"WAKE UP BELLA, YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" The loud screech of the youngest sister, Ann, echoed up the stairs. On any other morning that would have gained a tired yell back from the eldest sister as she woke up.

But there was no response today. Ann yelled the same thing up the stairs again, drawing the attention of the second youngest sister, Aurora. "What's all the yelling about?" she said testily, giving the youngest a look.

"Bella ain't responding to my normal wake-up call, and I don't know why." Ann replied with a pout, pointing up the stairs to where her sister slept.

"Hmm... " Aurora looked up the stairs as well, a small frown on her face. "You go finish getting ready for school, and don't miss your bus, okay? I'll go check on her." Ann nodded, and scampered off to pack her lunch.

Aurora walked slowly up the stairs, her sock clad feet making barely a sound. "Bella? Hey, you up?" Still receiving no response, she frowned, and crossed the room to the bed. She pulled aside the curtain her sister had hung to hide the light she used when she read late at night, and saw that she was still sleeping.

"Wake up, Bella!" Aurora said loudly, shaking her sister's shoulder. Bella didn't respond. "Come on, this ain't funny anymore, sis!" Aurora turned on the lamp next to the bed, and let out a small gasp when she saw her sister in the light.

Bella's skin was pale, much paler than usual. She was hardly breathing, the rise and fall of her chest so faint it was barely noticeable. Her face was wiped of all emotions, a blank look of nothing on her face.

Aurora pulled out her phone and dialed the number for her mom, her hands shaking slightly. Raising the phone to her ear, she waited for her mother to pick up.

"Hello?"

"Mom, it's me, Aurora. Something's wrong with Bella, she won't wake up, and she looks really weird! She's all pale and lifeless looking, and I don't know what to do." Her voice held a slight note of panic, but she kept it mostly in check.

"Honey, maybe she's just really drained. She was out all last night, remember? She didn't even come home until nearly 4am. I'll head home soon to check on her, so you go ahead and get to school, alright? Don't miss your bus, your father can't drive you today."

Aurora let out a shaky breath, stealing another glance at her sister. "O-okay. I'll see you when I get home then, right?"

"Of course. Now go, you'll miss your bus if you don't hurry up. I love you, have a good day at school, okay?"

"I love you too, mom. Text me when you find out what's going on, okay?" Aurora replied, her worried feelings increased rather than soothed by her mother's words.

"I will, I promise. See you later, sweetie."

The click of her mother hanging up echoed down the line. Aurora let out a deep breath, then pocketed her phone. Taking a last glance at her still sleeping sister, she headed back downstairs and outside, just in time to catch the bus.

~24 hours later~

"-no cause at all?" The worried tones of Bella's mother floated down the hall, emerging from a room with other murmured voices. She herself was sitting in the chair next to her daughter's bed, her worried gaze fixed on the doctor who had just come in to deliver the news.

"I'm afraid not, Mrs. Petal. We've run all the normal tests, and even a few abnormal ones for comas, and nothing has shown up. It's like she just fell asleep, and won't wake up." The rough tones of the male doctor were kind, but he himself was baffled. Never before had someone gone into a coma without reason, yet this girl was denying that medical conclusion just by being here.

The woman let out a sigh, her gaze turning back to her sleeping daughter's form. "I see... Thank you, doctor. If anything changes, please do let me know."

The man nodded, then left to give the woman privacy. He strode off down the hall to another patient's room, leaving the grieving parent behind.

~~~~

The week passed slowly, the unconscious girl gaining few visitors over the course of it. First, of course, were her parents, they came nearly everyday. Her two siblings visited twice, once with their parents, and once alone. A few friends dropped by to express their condolences to the family. But other than that, the girl was left to sleep, but not to dream.
At least, her brainwaves registered no dreams.

~~~~

It had now been nearly a month since Bella had fallen into a coma, and her entire family had been affected by it.

One sunny afternoon, Bella's best friend came over. He had been out of country for the past four months, off exploring new places with his parents. He knocked on the front door of the house and waited eagerly, wanting to tell his friend all about his adventures.

Aurora opened the door, her gaze tired and her smile forced. "Hello, Shawn. What brings you by today?" she said quietly, barely raising her gaze to meet his.

"I came by to talk with Bella!" he chirped happily, a beaming smile on his face. He knew that Aurora was sometimes like how she looked now, so he didn't think anything was wrong. "I want to tell her all about the amazing adventures I had while I was overseas, she made me promise to tell her all about it when I got back."

Aurora just stared at him, unable to compute that he could be so joyful at a time like this. He didn't know what had happened, and it saddened the girl that she had to be the one to tell him. "Maybe you should come inside..." she said quietly, opening the door wider to allow him entrance. "Go sit on the couch, I'll be there in a minute..."

"Okay!" he said happily, wondering if his friend was going to pop out and surprise him. She always did have a flair for the dramatics, and he loved that about her. Walking inside with a bounce in his step, he made his way to the living room and sat down, still beaming.

Aurora shut the door and walked over to the excited boy, sitting down beside him. "Shawn... I'm afraid I have some bad... some bad news for you." she took a deep breath, and looked him in the eyes, her tone soft and sincere.

"Bella's been in a coma for a month now."

Shawn stared at her, his face frozen in shock. "She.. She... " he was unable to complete his sentence, his mind stuttering over the simple sentence Aurora had spoken. He looked at her with distraught eyes, unable to voice the question of 'What happened?' with his voice, yet he begged the question with his eyes.

The 15 year old let out a small sigh. "We don't know. She just... didn't wake up one day. The doctors don't know what caused it, the testing they did showed she was perfectly healthy. She just... won't wake up."

Shawn sat there silently for a minute, his mind trying to catch up. "I... I want to see her." he looked over at Aurora, the slight glint of hope in his eyes. He didn't believe that Bella was in a coma, it couldn't be true. He'd have to see her to truly believe it.

"... A'ight." she said quietly, pain in her eyes. She had been the same when her mother had texted her later that fateful day, refusing to believe her sister had just fallen into a coma without reason. She could understand the war he was fighting in his head over this. "We're going to visit her today anyways, you can come with us."

~~~~

Shawn stared down at Bella, his last hope crumbling. She was clothed in a simple blue hospital gown, the crisp white sheets surrounding her only accenting the paleness of her skin. A small device was attached to her finger, measuring her pulse and feeding to the machine on the wall. It was making a steady blip blip blip sound, showing her heart was beating slower than normal. His knees buckled, and Aurora led him over to the chair beside the bed before he collapsed.

He stared, dead eyed, at the girl in the bed. Grief had already replacing the hope in his eyes, leaving his gaze hollow and empty. He couldn't believe that this was happening, that his best friend was in a coma, and he wasn't able to help. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" he asked quietly, his voice full of raw pain.

Aurora stayed quiet, unable to think of a good answer. "Well... No one could contact you. We tried, but it kept saying you were out of service." She knew her excuse was weak, but she had no other words for the grieving boy. She had gotten time to come to terms with it, but he was still having trouble with it.

"I see..." his reply was quiet, his tone still one of near disbelief. Even though he was staring right at Bella, he still couldn't understand how this had happened. Why it had to be her, why it had to be now.

Aurora stayed for an hour, telling her unconscious sister all about her week. It was something she did every week, even though she didn't know if Bella could actually hear her. It seemed to lighten her mood by a fraction, her tone gaining a bit of life as she spoke. When she was finished, she gave her sister a hug, then put a comforting hand on Shawn's shoulder once before leaving.

Shawn stayed behind, his desolate gaze fixed on the comatose girl. He had been looking forward to see her again since he had left, but not like this. He'd give nearly anything to change what had happened.

~~~~

A few months passed. Every week Shawn came by the hospital room, even after nearly everyone else had tried to move on with their life. He'd bring poems and art and short stories he had wrote for her, and hung them around the drab room. Over time, the aura in the room grew slightly more cheerful, the colorful walls combating the gloom of the circumstances.

But not for Shawn. He became more reclusive, withdrawing from the world to spend more time by Bella's bedside.

He started coming by twice a week, then three times a week, and then stopped by after school every day to just sit there with her. Occasionally he'd talk to her, telling the sleeping girl about how his day had gone, how he wished she would wake up, and how much he missed her.

But as time went on, and nothing changed, something began happening to Shawn. On the outside, he appeared to be the same. He showed the world the smiling face they all knew and loved, but in the quiet hours he had alone with Bella, he'd drop his mask, and be what he truly was. He was hurting, he was broken, and he hated himself.

'I should have paid more attention to her...' was one of his most present thoughts, up along with the ever present one of 'If I had been here, could I have prevented this?' He ate less and less, too worried about her and his thoughts to worry about himself. He started numbing himself, even though he didn't yet know it himself.

~~~~

A full year had passed since Bella had fallen into the coma, and most everyone had learned to deal with it in their own way. But not Shawn. His life was falling apart, but on the outside he had to appear the same.

     But one afternoon... It all changed.

     Shawn sat in the chair he had brought to lighten to mood of the room, his heart heavy. He'd come to say goodbye to Bella, one last time. He wanted so badly to be able to stay, but he knew in the heart of his hearts that being here with her was slowly destroying him. So, it seemed only fitting that he reveal his true nature before leaving her forever.

     "Bella..." Shawn started, the words heavy on his lips. "You... you know how much I liked having you around." A small sigh escaped him as he stood on the metaphorical edge of confessing. "But you see... Well... You were always so bright and cheerful, regardless of who tried to  bother you. Even when you were upset inside, you still stayed bright for your friends. You were creative, and smart, and funny. And..."

     His voice broke as he bowed his head. "Oh, Bella..." He glanced up at her sleeping form, tears in his eyes. "You didn't deserve this. I wish I could trade places with you. I'd do it in a heartbeat..." His shoulders shook with sobs, but there was no one around to comfort him.

     The minutes turned into a hour, with no change in either one. Eventually Shawn cried himself out, and then stood. There was no use putting this off any longer. Crossing the few feet that separated his chair from the bed, he stopped beside Bella and knelt on the ground, grasping on of her pale hands in his.

     "Bella... This is the last time I'll visit. I'm sorry I have to go, but... I can't just sit here any longer and pretend you'll wake up someday." There was a long pause. "I love you, Bella. I always did..."

     With a heavy heart, Shawn stood, and stared down at his fingers wrapped around Bella's. "Goodbye, Bella." Then he let go, and started toward the door, slowly walking as though his legs weren't working properly anymore.

      "Shawn..." A whisper, faint as a breeze.

     He froze, certain he was hearing things. Slowly, so slow he was hardly moving, he turned back around, not daring to hope what his heart wished for. He slowly fixed his eyes on the girl in the bed, and sucked in a breath at what he saw. 

     Bella's blue eyes were open for the first time in a little over a year, and they were staring staight at Shawn.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi guys, Author here!

This actually has been in my drafts for... uh... 6-7 months? It was forever ago, let me tell you that.

Anyways, this actually was going to end in a heartbreak, when Shawn walking away and Bella still in a coma, but I'm sick of gloomy endings. I wanted to write something happy for once.

I have Ash to thank for that.
s

ea-of-flames

Anyways.

Hope y'all enjoyed, don't forget to like, comment, and follow if you're not already!

Until next time,

~©@$$