Like a True Friend (Grian x MumboJumbo)

Chapter 8 : The Final Countdown

If some of you like listening to music while reading, I was on youtu.be/u5CVsCnxyXg and youtu.be/BWiBDXSC7iA while writing, especially in the end.

The waiting. The impossible, unending waiting. That fricking clock was so slow he wanted to punch the hell out of it and tear out everything that was inside. It had only been a couple hours but already felt like way too long. After all, it was quite early in the morning and Grian had not slept at all today and barely the night before, so, even more reasons to be tense and on edge. The hospital environment was so quiet, that fucking clock was all he could hear and care about. The doctors said he was okay though. No reason to panic, right? Mumbo would be fine, right? Right? He was desperately trying to convince himself. But they still kicked him out of the room, and Mumbo hasn't woken up yet, and they did a battery of tests, and told him that since his friend did fall on his head, they could not know yet the extent of the brain damage, and

- Hey.

A soft presence had just put a warm hand on his shoulder.

- You sure you don't wanna go home, G? You should go get some sleep, man.

Grian smiled to Iskall, with such a tense and fake smile that no one would ever believe it, but Iskall decided to ignore it.

- Don't worry man, cannot sleep anyways. You go home and get some rest. I promise I'll give you news the second I get 'em, answered Grian.

- You sure? inquired the Swede with a worried expression.

Grian's smile faded and his sad eyes wandered on the ground. He hesitated, and said.

- You know, I cannot... After...

He took a deep breath.

- After what happened, I cannot just leave him. Even if I wanted to, I'd feel too guilty.

He rose his gaze towards the older man and in a sincere tone, declared.

- Go and have some sleep Iskall. I'll watch him.

Iskall seemed to hesitate, not knowing what to do, but after a last inquiry on Grian's state he decided to leave. He was not completely sure he would be able to sleep at all but being in that silent room with a broken Grian anguished him even more. He felt oppressed, trapped in the blond's feelings, and that's also why he deemed urgent to leave. Even though getting out of the hospital made him feel bad for leaving Grian all alone, he still felt better than in that claustrophobic room.

Grian's gaze followed Iskall as he slowly got out of the room, and he went back to staring at the clock. It was the only thing in his mind. He felt like everything in him was following the rhythm of the ticking of the clock. His heart was beating in rhythm. His breath was following the rhythm. His whole body felt like it was ticking, and he felt like the clock was eating him away, losing himself at every tick, worrying more at every tick, becoming more and more a huge mess at every tick. His whole body felt like a bomb, on the verge of exploding, ticking to its end. He was about to burst so violently, when he stood up. It was almost a reflex he was not controlling his body anymore, it was controlling itself. He walked slowly, his footsteps following the rhythm. His legs were two hands of a ticking clock that could never seem to stop. They wondered around, in an unknown hospital. Unconsciously Grian found himself in a corridor, then another, and another again. At one point, he stopped. He suddenly realized he had been walking all that time and he had no idea why or where he was exactly. He looked up and found he was in front of a big window. He took a moment to contemplate the outdoor area. It was dull, gray, and sad. Why were all hospitals so sad? He stared blankly at the window, when he noticed two people outside. He couldn't quite make out their faces, but they looked happy, sticking out of this bleak background. They looked like a cute couple, smiling at each other and kissing gently. This soft sight allowed Grian to raise a tiny smile. He kept staring at the window, and as the two people released themselves from the hug, he was able to make out a face. Mumbo. What the hell was going on, why was he there? Frozen by this discovery, he instantly tried to figure out who was the other person. What he saw puzzled him even more. The person he was seeing behind the glass was himself. He abruptly got away from the window and started shouting out of confusion, and then it all stopped.