"See Corrine, Z's fine. I told you that whatever we were dealing with was to do with the black hole."
Corrine was seething. "You didn't know that though Marshall. You were taking a risk on you being possibly right, you got lucky!" She moved forward as if to hit him.
"All right you two, break it up," Z said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Corrine, relax. I'm fine, and now that we know we're dealing with the black hole, I'm sure we can come up with some solution to help both Vaughn and Josie. They're going to be fine."
"We'll figure it out Corrine, I promise," Marshall said, laying a hand softly on her shoulder.
Z let her go, and she turned to Marshall. "I know, I'm sorry. I'm just really freaked out right now. I hate not being able to be in control."
"I know," he replied, pulling her into a hug.
"Um, guys… I hate to break up the little love fest and all, but Josie's getting worse."
Corrine, Marshall and Z, turned to Lucas, who was still sitting on Josie's bed. The three of them moved as one to her bedside, Corinne and Marshall standing right behind Lucas, while Z began to examine her.
"Her breathing is really shallow," he said.
"And quieter," Lucas replied. "As if she's…"
"… Dying?" Corrine asked.
Z placed his fingers on Josie's throat, checking for a pulse. "Her pulse is much weaker. I… I don't know what to do guys," he said, turning to face his worried students. "I think we're going to have to call someone… Or she might die."
Corrine pulled away from Marshall, and began busying herself checking on Vaughn. "He's getting weaker," she said, her voice cracking.
She turned angrily on Z and Marshall. "They're dying, and it's all your guy's fault for not going to a doctor in the first place! I can't believe this! I can't believe they're going to die. We have to do something. Now!"
Corrine started to shake her hands and tears began to roll down her cheeks. She burst into tears, her breath ragged as she sobbed into her hands. "I don't want them to die," she whispered.
The three males stood helplessly watching her, trying not to break down at the thought of their friends dying.
Lucas dropped his head into his hands. His heart was breaking in two at the thought of Josie dying, and the thought that he would never be able to tell her how he really felt about her. He was sure she knew, even though he'd worked so hard at trying to hard it, but he knew deep down that she must have known. And now he'd never get the chance to say what needed to be said.
And even the thought of Vaughn dying saddened him. Sure they had never really gotten along, he'd never really trusted the football player, but there were moments when they'd gotten along. Like when they'd swapped bodies, and he'd realized just how hard things could be for Vaughn. Lucas wanted to apologize, but realized he may never have the chance.
Z knew that his life would be over if Josie and Vaughn died. Not just because he knew his career would be over, and that he'd probably be sued for Gross Negligence, but because the thought of never seeing Josie's smile or Vaughn score the winning touchdown would break his heart.
He couldn't believe that he could have been so stupid as to put their lives in danger, just because they didn't want any suspicion on them about what was really going on here. Just because he didn't want the school shut down, or reporters turning up from everywhere, he'd risked the lives of two of his students, the life of one of the people he cared for the most in the world… The person he thought of as a daughter.
Corrine couldn't believe the thought that she could be loosing her best friend in the world. The pain was too much to bear. She rushed into Marshall's arms, trying to find solace, find a way to get rid of the pain and the weight on her heart.
Even Marshall couldn't keep his tears in check, as he held Corrine, and started to cry into her hair. He'd always been slightly afraid of both Vaughn and Josie, but he liked them as well. They were good mates, always there for him, always helping him out of some tight spot he'd gotten himself into.
And now they were dying, and there was nothing any of them could do to help them.