When Gill opened his eyes, he thought he was in heaven. Everything was white.. but that was until he saw the gray metal pipe holding up the white curtain of the hospital bed. Gill propped himself up and immediately regretted it, his face white as he lay himself back down on the pillow. As he looked around, he could tell that it was early morning. The almost pure white light shone through the windows and danced along the curtain, as if to entertain him while he tried to think back to the night before.

All he remembered was a pair of hands, grasping his arms. They had been the only thing holding him in the room as he slowly drifted towards death. Yes, arms, and a pair of frightened brown eyes. Frightened, yet kind. Shining with excitement and small relief as he seemed to respond to their touch. And that faint, smiling shadow just to the right, the spitting image of his mother, back when she had been healthy. Gill's breath hitched in his throat. Had he really been that close to death that he actually saw his mother?

Gill sat up slowly, trying not to injure himself in the process. He gripped the curtain lightly and pulled it open little by little. There, sitting in a chair fast asleep, was Angela. Her chest rose up and down softly, her face twisted in sleep, as if she were uncomfortable.. and maybe even worried. Gill felt his heart lurch lightly at the sight of her. There was nobody else, just her, curled up as much as she could. Gill saw her stir lightly, and he prepared to close the curtain before seeing that sleep still had a hold on her. As he watched her, he felt absolutely terrible. He had been a complete ass to this girl, and worse. And yet, when he needed it most, she was the only one who didn't hate him enough to let him die. Gill put his hand over his heart lightly, feeling the blood pump through his body. Maybe she wasn't all bad...

Gill heard the bell of the door ring and he closed the curtain swiftly and quietly, laying down and closing his eyes just enough so that it'd still look like he was sleeping. The door closed and Gill heard nothing. So, he opened the curtain, and looked around. There was still nothing there. But all of a sudden, Angela moved just slightly, and groaned something lightly in her sleep. And whether it had been a trick of the eye or not, he didn't know, but he swore he saw the blanket move up just a little, as if to cover her more.

Gill blinked, and shook his head. No, he wasn't delusional, he was still just a little tired. Gill closed the curtain again and turned carefully so that he could lay on his side. He rested his head and his messy hair on the pillow, his blue eyes fluttering closed as unconsciousness enveloped him once more.

Angela didn't know exactly what drew her to the town hall that night. All she remembered is ending up at the window, and seeing Gill's completely blue face, his eyes rolled into the back of his head... She had run in as soon as she could, and tried with all of her will to save him. She didn't even know why.. she had given up completely hadn't she? She remembered forcing the air down his throat.. she remembered her lips against his, and that completely helpless look he had given her as his bright blue eyes locked onto hers, a mix between shock and breathlessness hidden deep inside them... No, no this didn't mean anything. But then, she heard a small whisper in her ear. Angela's eyes shot open, immediately closing them as the light flooded into them. She looked around through squinted eyes, hand over her heart before calming down and attempting to get up. But, something stopped her. And then she realized it was the middle of the morning, and it was silent. Why wasn't Jin in the building yet?

Angela got up slowly and silently, so she wouldn't wake Gill and walked over to the window, taking a peek outside. She frowned, watching on as somebody steered a large boat out of the docks. She thought nothing of it before seeing a stylish, lavish lady waving to all of the people, as if to bid them goodbye. She knew it was her mother, but she couldn't be leaving. That was just impossible! She wouldn't even entertain the idea of leaving Angela alone here for the week... would she? And then she remembered what had happened when her mother arrived at the house.

It wasn't just one thing.. rather.. it was.. well.. everything.

"Angela, where's the caviar?"
"Angela, where am I supposed to put all of my things?"
"Angela! What is that filthy thing doing inside of the house!"

to which she had replied,

"Mom, I have none. All I have are some eggs, so get used to them."
"Mom, leave them in the suitcase, I don't have a closet."
"Mother, that is not a filthy thing, it's a bed and we're going to be sharing it."

Well, now that she remembered, she probably would have headed off for Toucan Island for a real tropical vacation. Angela really didn't blame her. She backed away from the window lightly before heading back to the chair. She wondered if Gill was okay.. Was he even awake? Angela grabbed the curtain lightly before gasping and pulling back. She had accidentally grabbed his hand. Had he planned on getting up? Was he even awake? Of course he was awake.. he had to be.

Angela took a silent, deep breath and pulled back the curtain.

There he was, as only he could be. His blonde hair was messy, but in only accentuated his look. To her surprise, Angela found that he wasn't wearing any shirt, but only pajama pants instead. In place of the usual stiff shirt was a lean, yet muscular torso. His pale skin was only brightened by the sun, the shadows contrasting as he looked up at her with a raised eyebrow, his eyes dancing with amusement. "What, you never seen a guy before?" He questioned.

Angela found herself staring at the white curtain still, her hand outreached towards the curtain. She blinked lightly, wondering what happened before blushing. Now she was having fantasies too! Angela cleared her throat lightly and pulled back the curtain.

Unlike her girlish fantasy, Gill didn't look sexy. No, he just looked frail. He was dressed in a gown, just like she should've been, and he was breathing through his mouth, relaxed breaths going in and out of his body. Well... at least he was stable.

Angela sighed lightly and turned around before she felt a cold hand grasp hers. At first the initial contact was so sudden that she jumped, but then she looked back. Gill's hand had reached out and grabbed hers, and tightened lightly. Angela looked back at his face, his eyes meeting hers almost instantaneously. Angela blinked lightly, and Gill sat up, still holding her hand. He looked down suddenly, and let go of her hand, which fell limply to her side.

"Thank you.." Gill said, "and I'm sorry."

Well the joke was on him now, wasn't it. She had gotten exactly what she wanted. She had won. Dammit. This was worse than the blow to the nads he'd received from his father when he'd gotten home from the clinic. He'd been chewed out for the month and a half worth of talking his father had neglected to give him. At least he wasn't mad anymore.. but Gill didn't know whether or not his 'piece' still worked or not.

It was as if a miracle had happened. People actually started to visit him, and give him small things like chocolates and balloons. Elli even claimed to be doing some work, but he knew that she was physically and mentally incapable, poor thing. He actually got to smile for the first time in what had seemed like an eternity. Gill was laying in his bed, chewing on a piece of licorice when she actually came back again. But, she didn't come alone. She came with Luke, Cathy, Renee, Tobi, Owen, Selena, Anissa, Taylor, Jin, Bo, Chloe, Calvin and Phoebe. All of them came in at once and crowded his room, fawning over him and asking him questions. But no matter how hard he tried, his eyes kept wandering sneakily over to Angela. Had she done this? What was she planning? Was she some sort of witch? All he had to do was apologize and the evil spell had been taken off? He tried to tell himself that he was beginning to imagine things, but this strange nagging feeling kept making itself present at the base of his skull... Oh, no wait, that was Chloe ticking the back of his neck with a small stick.

Gill took the stick away from her and stuck his tongue out at her, but she just laughed and pulled out another one.

"En guard!" Chloe shouted, determination filling her big blue eyes. Gill's eyes slanted, and he smiled slyly, bringing up his stick for battle. Everyone in the room laughed and chatted and questioned. But, by the time they were all done and gone, Gill found that Angela was still in the room. She was just standing there, studying him, as if thinking of something to say, but not being able to express it.

They just stood there for a moment, looking at each other. Gill scratched his head lightly, still looking her in the eye. It looked like she was frozen in place almost. What was she waiting for?

"Uhm..." Angela said.

Gill found himself straightening up for some reason. Wait.. was his body willing him to listen? She almost looked petrified at his small movement.

"You're welcome.. and I forgive you."

Angela rushed out of the room at the speed of light, but he could've sworn that her face had been redder than a tomato. He found himself chuckling lightly before stopping himself. He.. chuckled? No no no, Gill didn't chuckle. Gill never chuckled. He blinked lightly. Gill knew now she was no witch. No, she was something much much worse than a witch.

Gill had felt these characteristics before. The faster beating heart, the uncharacteristic actions and words, the unintentional laughing. Gill's face blanched as he sat in bed. His heart started beating even faster now. He thought that it'd pass as he got into adulthood. He trusted his heart not to be so trivial. But it wasn't so.. No, it wasn't so. Was it possible..? Yes, it certainly was.

But before Gill could name the illness to himself, his father came barging in. "Ho ho, spending a couple extra minutes with the ladies are we?"

"Dad!" Gill complained, but he was cut off. This time it was Gill's turn to have a red face.

"Now don't think your father doesn't know what's going on. That girl's face was redder than a ripe tomato at the end of summer!"

Gill shouted at his father to get out, and his father complied, thinking whatever his father thought most of the time. Chances were his thoughts weren't very pure.

Gill sighed and crossed his arms, calming himself down. He looked out the window, out at the deep navy blue of the sky and got lost in the stars.

"Dammit. Why do crushes even exist?"

Hee hee hee! Yaaaay! :) I iz proud of myself. Thanks for reading as always, and since I got this one done fast, I think I'll have another chapter up by the end of the weekend.