this is it folks. chapter "the end."please R&R! thanks to everyone that did, i love you all! and i promise, sequel is coming soon!

"Coop! Coop!" Summer ran through the house looking for her friend/ "Coop!" her voice became more urgent. "Coop!" she looked in the living room. No Marissa. She looked in the kitchen. No Marissa. She looked in the bedroom. "Omigod, Marissa!" she was lying on the floor, holding onto an almost empty bottle of pills. She pulled her cellphone out of her bag, her hands shaking so much she couldn't flip it open for a good five minutes, a five minutes that could be crucial to Marissa's life.

"Hello, 911."

"Oh, God, hello, this is Summer Roberts. My friend...she...I think she..." she was crying so hard she could barely speak.

"Okay, miss, we're going to need you to calm down if we're going to help your friend. Do you need an ambulance?"

"Yes! Yes, it needs to come to number eighteen, Orange Grove. Hurry, please!"

"Okay, miss, it will be there shortly."

"Thank you!" and before the operator could speak again, she slapped the phone shut. "It's going to be okay, Coop. It's got to be okay."

Ryan and Kathryn were canoodling in the poolhouse when Seth burst in.

"You guys! We need to get next door right now."

Kathryn sat up right away.

"Oh God, Marissa! Seth, what's happened?"

"I don't know. But there's all sorts of commotion over there," he looked at Ryan. "Come on!"

Kathryn grabbed Ryan's hand to reassure him.

"I'm sure she'll be okay. Let's go."

"Miss Roberts, do you know what this is?"

Summer shook her head.

"It is ketamine. Do you know what ketamine is?"

Summer shook her head again.

"Ketamine is a horse tranquilizer. Do you know where Miss Cooper could have got hold of it?"

"No..." Summer thought, and suddenly had an idea. "Caitlin's pony!" she gasped.

"Who is Caitlin?"

"Coop's little sister. Omigod, will she be okay? She's not a horse!"

"We know that, Miss Roberts. Your friend has taken a dangerous amount of pills. We have to get her to hospital immediately."

"Right, right," she grabbed on to the man's coat. "You've got to save her!"

"We will do everything we can for Miss Cooper, we assure you."

"Summer?"

"Cohen?" she ran over and held him in her arms. "Thank God you're here! I had to deal with it all myself and I didn't know what to do..." she gabbled.

"Hey, hey, sssh," he hugged her tightly – and then he realised that he didn't want to let go.

Ryan sat, examining the crack in the ceiling above him. He was surprised that as a hospital, they had not fixed it. Who knew how many germs were lurking in there? He closed his eyes, trying to block out the shouts of the paramedics and doctors all around, not necessarily helping Marissa, but he could imagine her lying on a hospital bed, being prodded and poked with so many things he couldn't even try to name them all.

"Ryan?" Ryan turned his head and saw Kathryn sitting beside him/ it was obvious that she'd been crying. He pulled her close to him, and held her until visiting hours began, and they could go and see Marissa.

"Coop?"

"Summer?" Marissa opened her eyes and saw Summer's worried face over her. She closed them again, and one delicate tear dribbled down. "Is Ryan here?"

"Yeah – do you want me to get him?" she paused. "But if he comes, then it's inevitable that Kathryn will come too – they're inseparable."

"Summer, do you even know what half those words mean?" Marissa laughed half-heartedly. "I want to see him anyway. Bring him?"

"Sure, Coop," Summer couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that her friend didn't even want to see her, didn't want to see the person that had found her, called 911, sat with her in the ambulance, held her hand all night in case she had woken up, and had never given up on her, convinced she was alive.

"Ryan? Coop wants to see you."

"She's alive?" Ryan couldn't mask his smile. Even though he didn't love her anymore, she was still special to him. He grabbed Kathryn's hand. "Come on."

Kathryn walked to Marissa's room, all the time holding Ryan's hand, but barely aware that it was there. She blamed herself, and half of her knew she should, after all, Marissa had been perfectly happy before she had lost Ryan. The other half, the rational half, told her not to be so stupid, that she wasn't responsible for Marissa's actions, that she couldn't help the fact that she was dating Ryan now.

"Uh-uh," Seth stood at Marissa's door. He didn't really like the girl, but he was doing it as a favour to Summer. "Kathryn, she doesn't want to see you."

The words hit her like a ton of bricks. She should have expected it, and she did, but to actually hear it hurt more than she knew.

"No way. If Kathryn doesn't come, then I'm not going in," Ryan spoke up for his girlfriend.

"Ryan, it's okay. I'll just stay here...with Seth."

"No, I don't..."

"Ryan. Go in. Go talk to her."

He touched her hand, hoping it would...what? Reassure him, maybe? He kissed her, and then walked in, to face his past.

"Ryan. You came," Marissa struggled to sit up, but slid back down again.

"Yeah, I came. How are you?" he reached down to touch her face. She looked so tiny and helpless.

"I'm fine. Well, I'm not fine, but I will be," she reached up for him, and let her hand trickle down his face to his neck, and she held on to his shirt to pull herself back up. She brushed her hair back with her hand, and for a moment, Ryan saw the girl he fell in love with. He saw Marissa.

"Ryan!" Kathryn opened the door. "Julie wants to talk to Marissa," he made no effort to move. "Alone."

"Oh, right," he walked over to Kathryn, and slid his arm around her waist, and they kissed.

"Bye Marissa. I hope you feel better," Kathryn waved, and they walked out of the room, Ryan nodding at her in acknowledgement.

Marissa watched Ryan talk briefly to her mom, and a tear fell down her face. She would never get Ryan back. She closed her eyes, and imagined lying in Ryan's arms.

A few seconds later, on her last breath, she whispered the name "Ryan".

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep," Summer jerked her head up. She pushed Julie out of the way, and opened the door with such force that she bent the door handle. She ran over to Marissa.

"Coop, no. Coop! Wake up, Coop, please wake up!" she cried, letting the tears gush out, she shook Marissa. "Please Marissa. You can't go!"

Ryan, hearing Summer cry out, grabbed Kathryn and Seth's arms.

"Come on!" they burst into the room. "What's going on?"

"Coop you can't be gone!" Summer frantically yelled at Marissa.

"She's gone?" Ryan ran over to the bed, and knew that she was...he couldn't bear to think it. The colour of her skin, the lifelessness of her limbs showed how painfully obvious it was that she was gone. He let a single tear fall. The first tear that he had shed. Ever. Summer clung on to him, both of them crying every drop of water that they held inside. Kathryn and Seth stood back, their arms around each other's waist, too stunned to do a thing. Kathryn squeezed Seth's skin, and he used his spare hand to hold her in his arms. They all stood in silence, for much more than a moment, and they all felt numb, for much more than a moment. And for much more than a moment, none of them got what they wanted. And then the moment was gone.