Notebook

Nineteen

Aiden grinned at the sound of genuine laughter beside him.

Nathan had finally perked up once their friends arrived, and for the first time since entering the hospital, he was actually smiling, albeit with a drowsy, drug-addled grin.

He had struggled that morning. His emotional outburst the day earlier had sapped his strength more than his illness had. He had slept all day after the aspiration the previous afternoon, only waking up when a nurse insisted he ate breakfast.

Despite being plain and flavourless, mixed with a concoction of drugs and residual anaesthetic, the meal made Nathan throw up half a dozen times.

That left him with a stomachache and a sore throat from hell, as well as feeling emotionally and physically drained. As a result, he couldn't get comfortable, which made him stroppy.

The white-haired boy didn't need the ability to speak to be snappy. His eyes said it all.

But Aiden stayed calm, taking nothing personally until the older boy wrote him an apology.

Nathan was mad, but he wasn't the least bit threatening. He didn't mean to take it out on the pink-haired boy at all. Taking his frustration out on Aiden was the last thing Nathan wanted to do.

The older boy was just so fed up with being stuck in bed, unable to do anything but sit or sleep. He usually loved those two activities, but being confined in a hospital bed made them less enjoyable.

The white-haired boy wanted nothing more than to leave the hospital so that he could rest, away from the glaring lights and the distinct sanitised aroma.

But that idea left a question in his mind.

Where would he go?

The one place he wanted to be so desperately was by Aiden's side. But he had no right to walk back into his home uninvited.

Nathan had only been there for the last few days because Matt's parents didn't answer the phone when he was injured, so he couldn't go back to his oldest friend's house.

Jago was working in the restaurant, so he couldn't leave to pick him up.

Nathan had stayed at all the boy's houses over the years, most frequently at Jago and Matt's and less so at Reid's because he was usually with Evan. But the one place Nathan felt most at ease was at Aiden's house.

Despite meeting just a few weeks prior, their friendship had blossomed rapidly and hinted at other things.

Stronger things.

They had kissed once. Just once, the night before he got sick, and it was phenomenal. There were fireworks. Butterflies. And most importantly, the desire for more.

Nathan wanted more from Aiden.

He wanted to kiss the younger boy again and feel his body close in more than a comforting hug. The older boy wanted to caress the thin line following his cheekbone and run his fingers through his cotton candy hair.

For now, he would have to settle with sharing a cramped hospital bed and holding his hand whenever the pain became too much.

So that was what Nathan did.

He dozed in Aiden's arms for the rest of the morning. He had never been much of a hugger, often shoving his friends away when they tried to do anything more than put an arm around his shoulder.

But with Aiden, it felt good. His slender body fit with Nathan's just right, and the warmth the pink boy provided was something he didn't realise he needed. Every time he fit himself between the boy's arm and body, the heat would lull him to sleep.