DAY BY DAY By Chinsky

Disclaimer: Mike White, is an unbelievably talented man that came up with amazing characters for an amazing movie. Chinsky, is a not as talented girl that came up with absolutely nothing but the plot. Mike White: winner. Chinsky: loser. Oh well.

A/N: I am praying you will all like this chapter. Although it might have felt a little cliched up until now, I hope this chapter changes it? I also hope its good enough not to drive you guys away...

Chapter 5

Freddy walked to Katie's house directly after that. Walking up the driveway, he heard yelling. With a clang of the screen door behind her, Katie hurriedly rushed out, wiping her tears away hastily. She looked up, startled to see someone else near her. But when she realized it was Freddy, her eyes glowed. Freddy's heart swelled to see that...but sank when he saw her tears.

He came next to her. "Katie..." He whispered softly, putting an arm up around her. She sniffed a bit but then looked up, jaw clenched and eyes cold.

"He was yelling at me again." She stated, as though he needed an explanation.

"I know," he whispered soothingly in her ear. She slid her arms around Freddy's back and Freddy held her tightly. She buried her face in Freddy's neck, and they stood there together as he let her cry. When the time seemed right, Freddy stated in a quiet voice, "I want to know what he said to you, so I can tell you how wrong he is."

She came up and looked him in the eye. "Freddy..." she said, in a barely audible whisper. "Freddy..." Her eyes brimmed with tears, so she closed her eyes and kept going. "Last night, before you knocked on the door..." her voice got unbearably quiet. Her eyes remained closed but her voice was strained and her face gave away her fear. "I was thinking of...killing myself."

Freddy was struck hard. Pale as a ghost, the tall blonde looked as though he himself would start crying any second. After he regained more composure, he slowly and deliberately uttered one word. "Why?"

Katie shook her head and opened her eyes finally. They were scared. You could always see her emotions in her eyes. Fear, love, pain, and anger. But this was the only time Freddy could see it all at once. She continued. "Oh, I don't know Freddy! Why not? I have--had," she corrected herself, "no one! Sure there was the band but...oh Freddy I'm just a bassist! I figured they'd get along without me. I had been obsessing over you for years." She gave a sad chuckle. "I never thought anything would happen between us. My dad doesn't give a shit about me, and my mom's been gone for a while now. My friends all found someone better...I felt like I wasn't good enough. I wasn't good enough for you, I wasn't good enough for my dad, and I wasn't good enough for the band..." She slowed down now. "So...I'd decided that's what I'd do." Her tears fell strongly but her composure remained strong. Freddy wanted to wash all her pain, anger, hurt away. Better yet, take it for him. He was sure that that would prove better than forcing it on Katie.

"So...I had...a bottle of vodka...a razor...and a bottle of sleeping pills upstairs. In the bathroom." She cried harder. "I was seriously going to do it, when you knocked on the door.

"You knocked on the door and changed my life Freddy. You saved me from myself. I have you know." Her smile glowed through her tears. Even now, she looked truly radiant. "And...you are, the one thing, I was subconsciously needing. And, someone, something in that huge universe out there decided to help me and give me you." Freddy thought vaguely of his star. It worked. He thought dimly. He didn't care. He couldn't care. His brain was on a slow reaction level right now.

"Once you told me you loved me, all thoughts of suicide left my head." Her tears had stopped falling as fast now. She talked as though this was years ago; when in reality it was only yesterday night. This hit Freddy even harder. What would she have done if he hadn't said anything?

Katie continued. "But...but I left the vodka, razor and pills in the bathroom. My dad found them this morning. Still drunk as hell, he came storming into my room, telling me I should have done it." Katie choked the words out now, painfully, as though each word was convincing her she was worthless. "He said that I would do the world a lot of good if I weren't here." Her head was back on Freddy's shoulder. She sobbed quietly as he held her.

All this time, Freddy had been thinking of what to say.

"Katherine Rebecca Brown," he started, spitting out the words harshly, because truth be told, he was crying too. 'I, love you. I love so you so fucking much its not even funny. You mean the world to me." The anger in his voice was evident as he said these words. How dare they make Katie feel this way? How dare they give her no other option, no other choice?

"If you...God Katie, if you were not here... Damn, I wouldn't know what to do. Hell, I'd probably commit suicide too. Without you," he tilted her head upwards so that they were looking eye to eye. "I'd die. Katherine Rebecca Brown," he repeated, "I'd die without you. And if any...if any bastard," he spat out the word with so much vile and disgust that Katie was almost frightened, "had the guts to come up to me, and tell me, that you should--" his voice cracked and he was unable to go on for a moment. He drew in a slow breath and continued slowly, looking still at the ground, "that you should...die, I would personally kill them. Because they're not living..." he looked back in her eyes now, concentrating on them, "if they can't see how truly...spectacular you really are."

He was done. He hung his head and the tears came faster. So did Katie's. Her heart swelled with so much love, and so much...astonishment, that she was lost.

Finally, she drew his face to her and kissed away his tears on his cheeks. He came closer and kissed her fervently, once, twice, over and over again, praying the whole time that he could take her pain away.

A/N: So. There it is. I truly hope you guys like it, because honestly, I do. It took me a long time to fix Freddy's speech thing...yeah. So. Thank you's to my reviewers:

Phish Food: Whoa. Ha, when I saw that you reviewed I actually squealed. Yes...I did. Your stuff is just so awesome. Anyways, thank you so much, I'm really glad that you read it/liked it!!

wyverna: Haha...I do that too. I mean...Thanks. :) I'm glad you like it. and yay! No flying monkeys. Yet. Though you know, I'm kind of partial to flying monkeys...

SiennaR79: Haha you bet. Thanks for reviewing ;)

Akemi Kinoto: Ha, hi! Thanks...I hope that this chapter changed the Mary Sue stuff...if it didn't, oh well...It's my first fic, so...lol...yeah. And I'm glad you still like it :)

Silverkid: Hehe. I'm kind of at a writers block for the sixth chapter, so the break in between this chapters might be a little longer. Sorry! Thanks :)

augur-cursed: you know you're really funny. you helped me edit but you never said you liked the ending to the 3rd chapter. ::rolls eyes and laughs:: anyways...yeah...i already made fun of the way you review. so. hehe. yeah. thanks for reviewing, i didnt ask you to but you still did. yup. so. onwards...

Seriously, thanks guys. I hope you like this chapter.