Ok, time for Chapter 13! And this will be the first chapter I have completely typed up on the computer without writing beforehand, since I got the computer back! Yay me!

Anyways, I appreciate all the reviews! Keep 'em coming!

Onward, with Chapter 13!

Christmas Countdown: 3 Days!

Enjoy!

"Em, come on! It's time to go!" Troy knocked on her door.

Before Emily could answer, there was a knock at the front door. Troy sighed and ran downstairs.

He opened it to find Chad standing there.

"What are you doing here?" Troy asked.

"I'm walking Emily to school."

"No, you're not!"

"Yes. I am," Chad pushed Troy aside and stood in the living room.

Troy rolled his eyes and walked upstairs. He knocked again.

"Come on, Em! We need to get going!" he pleaded with her.

"Emster! Let's go!" Chad called.

Emily promptly exited her room and brushed past Troy as if he weren't there.

"Emily…"

"Do you hear something, Chad?" she put her finger behind her ear.

"No, you're probably just hearing an ass hole ex-best friend of mine," he guided her towards the door.

"Ah, that makes sense. I have an ass hole brother that stays here, too."

"Why, what a coincidence!" Chad said as he closed the door behind them.

Troy stood at the top of the stairs staring at the spot they had just been standing. His best friend – no ex-best friend – and his sister, had just dissed him.

"Troy, why did you do that?!" Gabriella slapped him on the arm after he finished telling the whole story.

"Didn't you hear the part where she accused us of sleeping together?!"

"She was upset because you accused her and Chad of sleeping together!" Gabriella's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. 'How could he be so stupid?' was the only thought that could play in her mind.

"But…they were out late…"

"Talking," Gabriella finished for him, "Troy, I know you're just being big brother, but your crossing the fine line of insanity."

"Gee, thanks."

"Come on. Think about it, Troy! Emily is much more of a lady than to do something like that! And Chad, he knew if he'd try anything, he'd lose both you and Em!"

Troy sighed.

"Don't you remember the nights we would stay out late talking? And I would fall asleep and we'd have to explain over and over we didn't do anything?" she reminded him.

"Yeah, I guess," he grumbled knowing he'd been defeated.

"Go apologize to your sister and your best friend," she looked at him.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, now go!" she shoved him off the chair.

Troy sighed again and headed for the lunch table Emily and Chad were sitting at.

Emily and Chad were deep in conversation. Emily was laughing and blushing and Chad was smiling.

Troy cleared his throat to get their attention.

"Hi…guys," he stammered.

The couple didn't respond, but looked at him.

"You guys, I'm sorry."

Again, he was met with silence.

"I just overreacted. I didn't mean what I said and," he sighed, "I just hope you guys can forgive me."

Emily and Chad exchanged looks. Finally, Emily sighed.

"Of course we forgive you," she stood up and hugged her brother.

Troy smiled and gave a look towards Chad as he was hugging Emily.

Chad nodded to Troy, and Troy returned it. The boys knew they would have to talk about it sometime. But now, wasn't the time.

Emily sat in detention after-school. She was bored out of her mind. Her homework had been finished and she had nothing else to do.

'Thank God this is my last one,' she thought. The room was quiet except for the stray coughs and snickers from the other kids in there.

Emily jumped as a knock came at the door. The detention teacher – Emily hadn't bothered to learn his name – answered the door.

A frantic Natalie stood at the door. "I need Emily Bolton, please."

"Do you have a note?"

Natalie held up the note. Emily studied it and noticed it seemed to be written in her Dad's scrawl.

The teacher nodded to Emily and – thankful to get out – went out into the hallway with her things.

"Nat, what's wrong? You look terrified!"

"Chad fell."

"What? He falls all the time," Emily said.

"Not like this," Natalie shook her head.

Chad grabbed his knee in agony. He still was on the gym floor, but everyone was more worried about his head that slammed into the ground.

He tried to make the pain stop. He straightened it out, but that made it hurt more; he bent his knee, but that made it hurt more, too.

"Emily," Chad heard Troy say as the gym doors were banged open.

"What happened?!" Emily ran to her brother.

"He went to make a slam dunk and when he came back down, he just…fell," Jason answered.

"How did he 'just fall'?" Emily looked at Chad who was still in sheer pain on the floor.

"You'll have to ask him," Jason shook his head.

Emily broke through the huddle of basketball boys and knelt beside Chad.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Does it look like he's okay?" Zeke said from behind Emily.

"Zeke, stop it," Jason told him.

Emily looked back to Chad. His face was tightened into a wince.

"Chad…say something, please," Emily pleaded.

"My knee," was all he managed to get out.

"What about your head?" Troy asked.

"I don't care about my head; my knee hurts!"

"Chad, come on. Let's sit you up," Emily said softly.

Jason and Troy helped him into a upright position. Chad kept his leg moving from a bent position to straightening it out and back again.

"Someone go get some ice," Natalie said.

One of the basketball players ran to get some.

"I don't think ice will help," Emily said looking at his knee, "It's not swelling."

Chad's hands flew immediately to his right knee, in pain again.

"Chad, what happened?" Natalie asked.

"I went…to dunk the ball in the net…and when I came down…my knee gave away," he said through his pain.

Emily, Troy, Jason, Zeke and Natalie exchanged worried looks.

"We should get him to the ER," Emily said.

"He won't budge. I think he was waiting on you," Troy answered.

"Where's Dad?!" Emily looked around the gym, "He wouldn't have let him stay here this long."

"He got a phone call right before Chad fell. I don't even think he knows."

"Chad, you've got to go to the ER," Emily grabbed his hand.

"I'm not moving," he squeezed her hand in pain.

"Baby, you've got to go," Emily looked at him.

Chad looked into her eyes and he could see she was worried. 'Maybe she's right,' he thought.

"Okay," he sighed.

"Natalie, you're going to get us kicked out of here," Troy laughed.

"I can't help it! When I get nervous I tend to scream in French," Natalie pouted.

"You passed screaming and went straight onto shrieking," Jason rolled his eyes.

"Don't pick on Nat," Ryan put his arm around her shoulder.

"Someone's standing up for me! Even my best friend didn't!"

The group's glances all fell upon Emily. She was in the corner, sitting there quietly. Her knees were pulled up to her chest (how she managed to do that in a waiting room chair…it's just one of Em's talents) and her chin was resting on them.

"Em?" Troy called out.

"Huh? Oh…sorry," Emily looked at them.

"He's going to be fine," Troy sat next to her and wrapped his arms around her.

Emily didn't respond. Suddenly, the doctor came out.

"Parents of Chad Danforth?" the doctor announced.

"His mom is on her way," Jason stood up, "We're his friends."

"Well, we've finished running tests for his knee…"

"Is he okay?!" Natalie blurted out – you guessed it – in French.

Ryan covered her mouth absentmindedly so the doctor could continue.

"What's wrong with him, doctor?" Emily spoke up softly.

"Well, we aren't sure yet."

"Then what good are you?!" Natalie stood up.

"Nat, sit down," Ryan hissed.

"We aren't sure, but we have ruled out some possibilities like a tumor or any type of arthritis."

"That's good," Zeke nodded.

"You guys can go see him now if you'd like," the doctor pointed out the room.

"I'm going to go back and tell the guys he's okay," Zeke said.

"I'll go with you!" Jason followed.

Natalie, Troy and Ryan started shuffling to Chad's room.

"Hey, Chad," Natalie smiled as she entered his room.

"Hey guys," Chad smiled back.

"You sure seem to be feeling better," Troy said.

"They gave me some painkillers."

"Sweet!" Troy laughed.

"Guys,…where's Emster?"

They all looked around the room, but Emily wasn't in there.

"I'll go check the waiting room," Troy walked out.

Troy saw Emily in the same seat she had been before. She hadn't moved.

"Em, come on. Chad wants to see you," Troy grabbed her hand.

"I told him to see a doctor," Emily whispered.

"Em, he's fine now. Come see," Troy helped her up.

She followed behind him and reluctantly stepped into Chad's hospital room.

"Emster, there you are," Chad said with relief in his voice.

Emily remained silent. Troy guided her to the chair next to Chad's bed.

"Come on. Let's go," Troy whispered to Natalie and Ryan.

The threesome left Emily and Chad alone in the room.

"Emster, what's wrong?" Chad asked her.

His question was answered with nothing but Emily biting her bottom lip.

"You're scaring me," Chad grabbed her hand.

"Funny you should be saying that," Emily looked up at him.

"I'm sorry if I scared you," Chad whispered.

Tears formed in Emily's eyes. "You should be," a tear slid down her cheek.

"Emster," Chad pulled her closer.

Emily looked away as more tears slid down her cheek.

"I'm fine now," Chad took her chin and forced her to look at him. He wiped her tears from her cheeks and kissed her forehead.

Emily composed herself. "So what are they going to do now?"

"The gave me a referral for the sports medicine specialist," he said looking at her, "Hopefully, he'll know what's wrong."

Emily nodded.

"You sure you're okay?" Chad asked her.

"Yeah," she smiled weakly, "As long as you're okay."

Ok, you heard the doc. It's not a tumor! I'm sure that by now, Jordan knows what it is, because this is semi-my story of what happened to me. (I think I remember...-Jordan)

I mean, it obviously didn't happen while I was playing basketball, but my knee – actually both knees – started hurting me. One day, I was running and BAM! My kneed gave away. It was really scary. Then the next morning, I woke up crying in my bed from it hurting so bad.

So, yeah, I know how to describe this thing, because I have it!

I don't know how many of you will know what it is though. I had never heard of it before I was diagnosed with it, but yeah. You guys will find out in the next chapter!

Please review!