A/N. Guys, the response I've received for this story means so much. I can't remember the last time writing a story has been so important to me and to know that it's being read is just. . . incredible. So thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Okay, now that "How to Save a Life" is over, I can finally get on with this story. You'll see why I had to put it on hold in this chapter. I won't go on any longer except to dedicate this particular chapter to a life that was taken far too soon. If you've read my one-shot "Heaven", then you might have an idea of who I'm talking about. Of course, his circumstances were much different then Danny's and they were of course, real. But Jon had the kind of impact on my life that Danny had on Logan's life. So this is for, Jon. We miss you but I know we'll see you again someday. For now, I hope I live at least half the life that you did in whatever time I have here.

I don't own anything.

Reason Number Two: Danny.

"And if you were with me tonight, I'd sing to you just one more time, a song for a heart so big, God wouldn't let it live." - Hear You Me by Jimmy Eat World.

Have you ever known someone who died before their time? Someone who was way too young to die? Maybe you didn't know that person, but you heard about their death and thought about how wrong it was that their life was over. I think we all have experienced that sudden shock when we realize how short life can be. We take it for granted far too often and then when we lose someone. . . our entire perspective is changed.

That's what it was like with Danny. I met him a the drug rehab center I went to last year. Yeah, remember that time I actually did try to kill myself? I almost succeeded. In fact, the doctors said it was a miracle that I'm alive today.

At this point on this tape, you may have a few questions. Like, why am I talking to a dead guy? Or, who was Danny? It's a long story but I'll try to keep it short.

There was a time when I got caught up in some really stupid things. I got addicted to drugs to be completely honest with you. I won't go into detail, but it started off when prescribed sleeping pills and ended with a suicide attempt while I was coming off of a high on uppers. I wasn't thinking clearly at all, but that's no excuse. The point is, I was wrong. Not just getting addicted in the first place, but trying to erase my mistakes by trying to erase my life.

Anyway, after I recovered enough, my mom sent me to a drug rehab center in Minnesota. Boy, was that a wake-up call. It was bad enough seeing much I had hurt everyone I loved. But then to be taken away from them and be forced to live with a bunch of strangers. . . that was terrifying. I just wanted to go home, but I was afraid of even that. I thought that no one could possibly love me after what I had done to them. My actions were unforgivable. At least that's what I thought when I first came to live in my temporary new home.

Danny was my roommate. He was a little older than me, maybe nineteen. He had messed up too. Only his struggle started long before mine did. He started doing drugs when he was thirteen, still in middle school, and wasn't found out until his sophomore year of high school. I managed to keep my dark secret for a few months, but Danny kept his for years. By then, he had moved on to the "bigger stuff". It was heroin that his girlfriend found in his bedroom. Heroin is one of the most addictive drugs out there and people say that there's no such thing as your last shot.

He was one of those people who went in and out of rehab. When I met him, he had been there for only two months but it was his fifth stay. He did well at the rehab center but once they sent him back out into the real world where the temptation is everywhere, he continually fell back into the same trap over and over again.

Most people would have let this discourage them and maybe they would even give up. Not Danny. In fact, you're probably thinking all of these things about him that are actually totally wrong. He wasn't a bully or a jerk or some hopeless case. He was far from hopeless and he gave me hope while I knew him. I was at the lowest point in my life ever and yet he somehow managed to keep me from slipping completely off the edge.

Danny didn't believe in impossible. He believed that anything was possible as long as you didn't try to do it on your own. And what he made me see was that I wasn't alone. Yes, I screwed up and didn't deserve to be forgiven at all. But I did have people who still loved and cared about me despite my horrible mistakes and that meant that I couldn't give up. Danny helped me see that. The two weeks I wasn't allowed to have any visitors, Danny was constantly there for me. He made sure I was never alone. He was exactly what I didn't deserve and exactly what I needed. I'm pretty certain that I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for him.

He saved my life in two different ways. The first was when I was going through drug withdrawal so badly that I actually hallucinated and nearly jumped off of the roof. Danny had been the one to pull me back to safety and back to reality. The second way he saved my life was by making me see that I had been given a second chance and that I couldn't waste it.

What I learned from him was that life is a really amazing gift no matter how miserable it may seem at times. It's what you make it. Everyone makes mistakes. Some of those are little mistakes that can be brushed aside or forgotten and some are bigger and harder, if not impossible, to ever truly forget. But no matter the size of our mistakes, they can't define us for the rest of our lives. Not if we don't let them. Instead of letting them hold us back or drag us down, we can learn from them and move on.

That's what Danny taught me before he died. He died of a heart attack even though he was only twenty years old. It was the drugs that he had been abusing his body with for years. They had been taking their toll on him since he was thirteen and it had finally become too much. But contrary to what a lot of people might think, his life was not a waste. Sure he did a lot of stupid, stupid things, but the good always outweighs the bad.

Danny didn't just help me, he helped a lot of kid with the same problems. When we wanted to give up, he was always there, pushing us further than we could ever imagine. A lot of us wouldn't be here right now if it wasn't for Danny. He saved a lot of people and he could have saved a lot more people.

Which is why I don't understand why he died when he did. He had so many good things ahead of him. But then again, like he taught me, so did I. It all depended on what I did with my future. And it's because of Danny and several other amazing people that I have a future. It's because of them that I'm still here. They've given me hope and love and forgiveness that I haven't deserved. They've given me the desire to keep on living. I hope that one day I can have one tenth of the impact on someone that Danny had on my life.

A/N. I know this was really short especially after such an incredibly long wait. I apologize. My head and my heart have not been in the right places for some time now but I think I'm finally getting back on track. Thank you so much for putting up with me, you guys. You're all amazing. I love you all!