Thanks go for this alternate ending once again to Jel, and to Skitch. Thank you Jel for the continued help with this story (campell's soup mmm-mmm good!) and thanks to Skitch for the country music idea. You guys rock!
This picks off right in the middle of the previous chapter, when alan asks j what he did to himself this time.
"Alright, what did I do to myself this time?"
J tried unsuccessfully to hide an amused smile at Alan's nonchalantness and answered. "You slipped on your way home, hit your head, and were knocked out. Your head injury isn't that major, but it took us awhile to realize you were missing, then find you, so you were out there for a few hours. You have frostbite in your arm, and a mild case of hypothermia."
Alan chuckled and motioned towards his arm. "Hence the rubbing."
J rolled her eyes and shoved Alan again. "Typical you'd gravitate toward that. Well," she stood up and dusted off her pants for no apparent reason, "now that you're awake, you're doing the massaging yourself. I'm gonna go heat up some soup; we've gotta get some food in you." With that, she disappeared around the living room corner. Alan stared after hear, absentmindedly massaging his arm.
***
J balanced a bowl of chicken noodle soup (what else for a sick person?) and a tray in both her hands and slowly made her way back out to the living room where Alan sat. He was still following her orders while staring off into space and humming a familiarly nauseating tune. She managed to situate the tray and get the bowl down without spilling any soup. "There you go." She paused for a minute, then rolled her eyes. "Ugh, Alan, please, you're gonna get that stuck in my head."
Alan stopped in mid-hum. "Get what stuck in your head?"
J pushed Alan's legs over to make room on the couch, forcing him to sit up. "You have to sit straight when you're eating or you're gonna make yourself even more sick. That horrible song. Alan, really, I love you, I do, but the country music's gotta go."
Alan swished his spoon around in the soup. "But...it's not THAT bad..." he trailed off when he caught J's disgusted look. "Alright...so maybe it is...but I can't help it."
J kicked him lightly with her shoeless feet. "What do you mean you can't help it? It's easy enough...I think it's time to introduce you to new kinds of music. It's time to let go."
Alan swallowed a lump of chicken, hard. "Really? Do you think I can? I don't know if I'm strong enough."
J placed her hands supportively on his shoulders and gazed at him seriously. "Yes you are. I know you are. And I can help you." She continued to stare, oh-so convincingly into Alan's face until both of them cracked up. Just then, Gregory poked his head into the room.
"You guys alright?" He was answered only with louder laughter. Shaking his head, Gregory walked up the stairs. "Kids..."
***
The next morning, Coach swung around and picked up Alan. The roads in their development were clear enough now for a minimal amount of traffic, but not enough for schools to re-open. Consequently, J was bored. Well, by the afternoon she was bored. An entire morning filled with whipping guys' butts at snow wars got dull, and besides, it just wasn't the same without Alan to pummel mercilessly with snowball after snowball.
So it wasn't long before J ended up at Coach's. Yoast let her in, informing her that last he'd checked (about an hour ago) Alan was still asleep, but she was welcome to go in and check again if she chose. That J did. She cracked open the door in Alan's room to find him half-sitting, half-laying in his bed. His eyes were focused on the window, but it was clear his mind was elsewhere. "Got a case of cabin fever?" she asked, announcing her presence.
Alan's head whipped around at the sound of her voice. He managed only to give her a weak smile in return. Immediately J's face softened. She walked softly over to Alan's bed and sat down on it next to him, feeling his forehead with her hand. "Well, you don't have a fever...how are you feeling?" Alan looked up at her and shrugged. J shook her head at him. "That doesn't help. Does your arm hurt at all? What about your head? Are you achy anywhere?" Alan just shrugged again.
J frowned and squeezed his hand. "What's wrong? You seemed to be getting better last night. What happened?" She studied Alan's face closely, then reached over to the other side of his bed, grabbed a pillow, and whacked him with it. "Jerk!" she exclaimed, laughter in her voice. "Acting this entire time so you get your girlfriend to fawn over you, right?" Alan's only reply was another smile, and a returning smack with a pillow. Soon an all-out war followed. J's war cries and Alan's laughter could be heard clearly all the way downstairs. Coach glanced up from the book he was reading and shook his head to himself. "Kids..."
The End
Alrighty, I hope that you had as much fun reading this as I had fun writing it. and do you know what would be a lot of fun too? Reviewing! Yaaay! So c'mon kids, let's all review!! Or I'll sing the review song…and believe me, you don't wanna hear me sing…
