A few days had gone by since Joel was taken to the hospital, & so far, the hospital had kept him alive by giving him the amount of blood he needed. They got the blood from Benji, Josh, & the twins� mother since they matched the blood type Joel needed.
Since the people working the hospital recognized Joel, it was taking quite a bit of money to keep the employees quiet. The guys of Good Charlotte, minus Joel who was still unconscious, felt that Joel was going through enough right now & didn�t need the extra stress of the press finding out he tried to kill himself & almost succeeded. When Joel finally woke up, that could be too much & no one really wanted to risk it.
Benji had not left the hospital since the day it all happened, so he was beginning to stink a little bit, but at least his family was taking turns at bringing him a new clothing change for each day. The day after it happened, his mom brought him the first change, then yesterday, Josh brought the clothing change, & today, Sarah brought him the change. But instead of going home after she gave him the clothes, she went to Joel�s room to check on him & to his knowledge she was still in there.
Paul didn�t stay at the hospital like Benji, bu the did come by for long hours at a time, sometimes having his breakfast, lunch, & dinner in the cafeteria. When he first got to the hospital, he tried to encourage Benji to at least go home for a shower to get rid of the stench.
Chris tried not to spend a lot of time at the hospital, but he did show up for a couple of hours at a time throughout the day. Every time he came in, he would bring with him a different kind of stuffed animal each time since Joel liked stuffed animals.
Billy was taking a break from his time at the gloomy hospital, & was making his way down a sidewalk that led through the town the hospital was located in. He had spent way too much time in the hospital & just needed to get some fresh air & get away from the place. He sighed as he walked through the small crowd of people that walked along the sidewalk around him. -I can�t handle this shit,- he thought to himself. -Caught between two of my best friends even though Joel was right to be hurt, & Benji was wrong to act like he did.-
Billy turned a corner & walked a few feet before he bumped into someone. �Oh shit, I�m so sorry," he said as he looked down at the person he had knocked to the ground. �Here, let me help you up,� he said as he helped the woman to her feet.
�It�s okay,� she said as she balanced herself after being helped to her feet. �I guess I should have been a little more watchful of where I was going.�
�No, I should have been watching too,� Billy said as he bent down & picked up her purse & folder that she dropped when she fell. �I�m sorry you dropped everything. Here you go,� he said as he handed her the items. �I feel really bad about this.�
�It�s okay, don�t feel bad. I�m just as much as fault as you are, so let�s just call this whole thing even,� she said as she extended her free hand. �I�m Carleigh. Carleigh Burlist.�
�Will Martin,� he said as he shook her hand then let go. �It�s nice to meet you, despite the um, circumstances,� he said with a soft chuckle. �Did you get hurt?�
�No, I�m fine. No harm done.�
�Well that�s good. I�m sorry if I�ve made you late to where you might have been going.�
�It�s alright. The only thing you made me late with, was getting home to a hot, steaming bath after an interview from hell.�
�Sorry to hear about the bad interview.�
�It�s okay. Well, I guess I better get going.�
�Okay. It was nice meeting you.�
�Same,� Carleigh said with a smile before she turned & walked away, leaving Billy to stare after her. -Sweet guy,- she thought to herself.
-+-+-+-+-
Benji had fallen asleep in the cafeteria room, laying his body across a few chairs he pushed together, when Paul found him. He shook his head & left, walking to Joel�s room, putting his hands in his pockets as he walked. So many thoughts were going through his head as he came to the gray door leading into his friend�s room. The same room where he first saw his friend after being called to the hospital with the news. After Joel was stabilized, & the hospital staff was allowing friends & family to go in & see him one at a time, everyone gave Paul permission to go in first. He had first been almost unable to look at Joel because of how sick & pale he looked. But he knew Joel didn�t look this way because of sickness, but because of blood loss.
He quietly opened the door & walked into the dimly lit room, shutting the door behind himself. He went over to the bed & sat in the chair next to it, taking Joel�s fingers into his hand, being careful not to move his wrist too much, not wanting to anger to wound that was wrapped in a bandage.
�Hey Joel,� he spoke softly. �How are you sleeping? Having any good dreams?� He bit his lip slightly as he rubbed Joel�s fingers with the pad of his thumb. �I wish you would wake up already. I miss my friend.�
-I also want to help you with Benji,- he thought to himself. -He had no right to treat you like shit just because you�re gay. He has friends that are gay, what makes you so different from them? Is it just because you�re his flesh & blood?-
He let go of Joel�s fingers & reached up to slowly run his fingers through Joel�s hair, watching as a small smile formed on his lips. �Like that Joel?� Paul chuckled softly & kept playing with Joel�s hair. �Joel, if you wake up for me, I�ll keep doing this... As long as you stay awake & don�t start slipping away again,� he whispered.
�It would be nice if that actually worked, wouldn�t it?� Asked a familiar voice from the doorway. �Shame it doesn�t.�
Paul looked at the door, putting his hand in his lap when he saw Billy. �Yeah, I know. That would be nice, huh? How long have you been standing there?�
�Right before you started playing with his hair,� Billy answered with a small smile. �So, why were you?�
�Why was I what?�
�Playing with Joel�s hair.�
�Trying to wake him up.�
�Right.�
�I was,� Paul answered, then noticed the sly grin on Billy�s lips. �Why are you looking at me like that?�
�I think you like him.�
�Dude, strictly clitly.�
�Dude,� Billy mocked him. �You can be bi-curious. You know I won�t laugh. I�m okay with it, aren�t I?�
�I�ve never done anything with a guy,� Paul said as he got up & made his way to the door, opening it & standing in the doorway. �And I�m quite happy with women, thank you,� he said before he walked out all the way & shut the door. Billy shook his head & got up, following after Paul. �Hey, wait up,� he said as he came to a walk beside his bandmate. �Can I ask you something?�
�Probably not,� Paul answered, not stopping to face Billy.
�Honestly now, have you really done nothing with a guy before?�
�No, I�ve never done anything with a man.�
�Doesn�t mean you aren�t at least a teeny bit curious.�
�I�m not curious at all Billy, now go away before I do something I�ll regret later.�
�Oh blah blah Paul. Everyone knows you wouldn�t hurt a fly unless it crapped on your food, so it�s useless to try & threaten me.�
�Billy-�
Paul was cut off as he was pulled into an elevator without warning. �What the hell are you doing Billy?� He asked as he looked at Billy as he pressed the �garage level� button. �Billy?�
�Hopefully no one will want to get to their cars,� Billy said before he pushed Paul against the wall of the elevator, putting his hands on either side of Paul�s shoulders, blocking him from moving.
�Billy, whatever you have planned in that sick mind of yours, get it out of your mind now."
�I�m just a little curious Paul, sorry,� Billy said before he pressed his lips to Paul�s, kissing him softly as he closed his eyes & tried not to think about the fact that this was his best male friend that he was kissing in the dim elevator car that was making its way five stories down to the garage, hopefully without interruptions.