Good Girls Love Bad Boys

"Anything."

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// Annie's POV //

I sat there with my head in my hands and my elbows on the edge of the bed, crying quietly. Dinger could be dead for all I know. The last thing that I said to him was that I hated him and never wanted to see him again. How could I have been so cruel? I just want him to wake up so I can stare into those beautiful blue eyes again.

I sniffled. I couldn't look up at Dinger. Seeing his potentially lifeless body laying on the bed was enough to make me cry even more than I am now. My face was soaked from my tears and my nose was stuffed. I had to breathe out of my mouth because it was impossible for air to seep through my nose.

I began to think of all the memories I had with Dinger. The good ones: Seeing him for the first time, falling in love with him, saving me from Dumas in the back alley and him staying the night at my house (which I was still quite confused on.) And the bad ones: Seeing him drunk and hurting me, Him getting mad at me for eavesdropping on him and Jaislyn, finding him making out with Jordan at the party, and finally, me telling him I hated him.

I never used the word hate. It was too strong. However, right then and there I used the word. Not to someone who deserved it, but to Dinger. The boy I could finally admit that I was in love with.

All the confusion vanished when I saw him being wheeled down to the ER, blood stained on his white sheet near his side. A wave of guilt rushed through me and my heart nearly stopped. I finally realized I was in love with Dinger, and he may not know it.

A hand gently touched the top of my head and I stopped crying so much. My cries turned into soft sobs and whimpers. I didn't hear anyone come into the room, not a doctor or a nurse. And I was the only one in here besides...

I looked up to see Dinger staring up at me, his beautiful blue eyes meeting mine. His hand was still on the top of my hand and he looked up at me, confused.

I gasped. "Dinger!" I almost screeched, getting up, leaning over and hugging him tightly. I heard him wince and I let go a little bit, but I didn't let go of him completely. His arms didn't wrap around me until maybe 10 seconds later, but when they did wrap around me, he hugged me tight.

We stayed like that for a minute before I pulled away. Dinger smiled weakly, his thumb rubbing the top of my hand resting in his. I smiled back, a closed mouth smile creeping onto my lips.

Tears were brimming my eyes once again. I was so happy he was awake and alive and breathing. I don't know what I would've done if he didn't make it. My bottom lip quivered and I bit it hard to keep it from being any more noticeable than it already was.

Dinger stared up at me, his eyes studying me. He realized I was emotional and although it took him a couple seconds, he mustered out a soft, "Don't cry, Annie."

That was when I lost it. I burst into tears. I couldn't not cry. He was alive, and that was a miracle to me. How he looked being wheeled to the ER, with the blood splattered all over the white sheets of the bed, you'd think it was almost impossible that he could make it; but he did.

I shut my eyes tightly, letting tears fall quickly down my cheeks to leave room for more tears to form. Occasionally, I would open my eyes and glance at him to see him staring back at me. It was like he didn't know what he should do. He didn't know that he was supposed to rub my back and reassure me everything was going to be okay and comfort me.

I sniffled, finally using all the strength I could to stop crying. Hopefully, for good this time. I looked at Dinger to see his eyes narrowed, and studying my face.

I was wondering what he could've been confused about as he looked at me? But as soon as I became more aware of the soreness in my cheeks and pounding feel of my heartbeat in my swollen eye, I had a pretty good idea.

"Uh, what happened to your face?" He asked, weakly. His voice was a soft whisper. He must have been exhausted after he almost lost his life. I took my hand away, resting it on the side of the bed.

I didn't want to tell him what happened. He had enough to worry about. He needed to relax, have a nap, regain his strength. I knew he wasn't a fan of Joel, and I was scared what would happen if I told him.

Although, it isn't like Dinger liked me. He said it himself, I wasn't his type. You can't fall in love with someone over one day. If I told him, he probably wouldn't do anything. Maybe he was just genuinely curious.

"Anne?" Dinger's soft voice broke me from my thoughts.

I looked up at him, confused. Did he say something that I didn't hear? "Huh, what?"

"What happened?" Dinger asked again, this time a little more persistent.

"Uh, well..." I trailed off. I was changing my mind. I shouldn't tell him. Just in case he gets upset or kicks me out because he hates to hear anything about Joel.

"Look, I know you were with Joel," Dinger scooted his body to sit up a little straighter in the bed, wincing from the movement, "Now, please. Just... Tell me what happened."

I bit my lip hard, "Joel was drunk. H-He didn't mean it..." I trailed off. Alcohol can do that to a person. It can take all of your control away. I began thinking again. Maybe Joel didn't mean to beat me up, it was just the effect of the alcohol in his body. Maybe he still loved me like he said he did.

"What did he do?" Dinger asked, his voice stern.

"He, uh, he beat me up and left me at the viewpoint," I whispered, looking down. I was embarrassed.

Dinger let out a frustrated sigh. "I'm gonna fuckin' kill that prick, I swear to God!" He yelled loudly, a squeak coming out after he yelled and he winced again.

I put my hand back on his hand, hoping to calm him down. He stopped immediately and his body got more tense than ever. He looked up at me and you could feel his body slightly relax as he processed what was happening.

"Please don't.. It's fine. I don't want you getting into a fight," I spoke softly. Dinger stared up at me, his eyes meeting mine once again. They were red and puffy and he looked exhausted due to the black circles under his eyes.

We sat there in silence for a while. I still held Dinger's hand, rubbing my thumb on the top of his hand. He looked down at our hands and then back up at me. His forehead had wrinkles as he raised one eyebrow.

I began to think that putting my hand on his was a mistake. It didn't look like he liked it too much. I slowly took my hand away and put it back in my lap, looking down.

Dinger didn't move. He just sat there, still staring at me. I could feel his eyes burning through me. Maybe everything was happening so suddenly. I was turning back into my love struck ways.

I could see Dinger slowly getting jittery out of the corner of my eye. His hands were twitching and he was antsy in the bed. I looked up at him and saw him looking around near his bed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, looking around everywhere that he looked.

"I need a smoke," He replied bluntly, still continuing to search.

"Smoking is bad for you," I blurted out in a soft whisper, not realizing what I said until after I said it. My eyes widened slightly and I bit my lip, hoping Dinger didn't hear. I looked up to see him nodding his head slowly, continuing to look around.

Dinger simply agreed, "Smoking is bad for you, yes," He looked up at me and added, "But the reason I smoke is worse," He looked away once again.

I thought. Didn't I hear that before? Yes! Dinger said exactly the same thing when he was walking me home from the alley as he walked me home after the encounter with Dumas. I never quite understood what he meant by it.

"Alright, you've asked your question. Now it's your turn to answer a couple of mine," I said, assertively.

Dinger raised his head to meet my eyes. He raised one eyebrow, but slowly nodded, "Anything,"

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What do you think Anne's gonna ask Dinger? :-)

Exam week is coming up so if I don't update in a while it's because I'm hardcore studying because I'm in jeopardy. I'm failing math and if I don't score a certain mark on the provincial, I could fail and have to redo the course and I don't want to go through Foundations and Pre-Calc again so anyway yeah bye