This wasn’t Jonathan’s first concussion. In high school he thought he was so good at volleyball he actually tried out for the boys’ team. Remarkably he made the team. He loved the sport, just not the guys on the team. It was a very small team, because boys’ volleyball wasn’t really big in their school district.

Jonathan acquired his first concussion in his life on the second away game of the season.

The school marched in like they were kings. Their school colors were red and gold. One of the other boys on Jonathan’s team named Richard who was seldom kind to Jonathan, told him that, “This school has made it to the championships for 10 years in a row, and they’ve placed each time.”

Jonathan was on the JV team, which was made up of 9th and 10th graders. Jonathan didn’t try out until 10th grade.

“Okay! Team captains!” Jonathan and another kid named Haden were the team captains. Jonathan was only chosen because he had bomb ass serves. Haden loved hitting the ground and hitting other people with the ball; he was a 9th grader then.

The two kids walk up to the one referee and greet the other team’s captains. The kids look at Jonathan darkly. After flipping the coin, Jonathan won the toss and called serving, so the other team had receive.

The ref blows the whistle; a sign for Jonathan to serve. He threw the ball up with one hand and smacked it with the other. The other team had no problem with bumping it, setting it, and spiking it back over. Jonathan surprisingly returned the ball; red marks left on his forearms.  

Once they rotated a few times, Jonathan was upfront and now a middle row hitter. He was blocking and up close to the net, staring down another kid across the net from him. He had pretty blond hair and dark brown eyes. The kid smiled at him when he noticed Jonathan staring, but soon after, Jonathan knew he had messed up big time; the smile was fake.

“Ethan!” The setter on the other team shouted and the blond kid ran up and smashed the ball; right into Jonathan’s face. The team cheered as Jonathan fell to the ground. The world was spinning, but he could still see that Ethan kid. He seemed to get closer to Jonathan, right up against the net and till this day, Delirious has sworn to God, that this kid whispered, “faggot”, as the 15 year old Jonathan went unconscious.

He didn’t go to school for a week, which wasn’t a lot for the little concussion he had, but getting hit in the face with a Wilson volleyball was a different feel than getting smashed by an 18 wheeler.

Luke waits impatiently in the hospital room of Jonathan’s. The clown had to take multiple tests; one for memory, one for damage, and one for eye sight. That's what Luke thought anyway.

The phone buzzes on the bearded man. It's probably Evan, he thinks as he takes out the phone. CaRtOoNz slides his thumb across his phone, “Hello?”

“Hey! I should be there early in the morning tomorrow. Like 3:00.”

“Holy shit,” Luke sighs, “Well, right now I’m the only one who can physically drive. Delirious’s jeep is a ball now.”

“Damn. I’m sorry. If you want I can get a rental car-”

“Nah, I’ll pick you up.”

“So you’re going to leave Delirious?”

“Evan, will you calm the hell down? He’s not your wife,” Luke laughs, “Besides, he’s surrounded by nurses and doctors trained in school for plenty of years for this. He’ll be fine.”

“Yeah. Sorry I tend to overreact sometimes,” Evan gets quiet on the other line.

“Is Delirious in there with you now?”

“No, he’s taking concussion tests right now,” both the men sigh at Luke’s answer.

“Well, the I’m about to board. Text me as soon as he’s done testing. Please.”

“Sure thing. Call me when you land, aight?”

The men agree to each other’s requests and hang up.

At about 5:00 Delirious is returned to his room in a wheelchair; the doctor behind him and the nurse with a clipboard. Luke stands from the chair, clasping his hands together as he speaks, “So, what’re the results?” CaRtOoNz turns to a frowning Delirious. The doctor clears his throat and pushes the red framed glasses further onto the bridge of his nose. “Well, Jonathan cannot drive until next year around this time, June 30; his license is suspended and his vision isn’t as well as it used to be. We’ll need you back for an eye examine after your concussion has cleared up. This accident may have permanently damaged your vision, you may need glasses or contacts,” the doctor explains and then looks at both of the men, only getting a worried look from Luke. He sighs and continues, “He also cannot look at any electronic screens for the next month.”

“What!?” Delirious finally speaks.

“I’m sorry, but if you want this concussion to disappear Jonathan you’ll need to stay away from reading anything for the next month, or playing video games, even texting friends.”

“That’s bull-”

“Knock it off Jon,” Luke snaps at his friend. Delirious crosses his arms like a fussy toddler.

“One more thing,” the doctor says. Delirious’s head snaps back and he lets out a loud and obnoxious sigh. Luke gives him a dirty look as the doctor continues, “He’ll need some type of mechanism to help him balance himself. We recommend a wheelchair, or crutches, maybe even a cane.” Luke’s eyes go wide, “How long will he need to do this?”

“About two weeks, by then his balance should be better.”

“Okay,” Luke says with a deadpan look on his face. The doctor begins to walk out, “Oh, and Jonathan can go home today. You’ll just need to keep an eye on him, and we’ll supply you with whatever mechanism he needs to use,” the doctor smiles and then shuts the door. Jonathan heavily sighs, “Fuck. I fucked up so bad Luke.”

“Well, at least you’ll have two nurses to help you by tomorrow morning.”

“What?”

“Evan needs to be picked up early from the airport tomorrow morning,” CaRtOoNz explains to his poor friend.

“So far that’s the only highlight of my week,” the sad clown sighs and rests his elbow on his knee and his head on his hand. His hand pushes his cheeks, making his eye look swollen. Luke cracks his knuckles and then sits back into his own waiting chair, “So, wanna get out of here for dinner?”

“Sure,” Delirious says with no emotion. Luke sighs, “Okay. Well, what thing do you wanna use to get around?”

“Well I don’t want to be a fat person in a wheelchair, people might mistake me for a pregnant lady,” Jonathan gloomy jokes. Luke stands up and squeezes his friend, “I’m glad you’re okay man.” Jonathan wraps his arms around his bearded friend. “Watch the bruise,” Jonathan whines as Luke apologizes over and over again. The clown laughs at his friend’s panic. Luke notices this, “I’mma put a damn bruise on the other side of your damn face,” he threatens. Delirious continues laughing. He slowly abates his laughing and sighs, “I guess I’ll take a crutch.” CaRtOoNz frowns, “What if Vanoss and I carried you around?” Delirious wheezes, “You’d need the whole gang to carry me.” Luke smacks his arm in the friend, “If you keep this shit up you’ll have two people hitting your arm, because Evan will hate hearing you talk about yourself like this.”

“He’ll understand when he sees me CaRtOoNz,” the sad clown is back. Luke sighs, “I have a feeling he’ll change your perspective on yourself.”

“Like one of those cheesy fanfictions between us?” If only, Delirious quickly thought, but immediately removed that thought of him and Evan together from his mind.

Luke laughs, “Yes, totally. I better be at the damn wedding, now let’s get you a crutch and food in our bellies.”

The boys get out of the hospital and get some food, but during their tasks Delirious can’t remove the sickening feeling in his stomach, along with the thought of; Vanoss is going to see what he looks like in under 12 hours.

***