Status: Completed! Sequel up soon

Hospital Beds and Memories

Can This Get Any worse?

I didn’t bother going to my room to collect anything to stay the night and went straight downstairs. Jack was already leaned against the wall, waiting for me. I really felt bad. I had just known this guy for a day, and I was already burdening him with my problems. He didn't even know about my big problem. What the fuck was I doing!

“Hi.” I rocked back and forth on my feet, not sure how to start up our new conversation.

“Hey, are you ready to go? My car is parked just across the street.” Jack pointed at a black nice-looking car. It was definitely a vehicle he was proud of with its tinted windows, glossy finish, and near-sports-car feel.

“Yeah.” I nodded and started following him, checking both sides of the road before crossing.

Strangely enough, I wasn’t afraid of cars. You would expect me to be terrified to come near to them, but I really couldn’t care less. Yes, I was unfortunate a couple of years before, but I was alive and only had some brain damage. Many people expected me to have PTSD, my doctors even appointed specialized therapists, but I didn’t need them. I probably didn’t get scared because I just simply couldn’t remember what happened, so that really helped. My worst problem was also most likely my savior.

The car ride to his house was silent. I didn’t know what to talk about, and to be honest I really didn’t want to. All I did was look out of the window, watching the world pass by. The buildings slowly got smaller and further apart, meaning we were entering the suburbs. Jack parked his car in a driveway of a nice, but small house. It wasn’t the smallest in the area, but definitely also not the largest. It was the right size for a simple guy. Just like most houses in this area, it was white with a large-ish garden.

I followed Jack inside and looked around. It wasn’t as messy as I expected it to be, but it was probably nearly untouched because of all the touring he did. There was a wall full of golden and platinum records by All Time Low. It might sound a bit showoff-like, but for some reason it didn’t seem like that at all. It was more like he was proud of his accomplishments and only put them up to remind himself of them.

“So, I was thinking we order pizza and watch a movie upstairs in my bedroom,” Jack suggested, throwing his keys on an empty wooden table. I was guessing it was his dining table, since the dining room was combined with the living room and kitchen as one large area that practically took up the whole first floor except for one small hallway.

“Sounds good,” I grinned. It had been ages since I had been able to have a lazy day. I was always the one chasing my brother around and caring for him, but now it was time for me to slow down and have fun for once.

“If you want to change into something more comfortable, you can take one of my shirts.”

“Yeah, I’d like that, thanks.”

Jack told me to follow him and we went upstairs to his room. There was a king size bed pushed against one wall with a TV against the wall opposite of it. A closet was placed adjacent to the wall with the bed. This room was a bit messier than the rest of the house, or at least of what I had seen. Jack opened his closet and took out a black T-shirt, giving it to me.

“You can change here, I’ll go order the pizza,” Jack instructed.

I quickly took off the T-shirt I was wearing and replaced it with the black one. It was way too large for me, well maybe not way too large, but I could probably wear it without pants. So that’s what I did. I took off my jeans and played with the hem of the shirt, not sure if I actually wanted to be so exposed around Jack. We had only really started getting to know each other and I didn't want him getting the wrong impression. But before I could change my mind, Jack walked in.

“I also took off my jeans, if you don’t mind,” I blushed.

“No, of course not, I don’t expect you to get comfortable with them on. I would offer you some jogging pants, but they would be way too large for you,” Jack replied.

He plopped down on his back onto the bed and grinned at me before grabbing me by the waist and pulling me down on top of him. I laughed while expressing my pain, making Jack burst out with laughter as well. I rolled off of him and occupied the left side of the bed.

“Well, since we barely know each other, how about we play 20 questions?” Jack suggested, “Then, when the pizza arrives, we’ll watch a movie.”

I grinned and nodded my head without thinking of the consequences, “You go first. Ask all your questions and I answer, then we switch.”

“Ok, so first question, I’ll start easy on you, but I will go crazy later on. What’s your favorite color?”

“Gray, because there are so many tones and it can change the feeling of a photograph with one click.”

“Favourite food?”

“Definitely pizza.”

“Ok, so I made a good choice ordering that then. Umm… Are you close to your family?”

“Yeah. I live with my brother, as you know, and I try to see my parents as often as I can. They’re pretty cool.”

“Best friend?”

“You.”

“I can live with that. Biggest fear?”

“Something bad happening to my brother. He used to be so energetic and lively, now he’s just lazy and can’t even properly care for himself. I’m afraid he will forget to eat or do other necessary things without me.”

Jack gave me a sympathetic smile, “Love or money?”

“Definitely money. I mean who cares about love,” I joked with large hand gestures before shaking my head at my lame behavior. “No. I really hate people who think everything’s about money. They’re just so pretentious and fake.”

“What would you change about your personality?”

“Well, often I’m quite shy. I know, for some reason I wasn’t like that around you. But it would be nice to be able to easily talk to strangers.” I told him before suddenly remembering something. “I actually used to have social anxiety.”

Maybe being around Jack would help me memorize more often. The last memories I had were around him. He could possibly be a lucky token that would guide me through my quest of the unknown.

“Oh, I guess I’m special then.” Jack smirked, his ego being boosted by my hidden compliments. “What about your looks? What would you change about them?”

“I don’t really worry about that. But I have a pretty large scar on my side.” I lifted the T-shirt, to show a scar that ran on my ride side from the bottom of my ribs to my hip. “I don’t know what it’s from, but I would like that to be gone.”

“Where do you like being touched the most?”

“Getting sexual here?” I giggled, not wanting to go that far just yet. “Probably my hair, cause it’s so innocent, yet so loving.”

“Good answer. What’s something you used to do as a child that you wish you could still do?”

“Umm, probably crawl in bed with my parents. It’s so relaxing and calming. Whenever I had nightmares, they would make them disappear.”

“Perfect wedding song?”

“With Me by Sum 41,” I answered without hesitation.

“If you would see me naked, where would your eyes wonder to?” Jack smirked with a knowing look in his eyes.

“Jack!” I hit his chest, “I would probably look away. If it were a guy I loved, though, just to give you a half-satisfying answer, it would be his eyes.”

“Nice to know you wouldn’t like to see me naked. I’ll keep that noted. Umm, what is your happiest memory from high school?”

Shit. There it was. But it was going so well! I couldn't just make up a story, and I was looking at him for too long. This was bad, real bad. I couldn't tell him, I hadn't known him for long enough. Fuck! I didn't know what to do.

“I don’t know?” I tried.

“Oh come on, there has to be something,” Jack poked.

“I don’t remember,” I blurted out.

“What? You don’t remember?”

“Fuck. I wasn’t supposed to say that!”

“Woah, calm down. What’s wrong?”

“Umm, nothing, it’s nothing.”

Jack moved closer to me, “It’s definitely something.”

“Yes, but it doesn’t matter.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes?”

“That doesn’t sound very sure. Since I’m your new best friend, I think I deserve to know.”

He was right, eventually I would have to tell him, that was if I was actually planning to stay friends with him. Maybe it was just a one-time thing, like a one night stand, but without hooking up. Ugh, who was I kidding? I was definitely going to be friends with him for much longer, and maybe not because I wanted to.

“Ok, I’ll tell you,” I sighed, “But, you promise not to think weirdly of me?”

“Of course I promise,” Jack took hold of one of my hands and looked into my eyes.

I looked down and took a breath before starting, “So, I’ll probably start with what I have been told. When I was 21 I got into a car crash. A drunk driver hit me. I don’t remember a thing about it, though. But, I was in a coma for a year after that. When I woke up I found out I lost all my memory from when I was 16 to when the car crash happened. So, now I remember things here and there. The last two memories actually came back when you were around: The All-Time-Low-and-my-brother thing, and just remembering I used to have social anxiety. But this whole thing is why I moved in with my brother. He took care of me before we switched roles.”

“Oh. I don’t really know what to say,” Jack breathed out.

“It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? It’s actually the reason why I don’t really have friends. The ones I used to have gave up on me when I was in a coma, or when I couldn’t remember them. Making new friends also has been a problem because I can’t talk about past memories and how I had similar experiences. People just think I’m uninterested.”

“Well, I don’t think you're uninterested, and I definitely don’t think you're being rude. Believe it or not, I still want to be your new best friend.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. You’re not going anywhere, I won’t let you.”

I grinned at him, and he gave me a cheesy smile back, causing his eyes to squint slightly. Just then the doorbell rang and Jack decided it was a good idea to scream ‘Pizza’ all the way to the front door. I stayed in the bedroom while he paid the guy. Was Jack really serious about wanting to be my friend or best friend? He seemed pretty excited when I joked about him being my best friend. I was never going to be able to get out of it.

Jack came back in the room and handed me my own pizza box. I raised my eyebrow at him and looked back at the box.

“There’s no way I can finish a whole pizza!” I laughed.

“Well, I can, so there’s no way I’m sharing a pizza with you.” Jack countered.

“Fine, but I should probably pay you back.”

“No, it’s my treat.”

“No, seriously I should pay.”

“Nope.”

“At least let me do something!”

“Send me the photo you took of me today so I can change my profile picture. Then we’re even.”

“Ok, fine," I sighed. Free pizza didn't sound all too bad, especially if he got a free photo in return.

Jack took out some movies and placed them in front of me, one by one. They all seemed ok, and I wouldn’t mind watching them. But then he got out Wall-e and I immediately chose it. It had been my favorite movie for ages, or for as long as I can remember (see what I did there? Aren’t I hilarious?). Jack laughed at my excitement and told me I looked like a child on Christmas morning. But, hey, was I really to blame? Christmas and Wall-e are the best things in the world.

We put on the movie and watched as we ate pizza. I almost finished it completely, but Jack had to eat my last two slices. How could he eat so much yet still be so thin! Jealousy levels were at their max right at that moment. The only reason I didn’t have to worry about gaining too much weight was because of dancing. If I didn’t do that, I probably would have been the fattest kid on the block.

The scene in which Wall-e just boarded just came up, and I could already feel myself starting to drift away. As much as I wanted to stay awake, I just couldn’t. My eyes started drooping, and before I knew it all I could see was black.

----

I woke up slightly and felt something that was most likely a leg wrapped around my own legs. Not thinking much of it, I rolled over to fall back asleep. I snuggled onto a chest and a pair of arms wrapped around me. Wait a second. What? My eyes snapped open and I had no clue where I was. Was I having another episode in which I couldn’t remember anything for a few minutes? They used to happen very often, I would wake up in my room and be really confused, not knowing that I had moved in with my brother. It would be pretty scary, but after half an hour or so I would remember again.

But, no. I wasn’t having an episode. I actually remembered the day with Jack and going to his house. The person I was cuddling with was Jack.

“Holy shitting fuck!” I screamed out and shot up straight.

Jack jumped awake as well, “What’s going on?”

“I’m so sorry! I fell asleep in your bed, on top of you! I’m so so sorry.”

“It’s fine, I really don’t care. I also fell asleep,” He motioned towards the TV that had the menu screen playing on repeat.

I nodded, not wanting to get into this any further. This was really awkward, it didn’t have to get any worse by having a detailed conversation about it. I don’t know why I felt awkward and why I was stupid enough to fall asleep on him. And why did Jack wrap his arms around me? He was also asleep and probably also didn’t realize it was me. It was just a reflex. This was just all really messed up.

“Do you mind if I use your bathroom?” I asked.

“Yea, sure. It’s over there.” Jack pointed at a door in the room I hadn’t seen before. I guess I’m not the most observant person.

I thanked him and shuffled towards it, closing the door behind me. I did my business and looked at myself in the mirror. Normally my makeup would have given me panda eyes by now, but surprisingly I still looked civilized. Did I actually wear makeup that day? Yes, yes, I think I did. Let’s just say I sometimes forgot about things I did. My short term memory was sometimes affected, I couldn’t do anything about it.

I walked back into the bedroom, my eyes taking a while to get used to the light. Jack had turned off the TV and lights, and had thrown the pizza boxes away, but he was still awake. I stood awkwardly in the middle of the room. I couldn’t possibly go back into bed with him, but I also couldn’t just stay standing here.

“Umm, Jack?” I murmured.

“Yeah?” He replied sleepily.

“Where should I sleep?”

“Here.”

“Are you sure?”

He hummed in response and pulled back the duvet so I could go underneath it. I hesitantly lied down and Jack threw the duvet on me. He turned around a muttered a ‘goodnight’. Nothing awkward about that at all...

----

Jack was already gone when I woke up. Luckily, we didn’t have any weird encounters in bed anymore. We each stayed on our sides, maybe occasionally accidentally throwing a hand against the other’s back or stomach, but other than that we did well. I stretched out and looked at the clock. Shit. It was already 10 o’clock, and I had to be at the dance studio at 11. There was no way I would make it if I didn’t leave right at this instant. I quickly put on my white jeans and shoes, throwing my own shirt over my arm.

I ran downstairs and heard Jack talking to somebody, I stayed behind a bit, listening in if it would be ok to interrupt.

“You know he’s gonna murder you for losing his USB stick,” a female voice threatened.

“I know! I misplaced it!” Jack defended.

I looked around and saw a gray and blue plastic USB stick with ALEX scribbled across it in sharpie, lying down on a table with a laptop on it. I grabbed it and decided it was ok for me to interrupt their conversation. As I walked in both Jack and the girl looked at me. She was quite small and had the most beautiful long brown hair. Her eyes were piercing blue and they moved from me to Jack, giving him a disapproving look.

I walked up to them and held my hand out. “Is this the USB stick you’re looking for? I found it on the table back there.”

“Umm, yeah, it is, thanks.” The girl took it out of my hand, hesitantly looking at me.

“Well, I really have to go, or I’ll be late for work,” I apologized, “So, umm bye. Thanks for last night.”

Jack mumbled a bye back and I walked out of the house. As I stood out on the street, I realized I had no idea where I was. How the fuck was I going to go to work now? I tried my phone, but all it gave me was the empty battery signal. All I could do was go back to Jack and ask him for some help.

I rang the doorbell and Jack opened it, the girl just behind him.

“I’m sorry. I just have no clue where I am and my phone died. So I was wondering if you could tell me where I am or either give me some directions.” My eyes trailing to the girl every once in awhile.

“How about I drive you? Lisa was about to leave anyway,” Jack suggested.

“Yeah, I would like that. Thanks.”

If I thought the incident in the bed was awkward, this was definitely a whole lot worse.
♠ ♠ ♠
So much cringe reading these things back.