Sorry this took a while, but hope you like it ^.^
*Max's POV*
I can't believe I have to go to school, I have a cracked rib and I have to go to school. This is unbelievable. Fang, however is relaxing in a hospital bed having people send him grapes and get well soon cards. He was fine when I saw him, though I didn't get to talk to him with Lissa hanging onto him. How did she even know he was in hospital? She's a clingy freak is what she is.
I trudge to maths and sit down next the Rochelle, she turns her head to me.
"heya Max" she says.
"Rochelle" I nodd
"Hey Max, what type of music do you like?"
"um, well I kind of like all music"
"ah cool, cause my friend and his band are playing tomorrow night and I thought you might want to go with me"
"uh yeah, that would be cool" I say and smile at her. We chat for a little bit about bands and video-games until Miss Barn comes into the classroom and starts the maths lesson.
Rochelle invites me to sit with her are lunch. "sorry I can't" I say "I'm hanging with my friend Ig-Jeff"
"Oh come on, bring Igeff along"
"it's Jeff, just Jeff. Sorry I was using his nickname"
"um okaaaay" Rochelle always has her light blonde hair tied back into a very high pony tail. She wears usually black trousers or jeans with a t-shirt and a navy or black blazer. She always looks very smart and her clothes are kind of a feminine spin of a two-piece suit. She doesn't wear any make-up except for a small flick at the edge of her green eyes. "But bring him, everyone's kinda all bleh, and you're cool so I'm guessing this Jeff is too" she smiles at me and we go get some lunch. I look over to the corner of the lunch hall and she the flash of head hair that is Lissa. I think about how she was leaning over Fang in his bed and internally shudder. Because of her I didn't get to speak to Fang, we were all rushed out of his room and I was sent home just about the time we finished all the cake Iggy and Gazzy 'found'. I need to talk to him, I need to say how grateful I am, I need to hug him and make sure he's okay, I need to tell him off, I need to- the kiss. I kissed Fang. I gulp as the sudden realisation hits me. I liked it. I liked it a lot. Do I like Fang? I don't know, I don't think so. I don't. He's my pal, my best friend forever. Our mums always joked that when we grew up we'd probably end up going out, but I didn't think I'd ever feel that way about me. No, I don't like him; the kiss was like friendship kiss because I was so glad to see him- yeah that's it.
I look around the hall "there's Iggy- Jeff, I mean Jeff" I say to Rochelle. We go and sit next to him, "Hi Igs" I say "um I mean Jeff"
"Who else is here?" He asks, he knows I only call him Jeff around other people.
"Rochelle, from my maths class"
"Hey" Rochelle says, as Tess sits down with us
"oh hi Jeff" Tess says
"Tess? Long time, no see" he says then laughs "I mean long time, no hear" Rochelle gives a confused look to Tess.
"We get the same bus" Tess explains.
"Hey Jeff, I was saying how our friend's band is playing tomorrow night, do you want to come?"
"cool, yeah if Max is going" Iggy says a bit unsure of himself. He is always up for anything, but he doesn't like new environments much with lots of new people. "Are you going Max?" He looks to me, like managing to look at me in the eyes, they're super light blue.
"yeah, we'll go together" I say reassuringly, I see a small smile rise from Iggy's face.
"cool" he says "who is this band anyway?" he asks
"my friend Red, he plays the drums, then the other band members are called Kim, Jean, and Lucille. I don't know them very well"
"I know Lucille" Tess says "she plays the bass and is the lead singer, um I think he said Jean plays like 5 different instruments, I'm not sure about Kim"
"I'm not sure either, maybe she sings as well?" Rochelle asks
"maybe" Tess says.
Tess and Rochelle seem really cool. They're very chatty to each other so it's hard to get in a word edgewise. Iggy and I laugh along with them, we're used to be the ones doing all the talking due to Fang not being a talker, so this is good.
*Fangs POV*
I lie back down on my hospital bed, they won't let me go yet. I feel fine, I can stand up but I have to pull a metal thing on wheels along for my IV- which I don't even need as I feel fine. I had a small amount internal bleeding around my stomach area. Both my mum and dad, um I mean my mum and Ian, are at work. I lay back on my bed, and ow ow ow. My sides do hurt quite a bit, to think of it my legs are kind of throbbing.
Having everyone around was a good distraction from the hospital, but now they're gone I start to feel sick every so often, I close my eyes to distract myself from the needle in my arm. I feel like I just swallowed a rock, and the tips of my fingers get all tingly. I press the button to get a nurse to come over.
"Hello" he says and props me up into a sitting position. "I think you need a rest from the IV" he takes off the tape and slowly removes the needle, I grit my teeth but feel a lot better now it's removed. He puts a bandage on it and presses down. I lay down and sigh, it's such a relief. "Now in your IV there was a mix of pain killers and saline solution, your internal bleeding was nothing to worry about as any physical signs of blood loss have gone, so though we can't discharge you yet you're going onto a different pain killer and no drip. Your doctor will prescribe the painkiller later" he pauses "Are you going to eat anything today?" I shake my head, I didn't want to eat any of the cakes that Iggy and Gazzy brought and I still don't want to eat today. The nurse sighs. "You gotta eat some time. If you don't you'll have to go back on the drip" he gives me a smile "I'll help you fill in your dinner form. Do you want chicken nuggets, sandwich or soup?"
"soup"
"okay, and do you want that with some chips?"
"no"
"come on you have to have some more than just soup, the chips here are really nice, you won't regret it"
"fine" I say
"great, and for pudding do you want yoghurt, fruit, or a brownie?" my stomach aches, I can still feel where it was kicked and punched. A brownie sounds nice, but I just imagine eating anything and I feel sick. I think I'll just pick that to make the nurse happy.
"A brownie, please" I say
"okay, that's great. I know hospitals make you feel sick, but you haven't eaten for a while and you need food to heal" he smiles again, it's really hard to hate him. I don't want to eat, but I know he's right.
An hour later the food arrives on a red plastic tray, it does smell good. The soup is tomato and the chips do smell really nice. I eat about a quarter of the soup and half of the chips. I pick of the brownie and go in to smell it, then it hits me, the stale smell of the poorly ventilated room, the pang of disinfectant. I drop the brownie back on the plate. My meal came with a bottle of water and a glass of orange juice, I drink them down quickly then put my head under the covers of my bed. I close my eyes and hope I ate enough to not be put back onto the IV drip. I drift off.
*3rd Person*
"What do you mean mum?" Fang looks up at him mother. She puts her head in her hands.
"we have no money" she whispers angrily, Fang pauses and looks at the bottle of coke he took from the shelf of the supermarket.
"oh" he says and puts it back "sorry, it's okay I'll drink water" Chloe looks down at her son and smiles
"no, I'm sorry". Between not being able to work and doctors bills Chloe has to of made some sacrifices, living on a very tight budget. "come on, we just need bread, eggs, milk, a few packs of noodles and then some tinned vegetables" She says knowing she only has exactly thirteen dollars and seventy three cents.
They buy the food they need and walk home, it starts to rain. Chloe drops the bags of shopping and kneels down on the floor, she starts to cry. Fang goes up to her and looks her in the eyes, then hugs her.
"come on mum, you need to go to bed" He looks at his pale mother, her hair limp and with bags under her eyes. "mum, please you'll catch a chill, your immune system" Fang hugs her close "mum, come on" he tries to stay strong. "mum" he feels his mothers tears on his shirt touch his skin, he takes hold of her wrists "mum please" he says and looks into her eyes.
"I'm so sorry" Chloe cries "I'm so sorry you have to deal with me"
"mum, no, please don't say that" Fang, though only eight years old understands the severity of his mothers condition. She has cancer, she has no income, Val is paying their rent but can't do much more for them, him and his mother are living on the bare minimum. Fang swallows and tells himself to stay strong. He pulls on his mothers skinny arms to pull her up, her legs are wet from kneeling on the ground. He takes the shopping and his mothers hand and they both go home.
When they arrive home they find a care package from the charity; inside for Fang is a pair of used trainers, a notepad and crayons and a hand-knitted jumper; for Chloe there's a hat, a blonde wig and a comforter. The package also has some soap, shampoo and a lasagne for them to reheat. Chloe smiles.
Twice a week Chloe has a hospital appointment, Fang has to go with her. He watches behind a screen as his mother goes into machines, gets injections and given pills. Then every night after the appointment sits outside the bathroom as he hears her throw up. His mother comes out.
"Nick, you're supposed to be asleep"
"I know" she sighs and comes to his eye level
"Look Nick, I think it's better if you don't come to my appointments with me. Val says she's switched her shifts so she can look after you while I attend them. Hey wouldn't you rather play with Max then be in that smelly hospital?"
"you can't go alone"
"Nick. I'm not. You can't come with me, I know you want to be there, but you don't like it there, it's making you upset"
"no it's not"
"it is Nick" Chloe starts to raise her voice "you're not coming with me any more and that's final"
"but I can handle it" Chloe stands up straight and puts her hand on her forehead.
"Nick, please, will you do this for me?" Nick looks down sadly and nods
"Thank you, you're a good boy" She says and takes him to his bedroom, knowing that he'll only creep into her bed later. "night night, sweet dreams" she says, then blows into the room as she flicks the light switch off, so it looks like she blew out the light.
"Night" Fang says, and rolls over in his bed.
*Fang's POV*
"Fang" I open my eyes. "Hi Fang" I blink a few times and see it's no one other than Iggy.
"Hi" I say and sit up, and oh god, the IV is back in my hand. I try to ignore it. "where's Max?" Iggy rolls his eyes.
"Oh come on no what's up? Just straight onto where's Max? Do you even care about me?" Iggy says starting to raise his voice. I feel a bit taken aback.
"um sorry, it's just-" I feel the IV twitch in my hand "sorry I just haven't spoken to her since the accident, and I kind of want to talk to her. I still love you man, you know that" I don't want to talk anymore, I look at the IV again, I remember when my mum was in hospital and all the needles that went into her, I feel my eyes go all funny, I press the assistance button. "Iggy get a nurse" I say
"what? Are you-"
"please" I hear my breathing quicken, I can't control it. It's just like after the phone call I ad with Max. I have short little breaths over and over and I can't control it, my eyes start to water like I'm crying, but I'm not even sad. Iggy rushes out of the room.
"help, please" I hear him yell and a doctor runs in with my nurse.
"Okay Nick, can you hear me?" I close my eyes and nod, my chest starts to burn. "You're having a panic attack, I'm going to need you to try and control your breathing. I start to feel myself cry. "he's hyperventilating"
"Listen Nick, can you breathe with me, swallow when you breath in, it helps" my nurse says. I gulp and try to stop the air escaping from my lungs so quickly. It takes a few minutes, but I feel my breathing go back to normal. I curl into a ball and close my eyes.
"I think you should come back later" I hear my nurse says to Iggy "or stay and be really quiet so he can sleep"
"please can he stay" I whisper. God I sound so pathetic, I'm not a big fan of myself at the moment.
I open my eyes and Iggy is sitting next to me. "Hi" I say feeling a pain in my chest as I talk.
"Hey Fang, how are you feeling?" Iggy asks, he turns his head to me, he's wearing his sunglasses, which he hardly ever wears. "Sorry for panicking you" he says
"It wasn't you, it was the IV" I say
"Oh?" Iggy stands up and takes off his coat, her then reaches out and his hand hits the stand, he puts his coat on top of it. Then passes me his sunglasses. "Now you don't have to see it" I smile to him and put on the sunglasses.
"thank you Iggy"
"You asked where Max was,before. She's staying behind at school for her maths tutoring so she'll miss visiting hours. Your mum is looking after Nudge and revising for her test, but Ian can come see you just before his shift starts"
"okay cool" I'm really glad Iggy is here, but I would prefer it if none of us were here, I really just want to go home. I kind of want to see Lissa. But must importantly I just want to talk to Max.
*Max's POV*
"Hello Max, right are you ready to get started" Miss Barn asks, I nod "righty-o You just do some quick questions while we wait for your tutor, I'll be in the maths department office" I open up my book and have a look, we've started to transfer the equations into graphs, don't even ask me how that's possible. I was just starting to get the basic equations, now I have to turn them into graphs- I don't get it.
"Max, is it?" I look up from my table to see a buy with floppy hair and hazel eyes.
"yeah..."
"Hi, I'm Sam. I'm your tutor"
let me know what you thought. thanks for reading
-Jess x