This was originally part of a big chapter but I realized I should break it up into a bunch of sections so I could post so here you go, even though it's short.

Review, lovelys!
-Tommy

Gordie squinted as white light filled his vision, his world coming into focus. He groaned, the right side of his head throbbing. His vision sharpened, and the white, cracked ceiling of a room pulled in and out of his eyes. He blinked hard a few times, tenderly wiping sleep from his eyes. He felt around the part of his socket where he had been hit. The skin was puffy and swollen, hardly making room for his eye to look out of. He sat up.

"Gordie!" A voice called. Gordie looked around the room. It was a large place, all-white walls all around, windows wide open, emitting startlingly bright light, and neatly-made, unoccupied beds. His mind began to register that this was the school infirmary. At the foot of his bed, his face smiling, his hair undone in an adorably messy way, and his cap hanging off the bed post, was Gavin.

"Woah, hey." Gordie croaked. Gavin rubbed his eyes, which were bloodshot from lack of sleep. "What are you doing here?"

Gavin shrugged.

"I kind of fell asleep here…" He admitted. "I was here practically all day yesterday. Your dad came. He says hey."

Gordie sat up a little more.

"Wait, what?" He asked, shaking his head. "My dad was here? Why? And why were you here?"

Gavin shrugged again.

"Just thought I'd hang around. You were kind of unconscious…" He laughed, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

"And…why was my dad here?" Gordie pressed. Gavin laughed again.

"Relax, man." He said with a smile. "He's your dad. You kind of got hit in the head with a baseball, I mean, he's sort of obliged to come and see you."

Gordie sat back.

"Right…" He muttered. "What did he say?"

"Just saw me here. Seemed kind of surprised. Said hi. Not much. He stayed here for a few minutes, and then he left." Gavin sat up in his chair, adjusted his stance and picked up his typewriter from the floor, beginning to type as he talked. "Seemed nice enough. Kind of uptight, though. He always like that?"

Gordie shrugged defeatedly.

"Yeah, kind of." He said with a sigh. Gavin nodded, then continued to type. Gordie leaned over, trying to catch what he was writing. His friend glanced up. "What you writing there?" Gordie asked, coming to hug his knees to his chest under the covers. Gavin smiled.

"Nothing much." He said. "Another story."

"Oh, really?" Gordie asked sneekishly, his hand jutting out to try and grab at the paper. "Can I see?"

Gavin pulled back quickly, glaring at him.

"No." He said. "Not unless you show me anything you write. It's bad enough I can't shun you out until you do so because all my work gets published in the paper. I'm allowed to have some secret writing if you have any."

Gordie made a face.

"God, alright." He said. "Was just asking…"

Gavin said nothing for a few moments as Gordie watched him, his fingers typing at lightning speed across the keyboard.

"By the way, you made the team." Gavin said finally as he reached the end of the paper, removing it from the typewriter and bending over to pick out another one from his bag.

"Wait, I did?" Gordie exclaimed, his face lighting up. "Wow, crap, I didn't think I was going to, but…"

"Face it, Gordie," Gavin said with a half-smile as he threaded the next sheet into the machine. "You're going to turn out pretty well. Even Caspar said you were pretty good." He made a face at the name of the golden-haired captain. Gordie's eyebrows furrowed.

"Seriously, though, what happened between you and Caspar?" Gordie asked tentatively. Gavin stopped typing, staring at his sheet. "I know something happened. Caspar told me, but he didn't say what…"

"He told you?!" Gavin exclaimed, then quickly lowered his voice, his eyes sparking with an unknown fire. "That bastard." He put a hand on his forehead. His expression melted to a scowl.

"Hold up, so it's actually really bad?" Gordie asked, leaning forwards.

"Hell yeah, and he wasn't supposed to…" Gavin groaned. He shook his head. "Ugh, never mind."

"Noo way, man, you have to tell me." Gordie said gravely. "Caspar pushed me off, and you're my friend. I have to know!"

Gavin shook his head.

"Pleeeassseeee?" Gordie pleaded, flopping onto his stomach on the bed and grabbing Gavin's arm. His friend tried to pull back, but he held firm to his tanned forearm, the soft touch of the exposed skin against his hand. He looked up, staring him down. Gavin opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came. He looked at Gordie with a dark, fixed look that held no humor. Gordie dropped his goofy smile.

"Sorry." He muttered, loosening the grip on his arm, almost feeling like he didn't want to let go, but he did so anyway. Gavin pulled away, hurt flashing over his face. He wet his lips awkwardly, setting his jaw. "I didn't know it was so important."

"Yeah, it kind of is important." Gavin scoffed, looking down at his hands resting on the keyboard. "It could mean my life and possibly Caspar's, so you'd better not ask again."

"Woah, forreal?" Gordie asked, leaning forwards again. "Look, man, have you told anyone? I mean, I don't want to impose, but at least your families should know if they don't already-"

"They can't know!" Gavin said loudly, raising his hands to the sides of his head before dropping them to the typewriter again. "That's the whole point, Gordie! They would kill us, and most definitely me! I don't even know Caspar's parents, and he didn't even do anything. He…" Gavin faltered, his chest heaving. He put a hand on his forehead. "He did what he was supposed to. What was expected. I just went out of the blue and blew everything up, and now we're both dead to each other." He laughed in almost-pity. "I shouldn't be afraid of myself like this, but I just feel like an ass every time I look at myself, like I'm a failure, and I know that…" He gulped heavily, wiping his eyes. Gordie leaned over, touching his arm again, but this time softer.

"Hey…" He said quietly. "Look, I'm sorry, man. I shouldn't have asked. I won't say anything, you know that, right?-"

"Of course I know that!" Gavin almost yelled, but lowered his voice. Gordie lifted his hand from his friend's arm quietly. "Damn, of course I do. you're so nice and…and I know I can trust you, and I should, but…" He smiled, a little bit, looking over at Gordie again. Gordie looked at him now, his eyes a deep chocolate brown. There he was, lying on his stomach, his head up, watching this boy. Who even was he? By now, Gordie didn't even know, even if he meant both Gavin or himself. Tentatively, however, he smiled back.

"You don't look half bad with a black eye, Lachance." Gavin said with a half smile and a shrug. Gordie sucked in his lower lip. He laughed. "Likewise." He muttered.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Gavin laughed.

"This!" Gordie joked, faking a punch. Gavin flinched, pulling away, laughing. Gordie punched him twice, softly, in the shoulder, which were hard and stiff.

"Two for flinching." He said with a smirk. Gavin held his gaze again for a few more seconds than necessary, then removed his typewriter from his lap and placed it on the ground. He got up.

"Where are you going?" Gordie asked.

"Best get to class. I kind of came here, like, mid-day yesterday and spent a while and then fell asleep." He grinned with a tinge of embarrassment. "So I should probably make it to math on time today-if at all."

Gordie laughed.

"Of course." He said, smiling and watching as his friend shut the tabs on his hardshell typewriter case, proceeding to rise and walk away from Gordie's bed. He turned.

"You're good, Lachance." He said quietly. Gordie grinned.

"Likewise." He repeated in an almost whisper. With a smile, Gavin turned, and was gone. Gordie flopped down on his back, his head to the foot of the bed. He stared up at the ceiling. His smile had not yet faded, but something else was beginning to grow in the pit of his stomach. It wasn't the Caspar-induced fizz; it was darker, more solid. A weight. And Gordie didn't like it very much.