Band vs Band: Second Edition

Heal Me With Your Touch

Jade's P.O.V
After half an hour of Chloe refusing to let me help her, she finally gave in when she started bleeding. My mother was an expert at first-aid and always bandaged my cuts and tended to my bruises when I was little. She taught me how to bandage a wound, but I'd only ever seen her do it, I never actually did it myself. Oh well, guess that would change tonight.

I got my first-aid equipment and sat beside Chloe. "Can you take off your jacket, please?" I asked. I knew exactly how she would respond. A raised eyebrow, uncomfortable shuffle away from me. "Oh come on, do you wanna keep bleeding all night long?" I asked, annoyed. She looked at me for a second and slowly shuffled closer. She unzipped her jacket and took it off. I saw a scratched wound on a shoulder, in which blood was slowly trickling out.

I took out some gauze and I applied petroleum jelly onto it to prevent Windburn and help heal the scratch. As soon as I made a move to press to gauze onto her shoulder, she moved away. "Will it sting?" She asked cautiously. "Wait, don't tell me a rough & tough skilled fighter like you is afraid of a tiny sting?" I teased. Chloe cleared her throat and looked away. She still didn't want to cooperate with me and let me help her. It seemed like she was warming up to the medical equipment though, so that was a relief.

For as long as I've know Chloe, she's never been the one to shy away from danger...or anything. She isn't afraid to stand up to Leigh-Anne or maybe even (god forbid) hit her in the face, and here she is, backing down from this???

"Chloe, please stay still. I need to put this gauze on your scratched wound!" I yelled. She just wouldn't listen and kept moving away. I only had one option left...and I didn't like it and neither would Chloe. I used my knees to pin her to the floor, making sure to be as gentle as possible. She was facing me and boy was she angry! "Get off me!" She shouted, but it sounded like a whimper.

I placed my hand on her chest and for the first time ever, I felt the stress that radiated through her body. Her heart was racing, I felt the hard pound of every beat. Her skin felt hot and she let out a ragged breath. I guess she was tired after putting up such a fight. I slowly caressed her collarbones and when I reached the place where her heart was, I pressed firmly but carefully and I could feel her heartbeat slowing down and I imagined it steadily pumping blood throughout her body.

I felt her arms relax under my grip. I slowly held the gauze up to her scratch wound and pressed it gently. She winced but didn't put up a fight. Then, I used some tape to stick the gauze on. I carried Chloe and put her down to rest on the couch. I guess she gave up then and there because she didn't object to anything I did.

"See, that wasn't so bad," I said, stroking her hair.

Chloe's P.O.V
I woke up feeling a slight pain in my shoulder and my head ached. I looked around the room I was in and remembered where I was. Jade's room. Where was Jade? I sat up on the couch slowly and realized that I was just in my tank top and jeans. Where was my shirt? Did she...? Oh god, that girl's gonna pay for this!

I heard the door to the room open and Jade came in. "You took my shirt! Where is it!?" I yelled. She looked shocked at my sudden outburst. "Relax, I'll give you your shirt back. It's not like you're naked or something." She laughed. I tried to get up but I felt weak and sluggish. "You need to rest a little bit more. Just until your body is fully awake." She advised. As much as I wanted to argue against it, I did feel the need to rest, just a little bit more.

"Y' know, you really should be more careful. Almost all the things you do are and dangerous and unnecessary" she advised, taking a seat next to me. "Yeah, but I don't wanna die without living my life. That'd be an insane amount of my life wasted." I responded.

"Yeah, but don't you think you should take it down a notch, like...down an infinite notch?" She tried to persuade me to quit the unnecessary risk-taking. "Oh come on, you can never really be sure how much is enough, so I just tell myself that too much adventure is never enough for a whole lifetime. In fact, it could not even be close to enough. You know what I mean?" I explained.

Even if we were completely different, I wanted Jade to know how I viewed the world. And I could tell that she was genuinely amazed at my opinion on dangerous 'adventures'. Even if she disagreed with all the risk-taking and stuff, it didn't stop her from marvelling at my words.

Chloe: "You only get one life after all"
Jade: "Yeah, but you can't do it all in that one life"
Chloe: "Why tell yourself that? Just do as much as you can to make it feel fulfilled. That way, you wouldn't have to worry about what's accomplished and what isn't."
Jade: "Good point, I guess."

"An adventure doesn't guarantee any safety, but it does guarantee an experience. Maybe even one you'll never forget" I said.

Alright, she got me there.