Fandomonium

Goodbye.

Week 22, Day 3:

"Clare, get out of bed, please." A voice enters my dreams and I swat it away. "You leave me no choice." All of the sudden I feel a cold substance splash its way over my face.

"Not cool!" I sit up less than groggily. "Oh, hey Jakob."

"Throw on a sweatshirt and jeans and come with me. I'll sit in the corner."
"Where's Amy?" I ask.

"Get dressed please," His foot is bouncing impatiently and he's constantly checking his watch.

I run into the bathroom and quickly run a brush through my gold tangled hair before pulling it into a low ponytail. I throw on my aqua sweatshirt and black skinny jeans. I barely walk out of the bathroom before Jakob grabs my hand and pulls me out the door.

"Why are we running?" I pant.

"I can't explain it now, save your breath." He continues to run and drags me along with him.

"How much longer?" I groan. My feet feel like they're on fire.

"We just need to run to the bus stop, then wait for the bus, and then sit on the bus. Or a taxi, but it's impossible to get one around here."

"Why do we need to leave campus?" I ask.

Jakob stops. "It's Hunter," He looks into my eyes for a moment and then takes my hands and continues dragging me through the snow. This time, though, I'm running as quickly as I possibly can.

We make it to the snow covered bus stop and the vehicle is just pulling in. "Come on!" Jakob yells through the pulsing wind. We board the bus and sit in the very back.

"Explain." I'm shivering.

Jakob put his head in his hands and I see a few tears fall down his cheeks. "I can't,"

"Jakob, explain."

"Stuff happened yesterday that I can't explain because I don't know. He came back to the dorm last night in tears. I tried to talk to him but he locked himself in the bathroom and stopped responding to my voice. I left him alone for a while and..." He trails off.

"And what?" I urge him to continue.

"And he...and I...Gah! Clare, stop making this so hard for me, Amy can explain at the hospital."

I stand up – which is a bad idea, considering we're on a moving bus – and suppress a scream. "What do you mean by Amy? And what the hell do you mean by hospital?"

"Clare, please don't put this stress on me! Please try to understand how hard this is for me."

"I'm completely out of the loop here, do you understand how hard this is for me? I come home yesterday to find my ex best friend here making out with my boyfriend!"

Jakob pulls me down so I'm sitting next to him. "That's why he was crying! You yelled at him, didn't you?"

"Yeah but...oh shit. I'm an idiot!"

Jakob puts his arm on my shoulder. "You didn't know, you forgot. You're only human, Clare."

I sulk and pout and realize that my whining won't get me anywhere. "Can this bus drive any more slowly?"

"It's trying to keep us safe, we don't need anymore injuries in our friend family." As soon as he says this, we pull up to the red sign signaling the hospital.

"Finally!" I resist bolting off the bus immediately and sit restlessly in my seat. The building is painted light grey with red specks. I'm honestly hoping the red is chipped off paint and not...blood. The bus comes to a stop and Jakob and I run as quickly as we can to the hospital entrance.

There's a lady with shoulder length black hair and tangled bangs. She's filing her long red nails and barely paying attention to us. "Come on, I know where he is." Jakob whispers to me and we crouch under the reception desk and run in the direction of Hunter's room.

Jakob stops in front of a blue door. Everything smells of latex and Windex and all the ex's. "Is this it?" I ask. Jakob nods and gingerly opens the door. There are people crowded around a single bed.

"Clare?" A voice rasps from the bed.

My head snaps around. "Over here, dear." Jakob puts his hand on my back and steers me towards the bed. Nothing I've been through could have ever prepared me for this moment.

"Clare," Hunter touches the back of his hand to my face.

"Hunter," I try to be strong, I try not to cry. His face is paler than it's ever been and there's dried blood on his neck and wrists and God knows where else.

"I'm so sorry,"

"Shh love, please. Don't be sorry, it's not your fault. She didn't mean any – " Hunter starts but I cut him off.

"Please tell me you'll be okay."

"Clare, I'm dying. You and I both know it. It's only a matter of time before everything kicks in and I'll be gone for good."

Now tears are running down my cheeks in floods but I try to hide them. I need to remain strong. I need to remain strong for him. "Why'd you do it? Why do you want to die?"

"Life is short, death is eternal and I'm in it for the long run. I'm here to finish what I started."

"Don't you believe in luck and miracles?" I whisper.

"I met you didn't I?" He tries to smile but I see that it pains him.

I cover his hand with mine. "I love you,"

"I love you more." He's crying now.

"Do you want to die?" I ask him.

"More than anything." He whispers.

I let go of his hand and stand back so other people can say their goodbyes. His parents aren't here but all his friends are. There's me, Jakob, Amy, Phoenix, and mystery boy. Jakob's burying his head in mystery boy's shoulder and Amy and Phoenix are hugging. And here I am, alone, while I watch my boyfriend die. 

I can't stand the suffocating emotions in there. I can't stand the last sharp breaths from Hunter. I can't stand the beat of my own heart anymore.

I glance behind my shoulder and he and I make eye contact for a fleeting second. He nods at me and then closes his eyes. Every limb of his goes limp and I run to the door. 

Nobody even notices me leave. 

(A/N: Uh...whoops?)