New Year - Sequel to Mistletoe

April 4, 2015

Patrick

They were all here now. All of my friends, the ones I hadn't seen since 2013. Gerard, Frank, Ray, Tyler, Josh, Joe, and Andy. Mikey had decided to stay home, for obvious reasons, which I was fine with. Of course, Pete, Brendon, and Ryan were still here, but they were out talking in the hallway, and I could hear Ryan quietly talking to everyone before they came in. Probably warning them.

"Patrick's changed."

They all filed into my room, and Frank was the first to say anything. "Hey, Patrick." He said, still the ball of energy I'd met back at the Halloween party all those months ago. He seemed to be the least disturbed by my appearance out of all of them, which I appreciated. "Hi, Frank." I said quietly, giving him a small smile, which he returned.

They all looked different. Gerard's red hair which once hung to his shoulders was now more of a scarlet orange, and was cut shorter. Andy had shaved, and had a couple more tattoos, and Josh's once blue hair was now a bright, vibrant yellow. Almost like a highlighter. Frank's hair was now reaching his shoulders, pushed back behind his ear so as to not get in his face. Ray now wore glasses, which suited him. Tyler and Joe looked about the same, however, Joe's afro had been cut significantly shorter.

They saw me studying them, and Josh was the one to pipe up, "You look different." I could see Tyler visibly elbow him in the ribs, and Josh winced in pain as I mumbled, "So do you." They all sat down, looking at me. "We all missed you, Patrick." said Gerard, smiling at me.

I was about to say something when they came over to my bed, all at once, and all pulled me into a giant group hug. I gasped, as they squeezed the life out of me, and my face was buried in what seemed to be Ray's shoulder. "Guys," I choked out, as it was getting harder and harder to breathe, "person with asthma here." They all gasped all at once, immediately letting go of me as Andy quickly said "Sorry, sorry!"

I coughed, letting air in as I took a couple deep breaths. They all watched me, and Ray started talking. "We should all hang out sometime, once you're out of the hospital. It's not the same without you, and besides, we all missed it anyway." I nodded, my face breaking out into a smile, which surprised me. Gerard snorted. "Let me guess, it's going to be at my house again."

Josh shrugged. "My house isn't bad. We could hang out at mine." Everyone smiled at that. "Sounds like a plan." I said, feeling happy for the first time in forever. Joe gasped, the sound ringing in my ears as I winced. "You'll never guess what happened while you weren't here!" I raised my eyebrows. "What?" Joe wrapped his arm around Andy's shoulders, and Andy's eyes widened. "Andy and I are dating now."

I opened my mouth to congratulate them, when Andy burst out laughing, removing Joe's arm from his shoulder. "You fucking wish." Everyone stared, confused, when Andy smiled and waved his hand. "Just kidding. He's right." He wrapped Joe's arm around his shoulder again and Joe sighed in relief.

"I'm so confused." Tyler said, his eyebrows furrowed. "Same." muttered Frank, who had the same expression on his face. Then Brendon came into the room, followed by a nurse who was looking at a clipboard. Brendon took a seat on Gerard's lap, who looked at him weirdly as Frank snorted. "Uh...Mr. Stumph?" "S-Stump." I corrected the nurse, and she nodded. "I came to tell you that you'll be here for about another week, just so we make sure you get enough food in your body and make sure all your vital systems work."

"O-Okay." I said, mentally cursing my stutter. The nurse smiled at me, then left the room promptly. "Damn, that's rough. A whole week." said Gerard, who then pushed Brendon off of his lap. Brendon scoffed, getting up and brushing off his legs. "Rude bitch." Gerard smiled innocently.

I sighed, sitting up slightly. I absentmindedly rubbed my arms, thankful that none of them pointed out the obvious scars displayed on my arms for everyone to see. "I'll live." I said, yawning. Then Pete came into the room, and everyone froze, staring at us like they were scared. They all glanced between us, when Pete sent me a small smile, which I returned. Frank piped up, confused, "Did I miss something?"

Gerard flicked him in the ear, and he yelped as he grabbed it, glaring at Gerard. Pete took a seat in the chair directly beside my bed, which both Brendon and I raised an eyebrow at. He raised his hands in surrender, then turned to Frank and replied. "It's all good." "He told me what happened." I mumbled, and they all nodded, Josh going, "That makes sense then." I nodded, and they all kept talking and joking. I watched them, trying to ignore the person sitting beside my bed.

I would be getting out of here in a week, anyway. A week is pretty short, right?

Right?