A/N

Annnd we're back to the long, gruelling chapters! Yippee!

I don't actually know if you would survive from falling ten metres, but let's just say what I've written is accurate, mkay?

I wake up to a steady beating. I remember this from the last time I was here. I can remember. That's a good sign. How did I end up here? That part is blurred.

"How did I end up in here?" I voice aloud, opening my eyes. My father, Crayton, is the only one in here, along with a nurse.

"You fell from approximately ten metres, off a building. You slipped, apparently, and one of your friends jumped after you. He managed to direct you onto his back, and he landed first. He absorbed mostly all of the impact. You took a bit, but not enough to do any major damage. You may have slight memory loss of the event. Your friends brought you two in. Would you like to see them?" She explains.

"In a few minutes. Could I speak to my father in private, please?" I ask. She nods and leaves, the door clicking softly behind her. Crayton runs over and hugs me.

"I thought I lost you, El," he says. Then it hits me.

"Oh my God, which friend jumped after me?" I exclaim, my hand over my mouth.

"I didn't get much of a look at him. He looked pretty banged up. The ones that were carrying you were twins, though, and a blonde," Crayton tells me.

"Who el-NOLAN!" I shriek, horrified. "No no no, why did he jump? I slipped, he shouldn't have...oh my God! Nolan..." I murmur, shaking. I'm crying, I know, but I can barely feel my face. I can barely feel anything.

"I'm going to bring your friends in, so they can explain," Crayton stands up and leaves. A few seconds later, Matt, David and Damien come in, looking guilty. Damien clears his throat. Their eyes are red rimmed, and they look like they haven't slept in a while.

"How long was I out?" I ask.

"Three days, Ella," Matt whispers.

"I'm so glad you're okay. We shouldn't have made you leave school like that. It was-" I cut Damien off.

"It was fun. I'm glad I went up there. Don't be guilty. I'm the dumbass that slipped." That brings smiles to their faces. If only small ones.

"Ho-how's Nolan?" I whisper.

"They've done the surgery that they can, along with the scans. But they cant get a true reading til he wakes up."

"You mean...he's still in a coma?" I ask, terrified.

"Ella, do you remember what happened? The nurse says you have slight brain damage. We cant fill her in, since we didn't see anything after you jumped," Matt asks.

"Not really. I don't remember much from that day. But.." I trail off, smiling. "Nolan said that if he died, you couldn't have his PS3."

"Selfish bastard," Matt jokes. Then we all fall silent.

"Yo, open up! I wanna see the bugger!" Myra calls from outside. I chuckle. Damien opens the door. Her, Marina, Maren, John, Daniela, Sarah, Sam, Stanley and Adam burst in. My eyes widen at them. Then I realize. Drake isn't here. Did he not here, or does he just not care? Adam walks over with open arms. I hug him.

"He's driving all the way back from Ohio," he murmurs. My eyes light up. Adam hits my arm.

"Hey! What was that for?" I protest.

"That's for almost dying on us," he says. Another tear makes it way down my face.

"Listen, El. He'll be okay. People have survived falling from over six thousand metres," Adam says.

"Yeah, but they have time to slow down. And don't normally land on concrete. And don't have over one hundred extra pounds on their backs," I sniff. Suddenly, the door bursts open again. Drake runs over and wraps me in a hug. He doesn't let go. I hug him back just as tight.

"I'm so sorry I've been a crappy friend, and that is probably the reason you ditched school, and jumped off a roof, and I'm so so so so sorry-"

"I don't care. I have you now. That's all that matters," I mumble into his shoulder. He looks back at the others.

"Hey, guys? Can I have a minute with Ella? I needa tell her something," he says. They all leave. Drake looks me in the eye.

"I dumped Avril," he tells me.

"What? Why?" I question.

"I cant believe I'm saying this. God, it's so stupid," he runs a hand through his hair.

"Tell me, Drake," I urge. He sighs.

"I dumped her because I'm in love with someone else."

"Who?!"

"Daniela," he says seriously. My scream could probably be heard from Africa. "You can't tell anybody. I already know she hates me," he sighs.

"She wont for long. I'm playing matchmaker," I smirk.

"Oh, God no-" the others come back in.

"I heard the scream. What did he do to you, Ella?" Damien demands.

"Oh, nothing," I say, smirking.

"Why are you so happy all of a sudden?" Maren asks suspiciously.

"I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you," I realize what I said, and that Daniela is in the room. "Well, a-"

"Alrighty then!" Drake interrupts, slapping a hand over my mouth.

"Oh. Oops," I smile sheepishly. We talk for hours, before the nurse says I have to get some rest. As Marina closes the door, I think back to when I slipped. I have to remember. But all I remember in passing out. Gar! This is so annoying. I give up,and drift off to sleep. When I wake up, I hear a scream. I snap my eyes open and look around for the source. The nurse comes into my room.

"Ella, you are coming with me. You should be the next, after his parents, of course." She puts me in a wheelchair, and hurries down the hall, pushing me along. I don't have time to ask, because I'm being carted into another hospital room. An empty one. Apart from the boy laying on the bed. He blinks at me.

"NOLAN! You're awake!" I cry happily. He looks taken aback.

"Uh, I'm sorry, the nurse said I got serious brain damage. Do I know you?" He asks warily. And that question breaks my heart.

"Yeah. I'm guessing you were told how you got brain damage?" He nods.

"I'm the one you saved."

"Wow. Jeez, I sound like a real hero, huh?" He says.

"You are, Nolan. I know you don't remember, yet, anyway, and I'm still a bit blanked out too. But I hope you do, someday," I tell him. He grabs his head and groans. I see blood soaking through the bandage. I stand up, and run for the nurse. I press the bell. When she comes in, she sees Nolan's head and swears. She ushers me out of the room. I cant get up. My head hurts. And yet again, I pass out.

"Ella. Nolan went back into a coma after you saw him. You passed out, too. What happened?" The nurse asks. I shake my head.

"I dunno. I just...my head hurt, then I passed out," I answer. I'm passing out way too much these days.

"Well, I'm keeping you here for another week. Then you can go back to school," she says firmly. I nod. I'm too tired to do anything else. Let me tell you, those 7 days were the most boring of my life. But I'm glad to be back at school. I walk into math and take my usual seat beside Drake.

"Hey. Any news on Nolan?" He asks. I shale my head.

"He's still in a coma, last I heard. He's been out for nearly two weeks, Drake. I don't know if he'll wake up," I say quietly. He hugs me.

"Don't worry about it. Nolan won't die on us. Nah, he's far too proud for that. Dying at age seventeen from saving a girl by jumping off a twenty metre high roof? That isn't good enough for him, trust me," he says jokingly. I crack a smile. It isn't good enough for him. He deserves a better death than that. He's worked his way into my best friend circle these past few weeks I've known him. Life without Drake talking to me? That was hell on its own, and I still saw him. Life with Nolan dead? No. That's going too far. And it was all my fault.

"Oh, no. I thought we finished that pi unit," Drake moans. I look down at the textbook.

"Ugh!" I groan. We exchange a glance.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?"

"You know I am." "On three." We aim our spitballs, and launch them at her head. Ms Carpin spins around, glaring at us.

"Drake, office. Now. Ella, you've been through a hard time recently, so I'll let you off this time," she says. I gape. Drake snickers under his breath. He gives a jaunty little wave.

"Figures," I mutter. I glance across the room. My eyes land on Nolan's empty seat. I stifle a sob. I should be the one in the damn coma. Not him. He was saving me. Dumb life.

The nightmares come back over the next few weeks. I ease into depression, slowly but surely. I'm on my seat between Myra and John when it rings. My phone starts playing Crazy Frog. Mr Rey eyes me.

"Detention, after school! No phones in class!" He yells. I look at the caller. The hospital! My eyes narrow. No.

"No. I nearly died recently, Mr Rey. One of my best friends is in the hospital in a coma, and hasn't woken up for three weeks. I am answering this call," I shout back, then race outside. I answer the call.

"Hello?"

"Ella. Bad news," the nurse says. My heart sinks. Has he...no. I wont think that.

"What?"

"Are you sitting down?"

"Yeah," I reply. I'm leaning against the door. But she doesn't know that.

"You weren't the first one he remembered," she says. I can practically feel her grin. What the heck?

"What do you mean?" I ask slowly.

"Think, Ella," the nurse says patiently.

"The first one he remembered..."

"Bloody hell, I'm awake!" I hear someone grab the phone and yell into it. That was...

"NOLAN!" I scream. I hear the nurse telling him off for yelling. I laugh. I'm so happy. The door opens. I turn to see Mr Rey scowling. I grab his shoulders.

"He's awake he's awake," I look past him at Myra and John and Damien. "HE'S AWAKE!" I yell at them. They rush past Mr Rey, and start talking all at once. I hold up my hand to shush them.

"We're coming over. Right now," I say. I turn to the others. "Damien, get the twins. John, get Adam and Drake. Possibly the others, but they're not as close to him, so it doesn't really matter. Myra, you're driving me," I order, and race down the hallway. I jump into Myra's car and she speeds down the highway to the hospital. We sing along loudly to the radio. Once she pulls up, we climb out.

"I'll wait for the others," she says. I nod, and run in. I compose myself at the entrance, and walk over to the receptionist.

"Nolan Kodenz. What room?" I demand.

"Calm down, dearie. 103," she says. I sprint up the stairs, elevators take too long. I burst through the door. Nolan's laying on the bed, reading the paper. I freeze mid-run.

"Who are you and what the heck have you done with Nolan?" I demand. He holds up the paper.

"What, this?" he raises his eyebrows. "Do you know how boring it is in here?"

"I was stuck in here for a week," I answer.

"Nearly four," Nolan shoots back. I rush forward and hug him. I look him over. His arms and legs are covered in scratches. He has a black eye, and cuts all over his face. The bandage around his head is still there, and it has a little bit of blood seeping through. His knee is also wrapped up, and elevated onto a table. All in all, he looks like crap. All I got was a couple of scraped knees and a minor concussion.

"I'm sorry I slipped off that dumb building, and you jumped after me stupidly," I hit his arm.

"Ow. What was that for?" he exclaims, rubbing his arm.

"Nearly dying on me," I reply.

"Well, I'm not dead now," he says. I examine him.

"You remember me this time. You got any other injuries?" I ask.

"Slight amnesia. Bitta brain damage. Couple of scratches and scrapes. Oh, and a broken knee. But that'll heal in a month or so," he says casually.

"A month! What about your sports?" I ask in horror.

"Ella, relax. I'm fine. I saved your life, so I'm fine. And, hey, not dying's a bonus too!"

"Jeez, schools been weird. I shot a spitball at Ms Carpin the other day, and she didn't tell me off!" I exclaim. He gives me a wtf face.

"You sure it was her? Not a clone? Not a figment of your imagination?"

"Positive. She's been acting weird lately," I reply.

"Yeah, like that time when she gave you that pass-"

"YOU'RE NOT DEAD!" Matt runs in screaming.

"No. I'm not," Nolan replies sceptically. Stanley comes rushing in. I forgot he was Nolan's friend.

"Yo, mate, you're alright!" he yells, doing one of those bro hug things.

"Yeah, man. I'm great," he answers.

"When are you coming back to soccer? And basketball? We need you on our team. David's filling in for you," he asks.

"Hey!" David protests. Myra and John walk in. Then Adam and Drake run in screaming. My eyes roll. These people I call my friends. A smile works it way onto my face.

"Sorry to break up this little reunion, but I need Ella and Nolan for testing," the nurse says.

"Didn't you already test me, though?" I ask.

"I need to test both of you to see how much you can remember. I also need the full story for the records," she explains.

"See ya, guys." I watch as they trudge out the door. I almost laugh at their sullen expressions.

"If you'd like to take a seat," she points to the chair beside the bed.

"And the king gets the bed, of course" I mumble.

"Duh. The king is a hero who just saved a damsel in distress," he replies.

"Okay, now, tell me what you remember?" she asks.

"I guess we were on a roof, from what I've heard. I don't remember it being Ella that I saved. All I remember is jumping," Nolan explains. He looks at me. My turn.

"I don't remember much either. Just falling. I vaguely remember him telling me to open my eyes, and then pulling me onto his back. I didn't remember that it was him, though. The one thing I do remember, was him telling me Matt couldn't have his PS3. I hit my head on something. I don't know what, though. And pain. Heaps of pain," I say.

"I don't remember anything else at all. No falling, no impact. I don't even know who was there. Actually, I don't really remember anything from that day," Nolan says. The nurse nods.

"Okay. We'll take you through a few exercises to try jog your memories. Ella, if you could go with Dr Haol, and Nolan, since you're not looking very good, I'll send in the other doctor." I follow her to a white room. Shocker. A man in about his mid thirties comes in.

"Hi, Ella. I'm Dr Haol. What can you remember?" I tell him. It only takes about ten seconds, since its so little.

"Okay. I'll run through the exercises," he says. Two hours later, I can remember Nolan's face when I opened my eyes.

"It'll take a while to remember the more major things, but that's a start. You can go see how Nolan's going now, if you want." I thank him, then head back to room 103. Nolan looks strained as his doctor says stuff to him.

"Hold on...nope. I cant remember," he finally says, looking annoyed.

"Here's Ella. I'll let you two talk, see if you can remember anything else," she says, then gets up and leaves.

"You remember anything?"

"Your face," I reply.

"Better than me. I got nothing," he raises his palms.

"You gotta remember something," I insist. He sighs.

"Fine. You got me. I remember what I ate for breakfast this morning," he says.

"You weren't even awake this morning," I point out.

"Exactly," he groans. "There's something at the back of my mind, but I can't remember it. I don't even know if it happened. It's just there." That's interesting.

"Same with me. I just can't place it, though," I nod.

"Do you remember what happened at school?" he asks. "It might've happened there." I think.

"That was the wacko day Ms Carpin was nice to me! I don't remember what else happened, but I'm pretty sure it wasn't good. Actually, I vaguely remember crying..." I trail off. "No idea why, though."

"I dunno. I don't know anything. It's irritating the crap outta me," he says.

"Hey, howsabout I text Adam? He should know," I suggest. Nolan closes his eyes and nods.

"I'm in no shape to strain my brain." I dial the number. He picks up on the fourth ring.

"Hey Adam. I was wondering what happened the day me and Nolan fell/jumped off a roof?" I ask.

"Uh...oh. That was that weird-ass day. First Drake and Avril got detention, and you felt like he was replacing you, so you left. Ms Carpin was nice, and gave you a hall pass though. That's what Nolan told me," he begins. I send a glance at Nolan. He raises his eyebrows. I shake my head. That was probably when I cried.

"Okay, what else?" I ask.

"Um...oh! Drake and Avril announced, well, Avril's friend did, that they were dating. Then I talked to you about the fact that he was replacing you and whatever. Then you went back to your table, and I went off at Drake. I stormed out. I'm guessing you five left after that," he tells me. I ponder this.

"Thanks, Adam. Talk to you later," I hang up.

"So?" Nolan questions.

"It was a weird-ass day," I quote Adam.

"How so?"

"Apparently I got upset since..." I trail off. Nolan doesn't need to know the sappy details. "Because of something, then in the cafeteria, Avril's friend announced that her and Drake were dating-"

"Something about that jogs my memory, for some reason..." Nolan thinks. Then shakes his head. "Dunno what, though."

"Then Adam and I talked about how Drake was distancing himself from us. Then he went off at him, stormed out. Apparently we left shortly after that," I finish.

"Do you remember any of it?"

"Nope."

"Okay, well, this sucks," Nolan says.

"Yep. Pretty much," I reply.

"They said my arms also broken. Apparently it wasn't obvious because it isn't a clean break. The bones deformed, they said." Wow. That's pretty bad.

"Mr Kodenz? Can we try another memory test?" a nurse rushes in. He sighs.

"Whatever. Sure," he answers. "Talk to ya later, Els," he says.

"See you." I walk past the nurse, and out in the waiting room. My friends are all gathered there. I see Sarah there, too.

"Woah! You guys are still here?" I ask, surprised.

"Uh, yeah! We wanted to know how you went," Myra says.

"Crap. I don't remember anything, apart from Nolan's face when I opened my eyes. I don't know anything else about that, so please don't ask."

"How about Nolan? He do any better?" Adam asks.

"Nope. He did worse, actually. He still has no idea of anything. None of us remember what happened at school that day, either. That's why I called. I remember climbing up the building, and some stuff from school. He doesn't even remember that it was me he saved, really," I answer.

"Yikes. That's pretty bad."

"Yeah. He's also a whole lot more banged up than me. They just found out his arms broken, and the bone in its deformed," I explain.

"That's...really gross," Myra says. The others nod.

"And all I got was a concussion, not even a bad one, and a few scraped knees," I say miserably.

"Its his fault he jumped, El. Not yours. He coulda let you get injured real bad," Damien puts in. I look at him incredulously.

"That's supposed to help?" I ask.

"Uhm, what I meant to say was, that, uh, its our fault for taking you up there?" he questions. The twins facepalm.

"Dude, just stop talking," Matt groans. Damien pretends to zip his lips.

"And if you really feel that guilty, you can probably ask him to sue you," Drake puts in obliviously. Marina, who I'm guessing arrived about an hour ago, shoots him a warning look.

"Drake! You don't just freaking say that!" Myra yells at him.

"I think what he meant to say," Marina glares at him. He smiles sheepishly. "Was that you shouldn't feel guilty, because its not your fault."

"That's right," Drake says. I roll my eyes at him.

"I wonder what all his girlfriends would say if they saw him now," Stanley muses.

"They'd probably shriek in horror and terror, then run away," Myra says.

"They'd probably be too upset his face was ruined," David snickers. I forgot, Nolan was, still is, really, a part of the playboy group. I chuckle along with the others.

"Was it really that great to start with, though?" Damien adds.

"Hey, you aren't supposed to be talking!" Myra says. He grins.

"I'm sorry, I just had to take that opportunity."

"Yo! I thought you people were my friends?" Nolan calls across the room. We gape at him.

"They let you up?" I ask, stunned. He grins cheekily, then scratches his neck.

"They, uh, left the wheelchair right by my bed. And no one was in there, so...their fault, really."

"Good one," Matt high fives him.

"So, gossiping about me, eh?" he asks.

"Well, it wasn't really like that-"

"Ella was just telling us how you were-"

"Apparently you don't remember anything, according to Ella-"

"Well, Ella-"

"OI! Stop trying to pin the blame on me! You," I point to them. "Were the ones who asked me about him."

"Anything interesting?" Nolan asks.

"Your arm? She said its broken," David points to me. Nolan lifts it up and examines it.

"They tell me it is. Hurts like hell, so I guess its true."

"So, you don't remember anything?" Drake asks.

"Nope. Adam told me and Ella what happened that day at school, but I don't actually remember any of it. Apparently she does," he jerks a thumb at me.

"Yeah, I remember half of it More than you, anyhow," I say.

"How have they not noticed you're missing yet?" Stanley asks no one in particular.

"I guess they just have really crappy staff," Nolan says, shrugging. The others and I suppress our laughter. He looks around him.

"What?" Then it dawns on him. "Oh, crap. Is this one of those bad clichés where the nurse is standing right behind me?" We all nod. He turns around.

"Uh, hi?" The nurse raises an eyebrow at him. He raises one back.

"Mr Kodenz, you have a serious concussion, multiple broken bones, and dozens of scratches, along with a major head wound. You shouldn't be wandering around like that."

"Well, actually, I only broke one bone. See, I deformed the other one," he says defiantly.

"I am aware, Mr Kodenz."

"Please, call me Nolan," Nolan flashes a smile.

"Could you head back up to your room, Nolan, before I have to call the hospitals crappy security?" I like this nurse. While we snicker, Nolan defeatedly turns around and into the elevator. She smiles at us.

"That boy will be the death of me," she grins, shaking her head.

"Um, nurse? I've known you and been talking to you for ages, but I still don't know your name," I say politely.

"Nurse O'Connell. You lot should be getting home. You can come back and visit tomorrow. After school, this time," she adds. Drake salutes.

"Ma'am yes ma'am," he says. We file out into the cold. I realize something.

"So, how do we get home?" I ask. We had two cars. Myra, John, the twins, Drake, Adam, Stanley, Damien, Marina, Sarah and I wont fit into two cars. One persons left out.

"Uh, does anyone live close to here?" John asks. Everyone shakes their heads.

"Crap," Matt mutters.

"Well, we've got Myra's car and Adam's car. I guess we just work out who lives closest to who," John says.

"Well, Damien and I live close together, and obviously Matt lives with me, so we should go together," David says.

"Okay, I live in Kedzie Boulevard, so who's close to there?" Myra asks.

"I'm by the school. So whoever lives closer to there than Kedzie, come with me," Adam says. In the end, Marina, John, Sarah and Stanley go with Myra, while Matt, David, Damien, Drake and I are with Adam.

"So. Someone has to either sit on someone's lap, or we cram four people in the back," I say.

"I choose the second option," Drake says quickly.

"Seconded," the twins say in unison.

"So, whos sitting in the front?" Adam asks.

"It should be me, since I'm the only girl-"

"Dibs shotgun!" Damien yells. I glare at him.

"Well, Ella would've made sense, but okay. Sorry Els," Adam apologizes. When we get in, it goes Matt, then David, then me, then Drake, since I live closest to Adam.

"Great," I mutter.

"Nurse O'Connell's pretty cool," Matt says.

"Yeah, she showed Nolan alright. that was hilarious!" David agrees. Adam suddenly turns a hard left.

"Eee!" Damien screams. I freeze. The scream replays in my mind. Why is that...

"THATS IT!" I shout. The others look at me weirdly.

"I remember now. That day at school, when that girl, Avril's friend, screamed..." I trail off, thinking. "Before that, before that...Nolan was talking, right? He was saying something to me?" I ask the others.

"Yeah, that's right. Probably wanted to ask about Ms Carpin," Damien says.

"And then...Adam! I texted you, cause you were about to go off at Drake. Then you did anyway."

"I remember that," Drake mutters.

"Here we are! See ya, you three!" the twins and Damien get out of the car.

"Thank God," I shuffle over and spread myself out.

"I think my arms are permanently misshapen."

"We heard you got detention from Mr Rey," Adam says.

"Ugh, yeah. Cause my phone rang. It was the nurse," I answer.

"What'd you do?"

"Yelled at him," I shrug.

"Yelled at him? Are you serious?"

"Uh, yeah."

"I wish I could've seen his face!" Drake exclaims. "That must've been hilarious!"

"What'd you say?" Adam asks.

"Told him that I'd nearly died and my friend was in a coma. That did it, for sure," I reply.

"Well, see ya Drake, we're here," Adam tells him.

"See you tomorrow!" he yells. We wave back. Adam drives off again.

"Hopefully we don't have to relive that anytime soon," Adam says. I cant agree more.

I have a question. Not related to the story, just random:

What is your favourite LL book?

Mine's gotta be Rise of Nine.

Peace,

HV