"Wake up... WAKE UP... WAKE UP!" You forced your eyes open painfully as a voice pierced through your conscience. "W-wha- what? Why?" Your dry throat ached and your words cracked. The voice responded with an almost surprised tone. "What do you mean why? Didn't anyone ever tell you not to fall asleep with a concussion? Geez." You were so confused. Where am I? What happen- oh. Never mind. Memories rushed back to you , getting hit by your dad, passing out in the waiting room at the hospital, and then getting picked up by a strange guy about your age. Huh, interesting day.

Your hand reached up to touch your bandaged head carefully as your eyes flicked around the white walls and decor in the small hospital room before landing on a young man sitting in a chair at the foot of the bed. It was the guy from before. You sat up slightly, wincing, and studied him as his eyes watched you. His appearance was that of a typical jock. Build: strong. Hair: perfect shade of gold. Face: handsome. Eyes: a blue deep enough to swim in. Not exactly your piece of pie. Especially with the next words that came out of his mouth.

"So... am I gonna get a thank you, or is that a no go?" Okay, wow. That's attractive. Your eye twitched slightly with irritation. You said nothing. He was obviously waiting for a response. You felt your glare sharpen slightly at his expectantly raised eyebrows. I am so not in the mood for this. You sighed, irritation creeping 'unintentionally' into your voice. "I don't even know if I should dignify that with a response."

He uncrossed his arms and raised his hands into the air in sarcastic surrender. "Whoa Nelly! Stop the presses, we got ourselves a chick with an attitude!" Your glare had become a full on scowl. "What exactly would I be thanking you for?" He smirked. "For carrying the 'damsel in distress' to her room, of course." You felt a slight blush creep into your cheeks. "Don't they have gurneys for that?" He smiled. "Sure, but what kind of a hero would I be if I let the lady who passed out in my arms ride away from me on a majestic, rolling bed."

The scowl slipped off your face (despite desperate attempts to keep it there) and a genuine laugh actually managed to sneak it's way out of your mouth. He smiled again as you calmed down and sighed in defeat. "My name's Alfred. Alfred F. Jones. Miss..." he scooted back in his chair and craned his head to read the clipboard attached to the foot of the bed "(f/n) (l/n). Huh, pretty." Your eyebrows pulled together again. "Don't you have better places to be than sitting in the hospital room flirting with a complete stranger whose brain is suffering from way too much physical engagement?"

His smile grew to a grin. "You're not a stranger. I know exactly who you are." You frowned. "But I don't know-" "Mattie." He interrupted. You were confused. "Okay, what about him?" "You've sat with him everyday at lunch since you started school last week." Well, that's a little... stalker-ish. You shifted uncomfortably, "How do you know that?" He laughed, a warm, rich, and care free sound. "Don't look so creeped out! Mathew is my little brother. Well, step brother that is."

You were still confused. Stupid concussion. "Okay, and...?" He sighed, "Mattie's kinda... different. Not in a bad way, of course! He's shy and quiet so he doesn't really fit in with many people. He'd sit with me at lunch, but my friends... aren't exactly all that welcoming to him. No matter how many times I've told them to cut him some slack, they still get pretty harsh. I hated seeing him sit alone under that maple tree all the time, 'cause I'm supposed to look out for him, you know?"

He stopped momentarily and took a deep breath, watching you. "Last week, when I glanced under that tree and saw him sitting and laughing with someone... you have no idea how happy I was." His face was serious. "I asked him who you were the next night at dinner, he smiled for the first time in forever, looked back down at his plate and said, 'A friend'..." You and Alfred were both silent for a moment. Him in his serious state of mind and you in surprise. He adjusted his hands in his lap and clenched his fists tightly. Alfred fidgeted and looked away, but as he did, you thought you saw shame reflected in his eyes. "Thank you for doing what I didn't, and for being the friend he needs and deserves." You blinked several times before answering him, almost as if you were trying to clear the shock out of your mind. "You're welcome."

Several moments of awkward silence later, a doctor in a white medical coat strode into the room. "So young lady, how are you feeling?" You looked down at your folded hands resting in your lap. "Fine." His expression wasn't surprised, almost as if he had been expecting that answer. "Do you recall exactly what happened, or is your memory feeling a little faulty?" You hesitated. Your memory was fine, but you obviously couldn't tell them what had happened. He'd kill me for sure...

"I-I was cooking something and I had to climb up onto our counter to reach... the flour... out of one of the cabinets. I must have lost my balance and, um, knocked the bottle of beer off the counter and then fell into the broken glass..." Neither Alfred nor the doctor looked like they believed your story. "What kind of recipe uses beer and flour?" You looked at Alfred challengingly. "Shrimp. I was going to fry shrimp." His eyebrows raised further. "You live near school, right? Why did you walk all the way here by yourself?" You snapped at him, "Not everybody can get a ride at the drop of a hat, okay? My da-family, nobody in my family was home."

The room was silent for a minute. You looked to the doctor, careful to hide the nervousness you felt. One look into his eyes told you. He knew. He took a deep breath and let it out before he began to speak, "Well, he said, I guess you'll have to stay here for a couple of hours until someone in your... family... can come pick you up." Alfred opened his mouth to object but the two of them locked eyes and he slowly let his mouth close and he remained silent.

"Why don't we give her some time alone to rest, okay Alfred?" Your eyebrows raised questioningly. Why do they act like they know each other? Alfred caught your expression and sighed. "(f/n), this is my dad. Dad, this is Mattie's friend." The doctor's eye's lit up delightedly. "Ah! It's a pleasure to meet the girl who has helped to make my son so happy!" You flushed slightly. "Dad! Please, let's not embarrass anyone today, okay?" Alfred's dad playfully reached over and caught him in a headlock. "Embarrassing? Who you callin' embarrassing, son?" Alfred laughed and returned the horseplay lightly. "Please, old man! You couldn't take me if I wanted to let you win!"

"Ahem." A nurse stood with crossed arms in the doorway. "Gentlemen, a hospital is hardly the place for roughhousing." Alfred was released immediately and both the men rose to their feet apologetically. "Sorry ma'am." Wow, at the same time... Someone was raised well. The nurse continued. "Let's let Miss (l/n) get some rest okay?" She shooed the two of them quickly out of the room. Alfred twisted his head and called out to you a second before he was shoved into the hall. "Talk to you later, (f/n)!"

The nurse smiled kindly at you and started checking the only monitor that you were hooked up to. She showed you a little signal on the screen. "If you fall asleep, the alarm will sound and a nurse will come to wake you up, okay? Call if you need anything dearie." She bustled out of the room, moving on to her next patient in a hurry. You sighed and layed back into the bed. Thank God this day is almost over...

"You know, it's a real shame you didn't get to finish your 'shrimp', doll face. I bet they would have been delicious... Plus, I can't imagine anything sexier than you dressed in an apron cookin' me dinner." And I spoke too soon... You sighed and looked at the man that now stood leaning lazily against the door frame. "Hello Allen." He grinned, shoved his hands into his pockets, and confidently came into the room to stop at the foot of your bed. "Why are you here?" He tilted his head, gesturing vaguely down the hallway. "My brother got himself into one hell of an ass whooping party playin' hockey. I brought that sorry piece of shit in so he could get stitches and a couple of splints. It just so happened, that while I was heading downstairs to get some hospital food, I saw that asshole carry you in here. I decided to hang around and I caught the drift of your conversation."

His grin disappeared and for the first time in nearly two weeks, you saw a look on Allen's face that contained neither sarcasm or anger. He came forward to stand at the side of your bed and your entire body tensed nervously. His hand reached out to lightly touch your bandaged head. You flinched away and made a soft, panicky sound. He murmured, "Hey, you're okay... I saw your face when they brought you in. Your dad really did a number on ya, huh?" You shushed him frantically, but he only snorted. "Calm down babe, nobodies around." Your breath still ended up coming out shallowly as you tried to calm yourself down. You covered up the slight panic in your voice the best you could. "You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" His face scrunched up in surprise. After a moment, he rested his palm against your cheek. Before you could stop him, he leaned in and pressed a kiss against your forehead. Your mind went blank.

"I won't tell if you don't want me to... on one condition. If he hurts you again; if you get scared, you have to call me. I don't care when it is, where it is, or how far away I am. I will get to you as soon as I possibly can." He picked a pen up off the nightstand beside the hospital bed. Grasping your hand firmly, he proceed to scribble down his phone number across the back of your wrist. He straightened to full height and watched you attempt to rearrange the mush that had become your mind. He laughed, but it wasn't his 'tough guy' laugh. It was... sweet... almost gentle.

"People call me a lot of things, you know? A jackass, a prick, an idiot, but only a few people actually know the whole me. I'm stubborn. I will NEVER give up on something I want. Which, in case you didn't know, happens to be you." He winked. "The next bit is all simple logic. When I want something, I always get it. And nobody touches what belongs to me."

You straightened defensively. "I'm not yours!" He grinned again, this time the one you were familiar with. "Ha ha, not yet you ain't babe. But don't worry, I'm working on it." He spun on his heels and strode cockily over to the door. Before he had completely left the room, he looked over his shoulder and his eyes softened slightly, "Don't worry gorgeous, you got somebody watchin' your back now." He flashed his missing canine and then he was gone.

You were absolutely and utterly... Uggh, okay, I'm done. Just done! I can't deal with thinking about these... guys... anymore. I thought only girls could be this confusing. You rubbed your hands over your face and pushed your hair out of your eyes. Turning your head to the window, you realized you had the perfect view of the city and the dim stars shining above it. Well, I guess now's a great time to plan my weekend if I'm not gonna be able to sleep for God knows how long...

*Writer's Note- Ugh, oh my goodness! So. Tired. Need. Sleep. Please let me know if this chapter is a dragger... I kinda though it might be considering that I think I fell asleep while writing it... maybe? So if there's mistakes, yeah, that's why. I'll go back and fix them later when I re-read the chapter after it's posted. Anyway, hope you liked it! Peace-Berries and Beans