That afternoon, at exactly ten minutes past five, the door of the sick room opens.
Lauren looks up. She has plucked the cushions from other beds and put them in her back, so that she can sit upright without the hard pole of the bed sticking in her back. A book is resting in her hands; she has convinced one of the doctors to get it for her.
It's a pretty old book, called 'Clockwork Angel'. She likes it, but now that the door is opening, she puts it down on the nightstand.
The first person who walks in is Newt. He grins frolic, but doesn't say anything.
The second person is Thomas, who is wearing the same smirk.
Teresa walks in, along with Lauren's other three friends: Charlie, Sonya and Avice.
The boy that Lauren knows as 'the annoying Asian' comes into the room as well.
When Lauren sees them all, she is sure she is doing the same thing as them; smiling like a freaking idiot.
Newt gestures at all those people.
"Lauren, I told you, you are not alone," he says, his eyes glittering. "Here's the proof."
It is perfectly silent for a moment, because Lauren doesn't have any idea how to react, and then Avice, Charlie and Sonya hurl towards her. She immediately gets covered in hugs and the crying from the three girls.
"Lau," Charlie sobs. "Newt told us what happened... We didn't know..."
"We should've... We should've been there for you... What kind of friends are we?" Avice adds, protectively wrapping her arms around Lauren.
Sonya doesn't say anything and just throws herself into the group hug.
Lauren embraces the three girls, laughing and crying at the same time.
"Guys, guys, it's all right," she says, happy that her friends are there. "I've already promised that I'll never try something like that again."
Soon, the three girls are a sobbing and smiling mess. Lauren catches glimpses of the boys and Teresa, who are awkwardly standing near the door.
Charlie must have followed her look, because she escapes from the arms for a moment, runs over to the others and shouts: "Come on!"
She grasps Teresa's wrist and drags her over to the other girls. Newt, Thomas and Asian Guy follow quite soon, and Lauren gets surrounded by people who are hugging her.
She is so thankful for them that she totally forgets what exactly the reason is why they are here.
She can't imagine that she was so hopeless and desperate that morning, and that night, and the three days before. She can't believe that she was desperate enough to not want to live anymore. She can't be happy enough about the fact that it was all about something that she had made herself believe.
She simply can't.
So, for that moment, she just thinks about nothing and enjoys the amazing feeling of being held close.
Kinda short chapter, but Lauren is happy again! I didn't like the fact that I didn't mention her friends yet (only in the previous chapter), so I just let them make an appearance. Here you go: Charlie, Avice and Sonya! And for the Minho-fans here: he is going to come back in other chapters! Bye, have a nice day!