Thank you so much to those who reviewed the story, it means a lot! I finally got this chapter in *whew*. Hope you enjoy it!

And sorry, there is no slash in this part.

Chapter 3

One week later

"Dude, no. For the last time, quit asking." Benny groaned irritably at Rory who had been constantly bugging him all day about going to the upcoming carnival.

Rory made a face and knowing that face, Benny scowled and angrily slammed his locker hard enough to make the other ones around it shake a little. As he did this, both Ethan and Sarah rounded the corner talking when they noticed. Sarah sighed as they came up to the boys.

"Okay, what's up? You have been grumpy all day, Benny." She said curiously. Benny grimaced and looked at Rory then back to her, "I think you would know the answer to that if you just ask Rory."

This time Rory scowled and folded his arms, "All I wanted was for someone to go with me to the carnival this Saturday. Is that so much to ask for?"

Sarah lifted an eyebrow and watched as Benny gave him an exasperated look.

"If it means that you have to keep asking the same person over and over all day then yes! It is a lot to ask for, Rory." Benny said coldly as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

Rory frowned, "Well, okay then . I'm sorry I'm such a nuisance." With that, Rory's angry scowl turned into a sad frown as he turned around and quickly walked away. As he did that, a sigh escaped from Benny and he was overwhelmed with remorse. He placed a hand on his forehead and dragged it down his face tiredly.

"Dammit…" he muttered before making eye contact with Sarah who was watching him disapprovingly. She opened her mouth to speak but Benny beat her to it.

"Don't say it, alright? I know I was a little mean and I'll apologize. Damn, it's just I've been so stressed lately and…ugh, when he kept pestering me about it…" he trailed off and Sarah gave him a sympathetic smile.

"Bad day, huh?" was all she had to say for Benny to look at her and nod.

She sighed and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder before giving it a little squeeze, "Look, I know what if feels like to be stressed-out. And damn it if it doesn't look as bad as it seems. I'm just saying that even if you are having a bad day, just try not to be so…grumpy alright? I know it's a little hypocritical of me to say this but I'm not just saying it for you: If you're having a bad day, it doesn't mean that you have to make everyone else have a bad day because you are. Get what I'm saying?"

Benny smiled at her and nodded, "I get it. I promise to try and be a bit more…pleasant when I'm tired and stressed." Sarah gave him a happy nod and removed her hand from her shoulder before glancing at Ethan. That's when her smile wavered as she noticed that he had been extremely quiet the whole time.

She quickly studied him and slowly made a sad frown when he leaned against the lockers for support and stared off into space. Benny noticed this as well and eyed Ethan quietly.

When Ethan had realized that his friends had stopped talking, he pulled himself out of his thoughts and brought his head up to see them watching him. An automatic blush reached his cheeks and he quickly averted his eyes so they didn't reach Sarah's nor Benny's.

"Um…Ethan, is everything alright?" Benny said softly. Even though it was gentle, just the sound of hearing Benny's voice caused Ethan to slightly wince. It had been a week since their…kiss and neither boy had brought it up to each other. It was almost as if it had never happened. Oh…but the memory had burned itself into Ethan's mind and he just couldn't stop thinking about it. The worst part about it was that whenever he saw, spoke, or even got Benny's attention, Ethan's entire body went into overload. First of all, his body would begin to shake slightly. To the human eye, you couldn't really see it. But to the non-human eye, it was visible.

Though that wasn't really of his concern. What really freaked Ethan out was how nervous and shy he would get. Normally he wouldn't exactly feel that way around Benny, but as each day past, it only got worse. It was beginning to get so bad that Ethan couldn't think straight and was beginning to cancel on most of the activities that he and Benny would usually do. Like hanging out, going to places, or even going to each other's houses. Benny hadn't been to his house in the entire week that it had been happening.

But, the one thing out of all of it that had to be the absolute worse would have to be the pain. The more and more Ethan stayed away from Benny—considering that all their lives they had practically been around each other 24/7—the larger the pain would get. Ethan had noticed that whenever he wasn't around Benny, he would get an agonizing headache that had almost made him pass out once at home. The second pain would usually land in his chest and it would be as if his lungs were being squeezed to death and on fire. But strangely enough, whenever Ethan was around Benny, the pain was gone.

Ethan sighed and decided he should be a man about this and look into Benny's eyes, "Um…well you see…" Though, he never got the chance to finish because the 6th period bell had rung and he had P.E. Ethan was just glad he didn't have it with Benny because he didn't know if he could handle being in the same room with a half-naked Benny. He was just glad that for once…they didn't have P.E. together. Though, Ethan did have it with Rory.

Benny sighed impatiently but then flashed me a smile that made my heart leap.

"I guess you can finish that later, alright? See you E." Benny winked at me and turned around to head to his class which was U.S. History. Sarah smiled at me and patted me on the shoulder before heading off in the opposite direction.

Ethan bit his lip as he began to head towards the locker room.

"I don't want slacking off, got it!" Coach Red screamed at the crowd of freshman standing in front of him. (Author's note: I don't remember if they ever showed a coach in the show so this is his name)

Both Ethan and Rory looked at each other and groaned once they realized it was raining outside. 'Just our luck for coach to choose the coldest and rainiest day of the month to make us do the mile run.' Ethan thought bitterly as the coach blew his whistle indicating for them to all start running.

Instantly, the faster and more athletic kids headed off onto a good start. Ethan and Rory though both decided to stay at a safe range behind them. Rory knew that he could outrun any of the best athletes in the school but he decided to stay with Ethan and keep him company. Considering no one else in the class ever wanted to hang out with the two of them.

They both decided to run with an easy pace. As they ran, they didn't really exchange that much sentences between each other. To Rory, it was a little odd for Ethan not to be speaking that much. He then had the feeling something was off but he left the matter alone and decided to enjoy the run.

Even though they were running, Ethan didn't really pay attention. Sure, he was jogging but he was zoning out. He kept thinking about Benny. Nothing could keep his mind away from him. It was almost as if it were obsessed with him. Ethan knew that it sounded a little crazy but that didn't stop his mind from wondering off back to Benny.

But, because of his overwhelming thoughts, he hadn't been watching where he was going and once his foot made contact with some mud that had been kicked onto the track, Ethan slipped and landed roughly onto the hard surface.

A cry of both pain and shock escaped his lips and he couldn't help but feel a little…crazy at that moment. Another groan escaped him and he wrapped his arms around his head like someone would when they were having a faint spell. 'Am I having a faint spell?' Ethan thought as wracks of pain shot up his back and head.

"…Ethan…?" The voice sounded a little distant and Ethan realized with shock that his entire vision was blurry and fading into black. He tried to fight it but soon became exhausted. Though, that didn't stop him from fighting off the darkness that was trying to force its way into his mind.

"…Ethan?" The voice sounded closer and Ethan pulled his arms off of his head to force his eyes open. He gasped when a vicious pain erupted in his head and he rolled over onto his side.

"Coach, there's something wrong with him…" the voice said again. Ethan realized that it was Rory who had been calling his name. He groaned again once he felt the pain in his chest beginning to overwhelm him. It felt as if his lungs were burning…like someone had forced him to drink acid and it went straight to his lungs.

"…hurts…" Ethan whimpered when he felt someone use their hands to roll him onto his back. The pain grew stronger when the same person gently pulled him into a sitting position.

But just that little movement caused burning pain to shoot up his spine and he cried out. This time his eyes flew open and he saw that some of the students were crowding around him. Rory was next to him, watching him with concerned eyes and the coach was behind him, trying to help him up.

Ethan began gasping for air when the pain threatened to flame up throughout his entire body. Rory's eyes widened as he watched his friend struggle to breath. He was becoming as white as a ghost. Which wasn't a good thing.

The pain was becoming unbearable for Ethan and a couple seconds later, his body went limp. Rory heard a couple of gasps and whispers around him but his attention was only on Ethan.

Coach Red made a grunting sound as he lifted Ethan's limp body into his arms and began carrying him towards the nurse. Rory followed closely behind and grimaced when he listened in on Ethan's heartbeat. It was faster than usual. It wasn't good for a human heart to beat that fast. It was never a good thing.

Rory sucked in a breathe of air even though he didn't need it. Something wasn't right, not right at all. Ethan was usually healthy. He hardly ever got sick. But something told Rory that this wasn't just any ordinary sickness.

As they made their way into the nurse's office, the coach set Ethan's body down onto one of the beds and the school nurse quickly came in before asking what had happened. Rory didn't remove his eyes from Ethan. He couldn't.

He sighed and sat on one of the chairs that were near the bed. Rory ran a hand through his hair as his gaze on Ethan was averted. Slowly, his eyes made their way over to the window that showed the inside of the nurse's office.

Rory's eyes narrowed as he watched the man that spoke with one of the teachers here. For some reason, something about the man screamed 'Danger.'

And he didn't understand why a man in a long, black coat seemed dangerous.

But Ethan would.

Okay, so this was chapter 3 and chapter 4 will come in soon if I can get another 2 reviews. Even if I don't…well, I can only hope I do. :) Oh, and in the next chapter and the following ones, I'm gonna try to write in at least Ethan's, Benny's, Rory's, etc... Point of View. (POV).

And I apologize if this chapter is a little short. :D