fling open and her head shot up as she turned to see a shorter girl with pink hair come bursting in, tear tracks staining her cheeks as she stood in just a pair of pajamas and a winter parka. Adora couldn't place her finger on where she knew this girl from but when she spoke she remembered.

"Where is he?" she cried, her voice hoarse and shrill as her entire body shook.

Glimmer, that's who she was. Adora had met her once in Bow's dorm briefly. She had been bringing over study notes from a class she shared with Bow from the day before which he'd missed due to being sick and she'd offered to bring him the notes to copy down. She'd met the pixie haired girl briefly as she was sitting on his couch with him, the two laughing as they watched an old movie while ramen noodles sat in a bowl on the end table.

Bow had introduced the two briefly and they'd only said a few words to each other and Adora's impression of her was that she seemed nice but she never saw her after that. She'd almost forgotten what she looked like until just now.

George and Lance were crying too much to answer her as she rushed over to Bow's side where his lifeless body lay. "Bow!" she cried out, grabbing his hand as she sobbed. "Please wake up, I'm here now!"

Adora's response was to immediately pull the girl into a hug as she rubbed her back. "I'm sorry Glimmer, he's gone." she whispered into her ear, the other girl's breath hitching before she buried her face in her shoulder and began to sob, her body shaking like wild in Adora's arms.

Adora barely knew this girl that was in her arms but the fact that they both lost someone they cared deeply about was what brought them together in that moment, the two hanging to each other for dear life as grief consumed them. Adora didn't know Glimmer well but she knew she was going to keep her word to Bow and that she would look out for her and be there for her.

But right then and there Adora had no idea what would be in store for her not long after and just how much she'd really truly need to be there for this girl in her arms.

/

Authors note: Hey so this story is going to be really long and its going to be a bit of a slow burn. I really want to build up their relationship and give it a lot of time before I start diving into the romance but I'm really excited for this story and I hope some of you will like it! I hope you enjoyed and stay tuned for another chapter coming soon!