Did anyone cry yet? If you have then you might again. If not then you might cry this time. I used a soundtrack from the movie The Impossible. GREAT AND VERY SAD MOVIE. The music fits. You'll see why. Anyways I dedicate this chapter to snickerbear12 because her story comes in this chapter. In fact its quite a hit in the world of Jake and Danny.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                                                          Jake

I just needed space.

That was what I kept telling myself and everyone around me. I used my homework as a distraction. In fact all the studying I was doing was improving my grades. Although something in school I got these hollow moments in which I didn’t hear what the teacher was saying to me.

That was pretty much the feeling I was getting a lot lately. There was no sign of Danny as he must have been hurt too badly. I had heard Marcus and Jimmy talking about how Danny hadn’t been to school for a week. When I glared at them from the other side of the table they shut up and walked away.

At lunch all I did was pick at my food, study, and stare off into space.

My friends kept bothering me and trying to cheer me up that I stopped going to lunch with them. I ate my lunch in an empty classroom watching the dust moats and listening to the chatter of fellow classmates in the hallways. 

I stopped eating most of my lunches anymore after that and not even the days that flew by mattered much to me anymore. I think I felt really bad about what I said or rather screamed at Danny. So I went with shutting myself down and pushing even my friends away. Because anything that would come out of my mouth would only end up being hurtful. 

It was better this way anyway.

So most of the time I was in school I kept strictly to myself. The teachers didn’t say anything because what could they say? That my grades had improved and that they were worried?

At home I ate only because I knew what my grandma would do. She was doing her best not to say anything. I just needed my space. She knew that. Jenny would know that is she was still here.

Maybe in the second week was when the breakdowns would happen. They started silent so no one would ever know. I would hide in the school bathroom stall to wait it out. Or when I was home with Grandma, the bathroom. Sometimes a little wail or two would creep out but they didn’t drag out too loud. They didn’t draw any attention.

So I would lay on bathroom floor to shake all by myself.

How rotten I felt for talking to Danny like that. He should just never forgive me. I wouldn’t deserve it.

I rocked back and forth hugging my knee’s on the bed in my Grandma’s room. Ice always present lately sat by my feet watching me with his blue eye’s. I was thankful animals couldn’t talk.

“No, no, he’s fine,” I heard my Grandma saying to someone on the phone.

It was a while before she was able to speak again.

“I think he’s laying down for a nap right now. He’s ahead in school and everything. No you don’t have to fly back out here right now. Stay at work I’ll keep you updated.”

So unfortunately I was worrying my poor Grandmother and my sister. What a terrible person I turned out to be. I rocked myself harder wishing, hoping, praying for some blackness to swallow me up now.

                                            Heather

“This is getting on my nerves!” I paced before Charles and Lillian.

Lillian was just about to open her mouth and say something.

“Ah! No! I already heard!” I shut her down not meaning to sound so irritated but pregnancy sucked sometimes! This morning sickness was one of the biggest problems I had to deal with. But then of course there were all these other problems that my body started changing. It was seriously driving me nuts. “And our two homo friends thought they had problems! Its not like either of them have to go through this.”

Charles looked guilty but it wasn’t like he shouldn’t be taking the blame when it was kind of my fault too. I forgot his pre-cum could-

“Hey we need to try talking to Danny,” I said stopping my own mental babble. “I mean he’s had plenty of time now don’t you think? Two weeks should have been enough.”

Lillian didn’t look so sure about that but Charles nodded his head in agreement. He had been doing that a lot lately. It also made my heart squeeze a little at how supportive he’d been this whole time with me. It even strengthened our relationship. 

“I don’t want to put the kid through anymore than he’s been through already but this crap has got to end. It‘s driving me crazy!”

Charles opened his mouth to say something witty most likely but I shut him down too.

“Don’t even start with those Prego jokes! I’ve had enough of those.”

He put his head down in defeat.

I sighed.

“What are we going to do?” I finally sat down on my bed while Lillian and Charles sat on the floor. “This whole doing nothing thing isn’t my thing.”

“He’s my best friend too,” Charles spoke up being serious this time, “I miss having him around. Jimmy says he can hear Jake crying all by himself in the bathroom sometimes.”

“Gosh I feel so terrible for all of this happening. It’s all that Josh kids fault,” I said having to blame someone to feel productive.

“I don’t really think so,” Lillian said rubbing her temples, “He was bound to snap sooner or later. Best if it were sooner because later would have been much worse.”

I stood up to pace again with the both watching me rather nervously.

“Well its already pretty bad,” I said.

“You really shouldn’t be stressing yourself out in your condition,” Charles was trying to be understanding. “There’s not much you should be doing about this.”

“That’s the thing Charles I cant stop stressing out knowing our best friend is crying all by himself in a school bathroom. Let alone Danny is dang miserable that his grades are going down now. I cant sit her idle when two really good people are so miserable.”

“Well she’s right.”

I could tell that I won Lillian over to my side.

Charles hung his head in defeat.

“So what are we supposed to do? Talk to Danny you say? Who should be the one to do it?”

Lillian and I were both looking at Charles.

When he looked up he was looking at both like a ping pong match and once again gave another defeated sigh.

                                             Danny

My grades went down only one letter grade at first. I just didn’t have it in my study or care too much about went on around me. My mom didn’t call my dad for which I was grateful. Daniel dropped in once in a while but I knew he spending a lot more time at the hospital with his dad. He talked his dad into getting some treatment. Mostly they went in for some guidance consoling.

I watched T.V. more than I ever did but only an hour or two of it a day.

It honestly felt like I was missing a limb not having Jake around. I was still giving him his space and I noticed how he even pushed his friends to the side. It was Jimmy and Marcus that came over to my house. They did their best to cheer me up. Sometimes it worked. So my mom started to cook up her best meals whenever they came over.

But still, my heart ached for Jake.

I was in school like normal passing up some guys that were reading something off a website. One of them was carrying a hard cover novel called “I am Veronica”  A Novel by SnickerBear12

“The chick Veronica is hot,” one of them said as I was passing them by.

“She really needs to hang around a brotha,” another said.

“Yeah bro white boy aint got nothing on you.”

“Something about aggressive females turn me on bro!”

I didn’t listen to any more of what was said.

The school day went by like it always did and I had to drag myself out of my seat to get home. I didn’t bother looking for Jake anymore because there just wasn’t any point. On the bright side, Josh wasn’t ever seen again.

“Danny hey!”

I stopped looking to see who it was and Daniel was jogging up to me looking a little winded.

He was trying to put everything behind us so I tired to give him the benefit of the doubt and try to at least look pleased that he was talking to me.

“You mind if I tag along? Your mom said she was making tacos and I love me some tacos.”

“Sure,” was the only thing I could say.

We got in my car and the ride was silent. Daniel wasn’t the type to push anything. Ever since we first met we always just ‘got’ each other. So we were in the driveway in front of my house.

“You know I’ve been thinking,” I said out loud to Daniel after taking my seat belt off, “Maybe I should try talking to Jake again now.”

The words were out of my mouth before I knew it. Daniel was looking at me surprised but not too surprised. I guess a little more of Jake had rubbed off on me than I thought. Even thinking his name and about what I just said had my stomach feeling really bad.

Daniel did something he never did. He hugged me. At first I didn’t even know how to respond. Secondly, I was wanted to cry but didn’t. Lastly I tried to hug him back it was awkward in the car.

“Do it,” he told me.

“Daniel I feel… I don’t know. I feel really sick,” and I honestly felt like throwing up.

“Doing it sooner than later would be better,” he told me ending the hug, “you want me to drive.”

I must have had a horrified expression on my face when I looked at him. Daniel’s face softened and didn’t say anything else. He was letting me think things through. The problem was too many things were being thought of at the moment.

He waited on me which must have been a while. When I looked at the clock I noticed we were sitting silently in the car for half an hour.

“Jake should be home by now,” and I turned the car back on, “I can handle this Daniel. I think I know what I need to do so go on inside and eat some tacos. I’ll see you later ok?”

Daniel nodded but didn’t move yet.

“You sure Danny?”

I nodded hard and silently. 

I can do this.

Daniel got out of the car and I waited a few seconds before I drove over. The house Jake was living in with Grandmother looked the same. Ice wasn’t barking in the window like he normally did though.

I took a big breath, shut off the car, stepped out, walked across the lawn then up to the door to knock. There wasn’t an answer right away but it was his grandma that opened the door. She looked like she could be doing worse. She had a ghost of a smile on her face with a cordless phone in her hand.

“Hold on just a moment Jenny,” she said into the phone and clutched it to her chest.

I think she looked happy to see me but she obviously suffered so it was hard to tell.

“I know he’s here and I’m done waiting,” I said adamantly sounding a lot stronger than I felt, “So if I may come in? I really need to talk to him.”

She stepped to the side and I didn’t look at her face as I passed her. My feet seemed to know where to take me. His grandmothers room.

Jake was sitting on the bed with his knees right under his chin. He looked a lot paler from when I last saw him. I froze at the same time he froze when he looked at me. If he wasn’t already pale he went a lot paler. It was like he couldn’t believe I was here.

More time passed and I had absolutely no idea what to say to him. My body shivered at the same time his did. It was like a psychical pull that made us react at the same time whenever we stood in the same room. It made me feel more aware of things around me and scared at the same time.

Jake’s mouth was trembling though and I closed in the distance between us so quickly it was like my feet never touched the ground. 

“Look I gave your space,” I said maybe harsher than I meant, “You and I have to talk.”

Jake was staring at me like I wasn’t really there.

“Jake, say something.” I put a little authority into my voice that my dad used to do to me back when I was a kid. Those times in which I got hurt playing outside and all I could do was cry. It wasn’t like my dad was being mean to me. He just wanted me to tell him what happened so he could help me. He taught me how to talk about my problems and how to take action on fixing them. This was what I was doing now.

Jake didn’t say anything though. Instead he shook his head side to side trying to rid himself of whatever it was going through his head. He started to shake and cry. Then he had to cover his mouth quickly as he gagged. He ran for the bathroom before I could do anything.

I stood in front of the bathroom door listening to him throw up, just wanting to help him. I waited when I heard him finish but he wouldn’t come out. I waited longer and he still wouldn’t come out. I knew he was scared.

“Jake please come out so we can talk face to face.”

Nothing.

“Jake?”

Silence.

“Jake I wont leave this spot. I mean it. On my father‘s name I will hold onto my word.”

Still no reply.

And so I held onto my word.

It was hours now and slowly I was feeling more and more like myself. It was like being away from him for too long slowly made me loose myself. I sat with my back to the bathroom door and I somehow knew he was mirroring the same on the other side. 

Sometimes I heard a little sob and I would bang on the door just a little bit to ask if he was ok in there. Of course Jake wouldn’t say anything but the sobbing would sometimes get more frequent. What can I say? Healing hurts. If that was what I was doing by staying right here for him, healing him, I would continue to do so.

Jake’s grandma would walk by the hallway to check on me but didn’t say anything. I could see now that she was still heartbroken but still happy to see me holding onto my word.

She even called my mom to let her know where I was. She conveyed the message to me that my mom was supporting me.

Then it was nighttime and Jake’s grandmother brought me a pillow and blanket. I slept on the floor by the bathroom door. She even fed me a little something. A salad of course. My mom must have told her so. I tried to demand Jake to open the door to eat something but he wouldn’t. Not even his grandmother could convince him.

I woke up in the morning feeling slightly stiff and quickly used the master bathroom in his Grandmother’s room because she told me to. When I came back I heard water running in the bathroom where Jake was.

I knocked.

“Jake are you still there?”

Jake sniffed as his only reply letting me know he was fine and that he wasn’t trying anything stupid.

“I’m still here and not leaving yet. Even though I really need a shower,” I said.

I think I heard Jake sniff again. More like it sounded like a snort. Something told me I was doing the right thing. I continued to talk to him.

“You know Daniel convinced his dad for some guidance consoling at the hospital right? Most likely you didn’t but now you do. Anyways he’s been talking to me a bit more lately. He’s even had my back a few times when the teacher called on me and I didn’t know the answer to the question. Can you believe that? Me? Not know the answer to a question?”

That was definitely a snort in the bathroom.

“Oh and Heather still doesn’t have a name for her daughter yet. You should hear Charles coming up with insane rules like how she can’t date until she’s thirty. So yeah they still bicker. And oh yeah that’s right! There’s this new book that everyone in school is talking about called I Am Veronica. The guys are drooling over Veronica and the girls are panting for Chris.”

And so it went that like that for most of the day. Just me talking about random things to keep us occupied. Jake was silent through it all. But I still knew he was listening to me. His Grandma even started to smile more when she peeked down the hallway at us. I heard her talking to Jenny who was surprisingly sober giving her updates.

“When can I meet your sister again? Even though she kind of weirds me out sometimes. Did I miss her again or something? She was talking about her two friends Derek and Omar right? Did I get those names right?”

“Yes.”

His reply shocked me. He was finally talking to me! My heartbeat skipped faster at the sound of his voice. I really missed his voice. I went on like it was no big deal in hopes that I could hear his voice again.

The sun was starting to set as I continued to sit with my back to the bathroom door. I think I was talking about something random to do with school work when the bathroom door opened. I almost tumbled backward.

Jake was standing in the doorway looking down on me with an unreadable expression on his face. That was all he did for a moment was stare at me. His hair was standing up on the side of his head which he must have slept on. My heartbeat skipped faster and I couldn’t continue my pointless ramble about physics.

We didn’t say anything to each other.

I noticed bath towels on the floor which he must have used to sleep with and a bathmat as a pillow. So he really was sitting by the bathroom door listening to my every word.

“You really need to do something with that hair,” was the first thing I said to him.

“And you really need a bath,” was his reply.

I jumped up grabbing Jake into my arms.   

Present Day…                                 Jake

Danny was waiting for me with my Grandmother in the kitchen. Of course he brought breakfast. My Grandmother was already sipping coffee that had the Dunkin Doughnut’s logo on it. Yes Danny knew my heart. I took the small bag he handed me without a word and joined them at the table.

No one had to say anything. The way the sun came through the back door down on them both like angels. Nothing could ruin this little moment. They looked golden even with the dust moats floating around. 

I ate both my Boston Cream doughnuts because Danny knew those were my favorite. 

Danny had pulled me into his arms to hold me when I was done. My grandmother remained at the table unbothered by our affection. I just let Danny’s warmth soak into my skin. He held him while he multitasked with the news paper and his phone sending Daniel a text message. I didn’t see the message because I wasn’t that nosey. All I cared about was how good Danny smelled today. Did I mention how much I loved Armani?

“Do you remember the time on your birthday when I surprised you by wearing your football uniform?” I asked him

Danny grinned wide enough to shove two Boston cream donuts in.

And if anyone could put two and two together, they would know the meaning behind that. My Grandmother did as she hid behind a novel with the title “I Am Veronica” boldly on the front. Sometimes my Grandma read. Lately she was reading modern books and not those trashy looking romance novels. When she read this book I would hear her laugh at something.

Everybody was reading this book these days. Maybe someday I would read it for myself to get what the fuss was all about. Veronica was not only a hot chick but a popular one at that. Lillian has been trying to get me to read stories on some site called Wattpad and I meant to get around to it. Ah well someday soon I hope but first there were things to be dealt with first.

We all heard a car pull up front which my Grandmother got up to answer.

“They’re here,” she informed us.

I was done eating the donuts Danny didn’t want suddenly. Danny watched in