I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'M REALLY SORRY. I figured out why there aren't more 50/50 stories out there: the movie is perfect as it is and really hard to build upon. I had this in my computer for months and finally had some inspiration to finish it. Same as before, but from Adam's perspective. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and favorited! You made me smile randomly at my phone for receiving a notification :) And everyone knows random smiles are the best smiles.
XXX
Adam pondered. He had been pondering for a while now. A week, two? He wasn't sure.
It had all started with a phone call from Rachel, of all people. Adam was standing in the kitchen when he heard a stream of random curse words being shouted in the living room. He rushed over, only to find Kyle holding the phone.
"Dude, what the fuck? Who is it?"
"Can you believe that whore?" He shouted as he hung up. "Calling to check up on you between blowjobs?" And Kyle, being Kyle, had to make disgusting gestures to illustrate his point. "She didn't even come to see you in the hospital and now she thinks she can just call?"
Adam had already started walking away. He didn't want to waste any time listening to nonsense about Rachel and her bullshit.
"You know who did come visit you? Psycho-chick!"
"Who is psycho-chick?" Adam asked as he opened the fridge.
"You know, your shrink."
Adam shut the door loudly and rushed for the second time to the living room.
"Katherine went to see me?"
"Yeah," Kyle replied as if it was nothing, "she stopped by during surgery and afterwards in your room. I think you were already awake. Did you tell her I'm an asshole?"
"You didn't think of telling me this sooner?" Adam wasn't even trying to hide the anger in his voice.
"What? I'm telling you now!"
"How did she look?"
"Cute." Kyle answered as he took a sip of his beer. "I mean, I'd tap that. I can see why you wasted time in fucking therapy." He snorted a laugh, finding his comment hilarious.
Adam, on the other hand, was fuming.
"Did you hit on her?!"
"What? No! My best friend was facing a life and death situation, what kind of animal do you think I am?" Adam didn't even bother answering, simply lifting one eyebrow. "Okay, fine, but I didn't. I didn't. I swear!"
Adam moved over to sit next to him on the couch.
"Was I already awake?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"What did I say to her?"
"Dude, I don't know, I wasn't there! Chill out, geez."
But Adam couldn't chill. Katherine had come to visit him. He prayed his morphine-controlled self hadn't said anything stupid.
What did it mean? She was probably just being kind. Maybe she'd just left work. It wasn't exactly a long walk, right? A couple of floors, 'hey, you're alive, congrats' and goodbye.
Still. There's something about almost dying that makes you want to live, really live.
But asking your former shrink out isn't exactly easy. Adam would like to live preferably outside of jail.
He snapped out of his wanderings when the car came to a halt. His mom asked for the millionth time if he wanted her to go with him; Adam politely declined for the millionth time and had her settle for reminding Kyle to come pick him up. Sitting there in the waiting room, he decided that he would head down to Katherine's office later. He was there already, right? It couldn't hurt. 'Hey, I'm alive and you're alive too, thanks for everything'.
Maybe they could talk for a little bit in a non-medical setting; it had been nice the first time around. Katherine seemed to genuinely care about people, even if she was terrible at it at times. That would be a first for one of Adam's girlfriends. 'Girlfriend?' A little voice in his head asked mockingly.
Right. Not girlfriend. Just a really great, smart, funny and cute girl who happened to be his shrink at one point in his life. And single, unless she got back together with that boyfriend.
Adam sat through the appointment and managed to focus barely enough to understand that he was fine, he just needed to rest a little longer and take the proper medication. The rest of his attention was concentrated on the fact that Katherine was probably inside that very building.
When was the last time they had spoken? He remembered being a jerk that one time in her office. Had that been it?
No. No, it hadn't. The memory of whispering six little words to her over the phone hit him like a punch in the stomach.
What did she say to that? What was it, what was it? Something about girlfriends being nice. He wasn't sure then and he wasn't sure now if that was a polite way to blow him off or not.
Well, fuck, the subtlety card was off the table now.
The doctor spoke a little louder, catching his attention.
"'Mr. Lerner, do you have any further questions?"
Adam didn't react for a second.
"No, thanks, all good."
As he stood up, however, he took a moment before heading to the door.
"Hm, sir, word of advice - and please take this as constructive criticism - try to tone down the medical rambling when you explain stuff to your patients. I mean, I had to google my disease."
With a cheerful (and come to think of it, probably creepy) smile, he walked out on the befuddled doctor, heading to the reception. He was casually chatting with the receptionist when the corner of his eye caught a tiny person in a blue sweater walking by.
"Katherine?"
She looked like she had seen a ghost, maybe she thought he had died?
"Adam, hi!" Her face broke into a smile, snapping out of its initial shock. "You look great. I mean, in a healthy way. I mean, you look healthy."
She was nervous. Nervous. Were her cheeks a shade redder than a minute ago? Maybe she was just white from the shock and now returning to her normal state. That was probably it.
"Thanks, you too. I mean, you didn't look unhealthy before. You didn't have cancer." State the obvious much, Casanova? "I mean you look great."
And now he was complementing her in public. Great way to get witnesses when she sued him for harassment.
"So, erm... What brings you here?"
"Follow up exams, that sort of thing. But I'm glad I ran into you, I was just on my way over to your office."
He suppressed a chuckle as he watched her go into therapist-mode.
"Why? Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, yes, never better." The chuckle got away. "This whole, erm, beating cancer thing is quite uplifting, you know." He tried to joke. "I just wanted to say hi."
Bullshit, you wanted to ask her out and are now getting cold feet.
"Oh, okay, so... Hi!" She waved awkwardly, which made him smile. She cleared her throat loudly, her tone of voice dropping a bit. "I'm on my lunch break and have a patient afterwards, so I should go. It..."
He cut her off before she could walk out. Buy yourself some time, dude, buy yourself some time.
"What, no take-out today?" Where the fuck did that come from? "And I barely walk out the door and already you have a line of new patients after me?" He managed to smirk in the creepiest way possible. He wondered how fast she'd make a run for it.
"Well, you know, a girl's gotta move on." She said in a joking manner. Standing still, not running, he noted.
"True..." A gear started moving in his head. She was definitely blushing now. "Listen..."
It was as if he could suddenly feel all eyes in the room on the two of them.
"I'm listening." She replied, smiling kindly.
"Walk me outside?" He said it so fast it was almost surprising that she understood him. "I'm waiting for my ride."
"Okay, sure."
He walked next to her trying to think of what to say. Two whole weeks and he didn't have a stinking action plan for a potential harassment scenario? Maybe he was still high.
They reached the entrance and he suddenly realized he was supposed to say something.
"I'm sorry I sort of disappeared. I wasn't really allowed to go out after surgery." The words came out of his mouth with a life of their own, having barely registered in his brain.
"I get it, it's... fine. I said it before, but you really do look great, Adam. You definitely don't need any more therapy."
Yes. YES! No therapy, that was it. He wasn't her patient anymore, it hit him like a truck.
"Exactly."
He couldn't quite read the expression on her face.
"Listen, if you feel weird about this in any way, please, don't sue me for harassment and I promise I'll leave town before you even notice."
Better safe than sorry, right?
Her expression was still unreadable. He might've talked too fast again.
"Adam, what's going on?"
"Nothing, I just wondered, now that I'm not your patient anymore," her expression remained an enigma, "if you'd like to, I don't know, get together some time."
He watched as her eyebrows unfurrowed, his odd behavior apparently becoming clear.
He heard a car honk and recognized Kyle's voice, but didn't really listen to anything he said. His eyes were locked in on her, and he felt like he was being hugged by a Teletubby or something like that when her face broke into a warm smile.
"I'd like that, I'd really like that."
"You would?" He mirrored her expression.
"ADAM!" Kyle's yell was far too loud to be ignored.
"Shit, okay, I gotta go." But he couldn't just leave it at that, could he? "I'll call you, okay? Tonight." He blurted out.
She simply nodded. Adam took an impulsive step forward and kissed her on the cheek before his social filters had time to kick in. He had never experienced physical attraction on such literal terms. For whatever reason, he felt the need to add a shy "see you soon".
Kyle looked at him sideways when he entered the car. Adam casually buckled up and looked at his friend, who was complaining a minute ago about being late and yet not moving now that he could.
"What?"
"Did the doctor prescribe you medical pot or something?"
"No, where did you get that idea?"
"You get that look when you're high."
Adam laughed.
"Different kind of high, I guess. Come on, let's go."
XXX
I probably won't be able to make a fully fledged story out of this, but I have two more chapters in the making, one about their first date and another somewhere further into their relationship. Thanks again for your reviews and let me know what you think! Cheers!