Don't let me fool you. 

Getting hit in the head by a 200 pound linebacker hurts. 

A lot. 

But the good part of being stuck in the hospital is that Piper has been staying with me the entire time. I don't remember most of my stay, the pain medication they gave me was so strong. 

Had some crazy dreams though. Crazy, nice, piper-related dreams. 

I get to go home today, and part of me wishes I could stay and watch Piper's slightly opened mouth breathing as she sleeps on a chair next to my bed, her hair up in the world's messiest bun, tendrils of hair floating up and down with her inhales and exhales. Her face is free of makeup, and slight bags hang from under her tired eyes. But she's perfect, the light stippling of freckles scattering her cheeks like a connect the dot, just waiting for someone to pencil in the gaps. 

I stand up from the hospital bed, now fully dressed in the sweats and t-shirt my mom had brought me to change into. The slight creak of the bed's springs wakes Piper, and she lets out a little snort as she wipes drool from the corner of her lip. 

Rubbing her eyes, she squints up at me sleepily, giving a soft lipped smile. 

"Morning, Duchess." I greet her, my voice hoarse and cracking still. 

"Morning, Duck." She yawns, stretching her arms away from her and emitting a tiny squeak as she does so. 

She pulls at the sleeves of my hoodie that's draped over her like a blanket, the arms hanging at her sides as they engulf her hands. I can't lie, I love seeing her in my clothes. 

The door of my room opens and heavy laughter is heard as I turn to face Mike and William. 

Mike's eyes go to Piper, who waves shyly. 

They're just friends. I tell myself. 

"How you feeling?" Mike turns back to me, a white toothed grin on his mouth. 

"Like a million bucks." I say sarcastically, and we clap our hands together, bros. William does the same, and I step back, subconsciously stepping to the side to block Piper from Mike's view, at least a small bit. 

"How about you, Reynolds?" William is the one to speak to Piper this time, and I'm grateful for it. 

"I'm doing well." She says quietly, yawning slightly into her, well, my sleeve. 

The room is quiet for a second, as we all try to think of something to say. 

"Coach is pissed, man. He almost clobbered the other team's coach after you got taken to the hospital." Mike laughs slightly, placing a hand in front of his mouth. "Was screaming about how they were playing dirty and should just forfeit right there." 

"Yeah, that guy just went at you like a bulldozer." William agrees, making the sound of an explosion with his mouth, pushing his hands out to the side. 

I'm only half listening, as I watch Mike walk over to Piper from the corner of my eye. It's fine, it's fine, everything is fine. 

"How've you been?" He asks her, sitting down in the chair next to her. "I heard about your step-dad." 

I turn to them slightly, waiting for Piper to lash out at him for mentioning Jerry. But she doesn't, just smiles softly, her eyes twinkling with something that doesn't settle well in the pit of my stomach. 

"I'm fine, I've been staying with Nolan for a while, waiting for everything to calm down at home." She smiles up at me, and my annoyance fades slightly. 

"Oh really?" Mike grins wryly, giving me a joking wink. "We still have to do that presentation in English, the teacher is just about ready to make Will my partner, and I am not gonna be kissing that toad." 

"Hey!" Will snaps. "You'd be lucky to get a piece of this." He says, gesturing down to his body and tweaking his eyebrows crazily. 

Piper giggles slightly and the sound is musical. 

I look up at the clock, deciding that now, I want to go home now. 

"Hey, Duchess." I interrupt Mike in the middle of a story about something in football or soccer or whatever, placing a hand on Piper's shoulder. "I'm getting tired, let's head home." 

She nods, standing up from her chair and fixing her bun slightly. 

She's an adorable mess. 

"Hey, if you want, we could go work on the play at my house later tonight?" Mike grabs her hand gently, and I see a blush cross the freckles on Piper's cheeks. 

My hands ball into fists at my sides, my heart rate picking up. 

You can't even be annoyed, Nolan. She's not your's. 

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear nervously, slightly biting her bottom lip. 

"I can't, Mrs. H wants me to look after Nolan tonight, make sure he's okay." 

My heart swells, not only because she said no, but because I was the reason why. 

"Oh, I'll help!" Will's mouth stretches out into a million dollar smile, one I've seen him give countless girls. He tilts his head to me, a glint in his eyes. 

"We can work on the project while we make sure Nolan doesn't die." 

Piper looks up to me, as I try to read her expression. 

Say no say no say no

I want to see that in her eyes, but I don't. 

I sigh, rubbing the back of my head. 

"Yeah, whatever man." I say, as nonchalantly as I can. 

"Great," Will smiles again, patting me on the back. "I'll follow you guys back to your place." 

Piper moves over towards me, shuffling slightly in burned out converse. Her laces are slightly loose, dripping to the side like the ears of a sad dog. 

"I'm driving." She puts her hands out for my keys. "You suck at it even when you're not concussed." 

That's the Piper I know. The wry, sarcastic humor. The way her nose moves slightly when she's joking. 

I shuffle around in my pocket, pulling out my key chain, and it jingles as it drops into her tiny hands. 

I follow her out of the hospital, keeping close to her side. Will walks behind us, and I swear to everything, if he's looking at her-

"Nolan, you okay?" I look down at Piper as we walk, a slightly frown on her brows. 

"Yeah, yeah." I mumble, coughing slightly. "Just peachy."

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

He's sitting too close to her. 

We're in my basement, the large tv playing some old Maury episode. 

Will and Piper sit next to each other, a copy of Romeo & Juliet between them, his thigh touching her's slightly as she leans over the book slightly, squinting her eyes to see the words better. 

He's not even bothering to look at the pages, his eyes glued to her. 

Piper groans slightly, leaning her head back against the couch, rolling her eyes. 

"Why does Shakespeare have to talk in these rambled on sentences?" She questions. "Just get to the point. We get it, Romeo wants to get with Juliet, but why does it take a butt load of pages to say that?" 

I can't help but chuckle at her frustration, a childish pout on her lips. 

I remember that drug-induced dream I had. It was so damn vivid, it seemed real. It was almost like I could feel her lips on mine, her hands on my neck. 

It felt so real. 

I'd give anything to feel that again. 

"Hey, come on, we're almost at the end of the scene." Will comfort her, stretching his arm over the back of the couch, behind her neck. 

I turn my gaze back to the tv, my jaw tight enough to turn my teeth to dust. 

"Okay, fine. Your line is next." Piper sighs, and I hear the page turning. 

"Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take..." Will says. 

I recognize that line. That's the line before...

"Piper, my head hurts." I blurt out, grabbing my forehead to feign a headache. 

I hear her get up off the couch, and then she's next to me on the end of the couch. 

"Lemme see your eyes." She says, seriously. 

I look at her, and am shocked by how close to me she is. Her doe eyes are staring intently into mine, frown set, as if she's searching for something. 

She sits back slightly, scanning the rest of my face. She places her hand on my forehead. 

"Piper, I have a concussion, not the flu." I laugh slightly. 

"I don't know, I always see this on Grey's Anatomy." She mumbles, and then stands up from the couch. "I'm gonna grab you some water and more pain meds." 

She disappears up the basement stairs and I let out a sigh of relief. 

I feel about about lying to her, but if I had let Will finish his line, and kiss her, I would have snapped. 

I don't want her to see that. I don't want to see that. 

I ignore Will, the basement silent for a moment save for the sound of Maury screaming something on the TV. 

"She's pretty cute, right?" Will says, and I inhale sharply, putting on a blank face. 

"You think so?" I ask, keeping my hands splayed, not in fists. 

"Hell yeah, she went from invisible to well..." He smirks, giving me a wink. "I think I might need some water too." He says slyly, getting up to follow Piper upstairs. 

What do I do. 

Before I can say anything, he's gone.

Part of me wants to tear off the couch, follow them, stand between them.

The other half is telling me to leave it alone. Nothing will happen between us, and I know that. I'm just the boy next door, her best friend. She always says it, and whenever my mother would joke about us dating, Piper would laugh, and deny it with vigor. 

I hear the door to the basement opening, and my heart soars when I see Piper, alone, entering the room, two glasses of water in her hands. 

"Where's Will?" I ask, casually. 

She blushes slightly, and settles down next to me, handing me a glass and a pill of the pain medication the hospital gave me. 

"He had to leave, take care of his sister or something." I can tell she's slightly disappointed, but a wave of relaxation flows over me after hearing that he's gone. 

Don't get me wrong, Will is one of my best friends. But I don't trust him around Piper. He'll hurt her. 

"Oh." I respond shortly, dropping the white pill onto my tongue, swallowing the bitter taste with some water. 

"Has he said anything about me?" She asks quietly, fidgeting with the hem of my sweatshirt slightly. 

"No." I say, frowning at her. "Why?" 

She blushes, hard. She tucks her hair behind her ear slightly, the bun on top of her head messy and loose, almost falling out of the band she had placed around it. 

"No reason." She lies, biting her bottom lip slightly. 

I look away from her, forcing my gaze away from that lip.

Jesus, what is wrong with me? I'm normally so controlled around girls, not activated by every little action. 

But Piper. She has this power over me, over my entire mind and my entire body. She's like an amazing football game, the final pass, as you watch the ball spiral through the air, your eyes glued to its path, waiting for it to land in the hands of someone in the end zone. Your heart stops, terrified it will land on the ground, bounce, and land in the hands of the opposing team. 

"Ugh." She groans slightly, placing her head on my shoulder and cuddling into me slightly. I stiffen, but then place my hand onto her hair, wrapping a loose strand around my finger slightly. 

"Boys are so dumb." She mutters. 

"Hey." I say with mock insult. "We're not all bad." 

She looks up at me, a happy sparkle in her eye. 

"No one is like you, Nolan. You're the best friend everyone wants, and I just got so lucky to have."  

Friend. Like a punch to the gut, every time. 

I can feel the pain meds drifting into my mind, making the edges of everything just a little fuzzy. 

But I see her so clearly, so sharply. The edges of her cheeks curving down to her chin, the little button nose with the forest of freckles. The dip of her top lip underneath it, curved into a soft smile. 

I just want to grab her, hold her, show her I can be more. I want to hold her hand as we walk, want to kiss her goodnight at her doorstep. I want to just...

Do it. 

"How's your head now?" She asks. 

"A little fuzzy," I say, my voice hoarse and low. I see her neck tighten slightly, as if she was swallowing hard. "I'm kinda tired." 

It was true, I suddenly realized how tired I was. 

"Come here." She smiles kindly, and sits up, leaning her back against the couch. 

I place my head in her lap, my long legs hanging off the side. 

Her fingers go to my hair, twirling the tendrils around her fingers, stroking my forehead slightly. Shudders of electricity go through my body, and my eyes close slightly. I have never been more comfortable, but my mind is so jumbled. 

"Sweet dreams, Ducky." She whispers, kissing my cheek as I drift off. 

No dream will ever be as sweet as the one at the hospital, and I will myself to dream it again.