✴ MATT'S POV ✴

The gun fell from Aileen's hands as she stood frozen, blood dripping from her right shoulder. At the door stood no one else, but Dan Dame, her uncle, with a gun in his hand.

I ran to her and held her as she fell down.

"I'm sorry dummy... I promised..." She whispers and the memory of the day we left for camping comes to my mind.

"It's okay, I caught you." I said rubbing her back soothingly. She was shaking. "I caught you..." She nodded.

"Th- Thank you..." She whispered.

"It was nothing, just please promise me you won't do this to me again." I said and she nodded again.

"Parker, no!" I say and tears stream from my eyes.

"I am such a liar..." She whispered again.

"Do something! You shot her for God's sake! Do something!" I shout at her uncle, who seems unfazed by the whole situation. "You are the one that broke the brakes at her parents' car, aren't you? You helped him kill them!" He just shrugged. "You shot her when she wasn't looking, you coward!"

"I tried to warn her, I told her to stay away from you and the other troublemakers, it's not my fault she disobeyed me!" He says. The Mayor is laughing as if it's Christmas.

"Parker, don't you dare, stay awake!"

"I told you, I'm not afraid of dying..." She whispers.

"Don't talk like that dammit! Look at me! I won't let you die, you hear me? You are not dying on me, Parker!" I tell her and I see the others coming in by the same door her uncle shot her from.

"What happened, we couldn't find you and we heard a gunsh--" Eliza starts but freezes in place once she sees what is going on.

"I'm sorry... Please, listen to me..." Aileen whispers again.

"Just promise you won't die on me... Sylvia, call an ambulance!" I yell and Sylvia runs to the Mayor's phone and dials the number.

"I am not that good with promises, am I?" Aileen smiles faintly. She is pale from the blood loss.

"Please..." I tell her. I am still crying, and no, I am not a crybaby. I am watching one of my best friends, the girl I like, die in my arms, so I guess that crying really suits the situation. "Don't, I- I love you dammit..." I whisper.

"Well, if, I get out of here alive, you made it out of the friend-zone..." she says, but her eyes close.

"No, don't you dare die on me! I will see you at the hospital!" I yell at her and then at the others. She is still breathing, but barely. I pick her up and run outside, the faster I make it to the ambulance that's coming, the better. "Hold on Parker, don't leave me..."

The ambulance is at the fence.

"She was shot!" I say and we get in. They put that oxygen mask on her or something and other doctor-ish stuff I don't understand and we leave.

~*~

We were all sitting outside her room at the hospital. It had been two hours and we still had no news. And my favorite hoodie had blood all over, but I didn't care about that.

Dan Dame had been arrested when he tried to hide (he didn't even bother to check if his niece was okay) along with the Mayor, who was no longer the Mayor. Now he was just Sean Phillips, nothing more and definitely a lot less. He will probably be in a cell for the rest of his miserable life.

Not many people knew what had happened, but when something big like that happens, they are bound to find out in a matter of hours. Soon everyone would know the truth about what happened to Ashley and James Parker and the people responsible would be even more hated.

Aileen's state was critical. She had been shot for a long time before we called the ambulance.

"Guys, go home, I will call you if an--"

"Matt, shut the hell up. She is not just your friend, she is ours too and if you think for one bloody second that you care more than we do, I swear I will bloody kill you!" Sylvia hissed. Okay, she is pissed. No more talking.

"I am going to get some coffee. Does anyone else want any?" Eliza asks.

"I think we all need it. I'll come help you carry it." Chase says and they go downstairs to the canteen.

They had taken our stuff from behind the trees back home first, and then they all came.

A nurse went in the room. She stayed in for a couple minutes, then came out with a blank look on her face, the doctor-ish kind of look.

Eliza and Chase came with the coffee.

"What happened, is she okay?" I asked the nurse and she shook her head. Chase, Eliza and I froze, while the mouths of Sylvia and Jace dropped in inhuman speed. "Wh- What do you mean? You were in there for some time, she can't have died! Where were the doctors?" I say panicking and she just shakes her head again.

Then we hear some hysterical laughing from the room. We all go inside and find Aileen on her feet with the drip next to her clutching her stomach.

"It's a zombie!" Jace gulps.

"No." Sylvia tells him.

"No." Eliza adds.

"No." Chase says.

"What the hell Parker?" I ask her as she gasps for air through her cackles.

"You- You should have seen your faces!" she laughs.

"How much did she pay you?" Chase asks the nurse and Eliza elbows him.

"Parker it would be a shame if you survived a bullet and I murdered you." I tell her.

"That's not what you told me when you thought I was dying, dummy." she smirks.

"Shut up. And why would you do that?"

"Remember after that bucket of water on my head, I told you I would get you when you least expected it? Well, guess the girls win the prank-wars." she says.

"Yes, you bloody do. I will kill you."

"Who shot me?" she asks and we all look at each other.

"I don't think--" Chase starts.

"I was bloody shot, I deserve to know who did it! It wasn't one of the bloody guards, for sure. If it was one of the guards you wouldn't act like this. It's someone I know, right?"

"Leens..." Eliza starts.

"Wait, does my uncle know? Did you tell him?" she sounds worried.

"How much exactly do you remember?" I ask her.

"We had seen what the Mayor was hiding and he had taken us to his office. We were all yelling at each other, and then there was a gunshot, but it wasn't from me or the mayor. I didn't see who shot me and I can't remember what he sounded like. It was a man, I remember that." I look at the others.

"Tell her, she deserves to know Matt." Sylvia tells me. Great! How do you tell someone their uncle shot them?

"Tell me what? Who was it?" she asks desperately. "And where's my u-" she stops as realization hits her. "No. He wouldn't. He bloody wouldn't." she tears up. "Just tell me you are freaking lying for God's sake!"

"Aileen--" I start.

"Why ? Why would he do that?"

"Because he never freaking cared." I mutter.

"Don't you dare say that. You hear me? Don't you dare! The Mayor must have made him or something, he would never--"

"Threaten him in what way? He simply walked through the door and shot you! He didn't even feel remorse, he didn't try to get help! He just stood there and explained that he warned you, trying to put the blame on you! He shot you and he didn't even bloody care!"

"Shut up! You are lying!"

"And do you want to know how they caught him? He was looking for a place to hide. He couldn't get himself to come here and see how you were, and that wasn't gilt, because I saw him there and then, it was cowardice."

"Matthew Jeremy Dollace, shut up, dammit!" Sylvia never shouts, so when she does you keep quiet and do as she says. I look at Aileen who is red and storm outside, but in doing so, I don't notice Sylvia who is following me. She grabs me from the hood and slaps me.

"You are such a bloody idiot." she mutters shaking her head. Dammit, I'm dead.

"Oh, really? I hadn't realized that, thanks for the remark!" I tell her sarcastically and she slaps me again.

"I will bloody kill you in your bloody sleep. And there will be a lot of bloody blood."

"Leave me alone." she raises her arm to slap me again and I raise my arms in defense. "No more slaps, please?" she glares at me.

"Why were you so bloody cruel, dammit!"

"I am bloody mad, that's why!"

"At who? At him or at yourself? At bloody who?" she slaps me again. That question took me aback. She is right- again.

"I thought we said no more slaps."

"You said no more slaps. More will follow if you don't stop being such a bloody idiot! Don't change the subject."

"I don't know."

"Was it that hard?"

"Yes." I say and she slaps me again. "Are you on your period or something?" she glares at me.

"I only have one thing to tell you, get your butt back in there and apologize or I will make sure you get food poisoning. Move!"

"How the hell am I supposed to apologize? And I wasn't lying or anything, I was being honest!"

"I don't care. Now go or I will shoot you!"

"I don't think that was appropriate given the situation." I mutter.

"Shut up and move!" she yelled.

"I don't know if you're aware, but we're in a hospital." I reply.

"And I don't know if you're aware, but I don't give a damn. Are you asking to be murdered?"

"Fine, dammit!"

I go back to the room. Eliza glares at me and takes the twins outside.

"Parker..." I start.

"What do you want?" Aileen asks calmly.

"I'm sor--"

"Look, I don't care. And as a matter of fact, you don't have to be. I pushed you to tell me and just told the truth, there is no wrong in that. I guess I was just too emotional at the moment and exploded."

"Aileen Parker, always giving someone the blame wholeheartedly or taking it all on yourself, no inbetween." I chuckle.

"Shut up."

"Make me." I say. Now you all expect she kissed me. Sorry to disappoint, but no. She walked up to me and slapped me across the face.

"I said shut up, dummy." she smirked.

"What is it with you girls slapping me today?" I ask.

"Must be one of the days you are annoying."

"You should mark these days on the calendar."

"Believe me, I do."

"Come here Parker." I say and open up my arms to hug her and she hugs me back. "So what was that thing you said about the friendzone?"

"All in due time, dummy." she says and pecks my cheek, and I swear, I exploded a bit inside.

And that was it, actually. Things are kind of obvious after that. We became a couple around a month later, Eliza and Chase stayed together and... Well, Sylvia and Jace broke up. It wasn't working out for them. Don't worry, it was on good terms and they were still friends like they used to after that.

We all kept running the House. The cops still annoyed the hell out of us, but it was more like a tradition now. Did I mention it? My dad became the mayor; and guess what? He didn't give a damn about the diamonds. He demolished the mines and made sure no one found out about them.

Aileen's old house stayed there like it was. She couldn't move there and live alone and there weren't enough rooms for all of us there, so she just left it lying.

Pretty much, that sums it up. Things were simple again.

All was well.

A/N: Why hello again! Choco here (duh). Another one finished, and hence the Harry Potter reference. Sorry, I couldn't help it. There is an epilogue after that with more of their futures, don't skip it. And sorry there was no kiss (yes Jojo, I am looking at you again).

Anyway, I am just gonna leave this here and go ahead to write the Epilogue. I love you all peeps!

-Choco <3