Ephemeral {X.T.}

𝕥𝕨𝕖𝕟𝕥𝕪-𝕤𝕖𝕧𝕖𝕟

𝕆𝕧𝕚𝕒 ℙ𝕖𝕥𝕣𝕠𝕡𝕠𝕝𝕦𝕤

I'm not sure what exactly happened. The one moment Wednesday and I ran into the quad, the next we had things shooting at us. Most of it was blurry. It all happened so fast.

"Ovia, duck!" Wednesday yelled.

And I did duck. I dove to the ground when something came flying at me. Yet, something dis indeed hit me. When I crashed to the ground, I was fine for two seconds, but when I wanted to look up at Wednesday, a sharp pain shot from my abdomen.

"Ovia!"

The rest was just as blurry as the first part. I couldn't remember much, but I remember Wednesday yelling and fighting. Even my vision was too blurry to capture some things.

When I cane by again, and the vision evened in front of me, my heart suck to see Xavier suddenly kneel down in front of me. I couldn't hear anything. It was as if my ears weren't working. Everything was inaudible.

It took me a second to emrealize that Wednesday had my head laying on her lap. Just when my mind settled, a large pain shot through my stomach, and I tightened my arms around it, moaning in pain.

"We need to get her to the nurse!" a soft voice yelled in the distance. The voice was probably close, but it was muffled enough to be across the quad with overlapping voices.

But that was the last thing I remembered. The next moments were blank, like I became unconscious. I probably did.

~

His hand was soft. I don't know how to explain it. I'd say: like feeling a new blanket for the first time, but it's not. You know you get to keep the blanket. I wasn't that sure that his hand would stay there. I was scared that he'd let go. Not that I'd fall, but that he'd go away.

My eyes softly fluttered open, and at first it was too bright for my eyes to adjust, but when my eyes settled, I found myself in a hospital room.

The ceiling was blocked and the curtains were pulled closed; not to mention the awful medicine smell in the air. How else could someone identify a hospital room?

Still, my hand held his. My eyes moved down to it, before noticing Xavier lay on his arms, while his one hand is in mine. He wasn't in school clothes, or the clothes he wore the night Crackstone attacked. He looked clean, yet still smelt like smoke.

"Xavier?" I asked, barely seconds before his head jerked up, and tired, half-asleep eyes met mine. "What time is it?"

"You mean what day?"

My head turned to face the door, and Ajax sat down against the wall on the floor.

"You're awake," Xavier said softly, making me meet his eyes again. "How do you feel?"

Sore.

"I'm fine," I lied, and he lift his lips into a ghost smile.

"You've been out for two days," Ajax said, making me look at him. "They said they'll discharge you when you wake. I'll go get a nurse." He moved to his feet, and vanished out of the door.

"Is he okay?" I asked, turning to Xavier.

He sighed. "Startled, that's all. Still a bit on edge."

"Are you okay?" I asked, tightening my hand around his.

He smiled softly. "I'm managing."

I sighed. I knew he was lying. He's Xavier. Of course he won't be honest.

"How's Enid? And Wednesday?"

Suddenly I felt uncomfortable in the bed and the hospital gown.

"Enid wolfed out," Xavier sighed. "She's alright, but still startled-"

"I need to get out of here," I said, pushing the hospital blanket off of me. I found myself pushing my feet off of the side of the bed.

"Woah, Ovia... I don't-"

"I don't want to be here," I grunted, pulling all the needles out of me.

Xavier jumped forward, grabbing me as I stood up. He helped me balance, before noticing me pick at my hospital gown.

"Ajax will-"

"I don't care," I complained. "I want this off of me now, and I want to leave."

Xavier caved and helped me change into something else. He wrapped his jacket around me, before we snuck out of my hospital room. I wasn't sure where we were going, or if we'd make it out of the hospital unseen, but we did. Xavier called us a cab the moment we got out, and gave the driver inaudible instructions. I just sat with my feet to my chest beside him, with his one arm around me.

We drove in silence, while static music played on the taxi radio. I didn't say a word, neither did Xavier, nor the driver.

We eventually stopped, where Xavier paid the taxi man, before helping out of the car. It took me a moment to realize where we were, until I saw the school building. We were back at Nevermore.

Xavier managed to sneak me unseen through the corridors, until we reached his room. It was packed up, and neat, which I realized was because we'd be going on an early winter break.

"Crash on my bed. I know yoir tired."

I was. I was exhausted. The sleep in the hospital felt like nothing. It felt like I'd been awake for days.

He continued packing as I laid cradled in his bed. It was warm, and safe, and homey.

Few minutes later, I no longer saw him packing. I fell asleep.