The myspace messages were so few and far between these days that Phineas found himself regularly checking to see if his long-lost best friend had deleted his profile or not. Pasha so rarely signed onto AIM, and when he did, it was as if he wasn't really there at all. And, possibly worse, his message text was default black instead of bold turquoise. Self-conscious and a natural worrier to begin with, he had concocted a plethora of reasons that his friend had chosen to abandon him, varying from new best friends to debilitating Ecstasy addictions to demonic possession.

None made him feel better.

The cheery boy had brightened his days, often literally, and had been his crutch when he had relationship troubles or someone was bullying him again. Without that, he found himself becoming bitter towards the friend that once made him smile. But when he received news that Pasha was one of those who had mysteriously fallen into a deep sleep, he knew he had to go see him. He knew he couldn't turn the cold shoulder any longer, because it might be the last time he truly got to see him. He left immediately, a vase of rainbow-colored carnations in tow, hoping that the visit might change something. The bonds of friendship had to be powerful in reality like they were in books, right? Surely Pasha would wake when he heard his voice. Surely he would be reunited with his best friend, and everything would be okay again.

Just as he was about to walk through the door to his room, a girl with long, blue hair emerged, clearly deep in thought over something. He didn't smile or greet her; she wasn't a nurse, and she wasn't a relative, so she had to be his replacement. She even had blue hair, too - that was just unfair. Not that hers looked better, but...

He considered turning around, giving the flowers to one of the nurses, and leaving, but his jealousy just couldn't overcome his genuine worry for his friend's well-being. So, sighing, he pushed open the slightly ajar door and tried to smile.

"I...hey, P-pasha..." Clearing his throat, he gently set the vase of flowers down among those that he'd already received, moving to sit on the edge of the bed. The other teenager was small, and took up very little room; somehow, he seemed even smaller as the hospital room engulfed him with its sterility and endless beeping. Slowly, he reached out to hold his hand, trying not to puke from the feeling of the IV against his palm. That would just be terrible.

He wanted so badly to tell him about how he hadn't been able to have another party after the last one when Pasha got really sick from the "punch". He wanted to say that Signy was still trying to steal his boyfriend, and that he was actually pretty confident that she didn't have a chance (and wasn't Pasha proud that he had confidence in something?). He wanted to tell him all about the books they'd bought for one another, their dates, the first time they kissed. He wanted to ask if the sleepovers were the same without him around, because he didn't think they were on his end. But when he tried, none of the words could make it past the lump in his throat, and all he could do was cry quietly at his friend's side. What if he never got to tell him these things? Their strained friendship was better than losing his friend forever, that was for sure, and the thought of the latter was devastating.

He sat there in silence for another half hour, clutching desperately to Pasha's hand, before the nurse came to gently tell him that he would need to go home now. The friend-magic had failed him. Pasha still didn't stir, and he didn't feel any better at all. If anything, he missed him even more. He needed his friend back, and it wasn't fair that someone was trying so hard to deny him of that, be it the blue-haired girl or the person who caused the outbreak of near comatose sleep.

As he got up to leave, he slipped a bracelet onto the sleeping boy's wrist. The nurse would probably take it off once he left, but at least he knew he'd get it. Rubbing the tears from his eyes, he managed to get out a mumbled request.

"W-w-wake up soon, p-please? I m...I miss you."