Chapter One: Dread
When Akihiko resurfaced, the pain had subsided faintly.
His once screaming muscles now felt as if the burned, and his head felt fuzzy. His eyelids felt as if they had sealed shut, though he was too exhausted to open them anyways.
What happened? he struggled to think.
Cautiously, he inhaled a few shallow breaths and attempted to calm his racing heart. He couldn't panic - Usami Akihiko was always calm, cool and collected.
He tried to focus his hearing on any noise he could hear. Pausing, he heard busy footsteps, the faraway sound of chit chat and even something similar sounding to a television, until the familiar pain began to spread throughout his skull.
He exhaled deeply, feeling drowsy once again.
I could really use a smoke right about now. he thought bitterly, before finally drifting off.
Aikawa Eri stiffened at the slight movement coming from her number one author's bed. She held her breath as his eyelids twitched slightly, and sighed as he went still once more.
Leaning back into the cushioned hospital chair, Aikawa groaned and stretched. Akihiko had been stone still for the past three days as she guarded him like a hawk.
"Boy, the things I do for you…" eyes traveling up and down her author once more, Aikawa stopped mid sentence as tears threatened to come again.
Her Usami-sensei looked truly terrible.
His legs were both plaster casted and elevated, and bruises and blotches covered his pale white arm from constant IV injections. Bandages covered his torso, hidden from view by the cheap hospital gown he was wearing. The worse part, Aikawa cringed thinking, was his head.
Thick gauze wrapped around his head multiple times, practically holding his skull together. A deep gash ran from the edge of his hairline to his right eyebrow. Various scrapes and bruises covered his cheeks and his eyes were sunken. The bits of his silver hair sticking out from under the gauze looked colorless and dull.
The once great and powerful Usami now looked feeble and damaged beyond repair.
Aikawa shivered at the thought.
Shaking her head as if to shake out her thoughts, she once again took a hold of the author's right hand. She gently turned it over and over in her own, brushing her thumb lightly over the scabbed knuckles and traced the spider-like veins that stood out through his paper white skin.
Her hands stilled, and tears began to fall on his hand, wet trails running off and falling to the floor as she cried.
Her biggest fear when Akihiko had arrived at the hospital was that he would die.
Her relief upon receiving news from the doctor that he would live had quickly been replaced by fear.
Because now, her biggest fear was when he would wake up.
"How am I going to tell him?! How am I going to tell him that-" she gasped and choked on the new sobs rising in her throat.
If she couldn't even bring herself to say the words while she was alone, how would she ever be able to say them when she woke up?
Aikawa was terrified.
And, as the sun began to set outside the hospital room windows, amongst all the hustle and bustle of nurses, doctors and patients, her quiet sobs could be heard until like her author next to her, she fell asleep - holding his hand.
Wahhhh hello hello hello! Is someone actually reading this?! I'm flattered...v/v
I hope you enjoyed it, this is my first time publishing fanfiction, so please go easy on me ^^"
I actually decided to publish this story in hopes I'd actually be motivated to continue writing it.
Even though this is just the first chapter (and the quick little prologue is uploaded, as well) I hope you stick around! I have a lot of ideas for this story, I really hope that I can sort them all out as I go along…
Also, I'm really bad at thinking up titles for things...sorry in advance…x.x
Anyways, if you're reading this, thank you so much for reading! It means a lot...maybe drop a review, eh? ehhhh? :3
-OopsIThoughtICouldFlyy