The Love Letter Game || The Music Freaks

Chapter 16 | Waiting

Thump. Thump

Jake felt his heart pounding in his chest, his body shaking as he paced back and forth in front of the hospital room. Several of his fingers were bleeding, from the excessive nail-biting he had been doing within the past several hours.

"Jake, maybe you should sit down for a bit," Liam murmured, worry glossing over his blood-red eyes as he gazed at his friend. He didn't expect Jake to take the news well, but on the other hand, he didn't expect him to take it this awfully, either.

"Yeah, you just need to relax a bit," Henry agreed, giving a weak smile.

"I can't calm down!" Jake snapped, his anxious demeanor being taken over by an angry, impatient one.

Liam and Henry remained silent, blinking back at him.

His expression softening, Jake sighed, "I'm sorry, guys. I'm just really scared, that's all..." He stared at the ground, tensely crossing his arms.

Suddenly, Jake felt two arms wrap around him. Liam was hugging him. Jake allowed himself to melt into the embrace, though he felt too weak to hug back. Instead, all he did was snuggle closer to Liam, as the latter rubbed circles onto Jake's back.

Jake couldn't hold it back any longer, no matter how much he tried. He broke down into sobs, his face buried into Liam's shoulder.

"It's okay, Jake," Liam mumbled, his own tears building up in his eyes, "We're scared too, but he'll be okay. I'm sure of it."

Jake rested his hands on Liam's chest, gently gripping his white vest. Someone else's touch and comfort was all he needed at that moment, and he was desperate not to let it go.

"We're here!"

Jake kept himself close to Liam, though he turned his head to the voice.

Zoey was running down the hospital hall towards them, each of her hands occupied with Daisy and Sadie, who she was dragging behind her.

Once they had arrived at the group, the three girls seemed out of breath, though Zoey had a look of sheer panic painted across her face.

Once Zoey caught her breath and was able to form full sentences, she immediately gushed out several questions, "What happened? Is Drew okay? He didn't die, did he?!"

"Hey, just breathe," Sadie murmured, placing a hand on Zoey's shoulder. It seemed to calm down the blonde, at least a little bit.

"I don't know, we haven't been given any information other than there was a car accident," Henry said, standing up from his seat.

"We were decorating the gym for prom when Zoey got the news," Daisy explained, briefly glancing at the lime-eyed girl, "Since Zoey doesn't have her license, I agreed to drive her over, Sadie came to provide Zoey emotional support."

Zoey rubbed her eyes, softly weeping. "W-we weren't on the best terms..." She began, her voice cracking due to her crying, "But, he still meant so much to me... He can't go..."

Sadie looked at her friend with a slightly pitiful expression, pulling her into a hug, which Zoey quickly accepted.

Jake, who was still wrapped in Liam's arms, pulled out of the embrace, approaching Zoey. "Hey, Zoey..." He murmured, causing her to look at him. "I just think you should know, Drew knows how sorry you are. He talks about you a lot recently. He said he wasn't ready to forgive you yet, but he still wants to be friends eventually."

Zoey's eyes immediately lit up, a small smile forming on her face, "Really?!"

"Yeah," Jake grinned, her enthusiasm slightly cheering him up.

Zoey's smile faded, her eyes growing foggy, "But, he'll be okay, right?"

Jake remained silent, that same gloomy aura filling the air.

"You know, we're all quite understandably upset right now," Daisy spoke up, "I'll go down to the cafeteria and get everyone some water bottles." She gently smiled, before heading back to the elevator.

*Click.*

The sound of a door opening, as a doctor and two nurses exited Drew's hospital room.

The group of teenagers stared at them, waiting for a response.

The doctor sighed, readjusting the position of her glasses. "You're all here for Drew Delacruz, correct?"

"Yes!" Jake exclaimed, eager to hear if his best friend was okay or not.

"Okay..." The doctor sighed, taking a deep breath.

"So... There's some good news, and some bad news."

---

"Hey, Hails... How are you holding up?" Kingsley asked, opening his bedroom door as he held two coffee mugs in each of his hands.

"I'm good," Hailey exhaled, "Just... Kind of in shock."

Kingsley sat down next to her on the ground, handing her one of the mugs. She smiled in response.

"I understand that. It's a shocking situation," Kingsley agreed, "I've really grown close with him over the past week... It's not like he's my best friend or anything, but I feel like over time he could've been."

It was true, the time Kingsley had spent in Rose Meadow, he and Drew had grown extremely close as friends.

"Yeah... He and I are finally on good terms. I really hope he's okay..." The teal-haired girl mumbled, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Are you planning on going back to Rose Meadow?" Kingsley asked, tilting his head.

"I don't know..." Hailey sighed, running a hand through her messy hair, "I mean, if Drew's severely injured, definitely. But if his injuries are rather minor, I at least wanna tour the school first."

The violinist nodded, glancing at the ground. "Well, when you go back to Rose Meadow, I wanna come with you, if you're okay with it."

"Yeah, I'd like that..."

Not exchanging any words, the two sat in silence, admiring the large, rather costly room.

Kingsley's eyes traced towards Hailey's hand, which was resting on the ground.

He took a deep breath, placing his hand on hers. "Whatever happens, I'm here for you, Hails."

Hailey's eyes widened, a slightly dark tint forming on her cheeks. She coyly smiled, nervously glancing away, "Thanks, Kingsley..." He could feel her lightly squeeze his hand back.

Kingsley softly chuckled, continuing, "Not just about the whole Drew thing. No matter what happens, I'll be by your side. I want us to stay close, regardless if you attend the Academy or not. I... I don't want to lose you again, Hailey..."

Hailey's eyes were half-closed, as she gazed into Kingsley's eyes. "I don't wanna lose you, either..."

They stared into each other's eyes for a little while longer, until Hailey finally broke the gaze, shyly turning her the other way, to which Kingsley quickly did the same.

The two sheepishly smiled and blushed, not daring to look back at each other, their fingers still tangled together.

Unknownst to the other one, one of them was falling in love.

~~~