I ran beside the gurney that had L.Joe laying on it, with tears running down my face. We burst through several doors until we came to the Operating Room. I watched as the doctors pushed the doors open, and the last thing I saw was the doctors carefully transferred L.Joe to an operating table.

We, Changjo, Ricky, and I, waited outside the operating room. Changjo and Ricky had arrived seconds after L.Joe collapsed, along with the cops. The cops arrested the three men. An ambulance finally arrived, but by then L.Joe had lost so much blood. I was beginning to worry that L.Joe might not make it.

No. That couldn't happen. L.Joe was going to get through this alive. He had to.

I sat down on one of benches outside the O.R., beside Changjo. I had my head in my hands, and I was crying like crazy. Tears flowed non-stop from my eyes, and I just kept shaking. L.Joe wouldn't be in this situation if it hadn't been for me. He would have been safe if I had just called the cops that night. He would have been safe if I had just died. He would have been safe if it weren't for me.

Suddenly I felt someone place an arm on my back. I knew it was Changjo. I hugged him tightly and continued crying on his shoulder. "This is all my fault," I said.

"Hey, it's not your fault. It was either him or you," said Changjo.

I sat up and looked at Changjo, and said, "Are you saying it's better this way?", my voice getting louder.

"No! I mean- Look I just can't bear to think how it would have been if L.Joe were outside with us and you-you-" Changjo choked, and didn't finish his sentence. He was obviously holding back tears.

I hugged Changjo and said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have-"

"Don't be," he interrupted, "I know you must feel terrible right now, but I just wanted you to know that you couldn't have possibly done anything to prevent this."

"But I did," I said.

"What do you mean?" asked Ricky, who was just listening in on the conversation we just had.

"The night that L.Joe told me the truth, I-I could have called the cops. But I didn't- I couldn't, because-" My voice cracked, and more tears flowed down my face.

"You love him that much, huh?" asked Ricky. I nodded. I was deeply in love with L.Joe, and the thought of losing him was just too painful. Ricky and Changjo reached over to me and pulled me into a hug.

At that moment, a doctor came out of the O.R. We all stood up. I felt like my heart was about to explode right out of my chest. "He's going to be fine. He just needs to stay here for a couple of weeks so we can monitor how he's doing," said the doctor.

I felt like a weight was lifted off my chest. I hugged my two best friends, and started crying once more; this time, out of happiness.

The three of us sat around L.Joe's bed. He was still unconscious. His chest was only rising and falling ever so slightly you could hardly notice it, that the only thing that was convincing me that he was still alive was the heart monitor beside me. It was getting quite late, and Ricky and Changjo had fallen asleep on their chairs. I texted Sunho that I'd be staying at Ricky's for the night because of a project. I didn't tell him the truth because he'd probably just shut me in the house forever if I did.

I heard the heart monitor's beeping quicken. I looked over at L.Joe and saw his chest rise and fall more evidently. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes slowly and smiled.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," I replied. I smiled and a tear fell from my eye. L.Joe reached over and wiped it off.

"Why are you crying?" he asked.

"I'm just- I'm just happy you're okay," I said. I took a deep breath and continued, "I'm sorry."

"Hey it's not our fault," he reassured me. "Besides, I promised I wouldn't let anything happen to you."

"How are you?" I asked him.

"Pretty lousy. My side still hurts, and my head hurts a bit too," he said. He looked around us and suddenly panicked, "Wait, are we in a hospital?"

"Yeah. Why?" I asked.

"If these people find out who I am-" he said.

"They won't," said Ricky who, along with Changjo, had just woken up. "We didn't register you as Lee Byunghun; we registered you as Lee Joe." L.Joe just looked at them in surprise.

"A simple 'thank you' will suffice," said Changjo.

"Thank you," said L.Joe. He cleared his throat and said, "I didn't really expect seeing you two here."

"Chanhee wasn't going anywhere, so we stayed," said Changjo. An awkward silence followed right after.

"Thank you," said Ricky, "For keeping your promise." L.Joe merely smiled at both of them.

"This doesn't mean we've forgotten what you did to Ricky," said Changjo.

"I understand," said L.Joe, as he pursed his lips.

"But we're willing to give you another chance," said Ricky. L.Joe's face lit up, and Ricky and Changjo smiled at him as well.

"Knock knock," I said, as Ricky, Changjo, and I entered L.Joe's room, a few days later.

"Hey, you're here early," he said.

"Class got dismissed earlier than usual," Ricky explained.

"We got something for you," I said.

"What is it?" asked L.Joe.

Changjo placed a stack of notebooks on the bedside table and said, "Homework!"

"Ugh do I really need to do this?" he groaned. The three of us nodded.

I held L.Joe's hand and said, "How are you feeling?"

"Better. Big thanks to you guys," he replied.

"Hey Ricky, could you come with me to go get a drink?" Changjo suddenly asked. I felt like he felt like I wanted to be along with L.Joe for a while.

"Sure," said Ricky. They both got up and headed out. I smiled at them thankfully, which they returned before they shut the door.

"So," I said, "Remember my question to you a few days ago?"

"Which one?" asked L.Joe.

"The one about taking this further," I said. In a split second, L.Joe's lips were pressed against mine, and soon I was kissing him back. That moment felt like absolute bliss. L.Joe didn't have to say anything for me to know that his answer was, without a doubt, yes.

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeey c: So chapter 12 is up :) I'm not really satisfied with this chapter though, I don't know why. But anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, please leave a comment below to tell me what you thought,and please upvote :> I LOVE YOU ALL <3 <3 <3 Thank you OuO Byeeeeeeeeee -u-