Flowers in the Window || W2S

24

Margot's POV

Every part of my body is completely and utterly numb.

My best friend lies there, stretched out on a hospital bed. There are so many wires connected to her body-I could not even begin to name half of them. She breathes slowly, like every intake is her last. Her hair is sprawled out on the pillow, like an angel. Even halfway to death, she is beautiful.

Her uncle Bryce sits in the chair next to her bed. His leg is propped up in front of him. Realistically speaking, he is not supposed to be down here. He should be resting in his own room, or on his own ward. But not even the sedatives could keep him calm unless he saw her, so the nurses relented.

Harry was here an hour ago. He has gone now. It is probably for the best, at the moment-he spent the whole time crying and whispering to her, whispering words that I didn't hear. Maybe I didn't want to know what those words were. Maybe he was telling her how much he loved her, in a way that was too precious and too personal to be heard by any other ears.

That nice looking nurse from earlier comes in and tells me that visiting hours are over. I say a quick goodbye to Bryce before I stumble out. I don't think he's paying enough attention to hear me.

Stepping into the hospital car park, I turn my head up to savour the last of the summer sun. It is the end of August, and the threat of autumn looms in the distance. School will be starting again in about a week. I don't want to do it without her. Not if this is the cold, harsh feeling I must carry with me in her absence.

The weather is not the only thing that has changed. The Incinerator blew up the steel mill and killed that fairytale witch. I'm glad she's dead. She slapped me, broke my ankle, along with eight others. She gave my best friend nightmares-my sweet, gentle, kind hearted best friend-and now she is prone in a hospital bed, with at least two doctors thinking that she will die in the next twenty four hours. They're wrong, though. She'll survive. I know she will. She loves everyone around her too much to die like this.

Marcus Carr has gone missing. Nobody knows what happened to him. There are rumours, of course. Some say he died. Some say he was kidnapped and taken to another country. Some people even think he was in the steel mill when it exploded, which is ridiculous-why would famed billionaire Marcus Carr ever visit an abandoned steel mill? He has no reason to invest in it.

The homeless shelter was close to collapse when the news of his disappearance broke. Bryce was here in the hospital, so he obviously couldn't take over. That responsibility has fallen to the volunteers for now. Wes and I have been working there whenever we have the chance. Mainly for her, but also, it's nice to just be able to give back to the community once in a while.

Speaking of Wes, I'm about to pull my phone out of my pocket so I can let my mother know I'm ready to come home when I see him jog up to where I'm standing.

He is very out of breath when he reaches me, but the smile on his face is unshakable. "I just got off the phone with Damien. James Marriott has agreed to fund the shelter for at least six months."

His joy is contagious-it spreads to me so quickly. "That's incredible! Think of all the ways we can help everyone with his kind of money!"

He laughs at my response, and then suddenly becomes serious. He puts both his hands on my shoulders, and my heart starts beating erratically.

"How have you been feeling about Rex?" he asks. "I never got a chance to talk to you about that."

My face falls. Wes has been through too much. That is his best friend, too, lying in that hospital bed with an unspeakable amount of wires keeping her alive. And only two weeks ago, that person was his brother. He does not need to be hearing anything about my tacky romantic drama right now.

I shrug. "It's..whatever, really. Holly's welcome to him. As long it keeps him away from me, and it keeps her away from Harry. Otherwise, he was a waste of my time."

Wes nods. I take a moment to study his face. His eyes radiate that unmistakable kindness. They are beautiful-that warm shade of brown that only inspires comfort and peace. And the look in them, the twinkle in his pupils, the way they dilate when he meets my eyes. I have seen that look on someone else's face before. Not Rex's-Rex never could have even been capable of looking at someone like this. No, I have teased her about this before, teased my best friend on multiple occasions, taken light and loving jabs at her own romantic relationship, because this look..it's the exact same way Harry looks at her.

My heart stops beating, and then starts sprinting wildly as the final piece clicks into place. How have I been so blind?

Wes sighs, and the sound brings me back to myself. "I probably shouldn't be asking. You need more time to get over him. And that's okay."

He leans down to hug me, but I put my hands on his chest to stop him.

He frowns. "What's wrong, Mar?"

I look at those eyes-full of concern for the reason I have stopped him. They are like a cosy fire. I have been so incredibly blind-to his feelings and my own.

"I want to discuss my love life with you, Wes," I whisper.

His brow creases. "Why? What's going on?"

I don't know why it takes me so much courage to speak my next words, but my hands are shaking slightly. "I want to discuss my love life with you. Because..I want you to be my love life."

He blinks. He blinks again. And then, very breathlessly, he says, "What?"

"I'm sorry I'm bringing this up at such a shit time." The words come out of my mouth, and then the rest spill out after in quick succession. "I'm sorry if it feels like I've been leading you on this whole time. Truly, I am. I was just so stupid..I never thought you'd feel that way about me. I threw myself at the first guy who gave me more attention than a glance, and I completely hurt you by doing that. I'm so sorry."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that I like you too."

I try to smile. I sincerely hope he doesn't think this is some cruel joke-that I'm playing with his feelings. I am tired of doing that, however accidental it may be.

He stares down at me, and the moment feels so long that I'm worried time is frozen, and we are stuck in this silence forever. And then he leans down, lifts my chin, and kisses me.

Time can stand still for as long as it wants. I just want to stay with him, in this moment, for eternity.

He deepens the kiss, and I sigh against his mouth. I have been missing out on way too much over the years.

He pulls away, and we are both out of breath. He begins to laugh, pure ecstasy covering his features. I laugh with him, happy to finally see this kind, brave, lovely boy's feelings for what they are. Overcome with emotion, I stretch out on my toes and throw my arms around his neck as his wind themselves around my waist.

And with my chin on his shoulder, my giggles going into his ear, I see Spider-Man swing past. He lands on a nearby lamppost and turns to look and me and Wes. My eyes widen as he nods to me, and then webs the hospital and starts climbing the wall. Wes and I watch him, cuddled up together, as he peers back down at us for a moment, sticks his thumb up, then crawls around the building like he's searching for someone.

Everything about this moment makes me smile.