"Vince, why are you asking these things, what happened to you?" Blake was nearly in tears at this point. "Just tell me, okay? Did I attempt suicide as a kid or not?" Vincent asked, a bit impatient. "Vince, I-" "Blake. Just. Tell. Me." Blake took a ragged breath. "You did....I don't get it, why can't you remember that? Why can't you remember at all?" Vincent stood up and started pacing. Blake wanted to try saying something to him but couldn't think of proper words.
'None of this is real. THIS is the dream, I'm gonna wake up back in Sophia's theater. How do I explain this? Do I explain this?'
Vincent! Listen to me. You're going to wake up soon. Wrap things up because there is worse ahead of you.
Sophia's voice...It was in his head... That meant his inner ramblings were true! He was going to wake up soon. But how? What did she mean, 'wrap things up'? Blake began crying. He was just sitting in front of the coffee table, face in his hands. Vincent approached him, sitting beside him.
"I love you, Blake." "What?" "I'm sorry..." Vincent said, tears welling up. He had realized that Blake really DID care for him, and so he wasn't afraid to admit it. He reached over to Blake, wiping his tears away. "You know, I like it better when you smile," Vincent said, met with an immediate smile. "I love you too, Vince," Blake said and leaned in to give Vincent a peck on the nose. Vincent looked up just in time for the little peck on the nose to become a kiss on the lips. Blake was surprised enough that he fell backward. "Um....sorry?" Vincent offered. "No, no, it's...fine,"Blake responded, sitting up again. He wrapped an arm around Vincent, pulling them close together. "Blake, what are you-?" Vincent was cut off by Blake kissing him again. Vincent started blindly returning it. He pulled away after a few seconds and saw the world around them disappearing. Blake gave him a look that clearly said he wanted more but Vincent could only watch as he disappeared along with the dream world.
Vincent gasped and tried to sit up, but Sophia held him back. "Shhhh........ you need rest before you go to the next one." "I just woke up," Vincent protested. He then realized his head wasn't on the floor he had fallen on. He looked up to see that Sophia was holding his head in her lap. He tried to sit up again. She still wouldn't let him. "Vincent, I can't let you up just yet," Sophia said, trying to fight his will with hers. "Why not?" Vincent began sincerely fighting to get up and she still held him down. "Vincent, stop. After seeing their futures, people can go into shock!" Vincent stopped fighting. "That...that was my future?" he asked, awestruck. "It depends on which path you choose for yourself. To live or to die. That, of course, will alter the paths others choose and the futures that they pick for themselves. Now, you're about to wake up in the real world again." "But I don't want t..." Sophia covered his mouth with her hand. "Shhhhh....... rest," she whispered. Vincent's eyes rolled back in his head and his head fell back onto her.
Vincent could hear voices in the darkness, fading in and out, along with a beeping noise. "...you think he's ever gonna fully wake up?" "Not sure...said we can't be sure 'til next week." Vincent opened his eyes and saw Blake and Emma through the blur that the real world was for him. He opened his mouth to try to speak but couldn't make any noise other than a dry breath. But it was enough.
Blake and Emma spun around from leaving and saw Vincent trying to talk. Emma blinked in shock and Blake had already crossed the room to Vincent's bedside. "VINCE!!! Man, you're finally awake! God dammit, I thought you were a goner," Blake threw his arms around Vincent and held him tightly. Emma didn't have the heart to tell him that this probably wasn't a permanent wake up. Vincent tried to hug him back but screamed (or attempted to) in pain from the needle in his arm. "Guys, you need to separate, seriously. Vincent, you don't need to stress your heart out too much. Your body is still clearing those drugs from your system." Vincent did as she said and finally found the voice to manage a small whisper. "Why the needle?" he asked. "...we had to start feeding you intravenously," she said hesitantly. From what Blake had told her about Vincent, he was smart enough to know what that meant. But he just nodded. "I see," he said, clearly not wanting to. "...how bad am I?" "Well, you have had a few heart complications since admission. Probably because you took a Bronchodilator which increased your heart rate an-" "I get it." Vincent clearly didn't want to continue this conversation so Emma thought it best if she went back to the nurse's station for awhile.
As soon as she left, Blake leaned over Vincent's bed and hugged him again. "I'm so glad you're okay... I missed you, dude, " he whispered. Vincent whispered back, "Blake, I need to ask you something." "What is it?" "Blake, do you love me?" Blake just stood there. "What?" "Do you?" Blake didn't know what to say, not knowing what Vince meant. "Vince, I don't understand," he said and let Vincent recline back. "Why...why are you asking this?" he asked, unsure of the situation. "Never mind...just...never mind," Vincent replied, feeling rather awkward for bringing up the subject. "No, tell me why." Vincent opened his mouth to say some sort of excuse but felt a stabbing pain in his chest. His heart monitor started beeping more rapidly. "Ahhhh!" "Vince, whats wrong?" Vince began convulsing on the mattress. Blake pushed down on his chest to try and stop him from shaking. The heart monitor kept going faster and faster until it flat-lined.
Blake stood motionless for a few seconds, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Nurses and doctors all came running in and shoved him away from the bed. Emma ran in and covered her mouth when she realized what was going on. A doctor yelled at her to get Blake out of the room. "No, please he's my-" Blake tried to protest but Emma drug him out of the room. Blake heard the sound of a hospital gown unsnapping and an electric humming. He thrashed out of Emma's grasp to see the doctor say "Clear!" and watch Vincent's limp body convulse again as the defibrillator was pressed down on his chest. Blake whispered, "No." and let Emma continue to drag him out of the room.
