Falling Hard || The Music Freaks || Lander

Chapter Two: When We First Met

Zander sat up straight. Was he hearing right? "Really?"

"Of course! Come down, I don't like heights. I wanna show you a secret spot down the grassy slope over there!" Luke waited expectantly for Zander's response.

In spite of himself, Zander smiled back. A friend! A friend! He jumped off the tree branch, landing smoothly on his feet.

"Let's go!"

"Awesome," Luke grinned. Without another word, he grabbed Zander's hand and whisked him across the school grounds.

Zander blinked twice. He slowly sat up from his bed, head spinning. The memory was still fresh - well, how could he forget? That was the day he had met his best friend of all time. He could still feel Luke's kind, daffodil eyes staring at him.

Luke!

Zander threw off his blankets, and quickly turned the doorknob.

"Mom!" he yelled, running down the stairs. Instead of working in the kitchen like usual, Zander's mother, Sarah, was sitting at the dining table near the window talking to a woman with caramel hair and forest green eyes. Zander recognized her as Luke's mother. His heart thumped wildly.

"What's going on?" he asked. "How's Luke? What happened to him? Where is he? Is he going to be okay?"

"Slow down with the questions, honey," Sarah smiled lightly. "I'm sure you recognize Cheryl - Luke's mom. We've been talking about him..."

"He's okay, right?" he looked between the two adults. "Right?"

Cheryl hesitated. Sarah looked at her sympathetically.

"Zander, please don't shout when you hear this," Sarah started.

"What do you mean?" he demanded. "Just - get to the point already!"

Sarah took a deep breath. "Luke's currently in the hospital. We literally had to drag you off him before the ambulance could take him away. It was pretty bad... The back of his head was all bloody from the rock his head hit."

Zander felt his mouth go dry. "And?"

"He's currently in a... tragic state. They think he's going to... go."

"GO?" Zander blurted. He suddenly felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest. "You don't mean..."

"Zander, honey, please don't shout, you'll wake up Hailey," Sarah sighed. "She doesn't know yet... She was at Jake's house yesterday."

"But... he can't go!" cried Zander. "He can't!"

"Sweetie, let me continue," said Sarah in a sort of tired way. "There is a chance he'll live." 

"HE -"

Sarah cut across him before he could say anything. "The fall was pretty high. And he hit his head very hard - the best situation he'll be in is that he'll have a major concussion that can impact his concentration, thinking, and memory. It's a slim chance that those effects will be temporary..."

Zander went silent. His legs suddenly felt as if they wanted to collapse. He was now shaking as much as he had on the first day of kindergarten. Without saying another word, he sprinted back up the stairs, slammed the door as hard as he could. The sound rattled through the entire house. He flopped onto his bed.

Why? Why did it have to be you?

It was all Zander's fault. He was the one that had convinced Luke to climb the tree. If it hadn't been for his idiotic, foolish, dimwitted self, Luke would be okay. The two would probably be in the house's music room, playing music together.

He rolled over so that he was facing the ceiling. For a moment, he watched as the fan spun lazily around.

What if Luke didn't survive? No... he had to. He had to!

Everything seemed to whirl around him. The dream from yesterday had turned into a nightmare. This couldn't be happening. Luke was still alive. They were sitting on solid ground - safe from falls. From concussions, from the possibility of Luke losing his memory...

But it was happening. Luke was in the hospital with a high chance he could die, the very best that he would lose all his memories of Zander... 

"I really hope we never lose them."

"I know I never will."

"Same."

Zander hadn't cried since his parent's divorce. Tears.... Expressing his emotions... It was so much effort. They were not to be wasted. But now, with teardrops dotting his pillow, he knew that it was appropriate.

What felt like waterfalls ran down his face, tainted with sorrow, pain, and worst... regret. They kept coming, and though he tried to control himself, he couldn't help it. His shoulders shook violently, palms wet from the salty mess.

How he wished he could just fall asleep and wake up to have everything back to normal.