I sincerely apologize for the long wait. Sadly the real world is consuming all my free time and this chapter was particularly hard to write and I fear I didn't do it justice. Funerals are a hard topic for me right now but I did my best.

This is an Interlude between Part 1 and 2 of Still you said forever. For reality sake I had to put some distance between the chapters. Chapter 21 will be up a lot sooner though it is nearly heartbreaking for me to write.

I won't be doing individual responses to reviews this chapter but I want to thank everyone who reviewed and continues to read this story after my hiatus with it. I won't leave this story unfinished. That's a promise.

Disclaimer: I don't own glee or the song 'Cancer' by My Chemical Romance

Chapter 20: Interlude I won't forget you my friend.

It was Monday and school was cancelled so people could attend the funeral. They all crammed into the Church; the same one the group buried Nathan at years before. Kurt sat down in the front with Blaine, Zach and Nikel around him. He couldn't believe Gabriel's parents weren't here; that they wouldn't be burying him. He heard Gabriel's father had called Jamie and asked if Gabriel renounced his 'faggy ways.' When Jamie said no he told the school he had no son and hung up so the Atra's were burying him. Next to Nathan, like it should be.

Sammy was still in the hospital. Three days he's been there; he woke up once but then fell into a healing sleep and hasn't woken up since. The boys tried to visit him every day, but right now it wasn't about Sammy; it was about Gabriel.

Though Zach and Nikel never actually got along with Gabriel they knew him pretty well during his time with Nathan. Since no family came to his funeral Damien, Gabriel's RA, stood to give a speech. When he was done Nikel stood up to give a speech for their fallen classmate.

"Hey," Nikel started, looking out at all the classmates that showed up to pay their respects to Gabriel, "So as I'm sure everyone here knows that I'm Nikel and that I never got along with Gabriel. He was a spoiled prick who always got what he wanted and I wanted nothing to do with him. Then he started dating Nathan.

"We were stuck hanging out with the pompous ass all the time." Nikel sighed, "Only he really wasn't so bad. He treated Nathan like he was the center of the universe and actually tried to get along his friends. We just weren't so welcoming. The last few weeks I got to re-know Gabriel thanks to our mutual friend, Kurt. I learned he's one of the most caring people you'll ever meet under his mask of indifference. After Nathan's death he made it his job to watch over Nathan's little brother, Sam. He died protecting Sam and he deserves all the recognition in the world for that alone." Nikel turned to the closed casket and rested a hand on it, "Rest in peace, you annoying bastard, your work here is done and now you can rest with your love in heaven. Feel free to try and save some of us a seat."

He turned back to the crowd, "Now I ask the Warblers to come up and sing a song we prepared. I honestly had no idea what song to sing today so we finally agreed on the song Gabriel sang to Nathan on their one year anniversary. It was one of his favorite songs."

Zach remained sitting in the pew while the boys all stood in formation and began to hum. Blaine stepped forward to sing.

"I'm not a perfect person
There's many things I wish I didn't do
But I continue learning
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you"

He faded back into the group and Nikel stepped forward. Though not part of the Warblers he chose to join them with the song in place of Zach.

"I'm sorry that I hurt you
It's something I must live with every day
And all the pain I put you through
I wish that I could take it all away
And be the one who catches all your tears
That's why I need you to hear

"I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you"

Soon he faded into the back as well and Kurt along with Blaine stepped forward to finish off the song.

"I'm not a perfect person
I never meant to do those things to you
And so I have to say before I go
That I just want you to know

"I've found a reason for me
To change who I used to be
A reason to start over new
and the reason is you

"I've found a reason to show
A side of me you didn't know
A reason for all that I do
And the reason is you"

They all made their way back to their seats as soon as the song was finished so the preacher could finish the ceremony. Then they made their way out to the cemetery where they buried Gabriel next to Nathan. One by one the classmates of Gabriel Johnston left.

"Why did he sing that particular song to Nathan on their one year?" Kurt asked staring at the pile of dirt.

Nikel snorted, "They got into a fight earlier that day, something stupid. He was so sure Nathan was going to leave him."

"Oh," was all Kurt said.

It was time for them to go, most of the students already left only a few other remained. He couldn't help but notice he didn't see Jamie at any time during the funeral. He quickly shook off the thought and allowed Blaine to lead him back to their vehicles so they could go back to Dalton.

Blaine and Kurt arrived back at Dalton first and made their way back up to Kurt's dorm.

"We should've pulled over when Nikel did to make sure everything was okay." Kurt muttered, as he grabbed some new clothes to change into.

"He would've called if it was something important." Blaine replied just as Kurt shut the door to the bathroom to change. Blaine removed his shoes, socks, jacket, and shirt; just leaving on his white T-shirt and black pants. He was done by the time Kurt came back into the room.

"Still, what if something bad happen and he didn't have time to call?" He barely got those words out before the dorm room door flew open and Zach came sprinting in and into the bathroom slamming the door behind him. Nikel came running into the room right after.

Shutting the door behind him, he sighed, "Sorry, Zach had me pull over. He got sick on the side of the road." He raised his voice so Zach would be sure to hear, "He's probably sick from his little adventure in the rain."

Zach opened the bathroom door and gave Nikel a glare. Well, Kurt assumed it was a glare it was hard to tell with how pale he was and how tired his eyes looked. He had bags under them and he moved like it physically pained him. He had looked tired earlier before they left for the funeral but nothing like this.

"That was 3 days ago; I'm just tired." He mumbled, moving passed the boys to lay face down on his bed.

"We were going to go get food, but if you want to take a nap first we can wait." Blaine said, hesitantly.

Zach lifted his hand in a go on motion before letting his drop heavily next to him. Nikel moved to his side and kissed the side of his head, "I'll bring you back something light."

They headed down to the cafeteria where they knew a lot of the other students were going to be. The staff was putting on a special meal for after the funeral. They made their way over to their usual table and sat down after picking up some food.

"Where's the crazy one?" Wes asked as soon as they were sitting.

"He's getting some rest. It's not a good day for him." Nikel replied, shifting the food on his plate around.

"Nikel's convinced the little jaunt in the rain made Zach sick." Blaine said, between bites of food.

"Oh come on, Nikel, he would've gotten sick already if it was that. I'm sure it's just a bad day. It's not uncommon for those to happen with chemo/radiation patients." David tried to soothe the part of Nikel that felt guilty for letting Zach stay out there for so long that day. He wouldn't have been able to stop him anyway. If Zach wants to do something he's going to do it and nobody's going to be able to tell him otherwise.

"Yeah maybe." His voice didn't hold that much conviction in it.

"We were thinking about visiting Sammy after dinner. Any of you want to come along?" Blaine asked trying to shift the topic.

"I will." David replied as the rest gave negatives stating their excuses.

"I'll text you right before we leave." Blaine told him.

The rest of the meal passed in relative silence. Nobody had much to say after the funeral and the thoughts of Sammy still in the hospital.

Nikel grabbed a container of soup and with Blaine and Kurt headed back up to the dorms to give it to Zach.

They barely made it out of the cafeteria when they ran right into Jamie. They started to move around him already decided to ignore him when he spoke.

"It's your fault he's dead." Nikel stopped and turned slowly to look at Jamie.

"Excuse me?"

"It's your fault. If you had kept a closer eye on Dalton's resident mental patient this wouldn't have happened. Can't believe he lost his life saving the likes of one of you people. It disgusts me."

Nikel handed the soup off to Blaine and marched threateningly right up to Jamie, "Listen here you little piece of shit. You are a spoiled pompous little fuck who wouldn't understand friendship and loyalty if it came up and introduced itself. You're nothing, you're worth nothing. One day Mommy and Daddy won't be around to protect you and you'll be nothing but a beggar on the streets. The fact I share some of the same gene's as you makes me sick. Stay away from us or I will make your life a living hell. I'll just give Drew a call and tell him exactly why he's not allowed home. Oh that's right Jamie I know all about what you did."

Jamie just smirked, "You won't say anything. I bet my dear Aunt and Uncle have no idea their son broke up with his high-society girlfriend to date the son of a whore. I'm sure they'd be just thrilled.

"My parents love Zach."

"Maybe as your friend. He's certainly not someone they can bring to the country club and introduce as their son's boyfriend. Such a scandal." Jamie taunted before he slowly backed away with that smirk on his face, "Don't threaten me, Nikel, you're out of your league."

With that he turned and walked away. Nikel clenched his hands into fists and growled. His cousin was an awful human being.

"Did I miss something?" Kurt spoke up, confused, "I thought Loretta lived with an alcoholic aunt."

Nikel sighed and turned around. They began to walk again, "She does. Her parents were part of the high-society class if you will before they died. The fact she lives with that aunt is unfortunate circumstances. Once she turns eighteen she inherits all her parents' money and her dad's company which is being run by the board right now. My dad thought we were a 'good match' though my mother never liked her."

"And the part about Zach…"

"Maria's a good person. She's a single mom and in the beginning she did what she had to provide for her son. Don't say anything to Zach, okay?"

"Never."

They made it back to their dorm without further incident. They entered to see Zach completely out cold on his bed. Nikel went and put the soup on the nightstand. It could be re-heated easy enough. He put his hand on Zach's forehead and withdrew it with a frown.

"He feels a little warm."

"Well he is wrapped in like burrito." Blaine pointed out, "I'll text Nick to stop in every half hour or so and check on him. His room's right next door I'm sure he won't mind."

"Yeah, just let me leave a note for Zach to let him know where we went and we'll go. You should text David to meet us at the entrance. I'll drive."

By the time Nikel wrote the note and they made their way downstairs David was already waiting for them. They quickly piled into Nikel's car and made a quiet journey to the hospital. Once there they walked down the now familiar hallways to Sammy's room.

They walked in to find a nurse there checking his vitals. She gave them a sad smile when she saw them, "Back again boys? Sorry to say no changes though we're optimistic he'll be waking up any day now."

They thanked her as she left and sat around crowding the bed.

"So we had Gabriel's funeral today." Nikel started, telling Sammy about the going-ons. They were told he could probably hear them so they spoke to him often.

"It was quite beautiful even though his family didn't show up." Kurt continued, "A lot of the school showed up and they buried him next to Nathan. I'm sure Gabriel would be happy about that."

"The warblers got up to sing and I'm sure Gabriel would've thought that was way over the top." Blaine finished with a small laugh.

There was a small pause before Nikel huffed out, "You gotta wake up man. We need you to wake up."

Kurt held Blaine's hand in a death grip while Nikel pleaded with Sammy. It was a hard day and the pressure of it finally hit. Tears were streaming down Kurt's face as he turned his head to bury it in Blaine's shoulder.

Another half hour passed before they finally decided to head out. Kurt gained composure of himself as they exited the hospital. They got into the car and headed back.

"Do you think Zach's awake yet?" David asked, sitting in the front next to Nikel.

"I hope so. If he sleeps all evening then he'll be up all night and that's not good for him either."

Blaine smirked, "I didn't realize you were his babysitter as well as his boyfriend."

Nikel glanced in the rearview and scowled at him, "Like you're one talk."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah."

Kurt snickered, grabbing Blaine's hand to keep him calm. He really didn't want them to argue the whole way home. Blaine smiled at him instead and leaned over to kiss him soundly.

"Ugh, please don't make out in my backseat." Nikel groaned.

Blaine pulled away for a minute, "Maybe you should keep your eyes on the road instead of what's going on back here."

"I can't help it. All I can think about is how much money I'll have to spend to decontaminate my car."

"Funny." Blaine replied before Kurt drew his attention back to him.

David reached over and turned the radio up louder intent on ignoring what was going on behind him. He had to admit though he was glad to see Kurt so comfortable around them. It was a far cry from the boy who arrived at Dalton all those months ago.

They returned to the school and headed back up to their dorms. David left them to head to his own room while the other three headed back to Kurt's.

"Do you hear a guitar?" Blaine asked as they neared the dorm.

Nikel frowned, "Zach's playing something. Well at least we know he's awake. He should be resting though not using all his energy to play a song."

Kurt rolled his eyes at Nikel as they quietly opened the door and stood there listening to the sad, sad song.

Zach sat on his bed, guitar in hand having it lean heavily on him like he couldn't be bothered to hold it properly. His voice drifted over the room as he continued to sing already into the song as they entered.

"I will not kiss you
Cause the hardest part of this
is leaving you

"Now turn away
Cause I'm awful just to see
Cause all my hair's abandoned all my body"

He ran a hand over his bald head before continuing on.

"Oh, my agony
Know that I will never marry
Baby, I'm just soggy from the chemo
But counting down the days to go

"It just ain't living
and I just hope you know
that if you say
Goodbye today
I'd ask you to be true

"'Cause the hardest part of this
is leaving you
'Cause the hardest part of this
is leaving you"

He sighed, letting the guitar to fall to the side of the bed out of energy to put the instrument away properly. Nikel glared at Zach when he was sure he was done playing, "You're not dying, Zach. You're getting stronger every day."

"I don't feel particularly strong today." He replied, quietly.

"You're not leaving me." He continued, walking further into the room and grabbing the guitar to put it in its rightful spot.

"No you'll leave me." He said quietly, tired, "You have plans after high school."

"I'll postpone them until we know you're better and in the clear."

"Your father won't like that. You've always talked about joining the marines. Doing something useful. Didn't even bitch about how you'd have to cut your hair. I won't let you change all your plans for me."

"Not change. Postpone." He repeated, "Why are you talking about this now?"

"We graduate in less than 3 months. Need to talk about it." He slurred, fighting to keep his tired eyes open.

"Not today we don't. How long have you been awake?"

"Woke up right after you left. Thanks for the soup. I'm sleepy again."

Nikel snorted softly, "Go back to sleep, Zach. We'll talk once you're feeling better."

He yawned letting his eyes fall close, "How's Sammy?"

"Still unconscious."

Zach fell asleep. Sighing Nikel eased himself down to sit next to the boy and run his hand over Zach's bald head.

"When did everything get so fucked up?" Nikel whispered, looking down at his best friend and now boyfriend.

Kurt and Blaine settled on the Kurt's bed, curling up next to each other.

"I don't know. I don't remember anyone saying anything like this when they warned you about high school." Blaine muttered, holding Kurt close.

"Well anything after high school will seem like sunshine and rainbows." Kurt let out a little laugh.

"That was a very Zach-like statement there Kurt." Blaine teased, poking him in the side.

"Well he is my roommate. He still talks in his sleep sometimes. I think he said something like that a few weeks ago. Not my fault he wakes me up."

Nikel snorted, "Sounds like Zach alright."

They talked awhile longer before they all drifted off to sleep. Hoping tomorrow would be a better day.

"Please tell me there's no school today." Zach moaned, snuggling further into Nikel's side, "Lie to me if you have to."

"Sorry, Zach."

Zach groaned getting up, "This sucks…I call first shower!" He yelled jumping up and running to the bathroom.

"Oh great, Zach's back to normal." Kurt groaned from the other side of the room.

Nikel sat up, "He still looks tired, but yeah. A little more like his annoying spunky self again." He then glanced at the clock, "Zach you asshole its 5 am!"

Kurt grunted and rolled over to lay his head on Blaine's chest, who somehow managed to stay asleep during all the yelling.

"Wake me up at a normal time, please." He mumbled falling back asleep.

Nikel stood up and stumbled his way to the bathroom. He opened the door and took a seat on the ledge of the sink while Zach was in the shower, hidden behind the shower curtain.

"What 'cha want pervert?" Zach asked, his voice slightly raised over the sound of the water.

"Pervert? Whatever. How are you feeling today?"

"Please don't mother me, Nike."

"Well you woke up at 5 am and it's not a Wednesday."

"Fine. I'm tired but not completely exhausted. I just needed to sleep was all. Happy?"

"Nope but I'll take what I can get."

"How was Sammy?"

"You asked that last night." Nikel pointed out. He knew the tumor sometimes messed with Zach's memory and made sure to point it out so Zach knew. He wanted him to try and remember. It was a good activity for his mind.

"Oh. Let me think." Zach was quiet for a minute, "still unconscious right?"

"Yep." Nikel replied, pleased. He was getting better at recalling information.

"Nikel." Zach said imploringly, "We do need to talk about the future. I refuse to hold you back. That was my fear since the beginning."

"Don't. I don't want to talk about it today."

"Soon?"

"Soon." He agreed reluctantly.

The water turned off, "Get out of the bathroom now pervert. I don't want you to see me naked. I look pretty disgusting right now."

"You look fine, but I'll leave to save the innocent ears of Kurt and Blaine who will probably wake up soon."

Zach barked out a laugh as Nikel left the bathroom.

Today was the first day back at school after the death of Gabriel. It was going to be a rough day.

So that concludes chapter 20. It was sort of a filler but there were a few key points that needed to be said. With a heavy heart I start chapter 21. After chapter 21 is the epilogue which I will tell you now is a funeral. Two more people die in this fic. Be ready.

If you hate Jamie how you'll be out for his blood next chapter.

Look for updates on my facebook page. I'll post them as I write.