Lachlan's P.O.V.
When I found out that Vikk had broken his collarbone the first thing I did was rush up to the medical centre on the mountain side. I regretted sleeping in that morning, I regretted staying with Billy because we were both tired, I regretted not getting up when Vikk had woken me that morning.
Now he was sitting in a chair in immense pain, the only painkillers they could give him were weak ones because he would need surgery and he couldn't eat or drink either. He was a little groggy and could barely move his body.
I let him squeeze my hand on the drive down the mountain to the hospital, Elliot sitting on the other side of him and Billy in the front seat. He was still in a lot of pain but managed to vlog just a little bit before it got too much and he had to stop.
I stayed with him the whole time, Billy and Elliot stayed most of the time too before heading back up to the chalet for the night. After going out to get some food, as the hospital food wasn't the greatest, I stayed beside Vikk in a shitty plastic chair.
He was still in a lot of pain despite the pain medication and was trying to sleep while sitting up, leaning against the wall, because lying down was far too painful. He drifted in and out of sleep, his eyes sliding open and closed.
I fell asleep in a very uncomfortable position on the chair, but I did fall asleep.
I drifted off worrying for Vikk, sore and tired, and my stomach grumbling.
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I awoke in the middle of the night to low moans of pain from Vikk. He was still sitting up and his eyes were half lidded, the arm connected to the broken collarbone, his right hand, was limp on the bed. He was clearly in a lot of pain and I stood up, taking his left hand.
"Vikk?" I whispered. "Are you okay?"
His eyes opened a little and he looked at me, still very clearly in pain, but he gave me a strained smile.
"I'm fine Lachy." He mumbled. "Just sore."
"Do you want me to get a nurse? They could give you some more pain medication." He looked like he was going to object but eventually he nodded, rolling his head back a little as another bolt of pain shot through him.
I pressed a button on the side of his bed and waited, letting him squeeze my hand tightly when he was in pain. He looked like he was half asleep but he probably hadn't slept at all, and he confirmed it when I asked him.
"Have you slept at all Vikk?" He shook his head.
"Too much pain." He whispered, looking up at me. "I couldn't."
"Alright, once the nurse gets here you'll be able to sleep." Only a few seconds later a young man stepped around the door.
"Hello, you called?" He had a thick French accent but I could understand him quite well.
"Yeah, he can't sleep and he's in a lot of pain." The nurse nodded and dug around in a little cupboard for a small bag of clear liquid that I knew was painkiller. He hooked it up to an stand and pressed a tube into the needle that was still in Vikk's arm.
"That should help, it should help him sleep but he'll need to lie down, do you reckon you could do that?" Vikk shook his head but he was already relaxed, the pain medication taking hold in only a few seconds. "Okay, can you help me?"
He directed the last part at me and I nodded, watching as he directed me to help Vikk to lie down. He was on the side with the broken collarbone so I wasn't worried about hurting Vikk and with one quick movement we moved him so he was lying down, his arm resting on his stomach and his chin resting on his chest.
He was pretty much already asleep, the drug taking ahold.
"That's better." He said, tucking the blankets up a little further. "He's going in for surgery tomorrow? That's what the notes said." I nodded
"Yeah, hopefully it goes well."
"It should, it's a common surgery here considering the number of skiing injuries we get so he should be out in a few hours." I nodded, watching Vikk carefully. "Stand strong, it'll be okay."
He placed a hand on my shoulder and squeezed it. He then left me alone with Vikk, who was now peacefully asleep in a much more comfortable position.
"Night Vikk." I whispered to myself. "I hope everything'll be better in the morning."
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The next morning not much had changed. His surgery had been pushed back after a spate of emergency surgeries, so it wouldn't be occurring until at least 11am rather than 8 am. He was still in quite a fair amount of pain but he was still on the medication, so he was better than the night before.
He wasn't allowed to eat or drink anything and so was a little bit grumpy, his stomach rumbling on occasion. To distract him from the pain and his thirst and hunger I started reading to him, news articles, short stories I found online, anything really that could pull his thoughts away from what had happened.
A nurse, a different one from the night before, came in at half past 10 to prepare him for surgery. She told us what was going to happen, some of the risks and how long it was expected to take. It was estimated to take 2 to 3 hours and he would be released once he could stay awake for 5 minutes.
Vikk was a little scared, I could tell, so I squeezed his hand gently and carded my hand through his hair to comfort him.
"It's gonna be okay Vikk, it's gonna be okay." I whispered. "I'll be here when you come out of surgery, I promise." He smiled up at me.
"Thanks Lachy, for being here." He hummed.
"Of course." I whispered back. "I'd never leave you alone."
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5 hours after Vikk left I was started to get really worried. Some of the other boys had come down the mountain to see him but he was still in surgery with no news from anyone about how he was and what was going on.
Billy and Elliot stayed most of the time, leaving only once to go and get some food. They knew about my crush on Vikk and so understood why I was so worried, and constantly reassuring me that he was okay and it was just taking longer than expected.
As the 6 hour mark passed I started to get really freaked out, but then a nurse stepped in through the door.
"Hey, friend of Vikram Barn?" I nodded. "He's just coming back now, sorry it took so long. The surgery took longer than expected and afterwards he just couldn't stay awake, so we couldn't realise him."
I sighed in relief and nodded, thankful that he was okay and nothing had gone wrong.
"The surgery went okay though?" He nodded.
"Everything went fine, he should be able to go home tomorrow morning. He'll have to stay in tonight so he can be kept under supervision but it's all fine." I nodded and rubbed my forehead, my first thought to text the other boys that everything was okay. Billy and Elliot weren't there, they had once again gone out to get some food and fresh air.
A few minutes later Vikk was wheeled into the room on his bed, half awake with a massive white bandage covering his shoulder. He looked extremely groggy and was barely able to keep his eyes open but he smiled at me and lifted his hand in an exhausted wave.
I pulled my chair up close to the side of his bed, squeezing his hand.
"Hey Vikk, you feeling okay?" He nodded, mumbling a little.
"Mmmm tired." He whispered, his fingers gently wrapping around mine. I pushed his hair out of his eyes.
"I'm not surprised Vikky, you were in there for hours." He didn't reply, he was still very groggy and probably didn't even hear me speak.
He didn't seem to be in any pain, he was still attached to an IV which had pain medication running into his veins, and so he was also sleepy and was acting a little off. He was groggy and acting a little loopy and crazy, and I knew it was because of the anaesthetic.
I carded my hand through his hair gently and he leaned into me, a content and happy look on his face.
"Love you Lachy." He mumbled and I jumped, startled. I didn't know whether he said it because of the drugs or because he didn't know that I could hear him, and I didn't know whether he meant it or not.
Could he really mean it?
Two days later I found out that he did mean it. After the awful flight home and a few hours of resting I confronted about what he said when he was under the pain medication. It took a little while, a few minutes of going back and forwards, but eventually he confessed, this time not while he didn't know what was going on.
Our first kiss was slow and gentle, hesitant and very much a first kiss because we didn't really know what we were doing. Vikk was the one who incited it, I was much too shy to do anything that involved my crush, and everything changed from there.
We went out on our first date only a few days before I went back to Australia, to see a movie. I loved it and Vikk did too, which also meant that we came out to those we had been staying with, my friends, Vikk's friends and roommates. None of them had a problem with it.
I loved it. Vikk did too. And we loved each other.