Playing With Fire (EDITING)

Recovery? Eh...nope

When we tumbled through the window again, giggling and laughing and fighting for air, the sliver of moon had disappeared and dawn was approaching at the pace of an octogenarian in a motorized scooter going up a steep hill. I pushed off the floor and sat on Megan's bed, trying to hold back the wide smile we all wore. Kurt peeled himself away from the hardwood planks and sat beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and swaying us back and forth. "Oh TP tree, oh TP tree," he sang, "Why are you so amusing?" We all joined in to the familiar tune of Oh Christmas Tree but transposed Kurt's lyrics in place of the original. "Oh TP tree, oh TP tree, you are so white and pretty..."

We finished our rendition of the carol and collapsed backwards laughing. When I could finally catch my breath, I sat up and poked Kurt in the ribs. He twitched and rubbed the spot with a puppy-eyed pouty face. "What was that for?"

I shrugged and poked him again. He twitched again and Kitty joined me in poking Kurt until Megan shouted, "Get him!" We dragged Kurt to the floor and poked him until he cried for mercy and couldn't breathe for laughing so hard.

We let him up and he faked fraily crawling onto Kitty's bed and rubbing his bruised ribs. When I stood to sit across from him on Megan's bed, he shot to his feet and swept me off my feet, grabbing me by the waist and throwing me over his back so that he held my knees while I wrapped my arms around his back to keep from falling. He pranced out of the room, singing again, and with each bouncing step, I slid further down his back until my legs slid out of his grasp and I landed on my back at the top of the stairs.

I thought quickly and pretended to have the air knocked from my lungs, clutching my sides and fighting to breathe. Kurt dropped to his knees beside me with an honestly worried expression. Kitty, Doug, and Megan were coming down the hallway behind him, trying to piece together what had happened.

"Are you alright?" he asked, leaning over me a bit.

I gasped and shook my head, playing my charade for all it was worth. Kurt made a face and smirked. "Sparky can't breathe!" he exclaimed, eyes widening in false panic. A second too late, I realized he'd caught onto the fact I was faking. "She'll need CPR!" he said, trying not to laugh. He prepared to bend over me again to try CPR when I ditched the joke and scrambled backwards, completely forgetting the stairs behind me.

The hand supporting my weight felt air where floor should have been and slammed into the edge of the polished wooden steps. The joints gave and I was sent tumbling down the stairs, bumping painfully the long way down. When at last I reached the bottom, I lay as still as I could and groaned, squeezing my eyes shut. Footsteps pounded down the stairs and a thud signaled that someone had slid to their knees beside me.

"Lyrica!" Kitty was first to reach me but Doug was close behind. Megan pushed Kurt out of the way, leaving him as the last one down the stairs.

I opened my eyes and blinked a couple times to let my vision come into focus. I sat up slowly and shook my head to clear it, gently massaging the swelling bump above my right ear.

"Are you alright?" Megan asked, eyes wide and lips parted slightly in surprise.

I nodded. "Yeah. I've survived worse."

A collective sigh left four frowning mouths before Doug reached out to help me to my feet. I leaned heavily on him for support and balance as we climbed the steps again and then pushed away for the short trip down the hall. The five of us sat in a circle on the floor between Megan's and Kitty's beds with a bag of Smartfood in the middle that Kurt had stolen from Wolverine's stash and hidden in their room.

We munched silently for a bit before the pain grew intense enough to make me feel nauseated. I pulled my knees up to my chest and rested my left forearm across them, using my right hand to massage the lump again. The swelling had stopped but the pain was only getting worse. Finally, I gave in. "Is there any ibuprofen?" I asked abruptly.