Kaz had never been known to scare all too easily. But one day, Oliver gave him the most fright and terror he'd experienced in his entire twelve years.
It was a cold January evening, and the boys were out in the Philadelphia city park, alone and unsupervised. They were completely bundled up, and there was so much snow, they could barely walk through. Nearby was a small lake, that was completely frozen over. Of course, Kaz excitedly ran towards it. Oliver grabbed his best friend by the arm, stopping him.
"Kaz! What are you doing? We can't go on the lake! It's too dangerous!" Oliver scolded.
"Oh, it's fine! It's not like we're gonna beat it with a sledgehammer!" Kaz chuckled.
"Knowing you, we may as well be," Oliver sighed.
"Relax, Oli-Pop!" Kaz then spotted a football, looking frozen, sitting on a bench. "Hey! We could play ice football! That sounds fun, doesn't it?"
It was times like these when Kaz wished Oliver wasn't so cautious. And Oliver wished that Kaz would use his head when it mattered.
"Kaz, we shouldn't," Oliver said, shaking his head in worry.
"Come on, Ollie! It'll be fun! When has anything I've ever suggested not been fun?" Kaz asked, a goofy smile on his face.
"Oh, maybe when I was getting stitches because I fell off the skateboard that you told me to ride on top of a skateboard?" Oliver pointed out.
"Okay... any other time but that!"
"When you and I played leap-frog on a trampoline and you knocked me off onto the ground and gave me a concussion?"
"At least name a good time!"
Oliver sighed again. "Kaz, I don't think it's a good idea. We have no idea how thick the ice is."
"Please?"
Kaz gave Oliver his best puppy dog eyes, which of course, didn't even phase Oliver in the slightest. He shook his head, and Kaz just looked sad.
"Come on, Oliver! Nothing will happen! Don't be such a wuss!" Kaz groaned.
Oliver froze for a second. Kaz made fun of him a lot, but he'd never called him a wuss before. And for some reason, it hit him hard.
"I am not a wuss! I am just being careful!"
"Oliver, that is the definition of a wuss! You need to take risks sometimes! Leap before you look!"
"No."
"Fine, then, wuss. I'll just go play by myself."
Oliver hated it when Kaz did this. He always seemed to get Oliver into things by either guilting him, or pressuring him. Right now, it was pressure. He didn't like the fact that Kaz was calling him a wuss, even though it shouldn't have hit so close to home like it did. He also didn't want to let his best friend go off on his own, and most likely end up getting himself hurt. So, he rolled his eyes, and muttered, "Fine."
Kaz's face lit up like a Christmas tree, and Oliver couldn't help but grin. Kaz snatched up the ball and threw it to Oliver, yelling, "Think fast!"
Oliver, luckily, was ready for it, and caught it. Kaz ran onto the ice, sliding, but not falling. Oliver ran after him, and they were both pretty much in giggling fits, being the playful boys they were. Neither of them knew all that much about football yet, and they weren't good at it, but they were gonna play it anyway.
"Kaz!" Oliver shouted. "Go long!"
Kaz did as commanded, and ran across the ice, trying not to slip. Oliver hurled the ball, and it was not headed towards Kaz at all. Kaz ran and tried to catch it, but it was too far from him. Oliver wasn't exactly good at throwing a football, and Kaz was going to fix that. After retrieving the ball, he ran back to his best friend.
"Hey, in order for this to work, I'm gonna need to teach you to throw a football, my friend," Kaz chuckled.
Oliver playfully rolled his eyes. "Fine."
Kaz gently tossed the football to Oliver, and came up behind him.
"Here, you'll wanna hold the ball like this," Kaz told him, showing him the right way.
Oliver did so slowly, trying to understand.
"When you throw it, try to roll it off of your hand. Got it?" Kaz explained.
Oliver nodded, a little overwhelmed.
"Show me, then," Kaz smirked.
Oliver grinned, and Kaz ran over away from him, and Oliver threw it as hard as he could, keeping in mind what Kaz had taught him. It wasn't perfect, and it didn't even reach Kaz, but it was better. Kaz was able to catch it, and he threw it back.
"Try it again," Kaz told him.
Oliver did so, and they did that over and over again until Oliver's throw was almost perfect.
"Good job, Ollie!" Kaz exclaimed proudly.
The smile on Oliver's face made Kaz even happier than he already was. The boys then started their game. It wasn't exactly a game, more so of them randomly throwing it to each other, and tackling each other for no reason. Oliver, no matter how hard he tried, simply couldn't pin Kaz like he could pin him. He was trying as hard as he could, but Kaz was a lot stronger than he was, and he was smaller than him.
He ran at his best friend and knocked him over. Too bad for him, Kaz had ahold of his little arms so fast he could barely even think, and he flipped him off of him. Then Kaz was able to tackle and pin him against the ice.
"Oh, come on!" Oliver said in frustration, struggling under Kaz's strong grip.
Kaz chuckled and allowed Oliver to get up, then they started throwing the football back and forth again. Oliver wasn't all that good at catching, either, but Kaz decided he wasn't going to fix that. Then, he had something to laugh at.
At one point, Kaz had the ball again.
"Hey, I'm gonna throw it really far this time. Five bucks says you won't catch it," Kaz said slyly.
Oliver smirked. "Well, five bucks says I do catch it."
"We'll see about that. Go long!"
Oliver ran as fast as he could without slipping, and Kaz hurled the ball as hard and far as he could. It went soaring through the air, and Oliver felt as if everything was going in slow motion. He ran, but he wasn't sure he was going to make it, so he dove, and seized the ball in his arms... but as soon as he hit the ice...
Crack!
It seemed to happen so fast. One second, Oliver was diving for the ball, and the next... he was simply gone, under the surface of the ice. Kaz felt terror rush over him as if he had just been completely submerged in a huge wave of freezing water.
"OLIVER!" he screamed at the top of his lungs.
He didn't think he had ever run that fast in his entire life. He ran to the hole in the ice, and saw his best friend struggling to keep his head over the water. His snow clothes were weighing him down, and he was shivering, obviously.
"Ollie, Ollie, I'm here! I'm here! You're gonna be alright!" Kaz nervously reassured him, holding out his hand to try and pull Oliver back up.
Oliver weakly grasped Kaz's hand, and he tried to pull him up, but the water was weighing his already heavy clothes down even more. And eventually, Oliver's soaking wet glove slipped off his hand, and he fell back in.
"I-I-I-I can't k-keep m-m-m-myself up!" Oliver managed to choke out.
Kaz knew right then at that moment that he had to get help. He grabbed his best friends hand, helping him stay above the water, then desperately found his phone in his pocket. He had gotten it just that day, and he was so lucky he had it right at that moment. He'd never even called anyone with it yet, and he never imagined that the first number he would be calling on his new phone would be 911...
He dialed as quick as he could, heard the dial tone for not very long, then someone picked up.
"911. What's your emergency?" an older woman's voice asked.
"Hi... uh... m-me and my friend... we were-we were playing on the frozen lake... the-the one in the Philadelphia c-city park... a-and... he-he fell in... he can't last much longer... he needs help!" Kaz managed to say, and then he realized that he was crying. Sobbing for his best friend, who very possibly could die, all because of his stupid choices.
"Stay calm, young man. They'll be right there, alright? Calm down," she said, then hung up.
Kaz carelessly put his phone away, and turned back to Oliver, who was barely even moving anymore. He was as white as the snow they were surrounded by, and his lips were blue. He was almost completely limp.
"You're gonna be alright... hang in there, buddy... you're okay..." Kaz told him through his sobs, mostly trying to convince himself.
Oliver's eyes weakly opened for a few seconds, but quickly closed.
"This is... this is all my fault. I'm so... so sorry, Ollie..." Kaz sobbed.
Momentarily, Kaz heard sirens, causing him to become instantly more hopeful. A helicopter flew over them, and all sorts of other emergency vehicles surrounded them. A police officer stepped out of his car, followed by a few others, while a stretcher was lowered from the helicopter, along with a few people.
The first officer came up to them. "Step back, young man."
"I can't! He can't keep himself up anymore!" Kaz told him.
He nodded in understanding. He made some sort of gesture towards another officer, who came up to the two of them. The first cop, the man, grabbed Oliver's hand and had Kaz let go, and the second cop, a woman, gently grabbed Kaz and walked him away from the scene. They went into her warm car, and he sat in the passenger seat and bawled. He felt completely responsible for this, and he would've rather it had been him in the freezing cold water instead of Oliver. After all, Oliver had tried to talk him out of this. A chilling and terrifying thought came to his mind. What if his best friend died because of his stupid choices? He would have to live with that for the rest of his life.
"Hey, sweetie, it's gonna be alright. There's no need to cry about it," the officer said in a gentle voice. Kaz had almost forgotten that she was in there with him.
"This is all my fault... all my fault... a-and if he dies-" Kaz sobbed.
"Hey, he's not gonna die, alright? See? They already have him out of the water."
Kaz peered out the window and observed the scene. Indeed, they had Oliver's small body on the stretcher and he was being carefully loaded into the helicopter. In and instant, once everything and everyone was secure, they took off. Kaz buried his face in his gloved hands.
"He... he was trying to talk me out of playing on the lake... I-I should've listened to him. For once... I should've listened to him. But all I did was make fun of him for being cautious... This is all my fault..." Kaz cried.
"It may be your fault, but everybody does things they regret sometimes in their lives. I'm sure your friend isn't mad at you," the officer reassured.
"But... but what if he is?"
"Well, then, he's mad at you. And you can apologize. Make up for it. Do something special for him."
"You're right."
"Hey, what's your name, young man?"
"Kaz. Kaz Duncan."
"Well, Kaz, it's a pleasure to meet you. You seem like a good kid."
Kaz shrugged. "I guess."
She laughed, and that lit up her whole face. Kaz had to admit, she was a very beautiful woman.
"What's your friend's name?" she asked.
"Oliver Quimby," Kaz replied.
"Kaz and Oliver. Sounds like quite the dynamic duo."
"Yeah. We're best friends."
"How long have you two known each other?"
"For like nine years, since we were three."
"Wow! So pretty much your entire lives! See, I've only known my best friend for three years, and I'm twenty-four!"
Kaz chuckled.
"Now, we oughta get you home and to your parents. Do you have a phone number of theirs?"
"Yeah."
"You should call them, let them know what happened, and tell them you're alright. In the meantime, I need to get ahold of Oliver's family. You wouldn't happen to have a phone number for his parents, by chance, would you?"
"I don't, but I think my mom does. I just... don't want to call her..."
"Why not?"
"Well... you see... I'm out past my curfew..."
She laughed. "All the better reason to call her and tell her what's going on."
Kaz chuckled uncomfortably and pulled out his phone. He had lied to her. He wasn't out past his curfew, he was just afraid to call his mother. Last time he had spoken to her, she was awfully angry. He didn't like talking to her when she was angry. He couldn't call his father because he was still at work most likely, so he finally sighed and dialed his mother. Besides, the officer needed to call Oliver's parents. That was the only reason he called, really.
"Kaz?" his mother's voice asked, sternly and very suspiciously.
"Hi, mom. Uh... m-mom, there was an accident-" Kaz began but he was cut off.
"What accident?! What's going on?!"
"It's okay, mom, I'm alright. It's Oliver who isn't. He... he fell through the frozen lake... a-and he's headed for the hospital right now. The-the officers need Bridget or Nathan's number... do you have one of them?"
"I have Bridget's. I'll text you the number. Come home soon, alright?"
"Alright."
He hung up, and the number was sent to him. He showed it to the officer, who dialed it and called Bridget. It was picked up almost instantly.
"Hello? Is this Bridget Quimby, the mother of Oliver Quimby?" she asked nervously through the phone.
There was a long period of silence, and the officer looked insanely stressed at what Bridget appeared to be saying.
"Ma'am, please calm down. I'm calling to inform you that there was an accident-"
She squeezed her eyes shut tight, and she looked frustrated. Kaz could slightly hear Bridget talking in her normal panicked voice.
"Mrs Quimby, please. Your son, Oliver, is headed for the hospital. He fell through the lake in the park. I-"
She was interrupted again, and she was getting really irritated.
"Mrs Quimby, calm down. They're saying he's going to be fine. Your son is alright. I was merely calling to inform you of his whereabouts. They are going to the Memorial Hospital."
Bridget hung up right after she said that, and the officer looked insanely annoyed.
"Trust me, she's not much better in person," Kaz told her with a smirk.
She laughed.
"Well, Kaz, I think I'm gonna take you home now, alright?"
"Can't I go see Oliver?"
"No, honey. You won't be able to see him until tomorrow."
Kaz felt miserable. All he wanted was to hug his best friend and tell him he was sorry. He wouldn't be able to rest easy until he knew that Oliver was going to be alright.
Kaz reluctantly told her his address, and they set off towards there. He had a sick feeling in his stomach, and he felt like he was going to cry again, but he forced himself not to. He didn't want to walk into his house crying. Not in front of his family, ever.
"What's your name?" Kaz asked, curious.
"Officer Timber. But, you, my friend, can call me Carol, alright?" she smiled through the rearview mirror.
Kaz smiled back, though still feeling awful. When they drove up to his house, Kaz felt even worse. Home was the last place he wanted to be at that moment.
"Well, here you are, Kaz. It was great to meet you," she smiled.'
"It was great to meet you, too, Carol," Kaz grinned.
He was about to open the car door, when the sickening feeling overcame him again, and he simply froze.
"You alright?" Carol asked.
"I'm not sure," Kaz admitted.
She looked at him for a bit, then hurried and scribbled something down on a small piece of paper.
"Here," she handed it to him. "This is my phone number. You can call me whenever you need, or if you just want a friend to talk to. Okay? I work a lot, though, so if I can't answer, I'm sorry, but I'll get back to you when I can. Alright?"
He took it and looked at it for a second, then gave her a small grin. "I will. Thank you."
"Anytime."
He then opened the car door, got out and closed it, waved goodbye to Carol, and quickly headed up his porch steps and walked through his front door. For once, his house was... unnaturally quiet. Not completely quiet, but quieter. It just made him feel worse.
His mother was sitting in the living room, and when she saw him, she stood up and walked quickly over to him. She gave him a hug, one of her very uncaring ones. That sure made Kaz feel worse.
"I'm so sorry that happened, Kaz," she said softly.
No she wasn't. She didn't like Oliver, for some unfathomable reason. He didn't understand why, though. Oliver was a very likable and good, genuine person.
Kaz sort of shrugged her off, then started taking off his snow clothes, and threw them in a bin.
"I think I'm gonna go to bed," Kaz said with finality.
His mother nodded. "Alright. Alright. Goodnight."
Kaz rolled his eyes when she wasn't looking. He was so sick of her pretending to care about him. Maybe she did a little, but not enough to make an effort. He would have rathered her flat out not caring about him, rather than her pretending to.
He entered his bedroom, noticing that his brother wasn't in there. Keith had moved rooms, since Kendra had moved away for college, and she had had her own room. Now he just shared it with Kenny, who mostly just ignored him. But, he wasn't in there. He didn't care, though. He couldn't take his mind off of Oliver.
He changed his clothes and slid under his covers, his old Tecton blanket not on him, but next to him. It was too small and it was worn out, but he still liked having it around, no matter how much his brother made fun of him for it.
He couldn't sleep, after trying for many hours. He tossed and turned all night, frantically thinking about his best friend, who was probably going through a lot...
But he eventually did fall into a sleep filled with nightmares.
Oliver woke up, feeling panicky. He didn't have a clue where he was or what was going on, and he was terrified. He was in a room with tan painted walls, and there was a single lamp on as the only source of light. He was in an unfamiliar bed with scratchy bedding, and, worst of all, he appeared to have an IV. That caused him to freak out. He felt weird. He also really couldn't remember much of anything at that moment.
Oliver sat up slowly and weakly, frantically peering around the room. He was in a hospital room, and it appeared to be either the late at night, or very early in the morning. When he looked to the left of him, he saw his older brother, Chris, in the chair, asleep. He looked exhausted. Oliver wondered why he was there, and not one of his parents.
Probably had to work, instead of see their son in the hospital. Oliver thought to himself bitterly.
He was really trying to remember exactly why he was in the hospital, but nothing came to him at first. But then... he remembered it all. Kaz throwing him the football. Him crashing through the ice and plunging into freezing cold water. Kaz desperately trying to pull him back up. His body feeling as if it was going to stop working at any second. The sirens echoing in his brain as he slowly lost consciousness. He wondered where Kaz was. He hoped he was alright. He remembered Kaz being so upset, and blaming himself. All he wanted to do was hug him and tell him that it wasn't his fault, even if it was. Kaz had been crying. He had never seen Kaz cry before.
"Chris...!" Oliver whispered hoarsely to his brother.
Chris didn't even stir.
Oliver's throat was dry. "Chris...! Wake up...!"
Chris was still completely asleep.
"Chris!" Oliver said, louder.
That's when he woke up, looking dazed for a few seconds, but when he realized that his little brother was awake, he snapped to his senses and grinned.
"Oliver! Good to see you awake... again," he said with a chuckle.
Oliver was confused. "I… was awake before?"
"Oh, yeah. But you were loopy as heck, and you didn't seem completely awake."
Oliver laughed uncomfortably. He had no memory of that.
"How ya feeling, bud?" Chris asked.
"Weird. So weird," Oliver shrugged, laying back down completely. "And... sleepy."
Chris nodded, then said, "Well, mom and dad couldn't come be with you, yet. Dad had something come up, and mom had a work emergency. But I'm here."
Oliver felt a little disappointed. He wasn't all that surprised that his parents weren't there, but it hurt nonetheless to know that his parents would still choose their jobs over their son, even in a near death experience. Chris saw Oliver's face fall, and quickly said, "They're really sorry. Mom was here, you know. She was here for awhile, in fact. But something happened, and she had to leave. And dad's boss won't let him leave."
Oliver shrugged. "I guessed it would have something to do with work. It always does."
Chris looked like he wanted to say more, to comfort his little brother and defend his parents, but he didn't seem to have the words. Oliver felt incredibly sad. All he wanted was for his parents to for once choose him over their jobs. They claimed they loved him, but sometimes it was hard to believe. They were always busy, it seemed.
"Where's Kaz?" Oliver asked, anxious to change the subject.
"Kaz?" Chris looked confused, but then remembered. "Oh, Kaz. He's home, most likely."
"I want to see him."
"Well... I could talk to mom and ask her if when she comes in the afternoon, if she could bring him. If you want me to."
Oliver sighed. He wanted to see his best friend sooner, and not to mention, his mom wasn't coming until the afternoon! But he softly said, "Okay. Yeah, thank you."
"No problem, bud. I'll call her right now."
Chris decided to step out of the room to call her, which left Oliver alone to think. He had an awful feeling that Kaz was being hard on himself with blame. It was such a thing for him to do. He had a valid reason to blame himself, but it was also Oliver's fault for giving into the pressure. He just didn't want his best friend to take it so hard.
Kaz woke up early in the morning, even though it was a Saturday and he didn't have school. He tried to go back to sleep but it was impossible. He had wanted to sleep in but it wasn't an option for him. He just couldn't stop worrying about Oliver. No one had told him anything, even by the time it was noon. His siblings were mostly all out of the house except for a few. His father was working again, and his mother was busy cleaning. Kaz had been pestering her all day about Oliver and going to see Oliver, but she just wasn't listening.
"Mom," Kaz tried again. "I want to go see Oliver! Please! Can't you just drop me off, or something?!
"Enough, Kaz! I'll take you to go see Oliver in the evening, alright?!" she snapped.
"But-"
"But, nothing! Go clean your room!"
"But Kenny isn't home! I don't want to clean it by myself! He's even messier than I am!"
"Don't argue! He'll clean the whole room next time!"
Kaz knew not to push her any further. She was in one of her horrible moods, and it was best to just leave her alone at that point. So, he angrily stormed up to his room, and slammed the door. He slammed it so hard that something fell from Kenny's shelf. His heart pretty much stopping, he rushed over to see just what it was. He found that it was one of Kenny's weird dragon figurines, and it was broken on the floor. He knew it was one of Kenny's favorite possessions, and he would be dead if he ever found out about its condition. He always got blamed for anything, anyway, so Kenny was going to be extremely angry.
Kaz scooped up the pieces, and did the only thing he could think of to do. He literally shoved it under Kenny's bed, hoping he could glue it back together when he had time. He didn't really care about the figurine. He cared more about Kenny's wrath, which he didn't really care about either. Kenny needed to get a new hobby besides collecting weird figurines and such.
Kaz was still pissed off that he couldn't go see Oliver, and instead he had to clean the room he shared with his brother all by himself. He couldn't see him until the evening! He didn't think he could handle waiting that long, not knowing anything about his well being. He knew that he'd most likely hear if he was dead or something, but then again, Oliver could be paralyzed, and he wouldn't know about it until he went and saw him.
Kaz shoved Kenny's various things under his blankets. He knew that would tick Kenny off, but he didn't care. He needed to stop making the room so filthy. Kaz was sick of finding Kenny's crap all over his side of the room as well. He was too angry to think, anyway. His mom wasn't doing anything important, and she wouldn't take him to see his best friend, who had just had a near death experience and could be experiencing a lot of trauma. Kaz had a feeling that his mother wasn't taking him to see him, just because she hated him and his parents. He just wanted to go right then at that moment.
As if on cue, Kaz's mother entered the room, looking annoyed by something.
"Kaz, Bridget's on the phone. She was seeing if you wanted her to take you to the hospital to see Oliver. She's going soon. He's been asking to see you," she informed him.
Kaz's heart began to race in anxiousness. "Yes! I'll go."
"Thought so..." she grumbled.
She walked out the room and started talking on the phone again, but Kaz didn't listen to what she was saying, much. He hurried and cleaned the rest of the room and raced downstairs and sat on the couch, anxiously watching out the window.
"Bridget will be here in five minutes," Kaz's mother said, sounding bored and unconcerned.
It seemed like hours before Kaz saw Bridget's minivan pull into the driveway. He quickly opened the door and ran out, hopping into the front seat quickly. Bridget gave him a look. Kaz was a typically lazy boy, so to see him run like that was unusual, and strange.
"Kaz, you're slouching," Bridget said in a picky tone.
She had always taught Oliver things like good manners and proper behavior, so to see another boy that didn't act as her son did bothered her. Kaz gave her a look.
"O...kay..." he said, unconcerned. He kept on slouching. She wasn't his mother. She couldn't tell him what to do. Besides, even if it was his mother... he still probably wouldn't do as she said...
"I don't know why my son likes to hang around with you. You're clearly a bad influence on him. Last night was your fault, even!"
"I know," he said frustratedly through his teeth.
"Your lucky I'm not going to make Oliver break off his friendship with you after last night. I was planning on it, but it would break my little boy's heart and I hate to see him unhappy. Besides, he doesn't really have any other friends, other than those weird kids, Gordon and Jus."
"Jordan and Gus..." Kaz corrected, getting annoyed.
"Don't correct me. I don't care what your little friends' names are. The girl is violent and brings down Oliver's self esteem, and the boy is... revolting."
"At least they're not bad people..."
"I'm warning you, Kaz. You'd better shape up and start being a better influence on Oliver, or you two won't so much as peak again. You hear? Your actions have consequences. And last night's actions nearly killed my son."
Kaz felt a lump form in his throat. "I'm sorry..."
Bridget was surprised. "What?"
"I'm sorry."
At first, Bridget didn't know what to say. She had expected Kaz to say something totally different, not apologize. Maybe she'd misjudged him.
"Yes, well... everyone makes mistakes, I suppose. And you're only a boy," she sighed.
It was Kaz's turn to be surprised. Was Bridget being... soft? To him? He was all sorts of confused... until she sharply said, "I still want you to shape up, though. Oliver shouldn't hang out with someone like you, but I'll allow it. For now."
There she was.
Oliver was so incredibly bored, sitting in the hospital alone. Chris had left to go to work, because now he had his own family to support; his wife, Ally, and three year old son, Joseph. He wished someone was there to talk to him. He'd even want Gus to be there. At least things would be interesting…
Nurses came in and out, checking on him and such. Oliver hated the hospital. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't even close to the first time he'd been there. He was born, obviously, but he was premature. Extremely premature. So premature that he wasn't even expected to live, but he did, somehow. And that's why he had always been so small and scrawny. Then, when he was five, he cracked his head open when he and Kaz were wrestling in his living room, and he hit his head on the corner of a table. That hurt. Then, when he was eight, he had to have his appendix out, and he had almost died because of that. When he was ten, he had his tonsils out. When he was eleven, he had to have stitches because of a certain "skateboard on top of another skateboard" accident. Now, here he was, after falling into a frozen lake and almost dying. He had almost died so many times, it was crazy. The hospital was unfortunately very familiar to him. And it had been where his nephew was born, so he went there then. He was nine then.
Eventually, the door opened. Oliver got his hopes up that it was Kaz, or his mother, maybe his father, even Chris again... but, unfortunately, it was just a nurse. He sighed, fed up with this.
Before she could talk to him, he asked, "How much longer do I have to be here?"
She laughed. "I'm not sure, honey. Be... 'patient'... get it?"
Oliver got the pun, and it was his type of humor, but he wasn't in the mood to laugh, or even smile. He was getting antsy. Very antsy.
When Oliver didn't react, she cleared her throat and asked, "Are you open to any more visitors? There's a few people here to see you."
Oliver got excited. "Of course, I'm open! Who is it? Yeah, let them in!"
The nurse, Rachel, laughed. "Well, okay. I'll let them in. Be right back."
Oliver sat up and propped himself up against his pillow, grunting because of sudden pain in his back. It stopped before long, though, and he anxiously watched the door. It took about a minute, but eventually it opened rather fast. Oliver had a feeling who it was that had opened the door. And he knew he was right when he saw a certain black haired boy with chocolate brown eyes dashing toward him.
"Oliver!" Kaz cried out gleefully, running towards him and hugging him tightly. Maybe a little too tightly, because it sort of hurt Oliver, but he was too happy to see his best friend to tell him that he was in pain.
When Kaz let go of him finally, Oliver was able to breathe again. Kaz was about to say something, but he was pushed aside by Bridget, who had also come in. She hugged Oliver as well, though he wasn't as excited to see her as he was to see Kaz.
"Oh, my boy! I'm so sorry I couldn't stay! I wanted to, but it was a crisis at work! Just a crisis!" she exclaimed frantically.
"I-It's okay, mom..." Oliver said weakly, hoping she would let go.
She did let go, and Kaz stepped up to him again. He looked really sad.
"Oliver, I am so sorry this happened. It's all my fault. I should have listened to you. I-I'm such a bad friend..." Kaz said sadly.
"No, you're not a bad friend, Kaz. Don't blame yourself," Oliver reassured his best friend.
"Yes, I am. And I should blame myself. You could have died because I was being stupid as usual."
"But, I didn't. And that's what matters. Okay?"
"Okay."
Time passed since the accident, but Kaz didn't change much. Sure, he was slightly less reckless, but he was still the same Kaz, much to Oliver's disappointment. No, Oliver wasn't disappointed that his best friend was the same person he'd always been, but instead, he had hoped for Kaz to change, seeing as Oliver almost died. But, no. He was still the same. Still Kaz.
