The Dreamworld

Bonus Chapter: That Pesky Little Red-head

The following is a bonus I wrote up depicting the first time Granger and Paige meet. I wasn't sure where to place it in the story, but since his memories have returned, I felt that now would be a good time to include it, so hope you enjoy!

Granger looked like a freak covered in bruises. It hurt to move, and it didn't help that nurses constantly came in to check on him. He already had given his statement to the police. His father was behind bars until the trial and his mom hadn't awoken yet. She probably never would after what that freak did to her.

He had been in the hospital for over a week now. Five surgeries to stop the internal bleeding; his small frame was surrounded in a cast. If only he hadn't stepped in to try to stop the man, then he may not have fared so bad. If he hadn't stepped in, his drug addict of a mother would be dead.

Granger groaned as he tried to move in the bed. He was uncomfortable and his leg itched. The stupid cast got in the way of everything. He squirmed trying to get the itching to stop. Mid-squirm, a flash of red hair caught his eye. He paused, glancing over at the sight of a girl standing in the doorway. She looked at him with curious doe brown eyes, her red hair hung in a loose braid down her back. She was barefoot, wearing a hospital gown and pushing along an IV tank. She held one of those pudding cups in her hands, probably swiping it from the cafeteria.

Granger wished he could leave his bed and help himself to the food in the cafeteria. Unfortunately, he was stuck here unable to move. He couldn't even feed himself. His face was still a swollen mess. The girl probably thought she was staring at some monster, not a twelve-year-old boy.

"What are you looking at?" Granger snapped.

The girl cocked her head to the side in interest. "Did you get in a car crash?"

"I wish," Granger sarcastically replied.

He wished the girl would take the hint and leave him alone. He was perfectly content just lying here by himself. He had always been alone, so it didn't bother him. When others imposed on his silence, he got scared. They would just hurt him too. The girl took a step into his room, worry in her eyes as she studied him.

"If it wasn't a car crash, what happened?"

"I'd rather not talk about it," he replied. "What are you in here for? You dying?"

The girl shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "No, appendectomy. I'm supposed to get discharged tomorrow!"

Granger nodded, wishing he could be discharged soon too. He was stuck in here until he could gain more mobility. He was supposed to be living with his grandma after they let him out. The lady hadn't even been by to visit him yet. Like the rest of his family, she saw him as a burden who got her son locked up.

"I'm Paige." The girl's smile was friendly as she approached Granger. "I'd shake your hand, but-" She studied the casts on both his arms keeping him immobile. Instead, she fist-bumped him, softly tapping against his cast.

Granger frowned, averting his gaze, mumbling under his breath, "Granger."

She cocked her head in interest, taking a seat on the rolling stool the doctor had left in the room. "You go to George Washington Middle, don't you?"

"What if I do?" Granger snapped.

"I knew it! We don't share any classes, but I've seen you around the halls."

"Then you should know that I don't like people," Granger grumbled.

"Why?"

"They only hurt you."

The girl's face fell at Granger's response. Granger didn't comprehend why she was so upset by his words. Her hands fidgeted with the pudding cup, slowly opening it. Granger turned his head in interest, mouth watering at the thought of something sweet. His diet had been mainly IV fluids and liquids lately.

"Then, you haven't met the right people, yet." Paige dipped her spoon into the pudding. She leaned forward with a spoonful of pudding, traveling towards his mouth.

"What are you doing?" Granger gulped.

"Giving you pudding, now open up."

Granger obliged, blushing as she spoon fed him. His taste buds went haywire when the sweet chocolate taste hit his tongue.

The two of them continued to make small talk as Paige fed him. Well, more like Paige talked his ear off while Granger came up with one word responses or small grunts not sure what to say. He never had someone actually want to stop and take care of him before. She probably just felt sorry for him because he looked like a purple swollen blob. Still, it was nice and Granger liked this feeling.

"If you want, I can bring your homework when I get back to school." Paige set the empty pudding cup down.

"We don't have any classes together," Granger snapped. He didn't care to do his homework anyway. It wasn't like it mattered if he passed or failed. He only would show up to take the tests, get a perfect score and leave. There wasn't any point in doing useless homework too.

"It's fine, I'm sure your teachers would let me bring your school work to you. I can even help you write it," Paige said. Granger grumbled under his breath, turning his head in embarrassment. Not once had this girl stopped smiling since she began feeding him pudding and it was a terrifying concept that someone could not only smile using the facial muscles of their cheeks for so long but through their eyes too.

"Huh?" Paige asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

"Paige, what are you doing?" Granger and Paige turned to see a red-haired boy standing in the doorway.

Granger knew the kid was an eighth grader at their school and a computer genius. He recognized him from the newspaper club. The kid was a programming prodigy. Granger was pretty good at computers too, but his skills probably didn't even compare to Clay's. His strong point leaned more towards math.

"Clay, what's wrong?" Paige asked.

"Mom and dad were worried. They said you'd been in the cafeteria for awhile so they sent me to go check on you. You were only supposed to go down there and get some pudding," Clay explained.

"Sorry, I got distracted. I made a new friend!" Paige grinned.

Clay uneasily glanced over at Granger, studying the boy. Pity. That was all the boy saw with Granger. Another person that only felt sorry for the guy and would just forget about him in a few days.

"You can make a friend with a brick wall." Clay smirked as he teased his sister. Paige stuck her tongue out at him.

"I'm sure you've pestered him enough, come on let's get back to your room. You still are healing and don't need to overexert yourself," Clay urged.

"Fine," Paige groaned as she shuffled to a stand.

"Bye, Granger, I'll see you soon!" Paige patted his cast arm, a wide grin on her face.

Granger only nodded, not feeling the need to respond. Clay offered a supportive smile as he guided his sister back to her own room. Granger sighed, turning his head to glance at the empty pudding cup still sitting on the food tray, a small smile on his lips.

He glanced up to a soft tapping on the door, his stupid nurse finally making an appearance. "It's time for your pain meds," she said.

"Where were you fifteen minutes ago when that girl had to annoy me?" Granger snapped.

His nurse only offered a smile as she administered the meds into his IV. "She's a nice girl."

"More like annoying. I specified I didn't want visitors!"

Granger could feel himself growing more and more sleepy as the medicine went through his IV. His nurse only patted his head before turning and exiting the room muttering, "One visitor won't cause the end of the world." 

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Feel free to share your thoughts on this chapter and a look inside Granger's backstory. Stay tuned as we return to the main story, hopefully sometime next week I'll have the next chapter uploaded!