White.
Unlike what was...what, hours ago? All he saw was white for a moment, and then suddenly the headache came back, followed by an incessant urge to cough. As he did so, he felt as though his back were going to collapse. And then, the coughs kept coming, taking every breath—every thought of ever getting better, from his mind.
Is this heaven? He thought to himself. No...it can't be...another series of coughs seized his body again, and he could feel the rubbery fingertips of the nurse gently force his head back down to the hospital bed. It can't be...because heaven doesn't hurt.
He could hear hushed voices, and eventually, once he opened his eyes, he saw the nurse in the white hospital jacket, whispering to a lady standing by the door. "...the patient's brother...shown sign of life..." was all he heard, and he instinctively furrowed his brows at that. Brother? I don't have a- "J.T.!"
"Toby?!" He was sent into another coughing spasm again, and the nurse rushed over, scolding him about talking, and asking him concernedly if he'd had a shortness of breath. J.T. nodded his head lightly, and focused his eyes on the matter at rest.
"J.T., we were all so worried..." He'd noticed Toby's glasses were askew, and the thought to take the opportunity and knock them off his nose flashed through his mind for a second. Toby, however, re-adjusted them himself, revealing his wet cheeks and reddening eyes.
He reached for J.T.'s hand, who had sunk deeper into the pillows, his signature smirk appearing on his face. "So, when did we start sharing the same DNA?" was what he wanted to say, but the 'so' came out as a hoarse undertone, and he thought better of it; instead raising his eyebrows and meeting Toby's generous gaze.
He started to play with the hem of his plaid flannel, with an unapologetic grin. "We had to uh..." his voice lowered to a whisper, and he cleared his throat. "Just pretend, okay? It was the only way I could get to see you."
"You should get some rest." The familiar voice of his overbearing nurse rang out over his head.
J.T. nodded, and Toby offered a half-hearted smile to him, before exiting the room. Before he knew it, he felt his eyes droop closed, and he heard the sound of Toby's footsteps grew smaller and smaller, the room growing shadowy, and eventually, everything fading to darkness.
Author's Note- Sorry, these chapters are really short, but they'll get longer as J.T. stops having blackouts. Thank you for reading, and please review!