Author Notes - So as I read this chapter, I realised that I kinda goofed up. Apparently, I had forgotten that this chapter and the next chapter took place on the same day, resulting in Oona seemingly teleporting from the hospital back to the school. Don't worry, because I should have it all sorted out now. ... I hope. Considering my writing process, I'm surprised that this is the first time something like this has ever happened.

CHAPTER TWELVE - MANY REGRETS

The weekend had passed. At the time, they seemed to drag, but looking back they had ended in a flash. It was the first weekend in at least a year that the Guppies didn't spend both days playing together. Molly and Deema were waiting until the next school day before they could work up the courage to see their friends again, and Nonny had spent the whole time practising to be a leader with his pet chihuahua Chiapas (named after a state in Mexico), but she wasn't exactly cooperative.

As Oona went into the hospital for another day of volunteer work on the Sunday, she kept count of the days that had gone by since the accident. Five days... hospitalised on Wednesday, a terrible outburst on Thursday. On one hand, it seemed to be far too long for Gil to be in the hospital. On the other, it astounded her that so much had gone down in the space of only a few days. First the accident, then Molly's outburst, then the announcement that Nonny might take over as the leader… it had to have been the most full-on few days the band ever had.

As for today, well, nothing too crazy had happened yet. Oona could only spend a few minutes in class to say hi to everyone before leaving for the hospital, so she didn't know if Deema was going to show up that day. Yet, she had a feeling that something big would happen. If those movers had the time to, it would be interesting indeed.

When she arrived at his room, she found him reading some books. The one in his hands at that moment was the 'Secret Agent Stories' book, the one he had declared his favourite before he lost his library card. After finding his library card in the dinosaur book, it was that one that ended up being his favourite. He had a few more on his bed with him, and had already read most of them. Bubble Puppy sat next to him, reading alongside him as best as a dog could.

'And then,' Gil read. 'James Pond leapt from his car right as it was plummeting over the cliff! As his car fell into the water below, he fired his grappling hook at the nearby… oh, hi Oona!'

With everything that was going on, Oona was relieved that Gil could sound so happy upon seeing her. She entered his room with a smile on her face, glad to see that some of his wounds were already beginning to heal. He put the book down as she approached him, and Bubble Puppy yipped a cheerful greeting her way.

'Hi to you too, Bubble Puppy!' Oona greeted. 'So Gil, how's it going?'

'Pretty well.' He replied. 'My breakfast orange juice arrived a little warm, but other than that, it's been fine. Lying in bed all day and night is really starting to get boring, though.'

'That can't be helped. You have to stay in this bed for a few more weeks at least. You know that, right?'

He rolled his eyes. 'Yes. I know. I'm still annoyed.'

Oona did what she always did upon arriving first thing in the morning - she flattened out the creases in Gil's blanket, making sure the end of it reached the foot of the bed. If her friend had to spend a whole month relegated to a single bed, she was gonna make sure that it looked good and comfortable.

'Have you seen Deema yet?' Gil asked. 'I'm starting to get worried.'

'Not yet.' Oona answered, stacking his already-read books on the bedside table. 'She might be going to school today, but she wasn't there when I took a visit.'

'Dorson told me yesterday that he and Deema managed to make up, even though she hasn't forgiven him just yet. He even said that she's perking up again, so I hope that's a good sign.'

'Really? I hope so too. I can't imagine her not being my friend anymore.'

Deema… if Gil was ever allowed out of the bed for even five minutes, he'd use that time to rush over to her house. Leaving without saying a word… refusing to go to school one day… it didn't seem right to him.

'If you don't mind me saying,' Oona said, sitting on the end of his bed. 'I thought she'd be the first one you'd forgive, not me. You had so much time to tell her that when you were by yourselves, so why didn't you?'

Gil sighed. 'You want me to be honest? It's because I can't forgive her yet.'

'What?! I-I mean, it's all your choice, but why not?'

'I know we don't wanna think about it, but it was her joke that landed me in here. I'm kinda thankful that something like this happened, because it's given me the chance to really think about my friendship with Molly, but… Deema is still the one responsible for the accident. It was just an accident, so she shouldn't feel so guilty about it, but it's hard for me to say that I can forgive her for that. At least yet.'

Oona put her hands in her lap. 'I understand that. But she needs to know that she's not the only one who feels like she caused this, and I'm not talking about the rest of us.'

Gil cocked an eyebrow. 'Then, who else?'

She leaned towards him. 'Gil, I managed to talk to the two movers who were working that day. They'll be arriving here soon to talk to you.'

'The movers? ... Oh.'

Gil hadn't even thought about the movers until now. They had seen them only briefly, but the Guppies had them to thank since they were the ones who called for the ambulance. He only had maybe an hour, if that, to think about it before the lobster and snail from that day walked into the room, slowly, as Oona stepped aside to let them through. They were still in their uniforms, and their nametags were the only way Gil could identify them - the male lobster was named Rob, while the female snail was named Carol.

They both looked very apprehensive as they stepped into the room, unable to hide their cringes upon seeing the awful state the young boy was in. He made sure to give them a smile. Bubble Puppy growled at them at first, until Gil pat his head and got him to calm down.

'Listen kid,' Rob said, crunching up his hat in his claws. 'We're sorry. For all of this.'

'We should've been paying attention.' Carol added. 'We were just so frustrated with always getting the short end of the stick that we let something like this happen.'

Gil chuckled. 'It wasn't your fault that I was clumsy.'

Carol shook her head. 'You don't understand, Gil. While it is true that we were not directly responsible for the accident, we were the ones who left the truck open and didn't look around for any kids. We had the boxes stacked up like that.'

'We're the ones who screwed up here.' Rob said. 'And I have no idea what we can possibly do to make up for it.'

Oona sat on a nearby chair, and listened intently to the whole conversation. It was almost a recurring theme for everyone to pin the blame on themselves, whether or not they actually did it. Was it Rob and Carol's fault for not keeping track of their boxes? Deema's for playing her little trick? Mr Grouper's for not stepping in when he should have? Or was it Molly's, for being a questionable best friend? It seemed like it was everyone's fault, and Oona couldn't help but wonder… maybe it was everyone's fault, including hers.

'Listen guys,' Gil said. 'I don't really care. Everyone's been saying that it's their fault, so I don't think it's anyone's fault anymore. I-'

'We're serious.' Rob interrupted.

The lobster worker stepped forward and pointed his claw at Gil, making him flinch.

'Listen Gil,' The mover continued. 'While it is true that we were not directly responsible for anything, it was still our job that resulted in your injuries. I do not kid when I say that you, if so desired, could sue our company and win.'

Gil cocked an eyebrow. 'Sue? What does that mean?'

He waited for Nonny to step in and answer his question, but of course the bespectacled boy wasn't around that day. Oona too wished she could hear his adorable monotone voice at that moment.

'It's complicated to explain…' Carol said. 'But the gist of it is that your family can legally ask for repayment, and if you win the, uh, argument, we have to provide whatever you ask of us.'

'Wait, really?' Gil asked. 'So, if my family really wanted you guys to pay for the hospital bills, they could force you to do that?'

Carol nodded. 'Exactly. We were planning on getting our company to pay for the bills anyway, but seeing as we're the expendable ones, the higher-ups don't care to listen. If your family does decide to sue our company, we will gladly support them in the case.'

'It's the least we can do for what we've done.' Rob said. 'And, speaking of which…'

He reached into his pocket, and pulled out his wallet. From that, he took out a stack of dollar bills and handed it to Gil. The young Guppy, not knowing what else to do, took the money offered and fanned it out to check the amount. Of course, he couldn't count very high, but it must've been a fair amount with how many bills there were.

'It's about a-hundred-and-fifty dollars.' Carol explained. 'That's what we were paid for the job. We agreed that you deserve it a lot more than we do.'

'And it's all you're going to get from Guppy Movers unless your family decides to sue.' Rob said.

Oona huffed. 'Why are your bosses so mean like that?'

'Our bosses aren't mean.' Carol said. 'Just, erm, apathetic. They're not trying to make the situation worse. They just don't care enough to do anything about it.'

Gil flicked through the paper bills. He may not have had much of an idea of the value of money, like most kids his age, but he knew that this was a good sum of dough. Bubble Puppy sniffed at the bills, and barked joyously.

'You didn't have to do this, you know.' Gil said. 'You earned it. You should have it.'

'We won't be having it any other way.' Rob said. 'We know it won't cover the cost of everything thanks to our country's wonderful healthcare system, but it's a start. Heck, you don't even have to spend it on hospital bills. You're a kid; spend it on anything you want!'

With nowhere else to put it, Gil tucked the money underneath his toy bulldozer. Whether or not he felt like he deserved it more than the movers, he wasn't about to complain about getting free money. While he wished none of this had ever happened, he couldn't say that nothing positive had come from it.

'AHHH!'

Once Molly recovered from that shock, she groaned. It seemed that Goby had indeed delivered on his promise, for now even checking the mailbox before heading to school could provide a jumpscare. If Molly didn't know any better, she'd write this off as a typical Monday. The Little Fish had a little smirk on her face as she swam out of the mailbox, before heading off someplace else to possibly start the next scheme. Grumbling to herself, she closed the latch and began swimming off to school.

'Keep it coming, Goby.' She muttered. 'Don't stop until I know what it was like to be Gilly…'

She cringed. Saying her cute little nickname for him didn't feel right anymore. She couldn't help but feel as though she didn't deserve to call him anything cutesy after everything that had happened. The sounds of chirping birds and bubbling spots calmed her nerves, but only a little. They served to prove just how quiet it was when her best friend wasn't swimming right by her side. If they even were best friends anymore… She couldn't help remembering what she had said to Oona just the day before.

I do wish that it was me instead… regarding him forgiving Oona, of course.

It left a sour taste in her mouth. Sure, it was the honest truth, and the others didn't seem to mind so much, but looking back it seemed so wrong to say.

'You always know what to say…' Molly muttered to herself. 'Don't ya, Molly?'

With nothing but the thoughts in her head to fill the silence, she continued to swim down on the usual path to school. It seemed so strange to follow the same path for multiple days in a row. It was a tradition between her and Gil to change up the path every time, so each day they would meet someone new or find another fun place to go, even if that meant they never arrived at school on time.

She managed to smile, just a little, as she thought back on those times. It had become a little in-joke between their friends that she and Gil never made it on time, and meeting new people on the way wasn't much of an excuse when Nonny could stop by the comic shop and still beat everyone else. They already missed this little game after Zooli arrived, and now those days seemed even further away.

When she was ready, she would go visit Gil again the first moment she could. The only reason she didn't change her path at that moment to go see him was because she simply wasn't ready. She had more than enough on her plate, and the first thing she wanted to take care of was finally talking to-

'M-Molly?'

Hearing her name was all that was needed to bring her back into reality. She must've been deep in her thoughts if she hadn't seen that big poofy hair before now.

'Deema?'

Both the Guppies froze to their spots, hardly moving except for the natural bobbing up-and-down that came from their aquatic lifestyle. They stared at each other in silence, unable to say a word at first. School wasn't important anymore.

Molly and Deema had remained silent for… they had no idea how much time had passed. It could've been anywhere between a minute and an hour for all they knew. It had been the first time that they had seen each other since the moment that would forever haunt the both of them.

'IT'S ALL DEEMA'S FAULT THAT ANY OF THIS HAPPENED!'

Molly winced as the memory crossed her mind again. It wasn't like there was anything else she could think about as she looked at the curly-haired girl in front of her. She couldn't begin to imagine what was going through Deema's mind, even more so than usual. Even though she knew she didn't cause that black eye, she felt as if she did.

'Deema, I…'

That was all she could say. She might have planned to talk to her that day, but now that she was in front of her, she realised just how little she had planned to say. Compared to when Molly had last seen her, Deema seemed a lot better, and we're not talking about appearances. Everything from her hair to her eyes had that - how can one put it? - Deema-ish vibe to it once again. For the first time in days, it seemed Molly could ask a question and once again hear that wonderful 'You've cerrrtainly come to the right place!', just like old times.

Molly took a deep breath. 'Hey, Deema. It's been a while, hasn't it. I don't think we've seen each other since… well, you know. How's it going?'

Deema shrugged. 'Eh.'

Now Molly was hoping that Goby would enact one of those 'make you feel like Gil' scenes, just so something could end this crushing awkwardness.

'How is your, erm, eye?' Molly asked.

'It's… okay.' Deema replied. 'Doesn't hurt much now.'

'Oh, that's great!' She paused. 'Do you… wanna get going? You can go with me if you want. Since I don't have Gil with me, it's a little lonely.'

Deema grabbed onto the straps of her backpack, and strummed her fingers against them. Her eyes wandered, focusing on everything - the birds, the trees, the bubbles - but Molly. She only glanced at her pink-haired friend a couple of times, and only very briefly.

'Uh… okay.' She said. 'It's the same path anyway, right? Might as well.'

While it wasn't the goofy and enthusiastic response that she wanted, Molly felt so much relief. She smiled as she continued swimming down the usual path, and after a few seconds Deema followed close behind her. Though the Deema-ish vibe was returning, her expression was still more fitting for Nonny than the goofy drama queen. Her silence was too.

After a while, Molly sighed. 'Okay, let's not do this. I don't want to deal with silence the whole time. I wanna talk to you about something, and I'm sure you know exactly what.'

They kept swimming onwards, and Deema remained silent. She only looked at Molly for a few seconds, before she continued looking ahead.

'Deema, I need you to at least answer me this.' Molly said. 'Are you being silent because you're still angry with me?'

'No.' Deema answered in a Nonny-esque manner. 'I was never angry with you.'

Molly sighed in relief. 'Okay, good. Then why are you being so quiet?'

The blonde went back to being completely silent. She watched the grown-up Beep fly towards a pond with his kids, where Fernando helped himself to some delicious fly snacks.

'I think I know why you're not talking to me.' Molly said. 'It isn't because you're angry or bitter or anything. It's because you feel ashamed.'

Deema froze. That told Molly all she needed to know.

'I'm not even going to ask why.' Molly continued. 'Because I know why. And you have a good reason to, as far as you're concerned. I know it doesn't help, but I still wanna tell you… you don't need to feel ashamed. You shouldn't feel ashamed. Mr Grouper told us yesterday that we were just too young to understand what we were doing. If any of us should feel shame, it's me.'

Deema glanced her way. 'Molly, you don't…'

'And I know that nothing will convince you that it isn't your fault. You, just like our friends, always listen to me. I don't know why, but you do. I should never have said… what I did.'

She cringed again. Those words loomed over her, so heavy that they could've easily blocked the light like the moon eclipses the sun.

'Everyone tells me that you were wrong.' Deema said, quietly. 'But… I-I just can't…' She sighed.

Molly, with no other options, approached her downtrodden friend and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. As she looked Deema in the eye, she gave her a soft smile.

'I know what it's like,' She said. 'To feel like everything is your fault. If there's nothing we can do to convince you that you're not to blame for this, then all I can say is that I'm at fault too. If I had been a better friend, I would've never let any of this happen to you. Even if it was your fault that Gil is in the hospital, it's all on me that he won't forgive me. The point is, I just want to say… I'm sorry for everything I've done.'

She could feel the weight being lifted off her shoulders. Now, she didn't care what Deema did, whether she forgave her or declared her no longer a friend. All that mattered to Molly at that moment was that Deema knew how sorry she was.

It took her by great surprise when Deema not only smiled, but brought Molly into a massive hug so tight that it almost snapped her spine. Molly could barely breathe as Deema embraced her like a snake constricts its prey, just a lot nicer.

'O-Okay Deema, I get the point.' She struggled to say. 'Could you maybe…?'

'I forgive you, Molly!' The curly-haired Guppy wailed. 'And I always will!'

Molly rolled her eyes, but it wasn't like she was about to complain. Even if it turned her ribcage to mush, she was just happy to see that the Deema-ish Deema had returned. This wasn't the first time since the accident that Deema was reduced to a wailing snivelling mess, except this time around it was funny again.

'I-It's great that you're back,' Molly said, her voice coming out a little hoarse. 'But I can't breathe!'

Deema gasped, and let her go immediately. 'S-Sorry! I'm just a little, you know…'

'Over-emotional? Yeah, we know. It would explain a lot. I'm just happy to see that you're back.'

Even though she was no longer in a hugging mood, Deema was still crying her eyes out. If it wasn't for that big smile on her face, it would look like she was going through this all over again. She wiped her mouth and nose with her arm, and finally managed to get herself under control.

'Thanks, Molly.' She said with a sniffle. 'It means a lot to me.'

The moment seemed just a little bittersweet to Molly. She was as happy as could be knowing that she had made one of her friends happy again, but it only made her feel more guilty for what she did to Gil. If only her meeting with Gil had ended just like this meeting with Deema…

'My daddy told me something very wise yesterday.' Deema said, still a little choked up. 'That, erm… I don't remember it too well, but he mentioned something about how we shouldn't forget the past but use it to improve the future. Or something like that.'

Molly giggled. 'Where's your dad to give me advice?'

'Dorson said some pretty cool stuff too, like-'

'Wait, Dorson? Gil's older brother?'

'Don't worry about it. He came to apologise! I haven't quite forgiven him for this yet,' She said, pointing to her black eye. 'But he said some pretty wise stuff!'

Molly giggled. The thought of anyone in the Davish family, let alone the jock-ish Dorson, saying anything wise was ridiculous, but anything that sounded remotely smart would've seemed wise to Deema.

'But you're pretty wise too.' Deema said. 'Cos, you know, you're the leader and stuff!'

And, just like that, the awkward silence returned. Molly frowned, and that made Deema frown too.

'Yeah, about that…' The pink-haired Guppy said. 'After everything I've done, I don't think I'm fit to be the 'leader' of our band anymore.'

Deema gasped, and her mouth went agape. 'No! You're joking! You can't do that. Not just because of what you've done!'

Molly cocked an eyebrow. 'Deema, you're threatening to leave the band altogether.'

'I… I-I know, but-'

'If I was a good leader, or even a good friend, none of this would have ever happened. I wouldn't have let you guys and the Little Fish bully him so much. I wouldn't have laughed at him whenever he got scared or hurt. I wouldn't have instigated it myself!' She sighed. 'And I never would have pinned the blame on someone else. So, while I'll still be part of the Bubble Guppies and I do not plan to leave… I'm stepping down from the role.'

Deema strummed her fingers against the straps of her backpack, struggling to take this sudden news to say the least. It made her wonder about just how much she had missed out on just by skipping a single day. With how much had happened in just four days, perhaps skipping a single one wasn't such a good idea after all.

Molly smiled. 'You're free to take the role, if you want. You are the oldest of the class, after all. And you're always pretending to be queens and princesses. Nonny's still really hesitant about it.'

'Wait, Nonny?'

'Yep. I decided that he would be a much better leader than me, but, well, we know what he's like. So the position is still open, if you want to take it.'

'Eh, sounds cool, but I think Nonners would be a great leader!'

The two friends - at least, Molly hoped they were still friends - swam their way to school together. Molly took the time to give Deema a couple more updates over what had happened over the day she took off, everything from Mr Grouper's lesson to Oona being forgiven.

'Wait, Gil's forgiven Oona?!' Deema repeated. 'That's awesome! I should've known it'd be her first. She's always been that really cute, nice kid, hasn't she?'

'We were all a little surprised.' Molly said. 'Not that Gil forgave Oona, obviously. Of course he would forgive someone as sweet and caring as her. But we figured he'd forgive you first.'

Deema's smile faded. 'Oh. Right. Because of the… everything.'

'Remember when you told us that you would only be our friend again if Gil forgave you? I know you're scared that you'll hurt someone else, but you are a much better friend than you think. And the band needs you, Deema. We miss being told that we've certainly come to the right place.'

Deema went silent again, which had gotten less jarring over the last few days as it became the norm for her. Still, it was odd to think that Nonny had been more talkative than her.

'I'm still worried…' She said after a little while.

'And that's fair.' Molly said. 'Just know that if Nonny decides to take my role, he'll make sure that nothing like this ever happens to you or Gil ever again.'

Author Notes - This was a rather important chapter, seeing as it's the first time that Molly and Deema interacted since the blowout. Part of me was tempted to hold this off, but I saw that as unnecessary padding. And like I said, I'm trying to wrap up some plot points here while building up to Molly's confrontation with Gil.