So here's the end. I hope you all like it.
Four months passed and mid terms came. Francis took his finals with little enthusiasm thinking about how Jeanne would have been thrilled to be testing because that meant spring break was here and the two of them would be able to spend the week together without the stress of classes and homework.
He left school that Friday with tears in his eyes. It was hardly an unseen occurrence by that point as the whole school had slowly been made aware of the misfortune that had befallen Jeanne. The Frenchman had received countless apologies from students who had heard of the misfortune that had befallen Jeanne. Gilbert and Antonio had almost become used to seeing their friend in some variation of sadness and had taken it upon themselves to stop people from approaching the blond, knowing he would not wish to talk about anything or answer any questions pertaining to Jeanne's state.
Francis dried his eyes and started the car. A short drive that had since become habitual for him. He parked in what had now become his usual parking place and swiftly made his way into the hospital and back to Jeanne's room. He was stopped by a nurse. His mind immediately told him something was wrong. "Jeanne isn't permitted any visitors at the moment."
Francis stopped, staring at her for a moment. "When will she be allowed visitors?"
"I do not know the answer to that at the moment."
"Is she okay?" Francis pressed, needing to be reassured in some way of the girl's state.
The nurse hesitated before guiding him to sit down in one of the chairs. "Earlier today... She started seizing. While this is never good, we were hopeful it meant she may wake up soon. It signified a change in her neurological wave pattern."
Francis could feel tears building behind his eyes and his throat constricting. He felt he may know what was coming next, and he didn't think he wanted to hear it.
"Jeanne has since falling into an unstable state and the doctors are struggling to keep her vitals steady. I can't tell you when you can see her again because I don't know if you will be allowed to see her again," the young woman looked at him sympathetically.
The tears spilled over and dripped down his cheeks and he nodded slowly.
"It would be for the best if you returned sure her parents will notify you when you are allowed to see her once more."
A numb nod and Francis stood up and slowly made his way back out to his car where he sat crying into his hands until the tears stopped and he was left hiccuping.
True to the nurses word, Jeanne's mother did call him.
His heart stopped when he saw the caller ID and the time flash across the screen. He sat up in bed and answered the phone quickly. The call ended before her mother could hear Francis' sobs echo down the phone line at two o'clock in the morning. The phone dropped from his hand and fell to the ground. For the second time that week he was sobbing into his hands until he physically could cry no longer.
Jeanne died on the 30th of March. The doctors said her body was too broken to recover and her brain simply stopped working. She had gone brain dead and no amount of operations and procedures would be able to bring her back.
Francis attended her funeral held the next weekend alongside Antonio and Gilbert who had gone to support their friend. His eyes were red and and each cheek held the dried stains of tear trails that had passed over them not too long ago. Her body had been cremated and the urn of ashes was placed at the front of the room along side pictures of her smiling brightly. Some frames help pictures of her and Francis. He took his seat in the front and swallowed thickly, Gilbert dropped down beside him and Antonio followed suit, taking the empty seat on his other side.
A hand fell on his shoulder and he looked over to see Gilbert watching him with a silent frown. Gilbert didn't know how to comfort his friend. He had never lost anyone who was as close to him as Jeanne was for Francis. He couldn't tell him it would be okay because it really wouldn't be okay for a long while. He settled for offering the other a small smile before turning back to the front and dropping his hand back into his lap and sat quietly through the service.
It was a long time before Francis could smile again and even longer before he could think of Jeanne and not cry. He doubted he would ever be able to look at Arthur and not see him as the person who caused the death of Jeanne. He stopped talking to the Englishman unless forced.
If Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio were inseparable before, there was no words to describe their friendship now. Gilbert and Antonio made a point of being around Francis as much as possible to help him and ensure he did nothing drastic in his despair. Over the remainder of the school year and the following summer bits of Francis from before Jeanne's death began to show once more and the three friends once again began joking around and laughing. Gilbert felt relieved when he saw his friend smiling again.