Endless || Jonah Marais ✓

♪ SEVENTEEN ♪

"Aurora," Jonah coos, gently shaking her shoulder. "It's time to wake up."

"Fuck off."

By the time they got everything of Carmen's and Aurora's moved into the Why Don't We house, night had already fallen. So, the small group of four had decided to simply stay home to get things set up for Carmen's 'Welcome home' party instead of traveling back to the hospital.

"I tried," Jonah sighs, walking away from where Aurora still slept on the couch. "One of you can wake her up now."

There's a flurry of movement, followed by Aurora's airhorn and Frederick's pterodactyl screech simultaneously resounding throughout the room.

Aurora shrieks, hereyes flying open as she falls off of the couch. Corbyn sits in the recliner, nearly falling over as well as he laughs. Shooting him a glare, she pushes herself off of the floor and heads into the kitchen.

Daniel stands at the island, failing as he attempts to flip a pancake over the griddle. Jonah grins at the sight of Aurora, immediately handing her a cup of coffee and placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Daniel," Aurora begins, turning a knob on the griddle. "I'm no chef or anything, but the pancakes might cook a little faster if you actually turn the thing on."

The teen huffs, throwing a clump of dry pancake batter at her.

"Well that was rude," she says, retaliating by rubbing batter into his hair. "I was just telling you how you're wrong."

"I'm no tour guide or anything," Corbyn interrupts the soon-to-be pancake war, walking into the kitchen as well. "But if you look out the window to your left, you can see Zach helping Carmen up the driveway with Jack right behind them."

Sitting her drink down, Aurora rushes to the window. Immediately spotting the rest of their usual group, she waves excitedly before running to the front door.

Grabbing the bouquet of orange balloons they had picked out, Aurora and the other three position themselves just as the door knob begins to turn.

"WELCOME HOME, CARAMEL!"

A wide smile lights up Carmen's face as she takes in the scene around her. She opens her mouth to say something but Aurora cuts her off.

"Caramel," she warns. "If you're about to say something along the lines of 'you shouldn't have', don't even bother."

Carmen glances at her, giving her an odd look, but doesn't say anything. Once Aurora notices that Zachis supporting her, she snaps her fingers and turns to Jonah.

"Help get Caramel settled into the living room. She needs to rest."

Zach gives her a questioning look as Jonah moves forward and picks up Carmen bridal style. He then proceeds to carry her away and into the living room.

"I could've handled that just fine myself," Zach huffs indignantly.

"No offense, Heroin," Aurora says, pinching one of his cheeks as though she were his grandmother. "But I seriously doubt your strength and I'm not adding to the girl's injuries because you wanted to be the knight in shining armor."

Not waiting for his response, Aurora skips into the living room with Zach close on her heels. There, Carmen was already stretched out, and being tended to by the boys. There were multiple pillows under her head, and she was nearly drowning in blankets.

"Are you comfortable?" Zach asks, rushing to sit on the floor in front of her.

"Very." She nods. "But when are we moving my stuff over here?"

"It's already done," Daniel answers with a warm smile. "Aurora had the idea to do that yesterday."

Jack mutters something unintelligible under his breath, of what Aurora guessed was a sarcastic comment.

"Thanks, Aurora," Carmen says, her words slightly muffled as she disappears beneath the mountain of pillows.

Aurora waves her gratitude away. "You must be starving after being force fed hospital food for two days straight. What do you want for breakfast?"

"Soup," Carmen replies immediately, knowing that's rhe only thing her diet could now consist of. "Any kind will do. I'm not picky."

Her food choice puzzled everyone in the room - with the exception of Zach - but nobody questioned it.

"You heard the girl, Chef Daniel," Aurora says, shooing the boy into the kitchen. "Make some soup."

Just as he disappears around the corner, Carmen's phone begins to ring. Seeing as Zach had laid it on the coffee table when he first entered the living room, Aurora snatched it off the table before Carmen could, reading the caller ID.

"It's an unknown number," Aurora informs her, a mischievous grin lighting up her features. "Can I answer it?"

"Knock yourself out."

Accepting the call, Aurora puts the phone up to her ear and answers in an overly peppy voice. "Jim's Whore House. You got the dough, we got the hoe. This is Glitter!"

The others laugh at her response.

"Just when I thought she couldn't get any weirder," Jack mumbles, shaking his head as he joins Daniel in the kitchen.

A deep voice on the other line chuckles. "I don't know which crazy friend of Carmen's you are, but put her on the phone."

"I'm sorry, but you're being a rude dick right now," Aurora snaps, immediately taking a disliking to the stranger. "You don't get to talk to Caramel until you change that damn tone and ask nicely."

This catches everyone's attention. Zach turns to Carmen, furrowing his eyebrows together as if to silently ask who was on the phone.

"Fine," the boy growls. "Can you please put Carmen on the phone?"

"I can. But I won't until you change your tone."

The person at the other end sighs, obviously agitated. In a forced polite tone, he asks, "Are you happy with my tone now?"

Jonah is by her side before she can reply, gently taking the phone from her hands and tossing it to Carmen. She catches it, shifting it as she places the phone at her ear.

"Sorry about Aurora. She means well," Carmen explains. "Who is this?"

"Why don't you and I go upstairs?" Jonah suggests, trying to give Carmen a bit of privacy. "We can get your books set up and binge Grey's Anatomy."

"Really?" Aurora asks hopefully. "Don't joke with me about my McDreamy, Mr. Marais."

"Really," Jonah agrees with a chuckle, wrapping an arm around her waist. "Come on."

As the couple turn to leave the room, Aurora pauses, watching as Carmen's eyes widen in shock and her phone falls from her hands. Her chest begins to rise and fall at a pace too rapid to be normal.

"Carmen," Zach's frantic voice calls out. "What's wrong?"

Grabbing the phone, Aurora proceeds to take over the call.

"How dare you have the nerve to stress her out not even two days after she was in a car crash, you fucking piece of shit," she rants, growing angrier. "I don't know who you are, or why you called, but if you call my Caramel again, I will find you and the ending won't be pretty."

A heavy sigh comes from the other end. "You're a psychotic bitch, you know that?"

"Don't worry, sweetheart, I know. You're not the first to call me that and you sure as hell won't be the last."

She ends the call before checking on Carmen.

Carmen had finally stopped hyperventilating, thanks to Zach and Corbyn, and she was now crying into Zach's shoulder. Zach looks heartbroken as he holds the girl tightly.

It's then that Daniel re-enters the room, carrying a bowl of soup as he examines each of them.

"What did I miss?"