When I went home last night, I had 10 minutes before my curfew. My parents were suspicious that I didn't come back home with Tim but instead with someone they'd never met. I called Tim in front of them so he could confirm I was with him. It worked, they stopped questioning. I rushed through homework and was so tired I passed out. I realized when I woke up this morning that I didn't even need to use the pod, I also remembered the bonding we did yesterday. Safe to say my crush has never actually left, and I'm afraid it might become more if I keep this fake relationship going. Will I be able to handle these next two weeks?

My Mother and I head up to my doctor first thing in the morning, and my father meets us there. They wanted to do my scan early, they said the last one ended up being a little fuzzy. This means I'll be in pain, so we grabbed an extra pod before leaving. During the wait, I talked with Jack a little bit. I said, "I don't think I'll be able to tonight, but I'll tell you later if it's possible". To my surprise, he texted me saying he couldn't because he was in the hospital. He's in the ER right next to my cancer center.

"A friend of mine is in the hospital. Can I visit him when this is done?"

"You're probably going to be hurting," my mother tries to reason.

"He's in the hospital, can I visit him?" I ask again, looking for a yes or no.

My parents look at each other as if they are communicating without words. My mom's eyes dart towards me, then back to him, and she raises her eyebrows. It almost looks like a fight without the fight. My father holds his composure though until he turns to look at me. "Yes, you can. We brought an extra pod in case one isn't enough. Which friend is it?"

"A new one," I look down at my phone. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" I text back. "His name is Jack."

Jack: "Went back out last night, got into a little fight, hit my head slightly too hard, I'm all good."

That's not him, not normal him. His text isn't as long and normally doesn't have good grammar.

"Someone mugged him I think because he says he "hit his head too hard". I want to check on him, we are close anyways."

My mom sits next to me, and she's about to speak before I get called in by my doctor. They do the normal scans, observe me for 15, then set us loose. I do hurt; I finish a whole pod in a minute, and while going down the elevator in the hospital, I start the second one. We walk across the parking lot to the ER. When we got to the main desk I asked what room Jack was in. I thankfully remembered his last name thanks to my yearbook from our junior year. She stopped me because of my pen. I take it off my neck and let her read it. She sees the "Medical" and my doctor's name and she apologizes. I ask again what his room is, and when she tells me I rush there. I left my parents behind and continued on, I put my pod around my neck, and before knocking, I pushed it under my shirt.

I knock and I'm let in by someone who looks a little like Jack, but darker and slightly shorter... His father? This is the man who works for NASA?

"Can I help you?" He asks. His voice is rich, much like Jack's.

"I'm a friend of Jack. Can I see him?"

"I'm sorry," A woman comes up, she doesn't look much like Jack. Much lighter skin, her voice almost shy. "Jack isnt seeing anyone right now."

"Mac?" I hear him call out.

His parents look at me, then reluctantly let me in. I pass them, quickly, and smile when I see Jack. Until I saw the stitches on his forehead.

I laugh. "A small bump huh? What happened after you dropped me off?"

"Went out with the group, got into a little altercation with some others traveling by. Nothing big. Why'd you show up, you don't live near here?"

"I was in the neighborhood... personal stuff," I offer a small smile, slowly walking over

"That's why you look so damn tired? Personal stuff? You look dead Mac," he points to the chair.

I laugh and sit next to him.

"So, you stayed overnight in the hospital?"

"Yeah, I was brought in last night. They wanted to keep track of my head. I'll be leaving in a few hours, but I won't be able to drive tonight."

"Wait, is your car still out there? Did one of the guys drive it back?"

He nods and smiles. "Gene took it back."

"How are the guys? Are they here too?"

"Nic was, he left 2 hours after going in. I got the worst of it."

I just stare in disbelief and sadness.

"Mac, I'm fine. You should go home and rest. Me and the gang are totally okay. I'll only be in here for another 2 hours or so."

"Can I see you then too?"

His parents step in, and his mother speaks. "I'm sorry, but no. Jack needs to get home and rest."

"She's right, and you do too Mac," He lays his hand on my right shoulder. "I will see you and the gang tomorrow- well, Monday. I remember," he gives me a grin, and drops his hand.

His father comes next to me, seeing I didn't want to leave, and touches my left shoulder. I flinch away, getting a suspicious look from Jack and his parents, but I smile and stand.

"Then I'll talk to you tomorrow," I start walking away. I look back once, and he still looks questionable. "Get well soon, okay?"

He nods, then picks up his phone and wiggles it. "We'll talk."

Now I nod and dash the hell out of there. I meet my parents at the desk, and I finally can take a breath from my pen.

"Is he okay? is everything alright? Are you alright?"

"He's alright, has a few stitches, a concussion, and a few bruises, but he's fine. I'm okay too."