Encore

"What are you guys doing here?" Ellie asked, excited as hugged them so tight that she was sure their eyes would pop out of their heads. She smiled wide and took them by the hands and turned to the reception desk nurse, "Penny, can I show them around?"

The nurse smiled, "sure Ellie, let me give them visitor passes first." Penny slid two visitor badges over the counter of the desk and Marco and Ashley clipped them to their shirts. Ellie smiled wider as she dragged them down the hall.

The laid back feel, made Ashley feel a bit better about being in a hospital. It was something about hospitals and people being in pain that made her spine shiver; hospitals just weren't her favorite place to be. "I thought hospitals made you all nervy Ash?" Ellie asked as she noticed Ashley seemed a bit more relaxed.

"They do," Ashley answered, "but this doesn't seem like much of one."

"It's relaxed, I like it here…" Ellie admitted as she opened the door to her and Verity's room. " This is mine and Verity's room," she announced walking into the tidy room, apart from her books scattered across her bed and some clothes on the floor by her dresser, "sorry about the mess."

Marco smiled, "almost like home," he said laughing.

"Hi," perked a quiet voice from the other side of the room. Verity was on her bed with Jerzy and Jane. She smiled, but from what Ellie noticed he didn't seem like her heart was in it. "I'm Verity," she said, and pointed to "Jerzy and Jane." Ash and Marco smiled politely as Ellie tugged them from the room. She led them all over the building and ended finally back in her and Verity's room, which was now empty. The three sat down on her bed.

"How's everything back at old DCS?" Ellie asked smiling as she curled her legs underneath her.

"Geometry is brutal without you El," Marco confessed, nudging her with his shoulder and smiling.

"Believe me I know, Orion has to help me with my geometry since I don't Sean to help me." Ellie said exhaustedly on the topic of geometry.

" I never would have thought Sean was good with numbers" Ashley said.

" Sean's good with a lot of things," Ellie answered, "you just underestimate him, Ash." Ashley blushed with embarrassment, "speaking of Sean, how is he?"

"Sean's good," Ashley answered, "Emma's really been a good shoulder for him, lately."

Ellie bit her lip. Sean and Emma. Emma and Sean. It could have tied knots in her stomach, should have tied knots in her stomach, but thinking about it, and after seeing him and Emma during their visit she felt relieved that Sean had a friend he could rely on. Not that Jay wasn't a good friend, or that he couldn't rely on Alex or Towerz, but Emma was someone that knew Sean from the inside out. Suddenly Ellie felt a bit awkward about it.

"Els?" Ash asked, "you in there?"

Ellie turned back to Ash and smiled, "yea, so do you guys want to meet the whole gang before visiting hours end?" she asked.

Ellie slid off the bed and led Marco and Ashley down the hall to the common room where they found Verity and Jerzy talking in the corner intimately while Jane, Leslie, Max and Orion were spread across the couches in front of the television set. Ellie led Ashley and Marco in front of the television set and introduce them to the group, ending on "Orion" he said introducing himself to Ellie's guests.

"Nice to finally meet you" Ashley said.

"Nice to finally meet the two people other than Sean that milady talks about" Orion said goofily kissing Ashley's hand. Ashley blushed.

Ellie punched Orion gently in the arm, "she's got a boyfriend Orion," Ellie laughed.

"What about you?" Orion asked sweetly turning his attention to Marco, flirting playfully. Marco blushed, "I'm not single, and I don't think you're my type."

Ellie fell on the couch onto Max's lap and he hugged her waist and played with his fingerless gloves, "Orion, can you please stop flirting with my friends?" she asked. Orion sighed and silently agreed as he offered Marco and Ashley a seat.

"So that's him? Marco?" Max whispered into Ellie's ear. Ellie nodded, "he's cute," he whispered again smiling in her ear, "I can totally see why you were into him."

"Hey you two…stop whispering!" Marco shouted, laughing.

"So you two hail from where exactly?" Jane asked dryly.

"small town in Toronto" Ashley answered.

"anywhere near Riverdale?" Jane asked, "that's where I'm from."

"We're closer to St James Town than anything else," Ashley answered.

"true…so what's it like on the outside?" Leslie asked, "I've been dying to go to Eaton Centre, I'm dying for a shopping trip," she giggled.

Ellie shook her head. It was just like Leslie to be well…such a girl. Ellie turned her attention while everyone chatted towards Verity and Jerzy in the corner. The usually bubbly and talkative girl looked miserable. Ellie noticed the small things that stuck out like how her eyes had changed from a usual azure blue to a sallow grey, and the purple in her hair was beginning to fade, and despite how much she ate, Verity's body just wasn't gaining weight. She noticed how Verity would lean into Jerzy's broad chest and just rest herself there, between his arms as he tried to soothingly rub her back.

"ELLIE?"

Ellie spun her head around to face Ashley and Marco as she stood prepared to leave. Ellie smiled and slid off Max's lap before walking them back to the reception desk to return their visitor passes.

"Bye guys," she said, hugging them each tightly, "I'm glad you guys came."

"No problem mi amore" Marco said kissing her cheek, "you'll be out of here in no time, and I'm going to take you shopping," he said giggling.

"And you…" Ashley began, "are going to help me with a new project me and Mark are working on." Ellie looked at her friend strangely. "…Mark plays guitar, among various other instruments, but his vocals harmonize so amazingly with mine…"

"get to the point Ash…" Ellie said laughing.

" …we need a drummer, and I remember you mentioned once that you used to drum before you picked up bass and guitar…"

"Ash, I haven't drummed in like years," Ellie answered, her heart was beating quickly as she got excited about playing music, about being back with her friends.

"well you still have your kit right?"

Ellie thought for a moment, "yea…somewhere in the attic, Dad spend almost a grand on that kit, always the best for my Elliebear, he used to say, wouldn't let me part with it, I guess he knew I'd start again someday."

Ashley smiled, "well look, we'll talk about this when you get back, we'll make it a summer project."

Ellie smiled.

"you know with you, Ellie, and Mark you're going to put Downtown Sasquatch out of…" Marco had to think for a moment about what he was trying to say, "you're going to take our fans away."

Ellie laughed and hugged him, "you know they'll still come to see you, hot stuff." Ellie ruffled his hair and kissed him on the cheek.

"Bye guys" she said waving as her friends walked out the front doors.

-X-

Ellie walked back to the common room and curled up next to Orion on an empty couch. She sighed heavily, her heart worrying about her roommate, who had grown to be one of her closest friends at the moment. "Do you think Verity's okay?" she whispered, leaning her head on his shoulder. Orion looked down at her and pushed his glasses further up his nose and mussed up her red hair.

"I dunno, only she knows if she's okay," he answered. He paused for a moment, "thine eyes I love, and they, as pitying me, knowing they heart torments me with …"

"…spouting shakespeare's words again Orion?" she asked.

"disdain, have put on black and loving mourners be" he smiled.

"sonnet one-thirty-two" Ellie answered.

"lovely milady"

A nurse walked into the common room, "lights out in fifteen." Ellie frowned and sat up straight and slid off the couch before offering a hand to Orion, who walked her to her room.

"Looking with pretty ruth upon my pain. And truly not the morning sun of heaven better becomes the grey cheeks of the east," he continued.

"Nor that full star that ushers in the even doth half that glory to the sober west, as those two mourning eyes become they face" she interrupted.

" O, let it then as well beseem they heart to mourn for me, since mourning doth thee grace, and suit thy pity like in every part."

"Then will I swear beauty herself is black and all they foul that they complexion lack," she finished. She smiled as they reached her door and she reached her arms up and around his neck and hugged him tight, "thank you for being my friend," she whispered in his ear. Her warm breath tickling as she moved her lips to peck his cheek. He suddenly turned his head and his lips met with hers. He kissed her. She kissed him back. Her arms slipped from around his neck and her feet flattened against the floor and he leaned down and forward, backing her into the wall. His palms slammed against the wall as kissed her harder.

Ellie's heart was racing, "he's kissing me, he's kissing me…oh my…I'm kissing him," she thought to herself, "and I like it…do I like it?" Ellie wasn't sure how she was feeling. She was kissing a boy, who wasn't Sean. Sean, whom she loved, Sean who was always there for her, Sean her current ex-boyfriend.

And then she moaned.

And she wasn't sure if she meant to do that or not.

Ellie broke away, "Orion?"

"Hm?" he asked, standing up straight, his eyes closed.

" I think it's lights out" she said, mentally smacking her forehead.

"Yea,…I'll…see you around milady," he said walking away, "g'night"

Ellie slowly eased herself into her room, "g'night," she said softly before closing her door and crawling to her dresser and pulling on a pair of gray sweats and a t-shirt and sliding into her bed in the dark.

"Ellie?" Verity sniffled in the dark.

"Yea Ver?" Ellie responded, rolling over in her bed towards the sound of her roommate's voice, "you okay?" she asked, as she picked up on the sound of sobbing.

"I…could you…would you come lay with me?" she said innocently, while wiping away tears that were brimming in her eyes.

Ellie climbed from her bed and walked over to Verity's bed, "Sure Ver," she said before crawling onto the bed next to the sobbing figure and gently stroking her long hair in an attempt to make her sobbing cease. As Ellie hugged and comforted her roommate she wished that Verity would get one night of sweet dreams and a good sleep this week.

-X-

"Hey Very…very gorgeous" Max said sweetly as he plopped down at the breakfast table next to Verity. Verity smiled weakly as she played with the soggy omelet on her plate. Jerzy slipped up behind Verity and rubbed shoulders with his one hand while setting his glass of orange juice down on the table in front of the empty seat next to her.

"Hey babe" he said sitting down, "you okay today?" he asked.

"I'm okay for the most part," Verity answered, "I'm gunna talk to Bronsen later."

"That's a girl," Jerzy said before taking a sip of his orange juice.

Verity smiled.

Across the table Orion and Ellie could barely look at each other. Both would occasionally toss a few glances at each other in between bites, but never when the other was watching. It was driving Max nuts to see it. He was sure something happened when Orion stumbled into the room seconds before one of the Nurses strolled by for light's out check-in. He didn't want them awkward with each other, he wanted them making out with each other. He giggled to himself as Ellie took her billionth glance in Orion's direction that morning. "I'm a genius," he said softly allowed to himself.

"What?" Leslie asked staring at him as she caught him talking to himself.

And then Ellie couldn't take it anymore, "Orion, can I talk to you…out in the hall?"

Orion blushed red, "um, okay, milady."

Ellie grabbed his hand and drug him into the hallway outside the cafeteria, "what happened last night…it can't happen again."

"what?" he asked confused.

" the kiss, whatever it was, I can't…we can't, Sean" Ellie was panicking. Her heart was going in two places at once, and suddenly she felt herself being pulled into a hug.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I shouldn't have."

Ellie started to cry from confusion, "I wasn't thinking, I shouldn't have kissed back, I'm stupid, so stupid."

Orion pulled awa and tiled her chin up to look at him, "don't say that Ellie, you're not stupid. You're intelligent, beautiful, and Sean is a very lucky man to have your heart."

Ellie sniffled.

Orion bent down and kissed his nose.

Ellie sniffled again.

Orion stood up straight again and gazed into Ellie's eyes.

Ellie sniffled.

Orion bent down and gently pressed his lips to Ellie's.

Ellie kissed him.

Ellie wrapped her arms around his neck as he pushed forward and into the wall.

A different wall this time, and he kissed her.

Ellie kissed him hard.

Suddenly Ellie broke away, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be"

"We can't do this anymore."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't love you like I love Sean."

Orion leaned against the wall, one hand supporting his weight. He sighed. Ellie slipped away from the wall. She walked back into the cafeteria as she watched Orion pinch the bridge of his nose. He spun around leaned his back against the wall, "stupid Orion…stupid."