Although his legs never got tired of standing, Tao wanted to go to the waiting room instead of standing right outside of the room where Sehun was being operating on. 

So Tao and Kris waited in the waiting room for a few more hours (they both honestly had no idea; the time was passing by painfully slow).  It was seemed like a slow night in the ER, with only the nurse managing the front desk and a few other families waiting in the room. 

Tao was staring so blankly at the floor in front of him that he didn’t even notice the elevator open and two couples enter the room. 

“Excuse me,” a soft voice trembled, and Tao’s head shot up as he recognized the voice.  His eyes widened the landed on the solemn face of his mother, who was talking to the nurse at the desk.  She looked as if she would break down any second.  Behind her was his father and Sehun’s parents, having the exact same facial expressions. 

“Oh, no,” Tao whispered, standing up and walking over to his mother.  Kris followed. 

“Um,” she continued, “we’re here for Huang Zitao and Oh Sehun?” 

Tao started crying again, wanting to do anything to stop the nurse from breaking the news to his parents.  But all he could do was stand and watch.  “No,” he whispered. 

“Oh.”  The nurse stood with a serious expression.  “Are you Zitao’s parents?” 

“We are,” his mom said, motioning to her husband. 

“Make it stop!”  Tao cried.  “Please, make it stop!” 

“Mr. and Mrs. Huang,” the nurse sighed, “I am very sorry-”

“No!”  Tao and his parents screamed in unison. 

The nurse sighed again.  “There was a car accident, between a drunk driver and your two sons.  He…was found dead at the scene.  I am so, so sorry for your loss.”  She bowed, and then turned to the other couple, “And I assume that you are Oh Sehun’s parents?” 

The said couple nodded.  “How is he?” his mother asked shakily.  She was already crying from the news of Tao’s death, and by now she was already preparing for the worst.  “Is he…is he…?” 

She couldn’t say it.  Her husband patted her back comfortingly, looking pretty shaken up as well. 

“Your son being operated on right now,” the nurse informed them.  “He is in critical condition, but he is still alive.  He’s lost a lot of blood, and broken many bones, but the doctors are seeing what they can do.” 

“Oh, gosh!”  Sehun’s mother sighed in relief, bursting into more tears as she hugged her husband tightly. 

Meanwhile, Tao’s father was trying to be strong and comfort Tao’s mother, who was just standing there in shock.  Her heart had broken and shattered and had sank down into her stomach, and the tears flowed down her cheeks like rivers. 

“He’s…he’s dead.” 

Tao’s dad suddenly broke down then, pulling her into a hug and sobbing with her. 

“Our o-only son…he’s gone…”  She sobbed and sobbed, not even caring how loud she was being.  “My baby!  Zitao...” 

Tao screamed, “Mom!  Mom!   Dad!  I’m right here!  I’m not gone!”  He hiccupped hysterically, trying to catch his breath.  “I’m right here.”  He stood right next to his parents, hugging them.  “Can’t you hear me?” he whispered.  “I love you.” 

Sehun’s parents then hugged Tao’s parents tightly, giving their condolences.  

Tao turned around and ran back to Kris, hugged him and wailed into his shirt. 

They can’t hear me. 

I will never be able to speak to them again. 

I never got the chance to tell them, “I love you,” one last time…

---

It had been four days since the car accident, and Sehun still hadn’t awakened.  The doctor said he was in a coma.  There was no chance of telling when he would wake up. 

His parents visited every day, hoping that that would be the day he wakes up, but unfortunately he never did.  His mother cried every time she came, and she and her husband would talk to Sehun about random things, such as stories from his childhood or what had happened during the day. 

Tao’s parents visited every once in a while as well.  Although they were devastated that their son had died, they prayed for the best for Sehun, who was like a son to them as well. 

Tao and Kris stayed at the hospital in Sehun’s room.  Tao had no more tears to cry, and he spent most of the days sitting next to Sehun, holding his hands and just staring into nothing at all. 

---

January 21^st was the day of Huang Zitao’s funeral. 

The funeral was a closed-casket, and the service was small.  His parents decided to only invite family and close family friends. 

Sehun was still in a coma. 

Tao stood by the casket, looking down at it disgustedly, before looking up at and seeing the faces of all of his loved ones in tears. 

He hated it. 

He didn’t want to cry anymore.  He hated feeling so sad and depressed.  He really just wanted this all to be a terrible, vivid nightmare. 

Why did people have to go so unexpectedly?  Why did those who have such a bright future ahead of them have it ruined because of death?  Why couldn’t he have been given more time? 

The more Tao thought about it, the angrier he got. 

This isn’t fair.  No one deserves this. 

“Hey,” a deep voice said.  Tao felt Kris’s gentle hands on his shoulders.  “Are you okay?” 

Tao snapped.  “Get off of me!”  He pushed his hands away as his eyes welled angrily.  “I don’t even know who the hell you are!  Just leave me alone!  I hate you!” 

His screams were so loud that for a split second, Tao wondered if anyone could hear him.  He looked around hopefully, but to his disappointment, no one did, which only made him angrier. 

Of course they can’t hear you, Tao, he thought bitterly.  You’re dead. 

The last thing he wanted was to stay and watch his own funeral.  So he teleported to the one place he didn’t mind spending time at (that was the only good thing about being dead; you could teleport to wherever you wanted or needed to be.  Pretty convenient, actually). 

Kris stood frozen, hands still in the air where Tao was standing.  He closed them, bringing them down to his sides as his heart sank for unknown reasons.  

---

When Luhan got the call that Tao had died, he immediately flew from China to Korea as soon as he could. 

Tao, who he had known since elementary school, was his best friend.  No, Tao was more than that; Tao was like a brother to him.  They kept in touch even when college had started, and they texted or called each other at least once every day, so Luhan knew something was up when almost a week had gone by and he had still never heard from the panda. 

But Luhan would never have guessed that it was because he was dead. 

It didn’t feel real to him.  He felt like Tao was still alive and well.  He felt like he could still call the other and talk to him for hours and hours about absolutely anything. 

As soon as the plane landed, Luhan rushed out as fast as he could, driving over to Huang Zitao’s funeral service. 

---

When Luhan arrived at the cemetery, the funeral and the burial services were already done, and people were starting to return to their cars to leave.  The only ones still by Tao’s grave (which he knew was Tao’s because it had a bunch of new beautiful flowers and plants on it) were his parents. 

Luhan was about to walk over and give his condolences, but was stopped. 

“Luhan?” a soft, sad voice asked.  The said boy turned around and gasped, heart pounding quickly in his chest. 

“Oh,” Luhan said, attempting to smile.  But he couldn’t, because not only was he facing the reality of his best friend’s death, but he also realized how many people Tao’s death affected.  One of those included Oh Sehun. 

“Hi, Aunty,” he bowed to Sehun’s mother. 

“Luhan-ah,” she sighed, pulling him into a hug.  “I haven’t seen you in a long time.  You, Tao, and Sehun were all such great friends…” 

Luhan resisted the urge to cry then, and pulled away, wiping his eyes.  “Yeah.”  He smiled brokenly.  “Yeah.  I miss him.  A lot.” 

“We all do,” Sehun’s mother sighed.  “This whole thing was such a horrible accident.” 

“It is,” Luhan agreed.  “So…how’s, um, Sehun doing?”  He hesitated a bit, but decided that in the end he needed to know how the younger was taking the news.  Thinking about Sehun being heartbroken just made Luhan’s heart break even more. 

Sehun’s mother suddenly aged ten years.  Her face looked sadder and grimmer almost immediately at the mention of her son, and she looked so exhausted at that moment. 

“Oh, honey, Tao’s mother didn’t tell you?” 

“What?” Luhan asked, although he already had a bad feeling lying in the pit of his stomach. 

She closed her eyes as a single teardrop fell down her cheek.  “The car accident that Tao was in…Sehun was the one driving.  He’s…in a coma.” 

It was then that Luhan’s heart shattered into a million pieces. 

---

A/N: OMGEE i feel like this story is going by way too slowly (couple-wise) for my liking. I hope it'll be worth it in the end lol.

BUT ANYWAY, idk if I have mentioned this before (if I have I apologize cuz I am really forgetfull haha), but this is VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL YOU GUYS TO KNOW: if I ever mention Taoris's hearts racing or like if they blush or something, they obviously can't cuz they're ghosts and stuff. But what i mean is like that's how they probably would react if they were humans, or like they can still feel it sort of because it's a strong feeling they have.

Does that make sense? It probably doesn't. Just go with it. Lol, it made sense in my head :P. idk how else to explain it.

BUT THANKYU FOR SUBSCRIBING AND IF YOU HAVEN'T PLEASE SUBSCRIBE AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK! It means a lot :D.

I will start working on the next chapter and post it ASAP.