A String of Hearts

Cadenza

As John opened his eyes, a white curtain came into view. The throbbing of his head and ribs was intense. He attempted to sit up only to be stopped by a small white hand. He turned to his side to see a small boy. His best friend sitting beside the bedside with long streaks of dried tears running along his cheek with signs of new ones welling within his eyes.
"Wha.." before John could ask what happened he was interrupted by a small hoarse voice.
"I'm sorry." The voice whispered, the boy's head leaning down, hands gripping the cloth of his pants.
"W..what did you say?" John asked, the small voice being too quiet to be heard.
"I said.. I'm sorry." Chris replied. Tears already falling down his cheeks coating them with a fresh layer of stains.
John sat up slightly to look at the boy, a sadness spreading in his heart a pon seeing his best friend cry for a second time.
"I'm the one who should be saying that." John replied, a humble sadness lulling in his voice. He looked at Chris and Stares into the eyes of the boy. A seriousness appeared in his heart and he spoke again before the small boy could respond.
"I'm sorry for not showing up during lunch, I'm sorry for not talking to you on the bus. I'm sorry for making you cry twice now, and I'm sorry for... for being a bad...a bad friend and making you mad." John said as quick as he could, eyes clenched with tears threatening to fall out of the edges.
Chris was stunned, not knowing what to say for a moment, he quickly regained his thoughts.
"W..what are you saying?!?! I thought you were upset with me because I was avoiding you and... and what happened yesterday. What are you talking about being a bad friend?! Your the best friend I've ever had! You're more than that even!" Chris quickly replied, almost shouting in the face of the bedridden John. Johns face quickly went flush as he realized Chris had stood up and gotten really close to his face. As soon as Chris realized as well, he turned beet red and he quickly sat back down.
"I was just.. I was too embarrassed after... after what happened yesterday that I was scared to face you today. I was afraid you would be upset or weirded out or.. or... I don't know! I was just scared." Chris blurted out, explaining everything that had been on his mind. As this happened, John sat back stunned. He looked at Chris with a warmth growing in his heart.
"You're an idiot you know that Chris?" John said while laughing.
At this, Chris pouted, and turned to see John smiling at him, before he could at anything, John sat up and grabbed Chris's shoulder pulling him into a hug from where he was on the bed. A bright blush spread across Chris's face, both for being in the awkward position of leaning over the bed and the fact he was being hugged by John. As this happened, the curtain to the room was abruptly pulled open. A female nurse in her early twenties entered the area after hearing voices.
"Are you feeling be...." before she could finish speaking, she looked up to see the scene of the two boys hugging over a bed. A small flush of red spread across her face and she stepped back with a mouth in the shape of an O.
"I'll come back later. Sorry for Interrupting."
She quickly said in a professional manner, turning after closing the curtain really fast.
  John and Chris were frozen on the spot, an embarrassed blush shown on both of their faces. Chris immediately pulled away and sat back down, but after that, could only awkwardly look down at their hands, not knowing what to say. After a while of silence, the nurse timidly returned and slowly opened the curtain. After seeing the boys had separated, she approached again, this time in a more cautious manner. She walked up to John and felt his pulse and began asking a series of straightforward questions, avoiding the topic of the earlier event.
"Are you light headed? Do you feel feverish? Have you drank enough water today?"
After answering these few question she finally asked
"Have you eaten anything today?"
John remembered the morning of rushing out the door without breakfast and not to mention he doesn't usually eat lunch, he only gave an apologetic smile and moved his head back and forth. The nurse shook her head at this.
"The reason you fainted is most likely this. Are you hypoglycemic? Or do you have any pre existing medical condition that would cause you to faint otherwise?"
John heard the big words used by the nurse and thought back to his last doctor's visit before responding with "no, I should be perfectly healthy. Maybe a little stressed, but no medical conditions that I know of."
After hearing this, the nurse wrote a few things on a clipboard and after getting his name and home number, left to call his parents to come get him, as well as Chris's parents to explain the situation.
After this, John turned to Chris again and after thinking for a second asked "how did I get here?"
Chris thought back to the scene and a worry spread in his heart. "You fainted while running."
"Thats embarrassing." John thought to himself. After a moment of looking at the small boy next to him in surprise, a puzzled look dawned on Johns face. "What?" Chris asked timidly, not knowing the reason for such an expression.
"How did I GET here? Did you carry me?"
After thinking for a second, Chris replied in a calm and slow manner in order to no mix anything up as he said it.
"Well, after you fainted, I ran back to see if you were okay, but was too panic ridden. I tried to pick you up but..." Chris paused at this point, a hint of jealousy burning in his eyes for a moment.
"But what?" John quickly brought Chris back to reality with this.
"But as I did, I was stopped by Kai. She had come back to talk to the director about something she lost. She ran inside and told him about you fainting. He quickly grabbed the electric cart he uses to get around campus and had me and Kai put you on the back of it. He had me ride in back too to make sure you didn't fall off, and Kai in the passenger seat to call the nurse so she could be prepared."
John sat still in bed, absorbing all the information given to him.
"So she helped me." John thought, a warmth and fuzzy feeling encompassing his heart. He turned to Chris again.
"Where did she go after that?"
Chris relaxed his shoulders, a sadness lulling in his eyes.
"She made sure you were alright, then left with Mr.Felix. She had to catch the bus before it left, so he drove her there."
"I see." Was all John could say. After a moment of silence, the voice of two women came rushing from outside.
"JOHN! Are you okay? Did you hit your head? How did you fall? How do you feel?!"
The questions came fast and furious from the women. All the while she was grabbing at John's face seeing if there was any blood on his head.
"I'm fine mom. I didn't eat today, so I got light headed and fainted."
Hearing this, a small look of guilt threatened to appear on the women's face. She suppressed such a feeling and looked to Chris.
"Thank you for helping him Chris. How have you been feeling lately?"
Chris smiled at the women and gave a quick "good" to satisfy the question.
The nurse approached and talked to the women on the side. All the while, John and Chris sat in silence.
"Looking for something she lost.." something quickly dawned on John, he reached into his pocket as quickly as he could only to feel the small chain of a bracelet firmly snug in his pocket. He sighed in relief, laying back down to relax. Just as he did, another voice entered the room.
"John! Are you okay? Did you hit your head?! How did you fall?! How do you feel?!" Another panic ridden voice came through the door, this time from a shorter blond women who looked to be in her mid thirties.
"I'm fine Mrs. Vivaldi. Just fainted from not eating." After hearing this, the women calmed down and noticed the amount of people in the room, she quickly blushed and rubbed the back of her head. After exchanging greetings with John's mom, she walked up next to Chris and pinched his ear.
"Why didn't you make sure John ate?! Your his friend! Your suppose to look out for him!" She began lecturing Chris despite John's attempt to explain things. After a while of this, she eventually calmed down.
"Are you feeling well enough to walk to the car John?" John's mother asked, walking up to John and placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Yea, I should be able to." He replied, sitting up. His head felt a little bit dizzy, but not as bad as earlier. After saying his thanks to John and the nurse, he got up to leave. He felt the need to go home and sleep after such a long day.
As he started walking, a slight dizziness overtook him. Luckily his mother came to his side and put his arm around her shoulders. With the support, John slowly made his way out of the building and to the closest parking lot.
As they got near the car, John saw a familiar stoic body in the drivers seat. He paused for a second and turned to his mother.
"Why is dad in the car? I thought he had practice tonight."
The women smiled and turned to John, a small happy expression rising on her face.
" He had the car for work, but once I called and told him you fainted, he drove home from the practice and picked me up to come get you. "
Hearing this, John was surprised beyond belief. He had thought nothing could Interrupt his father when he was at work. Especially an important rehearsal. After seeing the surprised look, the mom laughed a little.
"He does love you, you know. You are his son after all."
After hearing this, John smiled. He usually thought of his father as a stoic emotionless person, but after recent events, he seems to have loosened up.
As he got into the car, John buckled in and looked to his father. As his father turned around, the normal stoic and indifferent look he usually wore was not there. Instead it was one of worry and concern.
"You alright?" He asked, attempting to sound normal, but failing.
"Yea, I'm alright." John replied. He smiled at his father.
"Thanks for coming to get me dad."
After hearing this, the man smiled and nodded in return. He then turned to his wife And smiled. After turning on the car and reversing out of the spot, the man put his hand on the armrest seemingly waiting for something. Then to John's surprise, he saw his mom's small hand slowly intertwine with his father's. As they drove, the two seemed relieved and in a particularly good mood after hearing their son was okay.
As they arrived home, a small boy ran out from the house and hugged John around the waist.
"John! Are you alright?!"
He asked in a panicked tone.
"Yea I'm fine James. I'll be alright." After hearing this, the little boy let out a breath of relief. Seeing his younger brother being so worried for him, John felt touched.
After coming inside and eating dinner, John took some medicine his mother gave him and went to bed.
"A long day like this could exhaust anyone." He thought to himself. As he closed his eyes, the words of Chris slowly floated into his mind.
A warm feeling of knowing she cares made John's heart flutter with joy. As he felt asleep, he decided that tomorrow for sure, he would return the bracelet. Come hell or high water.