Aqua Oneshot Competion

#1 ~ Character Development

Prompt ~ A cocky main character is sent into the real world. He is shocked to find that the fans of his book not only like the villain more, but favor his sidekick over him.

Wordcount ~ 4637

fandombeforeblood0 :) 

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Darkness.

All Noah saw was darkness. His mind gained consciousness and he opened his eyes. The room was incredibly bright. He must've forgotten to shut the blinds before climbing into bed with his girlfriend. 

As he slowly woke up, he realized that several things were off. The walls were stark white, not the faded grey he'd recently painted them. He was laying in a twin bed, not a king. And there was something attached to his arm.

He wasn't in his bed, or his room, or even his apartment. He was in the hospital.

Noah immediately sat pin-straight. How had he ended up in the hospital? He hadn't had anything to drink last night, had he? He squinted as he tried to remember the events of the previous evening. He had come home from work - he was an intern at a marketing firm - eaten a pizza with his girlfriend, watched a movie, and gone to bed. No crazy parties, no dangerous tricks, and certainly no alcohol. So what had happened?

Scanning his surroundings, he noticed a small remote on the rail of the hospital bed. A pager. He unhooked it and planted his thumb on the button. He anxiously waited for a nurse to come to his aid.

Within a few minutes, a young, lean woman with short blonde hair and a clipboard strode into the room. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear with a pen before looking up. Immediately, her eyes widened.

"Gretchen?" she asked. "What on earth happened to you?"

Noah blanched. "What? I'm not Gretchen! I'm Noah."

The nurse narrowed her eyes at him before dropping her gaze to the paper on the clipboard. "I admitted Gretchen Matthews to this room last night," she stated slowly.

The lost boy dragged his hand across his face and through his dark hair. "Listen, I'm just as confused as you are. I went to bed at my apartment and woke up here."

After opening her mouth and closing it a few times, the nurse adjusted her stance and stood rigidly. "Alright, I'm going to go get a few tests. Clearly you're under the influence of something, sir."

Noah wanted to stop her, but she was already spinning on her heels and rushing out of the room. He was positive that he hadn't done anything extraordinary the night before. It was just another peaceful day with the love of his life.

Hopefully, Rebecca wasn't worried about him, he thought. Although he didn't know where he was or why he was there, he didn't seem to be in any danger. His girlfriend had no reason to be concerned but, knowing her, she probably was.

The image of his girlfriend drifted to the forefront of his mind and suddenly a feeling of calm washed over Noah. He had been friends with Rebecca since they were ten years old, and at the ripe age of twenty-one, he finally got the courage to ask her out. Now, it was over a year later and they were still going strong. He loved her so much and didn't know what he would do without her. 

The tip-tap of footsteps on linoleum brought Noah out of his thoughts. He looked over to see the nurse returning with a plastic cup and a needle.

She set the things on the tray beside him. "I'm going to ask you a few questions and I need you to answer them honestly, alright?"