incandescent ²

19. starships

t h i r d
p e r s o n

things were not okay, and they were not getting better. in fact, they were at the worst they had ever been, and faye was about to lose it.

"why won't anyone answer?" she asks herself for the millionth time. after the first ten calls to her parents, she'd called an ambulance instead. thankfully, they arrived in time, but they refused to put lauren in the e.r. until they'd seen a parental figure, and none of their parents even had a clue what was going on.

if she dies, i'm never going to forgive them, faye thinks, balling her fists. she's been pacing the waiting room for the past half hour, praying in every language she understands, but nothing's working.

worst part of the whole scene, she doesn't have faith anymore, because with the way things are going, her parents won't get here in time.

why, why do bad things happen to good people? her eyes are lifted up to the ceiling, uncaring that the fluorescent lights are so blinding. if ren could survive this long, i can deal with a little discomfort.

in her opinion, her older sister has a heart of pure gold, but she's received nothing but problems and hurt all her life. from getting defiled by their cousin at the young age of five, to getting diagnosed with cancer at fourteen, it's been bad luck followed by more bad luck, and faye's sick of it.

suicide is not an option. suicide is never the answer.

but in this case—

she shakes her head to rid herself of negative thoughts. it doesn't work.

"miss," the receptionist says, grabbing her attention. "i'm going to hafta' ask you to step outside. yer disrupting the place."

faye arches a brow. there's nothing going on, nothing to disrupt, but in order to not cause a scene, she steps out of the disinfectant ridden building, grateful to breathe normal air again.

she sees someone familiar in the distance, and her legs automatically begin to walk in that direction in hopes that it's who she's looking for.

it's not.

it's arden, not her mom or dad, and disappointment shows on her face. he sees her, but there's no recognition on his face. she watches him drive off, and her shoulders slump.

her ears perk up when she hears the sound of heavy footsteps and her head snaps to the source of the noise. turns out arden wasn't driving off, he just went to park in a good spot.

"hey." he draws in a breath. "i recognize you, you're her sister? you two look a lot alike."

faye's stunned for a few seconds, mostly because ren had informed her of his poor memory. she didn't expect him to remember that much.

"yeah, i am."

"so. . . is everything okay?"

"no." her eyes roll to the back of her head. "she's in the hospital, but no one's attending to her because we're both minors and they need a proper go ahead before that can take any actions."

he's thinking. she can tell by the line that forms across his forehead.

"you think i could go in?"

faye shrugs and they make their way into the building.

"is it okay if i check up on ren?" he asks the receptionist.

she gives him a once-over.

faye butts in before the receptionist can say anything. "technically, you can't stop him because she's not in a proper ward. so technically, it's not your place to tell him what to do."

the receptionist sucks in a breath. "alright, fine. do whatever you want, it's not gonna affect my paycheck."

arden shoots faye a thankful smile before slipping into the ward, making sure to shut the door behind him.

"lauren?"

she shoots up almost instantly. "arden? what are you doing here? how'd faye get a hold of you?"

"one question at a time, please." he chuckles, taking a seat at the foot of the bed. it rocks a bit, tilting forward. "i just so happened to be here, and when faye told me some stuff, i thought i'd drop by."

she bites the inside of her cheek. "you have no idea how happy i am to see you." she's trying to hide her smile but it isn't working. now is not the time to get handsy.

okay, maybe it is.

"c'mere?" she says, a brow raised hopefully.

"i thought you wouldn't ask." he slips into the space next to her. it's uncomfortable, but her presence makes it worth it. "if this is going to be the last time i see you alive,—"

"arden," she begins, her warning octave in her tone. "this isn't the time."

"then when is it? when's the time gonna be, ren? if you shut your eyes and never open them again, how'll i ever get to talk to you again?"

she puffs her cheeks, fiddling with her fingers.

screw it, arden thinks.

he's got his fingers under her chin and he's tilting her head up so that she's looking him in the eyes.

"ren, i love you, okay?"

her eyes are red and misty, and she looks exhausted.

"i know. i kinda figured that out already."

their lips collide with raw desire as the driving force, and there's no doubting the sexual tension in the air. it'll have to stay there, because unlike in the fault in our stars, cancer kids can't have sex, and especially not at this stage.

thankfully, she doesn't bite his lip this time, because if she does, arden isn't sure he'll be able to control himself.

he pulls back, eyes not leaving hers. "you're beautiful, ren, and you deserve the world. but since you can't have it due to circumstances, you'll get to live, but in heaven. make me happy, make memories, do crime, and just enjoy your afterlife. everything is going to be okay."

she nods absentmindedly, and not long after, her eyes shut.

+++
a/n

just one more "chapter" left.
and i know i said ren wasn't dead, but what i meant was, she's not dead  yet.
and seeing as the next chapter is basically the epilogue. . . you can all guess what comes next :)

have a nice day/night!