Saturn- Brallon

42 | d a l l o n

Ryan is smiling stupidly from the anesthetic when I get to the room. They let me in first so we weren't crowding him.

He lifts up a finger to let me know he sees me and waves it side to side while my instinct is to fix the pillows and see if he's comfortable. He nudges me away and opens his mouth to speak, but nothing comes out.

Ryan clears his throat and then says the one thing he's been preparing for. "I see dead people." He says ominously, but it just sounds monotonous.

He frowns at how bad it came out but I still laugh because the effort was spooky enough.

He's tired. He closes his eyes a little but wakes up when he remembers I'm here. He needs to rest. Take it easy. Not potentially wheel himself to a reception desk and cause more strain on his heart. He's kind of an idiot like that.

It's weird that he has a heart now. I'm so used to being so cautious and observant with him but now it's like I don't need to be. At least not as much.

Hayley slides in on her socks and sits down in a chair by the bed. She's so eager to see him. Maybe coming in so soon was a bad idea.

"Buddy! You survived! I thought we were going to have to sell all your stuff!" She practically yells at him. Ryan opens his eyes and smiles at her the way he smiled at me and the way he will smile at Awsten when he comes in. i can tell that he's a little caught off guard by her. And also bothered by her loud vibe. But she takes his hand in hers and lays her head on the bed. They'd make a cute couple of Ryan wasn't such an ass.

Awsten sits next to me, waving at Ryan and returning the dumb smile.

"I'd hope you'd keep some of my things." Ryan whispers.

Hayley thinks for a second. "No, we love you too much."

"So you get rid of all of my things?"

"We have memory." She says sweetly, making Ryan fake gag at the sentimental sound in her voice.

I turn to Awsten and tune out their conversation. "Where's Brendon?"

"Said he had to go to the bathroom." He shrugs. "Geoff is outside to make sure he finds his way back. The hospital has too many turns." Awsten shakes his head at the memories of getting lost one too many times.

"So, are you and Geoff dating?"

It's like those words were a button to activate every single red colour in Awstens face to pop out. "What? No! Why do you ask?"

"Because it's obvious you like each other. He showed up early this morning just to hangout while we waited for Ryan."

He drops his head in his hand and sighs. "It's supposed to be a secret. Coworkers dating isn't something that people tolerate."

"Dating a patient isn't something people tolerate." I remind him, and he shakes his head.

"It's not like that. Brendon isn't sick anymore."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean he wasn't my patient."

Hayley yells again, but this time at us. "Stop bickering! Look!" She points to Ryan's hand excitedly. "The surgery gave him sign language!"

Ryan's hand, of course, is making different symbols and shapes, moving around his head and his lips and his eyes. "Hayley, he's fooling you. Ryan wouldn't know sign language if an expert taught him."

"But the surgery-"

"Did nothing, he's playing." Awsten interrupts, giggling a little when Hayley hits Ryan's hand harshly.

Brendon and Geoff walk in to witness the murder of Ryan Ross committed by Hayley Williams. Geoff looks concerned, but not at them.

Brendon nudges him off, sitting next to Hayley who moved away from Ryan.

"So, you getting a heart, does it mean you'll stop being rude to everyone?" Brendon asks him genuinely. It's a good question.

Ryan ponders the question. He lets it jump around in his head for a moment before saying, "No, I like being mean." He pretends to sign it, making Hayley sigh loudly. Ryan's laugh is over crowded by the scared noise he makes as Hayley attacks after he makes a heart out of his hands and says "This means love in sign language."

We all get quiet, Hayley gained some composure and sat at the end of the hospital bed keeping Ryan company. It was silent and nice.

The morning sun hit all of us. We all groaned at the brightness except for Brendon, who stared out the window at the busy lives of working people. Cars drove by fast and people hurried to get places. He's curious.

He looks so tired sitting there. I can't blame him though. He didn't get much sleep at all last night.

Ryan drifts off to sleep slowly. Hayley tries not to move when she reaches for her phone. She doesn't want to stop his attempt at rest. Awsten and Geoff sit across from each other, reading the others mind probably. Awsten occasionally smirks at him.

And Brendon. He just sits there.

I feel a bit bad about leaving so suddenly. We also haven't really talked about what happened— or what didn't happen. I don't know what to say.

He stares blankly out the window, his hand under his chin, his fingers fallen on his lips, and as always, his mind somewhere up in the sky.

-

Hey I really love the Ryan and Hayley I've created in this and I hope you do too!!

-jj