He's awake.
I bowed my head and breathed out a sigh of relief.
He's back with us.
I raised my head and gave him a smile. He was covered in braces. He had stitches on his face, too. The impact must've been helluva hard for him to end up looking like this. My hands balled into fists. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to chill out.
"Hey, Frisco," greeted Connie softly.
"How're you doing, man?" asked Alfie, putting a hand on the bed and leaning forward to get a better look at our friend.
"Get well, a'ight?" said Kurt.
"Get up, dude," I teased, playfully patting him on the shoulder. "Come on, let the other patients use this room."
"We brought donuts," sang Alfie, nodding to the box at the nearby table.
Frisco was still too weak to do anything but stretch his lips and smile. It broke me. This was my friend. He was like a little brother to me. He stayed on our side even though we were nothing but fucked up messes. He didn't judge us for shit.
He was a true friend.
"We're here to bring you home, dude," I whispered earnestly.
His eyes flickered to me and they stayed like that until a tear rolled down his cheek, Connie leaned forward and gently wiped it away.
"We're here," she murmured. "We got your back."
He tried to nod, but failed. He ended up huffing, looking frustrated.
"Don't strain yourself," I told him, worried he might pull a muscle or something.
He was one of the toughest guys I knew. And yet, here he was – immobilized. I couldn't help but feel fucking responsible for it. Damn it.
Just then, the door opened. All heads turned to that direction and we watched as Sally, Frisco's mother, entered the room. She smiled widely when she saw us. She was always kind to us – never treated or looked at us as if we were menaces.
No wonder Frisco grew up to be such a good guy.
"I brought food for everyone," she said, placing the pack of food on the table where the doughnuts were. "Are you guys hungry?"
I rubbed the back of my neck, while the others gave her sheepish looks. We've been here since last Friday, only going home for a quick shower and change of clothes. So yeah, we were starving as hell. But we were sick of hospital food. How ironic was that?
"Don't worry," assured Sally, catching our expressions. "It's not hospital food."
My eyes widened in delight.
Oh, thank God.
There was an instant chorus of cheers in the room, making her laugh. We quickly walked toward her, got our food like excited kids on a birthday party, and chowed down.
We chatted for a while, talking about Frisco's misadventures and having a laugh about it. Of course, we had to keep it PG. Wouldn't want to expose Sally to what we were usually up to, even though we were pretty sure she knew already.
I felt my phone vibrate, and I pulled it out. Halo's face was on the screen. With eyes on my phone, I stood up and put the now empty food container in the trash bin.
"I'll step out for a bit," I informed them. "Gotta call Halo."
They only nodded.
"I'll ask her to take notes on your classes together, Frisco," I added jokingly. "I know how missing school must be eating you up." He grinned, making me smile.
As soon as I stepped out, I speed dialed my girl. I leaned my back on the wall, faintly noticing the people passing by. I looked up at the ceiling as I waited for the call to connect. Who would've thought we'd end up like this?
After two rings, she answered.
"Oz?"
I looked down and took a deep breath, loving the sound of her voice. I wished she was here. I wanted to wrap my arms around her – maybe even smell her hair.
"He's awake."
She sighed. "How is he?"
"Hmm." I thought about it. "Emotionally sensitive."
She snorted a laugh. "Glad to know your humor is back."
The corner of my lips turned up.
"Scout dropped by the cockpit today."
My ears perked up at that.
For normal people, today was just an ordinary Monday. We originally planned to go to school, but then Sally texted us that he was awake. So we ditched school instead.
"What did he want?" I asked, not meaning for my tone to sound cold. But after failing to track down Finn McKinley, anything involving their lot was kinda taboo in my book.
"He asked me to tell you that there was no word from Finn all weekend."
I raised an eyebrow. "And he couldn't tell me that himself?"
Halo was quiet for a second, I could clearly imagine her biting her lip.
"He's trying to avoid talking to you while you're in Grinch mode."
Of course, he is.
"Pussy," I muttered.
"Oz, he's trying to help," she reminded me.
I sighed, rubbing my face. My hand traveled to the back of my neck as I looked down the hall, staring at nothing in particular.
"Yeah, I know," I admitted, turning my eyes back to the ceiling and leaning my head back till it hit the wall.
Scout was a lot of things, but he wasn't a coward. He just didn't like confrontations that he knew would lead to nowhere because of my current unpredictable state.
"I shouldn't have said that," I mumbled, closing my eyes.
I was so damn tired. Part of me seriously wanted to run away, far from this hellhole. But it wasn't like the problem was going to solve itself. I couldn't let that bastard go after what he did to one of my friends. Besides, if there was anything I was good at, it was revenge.
Better put my talents to good use.
"I'll come over later at the hospital," said Halo.
I imagined her warm smile, her purple eyes, and her raven black hair. I imagined her opening her arms and waiting for me to hug her. I imagined her voice telling me everything was going to be okay. I needed her. I needed my home.
"Can't wait," I whispered.
"Okay," she breathed out. "See you."
With a small smile, I hung up. I stared at my phone for a couple of seconds, thinking about my dork, before shoving it in my pocket. But the smile on my face disappeared when I looked up and laid eyes on a redheaded girl in the hallway.
"I heard about Frisco," she panted, gazing back at me with her worried green eyes. "Is – Is he okay? I can't believe I just found out about it today."
I blinked, not expecting her to show up here. Then I shook my head, trying to compose myself.
"Yeah, he's fine," I answered, then I pointed to the door behind me. "He's in there if you wanna see him."
With her forehead creased, she closed her eyes. "He's fine. That's all that matters." She nodded, putting her hands on her knees to catch her breath.
I glanced at where she came from. "Did you run all the way from school?"
She looked at me as if I lost my mind. "I had someone drop me off."
"Do you need water or something?" I asked, watching her heave. She really wasn't the athlete her twin turned out to be.
"No, I'm good," she said, straightening up. "I just panicked when I found out."
"You sure you don't wanna see him, though?" I raised an eyebrow, putting my hands in my pockets. "He's bed ridden. Pretty sure he won't be able to bite."
She smiled a little. "It's cool."
I cocked my head to the side. "I didn't know you two were close enough for you to freak out like this."
"We're not," she replied, settling herself beside me. "But I know he's important to you. So I was also worried how you were doing."
I didn't speak. I wasn't sure what to make of that.
Snow turned to me, and asked, "How've you been?"
I looked away, wetting my bottom lip. "Not okay." I chuckled humorlessly. "But still better than Frisco, so I can't complain much."
"I'm sorry to hear about what happened."
"Scout told you everything?" I guessed, turning back to her.
She looked down. "Yeah," she mumbled.
I nodded. "Now you know."
Her expression morphed into hurt. "Listen, Oz," she began, looking up at me. She bit her lip and shook her head. "Can we talk?"
"Aren't we already talking?"
"I mean, really talk – outside."
I stared at her beautiful freckled face, her eyes swimming with unshed tears. I recalled the times when I couldn't say no to that face. I remembered when it broke me to see her like this. And it still somehow did.
A part of me nagged that I would regret going with her. A part of me warned to stay away. A part of me wanted to say no. But my curiosity got the better of me. Sue me.
So I agreed and followed her outside to the parking lot. It was cold out. Our breaths formed a mist, but I doubted she noticed. Nor cared.
"I'm sorry," was the first thing she said.
I gazed into her green eyes, her tears begged to be free. I didn't know what to say, so I kept quiet and let her continue.
"I – God, I'm so sorry for not believing you."
She shook her head and looked up, trying to keep the tears from falling. For so long, I wanted to hear her say this. Now that it was happening, I had no fucking clue what to do. I glanced down briefly but my eyes couldn't stop from returning to hers.
"I'm sorry for not listening," she whispered, closing her eyes. "I don't regret choosing to stand by my brother's side. But I am sorry for giving up on us."
I couldn't listen to this. Not right now.
I hung my head, and started, "Snow . . ."
"No, Oz," she cried, looking me in the eye while her tears fell freely. "I shouldn't have. I should've fought for us – for you. But I didn't. And I'm so," she paused to sob, "so sorry."
My heart broke. I didn't like seeing her cry, not like this. I stepped forward and pulled her into my arms, stroking her hair to comfort her but it only seemed to make her cry even more. Having her in my arms like this felt familiar, but her sobbing on my chest wasn't.
"It's all right," I murmured in her ear. "Shh – It's done."
It's all in the past.
"No, it's not," she whimpered, gripping my shirt. "Nothing is right. It's all messed up. It shouldn't be like this. I should be . . . We should be . . ."
"It's okay, Snow," I whispered.
I thought about that time when I saved her at a party from an asshole, that time when we goofed around at class and ended up in detention, and that time outside the locker room. I felt at peace as I realized something, like a weight had been lifted off of me.
I realized I haven't said it out loud yet. It was time I did.
I buried my face in her hair and murmured softly, "I forgive you."
She shook her head, hiding her face in my chest.
"You don't understand. I . . ." she trailed off, bursting into sobs.
I frowned. "You what?"
She gripped my shirt tighter, almost ripping them before pulling away her face so she could look me in the eye. She looked sad. But I also saw something there – longing?
"Oz, I . . ." She swallowed before looking up at me again. With her face wet with tears, her lips trembling, and her expression filled with hurt, she said in the quietest voice, "I still love you."
I froze.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't say anything.
I couldn't even think straight.
Honestly, I think a small part of me somehow knew it was coming but I didn't actually expect her to say it. Now I stood like a goddamn statue, dumbfounded.
Before I could do anything, Snow wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me down to her until our lips were pressed together. All kinds of emotions engulfed me at that moment, leaving me overwhelmed and more confused than I ever was.
But then, as I closed my eyes, it all came down to one thought.
I still love her.
_____________
*GAAAAASP*