A/N: Warning for graphic depictions of violence (or the results afterward anyway), a near death experience, blood, medical scenes, and general tension throughout this chapter


Life is a long, weird journey. Full of fucked-up turns and dead-end roads and flat tires. At any moment, no matter the road you're on, everything can come hurtling to a stop. You can go from running a hundred miles an hour to standing still while everything hits you at once and the only thing you can do is break down.

It's a Monday morning, two days before Thanksgiving break begins, that the weirdness of life wraps around me and chokes me awake at four AM. For a few bleary minutes, I have no clue why I'm awake. Why I'm suddenly staring at my ceiling, willing the edges of sleep to grab me again. It isn't until my phone starts vibrating against the floor that I realize what woke me.

I roll over to grab it, swiping my thumb across the screen to answer the call before I even check who it is. With my luck, it's mom calling drunk again. God, if she's on the other end of the phone, I'll probably just hang up the second I hear her voice.

"Hello?" I mumble, rubbing at my eye with one hand, keeping the other closed around my phone. It's dead-silent on the other end and I'm pretty fucking positive it's mom. God, who else would call me at this hour?

There's a sharp intake of breath and a small, broken sob that has my eyes suddenly open, my heart racing in my chest. It's not mom's shaky breath rattling over the phone lines and when I swallow, I almost choke over the thought of who it really is.

"Danny?" I question, pulling my phone away just long enough to check if I'm right. Shit. "H-Hey, what's wrong?"

He doesn't say anything. Just lets out another sob that tears at my heart and has me clenching a fist around one of my blankets. Fuck, how do I help you? How do I make whatever pain you're feeling go away? I don't have much to say but I want to fix this.

"Wh-Whatever it is, you can tell me. Is it… d-did you have a fight with your mom?" I ask.

Danny lets out another sob before his broken, quivering voice comes on the line, practically whispering as he talks. "D-Dash… i-it hurts."

Shit. I know the pain of being awake in the middle of the night with only my thoughts to keep me company. And my thoughts are shit company, always tearing at me – making me believe a bunch of things that I wouldn't during regular waking hours. Danny sounds like he's headed down the same path, like he's trying not to believe every harsh word his mind is spitting at him. Like he's breaking on the other end of the line and I'm gonna have to fight like hell to reach him.

I sit up fully, shifting the phone to hold it better and I push out a breath. I run a hand down my face, steeling myself for the conversation. If he needs me to meet him somewhere, I'm there. He doesn't even have to talk about whatever's fucking with him. Just let me sit next to him and hold his hand gently so he's not alone. "H-Hey, it's gonna be okay, I promise. Can you-"

"Dash, I… I-I've been shot."

The blood in my veins doesn't just run cold. Everything in me fucking freezes. I don't know if I even breathe other than to stutter out a broken string of 'what's' down the line.

Danny drags in a breath and the whine he lets out immediately after kills me. "I-I'm… bleeding a lot. A-And I can't… do this… e-everything's s-so… c-cold."

Shit.

"Whoa wh-what… the fuck? Ha-Have you called an ambulance?"

He sobs again, whimpering with the sound. "N-No… I c-can't… n-no… hospitals. My body's… t-too different."

"What do you mean you can't-" I cut myself when Danny's sob sounds through the phone. He tries to explain why he can't go to a hospital but his words are punctuated with sobbing and it tears at me too much to listen to. "Okay, alright, i-it's okay. I'm… I'm gonna come find you, okay? Where are you?" I question, climbing out of my bed before he even answers. I throw on my shoes and grab my car keys from my dresser on my way out of my room. I don't even bother with a jacket before I'm thundering down the stairs, listening to Danny's every breath.

I slip out the front door, not stopping to lock it behind me before I collapse into the front seat of my Mitsubishi, everything in me shaking. Danny starts trying to describe where he's at but the pain is too much and he's reduced to muffled sobs interspersed with whimpering.

Shit, this is really fucking bad. I have no fucking clue how to find him.

"D-Danny, I know it hurts b-but you gotta… you gotta focus on my v-voice, okay? Talk to me, t-tell me where you are," I say, trying to inject as much strength into my voice as I can muster. Shit, you can't fucking die on me, Fenton.

It takes him a few, agonizing minutes to calm down enough to speak and during that time, I've left my neighborhood, my foot practically stitched to the gas pedal. I haven't inched the speedometer past the limit in a while but this is way more fucking important than one of my stupid, angry drives.

"I don't… know exactly. You know the… outlook I showed you? I-I'm somewhere in the woods there. B-But I don't know… h-how far i-into the woods I-I am," he breathes out, every ounce of his pain dripped over each word.

I keep the car going full-speed, running every red light I can afford just to get to him. I'm almost creamed by this SUV that's coming out of nowhere but I swerve to avoid it and the driver lays on the horn. It unnerves me and my breath shakes a little as I exhale out but I don't slow down. I don't have time to stop for anything, Danny's fucking dying and if I don't get to him fast enough-

My teeth are gritted and one hand is clenched around the wheel as I swerve past what little traffic is on the road this early. I can't let anything happen to Danny. No matter if I have to wreck my fucking car to get to him, I have to get to him.

"I'm turning into the outlook now," I tell him, hoping my words inject enough strength in him to keep him awake. He doesn't respond, not even a pained breath, and that silence sends my heart into overdrive. "D-Danny, hey, can you hear me?"

Danny whimpers softly and I exhale out, turning my headlights on brighter to look for him before I get out of my car, leaving the engine running. I keep my phone pressed to my ear to listen for his every breath but I keep my eyes scanning the trees as I start out of the clearing at the outlook. In the woods but not sure how far in. In the woods but not sure how far in. In the woods but-

My heart lurches when I see him and a breath leaves me at the state he's in. Danny's propped up against a tree, his whole body limp except for his hand, clutched around his phone. His breathing's shallow and I don't even bother hanging up the call before I'm dropping my phone from my ear and shoving it into my pocket.

His eyes flutter open when I get close to him and I sink to my knees beside him, the scent of blood washing over me. Danny stares up at me, looking like he can't figure out if this is a dream or not and I weakly brush his hair back from his forehead before I'm searching his skin for the damage.

Even in the darkness of the early morning, I can see the blood soaking through his shirt, telling me exactly where the wound is. Where the bullet is.

"I-It was…. th-those… guys…" he murmurs, his phone falling out of his hand. His gaze is unfocused and he looks around at the trees overhead. "I don't… think it's a bullet." He blinks slowly, meeting my gaze when I look up at him. Fuck, he needs an ambulance.

I snatch his phone from the grass and hit end on the call, hurriedly typing in 911. I hear the dial-tone for a split second before Danny's reaching forward and grabbing the phone from my hand. He shakes his head, ending the call before it even goes through. He meets my gaze before he's collapsing back against the tree with a measured breath.

"N-No… hospitals. My… body's d-different. G-Government… agents," he manages to say between painful intakes of breath and my sanity is fraying at the edges the longer I stare at him without the ability to help. I need to help him. I need to take him to the hospital. Fuck what he says about not going, I can't… watch him bleed to death.

I loop one arm under his knees and the other around his back, steadying myself before I lift him. When I can't tear my gaze away from the blood, he drapes his arm across his stomach. He grits his teeth against the pain, a pained whimper breaking free from his clenched teeth and tearing at my heart. I feel tears gathered in my own eyes with every painful step we take out of the woods and toward my car. I can't watch you die, Danny, please don't die, I can't watch you-

A shuddering cough leaves Danny and he twists away from me as red spews from his mouth with every violent cough that shakes his frame. I don't know what to do except to hold him closer and keep carrying him to my car.

Danny's almost sobbing and I don't know how the fuck I'm functioning enough to wrench my back door open and set him on the seats. His blood has soaked through my t-shirt, clinging the material to my skin, and I rake a bloody hand through my hair, my other hand shaking as I deposit his phone along with mine onto the passenger seat.

He keeps his eyes squeezed tightly closed, arms folded over his bloody stomach. His shirt is soaked in his blood and I only stare at the red for a few seconds before I'm leaning into the back-seat, talking in a low voice like I'm afraid I might scare him.

"Danny… I can't… watch this," I whisper, hating the way my words cause more tension on his face. Like what I'm saying hurts more than his pain. "I ha-have to take you… to the hospital."

He swallows hard, a breath leaving him before he blinks his eyes open, staring at me with so much pain swimming in his eyes, it fucking chokes me. We stare at each other for a long fucking time before he shakes his head.

"You… can't," he whispers, his voice breaking as another wave of pain rips through him. He squeezes his eyes closed once more, letting out a controlled breath. "I-It's too… d-dangerous. Th-Those… government agents… f-from the school… they found me… a-and th-they shot me. I-If I show up… to a hospital… th-they'll know who I am."

I grind my teeth together, a string of swears tumbling from me as I slam the passenger door closed. Fuck. How am I supposed to help him? I don't fucking know anything about medical stuff. I know how to use a first aid kit, sew a wound or two closed, and other basic shit mom taught me as a kid but she was the nurse of the family. It wasn't supposed to be my fucking job to fix people. But this isn't someone, this is Danny… and I have to fix Danny.

My heart nearly stops as he drags in a pained breath to cough up more red into his palm. He grimaces when he blinks his eyes open to look at it and glances up at me with an apology. Don't apologize to me, Danny. Don't you dare fucking apologize.

I don't know how the fuck to fix him. If mom were here, she'd know what to do. She wouldn't let me stand here, on the brink of panicking, without helping Danny. She'd tell me what to do to help him, she'd-

Mom knows how what to do. She hasn't had to sew any wounds closed on me in fucking years but she's done it. She knows how to help him. Fuck it, she will help him.

I fling the passenger door open and grab my phone up, quickly typing in my passcode. I flick through my recent calls and hesitate for a split second. I glance up at Danny and see him watching me carefully with eyes so filled with pain, I wonder how he's even still breathing.

"Do you trust me?" I whisper and he responds with a blink. Fuck. I swallow down the insecurity building in my throat. "Danny, trust me. Please."

He doesn't give me a response but I don't let myself wait for one. I hit mom's number and listen to it ring for-fucking-ever. She doesn't answer the first time and my heart is pounding as I dial and redial her number a million times before she finally picks up with a heavy sigh.

"M-Mom, I need your help," I blurt out before she has a chance to say anything. I rake a hand through my hair, letting out a shaky breath as I pace beside my car, my gaze straying to Danny again. God, he's still losing so much blood and I can't fix this. Please mom, fix this for me.

Another sigh rattles through the line. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Mom, please," I beg and I know the hysteria in my tone isn't lost on her. Cause she doesn't say anything while I drag in a ragged breath, my chest feeling like it's splintering apart. "I-It's Danny, h-he's bleeding and I can't get him to stop and I can't fucking- M-Mom, help me."

She inhales and her tone changes. "Alright, what happened? Have you called 911?"

I spare a glance at Danny, curling my other hand into a fist and digging my nails into my flesh. "H-He can't go to a hospital. I-It's a long story b-but he's not… he can't- I don't kn-know what to do," I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, leaning into the back seat again when his eyes drift closed. "D-Danny? Hey, stay awake, okay?"

He gives me the barest hint of a nod but I can't retreat from him to pace any longer. I kneel on the little patch of floor I can squeeze into and will myself to stop fucking shaking. I can't panic. He needs me to stay as calm as I can fucking manage. Don't panic, stop panicking.

"Dash, he needs to go to the hospital. If he's bleeding that badly, you don't have a choice, he-"

The panic doesn't listen to me and climbs higher in my chest with every word mom says until I can't take it anymore. Until the panic has washed over me and I start spewing words in a pathetic attempt to keep myself from drowning. "Mom, he can't go to a fucking hospital, okay? Fuck, how do I fix this? H-He's literally gonna die if we don't do something. Fuck, please help me!"

She's silent for a few seconds and in that time, I climb out of my car and slam the back door closed. I can't lose Danny. I don't care what the fuck I have to do, I'm not losing him.

"M-Mom, I'm gonna… get on the road. Can you m-meet me at the office you showed me when I was in Dryden with you?" I ask, more as a thing to say than actually wondering if she can or not. She's meeting me there. After abandoning me with dad for so fucking long, it's the least she can do.

As soon as I slam my passenger door closed, I climb into the driver's seat and start down the road, only remembering to buckle my seat-belt at the last seond.

"Honey… if he's bleeding that badly, he won't make it to Dryden. You need-"

"Mom, please," I cut her off, continuing down the road, ignoring every fucking speed limit sign posted. Dryden's only an hour away from the outlook. But I'm gonna do everything in my fucking power to get us there faster. "J-Just head to your office and wait for me, okay? I'm already outside of Amity Park, it's not g-gonna take me that long to get to you. I'll call you again when I'm closer, I'm just-"

"No."

One word. She doesn't give me more than one fucking word. What the fuck does she mean no? Danny's gonna fucking die if she doesn't help me. I don't know what else to do. I don't know any other fucking adult that can help me. And he can't go to a hospital so I'm fucking stuck. Driving my car as fast as I can toward the only person that can help and is fucking refusing to.

"I won't be able to help him, Dash. I'm a nurse, honey. He needs to see an emergency team, I don't have what he needs to fix him. Take him to the hospital. Don't bring him here," mom instructs and I'm barely listening to her. Cause I know what to say to get her to shut the fuck up and just do this. Cause I don't have another fucking option.

"I'll talk to your attorney. I'll tell him whatever the fuck you want me to say. I'll lie, mom. Okay? I'll lie my goddamn brains out. Anything you want me to say, I'll say it. Just please… please, I'm on my way. I can't… do this, I can't… watch him die. Please… help me."

The sound of my tires against the road and Danny's pitiful sobs breaking free every now and then are frazzling my sanity but mom's voice, clear as a fucking bell in the midst of my breakdown, keeps me grounded.

"I don't know how much I can do but… I'll do what I can. I'll see you when you get here."


Dryden looms into view as the sun starts to rise and Danny's gone still behind me. I check over my shoulder roughly every five seconds to make sure he's still breathing but the rise and fall of his chest does little to calm the rippling fear awake in my own chest.

I call mom when I cross the county line, listening to her directions until I'm pulling up outside the doctor's office she drove me to fucking ages ago. I feel like I was a different person then. Like it was a different lifetime back then.

Mom opens the door and comes out when I park the car. I kill the engine and get out, immediately crossing over to the passenger side. I open the back door and climb into the backseat, being careful of how much I move so close to him now. Danny's eyes are pinched closed but I know he can hear me. I know that despite his shallow breathing, he's still here.

"Danny, listen to me," I whisper, gently brushing his bloody hair back from his forehead. "Hey, listen. M-My mom's gonna fix you, okay? Y-You gotta trust me, okay? Everything's gonna be okay."

I can't even begin to imagine the level of strength it takes him just to fucking nod. But he manages that and what's more is his eyes flutter open long enough to look at me before he's just a barely conscious, bloody mess in the backseat of my car again.

Mom comes around to the side of my car and her eyes widen as she takes in the blood he's already lost. She looks from him to me, her eyebrows high on her forehead. I silently apologize to Danny over and over again in my head as I crawl further into my car, getting my arms under his. He doesn't make a sound but his whole body is tense and I know he can feel every move I make.

"G-Grab his legs," I instruct, waiting until mom complies before I lift Danny's upper half from the seat of my car. My knees squish in his blood as I crawl forward across the seat as slowly as I can and bile rises in the back of my throat at the warmth soaking into my pajamas pants.

Together, mom and I manage to get him out of my car and through the front door. He doesn't make a sound until we set him on the bed and that scares me more than his sobbing did. Mom is all business, washing her hands and donning a pair of latex gloves, and I'm frozen next to Danny, one hand brushing the hair from his forehead back and the other resting on his shoulder like I'm afraid he's about to break apart right in front of me.

Mom wheels a tool of instruments in front of her and prepares an IV bag. She stretches a face-mask on before she glances up at me. "We need to move his arms."

Danny hears us and blinks his eyes open. He looks between the two of us and slowly, he shifts his arms until they're lying on either side of his body. He clutches the paper on the bed in his fists, letting out a shuddering breath with the movement.

I'm still frozen staring at him but mom's immediately acting. She adjusts the needle before she glances up at Danny to see if he's gonna move. When he just looks back at her, she drops her gaze to his arm and expertly slides the needle in, applying a bit of medical tape to keep it in place.

"Wh-What are you… giving me?" Danny asks, his every word a struggle and fucking with my sanity.

Mom glances up from her medical instruments and I can see the surprise on her face. I guess she thought Danny was too far gone to speak. She shifts her facemask down so she can talk easier. "Morphine."

Danny blows out a breath, opening his eyes to stare up at the ceiling. "C-Can't… have… too much… of it," he mumbles, his eyes falling closed with the effort of speaking. He releases a low breath and I brush the hair back from his forehead again, realizing for the first time how cold he is.

Mom doesn't seem to care but I don't know what the fuck he means. Is it cause of the accident he told me about or being born in space or-

I put my hand on mom's arm as she starts pumping more of it into him. "M-Mom… he's probably right," I stammer out, dropping my stare back down to Danny's. I hate this. I hate that I can't just take him somewhere that'll know how to treat him. "He's… different."

"I kind of figured," mom replies, her voice flat on the words. "Seeing as he's already lost too much blood to still be conscious," she continues, glancing up at me. "If he can't have that much pain medication, you're going to have to hold him down, Dash."

My heart crawls into my throat or maybe drops into my stomach at her words. For a split second, I wonder if this is all a dream. If I'm still asleep in my bed at home, instead of standing next to a doctor's table in blood-soaked pajamas, staring at my mom.

"Dash, are you listening to me? We don't have a lot of time," mom says, snapping me back to reality. She drops her gaze to Danny before she swipes a pair of scissors from the tray, glancing up at me again. "Do as I tell you to do or this'll go badly for him."

She starts cutting up the length of his shirt, pulling the fabric out of her way to see the injury. I'm shaking next to Danny but I place my hand over top of his and I watch a small, miniscule amount of tension leave his face.

Mom breathes out when she sees the wound and glances up at me before she adds a little more morphine to his IV. She glances up at me. "Be prepared for anything."

She starts cleaning away the blood, moving as quickly and gently as she can, and every noise Danny makes tears at my heart. He lets go of the paper and turns his hand over, intertwining his fingers with my own. His grip could probably break my hand but I deal cause a broken fucking hand is the least of my problems right now.

Danny whimpers as mom swabs at the wound. It's jagged and torn, not at all what I pictured when he said he'd been shot. I guess it has something to do with his body, or maybe however the fuck he was injured – I don't fucking care. I just keep one hand in his and the other smoothing his hair down.

"His body temperature is rising, you need to bring it down," mom says, dragging my gaze back up to hers. "He's fighting against the morphine, which isn't helping." She points at something behind me. "Wet those towels and run them down his upper body, get him cool."

I have to tug my hand away from Danny and my hands shake as I do what I've been instructed to. I wet down the towels as best as I can, wringing them out so they don't drip over him. I collect a stack of them and quickly return to his side.

Mom starts to inspect the wound, probably trying to judge how bad it is and I don't let myself focus on her. I take the first cold cloth and lay it across his forehead. I use the second one to pat down his neck and chest, being careful how close I get to mom's hands.

Danny's back to gripping the paper on the table, a broken whimper spilling from him. I know he's trying to keep as still as possible but every movement mom makes draws deeper lines of pain across his face and it fucking destroys me.

"I'm sorry," I whisper, swiping the cloth down his neck and chest gently, trying to get him to cool down. I don't know if there's anything we can do to combat the fact that his body's fighting against the morphine and I have no fucking clue why he can't have more of it.

His eyes open again, his cheeks flushed as his gaze trained on the ceiling. I swap out the cloth I'm using for a cooler one, trying to be gentle with my movements. He grits his teeth when mom starts in on his wound again, swabbing the area as she parts the skin with some medical instrument.

"Hey, talk to me," I mumble, patting the cloth along his cheek. He flicks his gaze to meet mine and a piece of my heart shatters at the tears gathered in his eyes. Please don't cry, Danny. I clear my throat, trying to pretend that image doesn't ruin me. Cause I have to be strong for him. He needs me to cling to right now. "Wh-Why can't you have a lot of morphine?"

Danny blinks once, letting out a breath through his nose. There's a sheen of sweat on his chest and I continue trying to cool his body, listening for his every breath. Danny grits his teeth with my every movement and I silently apologize for it. I can't stand hurting him but I know I am. Every second that my hands are on him, I'm hurting him worse.

"C-Cause," he grinds out, his whole expression screwing up into pain with the one word. He sucks in a ragged take of oxygen and I glance down at what mom's doing, watching the way she's carefully pinching the skin together again. "It f-fucks with me."

I drag my gaze back to his face, watching the way he tries so hard to hold in the whimper that inevitably escapes. He's trying so fucking hard to be strong but he doesn't have to be. I'm here. I'm here, Danny.

"It's okay," I murmur, brushing my thumb along his cheek before I swap cloths again, pressing the colder side to his cheeks instantly before I move down the rest of his body. "You're doing so great, you know? D-Danny, you're doing great."

He squeezes his eyes closed and mom steps back. She looks up at me, concern clear in her eyes. She glances from the blood on Danny to what's soaked into my clothes and arches an eyebrow. I don't know what to tell her. He's different. I don't know how the fuck he can lose as much blood as he has and still be conscious but he's here. Save him, mom, he's still here.

"I need to see if there's anything in the wound," she states plainly, flicking her gaze toward Danny before she's settled on me. "You need to hold him down."

Danny whimpers, turning his head away from me. I slowly ditch the cloths into a pile to busy my hands before I look back up at mom. She nods expectantly and I swallow hard before I move to the head of the bed, putting my hands on his shoulders. I don't exactly press down but I know I'm in a position to stop him from struggling. Which fucking breaks my heart.

He shivers beneath my touch and I hate how wrong this is. I always imagined touching him and memorizing every curve of his collarbones but not like this. Never like this. There's too much blood for this to be anything like what I've dreamt about.

Mom flexes her fingers before she picks up a medical tool and parts the skin again. She hesitates only a second before she plunges a long pair of tweezers inside his wound and Danny whimpers, the sound so close to my ears, it fucking hurts.

He keeps his grip on the paper of the bed, shaking uncontrollably as tears start to travel down the sides of his face. I can't take this. Mom, you're killing the both of us.

I try to whisper to him that it's gonna be okay or that it's almost over or some fucking lie but he doesn't hear me. He's too lost in his pain. Not that I can fucking blame him. Mom angles the tool differently and Danny lets out a strangled sob, trying desperately to get out of my hold.

"P-Please, I ca-can't… n-no, s-stop please please please pl-" he breaks off into broken sobs and it hurts so bad just hearing him. I want to make it all better and take him away from this pain but I'm forced to break both of us further by holding him down – completely trapping him here.

Tears are gathered in my own eyes as I prevent him from leaving, his strength nowhere close to mine. "I-It's okay… it's g-gonna be okay," I manage to get past my trembling lips. I hate myself for the tears that escape me but just looking at him fucking hurts.

All the lights in the room start flickering on and off rapidly with every sob and ragged breath that leaves Danny. Mom only glances up once before she's staring down at the wound again. But I'm watching Danny. The way his whole body is shaking like he's about to explode. How his hair looks almost white in this moment and how the few times he's able to open his eyes, they're always green. Danny, what's happening to you?

Sobs claw their way out of him and he starts begging us to stop. He starts promising me that he'll do anything I ask him to if I just make her stop. He begs for a break, for a second of relief, for us to just let him die, for us to stop and-

"D-Danny, it's almost over," I tell him, glancing at mom, blurry through my tears. "Mom, I d-don't know how long I c-can keep doing this. Y-You've gotta hurry."

Her brows furrow in concentration but she doesn't lift her gaze from the wound. "I'm trying. There's something stuck here. Dash, he's… his body is-"

I don't get a chance to hear mom's revelation. Because whatever's she's tugging on finally breaks loose and she pulls it free from the wound just seconds before I lose my hold on Danny. He bolts upright and lets out a piercing scream. The lights flicker rapidly again and this time, everything in the room begins to shake. Glass jars slide off counters and crash against the floor and picture frames fall from the walls, breaking upon impact.

Mom backs away from the table, wincing as she puts distance between her and the noise. I do the opposite – I turn straight to the noise. I loop my arms around his chest as another scream rocks through him and I squeeze my eyes closed against the ear-piercing pain that splits across my head as his scream continues.

"D-Danny, stop!" I try to yell above him but his voice is louder than mine. He clutches at my shoulders, his whole body shaking in my arms, and it takes me a few seconds after the screaming has stopped before I realize it. Mom's backed up all the way to the door and is blinking rapidly, probably trying to shake the sound from her mind the way I am.

I keep a tight hold on Danny and he clutches at my shirt, whimpering when mom slowly approaches the table again. He clings to me, turning his mouth toward my ear. I almost miss what he says, it's so garbled and fuzzy to me.

"D-Dash, don't l-let her t-touch me… p-please, I c-can't," he whimpers and my heart fucking breaks as I have to force him to lay down. I whisper that it's okay and that it's almost over, the shards of my glass heart piercing my own skin at the whimper he responds with.

Mom takes up her place again, ditching whatever she pulled out of him onto the tray. She cleans the whole area again with alcohol and I have to hold Danny down again. She starts stitching him up and halfway through, I make her stop to give him a break.

I gather him against my chest, letting him sob freely and destroying what's left of my heart. I shush him softly, running my hands down his back in an attempt at reassuring him. He clings to me, his whole body shaking with his cries, and after a few minutes, he lays down again to let mom finish her work. I hold his hand and brush hair back from his forehead, whispering to him about how great he's doing. He whimpers and keeps his teeth gritted as she finishes but finally, she finishes, and I waste no time in tugging him into my arms again.

Danny cries softly into my neck and I shush him, smoothing down the back of his hair, matted together with blood and streaked with a white I don't understand. He's shaking and fucking sobbing in my arms and I keep holding him as gently as I can manage. Cause he's not breaking anymore, he's already broken. And I helped break him.

Mom ditches her face mask but puts on a new pair of gloves as she cleans the instruments she used, putting them away in a drawer. She cleans what she can and eyes the table Danny bled onto, probably wondering if the stain will even come out.

After a few seconds of silence, she meets my gaze and pushes out a breath. "Come here."

I consider it for half a second before I shake my head. I can't go to her, I'm holding Danny. Perfect, beautiful, broken Danny. I can't leave him like this.

"Dash, you're bleeding," mom insists. What the hell is she talking about? Danny's blood is the one coated all over my clothes, it's not mine. She gives me a look and after a few seconds of silence, Danny pulls away from me.

He meets my gaze, with tears at the edges of his eyes. He sniffles lightly, using his wrist to wipe at his face. "G-Go," he mumbles, nodding toward my mom. I don't know why the fuck he wants me to leave him, I'm not bleeding. His blood is on me, why the fuck are they worrying about me? "I-I'm sorry, i-it's your ears."

I reach a hand up to brush along my ear and I come away with a warm, red fluid coating my fingers. What the fuck? When did I start bleeding? Why is he apologizing? When-

His scream… made my ears bleed?

Mom calls to me again and I numbly walk over to her, reluctantly leaving Danny's side. She instructs me to sit in a chair and has me tip my head to either side, using some kind of tool to look into my ears. She makes a small noise at the back of her throat before she checks my other ear.

After a few seconds of silence, she sits back in her chair, setting the tool on the table beside her. "Your left eardrum is ruptured. I'm gonna find some drops for you to use." She starts for the door but turns back when she's in the doorway. "Stay put, Dash."

It's only a few seconds after she leaves that I ignore her command, instantly going to Danny again. He's sitting up now and watching my every movement as I wet another cloth. I press the cool material to his skin, exhaling out when he closes his eyes.

"I'm… so sorry," I whisper, patting down his skin the best that I can. Mom said his temperature was rising and I don't know if it still is but trying to keep him cool is the only thing I can do right now. And it keeps my hands from shaking and betraying how much this situation has fucked me up.

Danny opens his eyes, looking up at me before he shakes his head. "You… need to…" He glances at the IV still attached to him and pushes out a breath. "This needs to go. I can't… have much more."

"C-Can you have any painkillers?" I question, brushing my thumb along his cheek when he turns back to me. I can't help the stutter that pierces my words as tears gather in my eyes and threaten to spill over. "Anything? I can't s-stand to see you in pain."

He groans softly. "Yeah… I can have Advil and Tylenol – over the counter stuff. Just not morphine. It's too strong, my body hates it." He pulls away from me, exhaling out a breath and I can see the pain on his face. God, I hope mom has something he can take.

"Do you ever listen to me?" mom asks, suddenly breezing back into the room. She waves me over and I find it hard to leave Danny. I only put a few steps between us and mom exhales out before she meets me by his bed, gently clearing away the blood from my ears with a damp cloth.

Mom tsks, throwing away the cloths we used, before she returns to me with a small bottle. "First thing in the morning and before bed at night. Two drops in both ears," she says when I take it from her. "Your right eardrum is damaged as well but it didn't rupture… your left one probably did cause it was closer to him."

She looks past me then, at Danny, probably wondering how the fuck his scream was able to cause that kind of damage. I want to know too but there's no way in hell I'm about to ask him in front of her.

"Th-Thanks, mom," I mumble and I think she knows I'm not just thanking her for this medicine. It's for everything. For showing up in the middle of the night to fix Danny. For dropping everything cause I needed her to. God, I don't know what the fuck I would have done if I hadn't been able to convince her to do this for me.

Mom puts a hand on my shoulder and I expel out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding. I half-turn back to Danny, watching him stare down at his hands in pained silence. "Do you… have any Advil he can take?" I ask, giving mom an apologetic look when I turn back to her. She darts a glance down at her watch before she shakes her head, taking a step away from me.

"No. But I can get some." She looks at Danny again, arching an eyebrow when he looks up at us. "Does that IV need to come out or you want me to leave it in for a little longer?"

Danny absentmindedly scratches at the needle, dislodging the edges of tape with the movement. "It… should probably come out," he mumbles, letting out a breath as he looks up at her with an apology written on his face. "I'm sorry, it's just my body isn't… y-yeah, it's not…" he trails off, dropping his gaze again as his face flushes.

Mom crosses over to him and I do too, holding his hand as she takes out the needle. He relaxes the longer the IV is out, no longer pumping morphine through him. I gently run my hands down his spine, holding him against my chest again, when mom's finished.

I meet mom's gaze and she exhales out. "I'll be back soon and when I am, you two have to leave, alright? People are going to start showing up for work in a couple hours and I need to get this place back in order before they do."

She leaves then and despite knowing that I should probably put away what I can or sweep up the things that broke when Danny screamed so it's less work for mom, I continue holding Danny, not sure if I'm ever gonna let him go again.


When mom gets back, she has Danny take two Advil's before she hands me a bag with a fresh set of clothes for the both of us.

"I know your size but I got a medium for you, Danny. I hope it fits," mom says, glancing toward me in the silence. Danny silently nods and I ditch the bag in a chair, helping Danny out of his shirt. His cheeks flush like he doesn't want my help but I know he needs it.

Danny meets my gaze as soon as I slip the new shirt on over his head and I try to smile but I don't have the energy. Mom offers to help him into the sweatpants she bought for him and though his cheeks flush again, he nods, leaning on the both of us as we help him out of his bloody pajamas and into the sweatpants instead.

"I'm gonna have to get rid of both of your clothes," mom tells me as I strip out of my own, trying to clear away as much of his blood off my skin as possible.

I barely look up at her before I nod, slipping into my own pair of sweatpants. Danny's sitting in a chair now, the bed too soaked in his own blood for him to get back on it. And I doubt he'd want to anyway.

Mom calls my name as I start toeing my shoes on and she crosses over to me, pressing a key into my palm. "I rented a room for you at the Motel 6 a couple miles down the road. Go there and wait for me, okay? I'll be there as soon as I get this room clean again."

Maybe it's the urgency in her tone. Maybe it's the fact that she's helping me. Maybe it's cause I showed up here with Danny so fucking bloody, I didn't know if he was gonna make it. It all hits me at once and I almost choke as I pull her into my arms, ducking down to kiss the top of her head.

She squeezes me back and lets me hold her for a second before she pulls away, ushering me out the door. I carry Danny to my car and set him down in the passenger seat. He spares a glance at the bloody mess of my backseat and makes a face. I find a jacket in the floor I've been meaning to donate for ages and I carefully position it to cover most of the blood so we won't get pulled over and then we're on our way.

Danny's silent on the ride to the motel and I'm thankful that it's not far from mom's office. Cause I don't know how long I can watch him wince at every turn we take. I park the car as close as I can to the room number on the key mom gave me before I help Danny out of the car. At first, he refuses to let me carry him and we have a brief argument in the parking lot before he eventually gives in. I hold him against my chest as we cross the parking lot and carry him into the room, kicking the door shut behind me.

He doesn't say anything as I set him on the bed and the weight of everything hits me as soon as I'm not holding him and I sink to my knees in front of him, my arms still curled around his back. His hand shakes but he runs it through my hair and I lean forward until my cheek is against his chest, listening to his steady heartbeat. Fuck, he was breathing so shallowly on the way to mom, and there was so much blood, and seeing him in so much fucking pain-

I choke, clinging to him and he presses my head closer against his chest, shushing me softly. He dips his head and even in my grief-stricken state, a small part of my heart sparks alive when he presses his lips against my hair.

"It's okay, Dash. I'm so sorry," he murmurs, holding me gently. If this were an ordinary situation, that tiny kiss he just gave me would have completely derailed me. But the panic that I pushed away earlier is fucking gouging at my bones, forcing its way inside of me. Its icy tendrils close around my heart and squeeze until there's nothing left in me. Until I'm shaking and blinking back tears in Danny's arms, willing myself to calm the fuck down cause this isn't what he needs. I'm supposed to be strong for him but… fuck, how can I do that when I'm barely strong for me?


Mom shows up about half an hour after I collapsed against Danny's chest and let him hold me. I'm sitting beside him on the bed now, watching him sleep when a soft knock sounds at the door. I spare another glance at him before I get up from the mattress as carefully as I can.

"Hey," I mumble softly as soon as I open the door and see mom on the other side. I lean against the doorframe, exhausted from everything, and watch mom in silence. She's looking toward Danny, curiosity in her gaze, before she focuses on me.

She takes a step back from the door, jerking her head outside in a 'follow me' gesture. "Let's talk out here."

Mom doesn't leave me room for argument before she crosses over to the railing that lines the ground floor of the hotel and leans against it. I look at Danny one final time before I pull the door almost shut behind me and shuffle over to mom.

I slide my hands into my pockets and keep my gaze on the parking lot and the road just beyond this motel. I watch cars zip past and I try not to think about the boy in the room just behind me, sleeping off the worst fucking day ever.

"Danny's… really important to you, huh?" mom asks, glancing my way before she digs into the pocket of her jacket. I don't know when she traded out her scrubs for a pair of jeans and a shirt but she doesn't give me long to think about it before she distracts me with what's in her hands.

Mom props a cigarette between her lips and quickly lights it, exhaling out a cloud of smoke. I don't know what bothers me more. That she's smoking or that I'm not even fucking surprised. She's changed so much since she disappeared, this feels like just another thing she decided to start doing now that she didn't have any deadweight hanging around her neck.

"I'd offer you one but not only am I your mom, I'm also a nurse. I know how horrible these are," she mumbles, taking in another drag anyway.

I want to tell her not to smoke. Or to ask when she started. I want to be able to think about more than just Danny but considering everything I've seen in the last few hours, I don't think I'll be able to process anything else for a long time.

Mom glances my way when I don't respond and she sighs, pocketing her lighter again. "Dash… your friend is…" she trails off, taking in another inhale of her cigarette before she finishes her thought. "He's different."

I keep my gaze on the road beyond the parking lot, counting six cars that pass before I respond.

"Yeah, he is." I push out a breath, wanting to run a hand through my hair or cradle my head in my hands and tell mom everything but I don't. Because I can't. I promised him I wouldn't say a word to anyone.

The silence doesn't last long before mom lets out a pent-up breath. "He was healing. That's… why it was hard to get that thing out of him," she explains, nodding in the silence. "He'd already begun healing, his muscles were growing back, skin stitching itself back together again. I had to tear him apart just to get to it and trust me, it wasn't easy. Not to mention, his body was fighting against the morphine the whole time and-"

"What'd you find in him?" I ask, finally shifting my gaze away from the road and the cars passing on it. I can't hear mom talk about literally ripping through Danny's skin and muscles to get to whatever the fuck was in him.

Mom's eyebrows draw down but she reaches into her jacket pocket and pulls out a small tube, holding it out to me. "I don't know. It looks like… I don't know what it looks like. Maybe a computer piece or something?" She watches my expression for a second when I take the tube before she asks. "What happened to him? How did that get in there?"

I don't know.

She doesn't say anything when I silently pocket the tube and turn my gaze out into the parking lot again. I don't know what the hell this is. Or how it got inside of him. When he called me, he just said he'd been shot. He didn't tell me anything else. And once I showed up, I was a little distracted by the blood so… my questions kinda took a back-burner.

"I don't know," I respond, wondering if it'd be better to tell her what I know. Would she know what to do if I told her that government agents took a shot at him? Would Danny ever forgive me if I told her? Would I forgive myself?

Mom falls silent next to me and I only know she's still there from the scent of cigarette smoke hanging between us and the occasional sigh that leaves her. Right now, she's not really mom. She's just the person that fixed the boy my bruised heart has fallen for. She's just a body standing next to me and that should cut me and burn me more than it does. But I think all of my broken pieces are back in that hotel room with Danny.

"Dash, I've never seen you talk to anyone the way you spoke to him."

Shit. She's not just a body anymore. She's flesh and blood again. Someone that's noticed the way I look at Danny. She's not an idiot, she knows that the way my gaze lingers on him isn't the way I look at my friends. Even if we never get a chance to be together, she knows that in my eyes, he'll still never just be a friend.

"He was dying, mom," I respond, surprised that the usual tension that's supposed to follow mom's almost question doesn't spring to life in my gut. By now, I'm usually a nervous fucking mess just thinking about someone else noticing my growing feelings. But I don't feel anything. I swallow back everything I want to say about him and let out a low breath instead.

She's quiet next to me for only a few seconds before she exhales out another breath of smoke. Two drags later, she finally asks. "Are you two… dating?"

"No."

The response burns on the way out but not just cause I want it to be a yes. It burns because mom should have been with me this past year. She should have seen the way I've opened up to Danny and she should have fucking noticed how close I am to him before now. Cause she's my mom and I'm supposed to be able to share this kind of shit with her.

"It… kind of looked that way," mom says softly, her eyebrows drawn down when I look at her. "You don't have to explain if you don't want to but… it's okay if that's what it is."

It's not. This thing I have with Danny, it's not dating. I know that I care about him as way more than a friend and the fact that he trusts me enough to let me in on his secret about phantom is probably a clear sign that I'm closer to him than anyone else has ever gotten. But we're not dating. As much as I ache to be the one he lies next to… we're not together. And I don't think we ever will be.

Mom starts to say something when I stay silent, inject some of her advice, trying to be my mom again and I can't hear it. I just watched the boy I love almost die and she might have patched him up but there's no way in hell I'm ever letting her try to do the same to me.

"If you'd been here, you'd know what the fuck's going on in my life. But you haven't been. So you don't. And it'd take me way too fucking long to catch you up so just stop." I don't spit the words at her and my voice hasn't risen in volume at all but she still reacts like I've slapped her.

I only watch her for a second or two before I look away, turning my gaze out into the parking lot with a heavy sigh. I hate that I'm doing this now. Pushing her away after she saved Danny. But my head and my heart aren't communicating.

"Baby… you know if I could've stayed with you, I would have," mom says softly, her hand on my shoulder. Her cigarette is left on the railing and I find myself watching the small line of smoke that trails from it instead of her. "If there was any chance for me to have been there for you through your final year of high school, you know I would have done it. But I couldn't stay there anymore, Dash. Not in that house. It was too hard waking up every day next to a man I didn't love anymore and wondering when he was going to go off again. O-Or when I would… lay awake at night, thinking of telling you about-"

"You could have taken me with you."

Mom's face falls. It fucking hurts to see her expression crumpling in front of me cause I've finally said the shit that's been tearing at me since the day she walked out. I've turned the thought over in my mind a million fucking times as I laid in my bed, wondering if she was ever coming back for me. And she knows it too. She could have taken me with her.

"I told you… I didn't want you in the middle of this thing with your father," mom says, and I can't help but feel like it's a lie. Instead of having to chase after us, dad had me as a punching bag every day since mom left. He's never found her since she left but he's fucked me up so many times since she's been gone. She can think whatever the hell she wants but it would have been better to just take me with her.

I take a step away from her, putting distance between us and the air immediately feels colder. I barely noticed that I wasn't wearing a jacket when I left the house to get Danny and I didn't realize how cold it is outside until this moment. Where mom's trying so desperately to hang on to us and for once in my life, I'm the one who's pulling away. Cause I fucking love mom but I can't do this.


After a few long, awkward silences in between what little conversation we manage to make, mom decides to go. She tells me that she'll call me when I can come talk to her lawyer and even though I know she probably wants to hug me, I say goodbye without offering one.

I watch her from the doorway of the room, wondering if I should wave or not as her car pulls out of the lot. It's past nine in the morning now but the clouds overhead don't seem to care. They refuse to break to let the sun out or deliver the rain so it leaves the sky as this overcast, greyness looming in the distance. The kind of greyness that leaks into your soul if you let it.

Mom's car disappears down the road and I lean against the doorframe, trying to think all of this shit over but getting nowhere. My mind's too split between a million different things and I think I'd stay in the doorway, staring out at nothing, if it wasn't for Danny's soft noise behind me.

He's awake when I step back into the room, gingerly sitting up with a wince. He lets out a low breath and his gaze sweeps around the room, probably reorienting himself with his surroundings. After a few seconds, he meets my gaze with a soft noise.

I push the door closed and go to him immediately. It'd take a fucking hurricane to keep me away now. I carefully sink down on the edge of the bed, leaning forward to brush the hair back from his forehead. A flush of pink dots his skin at the movement and if it wasn't for his disheveled state, that color on him would completely unnerve me.

Danny leans back, his gaze dropping from mine. "So… that's the… that's your mom, huh?"

"Yeah." I turn my gaze toward the closed door as I think about her driving away from us now. We're only here because she arranged it for us. So Danny would have somewhere to rest instead of getting in the car for another few hours to get back to Amity Park. And I just sent her away cause she left me with dad? The shit with dad fucking sucks but that doesn't matter right now. She helped Danny. That should be enough.

I shift a little on the mattress, wondering if I have the balls to crawl up further on the bed next to him and pull him into my arms just to make sure he's okay, but something digs into my thigh before I can make a decision. The tube that mom handed me is just barely poking out of my pocket and I tug it free, exhaling out heavily before I turn toward Danny.

He's leaning back against the headboard, his gaze drifting over the room and I hesitate only a second before I hold it out toward him. "Here."

Danny's gaze shifts down to the tube and he arches an eyebrow before taking it from me. He turns it over in his hands, inspecting it from various angles until he looks back up at me, a question written all over his face. "What… is this?"

I shrug. "I don't know. My mom said she pulled it out of you."

He winces a little and I wonder if he's remembering that moment the way that I am. I'm sure he's just remembering intense pain but I remember the scream he gave and the way he fucking clung to me afterwards. God, I don't want him to ever make that sound again.

"Huh." Danny drops the tube next to him on the mattress and lets out a breath, running his hands through his hair. He looks wrecked. Like his sanity is completely fried and he's barely holding himself together right now. As fucking selfish as it sounds… I know the feeling. I wasn't the one on the table in that doctor's office but these past few hours have been hell for me.

I don't know if the silence falls naturally between the two of us or if I'm supposed to say something – maybe ask what he thinks that thing is – but I don't make a move to disturb the quiet. I just try to relax into it and keep myself from glancing his way every few seconds.

Danny's quiet for a while too, both of us just staring around the room at nothing in particular, and I try not to let my mind wander too far into dark shit. I shut down all thoughts about mom or dad or myself and just mentally check out, focused only on the boy next to me. I pretend these last few hours never happened. I imagine things differently. We're still in a hotel room in my mind but he's not in pain and I'm far braver than I feel. He's warm in my arms and my heart belongs to him in my day dream.

It isn't until Danny snorts that I pull my mind from its selfish desire and look toward him.

He gives me a wry smile but it's tinged with exhaustion and it doesn't inject even a little happiness into me like it normally would. "I guess you're gonna have to kill me, huh?" he asks, the humor lost on me as he laughs softly. "When… we met this year a-and… ditched school to get something to eat… you told me if I bled all over your car, you'd have to kill me."

Shit, I did say that. That was before I knew my heart planned on falling for him. I hate that a stupid, shitty joke I made ages ago has come up like this. He did bleed in my car and I was right then, I never wanted him to. Not cause of my stupid car. Cause of my stupid heart. I can't take seeing him like this.

"You'll… have to forgive me for not following through with that," I mumble, running a hand down my face. I push out a breath, trying to hang on to the frazzled edges of my sanity without breaking apart like I did earlier. I'm pretty sure once is enough.

Danny laughs again, letting out a low breath. "So…"

The silence blankets us again and it takes me a few seconds before I look toward Danny again, watching the way he swallows before his eyebrows draw down. He chews his bottom lip and opens his mouth twice before he actually speaks. "When… you called your mom earlier… you told her that you'd… lie?" he asks, concern in his gaze when I respond with only a nod. "Dash, what… were you talking about?"

He's staring back at me expectantly and I don't know how to tell him that I gave up on fighting back against mom because of him. To save him. Because I would rather tell a thousand lies about the shit dad did to us than watch Danny die.

"It's a long story," I mumble, looking away from him again. It isn't really. It boils down to a few major points but it feels long. And I don't want to think anymore.

I crawl across the bed to lean against the headboard next to Danny. He watches my movements until I'm settled and once I am, he scoots closer to me and rests his head against my shoulder. We have to go back to Amity Park at some point but I barely slept last night and I know what he managed to get earlier probably didn't do much. He's just as exhausted as I am and it doesn't take long for sleep to pull us under. The last thing I remember doing is turning my head toward Danny, my lips brushing along his hair line as I curl my arm around him to hold him tighter. I tell myself it's just to make sure he's safe. But my heart knows it's so much more than that.


Danny's ringing phone wakes us both. I don't know what time it is but there's barely any light coming in through the curtains when we stir and I guess it still hasn't rained.

Danny groans softly, patting the comforter with his hand until he finds his phone beneath it. He pulls away from my chest to press his phone to his ear.

""lo?" he mumbles, rubbing at his eye with one fist.

He almost freezes before he slowly drags in a breath and flicks his gaze up to meet mine. His face flushes and he exhales out softly before he manages to speak. "D-Dad, hi," he breathes, swallowing hard as he sits upright on the bed. "No, I'm fine. Dad, no, I'm fine."

I sit up with him, finding my own phone buried beneath the covers. There's half a dozen texts from my teammates and Kwan, all asking where I'm at, and I know I won't have the energy to respond to any of them until later.

Kwan's text messages increasingly get more worried the longer I scroll through them so I type out a response to him. He's probably picturing the day he came to my house after dad chained me to the end of my bed to keep me from going anywhere. And as exhausted as I am and as much as I just want to focus on Danny, it's not fair to leave Kwan worrying like that.

To: Kwan

I'm fine, I promise. The past couple of hours have been crazy. I'm alive though, so no worries

I know he'll probably ask if this has anything to do with my dad and I know I won't have an answer for him. Cause if I say no, he'll ask what it is then. And if I say yes, he'll want to see me and I don't think I can see anyone right now.

"Dad, I'm just… with a friend," Danny says, glancing my way when I look up from my phone. I meet his gaze and he sinks his teeth into his bottom lip, shaking his head once. I wish I knew what he's thinking. What runs through his mind when he looks at me and if I'll only ever be a friend in his eyes or if we could be more to him too.

He literally almost died today. Chill your fucking hormones.

I breathe out and leave the bed, ditching my phone on the end of it. I run my hands through my hair and pace the room, pretending like I'm gathering up stuff like our shoes and shit but there's not much here. Aside from the painkillers mom got for Danny and the stuff for my ears she gave me.

"I-I'm with Mitch," Danny says suddenly and I look up at him.

He sinks his teeth into his bottom lip and shakes his head with a sigh before his eyes fall closed. "Yeah, you met him. I know, I know. But he's… he's fine, okay?" Danny says, groaning softly before he nods. "Right, I know. I'll see you when I get home okay? I should be headed back there in like an hour or something so… I'll see you then, okay?"

Danny ends the call with his dad after they exchange goodbye and then he's just staring down at his phone. His face is flushed and even though I shouldn't ask – even though I have no right to ask – I ask anyway.

"You uh… told him you're with Mitch, huh?"

He looks up at me, his face flushed darker and he nods. "I'm sorry," he whispers, shaking his head and looking away from me again. He shrugs one shoulder and even though that should be enough, it's not. Even though he shouldn't have to explain any of this shit to me, it's not enough. Cause nothing ever is for me.

I cross over to the bed again, sinking down on my side. I let out a quiet breath before I turn to look at him. "Why?"

Danny groans, leaning his head back against the headboard. He shakes his head and I hate myself for the tears he's blinking back. I start to apologize, tell him that I'm just being a stubborn fucking asshole, but he won't hear it.

"No, you're… you're not an asshole, Dash," he says, his gaze downcast as he swallows hard. "Assholes don't show up in the middle of the night to save someone else. You're… you're not an asshole."

He looks toward me again, sniffling softly in the quiet, and I ache to hold him. To chase away whatever's picking at him this way. He shrugs one shoulder and lets out a breath before he says it. "It's just… I didn't want to tell my dad I was with you because he'd ask a lot of questions and I… obviously don't have the energy for that yet," he says softly, looking away from me for a few seconds before he shrugs, shifting his gaze over to me again.

I swallow hard and try to put distance between myself and what he's said. But this is me and I can fucking never let anything go.

"Your parents don't like me?" I ask.

Danny groans, like that's the last thing he wanted me to bring up, but he meets my gaze. He shakes his head and puts his hand on my arm. "They just don't know you. My dad met you once a while ago and my mom…" he pulls his hand away from me and scratches the back of his head. "My mom's a little… difficult to get along with as it is s-so… She just needs to meet you under better circumstances."

I don't know if there's anything I can do to make his parents like me but it's not like it matters. A friend doesn't care if his friend's parents don't like him. And even though I see Danny as so much more than just a friend, I don't think he'll ever see me the same.

"Th-That's why… you should come to my place for Thanksgiving," he says, nodding once when I look up at him. "I'm serious, you should come spend the day with us. Let both of my parents meet you in a good situation and… And I know that they'll see what I see when I look at you."

What do you see when you look at me, Danny? Is it what I see when I steal a glance at you? Do you think of me fondly at night the way I do you? Do you want your parents to like me because you like me? Or is it all just to make this friendship easier?

I don't know why I agree but I give in with a nod. I don't know if his parents will ever like me or if it'll change anything if they do. But if he wants me to spend the holiday with him, I will. Because he's hurting and he wants me and I only ever know how to run to him.


A/N:

Two updates in one month, say whaaaat?

Hello and welcome to hell! Enjoy your STAY ;p

So first, sorry for that pun – it couldn't be helped. Second… I'M SO GLAD THIS CHAPTER IS UP! I've been waiting FOREVER to get this chapter out there and it finally is and I'M SO HAPPY! Let it be known, chapter 61 is proof that I don't just torture Dash. I'm capable of torturing Danny too

Okay so anyway. What did you think? I hope my warning at the beginning was enough to prepare you guys for this chapter – I know it's an intense one so, sorry about that. But literally, last chapter was so happy, you guys didn't seriously expect me to leave it that way for long did you?

What did you think of Dash going back on his decision with his mom to save Danny? How'd you like the actual saving part? And how's about that scream making Dash's ears bleed, huuuuh? What do you think of Dash's mom helping him save Danny?

As you can tell, I'm really invested in this chapter so if you like it, please let me know in the comments/reviews of this update – or just come scream in my ask box on tumblr if you want to. Either way works for me

The title of this chapter comes from This Goodbye by Beth Crowley. The song itself is about a death and how moving on from it has proven to be impossible. Obviously, I wasn't going to kill Danny off but I just felt that this line from the song was perfect for the title so I went with it

I hope you guys enjoyed this update, it's been one of the quickest chapters to edit and I'm excited that it's finally out there. So much is happening now and this chapter is just the start of what's to come

Thank you all for sticking with this story and for checking out this update, it really does mean a lot to me. You're all the best and if I don't update again before Christmas, I hope you enjoy the holidays – whatever you're celebrating!

See you next update!