Watch Our Worlds Burn

Chapter 2 (Pt1)

I blinked my heavy eyelids open. I was greeted with the sight of a white ceiling and the faint smell of medicine.

God. Please don't tell me I'm in the hospital.

I groaned and propped myself onto my elbows. I blinked at my surroundings.

It was a small room for a hospital.

However, I still managed to miss the three sleeping people on the chairs next to my bed.

Elise sat upright in her seat but her head leaned slightly towards Adrian's shoulder. Adrian, however, sat lazily in his chair and his head was tipped back against the wall. Vincent's elbow was on his chair's armrest and his fist cushioned his cheek as he slept. My eyes narrowed.

He looks hella peaceful compared to his usual violent tendencies.

But eventually, my expression softened. Despite holding a knife to my neck before, he had also helped break my fall. And how he had made me fall asleep in under five seconds...it was so strange...

I flushed red. He did it so flatteringly too... his dark eyes tracing mine...

I watched his dark straight hair that sprouted in an 'm' shape from his roots. His face was perfectly symmetrical with long lashes and a slight tan. There was not an imperfection on his face but one small dark mole on the corner of his left eye.

But in a way... it only added to his dashing and complicated appearance...

Suddenly, he began to stir. I immediately looked away from him and instead gazed back up at the plain ceiling. With a yawn and an aggressive stretch, I could tell he woke up. The intensity of his eyes were against my face, coloring my expression.

"Awake, huh? Took you long enough," he muttered. I tilted my head to the side to look at him.

"Just woke up," I replied. He nodded and watched the other two who were almost leaning against each other.

"Can't say the same about these two," he chuckled sleepily, "they've been knocked out for hours." His laugh threw me off guard. I didn't know he could genuinely laugh without it sounding so cruel. It was sweet and rather unlike him.

I nodded and laughed awkwardly. There was a short moment of silence before I finally blurted out the question that clouded my mind:

"Why-" I started, taking a deep breath, "why'd you-help me?" He lost his humored expression and his lips strengthened to a line.

I turned red, regretting the question immediately. However, he seemed rather unfazed by it.

"Well, the situation would have gotten worse if I hadn't. Hysteria and pain often complicate things," he replied neutrally. My face further reddened in anger and embarrassment.

"I doubt there was much hysteria," I replied, straining my voice. He realized my discomfort and he chuckled.

"I was talking about escalation of course. You were obviously nowhere near hysteria yet," he replied. My frown gradually left my face and I only gazed into his dark eyes now.

"And the knocking out part?" I asked quietly. He leaned back in his seat lazily and a small smirk pulled on the corners of his lips.

"I never knocked you out. I only calmed down your alert nerves so your body would relax enough for you to sleep. You were desperately fighting to stay awake and that was the problem," he replied.

Huh.

"Oh," I replied, heating in embarrassment, "in that case, thank you."

He nodded, his smirk softening into a smile. He sat up in his seat and I sat up on my hospital bed to face him. We were only inches apart now. Closer, I saw the light tangles in his hair and the hoods under his eyes after his nap. For once, I didn't want to get away as far as possible from him.