VIC’S POV

“Spencer!” I screamed, banging my fists feverishly on the door. Tony and Mike joined me, pounding the door with all of our strength.


“Spencer! Please stop!” Tony screamed, kicking the door.


God damn; this door was stubborn. We punched it and hit it with as much power as we could, until, finally, we broke it open. I stumbled forward, feeling lightheaded at the sight of Spencer’s body.


Blood.


Everywhere.


Her wrist was completely open; her veins were almost empty.


Her heart was stopping…


“Spencer!” I hissed, swaying forward.


My movements were slow, despite the severity of the situation. Mike, luckily, was quicker, and he pushed his way over to Spencer, wrapping her wrist in a towel.


“Hey, hey, hey, Spencer, stay with me, babe,” Mike said, patting her face a few times… her face slumped down, her chin meeting her chest… she barely moaned in agony.


Tony was already on the phone with the police…


I just stood there, watching the situation unfold before my eyes. What was wrong with me? Why wasn’t I doing anything to help?


I swayed again, my vision blotching up. I slapped a hand on the wall for support, taking in deep breaths.


“Vic? What is the matter?” Tony looked over at me in confusion. I shook my head. I stared at Spencer… my eyes were, for some reason, drawn to her lifeless body.


Blood was pooled everywhere.


So much blood.


She looked… dead.


We were too late…


I began to see spots in my vision… white, black, red…


“Vic, dude…” I heard Tony say, but it sounded like he was ten miles away. I looked for him, but I couldn’t see him behind all of the red that lined my eyes.


Red, and then black.



SPENCER’S POV



“Fuck,” I muttered, grasping onto my sore wrist. “Why didn’t you guys just let me die?” I growled, looking up. When I looked up, though, I noticed that I was not, in fact, in a hospital. The bright lights that practically blinded me were not from a hospital bed. Fuck, I had no idea where I was.


Was it heaven? Everything was white…


No, this couldn’t be heaven. If I died, then I would be in Hell. I was almost positive you couldn’t go to heaven if you killed yourself.


But that meant that I wasn’t dead, either, because Hell surely could not look like this.


“Spencer?” I turned my head, seeing Vic stumble over to me.


“Vic?” I exclaimed. “What the fuck are you doing here?” I asked incredulously.


“The fuck if I know,” he muttered.


“Vic…” my voice softened with realization. “I think we are in… I don’t know how to describe it… like a… a limbo?” I shook my head. “That sounds stupid,” I muttered.


Vic put his hands over his face in stress. “The last thing I remember is you, half-dead in a pool of your own blood,” he said, sighing.


“Vic, this is impossible,” I said, standing up. “This is just a dream in my head. I am dead, or dying, or whatever, and you are not,” I said firmly.


“But it feels so real,” he said quietly, his eyebrows knitting. “I’m losing my fucking mind,” he groaned.


“My mind has been lost for a long time, Vic,” I said sadly. “Want to look for it with me?” I asked. The words sounded silly, but they were also right. Except I couldn’t remember ever deciding to say them. They just kind of… came out.


“Sure,” he said. He walked over to me, and our fingers intertwined. I felt lost without his hand holding onto mine. I didn’t want to separate. I didn’t want to be alone. This place was just empty space; I would not know what to do if I were by myself.


We walked aimlessly in silence for a few minutes, until the scene around us changed. We were no longer in empty, white space. We were on the streets of San Diego.


“Maybe we should find Jaime,” Vic suggested.


“You always seem to know what to do, Vic,” I sighed, agreeing. This situation felt all too familiar. Why were we in each other’s heads again? But, more importantly, what happened to Vic? Why was he here? Last time, we were both dying. But, now, it was just me.


“I’m sorry,” I found myself saying.


He squeezed my hand. “Why are you sorry?”


“Because… I feel like I kind of dragged you here,” I said lowly. The words didn’t make sense, but they also made a lot of sense…


“Spencer, I don’t know why I’m here. But I am glad that I am. I want to save you,” he said calmly.


He hummed quietly as we walked to Jaime’s apartment.


I’ll never wander, my friend…



We arrived at Jaime’s apartment. I froze outside of it, scared to go in.


Vic looked at me sympathetically. “I’ll go myself, if you prefer,” he said sweetly. I widened my eyes in terror.


“No, I’ll go with you. Please don’t leave me,” I said quickly.


He nodded, gripping my hand tightly. We walked together into the apartment. Every door opened easily, as if no locks existed.


If breathing was still possible where we were, I let out a gasp when we entered Jaime’s room.


“So, what made you finally decide to call me back?” a half naked woman bit on her lip as she crawled over Jaime. I felt nauseas. I couldn’t watch. I buried my face into Vic’s arm, listening.


“My girlfriend cheated on me with my best friend,” he slurred. First, I noticed the empty beer bottles and Vodka handle on the ground. He was wasted out of his mind. But then, realization struck me.


“Vic? Did I hear that right?” I asked. I looked up at him, but his jaw was practically on the floor. He nodded.


“You cheated on him?” he looked down on me. I couldn’t bear the accusing look he gave me.


“No!” I cried. “I don’t know how he would think that!”


“She kissed him right in front of me, that whore,” he slurred again. His words stung. My heart broke for the millionth time.


“I’m sorry that happened to you,” the woman whispered. “Let me make you feel better…” she said seductively as she began to go down on him.


I tore my eyes away from the scene, tears stinging my eyes. I ran out of the room, out of the building, collapsing into the street. I was dead, cars couldn’t kill me.


“Spencer!” Vic followed me, his hands now on my back. “I’m so sorry, Spence,” he said. He sounded distraught. I turned to face him; his eyes were already puffy and red.


“Vic… Jaime is…” I couldn’t say the words that I couldn’t bear to believe. Jaime was so… fucked up. “Vic, I think we found my mind. But I think Jaime lost his,” I said, crying harder.


He didn’t say anything. He just rubbed my back gently in comfort.


“I’m sorry,” I said.


“Spence, why are you sorry, again?”


“I’m ruining your band,” I moaned. They were never going to be the same again. What if they broke up because of me?


“Spence, if anything, this is helping it. Do you know how many kick-ass songs we are going to come out with if we make it through this?” he said, sending me a toothy grin. Even in fucking limbo, Vic found the light in the situation.


I was sure glad to know that he knew how to find the light, especially once I noticed the dark barreling towards me.


“V-Vic,” I stuttered, pointing to the large black mass that was getting closer and closer…


His eyes grew wide as it almost swallowed me. He pushed me aside, stepping in front of me and holding his arms out in a protective way… and then the darkness took him…


“Vic!” I screamed, but it was too late. Death took him, instead.


VIC’S POV

I gasped when I opened my eyes.


“Jesus Christ, Vic,” I looked over and saw a terrified looking Mike sitting next to me. “You scared the fucking shit out of us, man!”


“What happened?” I asked groggily. I knew what happened, though… in my mind, in my soul... wherever that God damned “limbo” was… I knew what happened there. I was asking what happened here, on Earth… because that would answer the “how” while I was there with Spencer. As in, how did I end up there?


It couldn’t just be a dream. It wasn’t just in our heads. I remember every single detail of it. If it was just a coping mechanism in Spencer’s mind, then I wouldn’t know anything about it.


Before Mike could answer my question, my thoughts distracted me to ask another question… something more important. “Is Spencer okay?” I asked desperately.


“Yes, she’s right here,” I heard a girl’s voice say. I looked to my left and saw Spencer sitting in a chair next to me. Her face was paler and her left arm was tightly bandaged, but she was alive. She slightly grinned at me.


“Oh, hey,” I said. I shot her a knowing look that I hoped she would understand. Her head slightly nodded. She knew. She remembered. So, our little “limbo adventure” was… real? It wasn’t just made up in my head or her head.


My mind flashed back to the first time this happened. I had wrenched her away from Death, and then we woke up and smiled at each other. I had remembered the song I had sang to her… we had both remembered everything…


But this time it was different. I had stepped in front of Death for her, so, shouldn’t I be dead?


It just wasn’t your time, a voice slithered through my brain. I shivered. I guess Death could be merciful... or maybe it was God... I shivered again, thinking about it.


“So, why am I here?” I asked, referring to the hospital.


“I don’t know man, you just kind of had a fit,” Tony said lowly.


“It was a seizure,” Mike clarified. “Your brain is a tiny bit fucked up from when you were almost beaten to death.”


I cringed. “And… Jaime?” I asked softly. Mike and Tony shook their heads. Spencer looked down on her feet.


“Can I have my phone, please?” I asked, knowing that one of them had it. Sure enough, Mike handed it to me.


I typed a new message to Jaime, remembering what me and Spencer had walked in on… if that actually happened… I shook my head.


You fucking asshole. Spencer literally almost died. What is your deal? I typed. I chose to not include the fact that I had a seizure. I wasn’t about to make this about me. I wanted Jaime to hurt, knowing that Spencer almost killed herself over him.


It broke my heart knowing that a crack in the road was widening between Jaime and the rest of the us. How would we go on as a band together like this? Hatred spewed from my pores. Jaime crossed a line.


The only problem was that it wasn’t really Jaime in there anymore. It was a monster.


The Jaime we knew and loved, I was afraid, didn’t exist anymore. Something possessed Jaime…


It reminded me of Death, himself.



(Jaime’s POV)


I gritted my teeth when I saw that Vic had texted me.


You fucking asshole. Spencer literally almost died. What is your deal?

Spencer almost died? She tried to kill herself? At first, I felt terrible. A slicing pain tore through my chest. I couldn’t imagine being the reason why Spencer died. But then I remembered what she did, and my drunken self felt angry again.


I replied ruthlessly: Yeah? And remind me how that is MY fault? You’re the fucking prick.


Vic answered almost immediately: You just crossed a line.


I laughed. I crossed a line? I wasn’t the one who kissed my best friend’s girlfriend. I typed those very words back to him: Ha! I crossed a line? I am not the one who kissed my best friend’s girlfriend!


Vic answered quickly again. I could almost hear the anger and confusion in his voice: What the fuck are you talking about????


What the fuck was I talking about? Well, I didn’t know, anymore…


Are you trying to deny what I saw with my own eyes? I typed back nervously. I felt myself begin to sober up as this new revelation threatened to overwhelm me.


Yes… Ask Tony and Mike… Jaime… what is wrong with you? He answered.


I dropped my phone in my lap. They didn’t actually kiss? I could sense the worry in Vic’s tone when he asked what was wrong with me. It wasn’t an angry text… it was a concerned text…


I stared at the nameless girl next to me, guilt searing through my veins.


Guilt was a very familiar feeling. So was, unfortunately, insanity.


Oh, my God. I lost my mind.


And, now, I was about to lose everything I loved.

Notes

dun. dun. DUUNN.

I hope you guys like this chapter!

What's going to happen NEXT?! (Any suggestions? What do you guys want to see?)

this chapter is for @Amberly_Love (I hope you didn't piss your pants yet) and @SoWrongItsLottie THANKS FOR THE ENTHUSIASTIC WORDS AND INSPIRATION! :D and thanks to everyone else who has commented and such! It means so much and makes me so happy you have no idea :)