A lot has happened in the past couple months. Sora is now back on his feet, still a little wary of what has been going on. Both he and Tracey haven't said a word about the incident with Sora and the black feathers. The young telepath desperately wanted to go into his friend's mind and dig for what caused him to bleed out and where those eerie feathers came from. But he refused to go in, for once in Tracey's life he seemed to be almost afraid to enter.

'Why should I be afraid?' he asked himself while his best friend was getting his lunch, 'I've known him for 15 years and he's never kicked me out before so why am I hesitating?' He tapped the tabletop lightly, 'I can't shake the memory of that night... He could have died.' He sighed, 'I have got to stop this... I have to tell him.'

"Tracey?"

"Ah?!" The violet-eyed teen turned to see Jason standing behind him. He exhaled, "Don't do that..."

"Sorry." The redhead sat somewhat across from the telepath. "You've been really out of it since..." he brought his voice down, "Sora was hypothermic. Are you okay?"

"No. He could have died, Jay. And I don't know what I'd do if I lost him." Tracey's voice too was nothing but a whisper. "I'm sure Sarah's pissed at me too."

"Actually she's not. I explained to her what happened and she realized there was nothing you could do. She as well as the rest of us know when your precognition kicks in you have the tendency to zone out. But at least you're admitting now that you're in love with him."

"I've always known that fact, Jason. And I know he loves me, but I'm worried if it doesn't work out."

"What won't work out?" The two lifted their gazes off of each other and noticed Sora sitting at the table.

"Nothing." Tracey hated lying to his best friend, but what else could he do. 'I have to keep my feelings to myself. Just for a bit longer... then I can tell him everything.' He thought.

"Oh." The singer winced for a second and placed his hand over his stomach. "Ow..."

"Are you all right?" Jason asked.

Sora shrugged, "I've been having trouble keeping things down. My nightmares have gotten a lot worse and they're not just of my sister anymore..."

Tracey opened his mouth to voice his question and concern, but then spaced out for a moment. He then stood from the bench. "Sora, come with me to the bathroom."

"I'm okay, Trace."

"No, you're not. I just had a vision of you puking blood right here. Come on."

"Okay..." He too stood and then they made their way to the closest boy's room with Jason close in toe. The redheaded father locked the bathroom door so no one could enter, Tracey stood next to the stall that Sora had gone into and the blue haired singer knelt in front of the toilet. Sure enough after a minute or so Sora threw up.

"I think you should go to the nurse." The black haired teen stated.

"No... I'm fine..." he winced again.

"Sora," Jay spoke up from his spot on the door. "is it possible that you have a stomach ulcer?"

"It's possible..."

Tracey walked into the stall and stood behind him, "You don't have to go home, but I would feel more at ease if you went to the nurse's office and rested for a bit. Jay can go get your things from your art room and I'll help you down there, okay?"

"Yeah..." he sounded too weak or too tired to argue with him. "Your precognition must be getting better..." he stood up and flushed the toilet.

"Yeah, maybe..." The violet-eyed guitarist sighed, preparing his next words. "I think you should back out of Iyada for now as well."

"What?!"

"Sora, ulcers are usually caused by stress and if you do have an ulcer, well Iyada is a definite factor involved. You need to rest."

"I NEED to get the money for my mother's operation. You know that, Trace."

"Sora... I'm getting paid for working there too and I'll help you. I don't want you to end up in the hospital. I'll let your aunt know that you'll be 'out of action' for a little bit so you can calm down and relieve yourself of all this stress."

"But..."

"I agree with him, Sora." Jason peeked into the stall, "I think the time off will do you some good. The three of us should be fine and if Tracey wanted to stay behind with you Kimberly and I should be enough."

"I get it..." He groaned.

The violet-eyed boy gave a light smile, "Good, now let's get you to the nurse."

Tracey sat in his normal seat in his creative writing class. He sighed as his thoughts continued down the path that reflected on his best friend. 'I want you to get better, Sora... That way I can tell you my feelings with full confidence and from then on I will shield you from any pain...' The telepath set his violet gaze on the classroom door that had just opened.

The blue haired singer entered, handed Mr. Graysin his hall pass then sat in front of the guitarist.

"Are you feeling better, Sora?" The teacher asked. He received a nod and then went back to teaching.

"Tell the truth, are you okay?" Came the mental question.

"I guess, I mean my dreams will always make me sick."

"You got sick in the nurse's office?"

"Yep... I hope she didn't call my mom."

"I think you should get your stomach looked at. You know my mother would do it for nothing."

"I know, but the last thing I want is my mom worrying about me..."

"You're too late, ya know. You already have your mother worrying about you as well as Sarah and myself. And I'm beginning to think Jason's starting to join this little group."

"I should have killed myself when I had the chance..."

"Don't say or even think that!"

"Why? Everyone would be better off if I were gone."

"That's not true!" A quick flash shot out into Tracey's mind. The young man grunted in pain as he placed his right hand on his forehead.

"Are you all right?" Mr. Graysin questioned.

"Yeah... Just a little headache."

"Do you need some aspirin?"

"Nah, I'm fine."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah." He looked at his other classmates who seemed to be staring and snickering at him. "What, you've never seen someone with a headache before?!"

"All right, class. Attention back up here."

"Sora, can you hear me?" He was almost hesitant to go back in.

"Yeah."

"Why'd you kick me out?"

"I didn't."

"You must of. It was like I was forcefully thrown out."

"I have never kicked you out before, why would I start now?"

"You've got a good point..." He mentally shrugged, "I may have tapped into someone else’s head."

"Or your precognition kicked in while we were talking."

"Now that's more likely since it has never happened before and as you said earlier it does seem like it has been getting better. But I don't want to take the risk of that happening again. That hurt like hell. I know we were on a touchy subject before, but do you mind if we pick up the conversation after school?"

"Yes, but I have the feeling that we'll talk about it anyway."

"You're damn right we are."

~*~*~*

The car ride after school was somewhat quiet. Not knowing quite how he wanted to approach the subject again, Tracey kept his mouth shut. Though his eyes did glance over from time to time to see Sora looking out the window. He stopped the car right in front of the apartment complex, sighed and turned off the engine. "We have to talk about what you thought earlier." he stated.

The wind caster shrugged, "I don't see why, it's just how I feel right now. You know I slip into this every now and again."

"Are you taking your meds?"

"Yeah..."

"Sora, why do you think everyone would be better off you were dead?"

"Because I wouldn't be in anyone's way..."

"You're not."

"Just-" he sighed shaking his head, "please just drop this for now..."

"Tell me, what's the matter?"

"I'm just depressed, that's all." Sora stepped out of the vehicle and Tracey followed. "Why are you thinking that there is something more to this than my depression?"

"Cause." He reached out and grasped onto his friend's left arm, pulling him close. Carefully he removed Sora's glove and pushed up the sleeve of his navy blue shirt. Tracey's violet eyes quivered when he looked upon the other boy's wrist, "You're cutting again."

"It's not that bad..."

"It IS that bad. Does your mom know you're doing this again?"

He shook his head, "I do it while she and Aunt Sarah are out. But the cuts aren't near my vain so don't worry."

"I will. You may not have hit it this time or the one before that, but who's to say that you won't?" He embraced him, letting his guard down, his sorrow started to show. "I came back because of you, Sora. Please, don't leave me like that because you won't be able to return to me..." His voice cracked with every word he spoke.

"Trace..." The blue haired teen's eyes began to fill with tears as well. He placed his arms around his best friend. "I'm sorry... But it hurts so much..." He felt the grip around him tightened.

"I told you after Rachel died, that death wasn't a solution and I still stand by that. Your sadness is building because you haven't let it out for some reason until now. You can always come to me just stop cutting yourself..."

Sora nodded his head into the telepath's shoulder. They stayed like that for a few more minutes then they broke away and dried their tears. They nodded to one another and then stepped into the complex to go into the singer's home.

The sapphire-eyed boy unlocked his door and blinked as he saw his aunt sitting in the recliner, as if she was waiting for him. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, but I do have some good news."

The two boys entered, set their stuff down, removed their shoes and then took a seat. Sarah's nephew quirked an eyebrow. "So, what's the news?"

"You finally managed to get enough money for your mother's operation."

"Really?!" his eyes light up.

"Yes. Right now Kelly is at work and she's only staying until five because she has a request of you two."

"What would that be?" Tracey questioned.

"To perform at the bar tonight. She wants to hear you sing before we bring her to the hospital."

"We can do that. Tracey, can you call Catherine?"

"Sure." He stood from the couch and walked into the kitchen. Before the wind caster turned his attention to his boss he chuckled as the sounds of his friend rummaging through the fridge filled the air.

"I take it we still have some Chinese food left over from last night."

The woman nodded.

"What time is her surgery?"

"9:00am. And I called the school, they agreed that you don't have to come in tomorrow so you can stay with her if you wish."

"I'm glad." he smiled in relief.

"I also received a phone call from the school nurse."

The smile faded, "What'd she tell you?"

"That you got sick. I think you should back out of Iyada for a little while."

"So do Jay and Trace..." he mumbled.

"Look at it this way, you can concentrate on your school work and Sleepless. Plus you can catch up on sleep and you can take care of your mom."

"Yeah..."

"Don't worry, that's what made you sick in the first place." Tracey commented as he re-entered the living room. "We'll be fine and like Jay had said earlier if I back out they should be able to hold their own."

"Did you get a hold of Cathy?"

"Yep. She said she'd see if she could get off work early. Shouldn't be a problem." He sat back on the sofa, "Do you know what songs you want to do?"

"I know we'll do some of Rachel's, but there is one that I would like to do that isn't hers."

"And that would be?"

"I'll tell you once we're in the back of the bar with Catherine."

~*~*~*

The lights were dimmed at Jake's bar, all but the ones that were aimed at the stage where the three members of Sleepless were setting up. Kelly smiled as she watched her son and his friends, "They didn't have to do this..."

"No, but they wanted to." Stated Tracey's mother who was sitting beside her.

Sarah nodded, "I told Sora what you had told me and he was more than willing to comply. He would do anything for you." She sighed and thought; 'More than you'll ever know...'

A small twang of a guitar sounded, then followed by a loud screeching sound. All eyes went to the stage as both the singer and guitarist gave puzzled looks to the amp. "Oops." They both said which caused some laughter from the audience. Taking a little more time then planned the band got a new amp from the back room and were now ready to play. Sora chuckled when he stepped up to the mic. "I'm glad to see that you all found that amusing." He paused to collect his thoughts, "You see, we weren't supposed to perform tonight. But my mother requested this performance due to that she is going into the hospital tomorrow. So this concert is for her because without her I wouldn't be where I am today."

He glanced over to where his mother was sitting and saw small tears trail down her cheeks. "Now, the first song I want to do isn't one of my sister's, but it is one that I thought fit will with my day's current events..." He nodded to Catherine, who began to play. Tracey's guitar soon followed and along with them Sora began to sing with his heart.

"Somewhere there's speaking
It's already coming in
Oh and it's rising at the back of your mind
You never could get it
Unless you were fed it
Now you're here and you don't know why

But under skinned knees and the skid marks
Past the places where you used to learn
You howl and listen
Listen and wait for the
Echoes of angels who won't return

He's everything you want
He's everything you need
He's everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why

You're waiting for someone
To put you together
You're waiting for someone to push you away
There's always another wound to discover
There's always something more you wish he'd say

He's everything you want
He's everything you need
He's everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why

But you'll just sit tight
And watch it unwind
It's only what you're asking for
And you'll be just fine
With all of your time
It's only what you're waiting for

Out of the island
Into the highway
Past the places where you might have turned
You never did notice
But you still hide away
The anger of angels who won't return

He's everything you want
He's everything you need
He's everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
He says all the right things
At exactly the right time
But he means nothing to you
And you don't know why

I am everything you want
I am everything you need
I am everything inside of you
That you wish you could be
I say all the right things
At exactly the right time
But I mean nothing to you and I don't know why
And I don't know why
Why
I don't know"

As the song died down Tracey's eyes widened a bit as the chorus replayed in his mind. 'He was singing about me...' The audience applauded and the telepath just watched his childhood pal take it all in.

~*~*~*

At the hospital Sora's mother was settling into bed while her son was unpacking her clothes. The black haired teen sat on the windowsill and his mom went to go punch in. Sarah stood next to her sister-in-law's bed, holding her hand. "I'll be here first thing in the morning. I just have some work to take care of." She flashed a quick smiled and then quietly left.

"Sora, Sarah gave me the message from the school nurse."

"I had a feeling she would have."

"Tracey, did you know?"

"Yeah, I did. He told me during our last class."

"I think you should get your stomach looked at."

Her son shook his head and sat on the corner of her bed, "I'm fine, really."

Seeing that he was looking at the wall and not in her general direction she spoke up again, "Could you give us a moment, Tracey?"

"Sure." He got off the windowsill and exited.

"You've been really down for the past few days, are you all right?"

"Yeah."

"Sora, don't lie to me."

"I got depressed, I get like that from time to time. You know that..."

"Sweetie, why are you getting depressed?"

He sighed and his emotion took over as tears flowed down his face. "Because I'm a burden to everyone..."

"Why do you think that?"

"Everyone around me gets hurt... Either emotionally or physically... It's because of me..."

"That's not true." She said calmly.

"Then why didn't Dad stick around?!" He spat, turning to face her.

"Is that what this is about? Your father?"

"He didn't want to know me or have anything to do with me... Why should anyone else?"

"Come here." He moved closer to her and she wrapped her arms around the crying boy. "Your dad had his reasons for leaving, though now I think he didn't want to have the responsibility of a child."

"Then why... did you keep... me? Grandma hates me... and she's not talking to you right now... because of me..."

"Sora... I am able to deal with whatever people throw my way because of the love of my children."

"I just want to die..."

"I don't want to hear you say that ever again, understand?"

"But it's hard..."

"I know, but I am not leaving you for anything and I know Tracey won't leave your side again."

Sora pulled back and dried his tears. "Mom, there's something I have to show you..." He pulled up his sleeve and removed his glove, "I couldn't..."

"Sora..."

"I couldn't take it and tried to kill myself..."

"When did you do this?"

"Last week while you and Aunt Sarah were at work." His eyes shimmered with fresh tears as he looked into his mother's eyes, "I'm sorry..."

"You're alive... That's what's important to me..." They embraced each other again.

"I love you, Mom..."

~~~

In a dark office building a phone rings. A man sitting at his desk picks it up, "Hello?" He paused. "Ah, thank you for the update. And Serena, keep a close eye on him and do not under estimate the telepath." He hung up the receiver and then placed his elbows on his desk, folding his hands in front of his face. "Soon Sora... your death wish will be granted..." He then laughed into the darkness.