Cigarette Smoke V.II // FILLIE

Needles

m i l l i e

"Finn Wolfhard? We're ready for you."

I glance over at the literal human embodiment of anxiety beside me, watching as he swallows silently before quick standing up from his seat and pulling on the dark black beanie he had in hand.

Watching as he walks towards the woman who called out his name, I rush to my feet to follow him as he swiftly makes his way to her.

"I see you've brought some moral support today. What's your name, sweetie?" The woman asks while holding open the door to a wide room that includes many of the familiar seats, all set for chemotherapy.

"Millie, Millie Brown." I answer through a polite smile, watching her nod in acknowledgement before following us into the room that's only occupied by three nurses and five other patients.

"Well, Millie, my name's Dr. Grante. Pleasure to meet you. Now, forgive me if I'm wrong, but am I wrong to assume your relations with Finn are romantic?" She questions while leading us to one of the stations available.

I find myself embarrassingly laughing to myself as a heat rises through my neck and to my face, "Uh- yeah. I mean.. no, no you'd be right to assume we're.. together."

She smiles humorously at my half-hazard reply, slurred in my flustered state. I exchange a glance with the curly-haired boy who's taking his place in the strange light blue seat, watching as he looks at me with a raised brow and cocky smirk printed across his lips.

Jerk.

"Alright, Finn, if you could offer me your arm I'm just going to take a look at what we got vein-wise," Dr. Grante directs, taking his arm as she inspects the under-half of his forearm and elbow, revealing a wide variety of obvious veins that naturally appear around his forearm.

I find myself being infatuated with the sight myself. Not in a way of attraction, but more so in curiosity as to the reason behind why it is that the male anatomy seems to always have more apparent vein structure.

Brushing the thought away, I instead shift my view to the boy already being treated across the room, sitting in an exact replica of the one occupied by Finn.

The boy's dark skin covers whatever any sick tone could do to his appearance and his seemingly thick dark hair is covered by a black hoodie with a basketball-team logo printed across the front of it.

If I were to guess his age, I'd assume a few years older than Finn from the looks of the 5 o'clock shadow covering his chin and upper lip.

When I turn back to Finn, his arm is hooked up to a clear bag attached to a metal hook via a needle taped into his forearm and his face is now painted a ghostly white.

"Finn? You alright?" I blurt while removing his free hand from covering his face, instead using my own to trace his features.

With shallow, quick breaths through his parted lips and his eyes half-lidded, he furrows his brows and nods lazily.

"It's normal for some of patients to be nervous or faint their first time, especially those who are afraid of needles. Are you well hydrated, Finn?" Dr. Grante explains, placing her hand on his shoulder to get his attention as he nods once more.

"He'll be fine, just give him a few moments to settle. I'll come back in an hour to release you, but otherwise you have any of the nurses available to aid you if necessary."

I simply nod while taking my seat beside Finn, "Thank you."

She smiles softly in return, removing her hand as she then begins gathering her charts and leaving the room with a friendly wave goodbye.