Theo And Reed's School Blues

Chapter Thirteen

                   ( Dream. Or is it? )

" Wake up," Charles LeClair heard as he lay on the hospital bed wearing the most awful thin paper material gown. He was attached to all types of tubes and wires and machines that were driving him batty with their beeping.

This had to be hell.

When he opened his steel grey eyes and saw that annoying and overly perky Matt St. Austin perched lightly on a nearby chair smirking at him he knew he was in hell.

" Are you also dead , fem ? ," Charles asked weakly. He had never been this weak in his whole life. He was so tired. And cold.

He wanted to be left alone. He wanted to rest.

Matt laughed brashly. " Fuck no ,stuffy drama queen. I am alive. Your diva ass is alive too. Kinda. You're just in a coma like you think this is some damn soap opera or something. Although maybe this really is some cheesy LGBTQA soap created by some really deranged mind that lives to torture all of us. "

" If I am in a coma then why are you here ? I hate you. How are you here? It is impossible. "

Matt shrugged his skinny shoulders. He held one of his cookbooks. It was entitled A Million Healthy Recipes to Make In Hell. Charles blinked his eyes at that book Matt was leafing through. The man had three successful cookbooks but that certainly wasn't one. Was this a joke?

" Don't ask me, Charlie. It's your strange weird mind, diva. But you really need to chill with all the drama shit now. You're scaring all the people who love you. "

Charles tried to laugh but it hurt too much. He lifted his hand to touch his bandaged chest beneath the hideous gown. Where the bullets had entered. He recalled three shots. He still couldn't believe he had been shot. Wait..... Who shot him ? He couldn't remember..... All he remembered was Lane. How much he would miss Lane......

" Love ? ," Charles coughed out. " Whom would that be? Nobody loves me. Love is a useless emotion. "

From a corner of the room he saw his elegant grandfather leaning on his mahogany walking stick. His grey eyes snapped with displeasure and distaste as they regarded his grandson. " Nobody would love you, boy. Your own mother couldn't even love you. That's why she dumped you on me and your father. Your father told her to abort you. "

" Shut up, old man," Matt snapped as he threw the cookbook up in the air where it lingered then burst into flames. " I'm talking. Theo loves you. You are hurting him. So wake the hell up. Now. "

" Theodore doesn't love me. He has Reed and the children now. And you. You are his new best friend. His partner in crime. Theo replaced me. "

" Boo boo. Boo hoo. Dry those diva tears. LeClair, you're his best friend too. As much as I hate to admit it. You had him first. "

" But , fem , you know him best. After Reed that is. "

" Maybe. I love Theo. You love Theo. And in that puny clumsy body of his he has enough love for both of us. You know that. " He snapped his fingers and blew out a rainbow colored bubble.  " It's not just Theo that loves you for some odd reason. "

Charles was so tired. His eyes fluttered close again. He heard his mother singing Ave Maria. He loved to hear her sing on her rare visits home.

Mother , he thought. He could almost smell her perfume. He could almost smell the roses she loved. Mother. He thought she was dead.

His grandfather shook his head impatiently. He tapped his walking stick on the tiled floor. " She is dead. She's waiting for you, Charles. Go to her. "

Matt stood up and pointed his finger at him accusingly. He looked like a very odd avenging angel with his gaudy made up face and colorfully tacky bag hanging off his arm. " No ! Wake the fuck up, you pompous ass. You're killing Theo ! And Lane ! Come back for them. Now. "

Theo.

Lane.

Come back for them.

Theo.

Mother.

Lane.

Mother.

                  ----------

The nurse looked from her ICU patient to his monitor which showed a sudden flat line. " He's crashing! Call a code ! "

                  ------------

Theo.

Lane.

Mother.

Matt grabbed him by his gown front and lifted him out of the hospital bed. He screamed," If you don't come back I swear I will beat the hell out of you "

" I'm not scared of you. You're just a cook. "

Matt snapped," I lived on the streets. I saw and did things that you would never survive. "

                        -------

Theo watched from a corner of the hospital room as the medical staff worked on his friend. One of his best friends. His first best friend. Reed held him tightly. Matt and Saint stood to the side of him.

                      -------

" I'm tired , St. Austin. "

" Boo hoo. Life is hard. It's a hell of a lot harder when you're dead. No designer wear in hell you know. And heaven is a little dull. Theo loves you like a brother. You're killing him right now. You're killing him. And Lane loves you! God knows why! "

" He doesn't love me. Lane. He just doesn't. "

" Fuck it all. He just said it. I heard him. We all heard him. He basically outed himself today. For you. "

Matt released Charles and he fell back onto the bed.

" You're not a diva , LeClair. You're a coward. "

                     --------

" We have him back, people! Good work everyone. "

                    ----------

Matt smiled at Charles. " Thank you. "