• The sheets were crisp and clean, the bed they covered stiff but not uncomfortable. She was aware of a throbbing pain in her head; aware, but not bothered. It seemed so very far away. This foggy, floating feeling was quite relaxing, almost dreamlike. No worries. No worries about the chemistry final. No sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. No reason to excuse herself, grabbing the pass and running to the bathroom. No staring hopelessly into the mirror, struggling got keep her balance as her vision began to swim. No reason to fall and hit her head. No reason to…

    …Fall. She jerked her eyes open, memories of her last conscious minutes flooding in. The fog in her mind was gone, but with it went the thin barrier between herself and the pain. It hit her hard, catching her off-guard; a thick, throbbing pain screaming from her forehead and echoing throughout her body.

    She searched the hospital room frantically with her eyes. There had to be some way to contact a nurse, some big red button to push or a bell to ring. She glanced out the small rectangular window in the door of her room, surprised to see and, now that she was listening for it, hear commotion going on outside.

    There were voices, raised voices. One, a male, was loud and angry, the other, a female, was quick and frustrated, trying in vain to calm the male down.

    “But I have to see her!” she heard the muffled objection of the male drift through the thick door.

    She knew that voice. The sheer gratefulness for something familiar in such an unfamiliar place seemed to lessen the pain in her head. She turned to face the door, struggling to get a better view. She had to see his face, just to know he was there. She longed to see those eyes that had shone with mischief and laughter countless times across the cafeteria table, the shaggy, curly mass of hair he refused to comb, despite her many threats of going to his head with a pair of shears, that smile that could brighten up any rainy day.

    Suddenly, he burst into the room, an angry nurse yelling threats to call security only a few feet behind him.

    He strode toward her quickly, a twisted look of worry written on his strong, square features. At the sight of him, the throbbing in her head almost dissipated completely; those arms she had always secretly wanted to pull her close, those hands she so desperately wanted to hold. His eyes, those blue-green orbs she had always prayed would one day see her as something more than just a friend, were clouded with pain as he stood next to her hospital bed.

    He reached forward tentatively, cupping her chin gently in his huge, warm hand.

    “Don’t you ever, ever worry me like that again,” he whispered, the intensity in his words unaffected by the hushed volume.

    His face was rather close to hers now. He spoke slowly, carefully, not looking her in the eye.

    “I couldn’t… I just couldn’t loose you,” he said through clenched teeth.

    His eyes flicked up, locking with hers.

    “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

    He kissed her suddenly. It was a short kiss—just a tender touch of the lips, but it meant the world to her. He withdrew, staring tenderly into her face.

    “I love you.”

    The heart monitor began to beep louder and more quickly. The repetitive, high-pitched ring flooding here ears. That was funny; she didn’t remember even seeing a heart monitor in the room. In fact, quickly glancing around the room, she didn’t even see one now. Nevertheless, its tone grew in volume, seeming to overtake her senses, forcing the scene before her further and further away until…

    She rolled over, slamming her hand down on the snooze button of her alarm clock. The incessant beeping finally came to a stop.