Hold Your Head Up High

Chapter Four

I woke up to see, and hear, Dan asleep and snoring next to my bed. Turning over, I saw that the time was 4:06 p.m. This sleep schedule was gonna be really hard to fix.

Trying to make as little sound as possible, I slowly pulled my blanket off of me and began to sit up. I regretted that decision, because getting up meant taking my arm out of the position it had been in for almost a day. I winced in pain while trying to keep it in so I wouldn't wake Dan up. I fought through the pain as best as possible and continued to try and sit up.

"Maggie, what are you doing?" He must've been a light sleeper; I wish I had known that.

"Getting out of bed." I croaked. I honestly didn't know what I was thinking, because I felt like crap and standing up probably wouldn't be much help.

"Mag, you have to stay in bed. You need to rest."

"I don't see you in your bed at home." I said back. "And I just slept for eight hours. I don't need to rest anymore. I need to get out of bed." It took all of my strength, but I successfully got myself into a sitting position. I leaned my legs over to Dan's side, and I looked at him with pain-filled but happy eyes.

"I'll get you a sling so it's easier to not move your arm." Dan suggested, and he hopped over to a cabinet on the wall with medical supplies (no kidding).

"Thanks." He came back and helped me put it on. It was white, with a gray strap holding it together.

"Anything for you." He smiled at me. Gosh, he was handsome.

I pulled the IV cart to my other side so I could wheel it with my non-injured arm. I let go of it and held onto Dan for support as I stood up. The sudden elevation change wasn't great for my arm. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. Maggie, you're fine. It was just a little thing in your arm. Stop overreacting.

"Are you okay?" Dan noticed I wasn't doing well.

"I'm fine." I'm fine.

Dan got up and got his crutches. I grabbed onto the IV cart hard, making sure I had no chance of falling over. He quickly got to the door before me so he could hold it open for me. I smiled at him as I walked out of the room and into the long hospital hallway. There was a nurses' station not far away, and tons of doors to different rooms lined the walls.

"Where do you want to go?" Dan asked.

"Food." I immediately answered, and we both laughed.

"Food it is." We both started walking for a little while, but then he stopped. "Where is the food?"

"I think I know. If not, this might be a little bit of an adventure." I grinned and continued down the hallway, Dan walking next to me. Dan. Dan Reynolds. Dan freaking Reynolds.

"I have a question." I spoke up after a few minutes of silently traveling the hospital.

"What?"

"Have you... ever had a girlfriend before?"

He seemed deep in thought for a bit, but he answered.

"I've had flings here and there; one night stands, make out sessions..." He sighed. "None of them meant anything. Never had I kissed a girl and thought Wow, she is a great person. I had only loved them all for their looks; to be honest, they were all jerks." He paused for a second. "Except for you."

I glanced at him with a confused look. "What makes me so different?"

Another moment deep in thought. "You are everything. You put other people before you without questioning it for a second. You love so many things and give your all to so many people. You are the most beautiful person I have ever seen, inside and out. You are everything. You think you're nothing, but you're everything."

I blushed, not knowing what to say.

"You make it sound like I'm an amazing person." I giggled.

"Because you are, Mag."

I couldn't help but tear up a bit. "No guy has ever said that to me before."

Dan look surprised. "Not even your dad?"

I was taken back for a second. He doesn't know, Maggie. He doesn't know.

"My dad..." I couldn't find the words to say. I hadn't spoken about my dad in years.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine." I sighed. "I kind of grew up without a dad. He left when I was five." I felt the tears welling up in my eyes. I didn't want to let myself cry. My dad didn't deserve my tears.

Dan's sympathetic face became sadder. "I'm so sorry."

I started laughing through my tears, and I could tell he was confused.

"Dan, you can't be away from the tour for even a day without making references to your songs." I smiled.

We both started laughing, and I could feel the sadness just being lifted off of my shoulders. I loved being able to do that; taking a sad situation and finding the humor in it until everyone felt better.

After some more walking with a few jokes here and there, we arrived in the hospital cafeteria. We looked around to see tons of people, both doctors and patients.

"Have you been in here yet?" Dan asked.

"No, the only thing I've eaten is the apple pie. I don't have much of an appetite."

"Oh. Well, I came here this morning, so I'll show you around a bit." He proceeded to lead me to each section of the cafeteria, with different types of food set up. I settled for a small chicken salad with a banana, and as I sat down I noticed Dan hadn't gotten anything to eat.

"You don't want anything?" I asked, offering my banana.

"Not hungry." He half smiled and sat down across from me.

We had lots of small talk and getting to know each other while I ate. I learned that he has a strange fear of the dark, while I told him about my favorite color being blue. Interesting, I know.

"Got any dark and deep secrets?" I questioned, a smirk on my face.

He sighed, and I could tell we were getting deeper than I had imagined. "Depression."

"Would it be weird to say, 'I know'? I mean, I've heard about it and stuff."

"Yeah, the media talks about it... but they don't really know." He twiddled with his fingers. "All the songs I write are about how I feel. They go from my best moods, to times where I just can't take myself anymore."

I nodded. "Nothing Left To Say."

He looked down at the floor, then picked his head up and spoke. "I was doing bad things back when I wrote that song. Really bad things. I just hated myself."

I looked into his eyes and saw the kind and caring Dan turn into a frightened and lonely one. I reached over with my normal arm and grabbed his hand, holding it tight to comfort him.

"What's your full name?" He asked, changing the subject.

I smiled. "Maggie Lynn Ellison. Kinda weird."

"It's as beautiful as you." His eyes lit up in such a way that I couldn't help but feel every good emotion I knew.

I felt him grip my hand tighter. "I love you, Ma-"

His face went blank.

"Dan? Dan, are you okay?" I suddenly felt his hand loosen.

"DAN!"

He fell to the ground.

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Hi everyone! I'm really happy you guys are enjoying the story so far! (By the way, that fear of the dark thing was made up lol). I'll try not to leave you on the cliffhanger for too long 😉.

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