Dan's body trembles on the floor, the life draining out of it by the second. With too much effort, he tilts his head toward me, blood trickling down from his mouth. He opens his mouth to say something, but I hush him. "Shhhh... Don't talk, okay?"

   But he ignores me and begins to talk anyway. "I...I love you, (Y/N)... S-so much..." Each word looks so hard for him to get out. "P-please just know that...in case..." He doesn't finish. He's interrupted by his own coughing. Blood falls out of his mouth and covers his shirt, making it more red than before.

   "In case nothing, Danny," I say, tears falling from my eyes and onto him. "You're gonna survive this, trust me. And I love you too. More than life itself."

   Dan smiles weakly, and his breathing starts to become more and more shallow. Tears of his own fall down his face. He lets his eyes close, his beautiful lips parted slightly.

   No. He can't be dying.

   "No. Danny, come on. Stay with me," I tell him, shaking him slightly. That probably can't feel good on his wound. So I switch to tapping him repeatedly. He doesn't respond to this. The only sound I can hear is Dan's breathing getting slower and slower. "Stay with me. STAY WITH ME, DANNY!" Sobs shake my body as I collapse onto my dying boyfriend.

That's when I realize: I don't care if I get killed. I need to call an ambulance for Dan.

And, right as I'm about to reach for my phone, I feel Emmett scoop me up from under my armpits to take me to God knows where. I immediately start fighting him and screaming. "LET ME GO! LET ME GO! I NEED TO HELP DANNY! STOP IT!" However, my attempts of wriggling out of Satan's grip are no use, and nobody can hear me scream.

"Shut up and stay still!" Emmett hisses. "Don't make me beat your ass twice as hard!"

   I don't stop fighting, even though it's pointless to continue trying. "STOP! STOP!" I scream, bawling my eyes out.

   Emmett responds by putting his gun to my head. "Keep making this difficult and you'll join your boyfriend."

   That's when I submit to him, letting my body fall limp as he carries me. The feeling of the gun's barrel against my head is unnerving as all hell.

   Emmett eventually gets us through the front door and outside. He freezes once he sees who's also outside.

   Three police cars and an ambulance. All parked in my driveway, officers and paramedics clambering out of their vehicles left and right. I exhale with relief. I've been saved! But how..? I didn't call the police, so who did?

   The paramedics rush past us and go inside for Dan, a stretcher in their hands. God, I hope they can save him.

   The police officers all whip out their guns simultaneously. One says, "Release the girl. You're under arrest."

   Emmett hesitates for a minute, then lets me go. I have to remind myself how to stand due to all the relief I'm feeling.

   The same police officer that talked puts handcuffs on Emmett and forces him into the back of the cruiser, giving him the whole "you have the right to remain silent" speech.

   I shut my eyes, relieved tears slipping out of them. I crumble to the ground, my body shaking.

   I then feel a hand on my shoulder.

   I look behind me, and Arin is squatting down beside me, a soft smile on his face. Tears are falling down his face, too. Probably because Dan is currently in critical condition. "We got Emmett," Arin croaks. "He's right where he belongs now. With all of the other scumbags of California."

Hopefully he'll stay there this time.

   I smile weakly back. And that's when it hits me. "Arin...did you call the police..?"

   Arin nods, a hint of pride in his glassy eyes. "Yeah. I heard a voice when I emerged from the bathroom, and I noticed that you and Dan didn't sound too pleased to see this person. I was about to go into the room to see who it was, but then I saw him pull a gun out. I knew it was Emmett. I just knew it. That's when I called the police. I told them the tale about your parents he recited to you, I told them how he shot my best friend..." His voice wavers as we wipes some fresh tears from his eyes. "I did this all as they were coming over here to save you guys."

   Holy crap. I pretty much tackle Arin in a hug, smiling at how he saved me and, hopefully, Dan. "Oh, God, Arin... Thank you so much... I owe you my life!"

Arin hugs me back tightly. "Don't mention it. You owe me nothing, okay?"

"No, I've gotta be able to repay you somehow!" I smile, pulling apart.

"You don't need to repay me! I swear!" Arin says, smiling a little.

That's when the paramedics come back out of my house, Dan's lifeless body on the stretcher they brought in. They bring him to the ambulance as I look at Arin, silently asking permission to leave so I can request to ride with Dan to the hospital.

Arin nods with a soft smile, knowing the meaning of my stare.

I get up from the pavement of my driveway and rush up to the ambulance that the paramedics are now loading my boyfriend into. "Excuse me?" I ask to get their attention.

They look down at me. "How can we help you?" one says.

"Um...he's my boyfriend," I say, gesturing to Dan, more tears slipping out of my eyes as I see him in this state. "Can...can I ride with him to the hospital, please?"

   The paramedics nod. "Of course, ma'am," the same one that talked a few seconds ago tells me.

   I smile as thanks and clamber into the ambulance, sitting as close to Dan as the paramedics will allow me to. One of the them gets behind the wheel, and a bunch of others surround Dan, making an effort to stabilize him until we get to the hospital. The one driving turns on the siren and pulls away from my house. I still see Arin sitting outside, and his image gets smaller and smaller as we get farther and farther away from my home.

   I look to Dan. He was always pale, but what he was is nothing compared to now. He looks like a ghost. I still see his chest rising and falling, and that reassures me some.

   Let's just hope he'll keep breathing for many years to come.