"Hello," I Lied.

Nate

Jack's leaving- today! The doctors told me to calm down, but I have to see him before he's gone, I don't..well, now that I know how fragile memory is, I don't want him to forget about me. Rushing down the halls, I spot him in the front waiting area, asleep in a wheel chair, dressed in his regular clothes, unlike me- damn these hospital gowns.

Inches from his face, I have an urge to kiss him awake, but resist and clap my hands. He wakes up with a start, a loud yelp coming from his mouth, making me smile. Sitting in his lap, we joke around until I decide to ask him if he'll visit me. He agrees, and I tell him what else I want. I have an obsession with pennies- don't ask.

A nurse walks in, interrupting a weirdly positioned hug, to announce that Jack's ride is here. I pout, but Jack doesn't seem to notice because just then a woman walks in. Her teeth are bleached white, dark- almost blue- hair framing a beautiful tan face. Don't get me wrong, she's old and ewwie, but I can appreciate someone who takes care of themselves, even if they look fake.

Jack grips my arm, growling at the woman. "Jack, what's wrong?" I ask, as the same time the woman runs up, squealing, wrapping her arms around both of us in an awkward hug. Her gigantic boobs crush me, making me squeak.

"Hello hun, you must be Nate. Chuck has told me soo much about you, and I know he didn't welcome you at first, but I just want to say, you're welcome any time. He also said that there's something wrong with your head, so if you start like, going into a seizure, is there someone we can call? Because I don't wanna deal with that, honestly, I wouldn't know what to do- Oh Jack, you're so handsome, I haven't seen you in so long! You're awfully pale, though, we need to fix that. And get some meat on thos-"

"MOM! Stop." He growls again. Surprised, I look at them, noticing the resemblance.

"She's your mom?" I'm grateful he didn't inherit the nonstop chatter gene she seems to have going on. He nods stiffly, pulling me into a tighter hold. "I..I guess..you have to go.."

His mom jumps up, smiling widely. "Yep, come on, Jack, let's go. Say goodbye to Nate, you can see him soon, alright?" She tries to push the wheelchair as I stand up, causing me to lose my balance and fall over top Jack again.

"Whoops, sorry about that, I'm just so excited!" She exclaims, letting me get up again. I give him a soft kiss on his lips before his mom wheels him out of there faster than I can say 'See you soon, Jack', and with a remorseful glance back at me, he's gone.

What do I do now? "NATE!" Oh shit. I kind of slipped past dad and the doctors to see Jack, no wonder they were looking for me. Ducking under a table, I spot shoes walking into the room. A sigh escapes someone's lip before the tiny end table is lifted above me, magazines slipping off.

"Nate, you're not five. Get up." I whine as my dad takes my hand, helping me up. "No more pain?" He asks, pointing towards my head.

"Nope. Does that mean I get to go home soon?" He chuckles at my eagerness.

"Soon, Nate."

"Hey, how come Kyle hasn't come to visit me since last time? You visit everyday." I ask, feeling unloved.

"He's got a life, too, Nate. Plus..well, there's a surprise for when you come home." He smiles mischievously, a twinkle in his eyes.

I gasp. "What? Tell me, you evil man!" He shakes his head, signaling that I have to wait. Pouting the whole way back to my room, I plop down on the bed when a nurse tells dad that I have a phone call, but the caller won't identify himself and 'can he check this out'?

Curious, I lean back into bed, thinking about Jack. He's so amazing. I guess it's a good thing I don't really remember much about what he said I walked in on. Jamie. Ew. That kind of upsets me, but I can get over it easily enough. It's easy to tell that he doesn't like him that way.

A knock at the door has me looking up to see my friend Ryan. Oh god, Jack told me what happened with that, too. This might be awkward. He runs forward, grabbing me in a hug.

"Oh my god, I didn't..I didn't know until last night. I'm so sorry I didn't come visit you earlier. Are you okay?" He leans his face in, awfully close to mine, closing his eyes. I shudder, leaning back.

"I'm..I'm fine, Ryan. I don't really remember much from before the crash...and that means whatever may have happened between 'us'. I just don't want our friendship to be ruined..Is that okay?" He looks like he's about to cry.

"But..but why?" He whines in a loud voice. I really don't want to explain why. I don't want to hurt his feelings.

Suddenly my dad rushes into the room, his face pale. "Dad, what's wrong?" I ask him, alarmed. He starts to cry, which doesn't happen often. "Dad?" I ask, now terrified.

"They..oh, god, Nate, they've found us."