Taking Chances

Jay gaped down at me as if he couldn't believe I was awake. I gave him a soft smile, my mouth a little dry and cracked from sleep, and my tongue tasted fluffy and disgusting, tasting like stale spit. Byron was grinning, walking over to Nick, who looked forlorn, worried but relieved.

"Morning, Jay," I said as he blinked, slapping himself in the face to wake himself up. He turned around, not looking at me, and I laughed, my voice a little croaky. He seemed to shake his head, pinching the flesh on his wrist to get himself to 'wake up' from his dream. Which obviously wasn't a dream.

"I'm over here, Jay," I said again, and he turned, tears glistening in his eyes.

"Micah..." he whispered, walking over to me. I gasped as I saw his leg in a massive cast, as well as he fading bruises on his face and the barely healed split lip. Despite his crippled state, he hobbled over to my bed, stopping right on the edge.

"What happened to yo-!" I started, but clamped my mouth shut as Jaden started babbling, his voice going a million kilometres per second.

"I am so sorry, Micah! I swear I didn't do anything! She came out of nowhere and thrust her face into mine! Please believe me! I promise I didn't do anything! I pushed her off straight away, Micah! I'm telling the-"

"Truth, I know. I overheard everything," I said, chuckling slightly as his eyes widened, a tear slipping down the side of his face. Tears on Jaden were... odd and unnatural. He was so strong that tears just didn't suit him at all, completely going against his outgoing and cocky personality. But a little part of me liked seeing him like this over me. He was crying for me.

"Micah..." he said again, and I rolled my eyes, grinning.

"Are you just going to say my name or are you going to kiss me?" I asked, and surprise washed over his face before his signature smirk found its way onto his split lips. He awkwardly leaned down, struggling a little in his current beat up state, but planted a mesmerizing kiss to my addicted and lonely lips. He pulled back and kissed my cheek, his wet cheek touching mine. "I missed you, Jay."

"I missed you too," he murmured, kissing the side of my mouth, his voice shaky. "I... I didn't think you'd wake up."

"Well I did, so stop frowning," I said, smiling as he kissed my bandaged forehead. He gave me a smile so full of relief and love that it made my heart beat faster, which was pretty embarrassing since the heart monitor went crazy, making Jaden smirk again, winking.

"I still have that kind of affect on you, eh?" he teased, making me huff. "But I'm glad."

"Me too," I said honestly, my eyes moving from his gorgeous face to Byron and Nick, who had Byron resting on his lap as he buried his face into his brother's neck. There was something incredibly... intimate about their position, but I didn't dwell on that much. What I wanted to know was simple. Why did they do that to Jay? To me? To us.

"Nick..." I said, and his head snapped up, regret shining in his eyes. I was angry and hurt, angry because he had hurt the person that I loved and basically put me into a coma, and hurt because I had thought he was my friend. He was a good friend, until... well, you know the rest.

"I'm so sorry, Micah. I didn't think that it would turn out like this..." he said, and Byron hugged him again, murmuring something in his ear.

"Don't apologise to me," I said coldly, my eyes flicking from him to Jaden, who was now holding my hand assuringly, glaring fiery daggers at a very terrified Nick. "Apologise to Jay."

"I'm sorry. God, I am so fucking sorry. I'll do anything to make it up to you two..." he said, and Jaden and I looked at each other, sharing a secret smirk.

"We'll hold you up to that," we both said in unison, just before the door burst open, revealing a very shocked, pissed and angry Belle, followed by a freaking out Declan, a raging Ellie as well as a petrified Ma, whose gaze immediately went from my face to my hand, linked with Jaden's.

Ohhhh shit.

***

Declan

I had tried to stop them, but Belle had finally caught onto my off behaviour of sneaking around Micah's hospital wing every time she was in the hospital, and despite my efforts to keep her and the rest of them away from Micah's super-full room she had pushed passed me and burst through the door.

And did we all get a shock.

The first thing I noticed was Micah sitting up, completely and utterly conscious. I felt the heavy weight of fear for him vanish at that moment, a small smile gracing my lips as he looked at me. But the expression on his face made that smile disappear as well since he looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a speeding truck. His eyes licked from me, to Belle, then Ellie and then lastly his mother, who in turn looked like she was about to have a heart attack.

Well, at least we were already at a hospital.

"Everyone... I'm... awake?" he said timidly, his voice going up at the end in a questioning tone, as if he didn't know what to say. I noticed Jaden giving Micah's hand a little squeeze, and was glad that they had sorted out the mess that the two brothers had devised. Well, apparently not Byron, since the one Jaden was glaring at was Nick, who looked pale and guilty. Byron was just confused, but I didn't blame him. They both looked at me, and I jerked my head to the door in a 'get out' notion, and the nodded, Nick basically grabbing Byron and sprinting out the door.

Belle slowly walked forward, her eyes locked onto Micah's face, but flicking to his entwined hand every two seconds, as if she was trying to delude herself into thinking that her eyes were fooling her. But they weren't- everyone noticed them.

"Get away from Micah," Belle said calmly, as Ellie sauntered up next to her, her eyes glaring at Jaden, her gaze burning a hole right through his skull.

"Belle, he didn't do anything wro-"

"HE DID!" Ellie said loudly, pointing to his bed and the tubes that jutted out from the fold in his arm. "He put you in a coma, Micah! Can't you see that?"

"Yeah, but you guys don't know what really happened! He didn't do anything!" Micah retorted, his voice so soft that it seemed nothing in comparison to Elle's booming vocal box. I glanced at his mother, who had collapsed into the chair the Finn brothers had recently vacated, looking ashen and twenty years older than she usually did. She looked relieved, but worried as hell since, well, her son was dating Jaden. I had heard the whole story from Belle, and my god, did I feel sorry for Jaden and Micah. They had already gone through so much, but a blind person could see that they loved each other more than anything. But May, Ellie and his mother only saw the monster who had hurt him. They didn't bother to see anything else.

It hurt just looking at them.

"Micah, it's okay," Jaden said, and Micah's eyes looked desperate, making Jaden shoot him a reassuring smile, kissing his palm softly. "They'll come around."

"How long has this been going on?" Micah's mother piped up, and everyone turned their eyes to her. "How long have you two been together?"

"Ever since we first met, Jaden said, looking down at Micah, who looked anywhere but at the calculating eyes of his friends and family. "He had me from the first time I looked at him."

"Oh, bull crap," Ellie hissed, storming over to him, pressing a finger harshly to his chest, making him wince at the movement to his ribs. "You turned him down, remember? You broke his heart and left him in the cold! Everything word that's coming out of your mouth is complete bull shit!"

"Ellie, please don't..." Micah pleaded, his voice exhausted.

"Micah! Don't fall for his lies again!" Ellie said, and I stepped forward. I couldn't let them do this to Micah and Jaden. They had just gotten through something so harsh, they didn't need this right now...

"May, stop it," I said sternly, grabbing her shoulder softly, shaking my head. "Don't do this to them."

"Again, Declan?" she whispered, her eyes glimmering with betrayal.

"No, May," I said, tilting my head towards Micah. "Can't you see it? They're meant to be. Look at them. Jaden broke his ribs and his leg for Micah. Micah broke himself for Jaden. That's the extent of their love for each other. You need to see that and get past your... insecurities about the two of them. They've been through so much, just let them be together. I'll take the blame if something happens, which it won't because Jaden won't hurt him again."

"I agree with Declan," another voice chimed, and Micah's mother stood up, a gentle smile adorning her motherly face causing everyone to grow silent.

"Micah... Jaden..." she said, as I heard Jaden suck in a tight breath.

"I'm so happy for you."