Garfield blushed and took a step back. He brought a fist up to cover a cough coming harshly up his throat, and slowly, his hand dropped and fell to his side. He was slightly embarrassed by his actions. He didn't think before he acted. He only hoped that Raven would not be too upset with him.
"Um, I'm sorry about that." Garfield said, his cheeks turning a rosy red color. Raven, on the other hand, was slightly in shock. She could still feel the tingle from his kiss. She could not say that she was necessarily surprised by the action but more like she wasn't expecting something like that from him so soon.
Garfield scratched his head uneasily, unsure what to do next. Just then, he remembered the card he purchased for her downstairs in the hospital pharmacy. "I brought you a card…uh, you can look at it, if you want. It's on your night stand. Well, I have to go now but I will see you later, yeah? Get well soon." And with that, he left the room as fast as he could.
Raven watched him go and smiled slightly at his fleeting back. Looking over to the nightside, she indeed did find a light blue envelope with the word "Raven" written in poor cursive across it. She opened the slits and pulled out a purple card with glitter accents. On the front it said, "I've been meaning to tell you this for a while now…" with a cute teddy bear blushing. Opening the folded card, the inside read, "I like you a lot, so I hope you feel better soon. – Garfield."
Raven blushed and sat the card back down. Why did he have to be so difficult? Who did this guy think he was? She had no intentions of ever really liking him back. Was she, though? She knew it was unreasonable to get agitated over a small gesture, but somehow, she did. Even after he saved her life, she still couldn't think of anything else.
Maybe he just wants to get with me to keep up his reputation. Probably so, but in a way, I'm a little flattered. Why can't I make up my mind? First I'm angry, now I'm flattered. Ugh, she thought, and threw her hands into her hair to ruffle it up. She slid her hands down from her and down down her face. She was so frustrated that she just didn't know what to do anymore. Throwing her hands back down to her slide, she laid back down into the stiff hospital pillows and soon drifted off into a stress-induced slumber.
While Raven was sleeping in the hospital, Garfield was across town in him home hovered over a sketch pad. Since he was little, Garfield would always find people and scenery to draw. His family members would always give him art supplies for the holidays, and he was even enrolled in sketch and painting classes as a child. Now that he was in high school and participated in recreational sports, he didn't have as much time for drawing, but that didn't dampen his passion for the art.
When he arrived home this evening after visiting the hospital, all he could think about was drawing. When he sketched, he was able to take his mind somewhere else, away from all the pain and embarrassment he faced over his life. Tonight, his subject was not a distant memory or a lush scenery, but a violet haired student with bright matching eyes. He couldn't stop thinking about Raven. He had only met the girl but over the past two days he felt like he was more and more drawn to her. Since he saved her life, he was connected to her whether he really wanted to be or not.
Laying across his bed, Garfield continued to sketch the portrait of his crush, working on her curves and details that were always hidden away by the darkness of her clothing. But in his portrait, no black and no darkness was found, Instead, he drew her surrounded by angels, and they were escorting her to Heaven. She wore a white toga and her feet were bare. Feathers floating around her, gently guiding her up towards paradise. She looked blissfully peaceful and content.
Now matter how many times he tried though, Garfield could never get her eyes just the way he wanted them. Her eyes were so deep and complex, and he had to keep erasing and redrawing them. After mindless hours of sketching, he finally settled on the last details of his drawing. Looking down, he felt strangely proud but also content. Raven was truly beautiful, and he felt he was able to properly capture that feature in this drawing. He decided to find a frame for it so he could keep it on his desk to look at when he felt lonely at home.
Sighing, he stood up and dug through his book bag to pull out his textbooks and homework for the night. He mindlessly started working on his assignments and thought back to the kiss he planted on Raven's cheek. He chuckled slightly realizing her didn't even give her much time to register what he did. He left so quickly because he was embarrassed, but he really should have checked to make sure she wasn't upset. He knew she would be okay, though.
"Miss Raven, you're free to go." A tall, slim nurse with tan skin and long red hair gently woke Raven up from her sleep. She stirred a bit, and finally was awake. The nurse, whose name Raven learned was Samantha, repeated her sentence and helped her get out of the bed. She helped Raven get steady to her feet, as Raven's limbs were weak from not having any exercise or much movement at all.
Samantha helped Raven pull on some clothes her dad had brought by yesterday. He left for her some black jeans, and a bright green t-shirt saying "Leave me alone" in bold black letters. She slid on a pair of black flip-flops and slowly walked out of the room. She wondered why her father bothered to drop clothes by the hospital for her but didn't bother to stay and visit. Even a simple hello would have sufficed.
"If I can get you to sign here, then you're fee to go." Samantha said sweetly, and held the pen out for Raven to take. She scribbled her name on the highlighted line and handed the pen back to the nurse. Samantha thanks her and watched the weak girl slide her feet across the floor slowly, walking towards the exit to go home. Raven did not acknowledge her statement, but heard it quite clearly. Finally, after what felt like days but was really only and a half, she was set to go, free from her imprisonment to a hospital bed.
The sun rays beamed down upon her and she had to lift her arm to shield her eyes. Realizing she had no way of getting home, she knew she had to walk. Now she really had wished her father had left her some tennis shoes rather than flip flops to walk home in. After what felt like hours, she was walking up her driveway and to her house. She mindlessly entered her home, almost fell up the stairs, but soon made it to her own bed. In a matter of seconds, she was fast asleep.
Until Next Time…
