Last chapter was like the easiest chapter to write ever -w-

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I hugged my knees to my chest and sobbed into them. I had no idea how long I was there, but I didn't care. All I could do was sit in the spot where I'd first gotten my Squip and cry over the fact that I'd just lost him in the same spot. Eventually, the lights in the bathroom turned off, but I still didn't care. I just continued to sob. My head still hurt but not nearly as bad as it had.

My phone rang a few times, but I ignored it. The third time it started ringing, I decided to answer.

"H-hello?" I choked out trying to control my sobs and steady voice.

"Y/n! Where are you? I've called you three times!" It was dad.

"I-I'm still at the school."

"What are you still doing there?" he asked. "And why didn't you answer your phone?"

"I . . . " I didn't know how to answer.

"Nevermind. Y/n, listen . . . " he hesitated. "Your brother's in the hospital."

"What?! What happened?! Is he okay?!" I freaked out and stood up immediately fearing the worst.

"He passed out during that play or something. The doctors said he'll be fine." dad told me. I breathed a sigh of relief. "Y/n, I want you to come home," dad continued.

"N-no, I'm gonna go to the hospital," I said. If my brother was hurt, I was going to be there with him.

"Y/n, I think you should come home first," dad pressed. "You sound upset . . . Like you've been crying. Is everything okay?"

I swallowed back all my pain and suffering and put on the happiest tone I could manage at the moment. "Yeah, everything is fine."

Dad seemed hesitant, but he accepted what I'd said. "Okay, but answer your phone if I call you again."

"I will." I struggled to hold back the tears.

"All right, bye."

"Bye." I hung up the phone and put it in my pocket. I immediately let out the sob that I'd been holding in.

I looked back down at the spot I'd been sitting in for the past . . . I don't even know how long. Tears started streaming down my face again. I wanted to collapse right then and there into a sobbing mess on the floor, but I knew I couldn't. I had to go see Jeremy, and I had to get out of this bathroom. I turned and ran out the door removing myself from that painful environment.

The school was completely empty, and most of the lights were off.

Jeez, what time even is it? I wondered as I pulled out my phone.

Nine thirty-seven. The play started at six. Damn, I was in that bathroom for a long time.

I shuffled to the front of the school, and went outside. I called a car service to come pick me up since it was dark. It's not really safe for a girl to be walking alone at night . . .

I let out a quiet sob as I suddenly had a flashback to Halloween. Squipsquop had insisted on holding my hand to keep me "safe" as he walked me home in the dark. I started crying again as the car I'd called arrived. I got in the back.

"Where you headed, miss?" The driver asked.

"Hospital," I muttered looking at my lap. The guy noticed I was crying.

"Is everything alright? Someone you know get hurt?" He asked sympathetically as he started driving.

"My brother . . . " I mumbled, but I was thinking about Squipsquop.

"I'm sorry to hear that," the driver said. The rest of the ride was silent until the driver informed me that we'd arrived. I thanked him, payed him, and walked out of the car towards the entrance to the hospital.

As I approached the front desk, a man who appeared to be a security guard greeted me.

"Are you here to visit a patient?" He asked kindly.

"Yes, my brother," I responded. "His name is Jeremy Heere."

The man typed something on the computer in front of him and wrote something down on a piece of paper. I had to look away from the computer to keep myself from crying again.

"Okay, he is currently in room 23C in the pediatric emergency wing." He handed me a slip of paper with the room number on it. "The system says he's going to be staying the night just so the doctors can make sure everything's fine before he goes home." He then handed me a sticker that said visitor on it. "We ask that all visitors wear this sticker so that the staff knows your buisness here, and if you head down that hall and take the first left, you should be able to find your brother's room. If not, feel free to ask one of the nurses." He smiled kindly at me.

"Thank you," I said making my way down the hall he directed me to.

It was a pretty long walk, but I eventually found the room Jeremy was supposed to be staying in. I knocked twice on the door before entering. I stepped into the room and saw Jeremy asleep on the bed in the center of the room. I quietly took a seat on one of the chairs beside his bed and just, well, watched him. There wasn't much else to do. He looked pretty much fine.

As I stared at his sleeping form in thought, my mind slowly drifted back to what had happened in the bathroom. I tried as hard as I could not to, but the tears began to fall again. I was able to stay relatively silent though with the exception of a few sniffles because I really didn't want to disturb Jeremy. I put my head in my hands and tried to calm myself down.

After a few minutes, I was able to stop myself from crying, but I still kept my head in my hands. I took deep, steadying breaths to keep myself calm.

"Y-Y/n?" I heard Jeremy croak. I looked up to see him looking over at me with tired eyes.

"Hey." I again shoved all my feelings deep inside of me to keep my voice steady. Jeremy frowned.

"Were you crying?" he asked worried. He was the one in the hospital, and he was worried about me. I had a feeling the real Jeremy was back at least for now.

"Nah, n-not really," I brushed it off. "I was just worried about you, I guess. Dad said you just passed out or something."

I didn't really feel like telling him the truth. At least not right now. Jeremy smiled a bit.

"After everything I did to you, you're crying at my bedside." His smile faded and turned into a look of guilt.

"Well, you're my brother," I reminded him. "I'm always gonna care about you."

The guilty look on his face seemed to get worse after I said that.

"I'm a terrible brother, aren't I?" he asked.

"No, you're not. It wasn't your fault. It was your--" I hesitated and took a deep breath. "Squip."

"That doesn't make it right," Jeremy looked down in shame before looking back to my eyes with tears forming in his. "Y/n, I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."

I sat down on his bed next to him and pulled him into a hug.

"It's okay, Jeremy. I forgive you. I always will," I told him.

"You're too good to me," he chuckled.

"It's because I love you." I smiled at him, but soon my smile faded. "Hey, what happened anyway?"

Jeremy hesitated.

"The Squip . . . " he started. "It wanted me to Squip everyone in the school . . . But Michael brought Mountain Dew Red, and we deactivated him. I passed out after that, I guess."

I nodded silently.

"Hey, you okay?" Jeremy asked me.

"Y-yeah." I nodded. Jeremy didn't buy it.

"No, what's wrong?" Jerepy pressed. I sighed.

"Michael deactivated my Squip, too," I said still burying the pain deep inside of me.

"Well, it was broken anyway, right?" Jeremy asked innocently.

"He wasn't broken," I snapped. "He was just . . . Different . . . "

"I take it you two got along well," Jeremy guessed. I nodded.

"He was just . . . He was like . . . " Tears began to slide down my face again as I struggled to find the right words to say other than that I loved him. "My only friend--my best friend."

"I'm sorry," Jeremy said wrapping his arm around me. I cried into his shoulder.

"Hey, you'll be alright," he said gently. "He was just a computer anyways."

Oh, if only you knew.

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