Opposites Attract

It's been a week exactly. He's breathing, but still unconscious.

If it were up to me, I would never leave his side, but even though my mom understands, she still forces me to go to school. How can I pay attention to anything else when Sean is in the hospital? What happens if he wakes up and I'm not there? After the attack from his dad and what that Budro woman told me about him calling his mom, I don't want Sean to ever feel like nobody cares about him. If he wakes up and none of the people who love and care about him are there, that will just be one more thing that I will never forgive myself for.

So every day I'm antsy, waiting for school to be over so that I can go back and visit him. I'm absolutely sure that I have learned nothing this week at school. I guess Dallan or someone told Mr. Sinclair what happened, because he's the only teacher who understands why I'm so distracted lately. He asked if he could come with me to see Sean today. Of course it's fine with me, he has to ask Dallan's permission but I'm pretty sure that Dallan won't care. I wonder how it's working between him and Dallan. Mr. Sinclair still gets nervous around him and Dallan maintains his cool composure. Surprisingly, I don't think that they would be a bad match - they're so different and yet still seem compatible. Great, thinking like this just has me missing Sean again.

Zephy's been running damage control, by which I mean she prevents people from talking to me or spreading rumors so that I don't go and try to rip someone's head off. She's also been keeping me company and making me stay at her house because she knows that going to my house would just be too difficult for awhile.

I know that I should have done something. I understand that I couldn't control what Sean's dad would do, and it's not my fault that it happened, but I still blame myself for forgetting my phone and for not noticing the problems when they first began. I've been his best friend for years and I couldn't see this coming? You can't tell me that there was no way I could have prevented this somehow.

Speaking of his asshole of a father, his dad has been put in jail, which is only temporary. There can't be a trial or prison sentence until Sean can comment and press charges. This is just complete bullshit - what more proof do you need? The man was found in the room, his son was obviously beaten, there was no one else in the house but the only witness - Ms. Budro, could tell what happened and - this is just stupid. If I could take matters into my own hands... I know I would probably just get myself killed but...

I would take on his dad myself if I could. Nobody does that to my boyfriend and gets away with it.

***

Mr. Sinclair drove me to the hospital. It was a silent, awkward ride but he understood I had nothing to talk about. I called my mom before we left and told her where I would be - as if she even had a doubt by now that I'd be at the hospital - and told her I would do as much of my homework as possible. I've been staying till visiting hours were over, and since Sean isn't awake yet, she saw no reason for me to not get any work done.

We met up with Dallan. He looked tired and distraught, yet still trying to keep his sunny personality. It wasn't working. I had never seen a broken Dallan, and before now, I wouldn't have believed that was even possible. I know that Dallan and Sean had been pretty close before Dallan moved away and that they kinda grew apart after that, but this was still taking it's toll on him.

Mr. Sinclair went in to see Sean and leave a card for him. Lots of people have given me cards and such to give to Sean, after all he is very popular. No one has tried to come and visit him though. I'm actually happy about that - even if it makes me sound selfish, I don't want anyone gawking at him and not knowing what really happened, and I definitely don't want to tell anybody what happened.

After Mr. Sinclair left the room, he went to keep Dallan company in the cafeteria. I went in and moved the chair next to the bed like I did every day. I tried not to look at the numerous tubes and the hospital equipment, and tried focusing on his face. His bruises were fading and his lip wasn't swollen anymore. He didn't seem as pale, but without a smile on his face he still seemed lifeless. The heart monitor was the only sound in the room and it was driving me crazy, so I decided to talk to him.

"H-Hey Sean. It's Cory. I... um... I really don't know if you can hear me. I might just be talking to myself right now... I don't really know what to say. I don't want to talk about what happened. I know eventually we will but right now lets just talk about something else like... oh Dallan finally found an apartment so you two could stay together. It's close to the lake - I guess Dallan still misses the beach, huh?

Zephy sends her love, and her insults, but I really rather would not repeat them. She thinks that her insulting you will make you get angry and wake up to attack her, but she did get this theory from watching The Simpsons so I doubt it'll work.

School hasn't changed much from what I remember - I haven't really been paying attention. Oh, well actually there is a dance coming up called The Rave. It's run by the Anime Club, and I've haven't actually heard much about the club itself, but the word is that The Rave is the best dance at school, so of course Zephy is going to make me go. You know me, I'm not really a dancer, but I'll go for the techno music.

Oh you know what else is weird? Coach Bellum thinks that I should join track. Yeah, isn't that crazy? Why would I want to do anything that puts me at a greater risk of an asthma attack? He thinks I'm pretty fast but... oh well I'm not an athlete anyway.

You know, if it weren't for you, I probably wouldn't think that I was all that important. Besides standing by you, I don't know what I'm good at. And after what happened to you, I can't even say that I'm good at helping you! I... I really hope you make it, Sean, not just for me but for you. I know you're headed for greatness, whether you can see it or not. You're so talented and dedicated when you care about something - there is nothing that you can't do. If you've taught me anything, it's that nothing is impossible."

Right then was when my voice started cracking and I felt a tear fall to my cheek. I skimmed my thumb over the top of his hand.

"I love you so much, Seanie. If you only hear one thing, let it be this: I'm in love with you."

I sighed and leaned forward to place a kiss on his lips. He didn't stir from his sleep. I got up to turn on the TV - it was on some sports channel, and I have no doubt that it was Dallan's doing. It was boxing - one of the more gruesome sports that Sean loves to watch. I laughed and shook my head as I went back over to the chair to start doing my homework. I tried to start my English essay but my paper was blank except for the various doodles and scribbles of Sean's name in the margins. I shrugged and turned the doodles into a full page drawing, dark with smudged eraser marks and covered with a mixture of swirls and harsh lines - contrasting styles like mine and his. I smiled at it, admiring it for a moment before deciding to actually try writing my essay again, but a cough distracted me. My head shot up as Sean set into a coughing fit. My eyes widened, ecstatic that he was awake, but scared because I didn't know what to do.

Like an idiot I asked if he needed my inhaler, but miraculously he stopped coughing when I said it, stared at me, and started laughing. Normally I'd frown because yet again I had embarrassed myself, but right now I was grinning ear to ear with him.

"You're awake." I smiled.
"I was... asleep?"
"For a week, yeah."
"What... what happened?"
"You... need rest. We'll talk about it later."
He frowned. "Apparently, I've had enough rest if I've been out for a week. What's going on?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now, I'm just happy that you're alive." I hugged him softly.
He coughed again and said in a shocked voice "I could've been dead?!"
I froze for a minute but continued hugging him. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Well I do. I wanna know what happened."
I pulled away, frowning. "I'll tell you later."
"Why can't you tell me now?"
"Because I don't want to talk about it."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to relive it!"
"Relive what? What are you talking about?"
"I don't want to think about it right now!"
"Think about what?!"
"What happened to you!"
"I want to know!"
"You could've died and it's all my fault, okay?! Your dad found you and beat you up and you called for help but I didn't answer because I didn't have my phone and then you called your mom but this lady answered and-"
"Whoa, calm down Cory." By now, I was hyperventilating. He pointed to my pocket. I dug out my inhaler and took my medicine. When I had calmed down, he was staring at me with concern, which didn't make any sense because he was the one in the hospital bed.
"Do you ever take care of yourself?" I groaned.
"Huh?" He looked confused.
"Here you are, lying in a hospital bed hooked up to loads of equipment and you can't even remember how you got here, and yet you are still worrying about me having a small panic attack."
"You don't have small panic attacks, you have panic attacks that can easily become a bigger problem."
"I'm fine. Just think about yourself for once."
It was quiet for a moment. Then I felt my paper slide from under my arms. Blushing, I tried to snatch it back from him but he held it away from me while he stared at it.
"This is really good, Cory."
"Give it back, it's just embarrassing drawings. It's what a girl would draw about her crush."
"And you have no problem saying that considering you drew it?" He raised an eyebrow at me. I resisted the urge to smack him as I snatched my paper back from him.
"I was bored. This was supposed to be my English essay."
"Well, I don't think our teacher will give you credit for that, but it definitely gets an A in my book."
I blushed and put the paper inside my binder. "Thanks." I mumbled. "Do you feel okay?"
"Yeah, sure." He smiled. I didn't believe him - he always put up a brave front. I played along.
"That's good. I should probably tell your doctor that you're awake." I moved to get up.
His eyes widened and he grabbed onto my wrist to stop me. "No, no I'm okay. You don't have to get anyone."
I knew it - he was still afraid of hospitals. "They want to help you Sean, it's alright - nobody is going to be hurt if I go get your doctor."
"I know but..." his grip loosened. I took his hand in mine.
"Seanie, nothing bad is going to happen. I promise." He half-smiled at me and nodded. "I'll send Dallan in to keep you company, alright?" He nodded, so I got up and walked out of the room.

Dallan was still talking to Mr. Sinclair, and I almost didn't want to interrupt because of how close they were: sitting so close to each other, legs touching, faces inches apart. But I ruined the moment anyway by clearing my throat, making them jump back away from each other. I rolled my eyes before walking over to them.

"Sean's awake."
They both looked shocked, but Dallan still looked broken (for lack of a better word). He shot up and went into the room. Mr. Sinclair said he would go in shortly and that Dallan probably wanted some time alone first. I nodded and went to find Dr. Jordan. She ended up finding me. I told her the news and she smiled and followed me back to his room. Dallan was standing by Sean's side. He looked up and slightly smiled at Dr. Jordan. She smiled and greeted Sean with the typical doctor greeting of "Glad to see you're awake, Sleeping Beauty." I could see Sean frown at that, probably because he didn't like being referred to a princess. I giggled and took the opposite side next to him.

"Now, from the looks of it, you seem to have recovered quite well. We had to do a few surgeries because of your internal injuries, but everything should be fine now. I would say that all you need to worry about is getting rest and taking some pain medication for a while. I'd like if you could come back in maybe a few weeks so we can do a check-up and make sure that everything is fine and that there won't be any complications later on. I'm thinking you should stay here for at least another day just in case and then you can go home. Mr. Dallan, is it? I'd say it's between you and him if he goes back to school right away." Dallan nodded as she went back to reviewing and writing on Sean's chart. "Okay, so I'm going to write you a prescription for some pain medication - we'll start you on Ibuprofen and hopefully that will be enough to counter the pain, but if not then you can come back to me and we'll try to find a better solution, alright? And Dallan, can I speak to you outside for a minute please?"

He followed her outside while I sat back down in the chair. Sean looked slightly more relaxed now that the doctor had left. He didn't like hospitals ever since the day of his mom's accident. Can you imagine waking up scared and alone in strange place, and then finding out that your mom is gone forever? That's mainly why I wanted to be here when Sean woke up - so that he didn't have to go through all of that again. I smiled at him, and he returned it though the emotion didn't reach his eyes. Mine was probably as fake as his - it wasn't really a happy time, but I was still extremely glad that he was okay.

"So, I was really knocked out for a week?" He asked.
I nodded. "It was scary. We didn't know if you would wake up."
He looked down. "I don't remember anything."
"Well, that's good, isn't it? I mean, as long as you still remember the important things like who you are and who your friends and family are."
"Yeah, but why can't I remember what happened? You said that my dad attacked me, but I can't remember that."
"Is that like selective memory or something? I mean, I can understand not wanting to remember it, but you really can't remember it at all?"
"No, I don't remember much - everything is kinda fuzzy."
I frowned. How could he not remember anything? He knew enough about who Dallan and I were, but he can't remember any events? That can't be good.

"Cor, can you get me something to drink?" He asked. I smiled and got up to go to the cafeteria. I got him a bottle of water and headed back to the room. When I opened the door, I saw him hide something under his pillow. I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just gave an innocent look and went back to watching TV. I handed him the bottle and ended up watching him instead of the TV because obviously he is much more entertaining. After a while, he fell back asleep, and I realized it was getting late. I packed up my things and turned off the TV. I was about to get up when I remembered that he hid something behind his pillow. My curiosity got the better of me, so I carefully reached under his pillow and pulled out a paper - the same one that I had done my drawings on. I rolled my eyes. I didn't understand why he liked it so much, until I noticed that there was writing on the back that I hadn't put there:

"I'm in love with you, Cory Barnes."

My heart stopped. I looked at the peacefully sleeping boy in front of me and kissed him on the lips. I hope I can make him as happy as he makes me.