One of the Boys.

“Emma!” chimed Brendon, as he saw me approaching his bed. “Man have I missed you.”
I smiled and pulled him into a hug. “Me too.”
He took in a deep breath, stroking my hair. I let go of him and sat on the edge of the bed.
“It’s been a week since you’ve seen me.” he pouted. “Where the hell have you been?”
“Busy, I’m sorry. I’ve had to do all this extra work, and then there’s the cheering practices, Henry, going to the orphanage several times to make up for the times I missed beforehand and the-”
“Shh.” he smiled. “I don’t mind. I missed you but I understand that you had a lot to do.”
“Thanks, Bren. Looks like you’ve grown some hair back.”
“Only a tiny bit.” he nodded. “But look, I have stubble! It’s only just started growing so you can’t see it all that well but you can feel it.”
I put my hand on his cheek and gently stroked it. “Aww, my Brendon is growing up.”
He laughed and put his hand on top of mine, on his cheek. He pulled it off and kissed it.
“I get out soon.”
Brendon patted the spot next to him, so he budged over and I sat down, my legs laying along the bed. He slipped his arm around my waist and leaned into me.
“How soon?” I asked.
“8 days. They have to make sure I can still walk correctly, then I can go home.”
“Wow. You totally have to sleep round mine and we can have a good ‘ol fashioned sleep over.”
He smiled and kissed my shoulder. “That would be nice. As long as I can sleep in your bed, it’s way more comfortable than mine.”
“Sure. You’ll be back for prom, right?”
“Yeah… but I’m not going.”
“Awh why not?”
“I haven’t got a date. And no one will want to go with me.”
“I’d like to go with you.”
“You’re just saying that.” he said, punching my arm lightly. “And you’ve got Henry.”
“If I didn’t then I’d ask you.”
“Like, as a date, or as a friend?”
“Friend, of course.” I smiled.
He sighed and leaned into me again. “You know what’s the worst thing about being in hospital?”
“Not being able to move from your bed?”
“Yeah.” he nodded. “Which means I can’t leave to pee, so they shove a fucking tube up my dick. And it really hurts.” he whined, squeezing my hand.
I kissed his forehead. “It’ll all be over soon. And a little too much information.”
He laughed. “I always take it that one step too far, just the way I am. You don’t get all that weirded out, anyway.”
“True. But it’s still a little too much.”
Henry ran in, looking very hot and flustered. He was wheezing. “Emma! Oh my God!” he shouted, his eyes starting to well up.
He pulled me into a tight hug, sobbing hysterically into my shirt. I hugged him back and Brendon mouthed: “What?” at me.
“I don’t know.” I mouthed back.
“They said, they said you died, no one knew where you were.” he cried, holding me even tighter.
“What?”
“There was a fire and, and…” he breathed out and let go of me.
“At football practice, and cheer-leading practice, there was a fire in the changing rooms. Everyone was safe but they thought you were in there, and it burnt everything to dust.” Henry held my hands. “But you’re not. You’re here and you’re safe.”
“I’m safe.” I smiled.
He laughed a little and wiped his eyes. “You got me crying, Em.”
“I’m sorry.” I smiled again and kissed his hand.
“Sorry Brendon for this… yeah, this crying and freaking out.”
“No problem.” he smiled.
I kissed Henry on the lips once. “Everything is okay.”
“I know.” he sighed with relief, taking a few deep breaths. “I just… I thought I’d lost you, and I freaked out because, well, I really like you, and, and yeah.”
“And yeah.” I beamed.
He hugged me from behind so we could see Brendon.
“You’ve got one special best friend.” said Henry
“I know.” smiled Brendon. “I know.”
“I’ll see you later, okay Bren? And if I can’t then our sleepover is still on.”
“Alright. I’ll see you later.” he nodded and I took Henry’s hand, walking out of the hospital.
As soon as we got outside he sank to the floor, gripping at his head. I sat down next to him.
“I nearly lost you.”
“But I wasn’t in the fire, Henry.”
“You could’ve been, and it made me see how close I’ve got to you these past weeks.”
He rest his head on my shoulder. “It scares me, Emma.”
“Why?”
“Because everything I get close to gets ripped away from me. That’s why I avoid relationships or friends but you, I couldn’t avoid you.”
I’m not all that sure how to respond to that.
He laughed lightly when he saw my confused expression. “In other words, I really, really like you.”
“Oh.” I smiled and kissed his cheek. “I really, really like you too.”