A/N: No disclaimer for this chapter. I won't begin the Riordan PJO part until maybe Chapter Four or so.

Thanks to my reviewer!

And the tears come streaming down your face

When you lose something you can't replace

When you love someone, but it goes to waste

Could it be worse?

The silence stretched out between them, on and on until Maddie couldn't take it anymore. She searched desperately for a conversation starter, and decided she'd try to appeal to Josh's old self, "Yeah! Go Giants! Crush the Titans!" she cheered, grabbing an unopened bottle of beer and drinking it. She was more of a casual drinker, meanining she only drank when it was a special occasion.

Josh's eyes lit up for the first time since she'd arrived, and he jostled her with his elbow, "No way! Titans are so gonna win!" he challenged, and cheered loudly as the Titans scored a touch down and pulled ahead of the Giants. Maddie grinned inwardly, mentally giving herself a high-five. She looked down on the floor and spotted an old football, long forgotten under the coffee table. She snatched it up and leapt to her feet, grinning at her old friend.

Josh stood up instinctively, knowing what she was gonna do. He set the vodka down, a good sign in Maddie's book, and took up a defensive stance, "Blue. Forty Two. Set...HIKE!" Maddie said, grinning again. The cliche football quarterback call was effective in getting Josh to smile. He'd once been Captain of the football team. Maddie got up from her bent position and rushed toward Josh, twisting as he tried to catch her. She got to the other side of the living room and did a little dance, "Ooohh! Touchdown!"

Josh rushed her and picked her up, causing her to shout, "Personal foul! Personal foul! Red card, suspension for the rest of the season-!" she was cut off as Josh placed her on the couch and started tickling her, a playful smile cuttting through his stoicness. Eventually, though, he stopped, and sat down on the other side of the couch. Maddie glared at him, smoothing out her hair.

"Glad to see you're still ticklish," Josh grinned with a wink, and Maddie huffed, crossing her arms. As a matter of fact, she was very ticklish. But she couldn't let Josh know just how much, especially if his old self was coming back. Josh reached forward and grabbed the vodka bottle from the coffee table, taking a long swig. They turned their attention back to the TV and the football game, the awkward silence successfully shattered. They still jostled and catcauled at each other each time something interesting happened, but if they were to be asked who the winner was, neither would be able to answer.

Maddie's stomach rumbled, but one look at the kitchen informed her that it would be a long session of cleaning before she'd be able to get a real meal going. Josh tossed her the house phone, "Order pizza." She smiled, once again remembering all of their past excursions as teens. The two of them were much closer than their other friends, a closeness born from their similar tastes and their dislike of the same things. There was something about them, from the long talks to the near-constant play-fighting to the time they spent together in silence, feeling content, that they hadn't ever found with anyone else. Pizza had been their staple choice of food during sleepovers.

It took twenty minutes for the pizza to arrive, and it took them about ten to eat the whole pizza. It became apparent to Maddie that Josh hadn't been eating hardly at all before today, a revelation that showed as color returned to his face. She made a mental note, if he didn't improve after today, to bring him food every day. She was content to settle back into silence, but something had caught his eye. He stared at it, and all of the improvement Maddie had seen seemed to vanish. He took a long swig of vodka before responding, "How are they?"

Confused for a second, Maddie followed his gaze and saw a picture of the six of them, from their sophomore year in high school. Six happy faces; faces that didn't know what horrible tragedy awaited them in the future. Maddie wasn't sure how to begin to answer his question, fearful that her answer would set him back even farther.

Josh's eyes bore into hers, and she knew he already knew the answer. He just wanted someone else to say it aloud, "They're doing fine. Tonya is starting her internship at the college's library. Zack has landed a few gigs already, wowing them with his fluting skills. Emily is taking her fashion sense and seamstressing skill to the mainstream. She's starting to become a famous fashion designer. Olivia, Grant, and Nick are on tour throughout the state. They finally started that band they were talking about." As she spoke, she watched Josh take swigs of the vodka more often. She knew what he was thinking. They were moving on so well. They clearly had a lot on their plates, but so did Maddie. Yet Maddie always came to see him.

"Oh. You know...you're the only person that still comes by. Everyone else...I haven't seen any of them in months. No phone calls, no texts...no letters. It's like...I'm there for them through so much. I'm the strong one, I'm the loyal one, I'm the one that always helps. But when I need them, when I can't be strong, no one's there to help. Aside from you. That's it. All of my other 'friends' left me when it became clear I couldn't be the strong one that they could use for emotional support. They were using my loyalty to make themselves feel better, but when I needed that loyalty in return..." Josh trailed off, embittered by what his life had become. He didn't seem in the mood for more talking, and it indeed became clear he didn't want to when he told her, "I'm going to bed early. There's spare sheets and pillows in the hall closet."

Josh stood and grabbed another bottle of vodka, heading for the stairs. Once he was out of sight, Maddie heaved a heavy sigh. He was just so different, now. There was a time when they could lie together and just...forget the world. Now, there was a chasm growing between them, and a flimsy little wooden bridge that connected their friendship. It felt like every step Maddie took on the little bridge almost sent the whole thing falling into oblivion. She couldn't let that happen. Sure, she was close to her other friends. But Josh was something special. When they were kids, they and everyone else passed off their closeness as mere friendship. What Maddie was slowly realizing was that it was so much more. Their feelings toward each other had started becoming romantic a few months before the accident, and Josh had started referring to their hangout together as being on a 'date'. Now...she wondered if she would ever get that back.

Rousing herself from her thoughts, Maddie headed upstairs to the hall closet. There were no bedrooms on the first floor, just one of the two bathrooms, the kitchen/dining room, and the living room. On her way up the stairs she heard Josh's voice, low and pained. Tiptoeing up the last three steps, she peeked around the corner. Josh was standing in front of the door that used to be Adam's, and it sounded like he was saying goodnight. Maddie almost let out a sob right there. He still said goodnight to his little brother every night. She knew Josh had taken over the master bedroom that was his father's, leaving all of the other bedrooms alone. She walked across the hall to the closet, opening it up noisily. She heard the bedroom door shut, and heard Josh's footsteps on the paneled wooden floor behind her. He stopped a few feet away, and she turned her head to look at him.

"Hi," he said softly, taking another swig of vodka. Maddie smiled gently at him, wanting desperately to hug him. There was so much sadness written on his face. It showed in the deep lines around his mouth and eyes. The eyes themselves made her want to cry. Once so lively and mischeivous, they were now dull and sunken. He wasn't sleeping much, that was evident from the dark circles under his eyes. His lips were chapped and cracked. He reached out suddenly, taking her hand in his own. The skin was dry and a little cold, but she still felt butterflies at the contact. Josh pulled her along to Adam's bedroom and opened the door. The room was left exactly as it had been before the accident. Not a hair was out of place, except the bed. The bed had a lump in the middle, despite being completely made. Josh had obviously taken to sitting here quite often.

"It's like he never left," Maddie whispered, and then she flinched, expecting some sort of angry response from Josh. Instead, she was surprised when he simply nodded.

"I couldn't bring myself to move anything..." he said sadly, looking around the room. Adam had been a lover for art, and it showed on his walls. Every wall was brightly colored in colors of the rainbow, the darker colors outlined in silver and gray. There was an owl on the space of wall above the door. Heavy curtains covered the windows, but Josh had turned on the desk lamp. There were drawings there, ones Maddie couldn't make out from the spot on Adam's bed, "Sometimes...I find myself sitting in here. Just thinking. Wondering if I was a good brother. To Adam, to Liz...to Caleb. Was I good son to my dad? Or did I rebel too much? Was I too interested in sports and friends?"

It was in this moment that Maddie resolved to get him out of this house. Away from these memories. She had two more days left. Two long, ardurous days that would either make or break their fragile friendship, "I think you were an amazing brother and son. You were always there to listen. Always there to help." She desperately wanted to make him believe it, but she could see from his posture that he didn't. He stood and moved to the desk, pointing Maddie to the door. She stood up and smoothed out the covers on the small bed, heading for the door. She waited just inside the doorway, leaning on the frame, as Josh stared at one of the drawings. He reached and turned off the desk lamp, heading for the door. Maddie swung out into the hallway with Josh close behind. He closed the door and headed off down the hallway for the master bedroom. Maddie sighed and went back to the closet, gathering her supplies to sleep on the couch downstairs.

Just as she was getting settled in, about thirty minutes after they parted ways, she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. There was silence for a second, as Josh hit the carpeted portion just below the final stair. Then she felt a presence behind her, leaning over the back of the couch. He didn't say anything, but swung over and down onto the couch beside her. She didn't say anything at first, though her heart was beating out of her chest. It was Josh who spoke first, "I didn't want to sleep alone..." he said weakly. He knew there would be no judgement from Maddie's end. And Maddie was glad it was so dark in the house, because it meant he wouldn't see her blush. She nodded and gave him a tight, warm hug. That was how they fell asleep. Exactly how they used to. But this time, Maddie knew something in her had changed. Her feelings were Josh were more than their puppy love as kids, more than their tentative love as teens. She was completely, undoubtedly in love with him.

Once again she had the feeling that this weekend would be the longest of her life.