Macaronic

Chapter Twenty-Three

     Red eventually woke up, and was surprised to see me beside him.

"Max," He said.

     I jumped up, looking down at him. He said my name. He said my name. He can talk again. His lungs didn't collapse, he said my name without passing out. He can talk!

"Red, you-you're talking!" I exclaimed.

"I am," He said, sitting up a bit. "It hurts a little," He told me.

"Don't over work yourself," I told him.

     I sat beside his legs, smiling down at him. I could feel the tears rising to my eyes. Hearing his voice after so long made my heart explode with happiness. The hope flooded back into me.

He was going to be okay

"Do you need anything?" I asked him. "For your throat?"

"No, I'm afraid to eat or drink. I don't wanna mess myself up," He said.

"Makes sense," I nodded.

     Within the hour, Red's parents showed up to relieve me of my shift. I went back home to get some rest; Hospital chairs ruined my back, and I was craving my beds comfort.

     I didn't sleep for very long, because Ross had called me. I sat up and answered the phone.

"Yeah?" I replied.

"What're you doing?" He asked me.

"Sleeping, I just got back from the hospital like an hour ago," I told him.

"You were at the hospital overnight again?"

"Yeah, I always am. I wouldn't let Red's parents sleep in those awful chairs," I told him.

"When are you going to stop sleeping there?" He asked, his tone slightly changing.

"Whenever Red gets out,"

"But who knows how long he'll be in there. You can't sleep there all the time," He told me.

"Ross, I'm not just gonna leave Red there by himself overnight. If something happens, someone has to be there," I reminded him.

"But you don't need to be there everynight,"

"Ross..." I said slowly. "He's my friend, I'm not leaving him by himself. I won't know when something will happen, I always have to be there,"

"Whatever," He huffed into the phone and hung up.

     I found his attitude irritating. I didn't see how he was getting upset about this. I wanted to be there for my friend, but he was only thinking of himself. I realize we've had loads of issues lately, but Red being in the hospital was more important than everything else right now.

     He didn't even tell me what he wanted in the first place. I sent him a text, but honestly didn't expect a response anytime soon.

     Just to please him, I shot Shelby a message, asking her if she would switch shifts with me for the next couple of days. I was surprised that she agreed, and told her I definitely owed her.

     Since I was already up, I got dressed and headed over to Ross' apartment. Tim let me in, pointing down the hall to Ross' room.

"Hello?" I asked, knocking on the door with my knuckle.

"Come in," He said.

     I opened the door to find him playing a video game. He paused it and looked up at me, adjusting his glasses.

"What're you doing? You should be sleeping," He said in a sassy tone.

"I came to spend time with you. And, I asked Shelby if she would switch me," I told him.

"Both of those things surprise me," He huffed.

"It's surprising that I want to spend time with you?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I figured you'd want to spent more time with Reeed," He teased.

"Don't say his name like that,"

"Someone's getting touchy,"

"Ross, he's my best friend and he has lung cancer. Excuse me for wanting to be there for him. My bad," I snapped.

"You promised not to talk to Shelby," He said, not even addressing what I had said.

"I had to switch shifts in order to please you," I reminded.

"Woah, I'm important for once?"

"What's that supposed to mean? Don't say that," I said.

     He let out a sigh and looked down to his hands. I slowly made my way to him and pulled him up. I stared into his eyes, noticing all the emotion he was holding in.

"Ross, I know that lately it seems like I'm ignoring you, and putting everyone else first. I don't mean to come off like that, it's just how things have happened. I'm really scared Red might die at any moment, so I'm always there with him," I sighed. "I promise, I'm going to prove to you that you're the most important thing I have right now, okay?"

     He showed me a smile, hugging my torso. He didn't say anything, but his embrace let me know that he understood.

"I'm sorry for being selfish," He whispered.

"Don't be, it's kind of adorable," I laughed.

     We took a seat on his bed, keeping smiles on our faces.

"Red spoke today. It was so nice to hear his voice again. He didn't show a sign of suffering which warmed my heart," I told Ross.

"That's amazing," He said. "You know, I haven't seen him since he was admitted," He reminded.

"Would you wanna visit him tomorrow?" I asked.

"Would he want to see me?" He asked shyly.

"Of course he would. He misses everyone. I'm sure he's getting tired of me anyway," I laughed.

"I'd like that," He said, smiling wide.

     Ross expressed his want to get Red a gift before we saw him tomorrow. He dragged me around town to a million stores until he found the right gift. I didn't mind so much, just seeing Ross showing this love towards Red reassured me in a way.

     The next day around half 3, we went to the hospital, stuffing the bear Ross had gotten Red into the backseat. We hauled it all through the Hospital, but it was worth it after seeing Red's face light up when he saw him. I leaned against the wall as Ross and Red talked, laughed and smiled.

     It was amazing to see the two people I care for the most, get along together. There were all kinds of reassuring feelings. I just hoped Red would be out soon and all the drama would go away.

**A/N: sorry this chapter was a little boring.. the next chapter will definitely be filled with drama and all the feels teehee**