Ravenrockstheworld: Well, here it is Ray (lol), let's see if you can remember this chapter.

Black honey: It'll just keep getting sadder; I warn you. -gives tissue-

Cassie: Don't worry; I won't stop posting the story. I actually already have it finished…

Desiree: Thanks a lot for your review!

Eternity's Shadow: JXN forever! P.S. we should try combining their names instead of saying 'JXN' all the time… It could be Jikki or Nonesy! On second thought… JXN is good for now…

Chapter 2

Jen decided on a gathering of the gang that afternoon to explain to the rest of them what had happened (she couldn't bare to tell it 4 more times). Nikki didn't want to come, she just wanted to stay in her room and weep some more. She knew the story, why should she go to hear it again? Jen convinced her that they needed to support each other. It would be better for all of them.

Nikki walked up to the Lemon slowly, her eyes on the floor as she tried to hold back her tears. She looked up as she heard Caitlin call out to her. She and Wyatt were already there. Nikki sat down in her chair and winced as she looked at Jonesy's empty one beside her.

"Something wrong Nik?" Wyatt asked her casually, looking down at a guitar magazine he held in his hand. When she didn't answer he looked up at her. "There is something wrong, isn't there? Does this have to do with why Jen - " he was interrupted by Jude, who wiped out on the table. Wyatt helped him up and asked if he was okay. Jude just grinned and started to ramble on about the sweet trick he'd just pulled.

Nikki ignored them and tried to concentrate on keeping her mind off Jonesy. It was hard, especially since she was used to thinking about him a lot in the past few weeks… okay, months. "What's taking Jen so long to get here?" she mumbled to herself.

Thinking the question was directed at her; Caitlin answered, "She's at work, she'll be here in a few." Caitlin looked at Nikki and frowned. "Hey, where's Jonesy? I haven't seen him once all day."

"Me neither," Wyatt answered. He looked to Jude, who shook his head. All eyes were on Nikki.

Nikki gulped and looked away. Before any of them could ask, Jen showed up. Nikki breathed a sigh of relief, but fear caught in her throat when she came to realize that it was time for the rest of them to hear what happened. How would they react?

"There you are, how was work?" Caitlin asked Jen.

"Depressing," she answered. Before anyone could ask why, she sighed and said, "Guys, there's something I have to tell you…" Jen blinked a few times, but no one seemed to notice other than Nikki.

"Shouldn't we wait for Jonesy first?" Jude asked. "You said you wanted to talk to all of us, on the phone…"

"It's about Jonesy…" Jen began, her voice catching in her throat. Everyone was paying full attention now. "He's…" she looked down, still blinking back tears.

"Is he hurt?" Caitlin asked, worried.

"He's dead," Nikki told them, calmly. She was completely numb now. No tears fell from her eyes. She had played this scene in her head so many times that when it began how she'd thought it would something inside of her broke. She could swear it was her heart.

Everyone was in shock, including Jen who had expected to be the one to tell them. Caitlin had turned green and looked like she might faint, Jude just stared into space with tears in his eyes and Wyatt seemed to be clutching to his magazine for dear life.

It was Wyatt who spoke first, as he managed to choke out, "How?"

Jen sat down in her regular seat. "We got the call really early this morning, well, my mom did. It was Jonesy's dad. He… he said…" she paused. A few tears escaped her eyes before she continued, "he said that Jonesy had gone to drive one of his friends home from a party, who had called and was drunk, at 10pm, but he'd been gone for over three hours. He didn't know where he was, and he needed help finding him. My mom, Courtney and I all went over to his house. We'd been discussing what to do when the phone rang," she stopped. Her eyes met Nikki's. "It was the police. They… there'd been a car crash a few blocks from Nikki's house. One of the drivers had been drunk and had actually come from the same party Jonesy's friend had been at. He had hit Jonesy's car, right in the driver's seat. Jonesy died an agonizing death!" Jen broke down and cried then. Her sobs could be heard throughout the mall and people stared.

Nikki finished for her, bitterness clear in her voice, "The drunk driver got away with only a few injuries. Jonesy was alone in the car; he had already dropped his friend off and was coming home when it happened. Jen walked over to my house a little while after visiting the crash site and told me everything."

Wyatt asked softly, "Why were you at the crash site, Jen?"

Jen slowly stopped sobbing long enough to say, "They needed someone to identify him. My mom was going to go, but I convinced her to stay and comfort Jonesy's dad." She began to sob again immediately after.

Everyone was silent for a while. The only thing that could be heard was both Jen and Caitlin's (who'd joined in not long after she'd heard the story) sobs. One of the most unexpected persons (I hate using 'persons', but in this case I kind of have to) interrupted them.

"What's going on here?" Ron the rent-a-cop demanded, a little more gently than usual.

"Jonesy's dead," Nikki stated, still calmly. The others looked at her strangely. They didn't understand, of course; they couldn't. She looked away.

Ron looked down at the floor. "He was a good kid." They couldn't help but smile weakly at that. Ron quickly corrected himself, "He was very cheerful, nice and funny too. Very… optimistic." He sighed sadly before nodding in farewell, leaving them in peace.