Can You Hear Me?
Summary: A drunk driver running a red light puts Günther in the hospital. Will CeCe finally confess her true feelings for him? Number 82 of the 100 Theme Challenge (see profile for details).
Disclaimer: I do not own Shake It Up!, nor its characters. I only own this story.
Sporting dark padding and a matching helmet, Rocky tiptoed through the empty hallways of John Hughes High School, trying not to make an audible sound. Her eyes darted around, looking for any sign of Howard and his fellow honour society friends. It was the group's annual game of laser tag and Rocky enjoyed it very much. To her, it was like another form of exercise, besides dancing.
Just as she entered the English wing of the school, she heard a faint sneeze behind her. Sensing someone's presence, she whirled around and pointed her laser gun in the direction that the sneeze came from. Although she could not see anything but lockers and a trash can, she knew that someone was there.
"I know you're there!" she yelled, with a deadly look in her eyes. "Come on out!"
Within seconds of giving out the order, Rocky took a step back as Howard popped out from behind the trash can, pointing his gun at her. His fellow friends poked their heads out from behind the lockers and aimed their guns at her as well.
"You're ours now, Rockaroni!" Howard shouted, before firing his laser gun.
Rocky dodged the incoming lasers and fired back. She managed to hit several of Howard's friends, who fell to the floor upon impact.
"Surrender!" she yelled, as she continued to fire and duck. "No one beats the Queen of Laser Tag!"
"We will never give up!" Howard shouted, sounding determined.
"This means war!" Rocky yelled, firing lasers repeatedly.
Howard growled and told his friends to show no mercy to Rocky. Rocky took this opportunity to fire more lasers and knock down several more honour society members.
Just as Howard and the remaining honour society members started firing back lasers, shrill ringing was heard.
Rocky continued to dodge incoming lasers as she pulled out her cell phone from inside her shorts pocket and answered it.
"Hello?" she greeted, hitting another honour society member in the chest with a laser. "Tinka, slow down...what is going...huh?"
Howard, being the only honour society member still standing, took advantage of Rocky being on the phone and carefully aimed his gun at her, while mentally calculating the projectile motion of the laser, to ensure that when he fired, it would hit her in the chest.
"Oh, my!" Rocky gasped, holding her fire. "Is he...yeah, sure, I'll be there...no problem, I'll call her...okay, bye."
Howard, who had his gun aimed properly, muttered, "Prepare to die, Rockaroni."
"Sorry, Howard, I have to go!" Rocky cried, urgently, as she took off for the nearest exit.
"You're not going anywhere!" Howard yelled, firing his gun.
Rocky dodged his laser while running and, without turning back, fired a laser, which hit him in the chest and knocked him down.
In a room at the local hospital in downtown Chicago, Tinka was pacing back and forth, while fingering a sparkly handkerchief. Ty and Deuce were leaning against the wall, deep in thought.
A knock at the door snapped the three teens out of their thoughts and caused their eyes to dart to the door.
"Come in!" Tinka cried, sniffling.
The door opened, quietly, and Rocky and CeCe entered the room, slowly, before closing the door behind them.
"How is he?" Rocky asked, concerned.
"He still did not wake up yet," Tinka answered, looking towards the bed. "I am worried."
Ty, Deuce, Rocky, and CeCe turned their attention to Günther, whose body lay motionless under the covers of the hospital bed. His eyes were closed, his face was bruised, and his bandaged arms rested over the blanket. A heart monitor nearby was measuring his heart beat, which was slower than usual.
"What happened, Tinka?" CeCe asked, holding back her tears.
Tinka took a deep breath and said, "Well, after school, I went straight home to betwinkle a new bag that I designed, while Günther took a taxi to the fabric store to get more supplies."
"Go on," Rocky said, urging the sparkly-clad girl to continue.
"I was wondering why he was taking so long, when I got a call from the hospital," Tinka explained. "Some goat butt was drunk and when he ran a red light, his car hit the taxi that Günther was in, on the right side of the back seat, where he was, unfortunately, sitting."
"Oh, no!" CeCe cried, holding a hand over her mouth, in shock.
Tears started spilling down Tinka's cheeks as she said, "The doctors said both of his arms were fractured, his ribs were somewhat cracked, and he suffered a lot of internal bleeding from the impact of the crash. They were able to stop the bleeding, but...but..."
"What is his condition?" Rocky asked.
"Stable," Tinka said, quietly, as she wiped her tears with the handkerchief. "For now, anyway. They said it can either go uphill or downhill from here."
"I can't believe this happened," Rocky said, sadly. "Did you tell your parents yet?"
"They are in the old country right now, visiting relatives," Tinka explained. "I should probably go call and give them the bad news."
"We'll come along," Ty offered, speaking for himself and Deuce. "You could use some support."
"I'll go with you," Rocky added.
"You four can go," CeCe said, her eyes not leaving Günther. "I want to stay with him."
Tinka nodded and, after one last look at CeCe, opened the door and exited the room. Ty and Deuce followed her out. Rocky was the last to leave, so she closed the door on the way out.
CeCe sighed and took a seat on the chair next to Günther's bed. She could not believe something like this could happen to him. You would think just because Günther was her frenemy, she would be happy about him being in the hospital, but, on the contrary, she was not.
During the years that CeCe had known Günther, she viewed him as self-centered, overly proud, and betwinkle-crazy. However, over the years, she realized that she also viewed him as funny and good-looking. He was nice to her when he wanted to be and she loved that about him.
CeCe admitted to herself that she loved Günther. No one, not even her best friend, Rocky, knew about this. The minute CeCe found out that Günther got hurt, all thoughts of hating him flew out of her mind. She was so concerned about him, which showed that she did have feelings for him after all.
"Hey, Günther," CeCe said, looking down at him. "Your sister left to call your parents. She is so worried about you. We all are."
Obviously, Günther did not respond. His body would have been considered lifeless had the monitor indicated that his heart stopped beating.
"Can you hear me, Günther?" CeCe asked, expecting no reponse. "I need to tell your something."
Leaning forward, CeCe reached for one of Günther's hands and gently held it in hers.
"Look, I know we've been frenemies for years, meaning that we don't always get along," CeCe began. "But the other half of frenemies is friends. At time, I can consider you a friend. A very good friend."
CeCe mentally questioned herself for talking to a motionless body, but Rocky told her several months ago that it may be possible for people who are unconscious to hear voices and that it would help if the unconscious person was spoken to. So, CeCe decided to give it a try.
"You know, when you're not insulting me or betwinkling things, you can be a cool person to hang out with," CeCe continued, rubbing her thumbs over his knuckle. "Remember when I thought I gave you bad advice and I ended up dating you to prevent you from moving back to the old country, and then we learned that I gave the bad advice to your cousin instead, and you broke up with me?"
CeCe closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It was now or never.
"Well, to be honest, I wish you didn't," CeCe confessed.
Günther still did not show signs of waking up. However, CeCe continued as though he was listening to her.
"I guess what I'm trying to say is that I really liked dating you," CeCe explained. "Maybe not at the time, but now when I look back on that memory, I get butterflies in my stomach. Does that sound weird to you?"
CeCe realized that talking to an unconscious Günther was very therapeutic for her. She was able to release her hidden feelings for him that she kept bottled up for so long.
"I really wish we were still dating," CeCe continued, as tears started building up in her eyes. "I really do care about you, Günther, although sometimes, you can be quite the wackadoodle."
After having said this, CeCe laughed a bit. She had to admit, she did love the Hessenheffer wackadoodle, for reasons she would never understand.
"When Tinka told us what happened to you, I literally stopped breathing," CeCe explained, sadly. "I couldn't believe it. You don't deserve to be suffering like this. I feel so helpless just sitting here and talking to your unconscious body. I really wish there was something I could do to help you."
The tears began to flow freely down CeCe's cheeks. She had not cried this much since Rocky was in the hospital because of a torn tendon in her foot. She bit her bottom lip, trying to hold back the tears, but they continued to fall.
"Can you hear me?" CeCe asked, once again, expecting no response. "I love you, Günther Hessenheffer. Please wake up so you can hear me tell you that."
Günther's body remained motionless and his heart continued to beat at a slow rate. This worried CeCe even more, resulting in more of her tears falling.
"Come on, Günther," CeCe urged, as she closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against his hand. "Please, please wake up."
When Günther did not move an inch, CeCe sobbed, uncontrollably. She prayed to God, for the second time in her life, that Günther would be okay. She also silently added that if Günther were to not make it, to allow him to wake up for just a moment, so she could tell him how crazy she was about him. She did not want to live the rest of her life, regretting that she kept her true feelings for him a secret.
Just then, CeCe's sobs were interrupted by the heart monitor. She silently listened and realized that she heard a bit of extra beeping, meaning that Günther's heart rate increased slightly.
"Günther?" CeCe asked, hoping his eyes would open. "Can you hear me?"
CeCe gasped as she felt Günther's fingers move slightly in her hands. Tears continued to flow down her cheeks, as she anxiously waited for him to wake up.
"Come on, Günther," Cece urged. "Wake up, please."
Günther eyes fluttered open as he groaned and said, "CeCe?"
"Yes!" CeCe cried, rubbing his knuckle with her thumbs again. "Come on, wake up!"
Günther's eyes darted to his left and when he saw CeCe looking down at him, he smiled.
"Hello, bay-bee," he greeted, hoarsely.
"Oh, thank goodness!" CeCe cried, looking towards the ceiling. "Thank you for not taking him away from me."
Günther closed his eyes again and relaxed, as CeCe gently ran a hand through his messy, blonde hair. She could not believe that he was awake and talking to her. It was so surreal.
"How are you feeling?" CeCe asked.
"I am in a bit of pain, but, other than that, I am okay," Günther answered, looking up at her.
"I was so worried," CeCe said, as another tear slid down her cheek. "We all were. Tinka left to call your parents. Ty, Deuce, and Rocky are with her for support."
"Do not cry anymore, bay-bee," Günther said, wiping the tears from her cheek with his hand. "I will be okay."
"I came so close to losing you," CeCe said, closing her eyes. "If you had...you know...if you had...you wouldn't have known..."
"Known what?" Günther asked, curiously.
CeCe opened her eyes, took one look at Günther, and said, "I love you, Günther Hessenheffer."
"I know, I heard you the first time," Günther replied, with a chuckle.
"What?" CeCe questioned, surprised. "You actually heard me? What Rocky told me was true?"
"Well, even though I was unconscious, I could hear your voice," Günther explained. "I am not sure how, but I heard it."
"So, you could hear me," CeCe said, slightly embarassed. "How much did you hear?"
"A lot," Günther answered, with a smile. "Do not worry, I love you, too, CeCe."
"You do?" CeCe asked, cracking a small smile.
"Absolutely," Günther replied, clearing his throat. "I am sorry for breaking up with you at the last dance. I was just so angry that you gave my cousin bad advice."
"Yeah, I'm really sorry about that," CeCe said, apologetically.
"It is okay, the past is the past," Günther answered, optimistically. "Let us start over. Will you be my girlfriend, CeCe?"
"Of course, Günther," CeCe replied, bashfully.
Satisfied with her answer, Günther gestured for CeCe to come closer to him. CeCe grinned, leaned down, and captured his lips in a passionate kiss.
When the need for oxygen became a problem, CeCe pulled back and said, "I love you, Günther."
"You said that already," Günther pointed out, with a laugh.
"Yeah, just making sure you heard me," CeCe replied, winking at him.
Three down, ninety-seven more to go! Questions? Comments?
Please Review! Reviews are greatly appreciated! =D
~TeenQueen661