HELLO! NO THIS IS NOT A NEW CHAPTER! Sorry. I kinda changed things a little so I deleted the last chapter. This is the new version of the chapter. I'm gonna put an author's note at the bottom pretty much telling you what's up with my life cause right now, I don't think any of you are in the mood to listen to me. ENJOY.

Chapter 16

I woke up to warmth filling my throat. I swallowed the liquidy substance and I heard a gasp.

Mara: Nina?

I groaned and shifted my weight. I found myself lying on a soft surface, nothing like the hard forest floor I remember. Where am I? I finally mustered enough strength to open my eyes. The first thing I saw was the white ceiling. Next, I saw Mara with relief on her face.

Mara: You're alive!

I tried to say something, but as soon as I opened my mouth, more warm liquid flowed down my throat.

Mara: No talking. You're still sick. What were you thinking?! You ran out to the forest and nearly froze over!

Nina: I-

Another spoonful of warmth went through.

Mara: Do you have any idea how worried I was? It took Fabian two hours to find you! The poor guy's been spending most of his weekends by your side.

Nina: Weekends?

Mara: Ya. Nina, you've been unconscious for three weeks.

I bolted forward and sat up straight.

Nina: Three weeks?!

Mara: Ya. You've been in this bed for three weeks, unresponsive. I'm so glad you woke. I was ready to give up.

Nina: Thanks for not-

She put another spoonful in my mouth.

Mara: Just eat your hot soup.

She continued to feed me and the awkward silence settled in slowly. Suddenly, there was a knock. The door opened and Trudy walked in, her back to us. She was carrying a tray with food on it. It's probably for Mara. She gasped and dropped tray, food clashing against the floor.

Trudy: Nina! You're alive!

Nina: Geez, thanks, Trudy.

She came over and smiled slightly.

Trudy: Sorry dearie. We've been worried, that's all. Honestly, that sweet boy should be here right now. He would love to see you awake.

Nina: Boy? What boy?

Trudy: Well, there's a boy who comes here every day and sits in that chair, holding your hand. He's always here for about an hour and he never lets go of your hand. It's very sweet.

Nina: Did the boy have brown hair and blue eyes?

Trudy: Yes, yes he does.

Nina: That's what I thought.

I turned to Mara and glared at her.

Nina: You said he only came on weekends. Why?

Mara: Nina, I'm trying to help him out.

Nina: What do you mean?

Mara: The night he saved you, we had a heart to heart conversation. He's gonna keep his distance from now on.

Nina: What? Why?

Mara: Let's just say that Joy's little show-and-tell moment didn't go unnoticed by a lot of the kids at the party. He's been getting questions nonstop and everyone is teasing him.

Nina: Teasing him? Why? It was MY diary Joy read.

Mara: Apparently, a lot of the guys think it's hilarious that he likes you and your diary wasn't helpful to his "I like her but she's too strong" situation and all the girls are bashing him for "liking a bitch as broken as you".

Nina: Let me guess, Joy is leading the female troops?

Mara: She's leading it all. She wants him to get away from you so she can make her move on him.

Nina: Isn't that what he's doing?

Mara: Well, he's been trying, but he hasn't been successful. He can't help but visit you every day.

Trudy: Ah, young love.

Nina: Trudy!

Trudy: Come now, Mara, we should leave Nina to her thoughts.

Mara nodded and followed her out the door. Trudy stuck her head through the door way quick enough to say something before closing the door behind her. It took me a minute to realize what she had said.

Trudy: He'll be here in about five minutes, so be ready.

I got out of the bed and decided to change clothes, the smell of soup coming off my clothes. I got in to a black sundress and black flip flops. My hair was still curly, even three weeks after the party. I just let it loose to give it some air to breathe. There was a knock on the door and I remained quiet, already knowing who it was. I turned around as Fabian opened the door and looked at the bed. Confusion covered his face and his eyes finally caught mine. He opened his mouth in awe and ran to me, lifted and twirling me around in a hug. Let's just say that my feet didn't touch the ground for a good five minutes. When he finally let me down, he held me by my forearms, afraid that I would fall.

Fabian: Nina, how are you feeling? Are you alright? God, I've been so worried! Why did you run in to the woods? Do you know how long it took me to find you? Two hours, Nina, plus these past three weeks. I was starting to think I was losing you.

Nina: Fabian, I know. I've been told. I guess I screwed up.

Fabian: Nina, I swear, if you weren't so amazing, I wouldn't be here right now.

I chuckled and hit him lightly.

Nina: I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you. I would've been a Nina-sicle. Thank you so much for rescuing me and… I know about the daily visits.

He scratched the back of his neck and blushed.

Fabian: Well, you're my best friend and-

Nina: Amber didn't visit me every day and she's one of my besties. Why did you?

Fabian: I, well, I-

Nina: You've been trying to keep your distance. How has that been working out for you?

He lowered his head and tried to hide his face with his hair. I crossed my arms, feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Fabian: I….they're relentless. The teasing never stops. And I can't stand alone against it.

I released my arms and stepped towards him. Lifting his chin, I kissed him on the cheek. His eyes widened and he looked at me like a deer caught in the head lights.

Nina: Who said you had to stand alone? After all, I'm going back to school tomorrow. You'll have me.

Fabian: ...They're going to try to destroy you. They're going to try to break you.

Nina: Fabian, you can't break what's already broken.

His eyes softened and he wrapped me in a hug. He held me tight, as though I could disappear at any second. I smiled and lifted my lips to his ear.

Nina: I'm not going anywhere. You were there for me, so I should be there for you. That's what friends are for, right?

The second I said the word 'friends', my heart twisted slightly. I felt his arm loosen slightly but he immediately tightened it again. I know that I like him and that he likes me, but nothing's changed between us. Maybe I'm not the only one who really wants to be something more than friends. Maybe I'm not the only one who wants things to change.

There. That's much better than killing Fabina. It was just killing me to leave it like that. Anyways, author's note time!

Author's Note/ Long List of Excuses and Complaints

For those of you who are NOT in high school yet, YOU ARE ALL LUCKY DUCKS. ENJOY LIFE WHILE YOU CAN. Ya. I'm a freshman in high school and let me tell you, it's the biggest challenge I've ever faced. I mean, I love it but it's a lot of work. Like, A LOT OF WORK. And the drama...oh God, the drama.

I ended up in a love thingy where I became the new girl in this group and I liked my bestest guy friend and the other girl in the group had liked him for 3 damn years and one of his close guy friend liked him too. So it was me, this awesome gay guy who is now one of my bestest guy friends on Earth even though he can get bitchy, and this obsessive girl who hates me with a burning passion. The girl threatened me for about a month, ignored me, glared at me, made me feel like shit, and blamed me for everything that went bad. The gay guy moved on, got a boyfriend, and he's happy. My bestest guy friend (the one who everyone is crushing on) ended up having a crush on me even though I didn't find out til much later and we made a mutual decision to date after we accidentally snuggled and realized it felt too natural to just be brushed off. So, now, she's depressed with the fact that we're dating, she hates me, she hates him, she hates everything, and she's going to another school next year. My gay friend had his 2 month anniversary about a week or two ago and he's extremely happy even though he can still be a bitch at times (mostly to me, kinda cause I annoy him XD ). And as for me and my boyfriend, we've been together for a month and a half now, we've had our first date, we've even had our first kiss. And honestly, it was the best decision I ever made. So, ya. Drama. I still can't believe how well it ended for me, though. Looks like things are starting to work out. :-)

So ya. Life.

See you all soon!

Winx12566 ;-) 3

Keep checking my profile for any new updates on my actual return! ;-)