A/N: Hey! Just want to thank everyone again for supporting this little fluffy summer story :) I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I also wanted to give a quick shoutout to my writing buddy, anniesardors, for being someone to talk about writing and just life with. You're amazing. Thank you for the name help for this chapter ;)

"Oh my god," Hailey groaned to herself while rolling over in bed. She'd somehow spent much of the night getting sick in the bathroom from the amount of alcohol she'd had. Leaning over the toilet certainly didn't help her backache, but she remembered the tube of muscle cream Jay had given her and decided to go find it.

Walking out of the bedroom, she sighed and rubbed her face.

"Hey, you," Vanessa said.

Hailey moved her hands to see her roommate sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee. "Hey," she groaned.

Vanessa laughed softly and pointed to the coffeepot on the counter. "Started that for you," she said.

"What an angel," Hailey breathed. She stepped into the kitchen and restarted the machine so hot coffee could drip into her mug. Sitting next to it was the muscle cream that she gratefully grabbed and held out to Vanessa. "Mind helping me out?" she asked.

"Course," Vanessa said. She waited for Hailey to stand in front of her with her shirt bunched up to ask, "Where'd you get this?"

"Jay," Hailey answered, closing her eyes as Vanessa rubbed a small amount of cream onto her lower back.

"That was nice of him," Vanessa said.

"Mhmm," Hailey hummed. The coffeepot finished at the same time as Vanessa, so she readjusted her shirt and happily grabbed her mug to take a long sip. Once the hot drink was coursing through her, she sat down and tuned in to Vanessa's question. She narrowed her eyes and asked, "Where were you last night?"

Vanessa weakly laughed and shrugged.

"No, nope, you don't get to do that," Hailey said and sat up in her chair, "Where the hell were you and Mouse?"

Vanessa cleared her throat and looked around the apartment. "We…we were here," she said.

Hailey slowly nodded and asked, "And?"

There was a quick knock on the door and Kim's voice came through saying, "Did the gossip start yet? People, let me in."

Hailey laughed and hurried over to the door. Wincing at the ache still present everywhere within her, she opened the door and said, "She was just about to start."

"Thank god I didn't miss it," Kim breathed while rushing in. It was very obvious her need for gossip had kicked in the second she woke up because her hair was still a mess and she was wearing Adam's clothes – from his t-shirt down to the baggy socks around her ankles.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and said, "There's nothing to tell."

"No, there definitely is," Hailey said, "You two were gone for a very long time yesterday."

"Very long time?" Kim repeated, "They were gone the entire night. I barely saw you."

"We were here," Vanessa said with a sigh, "You could have walked over and found us."

"And walked in here and found you two doing what?" Hailey asked, "What the hell was happening in here?"

Vanessa couldn't hide the smirk that formed on her face. She pulled her leg up on her chair and played with the edge of her shirt. Shrugging, she said, "It wasn't anything huge. Just a one night thing."

Kim smacked the table and gasped, "No."

"Yes," Vanessa said and finally laughed, "I was feeling gross and unwanted and he was willing to help. So he helped."

"Oh, I bet he did," Hailey said, "Helped how many times?"

"Hailey," Kim hissed, but then looked at Vanessa and said, "Well?"

Vanessa laughed again and shook her head. She ran her hand through her hair and looked again around the apartment. Pointing to the couch, she said, "Once." Turning toward her bedroom, she added, "I don't even know." Finally, she put her hand on the table and said, "Once."

"Oh my god," Hailey said and pushed away in her chair.

Kim closed her eyes and said, "No way."

"It was good," Vanessa said, her laughter dripping through her voice, "I feel like me again, isn't that good?"

"You had no reason to even worry," Kim said once she opened her eyes again. She reached over to take a sip of Vanessa's coffee then explained, "That was Kevin's friend. She's really nice; you two would probably get along."

Vanessa shrugged and stood up to grab three bananas from the counter. Handing them out, she said, "Maybe we would, but right now, I'm focusing on myself."

"And how many condoms you needed last night?" Hailey teased.

Rolling her eyes, Vanessa laughed and hit Hailey in the head with her banana. "He did use the last one in our cabinet, so you're gonna need to buy more before Jay comes over," she said.

Kim laughed as she opened her banana. "There it is," she said, "I've been having the same thoughts."

"Jay and I are just friends," Hailey said, "So shut up."

Vanessa put a hand out in acknowledgment and winked at her.

Kim stifled a giggle in her banana then said, "Can we please consider something for a moment?"

"Which is what?" Vanessa asked while sitting back down in her seat.

"How freaking good he looked in that green shirt last night," Kim said, her eyes trained on Hailey, "And he's got good hands. I can't believe you didn't just bend over right there and ask for him to put the cream on you himself."

Vanessa snorted and shook her head. "It's too early for that today, and I don't think Hailey would have loved the public nature of that," she stated.

Kim blinked then blushed bright. She weakly laughed and added, "I didn't mean...well..."

Hailey blushed as well, but couldn't hold back a laugh as she shook her head and said, "He does have nice hands – arms too."

"That's my girl," Vanessa said, laughing against her banana.

The three of them spent the day on the couch nursing their hangovers while watching TV and eating as many carbs that they could get their hands on. It reminded Hailey of when they spent all their time in the dorm rooms on a Sunday. It all felt like the perfect explanation as to why moving into this apartment was the right choice.

In addition to the nice guys across the hall.

Those same nice guys came over later in the day with their extra pizza and a bottle of aspirin to join them on the couch. Kevin and Adam joined a little later dressed in their own sweats, and soon enough everyone was sprawled out around the living room with Top Gun playing on the TV.

While Kim and Adam were sharing the small loveseat and Vanessa was sitting on the chair with Kevin at her feet, Hailey found herself next to Jay on the couch whereas Mouse was laying on the rug. She had turned sideways pretty early on so her legs were against Jay's which prompted him to set his hand on her and absentmindedly swirl his fingers around. It was almost as hypnotizing as staring at his glasses.

When he'd shown up with Mouse, he'd been complaining about struggling to get his contacts in and blaming his hangover for it. She wasn't sure what kind of glasses she expected to see him in, but black plastic ones probably weren't at the top of the list. After taking some of his aspirin in an attempt to soothe his headache, he'd plopped down on the couch and announced he wasn't going to move for the rest of the day.

The sweatpants he was wearing felt soft against her bare legs and she briefly wondered what his hoodies would feel like before stopping herself. She had no reason to think about his hoodies since she had no intention of dating him right now. She'd told him she might say yes in the future and she meant it, but she really did mean the future. Now was not the time.

Even if they both fell asleep together on the couch at the end of the movie and stayed there under a blanket Kim had tossed over them long after they both realized they'd woken up again.

Hailey just liked how warm he felt against her.

"So you didn't mention it."

"Mention what?"

Jay smirked slightly and shoved his hands in his hoodie pocket. "My glasses," he said.

Hailey shrugged and said, "I like them."

"That's it?" Jay asked.

Hailey nodded and replied, "Yeah. Do you want me to say more?"

"No," Jay chuckled and stepped back into the hallway, "Just glad they don't bother you."

"I told you I like them," Hailey said and closed the distance between the two of them again. "Why would they bother me?" she asked.

"I don't know," Jay said. He glanced back at his own apartment and added, "Mouse calls them my kryptonite."

Hailey laughed and shook her head. "Even Superman had glasses," she said, "And he looked good with or without them." Trailing off, she took a breath then added, "Like you."

Jay smiled at her then looked down at his feet. "Well," he said before glancing back up at her, "Thank you. I'm sure you look good-"

Hailey didn't wait for him to finish his sentence before reaching out and taking his glasses off his face. Slipping them on, she smiled and said, "Do I?"

Laughing, Jay said, "Yup. Just like I thought."

Hailey smiled back at him and handed his glasses back. Once he put them on, she said, "They're not your kryptonite."

"I didn't think so," Jay said.

Staring at him still not entering his apartment, Hailey licked her lips and tilted her head to the side. The words teased her tongue, but she couldn't find herself to ask what his kryptonite actually was. It felt like a weirdly personal question, especially considering they'd just taken a nap together on her couch. Yes, their friends were all around them half-asleep as well, but it was still something personal that they'd done.

Jay seemed to catch on to what she was thinking, though, and again stepped backwards, his hand now on his own doorknob. "Talk about it another time?" he asked.

Hailey nodded and breathed, "Yeah."

"Hope you feel better soon," Jay said and opened his apartment. He shot her one last smile before stepping inside and closing the door.

Closing her eyes briefly, Hailey gave herself a second before returning to her own apartment. When she closed the door, she let out another breath she was holding and let her shoulders relax.

"Is your back feeling better?" Vanessa asked as she came out of her bedroom.

Hailey put her hand on her lower back and nodded. "Yeah, thanks," she said.

Vanessa smiled at her and picked up a stray water bottle.

"Did you…did you talk to Mouse before he left?" Hailey asked, walking back to the living room.

Vanessa shook her head and said, "Not really. There's not much to talk about."

"You had sex," Hailey pointed out.

"And we're moving on," Vanessa said with a shrug, "It's no big deal."

Hailey narrowed her eyes then repeated, "You had a lot of sex."

Vanessa laughed and said, "I know. Maybe we'll do it again, but until then, we'll just live our lives."

Hailey crossed her arms then gasped softly and asked, "Did you talk to Kevin?"

Vanessa nodded and said, "He actually told me he wished we could have talked last night."

"Mhmm," Hailey hummed, a smile spreading across her face, "And your earlier comments about not caring about him and not getting along with Celeste?"

"Just a moot point," Vanessa as she walked around Hailey to the kitchen.

Hailey laughed softly and shook her head. "You're ridiculous," she said.

"You love me," Vanessa called over her shoulder.

Hailey turned to look at her and said, "Somehow, yes."

Vanessa blew her a kiss and laughed.

Laughing with her, Hailey shook her head again and said, "I'm gonna go pass out in my room. See you tomorrow."

Vanessa waved and said, "Sweet dreams, Hailey Anne!"

Hailey smiled to herself while making her way into her room. She didn't even bother changing out of her shorts and sweatshirt and simply climbed underneath her covers.

Closing her eyes and settling back within her pillows, she could still feel the warmth of Jay's legs against hers. Even through his sweatpants, it had been comforting to have him so close to her. They'd fallen asleep together while watching a movie; she felt like that was rather intimate even if they were friends.

Like always, she left their meeting feeling like she needed to know more about him. He'd been the one to bring up having a kryptonite, and now she needed to know what it was. Whatever it was, it wasn't something he just wanted to talk about in the hallway, and she respected that.

Flipping onto her side, she tried thinking of what her kryptonite was. In truth, it was probably the whole love thing, but that was pretty intense. Maybe she needed a smaller kryptonite for when the conversation came back up – something that wouldn't make her seem so pessimistic. Then again, she'd made it clear to him that she didn't believe in love or even like it, he just didn't know why. Still, that was pretty intense for a simple kryptonite conversation that started because of his glasses. Maybe she could bring up a health thing too like allergies or her dislike for bone-in chicken wings.

She was in the middle of listing out her past injuries that had certainly affected her life and kryptonite when she fell asleep for the second time that day.

A day later, Hailey had been home from work for about half an hour when there was a knock on the apartment door. She finished pulling on Jay's red t-shirt she'd yet to give back and walked to see who was there.

Jay stood in the hallway smiling at her with a plate in his hand. "Hey, I made some cookies, want one?" he asked.

Hailey immediately smiled and let him in the apartment. "You know the way to a girl's heart."

Jay chuckled and shrugged. "You did say I could eventually ask you out."

"Eventually," Hailey repeated, "Like 'I'm established in my career' eventually."

"That's not a no," Jay pointed out with a smile.

Hailey rolled her eyes and pulled out two sparkling waters from the fridge. "So what'd you make?" she asked.

Jay cleared his throat then held out his paper plate filled with frosted cookies. "Strawberry drops," he announced.

Hailey raised an eyebrow and couldn't help but laugh as she grabbed one. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"It means they're like my mom's lemon drop cookies, but I didn't have lemons, so I made a swap," Jay explained.

Hailey laughed again before taking a bite. She hummed and nodded, saying, "Good," behind her hand to hide the food in her mouth, "I didn't think strawberries could taste like this."

"Cool," Jay replied with a smile. He set the plate on the table then took one for himself. Biting into it, he said, "Powder sugar glaze on top."

Hailey finished her cookie as she sat down at the table. She kicked out a seat for Jay and grabbed a napkin to wipe her hands. "I'm not a great baker," she said.

"I remember," he chuckled and sat opposite her, "But you can cook, right?"

Hailey nodded and grabbed another cookie. She cleared her throat then said, "I can. Do you know that Greek chicken that has the orange seasoning?"

Jay nodded and said, "It's my favorite."

Hailey smiled and replied, "Then I'll have to make it for you." She winked and took a bite of her new cookie.

"Sounds great," Jay said and finished his cookie before taking another. After taking a bite of it, he waited for Hailey to finish coughing before saying, "So our roommates slept together the other night, huh?"

Hailey nodded and wiped her mouth. "I'm sure she was buzzed," she said.

"Oh, so was Mouse," Jay said, "But I also know him and I know he would have been respectful."

"Glad to hear that," Hailey replied. She took a bite of her cookie then started coughing again.

"You good?" Jay asked. He opened a bottle of sparkling water and slid it over to her.

"Just…feel like something's in my throat," Hailey coughed out. She gasped for breath then itched the side of her mouth. She glanced at the bottle before taking a long sip of water. Coughing again, she shook her head.

Jay slowly finished his cookie as she continued coughing and began rubbing more around her lips and on her throat.

"You're sure you're good?" Jay asked.

Hailey nodded and closed her eyes for a moment as she tried catching her breath.

"Drink more," Jay said and nudged her nearly empty water, "You can have mine too."

Shaking her head, Hailey opened her eyes and said, "Yours is tropical. I'm-I'm allergic. Vanessa drinks those."

Jay's eyes widened as his gaze slid down to the label. He took a minute to read it over then whispered, "Are you allergic to pineapple?"

"Mhmm," Hailey hummed and finished her drink.

Jay swore under his breath before shooting out of his chair, grabbing her arm, and saying, "We need to get you to the hospital."

"What?" Hailey asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"I may have put crushed pineapple and juice into the cookies," Jay explained as he frantically began searching for a pair of shoes for Hailey, "And by may have, I mean I did."

"You did what?" Hailey coughed, "Why?"

"Not enough strawberries, extra crushed pineapple in the fridge, doesn't matter," Jay said quickly. He found a pair of flip flops and tossed them at Hailey before pulling her to her feet.

"I just need benedryl," she said, "I'll be fine."

Jay raised an eyebrow before grabbing her wallet off the counter and her hand and tugging her out of the apartment. He left her waiting in the hallway as he darted in his own place for a set of keys.

Hailey tried hiding her cough and how itchy her lips felt the entire time Jay dragged her downstairs and out to the parking garage. He led her to an old red truck that he then helped her into. It rumbled low as he started it up, surprising her at how quiet it seemed.

Running her nails over her thighs, she asked, "When'd you get this?"

Jay glanced at her as he raced out of the parking garage. "Couple years ago," he answered, "Fixed it up with my dad before my junior year."

"That's nice," Hailey said.

Jay hummed and stepped on the gas.

Hailey sucked in a breath causing her to cough again. She hadn't had an allergic reaction in a while, but it usually was mild. With all her coughing, though, she could tell why Jay was so nervous.

Closing her eyes, she rested her head back to try and focus on breathing slowly.

"Hey, hey, what's going on? Talk to me," Jay said quickly, "Why're your eyes closed?"

"Just trying to calm down," Hailey said, "I'm okay."

Jay pursed his lips then reached over to find her wrist.

"What're you doing?" she asked.

"Checking your pulse," Jay said.

"Oh my god," Hailey breathed, "Jay, I'm-"

She broke off into a coughing fit, sitting up more and gripping onto Jay's hand. He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand while pressing the gas on the truck. With each cough, she began getting more and more scared, so she tried fighting it by closing her eyes and doing her best to focus on Jay's thumb.

She didn't know the hospital was so close to their apartments or she didn't realize just how fast the car was going, but they soon arrived and Jay was leading her into the Emergency Department.

"She's having an allergic reaction to pineapple," he explained to a nearby nurse.

"Okay, we'll take a look and help her out," the nurse replied with her hand out.

Before Jay could let her hand go, Hailey shook her head quickly and stepped back toward him. "Fine," she gasped out, "I'm-"

"I'll go with you," Jay said softly and nudged her toward the nurse, "It'll just be epinephrine, right?"

The nurse nodded and asked, "What's your name?"

"Hailey," Hailey coughed out, "Hailey Upton."

The nurse smiled and said, "Okay, Hailey, I'm Annie. Let's get you in a room."

"Want me to call anyone?" Jay asked while they walked through the emergency department.

Hailey shook her head and stopped to cough hard into her elbow. Gasping for breath, she stumbled into Jay and mumbled again, "Fine."

He sighed and accepted more of her weight until they arrived at the triage room. After helping her onto the exam table, he rubbed her back then stood at her side while chewing his lip.

Hailey kept her eyes on him while the nurse examined her. Like she'd realized in the short time since knowing him, his presence was very calming. While he may have appeared slightly nervous if she paid close attention, he still kept smiling at her and would squeeze her shoulder occasionally. His grip was a little tight on her hand as the nurse gave her a shot then an IV, but she didn't mind. It gave her something to focus on besides dying.

Eventually, the nurse encouraged her to lay back as the medicine did its work, but before she could leave, Jay asked, "Is Will Halstead here?"

The nurse hummed for a moment then said, "I believe he went upstairs to see his mom a little bit ago."

Jay checked his watch and nodded.

"Is that your brother?" Hailey gasped.

"Yeah," Jay said quietly.

"I'll let him know you're here," Annie said before walking out of the room.

"I didn't know your mom worked-"

"Just take a second and calm down," Jay interrupted while pulling a seat over to sit next to her. Putting his hands in his lap, he said, "I am so sorry. If there's any cost-"

Hailey shook her head and stuck her hand out that didn't have the IV in it to touch his lips.

Jay raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to talk only for Hailey to hush him.

"It's not your fault," she said, "Blame my parents for my genes."

"You could have died," Jay said against her finger.

"It's just my kryptonite," Hailey breathed, a smile teasing her lips.

Jay weakly laughed and shook his head.

"I'm okay," Hailey said, "And I will keep telling you that until you believe me."

Jay pursed his lips while staring at her. He finally took a deep breath then said, "Your lips are swollen."

Blushing, Hailey rolled her eyes and lightly pushed the side of his head. "Shut up."

Jay laughed and grabbed her hand. "What're you gonna do about it?" he asked.

Hailey shook her head and intertwined their fingers together. "I'll think of something," she said.

"Well, while you do that, I'm gonna wait this out and attempt to make it up to you," Jay said. He squeezed her fingers and asked, "Allergic to anything else I need to know of?"

Hailey shook her head again and breathed, "Nope."

"Then milkshakes on me on the way home," Jay replied, a true smile beginning to form on his face.

Hailey smiled back and said, "I'd like that."

Jay didn't reply and simply nodded with a another squeeze to her hand.

Hailey took a slow breath and watched his eyes. They seemed to be stuck on hers, not moving around in the slightest. Barely three feet from her own, she could make out each speck of green in them. She briefly smiled to herself as she remembered how he'd looked in his glasses the day before. Part of her wished he was wearing them again.

The nurse had warned her of headaches, dizziness, nausea…a list of physical and mental symptoms she could be feeling after the large dose of epinephrine. She could feel some of those physical symptoms, but the anxiety and apprehensiveness? None of that was coursing through her. Jay's hand seemed to be taking all of that away.

She was in the middle of counting the freckles across his nose when there was a soft knock on the door and a doctor walked in. For a brief moment, she recognized him just from walking around the hospital during her breaks at work. Then she realized who he was.

Jay stood up, keeping his hold on her hand, and said, "Hey."

"Annie said you were here with a friend, I thought Adam might've lit himself on fire again or something," Will said, his eyes darting over to Hailey.

She weakly laughed and pushed herself up on the bed. Groaning as she sat up from the tug of the IV in her hand and the pressure in her head, she said, "Nope. Not Adam. Just someone your brother accidentally gave pineapple to." She reluctantly let go of Jay's hand in order to reach out and say, "Hailey Upton."

"Will Halstead," Will replied as he stepped forward to shake her hand, "How're you feeling? I'm sorry my brother almost killed you."

Hailey laughed softly and said, "Honestly, I've been better, but I'll be okay." She glanced at Jay and reached out to grab his hand again as she once again told him, "This is not your fault. You didn't know."

He squeezed her hand and nodded.

Hailey breathed in slowly and hesitantly let go of his hand. She reached up to brush her fingers on the side of his head and whispered, "I'm okay."

"All right," Jay breathed. He slid his hand down to her leg and rubbed his thumb over her knee before turning back to Will. "The nurse said you were with Mom?" he said.

Will nodded and pointed toward the ceiling. "I was sitting with her upstairs, she said she wants to have dinner with us soon," he explained.

Jay sighed and said, "Yeah, okay. I'll call her later."

"Sure you don't want to see her now?" Will asked, then began to smirk as he teased, "Her baby boy will certainly cheer her up. She's here for another half hour at least."

Jay rolled his eyes and leaned against the table by Hailey. "I'm a little busy," he admitted.

She glanced up at him and said, "You can go. I'm okay here."

Jay shook his head and said, "I'm not leaving you. She'll understand."

"Oh, for sure she would," Will added, once again eyeing Hailey, "She used to work down here, I'm sure she saw a ton of allergic reactions. Your lips are still a little swollen." Walking over to her IV, he said, "This should be done soon, so hopefully that'll help."

"She used to be an ED nurse?" Hailey asked as Will glanced at his watch.

Jay nodded and said, "It's where she started out, then she moved to the maternity ward."

"God, she loved that job," Will said, looking up again.

Jay chuckled and said, "Everyday she'd come home and tell us who was born."

Hailey smiled up at him and asked, "What'd she do after that?"

While Jay's face froze and Will furrowed his eyebrows with a glance toward his brother, the door opened and the nurse walked back inside.

"I brought you a water," she said to Hailey with a bottle of water in her hand.

Hailey tore her eyes from Jay and said, "Thanks." She grabbed the water and held it as the nurse quickly looked her over once more.

"Your lips are still a little swollen, but nothing to worry about," Annie said with a smile, "I'll grab your paperwork and you'll be good to go. I'm guessing you're not driving?"

"No, I've got her," Jay said, looking up from his phone he'd been on during Hailey's final exam.

"In that junker?" Will laughed as the nurse slipped from the room.

"It seemed fine," Hailey piped in.

"It's a good car," Jay replied, "We can't all afford new cars."

"I really can't afford one either, it's a lease," Will admitted, "Dad made sure to remind me of that."

"Oh god, and it's not American either, is it?" Jay asked.

Will shook his head and sighed.

Jay whistled low and said, "Damn." Glancing down at Hailey struggling with her water bottle, he took it from her to open. When he passed it back to her, he asked, "What possessed you to piss off our father?"

Will laughed and said, "College and furthering my education wasn't enough. I figured he'd actually have a heart attack if I did this. I could really practice my medicine then."

Jay laughed with him and shook his head.

Hailey slipped from the conversation as the two started reminiscing about their dad claiming to have a heart attack two years before. She was more stuck on the conversation about their mom. She'd seen Jay's worried face for the majority of the day, but it was completely different than the face he'd had at the mention of what his mom was currently doing. It was haunting.

The question had struck a nerve and she regretted it nearly instantly. A small part of her was beginning to assume their mom wasn't a nurse anymore but perhaps a patient instead.

She tried piecing everything together for the next hour between completing any paperwork she needed and Jay driving her home. He'd gone quiet and worried again once Will left them alone, but did keep checking his phone. His hand slipped against hers a few times and kept bringing her the same comfort it had throughout the day. Even when he passed her a chocolate milkshake after they went to the drive-thru and his fingers brushed against hers, she felt a bit of warmth spread through her in a much more comforting way than the heat in her lips and face had been the first time she'd climbed in his truck.

His hand was still warm on her back as they made their way up the stairs toward their apartments together upon finally getting home after drinking the milkshakes together in the fast food parking lot where he'd entertained her with stories of Will growing up - completely leaving out mentions of his mom, which just increased Hailey's curiosity about the woman.

"I really am so sorry," he said once they reached their floor.

"I know," she replied with her hand on the doorknob, "You've said that enough today, okay? It was an accident."

Jay took a deep breath then said, "I know, but that's-"

"No buts," Hailey said, promptly cutting him off. She closed the short distance between the two of them and pressed a quick, chaste kiss to his cheek. "We're good," she said softly, "I trust you."

Noticing the flush that rose in his cheeks along with the look of shock in his eyes, she squeezed his arm before turning to open the apartment door.

"You're alive!"

Hailey winced as Vanessa lunged at her to wrap her in a tight hug. She weakly laughed and said, "I'm fine."

When she pulled away from Vanessa's tight hug, she noticed the apartment was filled with the rest of their friends as well. Kim and Kevin were nearby whereas Mouse and Adam dressed in pineapple Hawaiian shirts were standing on the other side of the couch.

"What're you all doing?" she asked.

"It's why I was apologizing," Jay said as he closed the door behind him.

"Jay texted me that you had an allergic reaction," Mouse explained.

"We wanted to know you were okay," Kim added while walking over. She hugged Hailey tightly and asked, "How are you really?"

"Fine," Hailey said earnestly, "Jay got me there in time and I basically got an epipen. I'm okay. Just a little tired."

"I'll grab you a sweatshirt, you're shaking," Jay said before slipping from the apartment.

Mouse patted Hailey's shoulder on his way out to follow.

Kim glanced back at Adam and hissed, "Take it off."

"It's funny," Adam chuckled and showed off his shirt.

Hailey smiled at him and nodded. "I appreciate the humor," she said.

Kevin pulled a kitchen chair out for her and asked, "Did you get sick or just swell up?"

"My lips swelled and it was a bit hard to breathe," Hailey explained while sitting down.

"Damn," Kevin breathed.

"We are getting rid of all pineapple in here," Vanessa announced.

"You really don't have to," Hailey said.

"Hailey, this was serious," Vanessa said, her hand on her hip, "You could have died."

Rolling her eyes, Hailey sank further in the chair. She took a few breaths before glancing at the door and saying, "Don't say anything about it to Jay. He didn't know and he feels bad enough."

"It's going to eat him alive," Adam mumbled causing Kim to nod slightly.

Vanessa sighed, but said nothing and just sat down next to Hailey. She squeezed Hailey's hand and shot her a small, grateful smile.

"I know," Hailey whispered as they made eye contact, "I know."

The door opened and Jay stepped inside holding a blue hoodie with Mouse right behind him. He handed Hailey the hoodie and said softly, "To match that t-shirt."

Hailey blushed, but still smiled and said, "Thank you," before slipping it on.

Jay nodded back at her and took a deep breath causing Hailey to reach up and brush her hand along his side.

"Well," Mouse began while slipping his Hawaiian shirt off to just be in his white t-shirt, "I think this calls for Day 2 of watching Top Gun and eating junk food. What do we say?"

It was an easy answer all around, and Hailey was very grateful. She was more than capable of functioning on her own, but her friends were all too happy to get her water and snacks and pillows - not that she even needed the pillows as Jay's side that she was tucked in to was comfortable enough to send her into a peaceful sleep.

A/N: Fun chapter? :) Let me know what you think!