Status: In college, but I'll update when I can!
Someone Get Me a Doctor, Someone Call the Nurse
Chapter Twenty Four
(Jared POV)
Hearing Maddie’s voice pulled a grin across my face. She had sounded so tired when I spoke with her, and I rapidly did the math to figure out what time it was for her—approximately 8 or nine o’clock. Shannon laughed at me as I walked off-camera to call her, slapping me on the shoulder. I talked with her for a few minutes, occasionally being interrupted by the crowd, but still enjoying the time I got to chat with her. When we hung up the phone, I felt a small wave of disappointment flow through me. If only she could have been here with all of us. I know she’d have an amazing time with all the after-parties. Smiling at the thought, I ducked into a limo with my brother and Tomo and rode off to one of the many events going on.
I woke up the next day with a massive headache and rolled over to duck under the sheets. Someone had either left the curtains open or opened them this morning, and the light was shining right into my face with piercing brightness. Mouth feeling like cotton, I slowly let my body wake up before stumbling to the fridge and snatching a water bottle out of it. As I chugged back a few mouthfuls of the cool liquid, a faint buzzing went off behind me and I realized it was my phone. Shannon had sent me a text, the time stamp reading 9:51 am.
Jared, get your ass up and come downstairs. We’ve got something for you.
Blinking in confusion, I looked at the clock—10 am. What could they possibly have for me? I fumbled with some clothes and headed out the door after brushing my teeth. I couldn’t for the life of me guess what those two had in store for me. Once I was downstairs, I spotted the two of them over by the desk, a large box between them. Shannon bounce from foot to foot in eagerness as I approached.
“Jared! Maddie sent early Christmas presents! I got new sticks and a gift card to a music store.” Laughing softly, I turned to Tomo.
“Couldn’t wait, could he?” Tomo shrugged, sporting a comfortable looking sweater with the tag still on the sleeve.
“Nope…Besides, this’ll come in handy with the chilly weather.” I looked into the box and pulled out a relatively small, brightly wrapped present and looked at the name on it. It was my own, and I didn’t hesitate to tear open the gift. Inside was an incredibly soft grey scarf and pair of fingerless gloves. I smiled, recalling how my favorite pair had disintegrated the other week, leaving me sadly gloveless. There was another present left in the box, and as Shannon held it up, he passed it to me.
“It’s for you, bro.” Grinning, I tore through the wrapping paper and opened the box. A card hid the gift underneath until I lifted it out to read:
Happy early birthday, Jared! I hope you and the guys like the presents. The CD is a mix I made for you. It’s a bunch of some really relaxing music. I figured with your stressful career, you could use something to take your mind off it. Enjoy!
-Maddie
I smiled softly at her thoughtfulness. Always looking out for us…Shannon tossed the mess of paper and boxes into the giant shipping box and began to heft it toward the elevators. Tomo and I trotted behind, carrying all the gifts with us. Christmas was still two weeks away, and under the crazy schedule, I had forgotten to get any presents for anyone else yet. Thinking about what to get everyone, I determined to get most of the shopping done today.
By the end of the day, I had gotten everyone except Maddie presents. Nothing I found seemed to say ‘this is the one’, and I couldn’t decide on what she would want. Putting it off for a day wouldn’t kill me, and I could always ask Shannon for some ideas. I sat down at the desk and started up the computer. As it finished booting up, I went to my email and started to write Maddie back.
From: <rockstarforMars@yadayada.com>
To: <Maddiegurl64@blahblahblah.com>
Thank you Maddie! We all love the gifts. Can’t wait for March! Take care until then, ok?
-Jared
I hit send and stood up with a stretch. Time had flown by. It felt like just yesterday that we had all just met, and the feeling made a wave of melancholy roll through me. Why did life fly by so fast? The sadness faded quickly as I turned to go join my brother and Tomo for dinner. Ironically, as I wished for life to not go by so quickly, I simultaneously wished for it to hurry up so that I could see Maddie again soon. With a smile breaking out on my face, I left the room.
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I had ended up getting Maddie a charm bracelet, and I had added a custom silver charm of the triad to it for her. The phone call I received when she got it was full of squeals of delight followed by her fussing about how it was too much. Her ranting made all three of us smile, and I went to bed feeling happy to know I got her something she liked so much. Heart fluttering slightly, I closed my eyes and laid my head on my arms. I was relieved to have our easy friendship back, but something inside me twisted painfully sweet at the thought of her, and I know that it isn’t normal to feel the way I do.
Looking at the clock beside the bed, I sighed softly. The concert had gone wonderfully, and the crowd had cheered relentlessly as we went through song after song. After spending nearly five hours running and jumping around on stage, my body protested any movement in utter exhaustion. Almost asleep, I was startled by my phone’s wild buzzing and answered it groggily.
“Hello?”
“Jare?” A soft smile slid over my lips as a familiar female’s voice crackled on the other line.
“Hey Maddie…isn’t it a bit late for you to be calling?” Soft laughter made my grin widen.
“Silly…It’s close to five. I just woke up and decided to call you before work. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Nope…Just got in actually. We had one of our concerts today.”
“Oh? I bet it went great!” Her enthusiasm was catchy, and I sat up slightly against the pillows.
“It would have been better if you could have been there…” As the words left my mouth, I found myself wishing that she was there with me and scrubbed at my hair to hide the sudden teenage awkwardness that filled me. Maddie sighed softly on the other line, and I had difficulty telling if it was from sadness or annoyance.
“I wish I could have been there…but hey, in another few months, you’ll be here, and I can see you then!” I smiled softly and felt my spirits lift with her excitement. She never failed to make me feel better.
“Very true…Well, I’m going to sleep now. Have a great day!”
“Goodnight Jared. Sweet dreams.” As I hung up the phone, I sank into the pillows and was asleep in seconds. My dreams were indeed sweet.
Hearing Maddie’s voice pulled a grin across my face. She had sounded so tired when I spoke with her, and I rapidly did the math to figure out what time it was for her—approximately 8 or nine o’clock. Shannon laughed at me as I walked off-camera to call her, slapping me on the shoulder. I talked with her for a few minutes, occasionally being interrupted by the crowd, but still enjoying the time I got to chat with her. When we hung up the phone, I felt a small wave of disappointment flow through me. If only she could have been here with all of us. I know she’d have an amazing time with all the after-parties. Smiling at the thought, I ducked into a limo with my brother and Tomo and rode off to one of the many events going on.
I woke up the next day with a massive headache and rolled over to duck under the sheets. Someone had either left the curtains open or opened them this morning, and the light was shining right into my face with piercing brightness. Mouth feeling like cotton, I slowly let my body wake up before stumbling to the fridge and snatching a water bottle out of it. As I chugged back a few mouthfuls of the cool liquid, a faint buzzing went off behind me and I realized it was my phone. Shannon had sent me a text, the time stamp reading 9:51 am.
Jared, get your ass up and come downstairs. We’ve got something for you.
Blinking in confusion, I looked at the clock—10 am. What could they possibly have for me? I fumbled with some clothes and headed out the door after brushing my teeth. I couldn’t for the life of me guess what those two had in store for me. Once I was downstairs, I spotted the two of them over by the desk, a large box between them. Shannon bounce from foot to foot in eagerness as I approached.
“Jared! Maddie sent early Christmas presents! I got new sticks and a gift card to a music store.” Laughing softly, I turned to Tomo.
“Couldn’t wait, could he?” Tomo shrugged, sporting a comfortable looking sweater with the tag still on the sleeve.
“Nope…Besides, this’ll come in handy with the chilly weather.” I looked into the box and pulled out a relatively small, brightly wrapped present and looked at the name on it. It was my own, and I didn’t hesitate to tear open the gift. Inside was an incredibly soft grey scarf and pair of fingerless gloves. I smiled, recalling how my favorite pair had disintegrated the other week, leaving me sadly gloveless. There was another present left in the box, and as Shannon held it up, he passed it to me.
“It’s for you, bro.” Grinning, I tore through the wrapping paper and opened the box. A card hid the gift underneath until I lifted it out to read:
Happy early birthday, Jared! I hope you and the guys like the presents. The CD is a mix I made for you. It’s a bunch of some really relaxing music. I figured with your stressful career, you could use something to take your mind off it. Enjoy!
-Maddie
I smiled softly at her thoughtfulness. Always looking out for us…Shannon tossed the mess of paper and boxes into the giant shipping box and began to heft it toward the elevators. Tomo and I trotted behind, carrying all the gifts with us. Christmas was still two weeks away, and under the crazy schedule, I had forgotten to get any presents for anyone else yet. Thinking about what to get everyone, I determined to get most of the shopping done today.
By the end of the day, I had gotten everyone except Maddie presents. Nothing I found seemed to say ‘this is the one’, and I couldn’t decide on what she would want. Putting it off for a day wouldn’t kill me, and I could always ask Shannon for some ideas. I sat down at the desk and started up the computer. As it finished booting up, I went to my email and started to write Maddie back.
From: <rockstarforMars@yadayada.com>
To: <Maddiegurl64@blahblahblah.com>
Thank you Maddie! We all love the gifts. Can’t wait for March! Take care until then, ok?
-Jared
I hit send and stood up with a stretch. Time had flown by. It felt like just yesterday that we had all just met, and the feeling made a wave of melancholy roll through me. Why did life fly by so fast? The sadness faded quickly as I turned to go join my brother and Tomo for dinner. Ironically, as I wished for life to not go by so quickly, I simultaneously wished for it to hurry up so that I could see Maddie again soon. With a smile breaking out on my face, I left the room.
-------------------------------------
I had ended up getting Maddie a charm bracelet, and I had added a custom silver charm of the triad to it for her. The phone call I received when she got it was full of squeals of delight followed by her fussing about how it was too much. Her ranting made all three of us smile, and I went to bed feeling happy to know I got her something she liked so much. Heart fluttering slightly, I closed my eyes and laid my head on my arms. I was relieved to have our easy friendship back, but something inside me twisted painfully sweet at the thought of her, and I know that it isn’t normal to feel the way I do.
Looking at the clock beside the bed, I sighed softly. The concert had gone wonderfully, and the crowd had cheered relentlessly as we went through song after song. After spending nearly five hours running and jumping around on stage, my body protested any movement in utter exhaustion. Almost asleep, I was startled by my phone’s wild buzzing and answered it groggily.
“Hello?”
“Jare?” A soft smile slid over my lips as a familiar female’s voice crackled on the other line.
“Hey Maddie…isn’t it a bit late for you to be calling?” Soft laughter made my grin widen.
“Silly…It’s close to five. I just woke up and decided to call you before work. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Nope…Just got in actually. We had one of our concerts today.”
“Oh? I bet it went great!” Her enthusiasm was catchy, and I sat up slightly against the pillows.
“It would have been better if you could have been there…” As the words left my mouth, I found myself wishing that she was there with me and scrubbed at my hair to hide the sudden teenage awkwardness that filled me. Maddie sighed softly on the other line, and I had difficulty telling if it was from sadness or annoyance.
“I wish I could have been there…but hey, in another few months, you’ll be here, and I can see you then!” I smiled softly and felt my spirits lift with her excitement. She never failed to make me feel better.
“Very true…Well, I’m going to sleep now. Have a great day!”
“Goodnight Jared. Sweet dreams.” As I hung up the phone, I sank into the pillows and was asleep in seconds. My dreams were indeed sweet.
♠ ♠ ♠
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