Black & White

42: I always liked the color gray

''Okay, on three, yeah?''

''No, after three!''

''For crying out loud, just decide''

''You three, shut up''

''I swear I'm not friends with you people from tomorrow on''

''Oh shut up, Aussie! You love us!''

''Not as much as he loves Tina, though!''

''That's true alright!''

''I'm about to slit your throats''

I opened my eyes, immediately blinded by the sunlight bouncing off the white walls.

''Shush, you guys, she's waking up!''

''Well, fuck, we missed our shot!''

My eyes finally adjusted to the light and I squinted to see everyone piled around my hospital bed. ''I'm alive?'' I croaked out, barely audibly.

''Hell yeah, you are!'' Seb cheered.

''Did you expect to be dead?'' Tara snorted.

''Did you see a light at the end of a tunnel or some shit like that?'' Caleb asked with genuine interest, earning a slap to the head from Austin.

''Shut your trap, Caleb'' Austin growled.

''You guys, let her breathe for a sec'' Sasha rolled her eyes at everyone.

''Can I just...'' I struggled to speak as my eyes scanned the hospital room. ''Have a glass of water?'' I asked.

Austin raced to a cooler at the entrance, before anyone could even register my request. ''Here, be careful...it's cold'' He handed me a bottle of water.

''It's okay'' I smiled weakly, taking the bottle from him.

''Here, let me open it'' He took it back, making my smile grow wider. Everyone watched us in silence, hiding their own grins from the always serious Austin.

''There!'' He popped the bottle open before handing it to me.

I took it gladly, my hand shaking a little from the weight of the bottle.

''Should I hold it for you?'' He asked, nervously staring at my arm holding the bottle.

''No, it's okay'' I shook my head as I brought it up to my lips. After taking a small sip, I let him close it again before looking at everyone else again.

''So, my mom says you'll be on the road to a smooth recovery in no time'' Austin spoke slowly, glancing at everyone. ''And I...I wanted to speak to you about...'' He hinted to everyone.

''Ah! I suddenly feel quite hungry, starving even!'' Sasha caught on to whatever Austin was trying to get across to them. She stood up, motioning for the rest to get up.

''Oh, yeah, I feel like I could eat an elephant!'' Caleb agreed, getting up suddenly.

''Yeah, I'm feeling kind of thirsty, not gonna lie...'' Tara stood up too, pulling Seb up with her. ''And Seb needs to...take a shit!'' She blurted. Seb gave her a look but got up anyway.

I laughed as they left the room in a hurry. ''You were saying?'' I switched my attention to Austin again, only to be taken aback by his serious expression.

''Tina, I have to tell you something-''

''Gina's dead too, isn't she?'' I beat him to it.

He stared at me for a while before nodding slowly.

''He shot her before he ran after me, didn't he?'' I asked, looking away. A while passed as he stared at me, probably wondering why I was so calm about it.

''He did'' He finally spoke.

''I knew it. When the paramedic said she was in another ambulance, I knew he did something'' I explained.

''He's dead too'' He spoke again.

My eyes found him again, ''He's...he's dead?''.

''He shot himself right after shooting you'' He explained with a frown. ''I guess he didn't want to live with all the guilt...''

''He was sick'' I sighed. ''He thought he was fixing things''

''Don't make excuses for him'' Austin shook his head. ''He could've killed you, you know what, right? He could've killed you if I didn't think ahead and call the ambulance. Fuck, Tina. For a second...I thought you were dead. Do you know what that feels like? When the one person you allowed yourself to love might be dead...''

''I'm sorry'' I whispered, eyeing him.

''Don't say that'' He shook his head, finally coming closer and taking my hand in his. ''I was just upset. It's not your fault. I'm sorry I sounded harsh...''

''No, it's okay. I thought I was going to die too'' I whispered as he stroked my hand gently with his thumb. ''I could only think about how we called each other by our last names, you know? Our thing? Yeah, that was tuck in my head and I just kept thinking about it'' I rambled on.

''I could hear your laugh'' He choked out. ''It rang in my ears and I was like in a trance or something, staring at a hospital wall like a psycho''

I chuckled, ''Sounds like the two of us are going to need some therapy''.

''Yeah, you can say that again'' He chuckled as well.

''Now you're tied to a vegetable-girl, huh?'' I joked, but the frown crept up onto my face anyway.

''I always liked vegetables...'' He trailed off, fighting a smirk.

''And I always liked assholes'' I rolled my eyes.

''Well, that's a shame. I'm no asshole...'' He frowned, before bursting into heartwarming laughter.

''I could argue that'' I muttered, giving him a look.

''Oh, baby, we have a long time to do just that'' He winked.

I rolled my eyes, laughing at his goofy mood. He looked so relieved, I couldn't ignore it. He was genuinely happy that I was okay, and that warmed my heart. The cold, careless, moody bad boy cared about me.

Heck,

He loves me.

If that wasn't a good enough reason to keep fighting to see the light of another day, I don't know what would be.

''You alright?'' He asked, scanning my features with his icy grey eyes. His hair was falling in front of his eyes, like a choppy curtain. The clothes on his body were wrinkly, telling me everything I needed to know about how he spent the last few weeks.

I nodded, ''Always''.

''That's great'' He smiled.

''You? Are you alright?'' I breathed, gazing into his eyes as he came closer to me.

His eyes danced between my lips and my stare, nervously coming closer. ''Always'' He copied my answer, a hint of a cheeky smirk on his lips.

''That's great'' I copied him too, biting my lip.

He smirked, leaning down slowly. ''You are one unbearably unbelievable girl, White'' He murmured, his lips brushing against mine.

''And you,'' I whispered against his lips, my breath caught somewhere in the depths of my throat as I failed to keep my cool. ''Are one bearably believable boy, Black'' I looked up into his eyes, through my eyelashes just like I did the first time I messed with him. He smirked down at me, before letting his lips caress mine.

What was it that you get when you mix Black and White? Gray, was it?

Huh, interesting.

I always liked the color gray.