I'm Not Gay, I Swear! | McPriceley

Chapter Twenty-Three

Connor was alright. Or at least, he was alive. The medical staff was doing all that they could to keep him steady. He'd lost about two pints of blood. He'd somehow managed to cut himself deep enough, and on a major vein. They'd managed to give him a blood transfusion and stabilize him for now. They just had to hope that he'd stay at this secure pace.

They only allowed for a certain number of visitors inside the room at the moment, so everyone decided it would be best for Kevin to see him first. The rest of the six sat in the waiting area as Kevin stood up to follow the nurse, who led him to a small room.

The nurse cautiously opened the door, peeking their head inside before turning to Kevin and nodding. Kevin took a deep breath and stepped inside the room, the nurse waiting back in the doorway.

There was a single bed inside the room, placed about two feet away from a singular window. Only one light was on, probably to make it more relaxing for Connor. The boy himself was laying on the bed, small and weak. A bunch of machinery surrounded him, making so much noise that Kevin couldn't understand how he had managed to fall asleep. Though, of course, he'd probably passed out from the loss of blood.

Kevin took a few steps towards Connor, wanting to break down in tears at the mere sight of him. He looked so pale and thin since he had last seen him. He wondered if he had even eaten anything over the past few weeks. Kevin sat down in the chair next to him, carefully taking Connor's hand in his.

"Con... I'm so sorry," he whispered, his voice getting caught in his throat. He sniffled, gently brushing a few strands of hair out of Connor's face.

The ginger remained asleep, but he softly squeezed Kevin's hand, as if subconsciously letting him know that it was alright. Kevin took a shaky breath before leaning down and placing a small kiss on Connor's forehead.

. . .

After a few more moments of sitting alone with Connor, Kevin-- with much hesitation-- finally left the room to let the others see Connor themselves. Steve took a quick visit into the room, though he remained expressionless the whole time. Naba and Arnold went in together, staying much longer than Steve, only to exit with a quietly crying Naba, and an Arnold who for once was speechless.

Though when it was Chris and James' turn to visit Connor, the blond just slowly shook his head.

"I... I can't. I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can see him in this condition after..." he faltered, staring down at the ground and hugging his arms.

"It's alright, Chris," James said, resting a hand over Chris' arm. "We don't have to go in if you don't want to."
"You guys won't be mad at me...?" Chris asked.

"Of course not. We wouldn't want to ever force you to do something you're not comfortable with, especially after all that just happened."

Chris smiled softly and hugged James' side. "Thank you."

"Of course," James said, hugging his boyfriend back.

Kevin glanced over at the two before quickly turning his gaze back towards the floor. "I think I'm going to go see Connor again," he said, already starting to stand up.

"Actually, it is getting pretty late," Naba said, wiping her eyes once more. "I think we should all start heading home."

"What? No! We can't just leave him! What if... what if something happens when we're gone?"

"Kev, he's in a stable condition right now," Arnold told him. "You can't just keep thinking negatively."

"And we will be back right away tomorrow. You just need to get some sleep," Naba told him.

"I don't need sleep! I need to stay with him, to-to make sure that he's okay!" Kevin argued.

"Kevin, please, he will be okay," Naba stressed. "We are just going home for a few hours and then-"

"You can go home. I'm staying here," Kevin said sternly.

"Kev, are you even allowed to stay here overnight?"

"I... I don't know. But I'm sure they can make an exception for one person. Either way, I'm not leaving."

Naba let out a small sigh. "Okay... if you say so. I guess we will see you tomorrow, then."

Everyone gave Kevin a small goodbye before following after Naba, leaving Kevin all alone in the lobby. As soon as they were gone, though, he stood up to go check on Connor again, sitting in the same chair before and taking Connor's hand in his once again.

The ginger himself didn't look much different than before. He still seemed almost lifeless-- and someone might've even mistaken him for dead if it wasn't the rise and fall of his chest. His face was still sickly pallid, but a small detail had changed upon it. A smile-- the smallest fragment of a smile, but a smile nonetheless. It was as if the presence of all Connor's friends had given him some hope, even if he was still knocked out cold.

Kevin felt himself smile slightly at the small sight, to know that even Connor seemed to be having some hope. And being able to hold Connor's hand, to be able to be so close to him once more, just added onto Kevin's happiness. But Connor was still lying here in this hospital. Who knew what could happen in just a few hours time. It scared Kevin to think of how much could change in just a snap of his fingers.

But he tried to shake those bad thoughts away. Instead, he tried focusing on what Arnold had told him. To focus on the positive things. To not let all of his worries take control of him.

Maybe... maybe everything would be alright in the end.