The way the rest of the day seemed to drag on was almost painful. I'm worn out and hung over but I can't seem to fall asleep.

I'm curled up on the couch when Thad walks in and pets me on the back, "Are you alright over there?"

I sigh, giving him a weak smile, "I guess so. Just not feeling so hot."

He sits down next to me, "You're already way too attached to this Hunter guy, you know."

I nod, "Yeah, I do." I sit up a little bit, crossing my arms, "I'm working on it."

"What time is he picking you up?"

"I don't know. Should have been a while ago, now." I frown.

"So that's why you're so upset..." he mutters, "Well, if you think he's blowing you off we should totally get you out here for a while. You haven't been outside all day."

Just as I'm about to give up hope on Hunter and our plans for the night, my phone rings. I glance over at Thad, "You mind?"

He shakes his head, "Of course not. Go ahead."

I quickly hit the answer button, "Hello?"

"Hey, Bas, it's Hunter."

"Hey, where are you?"

He hesitates for a moment, "I have a situation that came up. I'm really sorry. You can still come over if you don't believe me, I just kinda don't think you'd want to."

"Why? What's going on?"

"There's this, kid, he's hurt. I'm taking care of him for the night." He explains, his voice sounding troubled.

"Are you with him now?"

"Yeah. He doesn't look like he's doing too good..."

I sigh, biting my lip, "Yeah, I'll be over. Don't worry about picking me up, I'll just walk."

"Don't go alone. Is anyone around?" He asks, worried.

"My roommate's here, but I don't know, can he come over, too?"

"Can he keep a secret and does he have a weak stomach?"

"Yes and no."

"Fine. Be here ASAP."

He doesn't sound thrilled and hangs up the phone without saying goodbye. I turn to Thad, putting my phone back in my pocket, "I don't know what's going on exactly, but he's with someone that's injured. I don't know what happened exactly. Can you come with?"

He raises his eyebrows, "Why?"

I fold my hands nervously, "You're a med student..."

"Yeah, a med student." He replies, "I'll come with you but I'm totally confused."

I nod, "I could be wrong, but I don't this guy's got much of a chance if it's anything serious. I'm assuming there's a reason that he's not in the ER, if you know what I mean. I just, feel better if you come."

"Fine," he mutters, pulling a jacket on, "Let's go."

I lead him down the back roads to Hunter's apartment, knocking frantically on the door. He opens it relatively quickly, a grave expression on his face and blood splattered on his t shirt, "Hey, come in."

I give him a concerned look, "You're not hurt, are you?"

He shakes his head, "No. I'm fine. I don't know about him, though..." He adds, glancing over at the couch.

There's a boy lying there, probably a little bit younger than me. His face is paler than his platinum blond hair and he appears to only be half conscious, holding tightly to his side a blood soaked towel. I look at Hunter, a horrified expression on my face, "Is he...is he gonna make it? What happened to him?"

He bites his lip, "He was shot," he explains solemnly, "I took the bullet out and wrapped him up as best as I could. I...I don't know if he's gonna live or not."

Without as much as introducing himself to anyone, Thad rushes over to the boy on the couch, carefully turning him onto his back, "I need a needle, thread, ice and some rubbing alcohol, now."

Me and Hunter exchange panicked looks and rush to get everything. We quickly gather everything and give it to Thad. He glances over at Hunter, "Is this needle sanitized?"

Hunter nods, "Of course."

"Can't believe you didn't even stitch this up," Thad mutters under his breath, removing the wrapping Hunter had put around the wound, "He could've bled to death..."

"But he's not going to?" I ask hopefully.

"Not sure," Thad replies, not paying much attention to me.

Hunter turns to me, "Does he know what he's doing?"

I nod, "Better than either of us do. He's been in medical school for quite some time now..."

"Okay." Hunter murmurs, he turns to Thad, "We'll be in the other room. Just call if you need us."

Thad nods and Hunter leads me into his bedroom, sitting me down, "Are you alright?"

I sigh, "Yeah. I'm okay. I'm just worried, I guess. Can you please explain to me what the hell is going on around here?"

He nods, putting a hand on my thigh, "It's complicated. Truth be told I don't really know this kid, but he's from a gang around here. Or at least he used to be. He was in pretty rough shape when I found him and he didn't say much that I could really understand. I guess he got into some kind of brawl and was left for dead, I only caught the tail end of it."

"What were you doing in a gang fight?"

He sighs, "I wasn't directly in this one, but I told you what I do. And sometimes you have to do what you have to do. You're going to have to accept that of we're going to be together."

I nod mutely, a lump in my throat. I want to freak out. I want to cry. But now isn't the time for that. That kid's life is on the line, and I have to set my feelings aside for the time being time. I wrap my arms around his neck, kissing him weakly on the lips.

He pulls me close against him, kissing me back, "It'll be alright, babe. Just try to relax, okay?"

"Okay." I whisper, climbing onto his lap and resting my head on his shoulder.

We wait there silently in nervous anticipation. I'm happy to be with him, but there's so much more on our minds at the moment. I have a knot in my stomach, praying to any god who's willing to listen. Thad's brilliant, if there was any chance of him living at all, he'll make it. I cross my fingers, biting down on my tongue.