the Reckless and the Brave (Sequel to Scream, to be Heard)

Don't Try to Fix Me, I'm Not Broken.

"Come on. It's time," Rian said. I looked over the couch to where Rian was standing, holding Alex's favorite hoodie in one arm and his iPad in the other. I nodded, getting up from the couch and taking the hoodie, putting it on over my A-Lab techno cat t-shirt and jeans, feeling the smooth fabric protect my skin from the cold outside. It was just October, but it was already super cold. Today it was fifty degrees - either perfect or freezing, depending on who you are. And it was raining outside. We got in the car, driving in silence, staring at the rain on the highway that was hitting the windshield. Soon enough, we arrived at the hospital.

I sat there, not wanting to get out of the car. It was the date where Alex would have surgery on the node in his throat, and they had a fifty-fifty chance of either getting it out or making it worse so that Alex could never talk or sing again. Rian saw how petrified I was, and took my hand, looking into my eyes from the driver's seat. "Heather, he'll be fine. Trust me. It'll be okay," he said. I nodded, wiping away my tears as we got out of the car and walked into the building, finding Alex's room.

Alex gave us a small smile when he saw us, but it faded when he saw that the doctor was behind us. I sat down in the armchair next to Alex, the other guys arriving in a few minutes. Soon enough, the whole room was filled with the rest of the band and the crew members. Even Cass flew out from Florida to come. "Alright, everybody!" The doctor said, making everyone shut up. "I'm afraid that only family is allowed to stay in the room during the operation. I'm going to have to ask you to leave if you are not family or live with him."

"But we are family. We're his band and the crew," Jack pointed out. Keith put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, sir. We'll all leave now," Keith said, speaking for everyone. "Alright guys, everyone out. You'll see him later." Everyone flooded out except for Keith, Cass, Zack, and Jack, as well as Ri and I.

"Thank you for cooperating," the doctor said. "We have the surgery set up already, so right after we do some ajusting to some of the equipment we'll get him down there. That should take about five minutes." Then he left the room. Everyone just stood there, not knowing what to do. Eventually we all just said bye, adding a few personal things.

"Love you Alex," I said after Keith had said something. I kissed his cheek as the doctor came back, and wheeled him into the surgery room. It would take an hour at most.

"Now we have an hour to kill," Jack said.

"No Home Alone," Rian said without looking up from his iPad. Jack almost started crying so Zack gave him a hug.

"Guys, we should leave Ri and Heather alone," Kieth said. "Stop harrassing them. I'm going to go get food if anyone wants any."

"I'll go," Cass volunteered. "Jack." Jack hung his head, but followed them out of the room after Cass grabbed the collar of his blue plaid button-up. Ri, Zack, and I sat in silence for a few minutes. Thirty minutes to be exact.

"Ri, how long has it been?" I asked. He looked at his iPad.

"Fourty-five. They should be out any minute," he said. I nodded.

Fifteen minutes later, he still wasn't out.

Ten minutes.

Five.

Three.

One.

"I'm sure he's fine," Zack said. I paced the hospital room, back and forth. My gray vans made noises against the floor, marking each time I turned around and started again. Soon enough, Keith, Jack, and Cass came back. Ri kissed Cass's cheek as she sat down next to him and they started playing TapTap revenge on his iPad, which he always was. He was a drummer, after all.