Kisses Under Starry Night Skies

I sped down Alex's street slightly going faster than I should be. I wanted so badly to be with Jack, every part of me longed for him. I have so many thoughts running through my head; my mind is like a ticking time bomb waiting to explode. Jack is all I can think about, it was starting to hurt.

"Paige, where is he?" Zack asked trying his best to calm me down. It wasn't working.

"He's-He's in the hospital." I said wiping a tear away.

"Pull over." Rian said from the back seat. I did as he said; I pulled into the curb and got out of the car.

I couldn't control my emotions; I wanted so badly to scream.

Rian got out of the car and made Zack get in the back so I could sit in the front while he drove. I got back in the car and Rian pulled back onto the street.

"Now, what do you mean?" Rian asked me, slowing down to stop at the traffic lights.

"The message, it said 'Look harder and you shall find, I used to end up here all the time.'"

"What?" Alex asked thinking about what I had just told them.

"Where did Jack end up all the time?"

"The hospital." Alex said.

"Yes."

"Shit." Rian said taking off as the light changed green.

He sped down the main street weaving in and out of traffic getting a few beeps and fingers on the way. It took about 5 minutes and we were there, Maryland General Hospital. We drove around for ages looking for a parking space; I was growing impatient every second. We'd driven in circles about 4 times.

"There's one!" Alex yelled from the backseat, pointing ahead of us.

"Yep, I see it." Rian said turning into it.

He cut the engine; we all sat there silent for a moment.

"Let's do this." I said undoing my seat belt.

"You sure?" Zack said. I nodded and got out of the car. I walked towards the hospital entrance, the guys following closely behind. I stopped at the door, I couldn't do it. Alex, Zack and Rian caught up to me then.

"Are you alright?" Rian asked wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I couldn't bring myself to speak, I just shook my head.

"It's alright." Alex said coming up beside me and taking my hand in his. It felt nice; warm and comfortable.

"You're not on your own, we're here."

"Okay." I said reminding myself to breathe.

"C'mon." Zack said opening the door to the hospital lobby. We followed him in to the main desk.

"How may I help you?" A grey haired woman who smelled slightly of detergent asked.

"Hi, we're looking for Jack Barakat." Zack said.

"Just a moment." The woman said typing something into her computer.

"Ahh, here, Mr. Barakat is in room 128 on level 3." She said smiling at us, smiling at Zack more like it.

"He's way too young for you." I said in my head smiling back.

"Thanks." Rian said leading us toward the elevator.

Alex still had hold of my hand. Rian made it to the elevator first, he pushed the up button. When the elevator got there we jumped in, Rian was the one to press three. I stood there watching the numbers go up and up. This was the longest elevator ride in my entire life. The elevator was just coming up to three when I realised that I'd stopped breathing. Alex realised too because he squeezed my hand.

"Breathe." He whispered.

"Breathe." I repeated over and over.

The door to the elevator opened revealing a very long, white hallway that I didn't like the look of. There were nurses running around everywhere, deliviring food and medication to patients. I've always hated hospitals, they have always scared me.
We walked down the hall looking for room 128.

"123, 124, 125, 126, 127..." I counted pausing at 127, I didn't know if I wanted to go any further. I let go of Alex's hand in case Jack saw.

Breathe.

"128." I said.

"You ready." Zack asked me a wave of concern washed over his face.

"Nope." I said taking a step toward the door.

"Come on." Rian said nudging me closer to the door. It was shut so I knocked lightly 3 times.

"Come in." I heard Jack call.

The sound of his voice was like music to my ears. It had been a long three days. I reached for the doorknob, turning it and walking into the room. Zack and Rian followed, Alex lingered outside not sure whether he should come in.
Jack was watching TV when we walked in. I stood just inside his room, Zack and Rian on either side of me, unsure of what to do.

"You worked it out, huh?" Jack said facing us his eyes on me.

"Yep, sure did." Rian said walking towards Jack, followed by Zack. I just stood still, my feet felt heavy like I couldn't move. I wanted so badly to just walk up to his bed and hug him tight. I just want everything to go back to normal.

"So, dude what happened? We've been worried sick about you, man." Zack asked sitting in the chair next to Jack's bed.

"Well after...Umm, yeah, well, once I left I was driving around and I sorta rolled your car because the road was wet, that's why I'm here." He said.

Oh. My. God. He rolled Zack's car!

"You what?"

"Yeah, man I'm sorry. It was an accident."

"No, no, I don't care about the car I'm just glad you're all right."

"Cool." Jack said shaking hands with Zack. "So, no hard feelings?"

"No hard feelings?" I managed to get out. Now I was pissed off.

"Uh, we'll give you two a minute." Rian said giving Zack a worried look.

“Don't worry about it." I said and walked out of the room.

Alex was sitting on the floor in the hall. I walked up and sat down next to him.

"Hey, what's wrong?" He asked after noticing how pissed I looked.

"Don't worry about it." I said leaning my head on his shoulder.

I started to cry then, hard. Alex cradled me in his arms as I cried into his chest. Zack and Rian were still inside with Jack, while I was sitting in the hall with Alex. The way Jack said 'no hard feelings' just set me off. The crying just wouldn't stop. Alex was starting to get worried.

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"No, can we just go home?"

"Yeah, come on." He said helping me up and leading me toward the elevator.
We caught a cab back to Alex's. All I wanted to do was sleep; there was nothing else I felt like doing. The house felt so empty. I walked inside and sat down on the couch. Alex came in and sat beside me. I lay down with my head in Alex's lap, just thinking.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I don't know what to do. Jack practically hates me-us."

"Hmm, I guess we'll just have to see how it goes."

"Mmm, okay." I said looking up at him.

Alex and I stayed like that for a while just talking about life and relationships and friends.
I eventually fell asleep in his lap.