He's A Jerk, But He's Cute

Crescendo

I never know what to put here..

* time skip to in the car with Piper *
(Sorry for the time skip, I know it's unprofessional and should only be used scarcely if ever but c'monnnnnn, bruh. It's a fanfic. It should be fun to write and the rules should be a bit more lax, right?)

"So, what happened?" Piper finally asked after a few seconds of pure silence. I looked out the window and noticed the beautiful view of the trees was obscured by some streaked bird crap. Well, ain't that metaphorically relatable, I thought.

I turned my head back to Piper who's nails tapped against the steering wheel expectantly. They made a sound like someone smacking gum in their mouth or the sound of someone with acrylics typing at a keyboard. I sniffed once, in time with rhythm of Piper's incessant tapping, and she stopped and leaned back in her seat with a heavy sigh. She put the car in park and opened the console to give me a makeup wipe but remained quiet like the only possible thing she wanted to fill the silence was my answer.

"I don't want to... I don't want to talk about it right now. I'm still kind of-- y'know... Feeling it in double since it just happened." I doubted strongly Piper knew what I meant since words and describing things weren't really my strong suit. I rather draw or paint out my feelings than to put them into words...

I knew what I was doing mentally though. It's was like breaking your arm... When it first happens you freak out, sob, and stare at it. After an hour in the waiting room at the ER, the pain isn't as intense anymore because you grow used to something as extreme as a broken bone. Shame and anger was usually like that. You overreact and then get used to it or it becomes like a scab. It doesn't really 'go away' completely but you eventually stop feeling it so much but like a wound under a scab; it can be aggravated and opened up again. And you'll be just as ashamed and angry as you were when it first happened.

Piper nodded, put the car in reverse to back out of the parking spot, and turned the radio on low. Usually, she would press and press and I would break down and tell her everything immediately. Piper was convincing like that. And she probably knew she could get me to spill like that glass of Crown Royal on Octavian but she didn't, which I was thankful for.

I turned my head away from Piper and felt the rough material of the seatbelt scrape against my neck. "I don't want icecream."

"Okay." Piper kept her eyes trained on the road and inhaled through her nostrils deeply then exhaled through her mouth. She seemed to be hiding exasperation and all of a sudden I felt bad... Guilt washed over me again. But I was too overwhelmed with other emotions and my own stomach collapsing in on itself to be too bothered and leaned my head against the window and let the air from the vent blow directly in my face as the soft indie music lulled me to a deep sleep. I was thankful for it but it didn't last long.

Or at least I feel like it didn't. I wasn't sure but when I opened my eyes again all I saw was blinding lights and the smell of bleach and other cleaning agents burned my nostrils. I was confused, but too exhausted to think much of it. My eyes closed again, but I didn't feel the blackness of sleep. All I felt was a growing pain in between my eyes and in the front of my skull like someone decided giving my brain and sinuses a firm massage was a good idea.

I didn't panic. I had no reason to... I just assumed I was okay. And that Piper was okay. The only troubles I thought I had then was some asshole boys. I felt a mattress under me but it too soft to be at the hotel on Freemont. My entire body felt cold and tingly... Like when I was little and I wrapped rubber bands around my fingers and watched them turn different colors. Except I felt like my fingers after I took the rubber band off and I was waiting for my circulation to regulate itself again.

This was a strange feeling but weirdly soothing... I actually liked it. I tried to focus on that rubber band release feeling instead of the throbbing pain in my skull and prayed for sleep to take me. But it never did. The lights were too bright... The smell was too acrid. The new ringing in my ears was too loud.

All my senses felt intensified or enhanced. Maybe that sounds like something cool to experience but to me, it wasn't. Not at all. It hurt. My head ached. My eyes underneath their lids stung like I was staring up at the sun. My nose felt like it had a million tiny, very sharp needles stuck in it. And I couldn't hear anything but ringing. The most loud and obnoxious ringing... It was like hearing feedback while standing right next to huge subwoofers.

Eventually, I felt a steady flow of blood start streaming out of my right nostril. Then the left... I hadn't had a nosebleed since sixth grade when Barry Thatcher threw a stapler at my face when I took his crush as my science experiment partner.

But this was a whole lot worse than Barry Thatcher's temper tantrum stapler throwing nosebleed. I literally felt my blood pooling in the creases of my lips then spilling onto my chin. I wanted to wipe the blood or lean my head back to stop it but I couldn't move.

Soon the ringing reached a crescendo as my panic set in. I hear something like a concerned whisper as I started to choke on the disgusting metallic taste of blood.

What's happening?!? I tried to yell. My lips felt like they were held together by solid concrete and my vocal cords felt drowned in AB positive, though that probably wasn't scientifically possible. I wasn't sure and I didn't care. I just wanted it all to stop.

And finally it did. The blood started to gush then it slowed... Then stopped. The ringing faded along with any other sound. The lights seemed to dim to a comfortable setting and sleep finally took me.

Secretly, I prayed this sleep would last.

((Sorry I wasn't updating. I was grounded.))