Dude What the Fuck

DUDE, WHAT THE FUCK CHAPTER TEN

"Why won't they give us any God damn answers! They all just rush past here and don't even give a shit about us waiting here on the outside!"

"Chad Raymond Tucker! You calm down this instant! I am not having us thrown out of here like a pack of dogs by the hospital security! Now you listen to me..."

Mrs Tucker took hold of her distraught son's hand and pulled him aside as yet another patient laying on a stretcher was brought past them in straight into the Casualty ward, quickly making space for the workers to come through as fast as they could, before the doors were once more closed, and yet again, they were nowhere near to even knowing what was happening with Jeremy.

Mrs Tucker once more closed her eyes and begged from the Guy Upstairs for some much-needed wisdom and strength in order to calm her son down, which she knew was downright impossible, since Jeremy Greenwood was the love of her son's life. She knew it...he didn't even have to come out and admit it...she had never, ever seen Chad so incredibly concerned for any other human being in her life, her sixteen-year-old son was going ballistic at her side and for a good reason.

According to Chad, both himself and Jeremy had fallen asleep in Jeremy's bedroom and the following morning, Jeremy simply did not wake up. When he checked for a pulse, it was there, but very faint, and the poor teenager was as cold as ice. Together, mother and son worked together to get an ambulance to the Greenwood home, and they brought the unconscious boy straight here, only they haven't heard anything or from anyone since. No news was good news, some said. But did it have to take so long?

"Chad...you need to stay calm, okay? Technically, me and you, we shouldn't even be here. We are not blood family of Jeremy! Please...I'm sure the doctors and nurses are doing everything they possibly can to figure out why he wouldn't wake up...but please my boy...please just TRY and relax for a bit!"

Chad didn't even notice the tears rapidly streaming out of his eyes until it was way too late, until they were already forming a kaleidoscope of watery substance underneath his chin, dripping down onto the cold, tiled hospital floor. His mother didn't see Jeremy...she didn't SEE him! He honestly looked like he had died...and that scared Chad beyond any sort of belief he still had that the boy...the boy he loved with all his heart, would be okay, even after all of this.

He nodded at his mother and together the two of them sat down in the waiting room once more, desperate to hear any sort of news about him. This was not normal, this was so weird, it wasn't actually funny at all...a teenage boy, a HEALTHY sixteen-year-old teenager simply does not fall asleep and then doesn't wake up the next morning!

That and more was all of the nasty shit that was going through Chad's mind at that point and time. His heart ACHED knowing that Greenwood...as he always affectionately called him, was inside one of those rooms, all on his own, with so many fucking tests and shit being done on him while himself, Chad, was breaking his ass outside waiting for any sort of answer.

Please God...I just found him...please, please don't take him away from me...Chad wasn't a religious person by any sort of means, but if there was any time to actually ask the Guy Up there for a favour, it would be now. Fucking hell. Jeremy...just please be okay.

An hour or so passed, and in said hour, only once did a nurse come out and ask for any relatives of Jeremy Alan Greenwood, with Chad as well as his mother rising up like they were one person...now Chad knew his mother was weary of lying to these people...saying they were directly family of Jeremy, but to hell with that. He was Jeremy's boyfriend for fuck sake! He was allowed to fucking know what was going on!

And after all of that...that INCESSANT WAITING...all that the nurse was saying was that Jeremy still hadn't woken up, and that he was critical, but stable, and that the doctors were doing some more tests...ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME?

"Samantha is okay, says Aunt Muriel. I told her not to tell her anything about what's wrong with Jeremy, you know how much she loves him...with the murder case and everything I don't wanna upset your sister any further," Mrs Tucker replied as she came back from the payphone outside the hospital a few minutes later.

As Chad sighed once more and asked his mother whether or not she wanted any more tea from the vending machine out front in the waiting room, he noticed that two adults had marched their way into the waiting room. He stared at these people in awe, both of which simply seemed to SHINE with riches and money...their entire way of doing things just sprouted of the fact that they were most probably loaded with cash, even the way that the man was talking to the lady at the reception desk screamed of sheer royalty and entitlement.

"Rich bastards..." Chad murmured underneath his breath and got the okay and the money from his mother for the tea that he had offered to get for her, when he froze...as the words that the man was saying...or at that point and time...screaming at the poor, by now frightened worker behind her desk.

"I DON'T CARE! I WANNA KNOW HOW MY SON IS, RIGHT NOW! I WAS TOLD HE WAS BROUGHT HERE TO THIS WARD! NOW...DO YOUR DAMN JOB AND TELL ME WHERE HE IS! TYPE `JEREMY GREENWOOD' INTO THAT PATHETIC EXCUSE FOR A LAPTOP! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"

One look towards his mother, and Chad swallowed...very slowly. Jesus...he had never seen Jeremy's parents up close before, once or twice at a school function if he had to be honest, but wow...he could now see why Jeremy was so afraid of coming out...why he was so terribly nervous to be who he truly was. Would people like these ever accept their child being gay? Regardless of their gender?

Mrs Tucker stood up gingerly, her eyes flickering over towards Jeremy's parents, before she placed a gentle, yet firm hand on her son's shoulder.

"Let's go, my boy...and no matter what happens, you keep your head up" she whispered urgently, and even Chad was stunned at the sudden fire in his normally docile, mother's eyes.

Together both Chad and Mrs Tucker slowly made their way over to where Jeremy's parents were, and it was Veronica Greenwood, who had noticed mother and son first, signaling to her husband that they had company.

"Mrs and Mrs Greenwood, I presume?" Mrs Tucker asked...and Chad was amazed at the sheer level of calmness to which his mother had spoken. God knows, he himself was just a little more than terrified right now.

Mitchell Greenwood ogled his nose towards Mrs Tucker, as if he was smelling something bad when he laid eyes on her, but he kept his cool, and frowned...before Veronica Greenwood eventually went ahead and took the initiative.

"Yes, we are Veronica and Mitchell Greenwood...for some reason I don't think we have ever met...I'm one of those people who never forgets a face..." she said, with a small smile etching around her lips.

Mrs Tucker stretched out her hand towards the woman, and the two women did a quick handshake, before she stretched out her hand towards Mitchell as well, who scoffed at the kind gesture.

"Look, what do you two actually want from the two of us, we are waiting for any updates on our son...if the idiots around here would just fucking DO THEIR JOBS...Veronica darling, you better go and wash your hand before you touch anything or give these beggars money, you don't know where these people have been..."

Chad's hands were balled up in solid fists. Until this point and time, he had been quiet as a mouse, willing to allow his mother, the adult in all of this, take the lead and do the talking, but seeing the HURT, the stab of sadness in his mother's eyes at the sound of those words...after EVERYTHING that his abusive father had put them through, he had hoped to God, that they were FINALLY rid of all of that...all of the insults, the mental anguish...the beatings that both himself and his mother had coming to them every single damn time that Jonathan Tucker had laid his dirty hands on them.

Fuck this shit.

Chad cleared his throat and looked Mitchell Greenwood straight in his eye. Without any sort of fear or retribution. What he was doing, what he was doing right now, he was doing for that boy laying behind those doors! That boy which he had fallen in love with, with EVERYTHING that he had inside him! It was time...it was high fucking time that the Greenwood's heard what HE...Chad Tucker, had to fucking say!

**

"You will NOT talk to my mother like that!"

"Chad! Behave!" Mrs Tucker whispered frantically, her eyes nervously glancing towards the Greenwood pair, before Chad shook his head, and pointed his index finger directly towards both Veronica and Mitchell.

"It's YOUR fault that Jeremy is laying in there! You even realise that? My mother...this DIRTY, SMELLY woman that you have JUST insulted have been more of a mother, more of a fucking PARENT to him that either of you!"

Veronica swallowed, her eyes flashing dangerously over towards Chad, whereas Mitchell simply folded his arms before his chest and looked at Chad as if he was the biggest pile of crap underneath his shoe, that he had ever managed to gather.

"Who...who do you...you people think you are to talk to me and my wife in that tone...?" he finally asked, his voice as cold as his son was when Chad had discovered him that very morning.

"You dish it out, but you can't take it?"

Chad's heart was beating so fast, so rapidly inside his sixteen-year-old chest, that it rivalled that of a garden mouse, but he wasn't scared anymore. All that he could think about was Jeremy...alone in that huge mansion of a house that he called home...all alone while he was fighting all his demons...and that were just the ones which Chad KNEW of...all on his own in that big house...with nothing and no one to support him whilst his parents, the people who were biologically fucking programmed to look after him, to love him, gallivanted all over the world whilst their only offspring suffered in mental exhaustion back home.

Chad stood upright, nearly reaching the height of Mitchell himself, before he blinked once, and spoke his peace.

"Do you, either of you, actually have ANY idea what Jeremy has been through? While you were surfing all over the globe, his BEST FRIEND DIED last year!"

"Just wait a minute here, if you are talking about David Gallagher, we know about his unfortunate death, so you can save your accusations, he has been our son's best friend since they were six..." Veronica started to say, but there was no way that Chad was going to let the woman off THAT easily.

"Oh, right! Did you also know, either of you, that his brain refused to accept that had happened? That his mind was so fucked after the death of his BEST FRIEND that it created a fucking David ALTER...one that only he could see? One that only HE could talk to? One that he had on fucking standby for a year, and would have still not realised David was dead, before I showed him the memorial dedicated to David at the school! WHERE WERE YOU!? WHERE?"

Veronica reached out with her hand and covered her mouth in total and utter shock, her eyes widening with every syllable and word that came out of Chad's vicious mouth. Mitchell blinked a few times, at the sound of Chad's words, however, unlike his wife, he didn't seem fazed, at fucking all.

"That's a total and utter fabrication! If my son was suffering from some mental illness after the death of his friend, then WE would have known about it!"

"HOW COULD YOU? YOU'RE NEVER HERE!"

"Chad, that's enough!" Mrs Tucker hissed towards her son, and finally, the penny seemed to have dropped for Mitchell as he realised who and what this little upstart before him really were...

"Chad...Chad Tucker? The boy that I specifically told my son to STAY THE HELL away from? Wait, now this...this little drama actually makes sense! You and your...excuse for a mother want to come and lecture ME on how to raise MY CHILD? Thanks to you and your piss poor family, my son ended up in jail! How DARE you lecture ME on what is good for MY son?"

Chad smirked at the man, and couldn't help to notice that Jeremy's mother was hardly even moving. All that she was doing was staring at the floor of the waiting room, her hand still covering majority of her face.

"My piss poor family at least were THERE for Jeremy when he needed us...where the hell were YOU?"

"I brought him back the latest iPhone from South Korea to make up for us not being here..."

Chad nearly exploded.

"THAT'S JUST IT! Useless presents! He needed YOU! Thank God, he had ME! I was there for him! I LOVE him way more than YOU do!"

Stunned...morbid silence immediately filled the hospital waiting room, with the visitors and even the EMT ambulance guys standing around and watching the drama play off in front of their very eyes. Chad shivered...he knew he had gone too far...he knew he had just blown his and Jeremy's cover. The look on Mitchell Greenwood's eyes said it all. His eyes bulged, his chest was heaving up and down ever so slightly, as if he was doing a superhuman level portrayal of someone who just HAD to keep his cool under all circumstances.

"You...you...LOVE my son?" Mitchell whispered underneath his breath, his eyes frowning explicitly as he refused to take them away from the boy before him.

Before Chad or anyone else could reply, the inward doors of the Casualty ward finally opened, and the same doctor which had taken Jeremy in when the EMT's had brought him, appeared out in the waiting room, a clipboard held tightly inside his hand.

"Family or relatives of Jeremy Alan Greenwood?"

"This isn't over...boy..." Mitchell sneered towards both Chad and Mrs Tucker, before he urgently grabbed his wife's hand and made their way over to where the doctor was.

"Chad! Come back here!" Mrs Tucker yelled after her son, but there was no way that he would listen to his mother at this point. They were finally getting news about Jeremy after all this time, and there was no way he spent all these hours in this God forsaken room waiting only to go home empty handed.

"Are we all here?" the doctor asked, the moment that Chad rushed to the side of Jeremy's parents.

"Now, we are..." he breathed in and out as the doctor looked at him, most confused.

"Doctor, can I ask you to get me your best troop of security guards in here, and get rid of this boy? I don't think you want to be seen allowing BEGGERS in here, do you?" Mitchell said as loudly as he could, but to Chad's surprise, it was Veronica Greenwood, who slightly pulled at her husband's arm, doing her best to get his attention. The woman, by now, was as pale, as white as snow.

"Darling...just...just stop. Our son needs us...just stop this...he obviously cares about Jeremy...please Doctor...just tell us how Jeremy is!" she whispered with a hoarse throat, the tears falling from her eyes just as fast as she was talking.

Mitchell sighed, and ran his fingers through his hair, before he looked at the Doctor with defeated eyes.

"Fine. Doctor, I'm afraid that we have been overseas for some time, so we don't know what has happened with our son...we only heard from the ambulance services that he had been brought in for some kind of treatment...what can you tell us?"

**

The doctor took off his glasses and sighed as well, before he gave Veronica, Mitchell as well as Chad a sad smile.

"Mr and Mrs Greenwood...I'm afraid that your son has a very small tumor growing at the back of his skull. It has obviously been there for quite some time, but luckily for him, we are in a position to remove it. How much, we can remove, I cannot say until we actually GET into his brain itself. I need your permission to operate to remove it, however, as Jeremy is under law, still a minor."

"A...a brain tum...Oh God..." Veronica Greenwood finally managed to utter as the silence was deafening, the look on Mitchell Greenwood's face a sight for sore eyes. Gone was the shrewd business man in a sheer blink of an eye, and a small piece of humanity seemed to swim upwards to the surface...he cleared his throat and took his wife's hand inside his very own.

"Doctor, what...I mean...the dangers of doing this, of actually operating...surely there must be something else that you can do? Radiation therapy?"

The doctor sadly shook his head, and his eyes fell onto Chad...who was still total and utterly statuesque at the hearing of Jeremy's diagnosis.

"I'm afraid not...the positives on this particular case are that Jeremy is young, he is fit and he is healthy, he has way more going FOR him, than against him in this place and time, however, I must state, and this is with sheer urgently, that if we don't remove the tumor, or at least TRY and remove it, it will grow...and it will continue to grow. That's the unfortunate overwhelming negative in all of this. Mr and Mrs Greenwood...do I have your permission to operate on your son?"

Mitchell suddenly sunk to his knees, completely and clearly against his normally overpowering nature, as the reality of the situation finally seemed to sink in. Veronica somehow kept standing...and looked over towards Chad.

"He never said anything to you? You didn't notice anything?" she asked, her voice drenched with finality and defeat.

Chad slowly shook his head, and swallowed...his throat as dry as the South African summer in the Karoo.

"His headaches...he complained so many times of his migraines but he always said he could...he could handle it. That's why...the David alter...it's been there ALL this time?" Chad finally uttered, clearing his throat as he finished.

Veronica nodded, all the while looking at her husband, still in a somewhat catatonic state after hearing that his son's life was in real, very real danger, before she glanced towards the doctor.

"You do whatever you can for him. If we need to sign papers or anything, you bring them to me. But in return, you save my son's life..." she said in a straight, calm voice, that completely dwarfed her miserable stature.

The doctor nodded in return, before he noticed Chad, still planted firmly on the same spot where he had been ever since he had heard his boyfriend had a dangerous brain tumor growing at the back of his skull.

"I take it you and Jeremy Greenwood are friends? Best friends?" softly asked, noticing that both Greenwood's were now busy signing the forms that needed to be signed for the operation to go ahead, quickly placing his hand on Chad's shoulder.

"Maybe a little more than that?"

Chad looked up into the kind older man's face, before he nodded slowly, the tears once more dripping from his face.

The doctor smiled, and stood closer to Chad, where only he would be able to hear him.

"When I was in school, my boyfriend...yes, boyfriend...was in a massive car accident with his family. I was in the same position as you...only I wasn't allowed to say anything back then. I was forced to keep quiet, and to keep my pain...my worry to myself. I promise you, young man...that I will do whatever I can for Jeremy. Unfortunately, a craniotomy can take up to three to five hours and that includes pre and post operation, but don't you dare go anywhere...I'm sure your boyfriend would wanna see you when all this is over."

It was only after the doctor had gone back into the theatre ward that Chad seemed to finally register what the latter had tried to tell him. Jesus...he wiped his eyes and glanced across the room where he saw his mother once more speaking to someone at the pay phone. Must be about Samantha...she needed to go home. Samantha needed her. Just like Jeremy needed him.

"Mom, apparently it takes a while to do this kind of operation takes hours so I think you need to go home and take care of Samantha. I'll stay here and wait until everything is over...gonna be the longest few hours of my fucking life..."

"CHAD! LANGUAGE!"

"Sorry...totally wasn't thinking."

Mrs Tucker grimaced and sighed.

"I hate being poor...but every half hour that Sam stays with Aunt Muriel she is charging us money...which we don't have. Okay...against my will, I'll go home, but even if I need to bring Sam with me, I'll be back later. Chad...Chad, look at me."

Chad willed himself to look at his mother, his worry, his emotions, his complete and utter BEING felt like it was being advertised for all to see. He had nothing left...he only had himself to give. What if that wasn't enough to save Jeremy's life?

"You are in love with him, aren't you?" Mrs Tucker asked gently, reaching up with her hand, cupping her son's face like only a mother could.

What was the use of hiding it anymore? Jeremy could DIE if things went south in that operating room; he had enough wisdom on his side to fucking know that. Suddenly Chad realised why people always said that life was way too short...he never REALLY understood the MEANING behind it until now. This time tomorrow...Jeremy Greenwood could be dead. Fucking hell man...it was WAY too short.

He looked down at his shoes, and nodded, his entire body wreaked with sudden sobs and he finally allowed reality to sink in...if Jeremy died on that operating table, he didn't know how he could even go on...his life would literally have no meaning without the dude he loved more than his own life. When and where it had happened...Chad still wasn't sure, and if Jeremy could speak, he would most probably say the same...

...but somewhere in between all this chaos, all this insanity...The David Alter, the Estrada twins breaking Jeremy's leg, his father being murdered, the same twins lying to the police saying that they had seen Jeremy enter the Tucker home on the morning of the murder, Jeremy being arrested for said murder, only for both boys to realise that the one who had murdered Jonathan Tucker was actually nine-year-old Samantha Tucker...

...and now this...now this devastating medical diagnosis of which the boy he so deeply loved could actually die from.

"I'm sorry...Mom, I really...I dunno why...I'm so sorry...I'm sorry..."

"What for, baby?" Mrs Tucker asked, her voice warm and homely, just like it had always been, even during those times where his father had attacked and hit her so badly that she had to have been in copious amounts of pain, but there wasn't a single night...not ONE night, in which Chad had grown up, that she didn't tuck him in, and hadn't read him a bedtime story.

A mother's love, was indeed unconditional.

"For being gay...for being a fucking homo...I swear I tried to fight it...I dated girls...I tried to be normal!" Chad uttered, his voice raw with emotion, clinging to his mother as if he was afraid, she could vanish into thin air, if he didn't.

For a while, Mrs Tucker allowed her son to get out, what he needed to, before she finally loosened her grip on him and held his face between her hands.

"Now you listen to me...you are as normal as any living, breathing person out there. Whether you like boys, or you like girls, that part doesn't matter to me, nor should it to anyone! You say it and you say it PROUDLY...because so you are, so you're not...so what? You're still YOU. You're still my son! And you mean the world you me, you and Samantha! Never, ever doubt that, ever again, you hear me?"

Chad wiped the last of his tears, before he gave his mother another deep, firm hug, as he got her belongings, and with a last caress of his cheek, she blew out some pent-up breath and finally left the hospital, leaving Chad on his very own.

**

"You really love my son, don't you?"

Chad shook with fright as he suddenly realised that Mitchell Greenwood was standing before him, complete with a steaming cup of coffee from the vending machine in his hand. Funny...all the money and power this man seemed to have, but in here...when your family's lives are in danger...you're worth nothing more than a simple cup of coffee from a cheap vending machine...

"I don't wanna talk about this, please Mr Greenwood..." Chad softly said, still angry as hell over how this man treated him and his mother several hours ago.

Mitchell sighed and took a sip of his coffee, pulling a right ugly face, and tossing the still full cup away in the trash beside Chad. He grimaced at the taste, before he focused firmly on his son's boyfriend.

"How much do you want?"

Chad's eyes looked up in total confusion.

"How much...what?"

Mitchell rolled his eyes, very much like his son Jeremy sometimes did when he was angry or irritated. Even Chad was amazed at how much father and son seemed to look alike in that moment. It was almost like Jeremy was standing here right beside him, him...and not his dad.

"Don't bullshit a bullshitter, I wasn't born yesterday, boy..."

"Sir, with respect, I told you, my name is Chad. Chad Tucker."

"Yeah, whatever. Listen, I have been in the land of the living far too long to be messed around...I know your game...people like you, are all the same, aren't you? Give you a pinky and you wanna take the whole damn finger. Well, if I have to pay to get you out of my son's life, then so be it. I'm asking again, how much?"

Chad's mouth literally FELL open. He couldn't...he knew what he had heard, but it was like his own brain didn't wanna register it...he knew what was happening, my God, he wasn't deaf...

...but this was insane. This wasn't happening. Please God, let this just be one of the illusions that Jeremy had of David Gallagher...please don't let this be happening.

Mitchell smiled...and Chad knew the man had hit his weakness, and so it proved, as the man placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I did a bit of a background check on you. Mother, a seamstress, father was a security guard with an intense love for the bottle and to abuse his family...yeah Chad Tucker, I have been busy and I know it all. You think by claiming to love my son, that my family would welcome yours into our home...free to use our money, our resources, to build yourselves a better life than the shitshow that you have done with your own..."

"Mr Greenwood, I have NO...NO interest in any money..."

"Oh, come on, be real here, Tucker! Look...how much will it cost to get you and your mother and your murderous kid sister out of town and OUT of my son's life? R100 000? R200 000?"

"Jesus, Mr Greenwood, stop this now, please..."

"R500 000? That's half a million...in case you can't count!"

Fucking hell. He never had much more than a R200 in his own wallet before! What the fuck, dude? He tried to calm down as he saw Mitchell Greenwood's smile get wider and wider by the second, but he shook his head. No way. No fucking way.

"So...how much? I can do an internet transfer right here and now...my associates will even help you pack up and move."

Chad swallowed...and he stepped away from his boyfriend's father, the moment that he saw Veronica Greenwood approach them with pure excitement in her eyes. Mitchell turned around and rushed to his wife, taking both of her hands inside his own.

"Honey?" he asked, kissing his wife forehead as his eyes were wild and untamed.

Veronica smiled happily, before she turned towards Chad...as if to somehow include him, in what she had to say.

"He's out of the theatre...they managed to...Oh God, it seemed they managed to get every last bit of the tumor out of his brain...he's stable and he's out of danger!"

"FUCKKKKK..." Chad gasped out of his mouth before he could stop himself, earning him a stern and disgusted look from Mitchell Greenwood.

"And THIS...is the type of person YOU want our son to get mixed up with? Honestly, Veronica..." he muttered before he turned his attentions back towards Chad.

"Think about what I said. You won't get a better offer anywhere...and I also think you owe it to your mother and sister, to give them a better life...all those court costs for young Samantha killing her father...must be thousands by now..." he said, grinning as he did.

Veronica was left alone with Chad as Mitchell marched on to where his son was in recovery, and she seemed to hesitate before slowly making her way over towards Chad. Not really fully recovering from the insanity that had just occurred minutes before, Chad's eyes must have given away that he was afraid of another blow, but Veronica, amazingly, smiled assuringly at him.

"I don't know what my husband told you...but you don't need to be afraid of me. I've been meaning to come and talk to you and your mother sooner but...with everything going on..."

"It's okay, Mrs Greenwood. It's hard for all of us..." Chad breathed as he still eyed the woman suspiciously.

Veronica shook her head and placed her hands together in a solid fist in front of her stomach.

"I'm ashamed to admit that I have a confession to make...when you and your mother spoke earlier...and you told her how you felt about my son...I couldn't help but to overhear what you said."

Chad froze. Jesus...he didn't quite know what was worse...that Veronica knew he was gay, or how he felt about Jeremy. Either way, it...didn't really seem like she was angry...at least, not on the outside.

Veronica looked up at him, before she looked back at the theatre, and finally back at Chad.

"He's awake...he couldn't speak, because he had a tube down his throat, but I give you my word...once he is fully recovered, I will make arrangements for you to see him."

Chad blushed suddenly, his cheeks becoming fiery red, and at an alarming pace at that. He wanted to say thanks...say that he appreciated it...just fucking SAY anything...the words just didn't seem to wanna leave his mouth. Tears once more escaped both of his eyes, rolling down his red, blushing cheeks. It was then, that he saw Jeremy's mother's eyes soften, as she nodded at him, wiping away tears of her own.

"I love my son...even though my actions might not always show it. And if he...if he really wants to be with you, and if he loves you, as much as you clearly are in love with him...then I give you my blessing. I'm a mother after all...the bond we have with our boys...NOTHING can break that!" she whispered, before she smiled at him one final time, and left for the recovery ward.

**

In the days that followed, Chad seemed to live in a dream world.

Veronica had taken his phone number before he eventually, finally agreed to leave the hospital as Jeremy needed to recover, and quite frankly, the further he was away from Mitchell Greenwood, the better he felt. The guy was an absolute jerk. To keep it mildly. In her own way, she kept him updated as much as she could, always saying that Jeremy was getting better and stronger by the day, that his speech was improving, his mobility was getting more and more efficient, and he was starting to ask after all his friends from school.

It seemed like Jeremy's dad was ALWAYS there...around him like a fucking shadow, making it impossible for poor Chad to actually get to see him. However, there was an upcoming business trip, which Mitchell had over and over stated that he CANNOT postpone, so it was agreed that Veronica could stay with Jeremy this time, and Mitchell would be back as soon as he can.

Even when his son had been at an inch from death...money and power was all the fucking man could think about...Chad sighed.

He had told his mother about Mr Greenwood's offer, and she straight out told him that he did the right thing. That was NOT the kind of people they were! The Tucker family might have been poor, but they had their decency, if nothing else.

He shook with nervous tension as he heard his phone beep and saw that he had a message from Jeremy's mom. He hovered over the message, before he actually opened it.

"Mitchell has gone to the airport, won't be back until the weekend. You're welcome to come and see him."

Jesus...finally. Fucking finally.

Chad smiled...probably for the first time in days as he remembered the last time that he physically spoken to Jeremy. It was weeks ago, after they had sex in his bed for the first time. It was that night, when Jeremy had came inside of him and kissed him and had told him he loved him...

...that night he knew, if he didn't before.

That he wanted to spend the rest of this fucking life with Jeremy Alan Greenwood.

And at their tender ages, who knew whether or not it would even last...but Chad was sure...no matter where the world took them or who they would end up meeting...he would and could NEVER feel for anyone...with the intensity, the level of love and lust that he had for Jeremy. There would never be someone else for him. Maybe...maybe not. But THAT was what his sixteen-year-old brain was telling him.

As he arrived at the hospital, he quickly rushed towards the elevator and pressed the numbered buttons frantically, to be taken upwards to the recovery wards of the hospital. As the doors opened, in typical teenage fashion, he was at first afraid that he was totally on the wrong floor, but when he saw Veronica sitting on one of the waiting room chairs, he somewhat relaxed. Even though this woman had helped him and had been kind to him, he still found it difficult to actually trust her.

"Chad, you came!" Veronica said softly as she stood up and seemed to glance over towards the room where Chad assumed Jeremy was in, before she turned back to him.

"Is he...is he okay?" Chad asked, confused by the sudden concern on the woman's face.

Veronica nodded, and smiled towards him, but Chad wasn't born yesterday...something was wrong...something she clearly wasn't telling him.

"Can I see him? Please?" he asked, his eyes full of hope and anxiety, as he did so.

Veronica pursed her lips for a second, before she cleared her throat.

"Chad...forgive me...this is so hard for me to even ask...but I'm gonna have to see some sort of proof that you even know my son, let alone dating him."

Chad nearly sunk to his knees, just like Mr Greenwood did the other week. What...what was going on here?

"Mrs Greenwood? I don't understand..."

Veronica grimaced slightly and surprisingly took both his hand in her own.

"Please Chad...anything...a photo, a voice note from WhatsApp...anything!"

Was she totally setting him up? Was Mitchell Greenwood in there with the cops or something? Fuck this, he didn't do anything wrong!

"Please..." Veronica muttered.

Still weirded out, Chad nervously took his old phone from his pockets, and he scrolled to a photo of himself and Jeremy, holding each other, posing for a photo outside the Tucker home, which he showed to Veronica. She seemed somewhat upset at first, looking at said photo, but then, it was like...acceptance...was starting to shine across her face? Acceptance, but to what exactly?

"There's also loads of voice notes if you wanna hear it..." Chad said melancholically, before taking his phone and choosing a random voice note between them that Jeremy had sent, having no idea of what it even was, and pressing play.

"Hey Tucker! Look, rugby practice has drained me but you're welcome to come over later...can't wait to see you. Already fucking counting the hours here. I love you!"

Veronica shook her head after the voice note ended, her eyes in complete serene grace.

Chad still was none the wiser...he had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Veronica finally sighed, and stood up, and placed her right hand over where her heart was, as if to forced herself to calm down.

"Come with me...okay?" she whispered, before she walked into the room where Jeremy was.

Chad followed her, and as his boyfriend became visible, inch by inch, centimeter, by centimeter, it was like a day of a new dawn.

He hardly recognized the boy that he loved so much at first...his head was totally shaved...his jet-black hair that he was always so proud of...completely gone. He also had lost an immense amount of weight, his big, bulky rugby exterior now meek, mild and lanky. He was so skinny, that Chad's eyes couldn't help but widen at the sight...this was not his boyfriend. This was not Jeremy...and yet it was.

"Baby...look who's come to visit you! It's Chad! Chad Tucker? Aren't you happy to see your boyfriend?" Veronica said cheerfully, making sure into keeping a safe distance between the two boys.

Chad's eyes watered down as he came closer to Jeremy...yes, the changes were huge but he was STILL JEREMY...he was still his Greenwood. He came to a standstill next to the boy that he so loved, and he slowly placed his hand on the lily-white hand of Jeremy.

"Hey Greenwood...fuck...tearing up here...Jesus, never give me a fright like that ever again! How you doing?" Chad asked, squeezing Jeremy's hand as he did so.

Jeremy's eyes glanced up and down Chad's entire being, before he glanced back at his mother.

"Sorry dude...but...Mom, who the hell is this?"

**

No.

No...come on, not this.

Jesus, after ALL that they have been through...anything but this.

There wasn't a God Up there which could possibly be THIS cruel!

"Honey...don't you remember Chad? Chad Tucker?" Veronica softly asked, in fact Chad had to force his hearing to actually get a grip of what she was saying.

Jeremy once more looked a devastated Chad up and down, before he frowned and laid his head back down on the cushion behind.

"I don't know...should I know him?" Jeremy asked, once more his eyes flickering curiously over Chad.

Chad swallowed...or at least, he tried to. This...why...why NOW!? Jeremy had brain surgery after all...obviously it was always a possibility that something like this could have happened, but WHY NOW?

"Do...you...really...not remember me?" he croaked towards Jeremy, who in turn, etched a little further away from Chad, further breaking the latter's heart. Chamber, by chamber.

"Dude, what the fuck, get away from me...Mom...get him out of here...why would you even bring a stranger in here to see me?" Jeremy hissed, his eyes full between a mixture of terror and confusion.

Chad turned around...physically unable any longer to see this...whoever this was before him for a second longer, running out of the hospital room as fast as he could.

That's why...my God...that's why Jeremy's mom wanted to see a photo...anything that proved they knew each other! She obviously told him that he was coming and she KNEW...SHE KNEW he didn't recognize him! And she STILL allowed him to go in there and SEE him and have his heart broken! WHY? THE BITCH! THE TOTAL BITCH!

The tears flowed before he even reached the elevator. Jeremy didn't remember him. He didn't remember him at all.

Honestly...Jeremy has been awake for several weeks now...maybe if he could have gotten to see him when he had woken up, but of course Mitchell Greenwood would never have allowed that. If...if Jeremy had been awake for all this time, and he STILL didn't know who he was...FUCK!

Where the hell do they go from here?

**

December.

The most wonderful time of the year, supposedly.

It was the final week of school, and Chad for one, was happy as fuck that this year was over.

It would be his seventeenth birthday on the twenty-fourth...the day before Christmas, and although his mother had gotten a huge bonus at her job, and Samantha had been exonerated from killing her father in self-defense...Chad just couldn't stomach being at school for one more second.

Having to watch Jeremy prance around in school with Leyla Harding on his arm was asking too much...way too much.

Oh...yeah, Jeremy remembered everything and everyone...except HIM and their time together. It would seem that the only thing he had forgotten, was Chad. He had made a full recovery in the past few months since the operation, and although at first, Chad had tried his level best to try and get Jeremy to remember, by secretly going over to his house when his parents were, yet again, away on business, showing him countless photos, videos, playing him all the voice notes Jeremy had ever sent him as proof of what they had...

...it was all worthless.

Jeremy did physically not remember him. He didn't know it from Adam, any more.

To him, and to his mind...there was never a Chad Tucker. Whether it had anything to do with the fact that Chad's face was the last thing he saw before he fell into that coma all those months ago...he would never know. He had even taken his mother as well as Samantha to see Jeremy to try and push his memory...and all that achieved was the crying image of a devastated nine-year-old girl, who's beloved crush and friend, didn't even know who she was.

It was the unfairness of it all, it seemed, that was the worst. Only four months ago, he was more happy than he EVER thought was possible. Jeremy was his, and he was Jeremy's. How quickly times could change.

His heart ached as he saw Jeremy give Leyla a quick kiss before the bell rang for the final period of the school day. He scoffed at her...Jeremy might not be able to remember her cheating on him with one of the guys on the rugby team, but SHE damn well knew! Like she was ever gonna tell him...geez.

Fucking hell, Tucker...you gotta try! You gotta at least try ONE more time! The fuck you gonna give up as easy as that, and have that slut have him!

After school, Chad rushed home, the insanely hot South African summer nearly burning him to a crisp, changing into a shirt and shorts, before he looked at himself determinedly in the mirror. Today was the day that he was gonna MAKE Jeremy Greenwood fucking remember him and their time together, what they had and shared. Jesus man...he HAD TO!

Making his way over towards the Greenwood mansion, he wondered absentmindedly if he would even be allowed inside...after all it was December and Jeremy's parents would probably not be doing business at Christmas...but sure enough, the front gate opened as soon as he pressed the intercom.

Once at the front door, he didn't even have to knock, it was immediately opened by Mitchell Greenwood.

"Young Mister Tucker! Welcome! Wanna come inside?" he asked, the smile around the corners of his mouth, not quite reaching his eyes.

Chad's heart was beating a million times a minute, but he did come to see his boyfriend...or former fucking boyfriend, there was no pretending otherwise. As he was inside, Mitchell turned towards him, almost with utter glee, before he casted his eyes upwards.

"You see to see my son, I gather?"

Chad could only nod.

"If that is okay with you..." he muttered underneath his breath.

Mitchell gave out a right bark of a laugh, before he once more placed his hand firmly on Chad's shoulder.

"Of course, it's okay! Take all the time you need up there! Hey...have you given any more thought at that offer I made you months ago?"

Chad rolled his eyes and gripped his backpack over his shoulder even more fierce that what was necessary.

"Thanks for the offer, Mr Greenwood, but like I said...we may be poor, but we aren't for sale. Can I please go to Jeremy's room now?"

Mitchell was quiet for a mere moment, before he nodded, and shrugged his shoulders.

"Just remember...the offer is there...no matter what the cost. You never know what might happen to change your mind."

Dude...what the fuck? Was that a threat? Man, what was WITH this guy?

Quickly Chad made his way up to Jeremy's bedroom and took a few seconds to compose himself...he HATED this...he HATED all of this, Jeremy not being able to remember who he was entirely. Why couldn't he have forgotten Leyla? Or the fucking Estrada twins? Or even his damn father? No...he had to forget him, and only fucking him. Sigh.

Opening up the door to Jeremy's bedroom, Chad kinda knew what he could find in there, before he even saw it...and now he suddenly understood why Jeremy's father was so keen to actually get him up here.

"What the hell? Dude!" Jeremy shouted, frantically trying to cover up his naked, hard, red, solid cock which was sticking upwards like a fucking flagpole, looking as angry and as pissed as its owner. Chad didn't know where to look...he just wanted to get the image of Leyla...LEYLA OF ALL PEOPLE with Jeremy's dick stuffed down her throat OUT of his mind as fast as he could.

He made way for the stairs leading downstairs, but not before he was cornered by Jeremy himself. He had bulked up quite a bit since the operation, and although not as huge as he had been before, he was more than a match for Chad. Jeremy blew out some pent-up breath, before he frowned at the boy before him.

"Look, dude...I have tried to be patient. I'm not a fucking violent person...but I'm seriously gonna lose my cool with you. I have told you, over and over and OVER...I DO NOT KNOW WHO YOU FUCKING ARE! Stop ruining my fucking life! Just...just get away and STAY away from me! Please...I don't know how much clearer you want me to say it!" he yelled out of sheer and pure frustration.

It was then...at that moment...that Chad had no choice, it seemed, that to actually and truly admit defeat.

It has been months. MONTHS.

If he had hoped Jeremy's memory would eventually come back...all hope was now lost.

He couldn't even blame anyone...because there was no one TO blame.

Jeremy didn't remember him...he sure as hell wouldn't like it too if some stranger kept forcing his way into his life either.

Chad gripped his backpack, and took one last look at Jeremy.

"Do me a favour, would you, Greenwood?" he asked quietly, staring deep into his former boyfriend's eyes.

Jeremy crossed his arms in front of his chest and rolled his eyes.

"And what would that be?" he asked, clearly irritated and clearly wanting to have those female lips back locked around his cock.

Chad bit his lip, turning towards the stairs to go back down.

"Just be happy...just be you...be Jeremy Greenwood..." he said, before he slouched downwards.

Behind him he could have sworn he heard the latter mumble something like "Dude, what the fuck" underneath his breath.

"Going home so soon?" Mitchell Greenwood asked as he descended the last of the stairs, but Chad didn't even as much as look at him.

All he wanted to do now, was to get home.

**

Why Samantha had to choose THIS park, close to Jeremy's mansion, he would never know.

Poor kid...he knew she missed him. She even committed murder for him...at least, they were trying their best to forget THAT incident ever happened.

Laughing and giggling as his kid sister always did with the neighbourhood kids around her, Chad smiled reluctantly...he couldn't help but. He looked down at his backpack...which contained fresh fruit and water that his mother had given them for when they got hungry, as well as the Christmas present that he had gotten for Jeremy months ago. The old Jeremy, that was.

Tomorrow, it would be Christmas. Today, was Chad's birthday. He was now officially seventeen years old. So much for a birthday...not that he minded taking Sam to the park. But having next to no friends, the Estrada twins making sure of that...he just wanted this fucking day over with.

He flinched as something smashed into his ankle from behind, looking over he saw a young boy running over towards him, an an even bigger teenage boy calling out after him and who honestly looked like...oh Jesus. Why now, why fucking HERE of all places?

"Hey dude, be a pal and kick that ball back here...oh...its...it's you."

Grimacing as he did so, Chad turned around and picked up the rugby ball that was laying behind him from where he had crashed into him, and doing his best impression of a rugby forward pass to give it back to the boy.

"Same old Jeremy...haven't forgotten that you live and breathe for Rugby, have you?" he dared to say, and to his amazement, Jeremy actually smiled.

"Yeah...that's Leyla's little nephew. They're visiting for Christmas. The girls have all gone out to getting dresses for tonight's fancy dinner we're having at our house, and I'm stuck looking after him. Good fun all around. What are you doing here, then?"

Chad pointed over to where Samantha was before looking back at Jeremy, who nodded.

"Anyway...you...you doing good?" he then asked. Chad sighed, and crossed his arms.

"You want the truth or..." he asked, his eyes looking miserable as sin.

Jeremy looked backwards to where Leyla's nephew was playing with a bunch of other boys, before he shook his head and slowly moved forward to Chad.

"You're getting too close, dude...you sure I'm not gonna throw myself at you?" Chad joked, but he saw at once that Jeremy wasn't in the mood to laugh.

"Look...what's your name again?"

Chad could swear that he actually FELT that imaginary stab deep inside his stomach at the hearing of those words.

"It's Chad."

Jeremy sniffed.

"Right...Chad. Anyway...look, Chad, I don't wanna think that I'm a guy who goes around and hurts people...and apart from some of the soccer geeks at school, I don't really HATE anyone...but I can't just start something up with you...friendship or whatever, when I don't fucking remember you."

Chad shrugged his shoulders. He prayed that Samantha would get tired soon of playing because WOW...he needed to get the fuck outta here. Like right now.

"It's okay, Greenwood. I get it, okay? I've fucking made peace with it, and I'm leaving you the hell alone, like you asked."

Jeremy smiled sadly and looked at Samantha when she noticed him and excitedly waved at him.

"Your sister is a cutie."

"Thanks, you won't remember this, but you're kinda her hero, even more than me."

Jeremy flickered his eyes towards Chad, and sighed.

"Look...my mom has sat me down like LOADS of times and tried to get me to remember...and even though I hated it at first, I was kinda curious to be honest, I mean you showed me those photos and everything and I KNOW it's my face AND my voice...but Chad...dude, I'm...I'm STRAIGHT, man! I have seriously loved pussy my whole life...the idea of sucking a dick or fucking a guy...I just CAN'T, man! I don't wanna hurt you, I really don't...but perhaps its better that I can't seem to remember..."

Okay...that was it.

THAT...WAS IT!

"SAMANTHA! COME ON, WE GOTTA GO!"

Totally ignoring the hate that his kid sister was throwing at him, Chad gathered his backpack and Sam's belongings, before he stopped...hesitated, only to close his eyes and turn back towards Jeremy.

"Look, not to freak you out here, like you said you don't know me...but respect the fact that I know YOU. I got you this...I meant to give it to you for Christmas this year before everything happened but...whatever...but I want you to have it anyway."

Handing over the gift to Jeremy, his eyes were over the place...making sure Leyla's nephew was still doing okay, like any curious teenager, he checked the giftbag with sheer teenage excitement, only to withdraw a rugby ball from it.

"Holy fucking shit..." Jeremy whispered in awe, as he realised just what Chad had given him.

It was a rugby ball indeed, with the names of the current Springbok Rugby team signed all over it in permanent ink. Blinking a few times, Jeremy at first, couldn't get the words out to actually say anything. He looked over to Chad, as if he couldn't understand how a perfect stranger would even KNOW to get him...THIS.

"How...how did you even know...I've wanted something like this for ages?" Jeremy whispered, returning his eyes to the ball as soon as he could.

"We saw it once in a window at the mall...the Boks was going to come and sign autographs there in September and you BEGGED me to go with you before...before everything turned to shit...but like I said, it's not your fault you can't remember. I was really kinda hoping that you would remember me by now...whatever, I still want you to have it...SAMANTHA COME ON!" Chad yelled out, as the tears threatened to overcome him.

This was so unfair...this was FUCKING unfair. He did NOTHING wrong. They had a love so pure, so great, so MASSIVE...and it was RIPPED away from him for God knows what reason. To hell with this, to hell with everything.

"SAM!"

"You must have queued for fucking hours to get this..." Jeremy said, still blissfully unaware of the trauma that Chad was going through.

"Yeah well, you fucking do that for someone you...nothing man, I'll see you around," Chad nearly misspoke, before he saw Samantha finally come running over towards them and to his utter surprised, and ran straight to Jeremy and nearly flattened him with one of her signature bear hugs.

"I missed you! When are you coming to visit us again! Are you and Chad still dating?" she asked, in pure innocent nine-year-old fashion.

Jeremy smiled...and finally looked up at Chad.

"Well, I'm starting to think we can maybe be friends at least, or try to be...if that's gonna be enough?" he said, his eyes blinking.

Chad took Samantha's hand inside his left, before he slowly nodded and stuck out his right hand, towards Jeremy.

"For what it's worth...Merry Christmas, Jeremy Greenwood..." he said softly.

Jeremy shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, what the hell, one can never have too many friends..." he said, and took Chad's hand in his own.

**

The moment that his hand touched Chad's, he felt it.

Flashes...images...conversations...

...memories as far and as wide as the eye could see.

"Jeremy? You okay, dude?" Chad asked as he saw Jeremy was sort of fazing out from where he stood...he didn't move an inch.

Jeremy refused to let go of Chad's hand, even though the latter tried to withdraw it...it felt familiar, it felt like coming home. It felt like he never wanted to let it go.

Chad finally managed to take his hand out of Jeremy's kung-fu grip and with a frown, he signaled at Samantha for them to walk the way home, before he heard it...

...clear as day.

"TUCKER!"

Chad turned around, so fast, that he nearly ended up with whiplash. He walked over to where Jeremy was still standing, and looked him in the eye in sheer disbelief.

"Jeremy? You...called...me...Tucker..." he whispered.

Jeremy's eyes rolled back in their sockets, before returning to normal, his face was distorted as he remembered the pain, the agony, his constant rejection of this wonderful guy before him...what he must have gone through...he remembered the night before everything changed...he remembered telling Chad he loved him, he remembered them finally having sex, he remembered feeling the HAPPIEST that he had EVER felt in his entire life.

Most of all...he remembered how much HE loved Chad Tucker.

"Chad...Chad.... Oh god...oh Chad..." Jeremy whispered...and in front of ALL the people that was currently inside the park area, in front of his girlfriend's nephew...in front of his boyfriend's kid sister...

...he grabbed Chad and frantically kissed him.

Chad wasn't made of stone either...he too, realised what had to be happening...WHY else would Jeremy kiss him and call him TUCKER?

The two boys clung to each other like they were afraid they might fly away if they let go, kissing each other with so much passion, so much velocity that they were out of breath before they even knew it. Even when they had finally let go of the other, they didn't let up...they HELD each other so tight, some might think they were Siamese twins.

"I love you...I love you...I love you...It's a fucking Christmas miracle...OH MY GOD...dude...its...it's your birthday..." Jeremy whispered over and over towards Chad, who was currently incapable of actually speaking, yet again.

All that he knew was, that he had his boyfriend back. The love of his life, and he sure as hell was never gonna let him out of his sight ever again.

What Jeremy was gonna have to tell Leyla, and his parents, they could have to figure out at a later time.

Right now...

...all that mattered, was the two of them.

Together.

**

ONE YEAR LATER

"I knew I would find you here."

Jeremy turned around and smiled happily as he saw his boyfriend inch ever closer him. He reached out and hugged Chad to him and kissed his forehead as the two held each other, whilst looking down at the gravestone before them.

"I wish I could go back to that night...not just in my mind, but actually for real...I wish I knew how he felt, how he really felt, you know? I wish to God that I just KNEW who's God damn foot got onto that fucking accelerator and made our car crash into..."

Chad hugged his boyfriend tighter as he couldn't finish his sentence, the tears streaming down Jeremy's face.

"It's better, I think...that you don't know who actually caused it. Neither of you wanted the other to get hurt, did you?"

Jeremy sniffed, reading the words on the grave for what felt like the millionth time.

HERE LIES DAVID JAMES GALLAGHER

GONE TOO SOON

REST IN ETERNAL PEACE

This is where it all started, two fucking years ago. When his brain started to go mental. When he didn't know or couldn't understand why he was ALWAYS having headaches, the severest of migraines sometimes.

He survived. He made it. Even though someone had to perish to do it.

"You exited for Uni next year?" Chad asked.

Jeremy giggled, before kissing Chad on his lips.

"What the hell was that for?" Chad asked, laughingly.

Jeremy's eyes sparkled.

"Guess who's coming with me to Uni..."

Chad shrugged.

Jeremy giggled again.

"I'll give you a hint...he's tall...he's super skinny...he's sexy as hell and I love the shit outta him..."

Chad's eyes narrowed...and stood away from Jeremy a little.

"Dude...what the fuck? You know I have to go and get me some kind of job...I don't have the money to go studying!"

Jeremy winked at his boyfriend, before he logged into his bank account on his mobile phone. He turned the phone towards Chad, who nearly fainted when he saw how much was in there.

"Wait...where did you...how much...how? Wait, that is a money market account...that's not even YOUR account...Greenwood, what the hell did you do? Did you rip that off from your dad?"

Jeremy shook his head, and swiped into the gallery on his phone, showing Chad the video they had made of the Estrada twins fucking each other in the locker room more than a fucking year ago.

Chad was speechless...he couldn't believe what he was seeing!

"Jeremy...I thought there was no copies left of this..." he whispered in awe.

Jeremy hugged the boy to him, and smiled happily.

"I got someone to hack both Michael and Miguel's phones. Michael deleted it for sure, but Miguel didn't...I dunno what sick game he's playing with his brother, but I think he's got it bad for him. He kept a copy on his phone that the guy managed to actually retrieve...and I anonymously threatened to post this all over social media if they did not give me the EXACT amount that you would need to come with me to Uni!"

Chad stared at his boyfriend to the point where Jeremy actually held his stomach in sheer laughter.

"After that they had done to us...I can't think of ANY one that deserves that more than them!" he said, his eyes not leaving Chad's for even a second.

Chad released Jeremy from the hug...and a smiled as broad as the day was long, stretched across his face.

"You mean...you really mean...I can come with you?" he asked, holding his breath.

Jeremy got serious for a moment, before he took Chad's face inside his hands.

"Dude...if we can survive being enemies, being lovers, seeing dead people, being accused of murder, being treated like shit by all our so-called friends, a brain tumor and me not fucking remembering you...then I scheme we can handle being roomies...what do you say?"

Chad looked down...smilingly and shook his head.

"You know what, Greenwood?"

"What, Tucker?

Chad paused for a moment, before he placed both arms around Jeremy's neck.

"I know Samantha always says that you are her superstar...you're her hero."

He leaned in...and kissed Jeremy with so much love and passion that it nearly skyrocketed both their teenager dicks.

"You might her hero...but you sure as hell are my superstar..." he whispered, closing the gap between their lips once more.

And if both boys would have had eyes for anything else than each other, they would have totally noticed that a shadow, a memory of a young boy, who had just turned fifteen, and would forever stay that age, with a big, giant smile over his face, his young teenage heart full of love for his best friend and his happiness, watching them from afar...

...before he would be once more swept over the wind acres and drifts of the summer views.

He would wink at the name on the grave before the two lovers...

...and he gave them his blessing.

**

THANKS FOR READING!

HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE ENDING! MAN...THAT TOOK A LOT OUT OF ME!!

Please be so kind as to send me some feedback on the final chapter...I love hearing from you as you well know xx

THANKS for sticking with this story until the very end.

Love,

Ryan

liciousryan@gmail.com