"Ha ha, Uncle Jake, you're so silly!" Jade yelled with a smile on her face.

"That I am!" Jake laughed too. The entire family was in the car, driving back to the Egbert home. They had just picked Jake, their British cousin, up from the airport. He would be visiting for a week.

"Jake, what are we going to do with you?" Dad asked, chuckling slightly.

"I don't know Charles, but let's just chivvy along, shall we?" Everyone laughed again.

They came to a red light and shared more jokes, John managing to tell the best ones. Jade told some that she heard from Dave, whom she was in a happy relationship with even though it was a LONG distance type thing. As soon as the light turned green, Dad started going, but as they reached the middle of the intersection their car was suddenly sent flying to the right.

A drunk driver had raced through the red light and hit them, the main part of their vehicle striking the top left half of the Egbert's. Dad was killed on impact. Jade was killed when the car turned and struck the drunkard's. Jake was killed when the car hit a pole. John wasn't killed at all. He was horribly injured, but he was alive. He had lived. His family had left him behind.

"AHHHHHHHH!" A scream cut the silence in my bedroom as I awoke from my nightmare. It happened every night, but I had never gotten used to it. I didn't think such a thing is possible. I screamed for another minute, still believing that it was real. That I was back in that car. That I was telling jokes with my dad, uncle, and twin sister. A week after the crash, I woke up in the ICU. Dave had driven all the way from Texas to go to the funerals. I saw him once. He was the one to tell me they were all dead. They hadn't made it, but I did. I hadn't seen him since.

I couldn't go back to sleep after that, so I got up and took a hot shower. I looked myself over in the mirror as I put on my clothes. I was like a skeleton. I hadn't noticed that before. I could see all the bones in my body. I pulled out the old scale and stepped on it. 82. I weighed 82 pounds. Before the incident I was a healthy 130. Two years and 48 pounds. With as little as I've eaten, I thought I should have been dead already.

The doorbell rang around ten, and I went to answer it. I opened the door to see Dave towering over me. He was TALL. I was about 5'11", but he had to be at least 6'4". He was still just as lanky as I remembered. He had his ears gauged, and he had double lip piercings, one on each side of his face. His hair was so blond that it was almost white. His shirt was blood red. Skinny jeans, red converse, he looked like a punk, but it suited him.

"John." He sounded almost sad. Other than his mouth being slightly open, I couldn't read his expression. His eyes where hidden behind aviators.

"You're wearing the glasses I gave you." I was honestly surprised. I gave him those glasses for his thirteenth birthday. They still looked brand new.

"Yeah. What did you do?" His mouth formed a tight line across his face. I was guessing that he was upset or mad. "You said you had been eating."

I moved to let him inside then closed the door behind him. "I have been. Not a lot though." He sat his bags in the floor then suddenly turned and picked me up. "Dave, what are you doing?!" He sat me back down.

"You're so light. Shit, Man. How much do you even weigh?" I thought back to the scale.

"82."

"John. Oh my God." No turning back now.

"I bought some stuff yesterday. I don't know what you like to eat, but I got a lot of apple juice. Feel free to take whatever you like." I wanted to avoid the conversation I knew was coming. "Get your stuff, and I'll show you where the spare bedroom is."

He just stopped talking, let all emotion fall from his face, and picked up his belongings. I walked upstairs with him close behind. I opened the door to let him in. "Make yourself at home. The bathroom is down the hall on your right. If you need anything just tell me. You know, that kind of stuff." I went downstairs and sat on the couch.

"Hey, Dave! What do you want for lunch?" I yelled and he appeared at the top of the stairs.

"Umm, I don't know, John. A sandwich and some AJ?"

I shrugged "Sounds fine to me." We ate in silence. Dave ate two whole sandwiches, while I barely finished half of one. I didn't know how long I could hold out. I could feel his stare through the dark lenses. I had always wondered why he kept those on. I had never seen him without them. That whole section of his face was an unknown wonder.

"John, why don't you eat?" I looked up at him

"What do you mean? I'm eating right now."

"I know, but you can't even finish that sandwich. You haven't been eating, so your stomach shrank." It felt like a weight was in my stomach. It was two thirds food, one third guilt.

"I don't know, Dave. I haven't had the will to do anything in the last two years."

He didn't say anything for a minute, but he took a deep breath "I miss her."

"I know you do. I miss all of them."

"I loved her."

"I know you did. I loved all of them."

"I'm sorry."

"Are you really?"

That hit Dave hard. He stiffened and quickly put a hand over his mouth. What happened next was totally unexpected though. He ripped off his shades and glared at me with a mixture of anger and sadness.

"D-Dave. You're eyes..." His irises were a shade I had never even heard of for humans. Bright, burning red eyes were staring at me. Staring through me.

"Dammit, John! I am sorry! I should have kept talking to you. You were my friend, and now you're all I have left of Jade, and I'm so sorry."

"Dave…" I messed up, but this needed to happen. We needed to understand each other. We needed to know what happened to each other during those two years. We needed it.

A.N. A full-length chapter! I feel like this is kind of crappy, but oh well.