A/N So, here's the next chapter! I hope you'll enjoy it!
-o0O0o-
The room Ian and Anthony followed the woman into was a small, highly lit white room. A man was sitting behind a desk and motioned for Ian and Anthony to sit in front of the desk, where two chairs were positioned. The woman who led them to the room sat beside the man, and the two best friends sat down too.
'Hello, mister Hecox and mister Padilla. I'm officer Smith, and this is officer Rayland.' The man said.
'Erm, hello.' Anthony and Ian awkwardly responded, unsure of what to say.
'Mister Hecox, you were the first witness in the case in which a teenage girl was seriously wounded. We'll need your testimonial. Are you prepared to give one to us?' Officer Smith asked, totally ignoring Anthony.
'Erm, yes, I guess I am… I haven't prepared anything though.' Ian responded getting more nervous by the minute.
'Don't worry, there's nothing to be nervous about.' Officer Rayland said. Could she read his thoughts or something? 'We just want to know what happened so we can write a report, and be done with the case okay?'
'Okay.' Ian responded. He was glad the woman had stayed. He'd probably piss his pants if he'd been left alone with Smith. After getting a reassuring nod from Anthony, he told his story for the second time. It was getting easier, he noticed, though some parts were still hard to tell. When he came at the part where he saw the girl lying unconscious on the ground, his tongue got stuck in his throat, and he had to pause for a little while. After some reassuring nods from Anthony and officer Rayland, and a stern look from Smith, he continued. When he was done with his story Smith stated:
'So you have absolutely no idea who that girl could be.'
'No.' Ian responded. 'As I said, I have never seen her before in my life. Why?'
'Well,' Smith said, 'It's a little strange, isn't is, that a teenage girl would risk her life for someone she doesn't know.'
Ian tried to ignore the hidden insinuation in the man's voice, and answered as calmly as possible. 'Well, I haven't seen her before, but she could know me from Anthony's and mine Youtube channel, smosh.'
'Smosh, huh.' The man said, 'And what exactly is that?'
'Well,' Anthony responded, saving Ian from more conversation with the man, 'Smosh is a Youtube channel, on which Ian and I post short sketches we make. It's pretty popular.'
'Oh?' Officer Rayland responded, 'How popular exactly?'
'We're the number one channel, with almost nine million subscribers, so it's quite possible she recognized Ian. Maybe that could have motivated her actions.' Anthony said, quite proudly.
'Hmm, that changes things…' Smith mused. 'Both of you are free to go. If you remember anything, please call me.' He handed his card to Ian, again totally ignoring Anthony. 'Please stay in the area. It's possible we'll contact you again, though I highly doubt it. Have a nice day.'
Ian and Anthony stood up, said there goodbyes and left. Once out of hearing distance from the office, Ian started to rant. 'What a horrible man! I'm glad we're out of there. Did you notice how he completely ignored you, and it was like he thought I knew the girl, like I hadn't made it clear that she's completely unknown to me!'
'I know.' Anthony responded. 'Though, officer Rayland wasn't that bad. I'm glad she was there. On another note, I'm starving! Do you wanna eat somewhere?'
Now Anthony mentioned it, Ian noticed he was pretty hungry too. Guess he didn't notice it because of all the hysteria. 'Sure. But let's head back to the hospital right after we're done. See if there's any change.'
Anthony agreed, and they headed off to a fast-food restaurant nearby. Both were quickly done with their food. Ian because he wanted to head back to the hospital as fast as possible, and Anthony because he didn't want to delay Ian.
-o0O0o-
Every second Ian and Anthony came closer to the hospital, Ian became more tense. Anthony started to seriously worry about his friend. Did he still blame himself for what had happened? I thought I talked him out of that! Well, now he thought about it, he'd probably feel guilty too, if a girl ended up in the hospital because of him. No, he shouldn't think like that. It wasn't Ian's fault. Pronto.
When he and Ian walked in the hospital room, Ian spoke up for the first time since they had left the fast-food place. 'Do you really think she'll make it Anthony? And don't say yes to make me feel better. Just say what you think.' he looked at him with sad, pleading eyes. Asking not to be lied to, but at the same time wanting to.
'I honestly don't know Ian.' Anthony replied after looking at the unconscious girl. 'We can't do anything now but pray that she'll be alright.'
'I know, but I just want her to so badly!' Ian replied, suddenly furious. 'She can't die! Not before I've spoken to her. Not before I've thanked her. Not before I find out why she put her life on the line to save me, a complete stranger! I want to get to know her! She can't die before that could happen!'
Anthony was taken aback by the sudden fury in his friend's voice. He didn't know what to say, so he didn't say anything. He just walked over to the furiously pacing Ian and put a hand on his shoulder. Then, after feeling the silent acceptance in his friend's strong hand, Ian finally broke down. While he was sobbing on his friend's chest, Anthony led him to a chair standing across a wall.
'Shhhhh, It's okay, It's okay. It'll all be okay.' he said, trying to console his friend.
Anthony felt helpless. Here he was, doing nothing to console his clearly upset friend. He didn't know what to do. Ian rarely cried. He had only seen him crying a couple of times, but never like this. Ian had never looked so… desperate. So in despair.
'I'm sorry, I just don't know what to do.' Ian apologised, tears still running down his cheeks.
'You don't have to apologize. It was about time you broke down.'
Ian smiled through his tears. Anthony was happy he could cheer him up a little. Ian shouldn't be upset. He was always the most cheerful one out of the two. Not that Anthony wasn't cheerful of course, Ian just brought happiness to a whole different level.
'Thanks.' Ian said.
'For what?' Anthony asked, wondering what his friend meant.
'Just, for not hating me.' Ian replied in a small voice.
'Why would I hate you?' Anthony asked, now truly concerned.
'Oh, I don't know.' Ian replied. 'I've just been thinking some really weird things lately.'
Anthony nodded. He thought he knew what his friend was talking about.
'You still feel responsible, don't you?'
'A little bit.' Ian looked over at his saviour. 'Fact is'
'No! No fact is!' Anthony almost shouted. Ian jumped.
'Look.' Anthony continued on a softer tone. 'It wasn't your fault, and you need to stop blaming yourself for it.'
'I guess you're right...' Ian said.
'No, not guess, I am right. I always am, remember?'
'Well, I'm not so sure about that…'
Anthony smiled, glad his friend was feeling better, again. He hoped that this whole situation would be over soon. He didn't know how long he could deal with a depressive Ian anymore.
A comfortable silence fell. Both started looking at the girl in the bed again, hoping she would wake up soon. And that she'd be okay.
A loud bang sounded outside of their room and they both jumped, startled from their thoughts. The sound faded, and they looked at each other and laughed about their own silliness. Then they looked back at the bed.
The eyes of the girl were open.
-o0O0o-
A/N So, that was the third chapter! I'm sorry for the cliff hanger, couldn't resist. I won't be able to update tomorrow, since I'm having a surprise-party for my friend at an amusement park! I'll probably be there the whole day, I'm so excited! My mom offered to spell-check this whole thing, but I don't have enough patience to wait for that. Maybe you can do it later mom! Alvast bedankt! (Dutch) Sorry if there're any mistakes. Tell me what you prefer, a longer wait for a checked chapter or a shorter one checked only by me. Oh, and of course tell me if you liked the story, what you didn't like, constructive criticism, et cetera! Peace off!