A Visit After Dismissal

A girl walked into the infirmary quietly, a bell tinkling as she entered the room. Still clad in her school uniform, she had arrived right after classes. Her hands clutched a bag, which she held at her front, covering her skirt and the topmost part of her thighhighs. Around her head, partially hidden by her dark brown hair, was a bandage. Concern was on her eyes. She hadn't seen Jace since Nepal, when he was wisked away by doctors, and had just heard that he was moved from the hospital to the infirmary. Her dark eyes glimmered in the poor lighting of the room, and she found the boy in one of the beds. Lotte smiled, and walked over, shoes making clacks on the floor. She had even forgotten to let Ethel in, who stood outside with a dumbfounded look. Her fingers traced the glass of the window that made up the wall. "Lotte..." came an inaudible mumble.

There really wasn't much to do at the moment, aside from lying there and staring up at the wall. He was happy to finally get a few moments to himself after having his parents practically glued to his bedside for a good while. Well, that had been the thought repeating in his head. For how long, he wasn't entirely sure, nor did he really care. The young man was in a strangely good mood, chuckling warmly to himself with his own imagination. Like how it had been him and Kimply who were shot, instead of someone who deserved it - Like Montare. Or how cruel that Simon fellow had said his dad's school was when he was willing to murder children for the sake of money. How funny it was.
Well, not really, but the high doses of antibiotics and painkillers in his system seemed to convince him otherwise.
Jace's golden eyes flickered over at someone walking over to his bed. It took him a few moments to realize who it was. "Lotte!" He said with a familiar smile, sitting up to get a better look at her, but stopping in a bit of a struggle. It didn't feel right and made him dizzy.

Lotte stopped beside his bed, a warm smile on her face. She sat down on a chair, reaching into her breast pocket. She pulled out a slip, and handed it to him, not making any eye contact. He seemed in a vulnerable state, not able to even sit up without faltering a little. "I-it's our English homework." she said quietly, planting a hand on her lap. Her fingers were curled, and she seemed to be gripping the cloth of her skirt. "So...how are you feeling?"

The autumn boy propped himself up on one elbow, watching as she slipped out the little envelope. He tried to keep the grin on his face, but he was obviously far less than enthusiastic to see it as he took it from her. "Oh. Thanks." He muttered, looking over the problems and then at the English book at his bedside. The young man laughed a little humorlessly, "I was really lookin' forward to this." With a small sigh, Jace twisted back and tossed the paper on his textbook before facing Lotte again. "I've been better. It only hurts a little now." Jason said, laughing lightly and much more naturally at his own pain. He tried to sit up a little again and pulled back the blanket that was covering him, showing his bare arms and chest ;D /shot - but most importantly, the white bandage over his stomach. "What a jerk, right?" He said with a childish smirk, referring to the man who had shot him.

Lotte searched her mind for a way to answer this question. Memories of what had happened were fuzzy, for sure, and she had a hard time remembering what exactly made the man a jerk. Nevertheless, she nodded, putting on a convincing smile as to show that she knew what he was talking about. "Yeah. People like that are rotten." she said quietly, giggling at his resentment towards seeing the homework. She kept her eyes glued to her lap, unwilling to take peeks at him and his...erm...bare parts. A blush crept across her otherwise pale face.

Jason's grew grin as he heard her small laugh. It was good that she was laughing. It was cute. And it made him happy, like he wanted to laugh too. Even though his head was a bit up in the clouds, it was clear that he was still concerned for everyone who had been there. "Did everyone come out alright? Kimply? Evelyn? Creeper?" He pressed, his voice light, yet strangely serious. It didn't match the goofy smile on his face. He paused, noticing the bandage wrapped around her head. Jace furrowed his eyebrows, wincing and forcing himself to sit up so he could get closer. "Are you alright?" He stretched a clumsy hand forward, at first mistakenly patting her shoulder, but regaining his motor skills and gently brushing the bangs out of Lotte's face, so his fingers could graze against the bandage. What had happened to her? This wasn't good. She should've never gotten hurt.

"Y-yeah." Lotte said, quite surprised when he had brushed her hair back. She flinched as she felt his warm hand graze her bandage. "It was just a concussion. The doctor said I would be fine." she whispered, giving a reassuring smile. Her amber eyes gazed at his wrist in front of her face.

A look that might be mistakenly seen as deep and thoughtful covered Jason's face. In actuality, he was feeling rather distant at the moment, frowning. A concussion? That was when you hit your head and it swelled right? Yeah. Jason Wright. Expert M.D. "Huh..." He breathed, pulling his hand back and tilting his head curiously. "Does it still hurt? I could make it better for you, my kisses are magical~" The young man offered, winking at Lotte before laughing at himself. Wait. Magic music AND this too? He was doubly gifted!! Jace held up a hand, as if a sudden idea came to mind. "You know, you're kinda quiet today. What's wrong?" He asked with wide-eyes before forcing himself to sit up straighter, patting on his lap - or... the side of the bed? Whichever he was pointing at, he missed a few times. "Go on and tell your Jacey all about it?" He pressed with a surprisingly light voice.

Was he delirious? Lotte ignored his first comment, and smiled weakly at his second. Why was she so quiet? She could not find a good answer herself, but a thought finally drifted across her mind. "I was worried about you, I guess..." she said, even more quietly than before. She wouldn't dare to make eye contact with the boy, and her eyes drifted to the foot of his bed.

Just a bit. Sitting up was for too long, no matter how fun it was to look perky, was putting strain on his wound and he was forced to slouch again - letting out a small wince as he did so, only to frown again at Lotte's answer thereafter. "You guess?" He repeated quietly. No. Even doped up on painkillers, that wasn't going to fly by him. Jace crossed his arms to get a bit more comfortable and looked straight at her. He was obviously expecting a better answer than that. "Lotte...?"

Lotte shifted her gaze to meet his. "What more do you want me to say!? I-i thought you were going to die on me!" she suddenly exclaimed. Tears filled her eyes, and trailed down her cheeks, which were bright red. "Who would protect us from Montare? Who would say hi to me in the Courtyard every afternoon? I-idiot!" she buried her eyes in her arm, wiping her eyes. She knew it wasn't his fault he got shot, yet she kept repeating the word. "Idiot. Idiot idiot idiot..."

bird yur keelin me
He had not been expecting that at all, even jumping back a little from her sudden outburst. A dumbstruck look crossed the boy's face, and suddenly he struggled to find something to say; having trouble coping with this sudden change of mood. "I- I'm sorry - I -" An uneasy look shone as he started to feel a pang in his chest. "I don't plan on leaving any time soon - Look, I'm fine, see?" He forced a grin and sat up a little straighter, trying to lean closer. "I'm sorry, stop crying, please?" Jason tried to reason, hating seeing her like this. He reached out one arm, pulling her into a hug - whether she liked it or not.

Lotte ceased her sobbing, and was pulled into an embrace by Jace. hehheh She was silent as he did this, embarassed for crying. She didn't weep much, and the boy had already seen her cry twice. Her hands were kept awkwardly in front of her face as he hugged her, and her arms to her frontside. "Sorry..." she whispered.

>3> Jason shut his eyes, patting her quietly, but a bit comically on the back of her head as he hugged her tightly - as if to say "there, there". "You're one tough cookie, you know that?" He mused, sounding rather light-hearted again before pulling back a little and trying to pry one hand from her face, so he could get a better look at her at her face. Though, quite honestly, he was unsure of what to say.

Lotte let him take her right hand, revealing a face that was quite red and messy from crying. She felt ugly, and resisted the urge to cover it, instead wiping at her left eye with her available hand. They were still hugging apparently. Or, at least he was hugging her. When Lotte realized the lengthy duration of this embrace, she didn't meet his eyes, murmuring. "Y-you can let...go now..."