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I rolled my eyes. "I was gone for all of fifteen minutes, I'm sure you were able to handle that," Was this going to be a full-time commitment? I couldn't hurt her. I toyed with the peeling paint on the wall and waited for a response.

BUMP

"Hello...?" I pulled the phone from my ear, noticing a slight sway in my knees, probably a little dizziness from the radiation. The screen blinked Call Ended and exited back into my main screen, a picture of our band logo. I shrugged and let out a deep, tired sigh. I looked up and saw something that hadn't been there before. The ceiling, naturally, but it wasn't staying in its place. It moved in a constant back-and-forth motion. My stomach tightened, the natural reaction to a world that refused to stay still. I held back nausea and fought the pain of curving my body to make it to the floor. I felt that it was completely ignorant for me not to have realized something was wrong before the head throbbing started and my eyes squeezed shut.

I waited outside for Demi's return, whistling the tune of "Far from beautiful" by Push Play.

I climbed into the back and looked at Trace directly in the eye. "You have an obligation to the band. It's not like you can just get up and leave."

"I already did that, Tess. Coming back doesn't mean that I'm going to keep playing in the band. I have other things that need to be done. For instance, I need to find a job, and get an apartment." I raised my hand to her cheek so that the backside caressed her cheek lightly. "It's just for tonight. I can play a few other gigs here and there but not every night. There's an interview I have tonight for a garage. It's something and it'll pay more than four gigs a week." Pushing back a few lone strands of hair behind her ear I took her into my arms, not wanting her to crack anymore than she already has. "Now, weren't you on your phone before?"

I nodded, pulling away from his hold. I clicked redial and pressed the phone to my face. It rang five times before going to his voice mail. "Hmm..." I called once more and still got no answer. Where are you Demmy?

I shrugged off the thought and let my mind take another excursion, leading it to a tray making it's way across the street, into an Applebees. The waiter held up a delectable pyramid of brownies, all of which had something cheesy scrawled in pink frosting across them like "happy birthday" or something. The man reached his destination at what looked to be a birthday party for a seven or eight year old, who was enjoying the celebration with about half a dozen other screaming children. "Bathroom," I ordered in a mumble. The car stopped and I stepped inside. My eyes were fixed on the tray, and suddenly, I needed those brownies. I could taste them in my mouth, oozing down my throat into what now seemed like an empty abyss. My whole mind didn't control me, only that tiny section that let me visualize myself sweeping my hand over a young boy's plate before his moist little lips could so much as preview it. No, I thought. It wasn't going to make it to the plate. That tray was mine for the taking. All that held me back was a greasy-haired, acne-ridden teenage boy working for another handful of video games. Those brownies were so close, I could reach out and slap each person that served as a problem keeping me from them. I opened my eyes an d realized I'd fallen asleep. The car bumped up and down once again.

~written with help from eyesofanangel667~

I lifted him to the punch buggy, only bothering to remove the crinkled parachute from myself. I slammed the door and came to several depressing realizations, all of which I was forced to move aside considering the current situation. The hospital was close, I had passed it on the way from the airport. It was about fifteen minutes into the drive that a knowledge began to eat at me even harder. I didn't know his last name. I hardly knew his first name. There was only one choice lying in front of me.
"My husband," I began, "is out in my car, in the lot, that is, and...and I don't know what's wrong with him. He fainted, obviously, but...no serious fever. He was clutching his stomach when I found him," The nurse ushered out a few of the emergency medical assistants and showed me to the desk. "Your name, hon'?" she prepared to type. "Valencia Convivial," I replied. "The patients name?" I stuttered a little as the words, "Demetri Convivial," passed my lips. "Age?" Damn. "Eighteen," she lifted an eyebrow slightly, but spared me. "And his?" she asked as he was wheeled in. "Er...nineteen," I tried to sound as if I knew what I was talking about. It seemed, though, that she was more appalled by the thought of how ridiculous the concept of marriage at such an age was than she was skeptical of my honesty.

Instead of sitting on the couch as I normally would, only to then vegetate as I stared at the tele with a blank look on my face, I walked towards the fridge. After pushing a few things aside I found the cider, whether it contained alcohol or not was beyond me, I just knew I wanted some. A champagne glass seemed to do the trick; anything fancy wasn't my thing but it looked nice. I hoped Kimi wouldn't mind me using what was her grandmother's fine china before she kicked the bucket. Normally, she'd bite off anyone's hands who went near the glass cabinet, but I assumed I was an exception. I downed the glass with one sip, refilling it until the room began to spin slightly. "Weeee..." I stumbled across the floor, trying not to drop the glass or what was left of the cider. "Oooooo! Pretty," a shiny object in the corner of the room grabbed my attention.

With my back against the door, my eyes dropped down avoiding the expression on Kimi's face. It would only make the process so much harder. "My uncle co-owns a shop in the upper east side and they have a manager's position open. He said if I cleaned up my act he'd give me a shot after a quick interview with the higher-ups. That's my plan. It's not complicated or exhausting, it's just something I have to do myself, y'know?" I sighed. "Like I said earlier, I can play gigs here and there but not all the time. If I miss the interview I'm screwed and unemployed until another place opens up, and I don't know how long that'll take." I lifted my face to meet eyes with Kimi, her disapproval thriving within them. My arm moved towards her, but flinched, unsure of whether or not it would be a good time...

"Paper work," the nurse held out a thick pile of hot-out-of-the-printer paper. I stalled for time. "Can I see him? I'm really nervous," I tried to hide the lies in my voice with the concern that I actually did feel. She set them down on the counter and led me to where they'd brought him. I instantly put myself in the act, well aware that there would be harsh consequences of not playing my part well. "I'm gonna get 'ya a report on him in a minute, sweetie," I mumbled a thank you and watched her make a steady quick walk to the door. She shut it behind her, giving me one last look to signify that she was trying to give us privacy. I shuddered, though the room was at a comfortable temperature. In the last fifteen minutes I'd become a married eighteen-year-old with a husband in the hospital. What was I supposed to do now? If the doctor walked in there had to be some way I was expected to act. I practiced a face that was struck with as deep a concern as I could manage and made my way to the bed. They had him plugged into a couple monitors, which I had to admit made me very uncomfortable. I stared at the shut eyelids of the man who was supposed to be my betrothed. The door clicked and I positioned myself with a tissue I'd unraveled from my pocket on my face, to signify some kind of crying. "I am going to have to say appendicitis. He's going to need his appendix taken out, standard procedure. You got him here just in time, any later and it may have burst." He smiled triumphantly, obviously waiting for me to sigh of relief or something. I nodded and smiled weakly. "So how long have you two been together?" he tried to strike a conversation with a girl he must have found to be quite strange. "Three months," I was impressed by my quick response. He smiled as if waiting for me to say something else, but I stared over at Demetri instead. "Well, we medicated him and he should be waking up soon. You'll have some time together before the surgery." he promised and walked out as well.

"What the_" I blinked and felt a cool soft hand smack my lips. It was the new girl, and we were at...a hospital? She looked disheveled, though at the same time attractive, pursing her finger to her lips. "Shhh, just don't say anything, I'll explain," My eyebrows moved downward and I shook my head a little. "You passed out. You are getting your appendix taken a little later. Nobody else was there when you fainted, but I found you. I took you to the hospital and had to sign you in as my husband." she was speaking at the speed of light. "What?" I answered coolly. I grasped it as much as I could, though my mind was still boggled. "You cannot tell them that I lied. You can get in big trouble for that_I mean, I could get in big trouble for that. Understand?" Miraculously, yes. I nodded. "What do we do when they come in and check on us?" I whispered. She bit her lip, obviously notifying that she hadn't had the time to think this through very well. "Act like...a couple! I don't know!" she sighed and hung her head a little.