Far Away (Thomas Brodie-Sangster)

Chapter Thirteen: "He's Fine"

Previously On Far Away:
Back at school, things seem to be getting back to normal. Chloe and Thomas on speaking terms again and Jake being a jerk. Penny has a crush on Dylan and Bella still hates Chloe's guts. At the end of the chapter, Dylan collapses mysteriously, leaving questions of if he is okay and why he collapsed in the first place.
And that's what you missed on Far Away.

********* COMPETITION DETAILS AT THE END IF THE CHAPTER ********

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Chloe

I hate hospitals.

The spotless white walls and floor. That smell that you can't pin down but that everyone knows. The sick people, the injured people, the dying people, and the hopeful people.

Me? I fit into the last category right now. Hopeful. Hopeful that Dylan isn't dead. Hopeful that he can walk again and fulfil his dreams of becoming an actor. Hopeful.

Thomas, Jake, Bella and I are waiting silently in the emergency ward of The Royal London Hospital as Penny paces back and forth muttering "he's fine. He's going to be fine. He's fricking Dylan O'Brien. He's fine." over and over and over. Someone might call it annoying but no one tells her to stop because she's voicing all of our thoughts.

When we first got to the hospital, we were accompanied by half of the girls from the school, all of them worried for football player O'Brien who probably doesn't even know they exist. After a couple hours, however, the girls got bored and left, revealing Dylan's true friends and family.

Speaking of family, Dylan's mom arrived 2 hours ago and, without saying a word, sat down and waited with us.

The moment we got to the hospital, a nurse came out and told us amongst the crowd of girls that they are still unsure of what happened to Dylan and that we will need to wait for more details. By this point Penny was practically pouncing on the small nurse, screaming incoherent words at the top of her lungs. She looked insane, detached from the rest of the world and thinking of nothing but Dylan. That was the moment I realized she's in love with him.

I look at Thomas who's face has gone ghostly white and his eyebrows knit together. He keeps to himself, not wanting to express any emotion or talk to anyone. He's feeling the same pain as Penny. Just in a best-friend way.

I try to imagine how I would be feeling if I was back home in Toronto General, waiting to hear details about the life of Natalie or Jason or even Aubrey, my other best friend. Just the thought makes me tear up. I reach out to Thomas, wanting to comfort him, but as I do Bella coughs loudly, giving me a death-glare. I quickly pull my hand away.

"Is the family of Dylan O'Brien here?" A doctor comes into the waiting room holding a clipboard. He has messy blonde hair and his glasses are hanging loosely on his face. Dylan's mom, Penny, and Thomas all stand up abruptly. "Just immediate family." The doctor adds, looking at Penny with raised eyebrows.

"Don't worry I'll let you know how he is" says Mrs. O'Brien in such a low voice I could barely hear her. It was the first time she spoke since she got here. Penny exchanges a look with Thomas and together they come back to the group and sit down once more.

"Come with me." Says the doctor, leading Dylan's mom out of the tiny waiting room with the plastic chairs and down the hall towards a set of elevators. I sigh and look at Jake to find him talking to a pretty girl a couple seats down. I roll my eyes at him. Is he kidding right now? Dylan could be... Well... And he's flirting?