Not Afraid to Die

"I can't believe you took an hour to get ready," Dante commented from the passenger seat.

She had been brought straight to his house after the hour in the hospital had ended. The clothing she intended to wear to the special, currently hidden by a sweats due to the cold weather outside, and most of her hair products were there. She claimed she would get ready quickly, that it wouldn't take her more than ten minutes.

It took ten minutes to get her to stop talking about turning his living room into a swimming pool.

"Daddy," Lolita whined in the backseat, "Dante doesn't think I'm pretty."

Her father chuckled, deep and comforting, but didn't verbally respond to the whiney lament. His eyes remained on the road, his hands on the steering wheel.

Dante sighed, "I missed you."

"And I missed my hairspray."

Denied of the nature killing product in the hospital, Lolita felt almost empty. Teasing her hair was fun, something exciting for her to do alongside dying it sporadic colors. It wasn't something she had to do daily, and she didn't always do it daily. Some days, she let her hair lay flat on her head, relying on its normal volume to make it look okay.

But those were days she didn't feel like herself, the days when she was a little depressed. The state occurred very rarely. She was happy most days, unless confined to a small, lifeless space. Letting her hair remain limp for so long reminded her of that.

She was glad it was back to being teased to perfection.

"You didn't miss me?" Dante asked, twisting in his seat to face his sister.

He couldn't help noticing how alive she looked. Her cheeks were rosy, her moss green eyes darted around, her hair was teased. The outfit hiding underneath her sweats, the one he had seen her in before they left, only aided in the lively vision.

Alive. She was alive. Sepsis was gone, she was conscious, and she was alive. Even the threat of AIDS did nothing to distort the image.

"Dante, I was the one in a coma, not you."

"Doesn't mean you can't miss me."

"I was unconscious."

"You can miss me now."

"But I can see you, silly."

Dante shielded his face with his hands. "What about now?"

In mock frantic fashion, Lolita turned her head from side-to-side. She looked back at the front of the car, pretending to be worried.

"Oh, no, daddy, the gnomes kidnapped Dante. We have to turn around and save him."

Before their father could respond, Dante pulled his hands away from his face and exclaimed, "Peak-a-boo."

Giggles overcame Lolita, spilling from her mouth rapidly. A triumphant smile spread on Dante's face.

His sister could still be entertained by anything. She hadn't lost her sparkling personality during the time she was unconscious. That was something Dante was more than pleased about. It wouldn't have been the same if she had woken up and lost that.

"My children," their father mumbled, shaking his head.

They were insane. But they had to get it from somewhere. He wasn't quite sure how he attributed to Lolita's consistent energy, though. That was a trait her mother had, something he fell in love with the moment he laid eyes on her humming to an imaginary beat in the library.

Lolita was a lot like his deceased wife.

"You love us," Lolita chirped.

"I do."

"Good, because we're not going away anytime soon."

"I wouldn't dream of not having your presence in my life."

He hoped his daughter could manage to continue beating illnesses until her older age. There were things he wanted for her, and she needed to be alive a little longer for them. Like marriage and children. He knew children were dangerous for Lolita to have, not only for herself but for the child as well. She could, though, with the proper treatment. If she set her mind on having healthy children, nothing would stand in her way.

"You have everything you need to execute this, right?" Dante asked.

He knew Lolita's plan. She had told it to him and he agreed to it without any thought. Considering he was involved, she had to tell him.

"Yep," she nodded.

There wasn't much needed. Her cute outfit, a general understanding of what she was going to say, and her normal cheery attitude. Nothing else.

She had to check the inside of her sweats three times before leaving to make sure she was wearing clothing underneath.

"You're ready for this?"

"I should have been ready earlier."

"It's fine that you needed time, love."

"Your mother needed a great deal of time to say 'yes' to me," their father commented.

"I feel like I've made him wait for no reason."

"You needed the time to think, honey. There is nothing wrong with that. This is new for you, that's enough reason for you to take it slow. Your brother, on the other hand, needs to get on the ball and ask Blaine to be his boyfriend."

Her brother shot their father a look, which the man didn't see due to his concentration on the neighborhood roads. One of the houses down the road was Neon's. He remembered from the times he brought Dante to band practice in the past.

"Why can't you be one of those parents who aren't so enthusiastic about bisexuality?" Dante asked.

"It's not the bisexuality I'm enthusiastic about. It's you dating."

He could see mass amounts of cars outside of a house that resembled the one he remembered the Lowry siblings living in. The ambulance Carter decided to ride in, in case of emergencies, pulled up from the opposite end of the street.

"My dating habits shouldn't be that important to you."

"There are things I want both of you to experience in life, love being one of them. It may be one of the most important things."

"Hopeless romantic."

"And very proud of it."

He pulled up on the curb as Doctor Cart and Blaine were sliding out of the ambulance and stopped the car. Lolita perked up instantly.

"We're here," she chirped.

"Stay in the car for a second, love. I need to tell Carter your plan so she knows to keep this a secret," Dante said.

"And he needs to get down on one knee in front of Blaine," his father added.

"Stop pressuring me."

"I wouldn't pressure you if you'd take initiative to get things done on your own."

"Jerk," Dante grumbled, opening the car door and getting out.

"You'll appreciate this one day," his father called after him.

Giggling, Lolita unhooked her seatbelt with calm hands and watched her brother talk with the doctor and nurse. She was feeling considerably calmer, but it wouldn't last long. Her nerves were getting the better of her, causing her to calm down instead of becoming jittery. In minutes, she would be taking care of what she had been waiting to since Doctor Cart agreed to release her within an hour.

She had every right to be nervous.

Doctor Cart and Blaine nodded in agreement to Dante's statement. Smiling, Dante gave Blaine a hug and walked back to the car. Blaine and Carter walked towards Neon's door. Their father rolled down the window when he reached the driver's side.

"Why didn't you kiss him?" he asked before his son could speak.

Dante gave him a blank stare. Why couldn't his father stop? It wasn’t that he didn't appreciate his father's acceptance. It was the consistent pushing he couldn't stand.

Disregarding the question completely, Dante said, "They're heading in before us and they'll explain that they're off duty for the day. Because Blaine is there, and the only reason he would show up is if I invited him, they’re going tell the band and the fans we decided to show up."

"And the reasoning for allegedly leaving Lolita alone in the hospital would be?" his father asked.

"That Lolita wouldn't want us to avoid going because of her."

"Sounds perfect."

"Love," Dante addressed his sibling, "Don't come out until I say to."

"Got it," Lolita nodded.

"Alright, let's get in there."

Lolita and her father exited the car. The family walked up the cobblestone path and into the unlocked house. The front hallway was void of camera equipment, but was decorated with strands of lights and hanging ornaments. Excited chatter could be heard from the living room.

Dante turned to his sister and nodded. She returned the gesture and started removing her sweats from her body, her wrapping paper-themed mid-thigh length dress and present bow choker coming into view. Dante and her father stepped into the living room entrance.

It was go time.