Heartless

The first thing I noticed was quite possibly the worst migraine I have ever had.

I winced slightly, inhaling through my teeth before sighing it back out with a groan. I cracked my eyes open to see a blurry, white ceiling, making my eyes burn. I was about to close them again when I heard some shuffling next to me, making me open my eyes wider as I realized I was laying on a hard, straight bed.

Must be the Hospital.

I turned my head slightly to see Jace, sitting upright in a chair with his elbows resting on the bed next to me. “Hey.” he mumbled. I stared back before glancing down at my own hands on the bed, twitching my fingers slightly. I stopped when I saw another hand come into view and grab my fingers, rubbing them lightly as I glanced back up to Jace. “Hi.”

He sighed (in what was possibly relief) and nodded before smiling. He was about to speak again when I heard Mom come in with another voice. “Oh Will, you're awake! We were so worried!” Mom cried, hugging me tightly and bringing my upper body off the bed, making it hard to breath until she let go of me and I was gasping. “Oh! Sorry Hon...” she winced, lightly patting my shoulders as I nodded slightly, not wanting to jar my head to much because of the head ache. The other person, I noticed, was a doctor with a name tag that read BANZ.

“Morning Willow. I'm your doctor, Jason Banz. You know how long you've been here?” He asked curiously, looking much to young to be a doctor. Or maybe he had a lot of plastic surgery...

He took my silence as a no, answering his own question with a sigh. “About five days.” I gaped somewhat, looking back to my hands, which I had moved to my lap while Jace had let go. Five Days.

“Yeah. Hard to believe. We tried to wake you up, but it just wasn't happening. So we decided to let it run it's course. However, we did manage to get some testing done in that time.” he continued, pulling a folder out from under his arm and flipping it open, “Some STD tests, an EKG, some Blood pressure...” he said, trailing off before pulling a specific paper from the folder and walking closer.

“You know what we found on the EKG?” He asked, rhetorically I assumed since obviously I wasn't a doctor, and showed me the papers from the EKG. There were some areas where my heart seemed to beat excessively, or out of normal order. I frowned as I motioned for him to continue.

“Palpitations. Arrhythmias, basically. We aren't sure what's causing it exactly. For now though, we're gonna put you on some medication for a condition called HCM, or Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy.” Banz explained as I only half listened, too absorbed with the paper from the EKG and Mom hovering over me, reading over my shoulder. I was half tempted to shrug her off, but I knew she was just as curious as I was, so I let her be. Jace was silent through the entire ordeal, up until Banz and Mom stepped out so I could get dressed.

I was grateful they at least left my boxers on as I tried not to blush, stepping out of the hospital gown. I was never comfortable with being nearly-naked in front of Jace; not like he seemed to be with me at least. I was pulling up my jeans when I happened to glance over and catch him staring... Except he didn't seem to notice. I quickly pulled them the rest of the way up and buttoned them as I cleared my throat. He seemed to come back to himself and jumped slightly in his chair, looking up at me quickly before looking away. “Sorry.” he murmured.

I grabbed my shirt and put it on quickly before walking closer and leaning down to his height. “You okay?” I asked curiously.

He looked up and smiled somewhat. “Shouldn't I be asking you that?” he replied. I shrugged. “What can I say. I'm a rebel.” I replied with a nod. He chuckled, nodding back and sighing. “Well, c'mon. Your Mom's waiting and I'm sure she wants to hold you, and love you, and squeeze you.” he smiled. I frowned, backing away so he could stand and groaning. “I forgot about how Mom would act.” I admitted. Jace nodded back seriously. “Yeah. She's gonna kill you.” he sighed.

We headed for the door when Jace suddenly turned back to me, blocking the exit with his body as he tilted his head. “Jace...” I started. He held a hand up to silence me before smiling. “I want you to come with me Saturday.” he replied. I stared back. “You are aware I've been in a coma for a few days.” I said slowly. He nodded quickly. “Yeah I know, but I don't wanna go alone. It's a party at Bailey's. And there's gonna be alcohol. You can be my designated driver.” he smiled more, waiting for my response as I closed my eyes. “I'll think about it.” I mumbled. I felt him lightly tap my shoulder as he opened the door. “Good choice. This way I won't drunk dial you.”

I smiled against my own will as I was once again fiercely hugged by Mom.

Saturday came much too fast for my own liking. Mom had just barely allowed me to go, and I was now waiting for Jace in his living room. “If you take any longer I'll be forced to leave without you.” I called up the stairs. I heard him laugh before he responded with “You'd get lost then!”

I snorted to myself. “Metrosexual...”

“I heard that.”

I jumped and turned to see Jace walking down the stairs in a black button-up shirt and dark jeans, and I remembered thinking for a second, God I wish I was Bailey right now.

I shook my head subtly as I sighed. “Ready now?”

He smirked, holding up his keys and walking toward the door as I followed. “So, what are you not going to do?” I asked as we got in, Jace starting the car silently. “I'm not going to get so drunk that I throw up on you again. I'm also not going to have sex... Lasting longer than thirty minutes.” he added the last part quietly before smiling suddenly and pulling out of the driveway quickly, causing whatever reply I was about to say to go back down my throat as my seat belt attempted to crush my chest. “Jace! Palpitations!” I reminded him. He shrunk down slightly. “Right... Sorry...”

The drive to Bailey's was mostly silent until we got closer. Then the silence was filled with loud laughing and music, and we could see a few stragglers slowly making their way to the house. Jace pulled up in the driveway, turning the car off and sighing. “Well, in we go.” he said, getting out of the car and walking into the house as I sat there. After a few minutes I followed him in, immediately swallowed by the throng of people by the door. Somehow I managed to make my way through just in time to see Jace following Bailey up the stairs and smiling with a cup of something I assumed to be alcoholic in hand. I sighed to myself until I felt a light touch on my arm, making me turn to see Leah.

“Hey Willow.” she smiled. I stared back before smiling a bit and nodding. “Hey. Oh, shit uh, sorry I didn't call you! I've been kinda busy.” I said lamely. She nodded. “Jace told Bailey; Bailey told me. I know about it, it's cool. I don't know that I want a boyfriend right now though, I'm sort of focused on study's and work.” she explained. Oh thank God, I thought while smiling more. “Well, that's good that you're focused. I still have a ton of makeup work I need to do.” I replied. She laughed lightly, grabbing a drink off a tray someone was carrying and motioning for me to follow her.

Leah led me outside to a swing, where she sat down and patted the seat next to her. As I sat she took a drink and sighed. “So, how've you been? After everything I mean.”

I shrugged back. “As good as I can be I guess. I mean, I don't feel any different. The medicine doesn't seem to be doing much, but I guess I could be wrong.” I admitted. She nodded thoughtfully before tilting her head. “So... You and Jace... How long have you known each other?”

“I don't know... A long time, at least.”

She nodded and glanced down at her lap. “You know... While you were in there, the hospital I mean, he didn't see Bailey once.” she murmured. I strained to hear her, but once I made it out, I frowned. “Why not?”

“He was worried about you.” she sighed, lifting her head and downing her drink. “I think it's nice. I think he should be more worried about you than her. He can't replace his best friend.” she smiled wistfully before standing up, wobbling slightly from the alcohol and turning to me. “It was nice to talk to you Willow.” she said, going back inside the house and leaving me alone outside. After a minute I stood up as well, making my way back into the crowd and stopping about halfway through, suddenly fighting through the crowd for a new purpose. And it wasn't a good one.

I managed to find a bathroom, locking the door behind me as I threw up into the not-quite-as-white-as-it-should-be bowl, leaning over it and gasping. I waited until I was sure I was done to flush it, shakily standing and leaning against the sink as the room began to spin. It stopped when I heard a loud knock on the door, making me jump and wash my hands before opening it to find someone I didn't recognize, but they pushed past me and threw up as well. I grimaced and closed the door as I left, going into the kitchen where there were only a few (sober looking) people. I heard some cheering from the dining room, looking into it to see Leah dancing (AKA stripping) on top of the table as guys cheered her on. I frowned slightly until I felt someone come up behind me.

I turned my head to see Jace, glaring at the space in front of him until he noticed me looking. “What?” he snapped. I raised an eyebrow back, looking back at Leah and crossing my arms. I felt Jace leave, making me turn to him. “Where are you going?” I called.

He turned back to me with an exasperated expression. “To get drunk off my ass.”

I rolled my eyes as he fought his way into the living room, shaking my head before going after him.