Melt Your Headaches, Call It Home

"Aaaaahhh!"

My eyes snapped open, not two inches away from my eyes were another pair, staring wide eyed back at me.

I was so surprised that I let out a little yelp of my own. After a rush of pure adrenaline, the other person rolled onto their back and I realized that it was only Ryan.

Not exactly the way I planned to wake up this morning.

I took a deep breath, also rolled onto my back and tried to calm my racing heart. "Ryan?"

"What?" He was breathing faster and louder than normal.

"Why are you in bed with me?" I asked.

He carefully rolled back on his side, looked at me and said, "That's a good question."

"You don't know why you got into bed next to me?" I said raising my eyebrows and giving him a skeptical expression.

"I don't remember you being here," he replied defiantly, "I was half asleep because I took my medicine in the car and I didn't know some were sleeping pills. Anyway the others practically dumped me on the bed and left."

"Suuure," I mocked him.

"Shut up, do you know many girls would pay a lot of money to be in your position right now?"

"Well, good for them!" I said and then put on my fake fan-girl voice and squealed, "Oh. My. God. Ryan Ross is lying in bed next to me!!!! Is my hair ok? What should I say? Oh, those gorgeous brown eyes, I could just get lost in them! O.M.G. He's such a dreamboat!!!"

I was going to go on but he said, "Ok, ok, I’ll won’t mention that again, just don't ever call me a dreamboat again."

"Agreed, perhaps," I laughed as a small pink blush started to appear on his cheeks, "Anyway, is anyone else here?"

"I dunno, I've been awake as long as you have."

I called out, "Hello? Anybody home?"

No answer.

"Well," he said, "Since nobody's here you should probably call them."

"Why me?"

"Because, Charlotte, you live here."

"No, I don't. Do you honestly think this is what my apartment would look like? This is my brother's place."

"Oh. Yeah. Didn't something happen to yours?" I nodded. "Well... This is more your home then mine."

"I'm the cripple."

"So... I'm the... um..." He tried to think of a good reason but failed. "I don't want to get up."

I glared at him. "I want food. Alice would make me food."

"So call her."

"My damn phone is nowhere to be found."

"I'm not going to get mine, which is in the living room, in case that is what your subtle hinting was getting at," he smirked, "Guess you'll just have to stay in bed with me."

I rolled my eyes and hid a smile, "I didn't know you were that desperate."

"I am not desperate!" he retorted.

"Yet..." I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?" He tried to loom over me while lying down, but when that didn't intimidate me; we reverted to an impromptu staring contest, like the mature adults we were.

We lay there staring into each other's eyes for a long time. His eyes were a deep golden brown and wasn't very hard not to blink until I realized how close together we were. I could feel his breath on my face and it was starting to make my eyes water.

"What are you two doing?"

We both looked (and blinked) and saw Brendon leaning in the doorway.

Not knowing how long he’d been there, Ryan and I looked guiltily at each other and said at the same time, "Nothing."

He didn't buy it, "Uh huh, there's food in the kitchen, lovers."

"FOOD!" Ryan vaulted off the bed and was out the door, leaving me rather surprised that he ever actually ate given how skinny he was.

As I tried to sit up, I groaned, of course he would get to feel good enough to jump out of bed despite the surgery he had yesterday, I was not so lucky. My suspicion was that his pain meds were a bit more powerful than mine.

"Brendon, can you help me?" I asked, after my ribs protested from my attempts to sit up.

Since Brendon is pretty much the same size as me (although I’m pretty sure I weigh more) and weaker then Jon, it took longer to get to the chair that it ever should.

I decided that as soon as I was out of all of these casts I was going to burn this chair and then run it over with the largest truck I could get my hands on.

As I ate my waffles I watched everyone around me. Brendon and Jon were having a syrup eating contest and they were getting it everywhere. Spencer and Ryan were telling Alice a story of how they blew up a lawnmower when they were kids. Alice was laughing so hard that she was crying and everyone was smiling, including me. This is the way I've always wanted things to be, I've only every wanted to be happy.

I must have looked bored or left out, because Brendon and Jon thought they should include me in their contest by squirting syrup at my face.

Of course I had to retaliate and things only escalated from there.

-----------------

After a long shower of struggling to get syrup out of my hair, I was doing my makeup (I'm glad my non-dominant arm is broken) when Spencer yelled, "That officer is on the phone and wants to talk to you.”

Since I knew that I had given them Spencer’s phone as where to reach me (since he was the best about paying attention to it) I managed to wheel myself out to the living room to grab it from him.

"Hello?"

"Charlotte Labelle? This is Officer Newman. You are now free to do what you please with the apartment. Your roommate informed me that you had insurance and that was taken care of. Do you have any questions?"

"No." I wondered what I was supposed to ask anyway.

"Alright, we will be in touch if we have any leads. Be sure to let us know if anything else happens. "

Spencer walked up towards me as I thanked the officer and said goodbye, "I finished cleaning the kitchen and everyone else is in your apartment fixing stuff, do you want to head over there?"

I sighed; back we go to the destruction, "Just wheel me over."

It's time to put everything back together.