Coffee and Cigarettes

"Oh, my God..." Ryder said slowly in a quiet whisper.

"You're awake!" I squealed, running over to Cara's bed and collapsing into her arms. She hugged me tightly and I honestly can't describe the feeling of relief that washed over me at that very moment.

Cara looked over my shoulder at Libby who tucked a dark ringlet behind her ears. "You're Libby, right?" she said warmly, smiling towards her.

"Yeah," she said, smiling as well.

Cara's grin grew even wider. "Morgan's told us great things about you."

Libby glanced over at me and a small tint of pink graced her cheeks. "Really?"

"Yeah," she said. "I can just tell that we're going to be great friends."

Libby nodded and leaned back against the wall.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Cara, sitting on the chair next to her bed. She shrugged.

"I feel great, actually. Like I've had a long, refreshing nap."

"You have," Ryder noted. Libby smacked his arm.

"Can someone grab a doctor and tell them?" I asked. Libby nodded and walked out of the room to grab the attention of a nearby nurse. She came back in and a woman with short blond hair marched in.

"Oh, Cara, you're awake," she said happily. My pink-haired friend nodded.

"Yup, as you can all see."

The nurse performed some brief checks to her blood, her temperature and stuff like that before determining when she could leave. "You'd better stay overnight just to be surveyed. You're so lucky that you only got a fractured elbow, aside from the coma. It could've been so much worse."

"I know," she agreed. "But at least I'm okay now, right?"

"Absolutely," the nurse said happily. "Well, kids, it's late and you should be getting home. We'll take good care of Cara. Don't worry about a thing."

"But--" Ryder began, but Cara herself cut him off.

"Mom's going to worry, douchebag," she joked. "Go home." Cara and Ryder referred to each other's parents as 'Mom' and 'Dad' because they'd known each other for so long. Ryder sighed and we all hugged Cara one last time before walking out of the hospital, feeling significantly better about the situation at hand.

"Hey," I said to Libby and Ryder. "I have some stuff I have to do...you guys go on without me."

They both nodded and I walked swiftly in a different direction. I think they both knew where my destination was, since they both had grins plastered on their faces when I walked away.

I dug my hands into my jean pockets and walked along the sidewalk, humming the tune of Mother by Danzig in my head. Not necessarily my favourite song, it was just stuck.

Before I knew it, I was in front of the house. I walked up the patio steps and knocked on the door. I inhaled shakily and waited.

Frank came to the door with a confused expression on his face. "Morgan? What are you doing here?"

I shrugged. "Wanted to talk to you," I answered. "Can I come in?"

He nodded and stepped aside, allowing me into his house. I walked in and he closed the door behind me before gesturing upstairs so we could talk in private. "My mom is in the kitchen," he explained. "She doesn't like to be disturbed when she's preparing dinner."

I nodded and we walked upstairs to his room. We both sat on his bed and he waited for me to speak.

"I've realized some things," I said softly, tugging at a strand of hair that had fallen by my face. "And I just...needed to get them out in the open."

"Alright," Frank said, folding his arms over his chest. "What's up?"

I sighed quietly. "Well, I've come to certain realizations," I began. "And...I honestly don't know if I love you, because I still think that I'm--we're...too young to really fully understand what love really is. But I do like you, Frank. I like you a lot."

He nodded. "So, where are we going with this?"

I shrugged. "Do you want a relationship?"

He nodded. "More than anything in the world."

A smile tugged at my lips but I tried my best to keep it under control. "Well then--" I was abruptly cut off by Frank deciding to be bold and kissing me firmly on the lips. I smiled inwardly and tugged him closer by the collar of his shirt. His hands made their way to my lower back and before anything else could happen, I pulled away.

He grinned at me, trying to catch his breath.

"So, Iero," I said with a smirk. "I'm willing to give you a shot. But screw it up, and that's that, got it?"

"Yes ma'am," he saluted lamely.

Just then, his mom knocked on the door. We quickly moved away from each other as she opened it.

"Oh, hello, Morgan!" she said warmly. We'd met on many different occasions. "Are you going to be staying for dinner?"

"Oh, well, I--"

"Yeah. She is," Frank said for me. I gave him a playful glare. "Hey," he said with mock-sternness. "If you're going to be my girlfriend, you've got to start doing girlfriend things." He was practically wagging his finger at me.

I smiled at the thought. "Alright."