The first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was in a hospital bed. The second thing I noticed was that the room was full of people. I looked around and saw my mom asleep in a chair by the door, Zane standing next to her with his arms crossed, Jack in a chair against the wall, and Charlotte and Brian on a couch next to Jack. Charlotte was looking at me when I opened my eyes and rose from her seat.
'Oh my gosh, you're up," she said and perched on the side of my bed. Zane's head snapped up and he shook my mom awake gently. She looked up with heavy eyelids and gasped.
"Oh sweetie, are you alright?" she breathed and came to sit with Charlotte.
I looked around. "What's going on?" I asked, my voice raspy and groggy.
My mom took my cold hand in her warm clammy one. "You've been asleep, for almost two days!" she whispered. "Do you remember anything?"
I started to shake my head, then I remembered. I was fighting with Tammy in the backyard, I hit her with my ice shards. She collapsed, then everything went blank. "Yeah, I remember kicking Tammy's ass!"
Jack's laugh rang out in the room loud. Brian smiled and I saw Charlotte hide her grin from behind her hand. My mom shook her head.
"This is serious Alice!" she hissed at me, squeezing my hand. "Your power is sensitive, you could have died!"
I sat up in my bed a little. "You act like it's my fault," I said. "This is all Tammy's fault, I was the victim here!" I looked over at Zane, who hadn't said anything yet. "Tell her. Tell her how that bitch stepped out on my turf and attacked me."
"This isn't funny Alice," Zane said. His voice sounded weird, different. Angry. "You have no idea how worried we were. How worried I was." He turned away from me.
I stared at the back of his head, trying to process what he just said. "I don't even know why I'm here!"
"You fainted. Your powers were totally drained after your fight," Charlotte answered. "The fight that I could like to say I was not invited to."
I smiled up at my friend. "You're the first one I call in the next one, promise."
"There's not gonna be a next one," my mom said, her voice cold and hard. "You'll be lucky if I let you go back to Sky High!"
My jaw dropped and I blinked at her. "W-What are you talking about?"
My mom shook her head. "I just don't know if Sky High is right for you, Alice." My mouth went dry and I couldn't seem to get my mouth to work. Luckily, Jack was already on my argument for me.
"That's not fair mom!" he yelled, jumping up from his seat.
"Yeah Mrs. Frost, I think that might be a little drastic," Charlotte said with a hint of worry in her voice. I looked at Zane, expecting him to say something as well. But he was still standing with his back to me, his arms still crossed. I shook my head and turned away from the others.
"Can we not talk about all this?" I muttered. "This is so dumb and my head is pounding."
My mom nodded and sat up. "O.K sweetie. You get some rest. I'm gonna go down to the cafeteria to get some coffee." She turned to the others. "You guys should clear out too, let her sleep." She got up and walked out the room.
"I'll fix this," Jack assured me. "Let me talk to her." I smiled at him as he walked out the room after my mom.
Charlotte smiled at me. "She's just emotional, I'm sure."
Brian nodded. "Defiantly. She can't just pull you out of school. Where else would you go?"
Again, I looked at Zane for support but he was still glaring at a wall, his back to me. Charlotte followed my gaze and turned to Brian. "Know what, I'm kinda hungry. Brian, you wanna come with?" Brian looked over at Zane and stood up, nodding.
Him and Charlotte walked out the room, leaving Zane and I alone and awkward. I sat in the bed and looked at Zane, willing him to do something. After about a minute and he hadn't spoken or moved, I spoke up.
"Are you made at me?" I asked softly. He stayed quiet, didn't even turn around. My throat tightened a little and my vision blurred.
"Why are you mad at me?" I asked even more quietly. Then he turned around. He had tears in his eyes and his cheeks were even more red than usual.
"Why am I mad at you?" he asked, walking towards me. He stood at the foot of my bed. "Isn't that obvious? Look around you Alice, look where you are!" I looked at my hands, the looked back up at him. All the strength and confidence I've always had, vanished at the sight of him on the verge of tears.
"Do you have any idea what I've been going through?" he said, his voice raising with every word. "I watch you fight with nothing I can do to help, then I see you collapse right in front of me! You've been unconscious for two days! We didn't know if you were going to live!"
I looked at my hands in my lap, curled into fists clutching the sheets. I felt tears prick my eyes and kept my head down. Zane came around to the side of the bed and sat down next to me.
"Do you have any idea how worried I was?" he breathed. He reached for my hands and they felt hot and sticky. "I thought I was going to loose you."
"I'm sorry," I whispered, shaking my head. "I didn't think this was going to happen."
"But it did," Zane responded sternly. His eyes were red and I swore he was about to cry. I squeezed his hands and my own tears slid down my cheeks. "And I let you get hurt."
"No, you didn't," I said shaking my head hard. "This is my fault and you know it."
"I'm sorry," he said. "I let you down."
I rolled my eyes and squeezed his hands again. "Shut up, please."
He looked at me. "Huh?"
"This is not your fault so stop saying it is. Your making me feel like crap."
Zane gave me a small smile and brushed a strand of hair out of my eyes. You know, I was really worried."
"Really?" I said with mock surprise. "I would have never guessed!"
Zane leaned his forehead against mind and I scooted over on the bed. It was small but I patted the space I made and Zane laid down next to me. He put his arms around my waist and leaned his forehead against mine. I sighed and closed my eyes, smiling a little. It was quiet in the room and neither of us spoke. My stomach was flipping and my heart was hammering in my chest so hard, and we were sitting so close, I knew he felt it. But I could have sworn that I felt his too...
