A/N: So, I'm getting these things out pretty damn fast, neh? Once I got going I just couldn't stop. In fact, I'd be writing the next chapter right now if it wasn't 1:07 a.m and I didn't have work tomorrow. Yes, I'd be writing it right now. Instead, I'm going to listen to my "Wicked" soundtrack and then go to bed. sings along to Wicked (which I positively ADORE! Idina Menzel, I LOVE YOU SO FREAKING MUCH! Ahem. I'm done now.)

PAIRING: Still Freddy/Zack, just the slightest bit before all the angst hits the fan. Freddy's parents are introduced and I had fun with them. Usually I envision Freddy's dad with an alcohol problem, but I decided that that doesn't have to mean that he doesn't love Freddy, does it? Freddy's such an adorable little fucker, I just had to give him adoring parents. Yeah. So there's obviously some Jason/Eileen Jones in here, too, but they're more obsessed with how Freddy's doing and not as caught up on each other. And I'm rambling.

DISCLAIMER: I own no part of School of Rock, nor do I own any of the characters. I also do not own Wicked or any part of that, since I mentioned it (though that has no part in this fic) and I do not own Idina Menzel, I just wish I did. I would make her sing for me 24 hours a day, because she is a goddess.

CLAIMER: I own Mr. and Mrs. Jones…not the movie versions, but the versions I created here, and I own Zack's bad driving skills, and Freddy's wheelchair and robe and the doctor and nurse, and the ambulance guy, who is tres cool.

DEDICATION: Todd from work, who will not be reading this at all, but who is cool and who has taken a severe chill pill lately and is so much more fun to be with. Todd who says he'll bring in camera footage from the ghost hunting he did tonight so that I can see anything he and his friends saw while they were out. Todd, you rock my socks!

And Meg, Meg my girly who says she loves me and got so excited when I emailed her. Meg whose uncle finds us strangely amusing and who I find incredibly amusing. Meg, who I love. MWAH!

Pltzchen, who always leaves me the most AWESOME reviews! You are so freaking cool! I love you lots for all your wunderbar reviews, you hoopy frood, you!

Now, ON TO THE FICLET!

Freddy woke the next day, and was momentarily confused. He felt a strange weight on him that wasn't usually there, and a tickling just under his chin. Then, memories of the night before came flooding back and he flushed red with embarrassment.

God, he thought. Definitely fucked Zack last night…fuck, fuck, FUCK! Not good, Jones, not fucking GOOD!

Speaking of Zack…the brunette was still curled up close to him, head still tucked just under Freddy's chin, arms wrapped tight about Freddy's chest, and the blonde couldn't help but smile briefly at how contented Zack looked. Well, maybe it's not so bad, then…I mean, he looks happy!

Yeah, another part of his mind spoke up, he was also drunk last night! He probably doesn't remember a thing!

Shut up! Carefully moving Zack's head to the pillow, Freddy slid out from underneath the brunette, who made a contented sort of sound and curled up into a tighter ball about the pillow he was now embracing. Freddy slid gently off the bed and padded on bare feet across the room. It was already 11:30…he had overslept and he was already starting to panic about what Zack would think when he awoke and remembered exactly what had happened the night before. Heroin…I need some heroin. He pulled open the drawer he had tossed it in before leaving for the concert and found it still there. A good thing, too.He usually hid his stash much better than that, but with Zack so suspicious already and them already being late for the gig, he had had no other choice but to hide the stuff as fast as he could…he was lucky his mom hadn't found it. Pulling it out, he plopped down on the floor and set to work. He held up the small package of heroin and his needle, pondering. Hmm…no needle, not this early in the morning.He cast the needle aside, tossing the package of heroin from hand to hand. Looks like snorting it is the way to go today! He quickly set to work, and within seconds he had the stuff poured out and the straw to his nose, inhaling it.

"I KNEW it!"

Freddy shot to his feet, dropping the small mirror to the floor, where it shattered. Zack was sitting up in the big bed, covers in a pile in his lap, eyes wide and accusatory. Freddy felt as though an icy hand was clenched about his heart. He stared nervously at Zack, trying to force a smile and failing miserably.

"Zack," he said, barely managing to get the word out. "Look, I can explain…"

"Explain what, Freddy?!" Zack was out of the bed, storming across the room towards Freddy, eyes ablaze. "That you're a fucking druggie?! That you're addicted to heroin?! That you were high last night and fucking used me?!"

Freddy felt horror overwhelming him. "No!" he cried. "No, Zack! I would never do that to you!"

"Oh, bullshit!" Zack shouted. "I know you were fucking high last night! I saw the fucking mirror you used for your fucking heroin! I saw it and I knew what you were doing and I refused to let myself believe it! What a fucking MORON I was! What a moron I AM!" He turned his back on Freddy, arms folded tightly across his chest, fingers digging into his own flesh out of sheer rage.

"Zack," Freddy whispered, barely able to get the name out. Zack made an undistinguishable noise of rage and began gathering his clothes, dressing fastly and angrily. "Zack, it's not true! I would never use you, Zack!"

"Right, tell me another one," Zack scoffed. He turned and faced Freddy, who felt more vulnerable than ever, and it had nothing to do with his naked state. He stood in front of Zack and cowered under that look of anger and disappointment and disgust- all things he had never expected from Zack- and he knew that he would never feel worthwhile ever again.

"…Zack," he whispered. Zack turned away, moving for the door.

"I've got to go," he said. He paused in the doorway, one hand on the doorknob. "I…I expected better of you, Freddy. I trusted you…I trusted you to care more about me…to care more about yourself." And with that, he turned and left, leaving Freddy feeling as though his heart had been cut into tiny pieces.

"There's nothing here worth caring about," he said softly. He walked slowly over to the bed, picking up the boxers he had discarded the night before and pulled them slowly on, unable to shake Zack's angry look of disappointment from his memory. Sliding off the bed, he crawled on his knees over to where he had left the rest of his drugs. Lifting the needle in his shaking hands, he stared at it for only a moment before deciding what to do. Within moments, he had injected more heroin into his veins than he had ever done in one sitting. He allowed himself to collapse backwards, lying on his back on the cold wood floor, arms stretched out to either side like he was being crucified.

Zack…I've let you down. But you let me down, too. You always told me you would always be here for me…and you lied. You lied. Because you aren't here when I need you most.

Freddy felt the drugs hit him, hit him with all the grace of a runaway train. He felt as though the inside of his head were lined with thick layers of crushed velvet, felt as though his brain were floating in a vat of thick, gooey honey. The overdose hit him quickly and he lay there on the floor, not noticing or caring, content to just float in the nothingness of being that the drugs gave him. Zack… And then he thought nothing else.

Halfway down the street, Zack felt a wave of remorse go over him. I shouldn't be yelling at him right now! I'm his friend! I should be there to help him through this, to get him some help and get him clean! Zack did the one thing that Freddy always urged him to do but which he never actually did: pulled a u-turn in a place that didn't really allow a u-turn. The cars behind him honked their horns loudly at him, screeching to quick halts. Zack winced, knowing he had almost caused a horrific pile-up. "Sorry!" he yelled out the window, waving apologetically at the drivers, many of whom flipped him off. He revved the van straight back to Freddy's house and came to a screeching halt, parking on an odd angle and jumping out of the van as fast as he could.

"Freddy!" He stood beneath the open window and waited. There was no answer. "Freddy!" Still no answer, and Zack felt worry begin to gnaw at him. Returning to the van, he moved it closer to the house, nearly crashing into the house as he parked right under Freddy's window. Jumping out, he climbed up on the open car window and boosted himself through Freddy's window. Inside, he stopped dead in horror. "Freddy!"

Freddy lay on his back on the floor, his skin pale as milk, eyes rolled back and bloodshot as he convulsed slightly. His arm had a new puncture mark on it, and the needle lay discarded next to him. Zack felt sheer terror gnawing at him and he dropped to his knees beside his friend. "Freddy, wake up! Freddy!" There was no response from the blonde. Scrambling to his feet, Zack ran for Freddy's phone and dialed 911 as fast as he could.

"He won't wake up!" he managed as soon as someone answered the phone. "My friend just overdosed on heroin and he won't wake up!"

"Address?"

"1612 Sycamore Lane," Zack said, "pale green house with a white fence outside…the fence is broken…it's a Victorian house."

"Okay, we'll be there as soon as we can."

The phone went dead and Zack hung up, hands shaking. "C'mon, Freddy, let's get it together…you can't die on me, here, you just can't!"

The sirens screamed noisily down the street, not arriving soon enough for Zack's taste. He waited on the floor of Freddy's room, clutching Freddy's cold hand in his as he listened to the sirens getting closer and closer. Soon the ambulance was there and he met the men at the door. They strapped Freddy to a stretcher as one man asked Zack all sorts of questions.

"What kind of heroin?" he asked. Zack shook his head.

"I don't know," he answered helplessly.

"How did he do it?"

"He…he snorted some, this morning…and…and I …I left…and…when I came back, I found him…like…like this…and and the needle was there…so I think he injected it…"

"Mmm, looks that way," the man said. The men with the stretcher wheeled Freddy out of the room. Zack felt panic rising.

"I can go with him to the hospital, can't I?" he asked, frightened suddenly that they would keep him away.

"Sure you can," the man said kindly. "Don't worry too much, son, we get things like this all the time, your friend should be fine."

The ride to the hospital was terrible and seemed to go on forever. Zack wasn't allowed to sit in the back with Freddy. Instead, he had to strap himself into the front seat, where he spent a long ride twisted round in his seat to stare anxiously at Freddy.

The wait in the hospital was worse. Zack was forced to sit in a cold waiting room on a hard metal chair, shifting uncomfortably under the stares of people all around him. He was convinced that everyone knew just what had transpired the night before between he and Freddy, and then also that he, Zack Mooneyham, had abandoned a friend in need. That made him not only a flaming homosexual but a terrible friend, and he squirmed under their scrutinizing looks.

"Zack Mooneyham?"

Zack shot to his feet and ran over to the doctor who had just entered the room. "Yes?" he said breathlessly. "Yes, how is he?"

The man smiled. "Your friend is fine…that is, he will be…as long as he stops the drugs. I would recommend keeping him under house arrest until he's completely off the high. We have groups he could join to help him quit, but at his age, he's strong enough to go cold turkey and if he's already taking that much heroin, then taking other drugs to help him get off the heroin doesn't seem like a good plan to me."

Zack shook his head, ready to agree with anything the doctor said, so completely grateful to this man for saving Freddy. "Yes, yes, of course, I'll take care of him," he said.

"You better call someone and make sure they search his whole room and get rid of all the drugs in there before you take him home," the man said.

"Yes, yes, of course," Zack said. "I'll do that now." The doctor turned to go. "Then…" He stopped, nervous.

The man turned and looked at him, small smile on his face. "Yes?"

"…then could I go and see him?" Zack asked nervously. The doctor's smile widened.

"Yes," he said. "Yes, of course. I'm sure he'd like that."

I'm not so sure, Zack thought nervously.

"Actually, I'll bring him out to you," the doctor said. "I'll bring him out in a few minutes, after you've had a chance to call a friend."

"…and he could have it in more than one place, so make sure you check everything," Zack said, trying to keep his voice soft as he gave his instructions. It was raining, that drippy, drizzling gray rain that always made life seem so much more depressing. It matched his current mood.

"Sure, man," Tim said, "I'll do a really thorough check." There was a long pause. "Man…I never even suspected."

I did, Zack thought guiltily. I was just too stupid to do a thing about it.

"I feel really bad, man…like I didn't pay enough attention. I shoulda noticed that he was in trouble."

"We all should have," Zack said. "Don't worry about it." He heard the doors open behind him. "I gotta go, Tim."

"Kay…see you soon, Zack."

"Bye." Zack hung up the cell phone and pocketed it. Turning, he saw a nurse pushing a wheelchair towards him, and in that wheelchair was Freddy.

Zack felt his heart lurch as he saw Freddy. The blonde boy was still extremely pale, and over his boxers he was now wearing a hospital-issue robe, blue and white vertical stripes. His hair was a mess and he had his arms wrapped tightly about him, as though he were trying to hold on to some sense of warmth and sanity.

The nurse stopped just next to Zack and smiled brightly. "He probably shouldn't walk for a few hours," she said, "and he should stay in bed until he comes down off of this completely."

Freddy looked extremely annoyed at being spoken of as if he weren't there. He pulled his robe tighter about him and crossed his arms angrily.

"Okay," Zack said. At that moment, a silver Volvo flew down the road and came to a screeching halt outside the door. Zack winced; he was not looking forward to seeing Freddy's parents right now.

Freddy's mom practically shot out the door and came running over, throwing her arms around Freddy as she fell to her knees, holding him close and sobbing. "Oh, Freddy, oh Freddy! I thought we'd lost you!"

Freddy looked extremely uncomfortable and Zack felt waves of pity. "I'm fine, mom."

Freddy's dad walked over, obviously trying hard not to look upset, but his tie was askew and he was shaking as he stared very seriously at Freddy. "You really had us worried there, son."

"I'm fine, dad." There was just the slightest hint of irritation in Freddy's voice as he grew increasingly uncomfortable with all the attention. Freddy's mom turned suddenly and threw herself at Zack, nearly strangling the boy in a death grip.

"Eileen!" Zack managed, surprised at the sudden hug attack. She sobbed into his neck.

"Thank you, Zack…thank you so much for taking care of my baby…"

Zack patted her back awkwardly, not knowing what to say and feeling all the more guilty. Don't thank me, he thought uncomfortably, it's my fault he's even here.

Eileen Jones finally relinquished her death hold on Zack, sniffling as she pulled away. "I got your shirt all wet," she said, a forced laugh escaping as she dried her eyes.

"S'alright," Zack said. There was a long silent pause as no one knew quite what to say.

"Well," Jason Jones said finally, "we'd better get you home and into bed, eh Freddy?"

"Yeah, whatever," Freddy replied, still not looking anyone in the eye, his arms still wrapped tightly about him. His father moved as though to pick him up, but Zack cut in.

"I got him, Jason," he said.

"You sure, Zack?"

"Yeah, I got him."

Freddy's parents both walked back to the car, Jason Jones putting a consoling arm about his wife's shaking shoulders. Zack looked at Freddy, who refused to meet his gaze.

"I can't believe you fucking told my parents," Freddy said, his voice sounding unusually loud in the silent, wet air.

"I didn't," Zack said. "The hospital called them."

"…whatever."

Zack sighed and walked over, bending over and sliding one hand behind Freddy's back, the other one under Freddy's legs, scooping the blonde boy into his arms with some difficulty. Freddy was really too heavy for him to carry, too much muscle to go with that gangly height, but he managed to do it.

"Put me the fuck down, Mooneyham!"

Zack shook his head. "Not a chance, Freddy." He carried the protesting blonde back to the car and placed him in the back seat. Sliding in on the other side, he fastened Freddy's seatbelt, knowing that the blonde rarely did it himself and would probably not do it now. His only reward for this gesture was a glare and the sight of the back of Freddy's blonde head the rest of the long, silent ride home.

tbc