Handle With Care

(Chester's POV)

I stayed by her side almost every minute of every hour of every day that I possibly could. She had slipped into a coma when she was unable to pull out of it and was placed on life support. Now it's been a whole week since and not much has changed for better or worse at least. Her parents tried to come see her but thankfully the doctors kept them at bay since it was partially their fault this happened. Melody and KayT would rotate shifts with me, because they wanted to make sure that I at least tried to eat and sleep since my entire career was at stake if I didn't take care of myself. Shae and Mike had shown up a few times and brought Jay flowers too, wishing her well each time. I never thought in all my years of life I'd ever have to go through this type of thing and let me tell you, it's not easy at all. I just plead every moment that she'll wake up, that she'll call out my name. I just want to hear her sweet voice again, to see that beautiful devious smile she always had whenever she saw me. "I love you, Jay. I'm still here." I say quietly as I hold onto her hand tight. It's already a quarter passed midnight, officially two more weeks until Christmas. But none of that matter at all to me, all that really mattered was her.

If she didn't wake up, then I wouldn't care about anything anymore, honestly. Jay had made me feel different then anyone ever had before. She wasn't like any girl I had ever met, especially Ashley. I don't normally pray but at this point I had no options left. I asked God or whoever was up there keeping an eye on her that they don't let her die and just let her come back to me. I promised that I would continue to do good and keep my life on the straight and narrow path. I promised that if I could at least just get to spend one more day with her that I would become a better person not just for myself but for everyone who mattered to me. I just couldn't lose her, it wasn't fair. In the end though, her parents get to make the final decision because she is their daughter and all, so honestly I knew it would be the end of the road if they said so. Jay's mom didn't believe she was ever going to come out of it and neither did her father. But I did, I never lost hope.

(Jade's POV)

They say when you die, your entire life flashes before your eyes or that you don't dream when you're asleep for a long time. In my case, that wasn't entirely true. Only certain things came to my mind before I apparently died. The first day meeting KayT and Melody, my first time seeing Chester and talking with him. Our Disneyland date, our kiss at my first Linkin Park show. Only the good memories seemed to get through to my head before everything had just suddenly went white. The scariest part was actually seeing myself die, really. I could see Chester , Shae, Melody, KayT, and even Mike all standing around me, crying obviously. The doctor told them that I hadn't been able to come out of it on my own and that I had fell into a coma, so they put me on life support until things changed or got any better. Chester held my hand the entire time, it absolutely broke my heart seeing him so upset like that.

I didn't really see much when the white had finally faded away. It was mostly just me floating around the Earth to be honest. But the weird thing was, it was like I could see years ahead into the future of things. I stayed beside Chester the entire time, wanting to see what would happen if I wasn't around anymore. He became incredibly successful like I knew he would, Linkin Park was a household name that everyone knew. He was happy and thriving, life seemed perfect for him. But then it all went dark and gloomy at one point, then I couldn't see him anymore. All I could see were his friends, Shae, and people I had never seen before. They were all sad and crying, like if someone had just died. People were gathered together and it looked like a funeral. I kept wondering where Chester was but he never came back. All other faces were a total blur, but it terrified me to think that years later something like this could happen. "If only someone would have been there, if only there could have been some way of knowing that this would happen. Maybe we could have saved him."

It was Chester, he had been on the one who had died. But I didn't get to know how or why, that was all a blur to me too. I could just see people writing letters, holding pictures of him, singing his songs with tears pouring down their faces. This was not what I would expect life to be like, I never would have thought this could happen. I had been crying the whole time as I watched everything unfold in complete horror. So when I had finally had enough, I knew there was no way that I would ever let things go this way, I was determined to get back to reality and make it all right. The first thing I was going to do was hug Chester and tell him that I was always going to be there for him, that things were going to be the alright throughout life, that no matter how intense things seemed to get, I was going to be there to help him through it. Even though he would have no idea what I meant or what I was even talking about, I still wanted him to know that I would always be there. And that I loved him, there was no doubt about it. I loved him with my whole heart and soul.

I went back to the present time, seeing myself still fast asleep in the same hospital bed. Chester was still there too, holding my hand and resting his head against the wall as he just kept looking at me. It was time to go back, I had enough seeing into the future for one lifetime. I was just going to enjoy every moment, every second, every minute of the present life that I had in front of me. I wasn't going to think about anything else expect for the now. I wasn't going to let fear control me anymore, I wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop me from living the happy life that I wanted and that I had deserved. Regardless of whoever I had to get by in life, I wasn't going to let any obstacle stand in my way anymore. I was going to become a completely new person, for the better, for myself.

(Chester's POV)

I must have fallen asleep without realizing it when I had woken up the next morning, seeing the bright sun shining through the small window. Jay was still in the same state, it was as if nothing had changed still. Except I did have a dream where she was trying to wake up, that she was fighting to get back into her own body and come back to us. She was a strong girl, she had a lot of will in her so I knew it must be a sign that things were going to get better. I got up to stretch from my seat, seeing KayT and Melody coming into the room. I gave them each a hug, telling them about the dream that I had. "That's so awesome, Chester. Hopefully she really does get back here soon, I'm so afraid that her parents might try to do something." KayT admitted, looking away at the floor. I put a hand to her shoulder giving it a light squeeze. "Don't worry, Kay. I know for a fact none of us would let that happen." Just as I was about to say something more, Melody's mom had come in the room next. "Chester, there's some girl out in the hallway saying she knows you and Jay and wants to wish her well but I only allow family and immediate friends, so can you please go look?" I nodded without hesitation, heading outside to see who this mystery person was.

Low and behold, it was Ashley. "What the hell are you doing here, Ashley? How did you even know I was here?" I asked with a hint of frustration in my voice, seeing her flinch as I got closer. "I don't want to do anything bad, Chesty. I just had to talk to you please." I sighed deeply before motioning for her to follow me away from Jay's room. "What do you have to tell me, Ash? Because this seriously isn't the place to be doing whatever it is you came here to do. She's not doing good and I need to be there." I had made it clear that Jay was my girlfriend and that I didn't want anything to do with Ashley anymore but obviously she didn't quite get the message clearly. She took her hand and placed it to my cheek. "Chesty, I know your hurting. That's why I came here, like to make sure you're okay and everything. Can't you let me be there for you?" I moved away some as she dropped her hand. "No, Ashley I can't. You broke my heart, absolutely crushed me all because I wasn't giving you what you wanted. You didn't support my dream and you just left me after I had given everything I had to you. How the fuck do you expect me to act now? You seriously think I'm just going to let you come here and let you try to come in between my relationship so you can win me back?"

Instead of words, she completely caught me off guard and kissed me. I instantly pushed her away, shoving her back towards the wall. "What the fuck! What did I just tell you? I don't want anything to do with you, Ashley. Get that through your head!" She stared at me with her eyes wide, tears seeming to form in them. I knew this was all an act she was trying to put together to make me feel sorry for her but it wasn't working. Not this time, not anymore. "Chesty, I made a huge mistake breaking up with you. Like I haven't been the same since you left. That's why I came here to make it up to you, Ches. Like I really, I love you still. Remember when we wanted to have a kid someday Chesty? We still can." Before I could manage to say anything else to her, a flash of Shae's body blurred right by me, suddenly seeing Ashley on the ground. "You fucking stupid bitch, I have had it with you! This is it, now I'm really going to fucking rip you to pieces!" Shae roared angrily as she began pounding her fists into Ashley's face, blood spraying from her nose. I felt compelled to stop it but ultimately didn't because I knew Shae had been waiting since day one for this to happen.

Shae somehow manage to grab Ashley by her fake blonde hair and slammed her face over and over into the ground at least a good five or six times until Mike and a couple of security guards had raced to pull her off of her. "You fucking bitch, this isn't over. He still wants me! Like when I was pregnant in Arizona and he was devastated when I lost it! Go on! Ask Chesty, he's the one that kissed me!" Ashley spat as she stood up, blood still dripping from her nose and her designer clothes torn to complete shreds. Everyone's eyes suddenly darted towards me, especially Shae. "What the fuck is she talking about Chester?! She was pregnant!? You fucking kissed this bitch?!" I narrowed my eyes angrily, throwing my hands up in defense. "What? No way! She fucking came here saying she wanted to talk to me, she kissed me when I told her that I was through with her. Don't fucking believe anything she says!" I could tell from the sneaky look in Ashley's eyes that this was all a part of her plan to ruin everything for me.

"Chester, I'm sorry but you're going to have to make everyone leave. Before the hospital calls the police." Melody's mom came to warn me. I nodded without any hesitation before following Shae and Mike out to the front of the hospital. "If it's any consolation, you did beat the shit out of her." I finally spoke up, seeing a small smile come to Shae's face as we stood outside. "Yeah well, she had it coming to her. I don't believe anything she says anyways. I know you wouldn't do that to Jay." Again I let out a sigh, relieved that no one believed her lies. "She was never pregnant. We never even had sex but once seeing as I wasn't allowed at her house and she never came to mine. She doesn't mean anything to me, I'm truly done with her. But you guys should get going before the cops do show up." I hugged Shae tight before then apologizing to Mike for all of this happening in the first place. "Don't worry about it man, it was bound to happen. Now you just worry about Jay. She needs you." I nodded as we went our separate directions and I made my way back inside up to her room.

I could see KayT and Melody both still there as I walked back in the room. "Sounds like some fight out." They joked as I sat down beside them. I shook my head, sighing deeply. "You have no idea, girls. I'm sure Jay's told you all about my ex but I promise she isn't going to come in between anything. I love Jay." They then proceeded to "Aww!" loudly at the same time, making a smile finally come to my own face. I hugged each of them, saying how grateful I was to have them in my life. "You guys have been nothing but amazing since I've met both of you, Jay is really lucky to have friends like you two." KayT looked away quickly as her cheeks started to turn bright red. "I know it's not easy, seeing as I'm your favorite singer and all, but you guys are my friends too and I'm happy to have you." I teased, now seeing Melody's face change instantly. And cue to the very emotional, loud, sobbing and tears from two teenage girls. "You're so amazing Chester, Jay is seriously lucky to have someone like you." KayT said with a laugh as she wiped away the tears on her face. I grinned wide, suddenly hearing the sounds of a machine beeping insanely loud. It was Jay's heart monitor.

Suddenly I noticed her eyes blink open quick, her gaze shifting from around the room frantically. At that moment we screamed for the nurse to come as she was trying desperately to remove the tubes from her body herself. I felt her grip onto my hand tightly, the tears running down both of our faces. "Hang on baby, just hang on." I knew she was anxious to be able to talk but I didn't want anything to happen until the doctor arrived. "My God, it's a miracle." The doctor's voice came from behind as the nurses gathered around her, starting to unhook some of the machines from her. She was first taken off the breathing machine and the tube was removed from her throat, she gagged and gasped for air. I just held her hand as tight as I could as she tried her hardest to take deep breaths. She sat up some, looking at me. Her eyes were wide but a smile was present on her lips. "I love you, Chester." was the first thing that came out of her mouth. My heart exploded into millions of pieces, hearing her say that was like music to my ears. "I love you too, baby. I've missed you."

(Jade's POV)

The first words I had said were my true feelings. After seeing what I had saw, I knew that I was meant to be with Chester. I loved him and he definitely loved me back. As I was still continuing to be monitored and hooked up to different things, he stayed by my side the entire time. "I thought I lost you, Jay." He said softly as the tears ran down his cheeks. I never wanted to see him cry ever again if it was the last thing on Earth I had to do. "But I'm here now and I'm never going to leave you. You were right, all along. I was scared and I was letting fear control my life. But not anymore, I'm done. I'm completely changing from here on out. I just want to finish school and get my life started. With you." He leaned over and placed a gentle kiss to my lips, the feeling of butterflies starting to build in my stomach. I had definitely missed this, that was for sure. "You don't know how happy that makes me, Jay." I tried my best to smile at him although being asleep for a whole week really takes a lot out of you. I could feel my eyes start to flutter back closed again, but I tried my hardest to fight it.

"Get some more rest babe, you'll be fine. I'll be right here when you get up." I shook my head some, seeing Melody and KayT both standing in the back, tears in their eyes as well. "I love both of you guys too. You're my best friends. Now leave me alone so I can go back to bed." Dead or alive, I still always had my smart ass sense of humor, didn't I? "We love you too, Jay. We'll still be here when you wake up, you jerk." I laughed lightly before being whisked off to sleep once again, only this time with nothing but happiness filling my head. I had my friends and Chester back, I had my life back, so nothing else mattered anymore.