Canon

Chapter Fifteen

"Excuse me?"

What a big mouth I have.

"I mean... I love your sister the way I love you!" Gosh, I can't believe I shouted. People are now looking at us. "You're important to me too you know, so I was thinking maybe..." 

OK, I've reached the limit. A nurse passed us and said, "How cute,"

When I was absolutely sure I was going to faint, Adrian laughed. And not the soft kind of laugh. It's the thigh-slapping, stomach-holding kind of laugh. I gave him an evil glare. Didn't he know just HOW HARD it is for girls to confess their feelings?

"Yeah, yeah. I get it," He put his hands up, as if to say he understood. Well, he just said that, didn't he?

"Yeah... sorry if it sounded a little bit..." I struggled to find the right word. Apparently, there was none I could come up with.

"Awkward?" he suggested, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Super awkward," I agreed, and then he burst out laughing again. 

I'm glad I made his day a little brighter, even if it made nearly embarrassed me to my death.

I can picture it on the news: 17-Year-Old Chassie Roberts, died because of embarassment at the local hospital because of her big mouth (I know the headline is long but hey, how do you summarize that?).

I playfully slapped him, laughing along. "Stop that!"

"Sorry, it's just.... thanks," he smiled at me, and I could've died right there and I wouldn't mind, "Really, Jazz. Thanks,"

"Jeez, the first time I fall in love, confess my feelings, I get laughed at and the only reply I get is thanks," I joked. But that wasn't a joke.

"OK, what do  you want me to say?" he asked.

"Nothing," I mumbled. "Hey, let's get something to eat,"

"What about Katrina?" his face went from happy to worried in an instant, "I need to-"

"No, you need to take a rest, and I'm sure Katrina'll agree," I pulled him up, "Besides, everyone's there, and they adore Katrina. She'll be fine,"

After a long pause, he just stared into my eyes and shook his head with a smile. "Fine,"

So there we were, in the hospital's cafeteria, eating, drinking, laughing and whatever. My confession didn't go exactly as planned (in fact, I didn't plan it at all), but the day was good.

We played in the park for a bit, and Adrian seemed happy, but whenever we stopped, I could see the worried look in his eyes. Actually, it never seemed to go away.

"Will you visit her everyday?" Adrian asked after we sat down at one of the long benches in the park near the hospital.

"Of course," I said without thinking twice, because of course, I will. 

"Okay," he said and looked up at the sky.

And then and there, I wanted to hug him, to tell him everything will be okay, that his sister will be okay. 

But I can't. 

There are some invisible boundaries that I can't just simply cross over. I just can't.

After two hours of spending time at the hospital, Chaz, Carter, Innes, Lizzie, Chelsea and I finally decided to go home.

"Jazz?" Adrian called out when we were just about to leave, "Thanks a lot,"

"No problem," I told him, but then I asked, "Will you come to school tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I guess," he shrugged.