My eyes slowly flutter open as I'm greeted with those near blinding hospital lights once again. I had almost forgotten where I was until I take a look around and see all of my friends still in the room. I hadn't even realized I'd fallen asleep.

"Huh? ...how long was I asleep? And why did you guys wait for me to wake up?" I ask as my eyes are still a little foggy.

"You were asleep for about an hour," Lloyd says, "and we all agreed we'd stay in here all day for you. Just to keep you company so you won't feel alone, even when you wake up," he explains.

I'm assuming I'd passed out because of this entire day being completely energy draining.

"You guys didn't have to do that..." I look around the room to all of my friends smiling at me.

"It's no big deal. We just want to be here when you need us," Cole says softly as he leans over onto Kai's shoulder.

The room goes silent for a second and then the door creaks open, revealing Lloyd's mother.

"Oh my gosh," she covers her mouth and stares at me.

"Oh, yeah. Forgot to mention I called my mom," Lloyd laughs nervously.

"What happened to you?" She asks as she hovers over me and takes one of my hands in hers.

"I'm fine, don't worry," I try to calm her.

"You're not fine. What happened?" She persists.

"It's really nothing, I'm not hurt too bad," I try again.

"He got stabbed in the lung," Kai blurts out.

"Oh my gosh," she covers her mouth again and you can almost see tears in her eyes. I don't know why she's so concerned about me if we don't even know each other that well.

"It's okay! I'm okay now," I tell her right after shooting an angry glare at Kai. He shrugs with a nervous smile.

"I can't believe this... I'm so sorry," she chokes up. Again, I have no idea why she's so upset about me being hurt.

"Koko," I sigh her name, "you didn't do anything... don't be sorry."

"I know, I just..." she sniffles, breaking her sentence, "I feel so bad that this happened," she looks at my worn out body with horrified eyes as her lip trembles.

"Mom..." Lloyd finally speaks up as he reaches across the hospital bed to place a comforting hand on her arm. And I add my hand to the pile. All three of us have our hands intertwined with each other's and it just feels right. Like this is the family I was always meant to have. Everyone in this room are the people who care enough to be with me at a time like this and I can't be any more thankful.

I let out one more sigh as a smile starts to grow on my face. "Thank you for coming out here, Koko. It means so much," I tear up a bit. How many times am I going to cry today?

"Why wouldn't I be here? You mean so much to Lloyd. You treat him like family. And anyone who's family to him is family to me... you deserve the best," she smiles as she brushes away one of her own tears.

"Well... my mother... she didn't bother to stick around..." my smile fades as I avoid any eye contact.

"Oh no..." she covers her mouth with one hand as her other hand remains intertwined with mine and Lloyd's. "Why, what happened?"

"I've had a bad relationship with my mother for a while... I always had some hope she'd come around... But..." a tear rolls down my cheek, "But I guess she doesn't really value me as much as I always thought she did."

"(Y/N)..." she sighs, "once you get out of here, you can stay with us for as long as you need..."

"Thank you... thank you so much..." I smile weakly. I feel my body become tired once again and I feel as though I might pass out at any moment. But I force myself to stay awake with what little energy I have left. And as I try to force as much of my energy out of my body as I can, I realize Kai, Cole, Nya, Jay, and Zane have all left the room. Probably to give me some space once more.

"You look so pale..." Koko comments with a sincere look on her face. "Have you gotten the chance to eat today?" She asks.

"Yeah.. well, I just had a snack at your house when I woke up," I giggle nervously.

"Then let me go to the cafeteria. Let me get you something!" Koko insists.

"No, I'll probably get something to eat here soon. It'll be fine," I try to convince.

"No, please, let me get you something. You need it," Koko's stubbornness shows once more. I look over to Lloyd. "She's right. You really need to get something to eat."

I sigh and just nod as I look back to Koko. She smiles wide and her eyes light up. "Great, what do you want?"

"It doesn't matter," I dismiss.

"Alright, just don't complain if it's something you don't like," she teases as she heads for the door.

As soon as she leaves, I look to Lloyd. We both give each other the same look. A single look that just says "we'll get through this together."

"Thank you, Lloyd," I whisper softly.

"For what?" His eyes widen.

"For being there with me when it happened... for being here with me now... And for being the one who got me help," I say with a soft smile.

"I guess you could say I'm just paying back and old debt," he winks.

"Oh yeah? To who?" I tease and he laughs as his nose crinkles up in the same way it always does. He's always had an infectious laugh. I chuckle back at him and he looks to me with a look of raw emotion. I've never felt more loved and welcomed by another person in my life. I'm so greatful to have him. I'm lucky just to be in the same room as him, to be honest. I was just the one person who was lucky enough to see him without his mask and now it's evolved into a relationship I couldn't see myself living without.

"I love you so much," I sigh as my heart flutters.

"I love you too."

Lloyd stoops down and plants a small kiss on my nose and I giggle. "I want a real kiss," I pretend to complain.

"What was that?" He teases.

"Please," I finally add on. Lloyd smiles and stoops down again to kiss me once more on the lips.

"Thank you," I smile.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

A while had passed. While Koko was getting me food, my doctor came in to fully explain the severity of my condition, and to be honest, I wasn't paying that much attention. My mind completely spaced out. It's like my brain was numb and incapable of thought at that moment. But it seems as though the minute he left the room, the life was brought back into me. It was just hard for my brain to process, I guess.

Koko soon returned with some food. It was just hospital food, nothing special. But all of my friends entered the room once more to accompany me while I ate, talking to me and making jokes. I'm really glad I have them. Unfortunately, though, the hour grew later as the sun began to set. Only a few people are allowed to stay overnight with someone in a hospital room, so everyone but Lloyd and Koko left. They said their goodbyes and smiled and waved as they left the room. They all make me feel so loved.

Once everyone had left, it was just Koko, Lloyd and I. I almost wished some of my family cared enough to be here, but in a way I'm glad it's just us. I'm sure my siblings and my father would only show up because they felt obligated to and not because they actually care. But I know who my real family is now. I was considering trying to call my dad to see if he'd come, but it honestly seems kind of useless.

When the time reached about eleven or so, a nurse came in to give me my medication and she brought in pillows and blankets for Koko and Lloyd. She also showed them that the small sofa in the corner of the room extended to become a bed fitted for two. The nurse left the room shortly after and Koko made herself comfortable and soon dozed off, but Lloyd still stayed seated by my side.

"You know you can go lie down," I tell him.

"Yeah, I know," Lloyd sighs as he takes my hand in his as he had done before. "I just don't want to leave you alone."

"The sofa is only a few feet away, I'm sure I'll be fine," I chuckle.

"But I won't feel fine..." he stares off, "I wanna make sure you're okay."

"Lloyd... I'm fine, I promise. Nothing will go wrong," I whisper as I grasp his hand a little harder and rub my thumb across the back of his hand.

"I know you'll be fine. I'm just scared is all," Lloyd admits, "you're really all that I have and I don't know what I'd do without you."

"You have your mom. And all of our friends," I comment.

"I know... But I feel like if it weren't for you, I wouldn't have opened myself up to our friends... If that makes sense," he smiles with a light blush on his pale skin.

I don't say anything more. I just smile and bring my hand up to comb my fingers through his hair. He looks at me as we remain our silence for a second longer.

"I'll be okay," I whisper and he smiles at me as he slowly wraps his hand around my wrist.

"Go lay down. I'm sure you're tired," I say, still in a low, quiet voice.

Lloyd does nothing but nod. He lets go of my arm and I drop my hand back down to my side. He leans in and gives me a small kiss on the cheek before letting out a faint "I love you," and going to lay down on the sofa next to his mother. I smile at him as my eye lids grow heavier and I drift off to sleep once more.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Also this book is getting pretty long. I originally didn't plan for this book to have anymore than 25 chapters. But now I'm thinking it might have anywhere from 30 to 35. It depends on how I execute the story from here.

Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter. More is on the way!