Sugarcane Chronicles Volume I: One and Lonely (ryden)

Cute Boys Dig Scars

"I love you, too," I whispered.

We kissed as a nurse walked in. She asked me if I was in pain, to which I replied, "Only when I move," and she asked if I wanted pain medication and I made a Green Day joke that she didn't get (but Ryan and Jon did). But she gave me medicine and I started feeling fuzzy, then sleepy. Then I fell asleep.

I woke up a lot later to, again, the sound of someone crying. This time it was softer, though. And when the person's voice broke through, my breath caught in my throat.

I opened one eye, wishing I could get up and run when I focused on who was sitting there. I couldn't even think His name anymore. I wanted to throw up and hoped that this was a horrible nightmare.

"I'm so sorry," I heard Him whisper. "And I know..." He took a shaky breath. "I know I'm a burden to this beautiful family a-and..." He gazed down my back. "I can't believe I've done this to you." He sniffled, wiped away a tear and looked down at me. "But I can take most of it away. I think I need to."

"What are you gonna do to me?" I asked, clearly confused and scared.

"Remove the physical version of the scar I left." He placed His hands on my back and it, surprisingly, didn't hurt at all. "And I am so sorry I can't do the same mentally," He sobbed.

At first it felt like marbles were being scattered on my back, then an almost scratching sensation, like a reversed feeling of the burns being inflicted.

I whimpered and bit my lip, still hoping I was having a nightmare. This couldn't be real. A person doesn't just go out hunting for a person then feel remorse over hurting another. Well, I told myself, He isn't really a person, per say. Not human, at least.

Then another wave of pain hit and I believed it was real, then passed out.

I woke up to find Mom sitting in the chair and she told me Dad was getting coffee. She called me a hero for saving the gang from that fire and told me 'chicks dig scars' before correcting herself; 'cute boys dig scars' (I didn't say anything about what rhymed with 'chicks' (but I really wanted to)). I was informed by Dad later that my skin had miraculously healed and I wouldn't need any surgery or anything and would be going home sooner. He joked that I could get back to work on the apartment sooner, to which Mom replied to with a smack on the arm. I wasn't going anywhere except maybe to the bathroom for at least a month, apparently (you never go against Mom's word (ever)).

When they left, Jon was back to answer questions. They told a lie about the fire because a dragon wasn't believable and I hadn't had a nightmare. He told me He had left a note with them about this and also fixed Bronx's hand. I was almost completely healed and the hospital was freaked out.

"So how bad does it look?" I asked.

"Not as bad as it did," Jon answered. "Before, it was all red and kind of peel-y and gross. Now, it's just centrally red" he traced a spot on the middle of my back "here."

"Ow," I winced. "Be careful where you're poking."

He pulled his hand away quickly. "Sorry."

"It's fine, I guess." I turned my head and tried to find him. "So everyone else is ok?

"Yeah, Patrick left this morning, despite his crying, -you need to call him, by the way- uh, Ryan's kind of heartbroken, you might wanna call him, too. Bronx is ok, Pete's fine, but worried about Bronx and Spencer couldn't care less." He paused for a moment, thinking it over. "And I'm ok, as you can see."

I nodded and smiled slightly. "Let me borrow your phone."

*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*...*

So I called Patrick, then Ryan, then Mom (but Dad picked up). I spent the next two days in the hospital, recovering 'quickly and miraculously', as a doctor there put it. I was sent home with prescription burn cream and a lollipop (because we passed pediatrics (they had a bowl of them just out in the open (and I asked first so it wasn't stealing))) and I was told not to sleep on my back, slouch to badly, lean on walls or do the doodly until I was completely healed.

I got a bunch of attention I didn't need over the next week. Mom knocked on my door periodically asking if I needed anything (which I never did) and when Ryan got off work, he came straight to the house and usually stayed the night. All I wanted to do was watch Netflix and try to ignore how cold I was starting to feel, but they wouldn't let me.

The night I tried to get the cream on the burn that was ironically placed in the spot I couldn't reach, I had a nightmare reliving the day I was burned. It was the only night I was glad Ryan was staying over.

I woke up laying on my back, actually, which was almost as painful as fifty knives being stuck in that spot. I immediately rolled over and kind of screamed into my pillow.

That woke Ryan up and he tried to comfort me over my pain and flashing images of Him.

"Talk to me," he said. "Tell me about what you see. Sometimes it helps."

"I-I just..." My voice matched the shaking of my hands as I wished the curse of His presence was non-existent. "I hate Him. I hate Him so much."

"I know," he breathed, gently rubbing my arm with his thumb. "We all do."

"No, but I hate Him," I said, my voice low. I looked as seriously and deeply as I could into Ryan's eyes. "Where does He live?"

"In an apartment downtown," he answered. "Why?"

I sat up. "I'm going to go finish this." I threw the covers off me before he grabbed my arm.

"No," he said. "You're not healed yet."

I sighed and glared back at him. "He's the one who injured me."

"Yeah, but what are you really going to try to do?" He raised his eyebrows for emphasis.

I looked away. "I think you know."

"And you don't think we've tried?" He let go of my arm and folded his arms. "God, Brendon..."

"Why didn't you succeed?" I asked quietly.

"He... I dunno." He sighed and shook his head. "He ran and I dunno... He said something about being invincible, then cried about it." He shook his head again. "It was weird."

I lay on my tummy next to him, sighing. "I hate this situation."

He played with the longer hair on the top of my head in a distracted manner. "Yeah. Me, too."

We were silent for a long while, thinking to ourselves. That 'invincible' thing kind of threw me. Why did He cry about it? As my thoughts wondered farther and farther, I realized He was a black hole of the mind and body. I couldn't keep from wondering about everything about Him. It got worse the more I dwelled.

"Hey," I whispered, hoping Ryan was still awake.

"Yeah?" he asked, looking at me sleepily.

"I love you," I said (even though I hadn't planned to (his eyes made me do it)).

That surprised him, and he smiled. "I love you, too."

I smiled back at him and realized how perfect this opportunity was. "You know, Netflix has Disney movies."

He chuckled slightly. "Yeah... So?"

"Do you like Lady and the Tramp?"

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hey wazzup guyzzz (yes, we're still here. everyone's ok)

one more reminder that we posted that one-shot (it's a peterick!) for 300 followers.

hope this was more enjoyable than the last