See, like I said, a fast update. Go me! This story is really winding down, and this is probably the most important chapter. I'm actually a little afraid to post it, and I don't think I've felt this nervous about a piece of my writing in a long time. Despite what I've been told, I really don't think I'm an emotional writer, and this chapter is supposed to be very emotional, so I really hope I accomplished what I tried to do… Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own The World Ends with You.

The Tech was sitting a foot away from 777, but he had never felt so distanced from him before. He wanted to reach out and hold the singer's hand, but he felt that the action would have been more for attaining normalcy than comfort, so he resisted. Instead, he looked at him, he looked him with an intensity that he previously lacked. An intensity that could have possibly saved them both from the anguish they had experienced.

777 looked cold. His hands were balled up and clutching the ends of his sleeves. His sweatshirt seemed to swallow him, but it didn't appear to be giving him any warmth. With his hoodie on, the Tech could not tell if he had gained any weight; his face was thin, but that was not much of an indicator.

He assumed that his lover had gained at least a few pounds back. After all, they wouldn't have released him if he was still not eating. However, he was not sure if 777 had fully recovered mentally; his doctor had requested that he resume his therapy on an out-patient basis. They both agreed to her terms, not really thinking about them. They both had just wanted to leave.

They were half-way home, and the Tech was not anticipating what would happen when they reached their destination. What would happen when it was just 777 and himself at their apartment? Would the awkward tension melt away without the presence of BJ? Or would they reach a silent impasse without Tenho's gentle forwardness?

He sighed, causing the singer to look him slightly. Their eyes locked for a split second, and the Tech couldn't recognize the look in them. It resembled concern, and that was good enough for him. He quickly averted his gaze, hoping that it would cease the nervous flutter in his heart.

"So, 777, did they let you write any new songs?" Tenho asked, keeping his voice light and casual. The Tech wished he could acquire the courage to do so.

"They would've let me, but I didn't." The Tech watched him as he responded. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, but he knew he needed to find something. But whatever it was, it was eluding him.

"No new ideas?" The man questioned, continuing his attempt at repairing the bridge between them.

"It's not that," 777 said, shrugging, "I just don't know if I want to keep doing this." The Tech's eyes widened, unable to prepare himself for 777's muttered, "I think I might need a change."

The silence that filled the car was deafening, but the Tech couldn't drown it out. Tenho didn't continue the conversation; the singer had succeeded in stunning him into speechlessness. Maybe that had been his plan.

He's lying, the Tech thought, blindly reaching for a rationalization. He has to be lying. But his lover wasn't looking at him, so he couldn't gauge the truth in his eyes.

"So you're giving up?" BJ asked in a clipped tone, breaking the silence.

"What?" 777 questioned, voice becoming increasingly tense.

"Life kicked your ass, and now you're gonna give up?" He reiterated, shaking his head.

"It didn't help that my best friend kicked me back down when I was trying to stand back up!" 777 snapped, looking a little more like himself.

"That's never stopped you before," BJ pointed out. The Tech could tell he was trying to remain cool, but he was failing. "What the hell did that place do to you?"

"It showed that you're not even worth fighting against." The singer's voice oozed contempt. "I'm not gonna bother anymore."

The Tech didn't have enough time to react. Suddenly, the car was pulled over to the side of the road, and he was lurching forward because of how forcefully BJ applied the brake. He exchanged a quick look of confusion with Tenho before turning his attention back to the man sitting in front of him. He couldn't even look at 777.

"Get out," the bassist muttered, sounding furious. "Get out of my damn car."

He watched as his lover quickly exited the vehicle. The man didn't go far, settling for stomping around in the grassy area a few feet from the car. He didn't move far from the road though. The Tech mentally debated going after, but shortly realized that he shouldn't even have to think about it. He climbed out and cautiously approached 777.

Their eyes met again, but neither looked away. The Tech was still looking for some sort of sign in the singer's eyes, and 777… he wasn't even sure of what 777 was looking for. He only hoped that he was having an easier time finding it.

"Say something." The Tech stared curiously at him, but said nothing. "You haven't said anything to me this whole time. Say something."

He sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets. "What do you want me to say?"

"Anything. Just stop acting like a zombie."

"You weren't saying anything to me either," the Tech pointed out, knowing that his argument was juvenile.

"You could've tried. Tenho did."

"Yeah, and then you tell him that you 'need a change.' Can you blame me for not knowing what to say?"

"With the band," the musician reaffirmed. "Not with you."

"All right. Then show me," the Tech demanded, feeling seeping into his voice. He just wasn't sure what that feeling was.

"How?"

"Tell me what you talked about in therapy."

"Here?" 777 asked incredulously.

"Yes, here." He needed to know if the singer trusted him enough. If he didn't… then what would be the point in them continuing their relationship?

"Can't we talk about it at home?" 777 suggested.

"I want to know now."

"We're in the middle of nowhere, Futoshi!" He shouted in frustration. "I want to go home."

"And I want to know why you stopped eating!" He shouted back, watching as 777 flinched. "And why you couldn't talk to me about it! You can tell me anything, 777, you should know that."

"Maybe I didn't want you to know," he growled, eyes sparking with anger.

The Tech briefly wondered what the people who were driving past were thinking. No one had stopped to watch the spectacle, so maybe they had their own personal drama to deal with. Maybe it was some twisted rite of passage among the drivers, some type of initiation they had no business in watching. Whatever the reason, he wished he could be in their shoes. He wished he could be doing anything else rather than asking his lover, "Is the secret worth killing yourself over?"

He watched while 777 struggled to find a response, and sighed when he settled on feebly saying, "I wasn't trying to kill myself."

"You stopped eating. That isn't normal, 777."

"I know that! I was… just stressed out, okay?"

"By what?" The Tech asked, silently urging him to continue. He was hoping that they were making progress, despite how sporadic their conversation seemed.

"Just stuff. I don't know."

"Not good enough." It was hard for him to regain his patience. The Tech knew that he was going to have to find it somehow. "Stress from me? The band? The fans? What, 777? Was it one of those?"

"N-not really you," the singer spluttered. "Kinda the band, yeah. And the fans. Bu, um…" The Tech observed that 777 appeared to be shrinking before him. He hated seeing his singer experiencing hesitancy. "My dad called me a few months back."

The Tech positive that he looked visibly confused. How could his dad be influencing his behavior? He thought back to his relationship with his own father—the man had died a few years ago—and great it had been. But he knew nothing about 777's past, so he blamed his naïveté on that.

"I haven't… I haven't talked to him since I moved out," he continued. "That was six years ago."

His mind jumped to many possible conclusions, many of which he did not want to contemplate. He settled on requesting, "Tell me about him, 777."

The singer gave a humorless laugh. It sounded like it had been ripped out of him. "He was a bastard. I moved out as soon as I was eighteen." He paused, shifting his heated gaze to the ground. "BJ had his own place. I moved in with him."

Maybe that's why they're best friends, the Tech couldn't help but think. "What about your mom?" The question was slightly off topic, but he wanted to know.

"Left when I was ten. Haven't seen her since."

They lapsed back into silence. The Tech had come from a good family, and he had no idea how to react to this. Should he continue to pry? He shook his head, knowing that he had to keep prying. There was no other option now. "What did he do to you, 777?" His voice reflected his concern, but it also implied that he would not tolerate any lies. This situation called for complete honesty, and he prayed that 777 knew that.

"Not much, at first. He kinda… he kinda just ignored me. He liked to drink though. He drank a lot. And… I don't know remember what I did, but I did something bad, I guess, and he… he just punched me in the face. I was fifteen."

In the past two months, the Tech had suffered through many moments where it felt like time had stopped. But, in that moment, he had never been so sure that time had, in fact, halted. In that moment, every on-looker or friend vanished, and his eyes could only see the man before him. The man—his lover—who was more broken than the Tech had originally believed. 777 had always seemed strong and infallible to him, but the Tech could feel his heart breaking. He mourned the fact that he couldn't will his legs to step closer to him. He hated himself for not knowing how to respond.

Instead, 777 kept talking, "So, he called me like six months ago, maybe more. I don't even know how the hell he got my number. Said he was losing his house and that he needed money."

The Tech watched futilely as 777 began trembling. He resisted flinching when he met his lover's eyes. Rage was swirling within the stormy gray of them, and suddenly his extreme anger made sense. "He can't… he can't suddenly call me up and order me around! I don't answer to him anymore! He can't find me and pretend that none of it happened!" He paused and harshly breathed for a moment before sneering, "'You're still just as worthless.' That's what he said when I told him that I wouldn't give him any money. Like, I'm the screw up! Like, I'm the one who has nothing! He shouldn't be judging me! It shouldn't matter that he's judging me!"

The Tech gave the singer a moment to try to compose himself. He sighed, knowing that what he was going to say might push him off the edge. But now, he felt like he had enough strength to pull him back. "But it still does, doesn't it?"

He watched helplessly as the tension seeped out of the ailing singer, and the only thing he was left with was an open wound of pain and sadness. "It still does," he quietly admitted, lowering his eyes once more.

The Tech stood in silence as he watched 777's pallid face and quivering body. And then he shorted and the distance between them. He thought about hugging him, or kissing him, but he didn't. He instead grabbed his lover's clammy, shaking hand. The touch jolted him, and it almost felt like their souls were mingling together. Now that he was closer, he could see the tears welling in the singer's eyes. But the Tech knew how stubborn the man was, and that he wouldn't let them fall. The younger man could only hope that him shouldering some of his burden would give the singer some solace.

Still holding his hand, the Tech pulled 777 back into the car, and BJ wordless started driving. The Tech looked down at their hands, then back up at his lover's cloudy eyes. Even though he still felt a little hollow inside, he mustered a smile. The smile stayed on his face the remainder of the trip, and he could only hope that, sometime soon, 777 could return it.

This chapter, like chapter three, made me sad. Even the ending sort of is, but it's supposed to be a tad hopeful… And this is not the end, there will probably be one or two chapters after, not sure which though. Something about this chapter seems off to me though, but I can't figure out what it is. So… please review, because your thoughts/criticism/compliments would really be appreciated. I'll try and update soon!