First I want to thank everyone for the wonderful reviews! You guys keep me writing. Second I want to apologize for the long delay especially after that last cliffhanger; real life came and bit me in the ass. The next chapter will hopefully be out a lot sooner.

I think I'm going to go with the shipname Zackel for NikelxZach I've seen a few use it and it makes me laugh. Though I like Nichary, Zach's real name is Zachariah not Zachary. I wish I would've chose Zachary just to use that one haha.

Anyways, a few shoutouts:

xsilvershadowx: Define drugs? Nothing illegal, I can assure you.

SeptemberLoveStory: Funny when his symptoms started showing up in my writing I asked the same thing. What is wrong with my baby and who do I have to kill to make him better? Thanks now I'm smacking myself going darn I should've did rabies! That would've been awesome.

wolf of infinity: good because though Zach is kinda centered right now Kurt and Blaine will make a comeback of adorable-ness in the next chapter, followed as usual by some angst. Sadly this isn't the last of Loretta. She will return.

soratanaka: I don't know but I have a feeling there will some shock all around.

glistening moon: Zach's fine…as for life threatening well…depends how you look at it.

perchance to wake: I'm really trying for some OC action but Zach's really stubborn. Like dead-set against stubborn, so annoying.

I hate mosquitos: Yay, somebody figured it out. I laughed about Jamie, you think he's a douche now you just wait; he makes Loretta look like a saint.

evil older sister: You are the closest. I give you title as winner in the guessing game!

.Me: No promises : )

scorpionika: Thank you so much. I try to learn with each story I write. I'm glad you –and many others- seem to enjoy it.

LiveLifeWithLove: Nikel can't be straight if Zach's around is the best comment I've ever read. Made my night!

JessicaHereAndNow: I won't try to! The characters kind of write themselves after a while. I have no say!

Alas on with the story! This chapter is a bit short, but explains quite a bit.

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee!

The car ride to the hospital was tense and silent. Nobody spoke and even the radio was kept off. Blaine ended up driving since Nikel was so nervous it looked like he would veer them off the road just by how much he was shaking and Kurt still couldn't drive.

Blaine barely managed to park before Nikel was out of the car and running towards the hospital. Knowing he couldn't grab Kurt's hand in public out of fear of the boy having a panic attack, he just stood close to his boyfriend as they followed their distressed friend into the hospital.

"What do you think happened between him and Loretta?" Kurt asked as they walked.

Blaine shrugged, "Honestly, that girl is so psychotic I can't even imagine. I don't even know what goes through her head most times."

They didn't say anything more. Kurt stiffened when they entered the hospital, he was really sick of being here. Blaine touched his shoulder briefly for reassurance. When they found Nikel in one of the waiting rooms he was talking to Zach's mother. Though she looked distressed, she didn't look shocked. It was like she expected to be there and that was a scary thought.

"Please, Maria, he's my best friend. Let me see him. Hell, at least tell me what's wrong with him?" Nikel begged.

Maria collapsed in a nearby chair, "Nikel please. Zach didn't tell you because he didn't want to worry you."

"A lot of good that did; I'm worried." He snapped throwing up his hands, before freezing, "Wait, what do you mean 'didn't want to tell me?' He knew this would happen-"

She cut him off, "He was aware it could happen. This wasn't his first seizure and it probably won't be his last."

"When was his first seizure?" Nikel questioned, his voice that of steel.

Maria closed her eyes, "A few months ago, he was out of school for a few days. I'm sure you know when I'm talking about."

Kurt bit his lip at the news. Of course, Nikel probably felt terrible, that was right after their fight. Of course, he assumed Zach left because of Nikel not because he was actually sick.

"Maria, what is wrong with my best friend?" He asked his voice strangled.

Kurt and Blaine moved to sit next Zach's mom while Nikel remained standing, his arms crossed, though he looked strangely vulnerable.

She sighed, looking old for her years, which Kurt wanted to put her in her mid-thirties, "Zach has Focal Brainstem Glioma."

"What does that mean?" Blaine was the first to ask.

"He has a Medullary Gliomas Tumor, which is a tumor located in the lower half of his brainstem. To put it simply: Brain cancer."

Nikel sank to the floor, holding his head in his hands, "How-" he tried, but lost his voice for a second, "How long? How long has he known? Tell me what happened!"

"Zach came home from school in the middle of the week claiming he wasn't feeling well. He was stressed and upset so I told he could stay home. He woke me up in the middle of the night crying, because his head hurt really bad then he had a seizure. I took him to the hospital; they did some tests and found the tumor. We debated our options for nearly a month, Zach was so stubborn and I know the doctors were trying to push him to make a decision every minute he went without treatment counted against him. He finally started treatments right after Thanksgiving. We've known about the tumor for two months though." She whispered.

"Two months? That little shit has known for two months and didn't say a word!" Nikel cursed, standing up again. He began to pace. Kurt slipped his hand into Blaine, not caring they were in public; he needed his boyfriend right now.

"Nikel calm down. The good news is patients with Focal Brainstem Glioma has a much better chance of survival verses some of the other brain cancers. Because of where the tumor is located they can't operate, but he's been doing radiation for a month now. He really shouldn't be at school, but when has that stubborn boy ever listened to me," She dropped her voice to mutter, "I'm just his mother after all."

"Please let me see him, Maria." Nikel begged, "Please."

She let out a sigh and stood up, "I can't promise anything, but I can check. I'll be right back."

Nikel took her seat as she walked away, "Cancer." He whispered, his hands shaking.

"He's been tired lately, the odd jittery way he kept twitching his fingers, all the days he was too tired to go to class, the vomiting, his random bursts of anger and odd comments he'd made. The fact he leaves school all the time for 'coffee' or other supplies." Kurt started.

"His sudden forgetfulness," Blaine added, "How did we not see it?" He felt like a terrible friend.

"We didn't know what we were looking for." Nikel replied, looking straight ahead, "When you compile it like that it sounds obvious but some of that is just Zach. He's odd to the core, always has been."

Maria came back, "You can see him, Nikel. He's resting; the seizure took a lot out of him." She seemed to be fighting herself for a minute before adding, "Don't be put off by his appearance, he's hid more than you think from you."

Nodding, he followed Maria's instructions to his room and slowly walked in. It was dark, but the open shades shed some light.

Nikel looked at the machines Zach was hooked up to and shuddered. He, then, shifted his gaze to the boy himself. Seeing Zach's surprisingly bald head make it all the more real and he barely managed to collapse in a chair before he broke down crying.

"My best friend gave me the best advice
He said each day's a gift and not a given right
Leave no stone unturned, leave your fears behind
And try to take the path less traveled by
That first step you take is the longest stride"

"I can't lose you, Zach." He whispered, "I can't survive another loss…especially yours. You're my best friend." He buried his face in the bed, "Loretta told me you wanted to be more."

"Don't cry." Nikel looked up to see Zach looking at him, his eyes showing just how tired he was, "It makes you look like shit."

He coughed out a laugh, sniffling, he reached over and grabbed Zach's hand, "Well that makes two of us."

"If today was your last day
And tomorrow was too late
Could you say goodbye to yesterday?
Would you live each moment like your last?
Leave old pictures in the past
Donate every dime you have?
If today was your last day"

"Screw you, I always look hot." He replied, mustering up a smirk. It quickly dropped with Nikel's next question.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

He let out a stuttered breath, "Which part? That I was sick or that I was…am in love with you. If it's the first part it's because I don't want to believe it. I don't want to be treated different and I don't want your pity.

"And if it's the second part it's because it didn't matter. You're my best friend, Nike." Zach's eyes started to flutter shut, "And I'll always love you. Damn the radiation must be making me loopy. You'd think they'd give me a day off the stuff because I had a seizure but no, still had treatment. Damn doctors."

Nikel bit his lip, same old Zach, "We'll talk about this tomorrow, Zach. You'll rest now, get your strength up and when you're out of here I'll smack you for being such an idiot on two different levels."

"Sure." He mumbled, shutting his eyes.

Nikel sat there, listening to the beeping. He reached out and grabbed Zach's hand, "I'm not gay Zach, but even I can see how easy we'd get on. You might be worth the label. You're my best friend and I'll always love you. I'm just not sure in what way."

"Against the grain should be a way of life
What's worth the prize is always worth the fight
Every second counts 'cause there's no second try
So live like you'll never live it twice
Don't take the free ride in your own life"

He leaned forward and carefully kissed Zach's forehead. He laid his head back down on the bed and closed his eyes, emotionally drained.

"We'll talk tomorrow."

"If today was your last day
Would you make your mark by mending a broken heart?
You know it's never too late to shoot for the stars
Regardless of who you are
So do whatever it takes
'Cause you can't rewind a moment in this life"

Nikel woke up to beeping. Nurses and doctors bursted into the room and ushered him out. When the door closed, Nikel fell to the floor crying. He grabbed at his chest for he never felt such an ache in his heart before.

Let nothin' stand in your way
Cause the hands of time are never on your side"

He felt two pairs of arms around him then and Blaine whispering, "Shh, he'll be fine. He'll be fine. Zach's strong."

He clung to the two boys while Maria stood nearby watching the door. Nikel felt terrible for her, Zach was her whole world. She was seventeen when she had him and they've always been close. Her parents disowned her when she got pregnant and Zach's father was never in the picture so Zach really was all she had.

"How long was I in there?" Nikel whispered, slowly gaining control over himself.

"An hour." Kurt replied, "How did he look?"

"Tired." He frowned, "He was bald." He looked at Maria when he said that.

"His hair started falling out while on Winter break. We had a wig made out of his hair so it's barely noticeable he's wearing a wig. Then he has a fake one to wear at night. He really didn't want you guys to know."

"Did he really think he could hide it?" Kurt asked skeptically.

"No, but that didn't stop him from trying. I think he thought if you guys didn't know then it didn't have to be real."

"But it is real." Nikel muttered.

Maria nodded, watching as the doctors exited her son's room as she spoke, "Yes it is."

Nobody else had been allowed to see Zach while he was in the hospital -much to Kurt's chagrin- and it was Thursday, two days after the incident, before he came back to school. Things became awkward really quickly from that point on.

Of course, the gossip train was reeling as to why he collapsed, but Zach wasn't speaking about it. The only ones who knew the true reason were Nikel, Blaine, Kurt, David, Wes, Sammy and surprisingly Gabriel. He had approached Kurt the day after he collapsed asking him if Zach was alright. Before Kurt could really think he found himself crying telling Gabriel everything that had happened and what they found out. It was an even greater surprise that Gabriel actually showed concern for Zach. Then again, the two had been civil with each other at one point during their high school career.

When Zach returned they could plainly see all the signs they were missing. He was tired, sluggish, his attention was shot to hell –though some might say that was just Zach in general- and he constantly twitching or having muscle spasms. He didn't try to hide when he was throwing up anymore.

They tried to return to a sort of normalcy, but it was hard. They were careful not to mention Zach's fragile condition too often and in return he told them when he leaving for radiation and how he was feeling after. The awkwardness mostly fell between Nikel and Zach. Nikel kept trying to talk to Zach about what Loretta said and what that meant for them while Zach seemed to be pushing Nikel away.

The breaking point came on Friday, as they all sat by the main entrance enjoying each other company before Blaine drove Kurt back to Lima for the weekend; Blaine, of course, staying over.

"So…we meeting up at all this weekend?" Zach asked, while he played a game on his DS.

Nikel frowned, "You should rest, Zach. It's been a stressful week for you."

Zach paused his game and looked up at them, "I'm not saying we should go sky diving, Nike. I was just wondering if we were going to meet for lunch or anything sometime this weekend. Otherwise I'm going to be bored as hell."

"You should rest." Nikel repeated.

The glare Zach fixed Nikel with had both Kurt and Blaine cringing. They stayed quiet knowing they didn't want to be involved in this one.

"You're not my mother, Nike, you're not my boyfriend; you're my best friend. Butt the fuck out. If you're going to lecture me then shut it right now. I don't want to hear it. I don't want to be treated like glass." He stood up and started to pace around.

"You're sick, Zach, you have to understand that." Nikel tried.

"I do, I think I understand it more than you do, it's my body after all. I'd just rather be out living than cooped up in my room all day and night slowly dying."

"You're not dying." Nikel snapped his tone fierce.

"You don't know that and I'd rather enjoy life while I got it than waste it away." He started to walk away, "Don't tell me what to do, Nikel."

Nikel sighed, standing up, "I better go talk to him." The two boys watched him leave to try to calm down the annoyed blonde.

Kurt leaned his head on Blaine's shoulder, "Well that was interesting."

"I don't know what's going on with those two right now but I figure they'll end up either beating the crap out of each other or make out."

"Blaine!" Kurt gasped, sitting up.

He shrugged, "What? Come on, you have to agree with me."

He rolled his eyes, pecking Blaine on the cheek, "Maybe. Come on let's go before they come back and start moping again. Nikel will be mad enough at me when I invite them both to Breadstix with us tomorrow night."

"Oh, Love, you're going to start a war."

Kurt smiled at the pet-name before shrugging, "Zach's right, though. He didn't tell us, because he didn't want us to treat him differently. Now we know I'll make sure he's treated the same. I know how it feels to have people tip toe around you, afraid of setting you off, giving you looks of pity. It doesn't help, sometimes it makes things worse."

Blaine wrapped an arm around Kurt, "I don't pity you, Kurt, I'm saddened for what happened to you but I don't pity you."

"Thanks. Now let's get to my house before Dad starts freaking out."

"Zach, wait up!" Nikel yelled.

He didn't listen though. Zach ran into this room and shut the door, locking it for good measure. He threw himself onto his bed suddenly exhausted. He heard Nikel approached the door, try the handle then proceed to pound on it.

"Zach, open up! We need to talk."

Zach burrowed his head further into his pillow, trying to ignore the yelling. After a few more attempts it finally stopped. He breathed a sigh of relief before he heard the door swing open hitting the wall. Groaning he sat up to see Nikel stroll through his doorway, pocketing his set of keys to all the dorms.

"That's abuse of power, Nikel."

"Yeah well it seems the only way to get you to talk to me."

Zach moved to sit with his back against the wall, "I don't want to talk to you Nikel. Every time I do you try to tell me what to do and I'm sick of it. I already have my mom breathing down my neck and my doctors; I don't need it from my best friend. You're supposed to be the one helping me live it up."

"They care about you Zach. I care about you too." He moved to sit next to him on the bed.

Zach threw his hands up to his ears, "I don't want to hear it!"

"Can we talk about this?" Nikel asked, reaching over to remove Zach's hands from his ears. The boy slumped against him, sighing.

"What if I don't want to talk? What if I want things to go back to the way they were?" His voice was muffled since he was leaning against Nikel's chest.

"They can't. I'm not blind anymore. Look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want to me, Zach."

Zach shot up and glared at Nikel, "You're straight, Nikel. It doesn't fucking matter. I don't know where your delusions are coming from all of a sudden but it doesn't change a damn thing."

"Tell me, Zach."

Zach clenched his jaw and looked straight into Nikel's eye, "I don't want you."

"Bullshit."

Groaning, he stood up and turned to loom over Nikel who was still sitting on the bed, "I don't want your fucking pity, Nikel, don't you get it? You find out I'm sick and then that I have a crush on you. You break up with your GIRLfriend and suddenly want 'try' with you. You're straight; you don't want me, Nikel. You just have some twisted logic that you owe this to me or something. I just don't want to hear it. And another thing-"

Nikel reached up and smacked Zach across the face, "Are you done?"

Zach moved his hand to touch the cheek Nikel slapped before narrowing his eyes into slits, "Did you just slap me? What are you a girl?"

Nikel jumped off the bed and invaded Zach's personal space, "Being sick doesn't give you a free pass to be a bitch."

Zach smirked and leaned back a bit, "Well maybe you like me after all. I mean you always seem to fall for annoying bitches."

"You're so infuriating." He grabbed Zach's face and moved as if to kiss him. Zach pulled back at the last second, drew back his fist and punched his best friend square in the face. Nikel immediately fell to the floor, clutching his face.

"That's how you hit." Zach snapped as he moved over his friend's fallen form and went to lie down in his bed. The punch took all his energy and now all he wanted to do was sleep. He faintly heard Nikel stumble into the bathroom as he relaxed further into his pillows. He was nearly asleep when Nikel opened the bathroom door and flicked off the light. He felt the bed dip as Nikel laid down next to him, much like they always did when he slept over. He smiled faintly enjoying the closest of his best friend and crush for tomorrow would be another day of self-denial.

Well that was interesting…what did everyone think? Don't be afraid to ask questions, I love answering them! If anyone has any ideas, feel free to say them, I can't promise I'll use them, but I only have the next chapter figured out, after that I'm a bit blank…Also any scenes that weren't written that you wanted to see, just ask I probably have them somewhere or can write them up and put them on my website or Facebook.

Just to be a terrible person; a few words involving the next chapter -in no particular order- of what to look forward too: Blood, Breadstix, Beating, Karofsky, setbacks.

Enjoy your day/night/week (evil smile)