Another Five Years

Love of My Life

For two weeks, Dave diligently sat by Taylor's side. It was a blur of Anna and his mother coming and going from the room with food and coffee, and of tiny but important progressions in Taylor's recovery. A promising brain scan, a removed ventilator, a few twitches and hand squeezes that Dave definitely didn't imagine, they all resulted in one glorious morning when the doctors confirmed they would be waking Taylor up. 

A flutter of eyelashes, then a pair of hazel eyes focusing and unfocusing on his face. 

"Taylor," he choked out, tears streaming down his face in steady rivers. "Taylor... It's gonna be okay, man."

He groaned and tried to lift his head, completely disoriented and embarrassed by his helplessness. "Fuck off," he croaked.

Dave's face split into a wide smile and he dove across the bed to his best friend, kissing him firmly on the lips. Taylor weakly tried to shove him away, but Dave got what he wanted. That grin and that raspy, annoyed laugh lifted two weeks of stress and terror directly from his shoulders.

*

"Go, you asshole!" Taylor yelled and flung a plastic spoon full of green jello at Dave's head. "Go fucking eat something besides hospital food. We're starting to look like Iggy Pop and Mick Jagger."

Anna laughed from the doorway and Dave finally stood up from his bedside chair. "That would be a kick-ass collaboration and you fucking know it, Hawkins," he jabbed a finger at Taylor.

"We'll make it our life's work, then," Taylor yawned and settled back into his bed.

"We're just across the street, T. My number's on the board over there, just have the nurses call me if you need anything, okay?"

Taylor just rolled his back to them and waved his arm, effectively dismissing them.

"Let the poor guy sleep, David," Anna whispered.

"The love of my life's been sleeping for two fucking weeks! I missed him!" Dave didn't care what anyone thought anymore, he really had missed his best friend. He had been so close to death and he was so young, it had scared everyone around them into reevaluating their lives down to the very core.

"Go!" Taylor yelled again. "And bring me back something that isn't green," he added.

*

Dave and Anna waited for the elevator in silence, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Now that Taylor was okay, Anna could go back home and Dave could resume his rock star life. There were a couple of girls back in the states that he had been talking to and he was busy trying to decide which one to call first when he realized Anna was waiting for him in the elevator. 

"Something on your mind?" she asked when he slumped against the elevator wall. 

"I haven't talked to Jordyn in like three weeks," he admitted. "It'll be a fucking miracle if she takes me back."

"Just explain what happened. I'm sure she'll understand."

The elevator doors slid open as Dave considered her words. Jordyn was quite a bit younger than them, she probably already moved on to someone new. The doors opened and they walked out onto the sidewalk when Dave was pulled from his thoughts long enough to register that Chris was calling his name. 

"Hey, man! Is he up? Did they wake him up?" he asked eagerly, running up to him.

"Yeah," Dave felt his throat tighten and the tears threaten to return, he was just so fucking relieved that Taylor was going to be okay. "Yeah, he's up."