A/N: I was unaware of it until recently, but according to the guest 'UrFriendtheNinja' there is a Pebblemist Nation. So holy moly, I got me an army! :) Okay, guys, so now we get to see how Farkle is reacting to all of this. Enjoy!

~~~Farkle's Point Of View~~~ Chapter 7: I Don't Want To Let You Go

I knew they were just trying to make me feel better. I'm a genius, I'm not stupid. It didn't matter what Riley and Lucas told me. It was my fault, there was no way anyone could deny that. Maya was seriously hurt, because I had gotten mad and rejected her.

I wasn't sure I could do this without breaking down. As much as I wanted to see her, I was terrified to see how hurt she was. It was all I could do not to start bawling as I waited outside for Riley to come out.

My head shot up as the door creaked open. Riley paused in the doorway, glancing back into the room.

"Bye, Maya," I heard her whisper, her voice breaking. "You just have to stay strong, okay? We'll get through this together, like we always do."

She turned away, shutting the door behind her and staring at the ground. Tears streamed down her face as she turned to me. "What are we going to do, Farkle?" she asked, her brown eyes burning with so much ferocity it was almost scary. "A world without Maya is a world I don't want to live in."

"I don't... I don't know what we're going to do, Riley," I told her, my voice wavering. "I-I just know that I feel terrible about all this.

"Farkle, y-you're not still blaming yourself for this, are you?" Riley asked, narrowing her eyes.

"N-no," I stammered.

If Riley didn't believe me, she didn't make it clear. She just sighed, shaking her head. "I have to go find my dad. I-I have to keep believing that things are going to be okay. Bye..."

I watched her go, waiting until she disappeared around the corner to start crying. I pressed myself against the wall, taking deep breaths. Breathe in... breathe out... breathe in... breathe out. I shut my eyes tightly,trying to force back the tears. "Come on, Farkle... get a hold of yourself," I whispered.

I gathered my courage, approaching the door. My hand was shaking uncontrollably as I twisted the doorknob. My breath caught in my throat, and my heart stopped as I peered into the room.

That beautiful face, covered in cuts and scrapes. There were so many bandages, wrapped around her arms and legs. From what I could see of her arms, there were tire marks.

I slowly stepped up to the bed, sitting down on the edge of it. I took a hold of her hand. It was so soft, so cold. I might have thought she was dead if it wasn't for the steady rise and fall of her chest and the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor.

My tears dripped onto her arm. I wished she would move, show some sign of life other than breathing. I wanted nothing more than for her to open up those ocean blue eyes of hers, for that ever-present smirk to reappear on her pale face.

My heart ached. I didn't really know what to do, so I started to talk. "Hey, Maya... I know you probably can't hear me, but... I'm sorry." I tried to choke back the sobs. "I know this is all my fault... if you died, I'd never forgive myself. You don't deserve to die like this..." I let out a whimper. "I don't want to let you go..."

...

Days passed. Every day after school, Riley, Lucas, and I would leave school and go straight to the hospital to see Maya. The news was the same every time. She wasn't getting any better, but she wasn't getting any worse. Probably the most heartbreaking thing about it was how Riley reacted. She would be all excited, hoping to hear that her best friend was better, but when the news came, the way her face would fall, the hurt look in her eyes, like her heart was shattering into a million pieces. She wasn't taking this very well.

In fact, I think she was taking this worse than everyone in the school, maybe excluding me. Yeah, the whole school knew about what happened, but no one really cared except for me, Riley, and Lucas.

It was on a Tuesday, roughly two weeks after the accident, that everything changed.

The bustling of the lunchroom was louder than ever, yet the atmosphere around our table was silent, and not the good kind. It was an awkward kind of silence, one that none of us seemed to want to break.

"It's been two weeks since I've been called Ranger Rick," Lucas finally said, shattering the silence. Riley didn't say a thing.

"I know," I added.

Riley pushed her food around her plate, staring at it, her normally bright brown eyes dull. She hadn't even taken one bite. She was starting to worry me. Which reminds me, when I had walked to her house (coming in through the window, of course) and picked her up this morning, I had walked in on an... interesting scene.

"You have to eat your breakfast, honey," Mrs. Matthews was saying as I tip-toed into the room.

"But I'm not hungry!" Riley protested, pushing her bowl of oatmeal away. Mrs. Matthews pushed it back.

"Eat it." she said firmly. I could see the dark circles under her eyes, the stressed look on her face. She had already spent enough time worrying about Maya, like we all had. I could only imagine how it felt to force your daughter to eat her breakfast.

"No!" Riley cried. "I'm not hungry!" she pushed her bowl away from her again. "I feel like I'm going to throw up!"

I had felt like I was intruding, so I climbed back out the window. None of them knew I was even there. I had used the door, like a normal person, and found Riley taking two bites of a banana, seeing me, and exclaiming "Well, time to go to school!' and skipping out the door, leaving rest of the banana behind.

"Riley, you have to eat," I told her. She scowled, glaring at me.

"First my parents now you?" she groaned.

"You can't starve yourself," Lucas added, pulling her into a hug. She wormed out of it, fighting back tears.

"I'm not hungry, okay?" she snapped. "Every time I try to eat, I feel like I'm going to throw up."

I sighed. This argument was pointless. As much as we tried to convince her, she wasn't going to eat.

This was an emotionally stressful time for the three of us, as you can see. So can you guess who popped up at that very moment to make things even more stressful? If you guessed 'Missy Bradford,' then you are correct.

She walked over to our table, with an evil smirk on her face.

"What do you want, Missy?" Riley snapped before Missy could even open her mouth.

"Yeah, aren't you supposed to be suspended?" Lucas added, wrapping Riley into a protective embrace as if he were afraid Missy might try something.

"It was only for two weeks," Missy sneered. "I'm back now... and I couldn't help but notice that you little bodyguard isn't here today."

The way she acted so innocent made me sick.

"Like you don't know," I growled.

"Oh," Missy let out a forced giggle. "Right. I forgot. She got hit by a car, didn't she?" she laughed. I could see Riley's fuse getting shorter and shorter.

"How is that funny?" Lucas growled, narrowing his eyes. Missy snickered.

"No reason," she said, obviously lying.

Riley pulled out of Lucas's arms, standing up. She walked up to Missy, looking surprisingly calm. I could almost hear Maya ask how bad this was going to be.

"Riley," I warned. She shot me look that I think was supposed to say 'I got this' before turning back to Missy. She opened her mouth to say something. No words would come out. Oh no... I thought. This won't end well...

"What do you want?" Missy asked with a smirk. I could see the fear in her eyes. Come on Riley, I willed her. You got yourself into this. I know you can get yourself out of it.

The girls seemed to be having a stare off, until Riley started to gag. Missy looked confused.

"Is she choking?" Missy asked, narrowing her eyes. I smiled. Riley's words echoed in my head. 'Every time I try to eat I feel like I'm going to throw up.'

Within a few short seconds, Missy's sweater was covered in puke. Riley backed away, a horrified look on her face.

"Ugh!" Missy cried, disgusted. "This sweater is designer!" she yelled, stalking away to get cleaned up.

"Did that just happen?" Riley asked after wiping her mouth and chugging down a whole bottle of water to get the taste out of her mouth.

"Yeah," I told her. "That just happened."

...

Sitting down on the edge of her bed, I squeezed her hand. She didn't move. The doctors had said that she was doing much better, but it didn't look like it to me. Her face was still and lifeless, her hands were still cold. The rising and falling of her chest was the only sign of life she gave.

I had come back here after Riley and Lucas left. I wanted to be alone with her.

I stared at her for a while, letting tears fall down. There was something I needed to get off my chest. I guessed that now was the best time to do it.

"Maya..." I whispered. "Two weeks ago, my whole world fell apart. I can't do this anymore, Maya. I can't not blame myself for this. I got mad at you, and you ran away. If it weren't for me, you would be with me right now. You would be okay.

"Maya, you have to get better, you have to wake up," I continued. "Riley threw up on Missy because you weren't there to protect her. She's barely eating because she's so worried, and it's all my fault. I'll never forgive myself if you don't make it, Maya. A world without you... is one I never want to have to live in."

My teardrops dripped onto her face. They ran down her cheeks, as if she were the one crying. I squinted. Is she... no, I'm just imagining things... am I?

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open. My heart skipped a beat. "It hurts..." she said softly.

"Maya?" I whispered, my voice hoarse. "Maya! You're awake!"

A smile graced her features, contradicting the tears that streamed down her face. She blinked up at me, her ocean blue eyes wide.

"Farkle..." she whispered. "I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye." she smirked. "I heard everything."

"Y-you did?" I asked, the grin on my face spreading wider and wider. I wasn't embarrassed.

"So you wouldn't want to live in a world without me in it?" Maya asked.

"No, no I wouldn't," I said truthfully.

"Good," Maya said, squeezing my hand weakly. "Because I don't want to live in a world without you."

~~~To Be Continued~~~

A/N: Okay, Pebblemist Nation! What'd ya think? What will happen next? What do YOU want to see happen next? Please please please leave a review on your way out! See ya next time!

~Pebblemist~