Well, it's been a long time since I put up a chapter. This chapter isn't really like any of the one's in the previous version, but I feel it fits the tone of this version.
I do not own The Outsiders.
The inside of the hospital was loud, and packed with people. Andromeda stood near one of the walls as she waited rather impatiently to be seen. She sighed slightly as a person nearby coughed and sneezed profusely without making any effort to inhibit the spread of nasal droplets. It went without saying that she was deeply regretting not going to the hospital the previous night for several reasons. She was still waiting a several minutes later when the door opened to let in more people again. She tried not to think about the increase of present germs when one of the faces caught her attention. She couldn't help staring she saw Johnny approaching with the phone she'd given him at his ear. She waited for him, her confusion undoubtedly clear on her face, as Johnny said in a barely audible voice, "Yes, I just found her. She's still in the waiting room. Alright, I'll do that."
The buzz in the waiting room seemed to disappear some as Johnny finally got through the crowd. He awkwardly hand her the phone as he announced, "It's your aunt."
Andromeda looked between him and the hone before she reached out to take it, a frown on her face as she said, "Hey Aunty, did something happen recently?" "For me?" her aunt replied in terse voice, "I was going to tell you how my talks with your parents went, but now all I want is to find out which narcissistic, misogynistic, rich asshole thought he could assault you, and get him jailed for any and every crime that he had the potential to be taken down for."
Andromeda blinked in surprise before she said, "Okay, but you're in corporate law, not criminal law, and how did you hear about what happened anyway?" She didn't wait long for her aunt to reply, "Taking care of the proceedings isn't the important part for me. I know plenty of good lawyers who can do that easily. On the subject of my knowing what happened, I tried to call your phone, but it kept going immediately to voicemail, so I tried to call your backup phone. I think Johnny was half-asleep at the time, because he explained that you were probably over at the hospital. I admit I may have put some pressure on him to get further details out of him." Her aunt's final statement drew a sigh out of Andromeda, and she gave Johnny a sympathetic look before she said, "I see. I'll be sure to cooperate with whoever you choose out to handle this." Her aunt sounded somewhat relieved as she said, "Yes, and you'll certainly need to report exactly what happened to the police. Also, make sure you get a doctor's note to excuse yourself from any missed classes. With any luck, they won't hold it against you. But if they do ..." her aunt's voice faded off meaningfully and Andromeda agreed before she ended the phone call and handed the phone to Johnny as she said, "Sorry about that. I should have told her about what happened personally."
Johnny shrugged as he said, "It wasn't that bad. Besides does your phone still work?" Andromeda smiled sheepishly as she admitted, "No. Now that I think about it, it died permanently shortly after I got that phone call last night. I'll have to get it replaced somehow."
Johnny nodded in understanding before he turned to leave and Andromeda quickly added, "Oh, and if you see Dallas before I do, can you thank him for last night?" Johnny turned and gave her an odd look as he repeated slow, "For ... last night?" Andromeda blushed against her will as she insisted, "For listening while I blabbered about my feelings and such." "I see." Johnny said as he nodded again, then continued, "I'll tell him when I can see him next." His words gave Andromeda pause, and she must have looked at Johnny strangely, because he explained, "Word going around is he got arrested late last night." Andromeda frowned as she asked, "Did anyone say what for?" This time, Johnny hesitated before he said, "It's only a rumor, but people are sayin' he beat up a Soc." He glanced at the time and added, "I gotta go, I really can't be late again today." Andromeda nodded slowly, and Johnny left.
A feeling of unease nagged at her as she thought about the possibility of Dallas in jail. There wasn't anything shocking about it, she knew what sort of person Dallas was after all. But considering that, and what happened to her the night before, she couldn't help wondering what exactly happened. She didn't have long to think about that though, as she was finally called to be treated minutes later.
I'm not quite sure about this one, but oh well. I have gotten started with the next chapter, but I'm having some difficulty with it, and I don't know when I'll have it up. Also, the more I look at the story, the more I come to the conclusion that I'll need to change the second part (the part after Andromeda is forced back home), and maybe some before that. I can't say what for certain it will look like at the moment as I think it's better for me to continue writing as I am and then deal with whatever changes I will make when I get to that section.
