Chapter Twenty Four —
Breathing

Rosa and Jason burst loudly through the hospital doors, their arms tight around Glenn's back as he slumped forwards.

"Help!" Rosa shouted, straining to keep hold of him. "Someone help!"

Behind them, Luke was carrying Sasha in his arms, who was dangerously slipping in and out of conscious. "Help!"

Kelly rushed over to them, her eyes wide as she took in the sight in front of her. "Oh my god, this way, quick!"

She ushered them towards two free hospital beds, calling out across the room for Gordie. Luke carefully set Sasha down on the bed as Gordie rushed over to them with an IV.

"Is she gonna be okay?" Luke asked, running a hand through his hair. He took a step back, but was reluctant to move from her side, even as Kelly started to administer the IV.

Glenn's legs started to buckle beneath him, and Rosa and Jason struggled to keep hold of his weight between them, eventually hauling him fully onto the bed.

Rosa took a brief glance around her, scanning her surroundings as she realised just how many people were in a similar situation, and she began to wonder what the hell had happened to cause all of this.

"Kelly, we need another IV!" Gordie called out as he rushed over to Glenn's hospital bed. "How long has he been out?"

"Um, drifting for the past five minutes I think," Rosa replied slightly shakily.

"What's happening?" Jason turned to Gordie. "Why are they all sick?"

"We don't know," he answered truthfully, glancing over his shoulder as Kelly rushed over to them.

"Are they gonna be okay?" Rosa asked worriedly. Jason placed a hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.

"People seem to be improving," Gordie assured.

They watched quietly as Kelly tapped Glenn's inner arm, finding a vein before she inserted the needle, hooking him up to the IV. Gordie nodded and Kelly stepped back, allowing the IV to take effect.

"We'll be back over soon to check on them," Kelly assured. "Shout us if anything changes, ok?"

Rosa nodded her head, mind spinning as she tried to take everything in. Her heart was pounding at what felt like a million miles an hour, and Rosa was struggling to keep her shallow breathing steady.

Her stomach dropped at the sight of Glenn and Sasha lay unconsciously on their beds, hooked up to tubes. Rosa's eyes began to glaze over with tears as she closed them shut, attempting to blink them away, but they were already flowing down her cheeks.

"Hey," Jason said softly, reaching out for her. He placed an arm around Rosa's shoulder, gently pulling her into a hug. "He's gonna be okay."

She moved into his arms, resting her head against his chest as soft cries escaped her lips. Rosa wrapped her arms tightly around his middle, his comforting touch and reassuring words gradually helping to slow the worried thoughts racing through her mind.

Soft groans of pain began to come from Glenn's bedside, and Rosa and Jason quickly broke apart, rushing to the side of the bed. His eyelids began to flutter open as he slowly stirred awake, squinting up at the blurred white ceiling, which soon became obscured by Rosa's concerned face.

Glenn blinked up at her, the blurriness soon subsiding, and a small smile formed on his lips. "Rosa..."

"Hey," she spoke softly, her voice thick with emotion as an overwhelming feeling of relief washed over her. "You scared the absolute shit out of me."

A light chuckle escaped Glenn's lips, though he winced slightly at the pain, his hand moving to cover his abdomen. "Can't get rid of me that easily."

Jason smiled faintly as he glanced between the two teenagers, eventually stepping forwards to bump fists with Glenn. "Glad you're okay, bro."

"Thanks. man."

Jason began to move past the bed clasping a hand on Rosa's shoulder one last time as he did so. "I'll leave you to it."

Rosa turned to give Jason a small smile, mouthing 'thank you' to him before he left. She turned back to Glenn, who watched her with gentle eyes as she reached for his hand.

"Is Sasha okay?" He asked in concern, trying to look over in her direction.

Rosa brought her bottom lip between her teeth, casting a look over at their friend. Luke sat on the chair beside her bed, fist pressed against his mouth as he rocked back and forth worriedly.

Rosa's eyes filled with tears. "I don't know," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper. "I hope so."

Glenn rested his head back against the pillow, looking up at her again. "Thank you for getting me here. And, uh, sorry for ruining our first kiss."

Rosa's eyes lowered to their interlocked fingers for a moment, her face growing warm at the mention of their almost kiss.

"Yeah, well," she started, a slight grin teasing on her lips. "You'll have to make up for it again at some point, won't you?"

Glenn's lips tugged upwards at her response, the two of them sharing light, laughter, their cheeks flushing with colour. Rosa sat down on the edge of the bed, still holding Glenn's hand as the two of them began to talk quietly, trying to give him a distraction from the pain in his stomach.

"Kelly!"

Luke's desperate shout struck fear throughout Rosa's entire body. She got to her feet in an instant, eyes landing on the horrifying sight of Sasha's body convulsing.

Kelly and Gordie rushed over immediately, crowding around the edge of the bed. They ushered Luke out of the way, who stumbled back into his girlfriend's arms. Helena wrapped her hands around his bicep, her bottom lip trembling as she watched Sasha continue to convulse.

"What's going on?" Glenn's voice strained as he attempted to sit himself up properly. "Rosa? Is she okay?"

Rosa clasped a hand over her mouth, sobs forcing their way up her throat. Kelly and Gordie's voices raised in panic as they discussed their options. Luke pulled away from Helena, his head in his hands as he walked a short distance away, unable to bear watching anymore.

Rosa barely even noticed the familiar arms that wrapped around her at first. She easily recognised Grizz's touch, clasping onto his shirt as she let herself cry.

He wrapped his arms tight around her back, the tears in his own eyes threatening to overspill. The news of Sam and Becca's baby already had him teetering on the edge, but realising that he hadn't been there for his friends when they needed him most was possibly the worst feeling he'd ever endured.

"I'm sorry," Grizz whispered into her hair. "I'm so sorry."

Rosa clung to him like a lifeline for the rest of the night, waiting and hoping for the improvement of Glenn and Sasha's health.

Sasha's condition had thankfully steadied, and, by the early hours, she was ready to be released home, along with Glenn.

Luke and Helena both tended to Sasha, helping her out of the bed, the girl's entire body weak from the whole ordeal. Kelly approached Glenn with a warm smile, bending down to tend to the IV in his arm. "I just need to take this out, and then you can go home and rest."

Glenn turned his head away from the sight, gripping tightly onto Rosa's hand in anticipation. Grizz glanced at her with a slight grin, eyeing the hand holding, to which Rosa shook her head, unable to stop the blush rising to her cheeks.

Kelly noticed Glenn's discomfort, and pulled out the needle very slowly. The action still caused Glenn to wince, tightening his grip even harder on Rosa's hand.

"Wimp," she teased, amused by his fear of something so small.

"There," Kelly said, wiping her hands. "All done. Keep drinking fluids, and try and eat something, your stomach will be empty."

"Thanks, Kel," Glenn attempted a smile, pulling himself up with as much strength as he could muster, until Rosa and Grizz had to intervene.

Rosa placed her hands on Glenn's back, steadying him as he started to get to his feet. Grizz clasped hold of his forearm, holding Glenn up as his balance swayed.

Kelly turned to Rosa. "Call if there's any problems, but they should both be fine."

"Thank you so much," Rosa said genuinely. "You really were a hero tonight."

As they left, Luke draped his letterman jacket over Sasha's shoulders, though she still shuddered from the cold, even before they stepped into the freezing outdoors.

They all shivered as they made their way to Rosa's car, breaths clouding in the air. Sasha and Glenn were helped into the backseat, and then Helena and Luke parted ways with them, walking home in the opposite direction.

It was almost two in the morning by the time Rosa and Grizz had finished helping Sasha and Glenn to bed, tending to any of their needs before they let them crash, their bodies clearly exhausted.

Rosa left a glass of water on Sasha's dressing table, before backing out of the room, closing the door gently behind her.

In the hall, she released a heavy breath, exhaustion taking over her too, after the whole stressful ordeal. Rosa wasn't sure she'd ever gone through so many emotions in such a short space of time, but she was sure as hell that it was the most terrifying experience of her life.

"Hey, you good?" Grizz asked, leaning against the doorway of his bedroom.

Rosa nodded in response, making her way over to him. "Are you?"

Grizz shifted his gaze for a second, and Rosa could instantly tell that he was about to lie to her. She knew something was wrong back at the hospital."I..." Grizz trailed off, at a loss for words.

"You can talk to me," Rosa assured him. A defeated sigh escaped Grizz's lips as he gave in, moving back further into his room. "Did something happen tonight?" Rosa pressed as she followed after him. "Is that why you weren't at dinner?"

Grizz stood with his back to her for a while, but when he eventually turned around, his eyes were bloodshot and his face was streaked with tears.

"Hey," Rosa stepped towards him, her heart breaking at the sight of her best friend so upset. "What's the matter?"

Rosa pulled him into a hug, letting Grizz cry quietly on her shoulder for a while, knowing he must have been desperately trying not to let what was upsetting him bother him until he was alone.

After a few minutes Grizz pulled away from her, and Rosa smiled sympathetically, gently brushing away the stray tears falling down his cheeks. "I need to–" he cut off, his voice thick and heavy with emotion. "Uh, I need to tell you something."

Rosa nodded slowly, growing slightly worried about whatever it was that had happened. Grizz sat down on the side of the bed, Rosa next to him, waiting patiently for him to talk. He shifted uncomfortably, crossing his ankles as he fiddled with the hair tie around his wrist.

Rosa placed a hand on his thigh to assure him that there was nothing to be worried about, noticing the anxious look glazing over his eyes.

Grizz took a deep breath. "Rosa, I'm gay."

She stared at him for a few moments, her silence and unreadable expression becoming agonisingly painful to him. Until, finally, she broke out into a smile, throwing her arms around his neck.

Grizz was taken aback slightly by her sudden reaction, but hugged her back in complete and utter relief, taking the embrace as a positive sign.

"Thank you for telling me," she said, smiling warmly at her best friend as they moved apart.

"I'm sorry it's taken me so long," Grizz apologised. "I wanted to tell you, but I just couldn't find the right time. And all the other times I've tried it just...hasn't come out right."

A smile ghosted over Rosa's lips at the unintentional pun, and Grizz couldn't help but laugh.

"It's okay," she reassured. "I love you so much, you know that right?" Grizz nodded, smiling at his best friends warmth and acceptance, but he couldn't quite keep the sadness out of his eyes, remembering everything that had happened between him and Sam. "There's something else, isn't there," Rosa noticed, watching him curiously again as she detected a hint of disappointment in his expression.

Grizz nodded his head, taking a moment to breathe in deeply again, trying to figure out how exactly to tell Rosa what had happened in a composed way. "I slept with Sam," he suddenly blurted, which was not the way he'd intended to tell her.

Rosa raised her eyebrows in surprise at his sudden confession. "Well, congratulations, good on you," she nudged his shoulder, as Grizz resisted the urge to put his head in his hands in despair.

"I–" he sighed heavily, becoming frustrated with his inability to communicate properly all of a sudden. "I really like him. A lot. But I just–" he cut off again, shaking his head as tears began to brim in his eyes. "Fuck. I just, I– I found out he's the father of Becca's baby."

"Wait, holy shit," Rosa's eyes widened. Then her brows drew together in confusion, as she was certain that Sam was gay and he and Becca were really nothing more than best friends. "Well, I didn't expect that."

"Yeah," Grizz mumbled in agreement. "Me neither."

"Hey," Rosa shifted to face him, sensing his deflated tone. "You know this doesn't mean you two can't be together, right?"

"I just– he never told me," Grizz said. "We were up all night talking and he never once mentioned it."

"Maybe he just wanted to be in the moment with you," Rosa suggested, though Grizz gave her an unconvinced look in response. "You should talk to him, let him explain things to you. Sam's a really good guy, and so are you," Rosa smiled up at him, wiping away the stray tear the trailed down his cheek. "You deserve happiness. More than anyone I know."

She wrapped her arm around his back, and Grizz leaned closer to her, his head resting against her shoulder.

"It's all gonna be okay, Grizz, I promise."

A/N

Glenn and Sasha are still alive, and Rosa and Grizz are still the cutest friendship ever. I call that a win.