Unnecessary fun fact nobody needs to know: Cody was originally supposed to die in the planning stages, but I decided to let him live since I liked him too much.

Unnecessary fun fact nobody needs to know: Jack was originally supposed to storm into Samson's classroom instead of into the cafeteria.

Unnecessary fun fact nobody needs to know: I like imagining Jack in drag. (Stop looking at your computer screen like that I told you this was an unnecessary fun fact)

"-You're a little bitch who needs to run and get hit by a bus-"

"-Why don't you go say that to a mirror because I-"

Jack stared at Zander's laptop screen intently. "How long is this video again?"

"The actual fight is a couple of hours long, but this is only like fifteen minutes of it. You know, YouTube regulations," Zander replied.

"And honestly, I don't see why this video has so many views," Spencer spoke up. "It's just them shooting insults back and forth at each other. Nothing special."

"Please, these insults are just way too entertaining to be ignored," Zander argued.

"What insults are just way too entertaining to be ignored?" Anton came over and sat down at the lunch table with his tray. He peered over Jack's shoulder. "What video is that?"

"Something on YouTube," Jack stated absentmindedly.

Anton got a closer look. "...Is that me and Cody?"

"Mmhm." Jack's eyes were still fixated on the screen.

Anton, not amused one bit, took the laptop lid and slammed it shut, forbidding Jack from watching anymore.

"Hey!" Jack shouted. "I was watching that!"

"Oh right, I'm sorry," Anton said with an innocent smile. "I probably should've waited until you put your fingertips on the laptop edge so they would've been crushed underneath. You're right, I should've done that."

Jack stared at him for a second, before saying, "I'm starting to see how you and Samson were friends for so long."

Anton shrugged. "Being around him had its perks. You can't expect me to just leave him without picking anything up from him. So who put that video of me and Cody arguing online?"

"Dunno. Why do you ask? Are you going to kill them?" Zander asked.

"More like Cody will kill them if he ever sees this. I'm personally cool with it, but I doubt he will be," Anton pointed out.

"Speaking of Cody, have you visited him at the hospital?" Spencer turned to Jack.

"No," Jack sighed. "I went there, but the lady at the desk told me that his family wanted to be the only ones able to visit him for the first couple of days. Can't really blame them though. They clearly still need to grasp their head around the fact that Cody tried suicide. Maybe I'll try after school tomorrow. Tomorrow's Friday anyway, so I think that'll be best."

"Good idea." Spencer nodded in agreement. "It's best to leave them be for a while. How long do you think he'll be staying there?"

"Probably will be released sometime over the weekend," Zander predicted. "I'm pretty sure that's more than enough time to care for a teenage boy who cut himself."

"You know, I'm actually really glad his suicide failed," Jack admitted. "Not just because he's my friend, but also because I think his parents would be able to bear losing a second child."

Silence fell over the rest of the group, soaking this news in.

Anton finally piped up, "Second child? You mean Cody has a deceased sibling?" He paused, trying to comprehend this. "Can't picture it."

"I was at the graveyard Tuesday afternoon. And guess what? I found Carrie's tombstone." Jack grinned despite the situation. "Guys, she's not Cody's crush or anything. She's his sister. His older sister."

"Oh." Spencer blinked. "Well that makes sense. A lot more sense than the theory of her being his girlfriend."

"Who's Carrie?" Anton asked, confused.

"We'll explain later. What I want to know is," Zander pointed at Jack accusingly. "What were you doing at the cemetery?"

Jack sputtered. "N-None of your business! I can't visit a deceased distant relative?" Which was the truth, except that his sister wasn't that distant to him, not counting his 300 years of amnesia.

Zander shrugged. "Hey, just asking."

"Whoa, whoa, wait. You guys actually thought Cody had a girlfriend in the past?" Anton looked at all of them as if they were insane. "Yeah, right. The day that happens is the day I turn out to be bisexual."

"It would be hilarious if you end up jinxing that and you realize you're bisexual at the exact same time Cody ends up finding his soul mate," Zander remarked.

"Not my point here. I'm just saying, you guys actually thought of the possibility that Carrie is his girlfriend and it never occurred to you that she was possibly his sister?"

In unison, Zander and Spencer pointed at Jack.

"He was the one who thought that," Zander said.

Spencer chimed in, "Uh huh, we were just going along with what he was saying."

"Nice to know you guys like making sure I get the credit for everything," Jack muttered.

"Really, Jack?" Anton deadpanned. "Let me tell you something, I've never seen Cody Gray talk to a girl once. Screw that, I haven't seen him talk to anyone except me, you, or Samson. So he's not about to take a date to the dance next week, if that's what you're thinking."

"The Valentine's Day dance next week?" Spencer assumed. "Do you think he'll go even though he won't have a date?"

"Most likely not," Zander said. "On the other hand, you can go with Cici."

Spencer's face flushed and he glared at his brother. "Zander!"

Zander shrugged nonchalantly. "What? Just go with her. You won't regret it."

Spencer looked down at his lunch and began fiddling nervously with his fingers. "I don't know how to ask her..."

"Cici Sanders? You like her?" Anton questioned.

Spencer glared halfheartedly at him. "Look, I'm fine with you knowing that as long as you don't go spreading the word..."

Anton raised his hands in defense. "Hey, just making sure." He turned to Jack. "What about you? Are you going with anyone?"

Jack scoffed and shook his head. "Isn't it obvious what the answer to that is? No. In fact, I don't even feel like going. I'm probably just gonna stay home, take a nap, do homework, whatever."

"You sure about that?" Anton asked skeptically. "There's obviously going to be at least one ditz who crawls up to you begging you to go to the dance with her. Actually, screw that, not just one girl. More like twelve hundred."

"I'll just reject them as gently as possible by saying I wasn't planning on going to the dance at all," Jack waved it off in a carefree manner. "They're bound to understand."

"...No. No, they're not," Anton stated. "Trust me, I know how girls think, especially the kind that are easily attracted to some cute guy at school. No matter how nice you are to them when you say no to their offer, they won't take it well. Some will run home crying, some will call you a big jerk and storm off, and some will just..." Anton finished his explanation with a slit throat gesture. "Let's just say you'll end up with at least a couple of red marks on your cheek."

"Seriously, what's up with the females?" Zander complained. "When we guys get rejected by girls, the worst we could react is become annoyed. Girls are so dramatic."

Jack seemed to think back on something. "I once got slapped by Jamie's grandma because I walked into the bathroom while she was in the shower..." Seeing the odd looks his friends were giving him, he added defensively, "I didn't know she was in there!" before continuing, "So I'm pretty sure I can handle teenage girls. I'm not going unless it's absolutely necessary. And it's not like I can help the way they'll react once I turn me down. Besides, even if I did get a date to the dance, how would I be able to handle the rest of the girls who wanted to ask me out?"

"They won't be raging on you as much if you tell them you already had someone to go with," Anton argued. "They'll be taking it all out on your date instead."

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And that makes the situation better how...?"

Anton shrugged. "They won't be yelling at you."

"But then my date would possibly go home with a broken limb!" Jack shouted. "I don't know much about girls, but I don't think it's a good idea to use her as a shield from my insane she-minions!"

Anton only shrugged again. "Suit yourself. Don't go then."

Jack tried to act casual by looking at the white walls of the waiting room. There wasn't much to look at, really. Just a couple of award plaques for being one of those things Jack was sure he didn't care to know, though he admitted to himself that getting a plaque like that was certainly impressive, no matter what it was for.

He snapped out of his thoughts as he saw someone walk out of the door that led to the individual hospital rooms. It took a minute for him to recognize her. When he did, he stood up. "Hi, Mrs. Gray."

Cody's mother looked at him under scrutiny for a moment before remembering him. "Oh, hello. You're...Jack, aren't you?"

Jack nodded. "How's your son?"

Mrs. Gray sighed softly. "He's doing fine recovering. Physically, that is. But mentally, he's still very shaken up."

"I'm really sorry," Jack apologized.

Mrs. Gray shook her head dismissively. "Don't be sorry. It had nothing to do with you. Cody's just been...so closed up, he was bullied frequently for years. I'm just afraid that'll happen again." Her voice wavered at that last sentence.

"It won't happen again," Jack reassured her gently yet firmly. "I'll make sure of that."

"But if I didn't know this would happen, how would you?" Mrs. Gray looked at him hopelessly, like a lost child instead of a distraught mother. "This was so unexpected—I don't think I can bear the mere thought of almost losing him again."

"Some stuff happened at school last week," Jack began. "That's what caused him to go off the deep end. I would be lying if I said it didn't involve me. I may not have been the perpetrator, but when I first found out what had happened, I carried around the guilt of not doing anything sooner. And even now, I still feel that way. That's why I'm vowing that I'll do anything I can, now that Cody has a second chance. I promise that I won't let him pull a stunt like this again."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Baby Tooth give him an incredulous look, as if not expecting him to be so mature, calm, and comforting. Especially towards a parent.

"And furthermore," he continued, "I don't want you to experience the pain of losing a child again. It must've hurt, didn't it? Eight years ago when your daughter..." He trailed off. What am I saying? What the hell, Jack? All of that at the end was completely involuntary and on impulse. The last thing he wanted was to rub salt into Cody's mother's wound.

She looked at him in surprise. "You know..."

Jack rubbed his arm sheepishly. "Kinda. I mean, I only know the basics of what happened. I mean, I know who she was, but...yeah. Remember when we first met and you mentioned her?"

Mrs. Gray's eyes widened, as if only realizing it now. "Oh right! I remember now. I didn't mean for that to slip out, it just did—I didn't think it through and I just blurted it out..."

Jack held his hands up. "No, it's...it's fine..."

"I owe you an explanation on who she was, don't I?" Mrs. Gray asked suddenly. "It was rude of me to leave you hanging like that, when that was probably the first time you ever heard the mention of Carrie."

Jack hesitated. "I...don't want to bring up bad memories just because I'm curious..."

Mrs. Gray shook her head and sat down, motioning for Jack to follow suit. "It doesn't matter. You seem to already have a vague idea on who she was, and it would only be fair if you learned the truth on what happened."

Jack reluctantly consented and seated himself on the chair again.

"It all started, like you said, eight years ago," Cody's mother started. "My son was only ten back then. Carrie was sixteen. They were very close, closer than any other pair of siblings I've seen in my entire life. Both my husband and I work, so they usually only talked with each other at home. And Carrie was the typical teenage girl; her confidence was fragile, and she liked a boy at her school."

So far, Jack only nodded, listening intently.

"He was a boy one year her senior," she continued, "and he was one of those popular, handsome boys who was extremely full of himself. Carrie spent years keeping her crush secret, as she just couldn't summon up the courage to pour her heart out. As a result, she always stood by her locker quietly while she watched other girls flirt with her crush. But then one day, she somehow got over her shyness—I'm not sure if her friends persuaded her or if she just felt like she should let it all out—and confessed. He rejected her. He didn't give her an excuse or anything; it was a flat out 'no.' He wasn't being very kind about it either, as he began listing off the qualities he was looking for in a girl and how she was the complete opposite of them. She came home crying that day, and I remember her asking me why she couldn't be beautiful like all the other girls at her school. That was the last time she ever spoke to me. She had gone right up to her bedroom and hanged herself with her father's tie."

By this point, Mrs. Gray was beginning to shed tears. Jack, on the other hand, didn't know what to say. He opened his mouth to say comforting words to the distressed mother, but nothing would come out. He eventually settled for awkwardly patting her on the shoulder and rubbing soothing circles on the middle of her back. No conversation was exchanged.

Once Mrs. Gray had calmed down, she sniffed and reached for a tissue from the tissue box on the mini-table beside her. Once she was done blowing her nose, she said, "I'm really sorry you have to see me like this—"

"It's fine," Jack interrupted. "You may have lost her years ago, but the hurt hasn't ceased. And I get that. I've had...experience with these kind of things." Except that I was the one who died. He could vaguely recall seeing his sister centuries ago looking at the lake he had fell into with a sad expression on her face. He may not have known it was her back then, but he had still felt the pain poking at his heart when he saw the grief that was in those eyes. "Can I go in and talk to him?"

Mrs. Gray nodded, wiping her tears away. "Go ahead."

...

He found him propped up against his pillows and flipping through the channels with the remote in his hand, a bored expression fixated on his pale face. He only momentarily glanced at Jack before returning his attention to the TV.

"Hey," Jack mustered up a grin, although after what happened back on the waiting room, he couldn't manage to make the smile genuine.

"That smile is fake," Cody said simply.

Jack dropped the faux grin and sighed. "Fine. You caught me. How are you doing?"

Cody gave him a hard look. "Are you seriously asking me that?"

Jack shrugged. "At least I was polite enough to ask. So judging from that answer, not too well."

"What do you want?"

"I wanted to talk," Jack replied nonchalantly. "Whether you like it or not."

Cody groaned. "About what?"

"Gee, I don't know." Jack couldn't blame himself for sneaking in some sarcasm. "Tons of stuff. About what happened would be a safe bet."

Cody scoffed. "What's there to talk about for that? I just did what I did. That's it. Nothing else."

"Everything happens for a reason," Jack persisted. "And I think I have an idea on what happened on this. You miss her, don't you? Your sister."

Cody stiffened. "How do you know about that?"

"I have my ways," Jack answered cryptically. "It's what happens if someone refuses to tell me something when I ask them."

Cody narrowed his eyes at him. "Look, if you're just gonna rub it in my face that I have a dead sibling—"

"I know how you feel."

"...What?"

"I've lost important people in my life before," Jack admitted. "Not in the way you lost your sister, but that's not the point here. I'm just trying to say is, you don't have to deal with this alone. I'm here to help."

"Oh really?" Cody remarked caustically, switching off the television. "Like you've ever tried to do what I did. There's no way you could ever feel the way I feel."

Jack didn't say or do anything at first, but then he suddenly rolled up his right sleeve and held out his arm for Cody to see. The latter immediately noticed what Jack was trying to show him, and remained silent. All across Jack's forearm were small scars that were undoubtedly similar to Cody's own scratches.

"What happened?" Cody finally asked.

Jack sighed and pulled his sleeve down again. "I know I seem like a perfect guy to you and everyone else. But the truth is, I'm not. I've gone through the most terrible things anyone could ever go through. I was a lonely kid, and I hated myself for being pretty much unnoticeable. And I'll admit I've done some pretty rash stuff to get attention. In short, I was an attention-seeking bastard. But then I somehow managed to get over it. It still hurt, but it was just enough for me to move on. And eventually, things got better. I'm still a little lonely deep down, but I know that'll continue to change. And things will be the same for you, as long as you believe that your life is too important to throw away. Things will be better for you, no matter how impossible that seems."

After that long spiel, Cody was silent again. After a while of looking down at his bedsheets, he muttered, "I was the one who walked into her bedroom and saw her dead body hanging from the ceiling."

Okay, now that was a little traumatizing for an innocent ten-year-old boy. Jack masked his shock and smiled. "Tell you what, once you're out of the hospital, you and I can go together to visit her grave."

He felt the agreeing nod more than he saw it.

"But you do owe me one for coming over here," Jack decided to joke around in an attempt to raise the outcast's spirits. "Let's see, how about you do all my math homework for the rest of the semester?"

"Go fuck yourself," Cody answered bluntly.

Jack winced. Ouch. But he couldn't help but enlarge his smile. Somehow, he had a feeling that Cody was just playing along.

So now that all the exciting stuff is over, my updating pace slowed down yet again and I produced this piece of...cow poop. I'm unapologetic about the length of this chapter though. You guys got an extra long one to be satisfied with last time, so I give you a chapter 3,500 words long this time, which still isn't that bad. So be grateful.

Seriously, why do you guys put up with me. I will admit I kinda rushed the ending of this thing.

But the Carrie thing isn't completely cleared up just yet. Cody still hasn't fully opened up to Jack (though he has mostly), and the following chapter includes he and Jack visiting Carrie's grave.

Faliara: It is now tied with Parental Care. But I'm just going to with Icy Universe (now called Winter Wonderland) first because my Facebook followers, including myself, really like that one.

Dude: I actually imagine Jack wearing the glasses Justin Timberlake used to wear.

GhostGirl58: Sure they will. I'm not leaving them hanging. It should be coming soon.

Lovepuppy316: Of course I remembered. WHAT PERSON WOULD I BE IF I FORGOT. She's older, actually, though you probably figured that out from the chapter. And no, he's playing Pitch XD

freedominafallenworld: Ah, I'm sorry, but none of that will happen D: I actually did consider that idea a long time ago, but I decided against it.

SeaTheShadows: FanFiction is either crappy or amazing. There's no in-between for some reason.

agirlgeek144: You'll see ;D

PuppetMaster55: ...Okay, so maybe it would've been best to allow multiple choice for my poll. Didn't really think that one through, but I can't really do anything about it now. And...could you be more specific what mysterious popping noise you're talking about? Too much stuff has happened in this story, that I occasionally forget. It's embarrassing since I'm the author, but yeah. ...oh crap, yeah the insurance plan. Um... Jack borrows glasses from somebody.

feathered moon wings: Yes, you can give me a hug. I like hugs. -hugs-

Maddie Seth: ...I can't even make Mac and Cheese. I utterly fail. FUNNYTASTIC. And it's totally fine if you reviewed late. I'm just glad you liked the chapter :D

Review again please! :D