"It's been a while."

  "We've gathered here to day to celebrate the life of Jaylen Maio and Bobby Carter. These two souls were a blessing to every person they came in contact with. Whether it was Jaylen's smile or Bobby's personality, you was almost guaranteed to leave with a smile on your face. Make no mistake, this is not a mourning but a celebration instead. A celebration of how these two gentlemen lived and was loved while they were here with us. I'm gonna go ahead and let Jaylen's friend Malika speak now." 

 "I think I can speak for everyone when I say Jaylen was the light at the end of everyone's tunnel. His smiled always seemed to melt away your problems. Though he himself was struggling, he'd never want you to worry about him. That was one of the things I disliked about him. He'd tell you all the times we'd get into arguments over that too." she chuckled as the tears fell down her face. "Though he was a victim of sex trafficking, he'd never let us worry about him. He'd often lie to us about the bumps and bruises he'd get. When he finally got free, it was a celebration for all of us. He no longer had to look over his shoulder. He could live a normal life.

  "The relief was written all over his face when got off the plane that day. I thanked God himself that he brought him to us safely. Roman, thank you for everything you've done for him. He told me." she said as Roman simply nodded his head as the tears fell. "The first thing he wanted to do was go eat." she laughed. "After all he went through you'd  think he'd want to wait a few days before even wanting to go outside. Not Jay, it was like someone pressed reset on his life, allowing him to make up for lost time. Jaylen was my brother if anything. Whatever I needed, he was always there for me, no matter what. It feels like there's a hole in my heart now that he's not here." she said looking at his casket before bursting out into tears as Cory helped her off the stage. 

  "Ahem." the pastor said clearing his throat. "Now Bobby's friend Prince would like to say a few things." he said as Prince made his way up. "Bobby, my brother Bobby." he started as he choked up. "Bobby was that type of friend that came a dime of dozen. He was there for me when everyone turned their backs on me. He was always instilling hope in me even when I myself wanted to give up and say fuck everything. Though I came off as an ass to every one I came into contact with, he was there telling them to give me a chance like he was my guardian angel or something." he earned a few chuckles from that. "I'd always tell him that he's gonna make someone happy as hell when he'd get in a relationship. Then he met Jaylen."

  "Upon first meet, me and Jaylen didn't get along at all. I was often worried that he'd take Bobby away from me. I didn't like that. When Bobby told me that he they were together, I was conflicted. I didn't want to lose my best friend you know? Once I saw how happy he was with Jaylen, I knew I couldn't get in the way of his happiness. I never saw Bobby so happy. It was like he found something to call his own. Couldn't get in the way of that. What surprised me the most was that Jaylen still wanted to be cool with me. After all the things I did to him, he still wanted to be friends."

  "I was happy to accept that offer. Our budding friendship was something that I'll always cherish. He and Bobby both showed me that there were still some good people left in the world. Just like that, they took them from me." He said as he started to cry. "My brothers, they took them from me!" He said as he burst into tears. The moment was interrupted by the doors opening. "I'm back to finish what I started!" was all that was said before shots was fired throughout the church....

 Jaylen POV

  "N-! -o! No!" I said as I choked. "Pull the tube out!" I heard someone yell, but my vision was blurry. "Nurse! Nurse!" some one else said. "Mr. Maio, calm down." A nurse said as I struggled to regain my breathing. My throat was mad dry and it felt like I was coughing up blood. "Here's some water." she said placing a cup in my hand. It felt like this shit weighed a ton. "I got it." someone else said as they held the cup to my lips. "Let me know when to stop." they said as I slowly nodded my head, signifying the end. The moisture from the water was exactly what I needed. Once I finally calmed down, I slowly opened my eyes. 

  I looked up to see Malika, Dion and my parents with tears in their eyes. "You're finally awake." Malika said as she hugged me. If it wasn't dying before, I damn sure was now. "Easy Malika, he just woke up. He's still a bit weak." my mom caution as she played in my now curly hair. "H-he-ey" I croaked. Everyone just smiled at me, causing me to be confused. "You've been out for 3 months Jay." Cory said as he Jade and Talia walked in (I'm guessing they haven't told her everything that happened to me). All three of them looked like they've seen better days, In fact I can say that for everyone here. Malika never let my hand go. When I went to sit up, I felt this intense pain jolt through my body, causing me to groan. "Easy Jaylen!" Cory said as he rushed over to help me up. 

  "You were shot twice that night. The other one was in your lower abdomen. You had 5 cracked ribs and a punctured lung. You passed out due to blood loss. After surgery, you slipped into a coma." he said as tears came down my face. This was a lot to take in. "Jaylen, why didn't you tell me?" Talia said looking at me with tears in her eyes. I couldn't bring myself to answer that question. "Tell me. Please." She begged. "I.... was.....embarrassed" I strained. I guess Cory read my mind because he picked up where I left off.

  "He didn't tell anybody honestly. He didn't want anyone else to get hurt like his friend did. When he finally did explain everything, it was when he was far away so he'd knew they were safe. He didn't want you specifically to know because he wanted you to focus on school and fulfill the promise you made to him. He knew if he'd told you, you'd slack and start to worry about him, which in turn would've put you in harms way. He couldn't afford that." He said as she broke down in tears. "But still..." she trailed off as I reached out for her with my free hand. "At least you're still here with me." she smiled. "I can kill you later." she added as I shook my head.

  As if the room could get any more crowded, Darren and Roman burst through the door, both of their eyes were bloodshot red. "Jaylen!" Darren exclaimed as he rushed over to the bed. I smiled as he knelt down and laid his head on me. I played in his hair as he cried. "Talia, this is the friend that I told you about." Cory said as she got up and went to hug him. "Thank you so much for looking out for my brother. Thank you, thank you." she said as they both cried. "It was becuase if Jaylen that I even had the courage to run. He never gave up, which gave me hope." he said with glossy eyes. I smiled as I shifted my attention from him to Roman. Everyone was crowding him as the showered him with praise. 

  My smile got even bigger because he rightfully deserved it. He's done so much for me. I don;t even want to think about what would've happened if he wasn't around. Dion came around the other side of the bed and kissed me on my cheek. "You knew to come back to us." he said as I rolled my eyes. "Boy move!" Malika said mushing him out of the way. "lemme have my moment M." "You did. Moment ended. We didn't forget about you being fake." she said as I nodded because I damn sure didn't. "Man I almost lost my best friend, both of y'all shut up." he said roping us in for a hug, gently of course. He smelled good too. For the next few minutes, it was nothing but commotion as everyone spoke among each other. It's like a spark has been reignited in all of them, made my heart happy.

  The nurse came in shortly after that to let them know that visiting hours were over. "Do you want anyone to stay?" my mom asked me as I shook my head no. I weakly signaled for a pen and paper. 'You've all been through enough, you can all use the rest. I'll be alright.' I sloppily wrote on the paper as I showed it to them. I could tell a few of them wanted to argue against it but no one said a word. Instead, they nodded their heads and gathered their things before leaving. Smiling, I turned my head towards the TV and just stared blankly at uninteresting show. I was snapped out of said trance as my door opened. It was Roman. I figured he wouldn't listen. 

  "I came just in case somebody tried something. Everyone agreed to it." he said with his hands up. Guardian angel right here. "How do you feel?" he asked as he pulled up a chair. 'A bit sluggish, I don't know if it's the meds or just my body.' I wrote as he nodded his head. "You finally free baby boy. No more looking over your shoulder, we can live a normal life now." he said as I smiled.  Although my life will be far from normal, I can at least rest knowing that he isn't lurking out and about. He poured me a cup of water and placed it next to me. I guess he knew my throat was on fire. I wasted no time downing the cup as he poured another cup. I downed that one too. "I know you wasn't crying" I strained as he laughed. "Yeah I did chump. Let a thug shed some tears." he said as I laughed. 

  "Seriously though Jay, that night was scary.  We didn't even know about the other bullet until the put you on a stretcher. Time moved in slow motion for everyone because we really didn't know what was going to happen to the both of you." he said. "Well at least I can tease you now." I said as he laughed. We continued talking about what happened in the last three months. Looks like I got a lot of work to make up on. I unfortunately lost my job as well but that's life. I omit from asking about Bobby because I don't think I can take the news right now. Don't need me slipping into another coma. We talked for like 4 hours before finally falling asleep. I finished about 2 pitchers of water in that time frame, call me a fucking camel. 

  I woke up the next morning, well afternoon with the urge to go to the bathroom. Weakly, I tried getting up out of the bed. "So hardheaded." Roman said as he helped me. Once I made it to said area, I handled my business. I took a good look at myself. My hair was a curly mess but at least they made sure the rest of my face was was intact. I took the moment to brush my teeth and wash my face before heading back out. "I'm gonna go grab something to eat, anything in specific he as I shook my head no. Shortly after he left, everyone else came in with cards, balloons, the works. You would've swore it was my birthday.  "Happy Birthday Jaylen!" They said as I smiled. "Thank you everyone." I smiled. Roman came back shortly with my food and cake. "Y'all started without me." he said as I laughed. I made my wish as I blew out the candles. 

  I opened up all the cards and gifts they gave me. My smiled faltered a bit. "Talk to me kid." Cory said. "Where's Bobby?" I asked as the celebration stopped. "He's on the other end of the hall." Roman finally answered after a moment of silence. OK this is awkward. "I don't know how he's doing because they refuse to let see him." he added as I looked confused. "I want to see him." i simply said as he nodded his head. He wrapped me up in a blanket before putting me in a nearby wheelchair and rolling me out. Prince was sitting on a nearby chair when we pulled up. "Jaylen." he said as his face lit up. "Hi. Is he in there?" I asked. 

  "Uh Jay-" he started but was interrupted by the door opening. Out walked Bobby's mother and father if I had to guess. I never met either one so I couldn't be sure. "Hell-" "It's you." his father started. "You're the reason why my on was-" "Yeah, I wouldn't even finish that sentence if I were you." my father said as he walked up in front of me. I grabbed his arm to calm him down before things got worse. "Like I said to Prince, I told Bobby he could leave me. He chose to stay, I didn't make him. I didn't come here to cause any problems. I just want to see him." I low key pleaded, hoping they'd let me. "I'm sorry Jaylen but I think it's for the best if you leave." his mom said as she gave me a hard look. Say didn't have to say she blamed me because her face said it all. "I understand. I'm sorry for all the pain I caused." I said as I motioned for Roman to take me back.

  "Sorry about that Jay. I know you really wanted to see him." Malika said as I smiled. "It's OK." The pain from my wounds crept up on me. "I'll go get the nurse." Cory said as he left. "How much longer do I have in here?" I asked as I ate my food. "Well now that you're awake you have to do physical therapy. The doctor said that should take a month." Jade answered. "A month?!" "Yeah they want to make sure you properly heal as well." pops chimed in. "I guess. Let's continue with the festivities shall we?" I said as everyone cheered. 

A month later    

"I can finally leave!" I said to Roman as he smile. "Yup we're busting you out of here." I could walk perfectly fine, my ribs and lungs have healed up, though the doctor did warm me not to do any strenuous activities for the time being. I'm just happy to get back to my normal life. I quickly went to the bathroom as my father signed the discharge papers. "Ahh fresh air! I said as we walked outside. "Get in the car stupid." Cory nudged me. I was happy see that I still had my apartment. "I made the rent was paid up. You actually got two more months until you have to pay it, well three since I just paid it this morning." Roman said as I nodded. I should've known. Every was the same as I left it but the smell was another thing. It smelled like heaven. 

  "We cleaned up while you were out." Malika said as she, Jade, and Darren walked into the living room. Everyone huddled up around me as I sat on the couch. "How did you guys find me?" I started. That question was burning me. "I figured you wasn't gonna stay still so when you left, I tracked your phone. When I found it but not you, I called Mario from it. I told him that I planned on getting 'taken' and he told me where the next 'pickup' would be. Everyone disagreed but it had to be me seeing as though Bryheem never saw me before. It made perfect sense. I quickly informed everyone else. Roman put a super small tracker in my hair so they could find us. I had to act an ass towards you so that everything would go according to plan. Good thing they had to wear masks before entering because things could've went left. The rest was history." Malika said as I sat there in shock. 

  My friend really risked her life for me. "Before you ask, no one did anything to me because Mario wasn't having that." she added. "Wow. Y'all really risked y'all lives for me. I don't know what to say." "Just say you'll never do that shit again." Cory said as I laughed. "I'll NEVER do that again." I said as he smiled. "Aww man! What am I gonna do about school?" "Don't worry, you've been pardoned for the semester. You can pick back up in three months." Dion chimed. Looks like they had everything covered. I didn't have anything else to say so I just sat there silent as we watched TV. Every so often, my mind would drift to Bobby. I hope he's okay or happy.

  "You're thinking of him arent you?" Jade asked. "Yeah." "Sorry about what happened back there." Cory said as he patted my back. "It's OK. None of you guys are to blame." I smiled but deep down, my heart was broken. Only thing I wanted to do was see him and make sure he was OK. If there was a him to even see. "Uh, uh. We not doing that. Get up." Malika said as she pulled me up. Well, struggled to anyway. "Where are we going?" I asked. "To do something fun. Load up the car." she told Dion as he looked at her like she was crazy. "Uh did I stutter?" she said with her eyebrow raised. "Yeah you did but I'm not even finna argue." he said as I laughed. These two are something else. 

  "Do I need to change?" I asked as she shook her head no. "You're perfect. I know just the spot too. Let's go." she said as she yanked my ass out the door. The whole ride was filled with laughs as we joked out small things. "We're here!" she said as I looked out the and saw Johnny's Adventure Emporium in neon lights. "You remembered." I smiled. "Never forgot and neither will you, let's go." she said as she jumped out the car. They didn't let me pay for anything all night. It was funny as hell watching them all open their wallets to pay for something. By the end of the night, I was tired as hell. "Did you enjoy yourself baby boy?" Dion said carrying me to the car. "Yes I did thank you all so much." I said yawning. "Anything for you kid." Jade responded as I smiled.   

I really have the best support system in the world.

Oh hey! Didn't see you there. 

Thoughts?

Jaylen?

Malika?

Bobby's mom?

Dion?