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⠀⠀⠀The first thing Brendan could feel was the tenderness of his back muscles; it was the way they seemed to stiffen with even the slightest movement that appeared to wake him up from the darkness that had once engulfed him whole. It doesn't hurt— no, it doesn't, but it does cause him to panic due to the fact his body is weak, unable to function as a normal, healthy one should. A mumbled groan builds within the core of his throat as he pushes himself up onto his elbows, eyes still tightly shut.
⠀⠀⠀"Holy... shit..." Brendan can hear himself hiss, arms burrowing deep into the comfortable plumpness of what seemed to be a bed. Despite the softness, one he would describe to be cloud-like, his body ached and burned like hell.
⠀⠀⠀At this time, he decides to slowly blink his ajar, eyebrows furrowed and narrowed deeply as his vision opens up to a new sight— blurry and blindingly illuminating. The bland color of white fills his vision, but after a few moments of simply staring at the eggshell-hued wall in front of him, many other colors come to life, and he breathes it all in with relief. Brendan reaches a hand up to settle gently on the base of his forehead, mind still spinning, though getting better.
⠀⠀⠀Once his vision clears like the light of day, Brendan's mind can only trail on to one thought: where was he, and what had happened?
⠀⠀⠀It was obvious enough— he wasn't at home, nor was he at the school's nurse office. But to be at a hospital... that concept was unnerving. After all, what had happened to him couldn't have been that bad that he had to land inside a hospital, right?
⠀⠀⠀Just as Brendan was about to examine more of his surroundings, two distinct voices could be heard approaching his room, getting louder and louder. He squints his eyes as the door to his room slowly opens, the voices now recognizable and concise. Brendan watches as May and Drew stroll into his line of vision, snacks bundled into his best friend's arms as a bouquet of flowers are safely held within the arms of, well, his dream girl. As soon as May saw him, her eyes dilated and her jaw dropped— and the flowers were soon forgotten.
⠀⠀⠀"Oh my... Brendan-Boo, you're okay!" May practically cried out, her body leaping upon and into the hospital bed as she coils her arms around him. It takes all of Brendan not to grunt from the unexpected impact. "We were all so worried! It all happened so quick, and then you were on the ground and it was hard to tell if you were even... breathing! Stupid Brendan! Don't do that again!"
⠀⠀⠀Brendan contorts his face in confusion, but soon it all comes rushing back to him like a bad memory. His lips part into a round shape.
⠀⠀⠀Ah, so that's what happened.
⠀⠀⠀"Hey... if I hadn't done that, you would be in my place, May," Brendan heard himself say softly, a hint of a laugh following shortly. "I wouldn't want that— I would do anything for this to never happen to you."
⠀⠀⠀May's cheeks flood with heat, and she slightly turns away from him, a hand raised to cover his lips as if embarrassed. "It doesn't mean what you did wasn't stupid... I should've been more careful, then none of this would've happened..."
⠀⠀⠀"It wasn't your fault," Brendan says again.
⠀⠀⠀Then, May's face forms bitter.
⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, you're right, actually," she says, her gaze narrowed and teeth grazing. "If anything, it is Steven's fault."
⠀⠀⠀Brendan cocks his head to the side. To be honest, Steven's name leaving her lips left a sour tang on his tongue. That man was not a good person to be talking about, and to hear that it was his fault for why he was laying in this hospital bed left him to no surprise. Drew walked around to the other bedside, back leaning against the mattress as he crosses his arms, "Yeah, Steven isn't joking around anymore, man. We have to talk about something."
⠀⠀⠀"Talk about what?" Brendan questions, his amber orbs following the way Drew heavily sucks in breath through his teeth. Serious Drew isn't a good thing— Brendan knows that the hard way.
⠀⠀⠀"He's threatening you— or he did."
⠀⠀⠀"You're kidding."
⠀⠀⠀"No," May replies in a hushed tone. "He isn't joking. Steven told us yesterday after you got injured that if you didn't leave me alone, he would continue to hurt you."
⠀⠀⠀Brendan wants to laugh out loud, but the tense and discomfort pervading throughout the dense atmosphere makes it hard to do so. Just from the look in Drew's face— the way he glares at the wall with such ferocity; the way he nibbles on his bottom lip; the way he continues to drum his fingers along his arm as if stressed— it is all it takes for the dark-haired male to believe it. Drew could be a jokester and, frankly, an immature child, but it didn't mean he didn't have a heart nor know when something required a sense of thought.
⠀⠀⠀"So, what, I have to stay away from May?" Brendan finds himself asking roughly towards his friend rather than the very female herself beside him. "I don't understand how that is even plausible. We are in the same club— we have scenes together in this damn musical, for God's sake— and she's my friend. You're telling me that Steven thinks he can just threaten me and expect me to listen?"
⠀⠀⠀Drew sighed and placed a hand on Brendan's stiff shoulder. "Look, man, you know I mean well. But this guy feels dangerous. He has power— you know that. And I won't stand here and watch as he continues to hurt you. This one incident was enough for me to lose sleep last night because I was so scared you were permanently injured."
⠀⠀⠀"I'm strong," Brendan argues, voice rising.
⠀⠀⠀"But for how long?" Drew asks roughly. "Man, just stop thinking about yourself— May and I are your friends, too. We care about you, and we don't want to see you hurt. You don't know what Steven is capable of, and sure, you say you are strong and can take it— but there's just so long until you can't handle it anymore."
⠀⠀⠀At that, Brendan can feel the words die on his tongue; the breath traveling through lungs, now stolen from him.
⠀⠀⠀Beside him, he can feel May's small and warm palm rest delicately on top of his own. Brendan doesn't crane his head to meet her gaze, but he can imagine it holds a sense of pain and sorrow.
⠀⠀⠀"It's only for the best," she whispers softly, the lightness of her breath like a breeze against his ear. "It'll hurt at first, but then it'll be like we never met. Trust me, it always ends that way. I would rather give up my happiness with you than for you to get hurt by him, Brendan-Boo."
⠀⠀⠀That hurts.
⠀⠀⠀The way she says it to him stings.
⠀⠀⠀There is no other way to describe it.
⠀⠀⠀"May..." Brendan hears himself softly call for her, disbelief edging his voice.
⠀⠀⠀"It's okay," May smiles sadly. "I promise."
⠀⠀⠀"I don't... I can't..." Brendan doesn't know what he's trying get out, and the stuttering makes it even harder. The way she tries to be strong pains him— she isn't supposed to be protecting him— he is supposed to be protecting her. She isn't supposed to be the one trying to make him happy— that was his job. And he was failing. "I don't want to sacrifice your happiness."
⠀⠀⠀"But you'll get hurt if we don't." She shoots back within seconds, voice rising as if concealing her emotions wasn't an option any longer.
⠀⠀⠀"I can take it—"
⠀⠀⠀"No. I don't want you to."
⠀⠀⠀"May, no, wait—"
⠀⠀⠀But she was already rising from where she was by his side, the bed feeling as though a burden had been lifted off of its mattress. Brendan misses that warmth at his side, desperately so, but before he can act to reach out for her— to hold her hand or grab her wrist— May is already too far. She isn't even facing him anymore, and her shoulders tremble like she's trying to hold back the pain in her voice. Drew barely moves, like he's been expecting her to up and leave. If anything, he gently holds his arm out as if casting a barrier between them; Brendan wants to hate him for it.
⠀⠀⠀He knows he can't.
⠀⠀⠀"It was really nice being with you," May softly says, words barely audible through the tremor-like jumps in her voice. "Really, you and Drew made every day feel like an adventure. I really loved the moments we had together, especially the ones that we shared, Brendan-Boo.
⠀⠀⠀"It might be a little late now, and I'm sorry I didn't say anything before, but I want you to know that I never truly felt like you were just my friend. I felt like we had a connection; an everlasting bond that could not be broken." May sighed, taking more steps towards the door. "If you don't get where I'm going with this, I just really want you to know that I've liked you for a while now. I worked hard to get the main role just to share those intimate scenes together. I know, that's weird and selfish, but I don't regret it."
⠀⠀⠀Then, May spins back around with the heel of her foot to face him, an illuminative smile plastered sweetly on her cheeks. "Every moment we had with each other is one I'll cherish forever, so thank you, Brendan-Boo!"
⠀⠀⠀Brendan doesn't want to hear the farewell. And so, he doesn't. He shuts her voice out after he hears her say his special nickname, and he doesn't watch as she strolls out of the door.
⠀⠀⠀Drew's voice is brief in his ears. It is more like a ringing rather than an actual human voice, and he can barely distinguish words. Brendan can feel his friend's hand graciously palm his shoulder, giving an encouraging squeeze before vanishing. His chocolate-colored bangs shade over his eyes darkly, and all he can think of at that moment was how he was going to get May back. It didn't matter what happened to him.
⠀⠀⠀All he could think about was how badly he was going to make Steven Stone pay.
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⠀⠀⠀The next few days were filled with little to no interaction with anyone. At least, not with Brendan. Drew decided to give him the space he needed. May spared him a couple of glances, a smile or two, too, and even a long-distant wave when they passed each other in the hallway. It didn't surprise the dark-haired male in the slightest when he began to constantly see Steve around wherever May was, his gaze seeming to smirk for him rather than his lips. Brendan couldn't deny it didn't ignite a blaze within him, but he wouldn't do anything yet.
⠀⠀⠀Well, at that time, it was a yet.
⠀⠀⠀But not anymore.
⠀⠀⠀Today is the day, Brendan decided.
⠀⠀⠀After a few days of skipping rehearsals within the Theatre Arts Club, he finally returned to the room, the door screeching loudly both in his ears and throughout the spaciousness of the stage. As soon as the door shut, the inhabitants in the room turned to look at him, many faces displaying shock and relief.
⠀⠀⠀One girl gasped loudly, a smile on her lips.
⠀⠀⠀"Our Prince Charming has returned!"
⠀⠀⠀Brendan allowed a crowd to circle him, many questions spewing his way and causing him to slightly blush out of pure embarrassment. He was never used to the attention.
⠀⠀⠀But that wasn't what he was here for.
⠀⠀⠀Politely, he created a small bubble around him with his palms, signaling he wanted his space. The crowd respected it, heads nodding and lips curling into larger smiles as they murmured amongst themselves. He's already so motivated to work, Brendan heard as he squeezed through, I haven't seen him in so long; he feels like a new person.
⠀⠀⠀Thank God he's back— I couldn't stand the way May looked.
⠀⠀⠀Right? She looked so uncomfortable.
⠀⠀⠀But now Brendan's here.
⠀⠀⠀Brendan concealed the growing smirk on his lips as he climbed his way onto the stage, the look on Lisia's face priceless. The shock was evident, but it soon vanished as she grinned, placing her fists on her thin hips.
⠀⠀⠀"About time you came back, mister." Lisia teased softly. "We all missed you."
⠀⠀⠀"Sorry," Brendan half-assed, his confidence growing once he notices the curtains of backstage move, revealing a rather surprised May. Her large cerulean gaze is wide, and he can tell that she's trying to stop the smile on her face from growing. "I had some things to think about. I didn't want it to affect my performance— but I can assure you now, it won't."
⠀⠀⠀"Oh? Is that so?"
⠀⠀⠀A breathy laugh escapes his lips. "If anything, I think I can do even better than before. Believe me, I'll act so well— it'll be hard to distinguish whether I'm being real or not."
⠀⠀⠀"Well, finally, good gosh," Lisia visibly sighed aloud, dramatically and comically. "It only took you two weeks 'til the production to finally put some emotion and some truth in your acting. But as one always says— better late than never!"
⠀⠀⠀Brendan spared a glance back at May, whom was still grasping the ends of the scarlet-colored curtains between her fingers, timidly peeking out. Beside her, a taller male figure went to stand next to her, attempting to understand what all the commotion was about. As soon as Steven made eye contact with him, the atmosphere was tense— but not in the way one would think; no, there was no fear emitting from Brendan as he stared back at the other. No, not at all. If anything, Brendan felt exhilarated— as if he could do anything.
⠀⠀⠀He wasn't going to let May go, especially when she shared the same feelings he did.
⠀⠀⠀Not without a fight.
⠀⠀⠀"Ah, there you are, Steven!" Lisia calls out, loud and excited. "Guess who came back, and boy, may I add— I don't think you're ready for this guy anymore. Brendan's a changed actor."
⠀⠀⠀Steven's lips twitched into a faked smile, though Brendan knew he was anything but happy about his appearance. They continued to glare at each other, passive aggressively, and all they could understand with their eyes were two things:
⠀⠀⠀You're not ready for me, Steven.
⠀⠀⠀Bring it on, Brendan.
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Hi there, Petals !!
I'm back with another update, finally!!
This is where the good stuff happens— fighting for little princess May :'))
Thank you for all who have been patient with me during this story— I KNOW I don't prioritize it at all, but thank you anyway!
I love you all so dearly! <3
Comment your thoughts and constructive criticism; all are highly appreciated!! <3
Vote | Comment | Enjoy
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See you in chapter thirteen,
— Scarlet
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