4:06 - A Tale of Leukemia

Who Am I | Chapter 3

003 | The Art of Infatuation

Je te Lasserai des mots ♫

En-dessous de ta porte

La la la la la

En-dessous des murs qui chantant

BOO's ears were exposed to the coldness of the room, as his headphones were snatched off his ears. He shot his mother a 'what's the point of that' look.

She sternly crossed her arms across her chest. Shooting the teenager, a look, that meant he had a couple of seconds to fix his attitude, before she took things into her old hands.

He paused his music, and rephrased his question. ''Yes?''

Her eyebrows raised.

''...mom.'' He added quietly.

She wasn't completely satisfied with his tone, but she let it go for his sake. ''Well, I was going to ask you if you wanted anything from the vending machine.''

He rubbed a hand over his empty-belly, before shaking his head. He was in fact hungry, but he wasn't in the mood to eat. Not with his taste-buds being as screwed up as they were.

''What about you, um... Ted was it? You want something from the vending machine.''

The ginger didn't waste another second before practically, launching himself out of the lobby-chair. His voice fading around the corner. '' – do I get to pick out multiples, or just one thing?''

Boo rolled his eyes, slipping his headphones back over his ears.

Tout près de la place où tes pieds passent♬

Cachés dans les trous de ton divan

Et quand tu es seule pendant un instant♪

Ramasse-moi ♩

Quand tu voudras-

He felt the air change around him. His exposed skin nipping with goosebumps as the sudden coolness in the air left him breathless. ''You're back, already?''

''Just got here, actually.''

His eyes snapped open. Teddy certainly was not a six-foot blonde. If anything, Teddy was taller than him, by like an inch or something. And he was around 5'8 or 5'9.

''Was that French?... what you were singing earlier?'' He was easy on the eyes, with an American voice too pleasant to the ears.

''Yeah.'' An elderly woman across the lobby chimed in. ''It was quite lovely.''

Great. Not only had he been singing aloud, but apparently people had heard him. ''Yeah.'' He said quietly and embarrassed.

Mom please come save me from this madness.

''You have a great voice.''

His cheeks flushed with pounds of color. ''Thanks.''

The other seemed to be genuinely intrigued by his presence. His irises lit up like a scintillating firefly in the night. His lips curled upwards at the sides, and his eyes shining with a hint of curiosity. He took a couple steps in his direction. Sticking his hand out. ''I'm – ''

''Andrei, you made it!'' Came the screeching excited voice of... his nurse? That he hadn't bothered to learn the name of.

Yeah, she was young, and had pretty delicate features that attracted half the population of male nurses at the children's hospital, but how'd she pull that hot of a boyfriend? Yes, he was hot, and yes, she was hot. But how?

He shook his head.

Nope.

He wasn't going to be that guy. He opted for sliding his headphones back on and minded his own business, until his chemo was done.

That's all he could do. Considering the fact, he almost, barely drooled over his nurses hot – well boyfriend.

Je te Lasserai des mots♪

♫En-dessous de ta porte

Teddy's voice rose over the midst of voices, his face emerging from the ensemble of people now crowding the lobby. ''I'm back and I come baring gifts!'' He was carrying an armful of vending machine snack and chips. ''What'd I miss?''

Boo shook his head at his best friend's antics.

''Hey, you know what I think we should do? We should take pictures and video after all of your treatments, to document your way to recovery!''

He cocked his head to the side. That didn't sound too bad of an idea.

''And then, we can take all the pictures and vlogs we take and combine them to make it a two-hour long documentary thingy!''

''You had me until documentary.''

Teddy smacked him on the shoulder, only to freeze when the other winced. ''Sorry! Sorry! Sorry!''

Boo peeked over his shoulder. Glaring at the other. ''You left a bruise.''

''Sorry, I forgot your skins... well...'' His attention caught someone walking down the hallway. ''Hey, doctor! How much more time does he have left?''

Doctor Patrick checked his watch. ''An hour and a-half left, boys.''

Teddy reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell-phone, immediately clicking into the camera app.

He pressed record.

''What's up V-log! Theodore here. It's January eighth, at twelve-fifteen in the afternoon, and I'm here at the children's hospital with my best friend Boob – I'm not gonna banned for saying, that right? Anyways, I'm with Boo, whose an hour and a-half, I believe. Into his second chemo session. Which I know is hard, but he'll pull through it. He always does. Say hi to the camera, Boob!''

''Hi to the camera!'' Boo snarkily greeted, with a wide over-exaggerated, but genuine smile sitting on his lips.

They both broke into laughter, Teddy nearly dropping his cell-phone in the process.

'' – hey you got spit on the camera! Wipe it off!''

''It's your spit!''

''Wipe it off!''

''You wipe it off! They both wrestled each other. Attempting to use the other's shirt to wipe off the speck of spit on the screen. Their blissful and boisterous laughter bouncing off the walls of the hospital.

''Get off me, you nasty.''

''Boys.'' Boo's mother called with a hint of a smile fermenting on the tips of her lips. ''Cut it out, before you get hurt.''

The two boy's laughter dissolved into the air. Fading away into an abyss of nothingness. Blending in with a sea of boys kicking around a football in a distant field and cheering, to a new set of parents as they witnessed firsthand, as their baby girl took her first steps in the grass.

To an ecstatic group of beggars as they scored enough money to buy themselves a full-course meal. Or the birds whistling in the distance, singing songs about love and freedom.

Until it was nothing, but wind picking up in the sky. The sun smiled down upon everyone. Sharing its warmness to the world.