[A/N: Dedication to 101oBsEsSioNs because she's pretty much the definition of awesome. You guys should check out her stories. Songs for the chapter:
- Avril Lavigne // What The Hell
- One Republic // Something I Need]

After losing track of time because of Tyler's kisses, a nurse interrupted us and kicked him out. He was forced to return to his own room which was situated on the top floor where the private sectors were located. Despite his protests, his mom moved him out of his original room which had been down the corridor so that he couldn't sneak back into my room after visiting hours.

Still, he promised to return at midnight to keep me company because he knew just how delirious and bored I got after visiting hours. Somehow, I managed to convince Dr Khan not to add any sleeping sedatives to my medication drip, knowing that I didn't want to be out cold when Tyler crept back into my room.

Alert and awake, my eyes scanned the clock that hung above the door for the umpteenth time and my shoulders sagged with disappointment. It was half past midnight and I was growing incredibly restless. After a few minutes, there was a soft knock on my door and it creaked open.

"Are you decent?" Tyler whispered, clasping a hand over his eyes as he staggered into the room like a blind man.

"Nope, of course I'm not!" I barked a laugh even though there was no reason why I wouldn't be wearing clothes at midnight in a damn hospital room. "I mean, who even wears clothes to bed?"

"Definitely not me," He replied seductively, ruining his honey smooth voice with a rumbling laugh.

Despite his laugh, I was pretty certain that during the summer when the heat hit our town like a furnace, Tyler most certainly did sleep stark naked. He approached my bed and I scooted to the side, wincing from the effort of applying pressure onto my bandages in order to make some space on my bed. Tyler didn't take a seat; he just stood there and laughed when I raised an eyebrow in response.

"You're peeking between your fingers Ty," I giggled, forcing him to drop his hand and flash me a suggestive smirk.

"Well duh! I'm not missing out on any chances of catching you butt naked," He winked and I laughed, wishing that I could hide behind my curls like I used to when he made suggestive comments with his sexy smirk.

"Pervert," I muttered under my breath before sliding my gaze to the clock above the door. "You said you'd be here at midnight." 

Tyler rocked back and forth on his heels, sweeping his gaze around the room and failing to meet mine.

"You fell asleep, didn't you?" I breathed with disbelief.

Sheepishly, he took my hand and stared at me; guilty as charged.

"Maybe?" He sang, hoping that I'd be easily distracted by the way his thumb brushed my knuckles.

I had been cooped up inside the hospital for so long that I was grateful for any affection I could get from Tyler without being bombarded with the presence of the damn nurses that were always in my room; so consider me distracted.

"Screw me for thinking you'd actually come on time," I murmured, closing my eyes when he traced circles on my wrist.

"Gladly," Tyler waggled his eyebrows and dropped my hand.

He winked and blew me a seductive kiss which I caught and dramatically tossed to the floor. Wounded, Tyler blew me another and this time he caught it first, and then being the dork that he is, he smacked it onto my cheek.

"Ouch!" I screeched as he threw his head back and laughed. "That's...That's freaking abuse right here!"

"I wouldn't define it as abuse," Tyler pinched my stinging cheek and pouted in an attempt to look sexy. He lowered his voice. "Think of it more as some form of S&M."

"Sadist," I retorted.

"Masochist," He bit back and I wrinkled my nose with disgust.

"Ew."

I swatted his hand away before grabbing a fistful of his hospital gown, dragging him forward until he had to plant a knee onto my bed to steady himself.

"Whoa, you're particularly feisty for someone who can't move much," Tyler grinned. I laughed and waggled my brows suggestively. He chuckled but shook his head at my attempt to pull him on top of me. "We have just over an hour before the nurses come around to do room checks, so we need to get going."

Confused that Tyler may have forgotten the painstakingly obvious fact that I couldn't summon the energy to sit up by myself, let alone leave my bed; I bored my eyes into his and blinked slowly.

"Going?" I echoed and he nodded, flicking his gaze to the clock before biting his lip worriedly.

The nurses were coming around at two o'clock to check every patient's medication drips and to see if any teenagers in my ward had made an escape. Although the latter statement seemed peculiar and rather strange, it was unbelievable just how jittery some of the kids in this hospital were, desperate to escape and go home.

"Yeah, don't you wanna get out of your room? You've been stuck here for two weeks straight even if you spent over half of it in a coma."

My insides flipped with excitement at the prospect of being anywhere else besides the suffocating four walls that I had been waking up to for the past week. And for a moment I forgot the painstakingly obvious facts about my condition too.

"Yeah, I'd really like that." I breathed, eager to leave until I realised my limbs were made of water from a weeks of disuse.

"Come on then, we're running out of time."

"I can't...I can't get up Ty," I replied sadly, feeling pathetic and pretty much useless.

I turned my head to the side so that they ran along the drip that was connected to the inside of my elbow. Gingerly, I eased it off and peeled off the plasters that had held it in place. A bead of blood dotted my pale skin but thankfully I didn't wrench the drip off with too much force. After watching shows like Grey's Anatomy, I knew just how dangerous it was to rip off the drip when it was connected to a major vein.

Tyler leaned forward and clipped my chin gently, surprising me with the sudden proximity between us. Warmth fanned my mouth when he hovered over me and my breath hitched, tight and shaky from the waves of sea-green that threatened to swallow me whole.

"Ashley, these muscles that I've been blessed with aren't for nothing."

I felt his smirk dissolve into a grin when his lips brushed mine, pressing hard enough to sink my head into the pillow and I snaked my arms around his neck to bring his body closer. Tyler planted his uninjured hand beside my head to keep himself steady as his mouth moved in sync with mine. He carefully placed a leg on either side of my body and slowly lowered himself until there was a sliver of air dividing our chests.

I sighed into his mouth, overwhelmed that he was taking so much care not to hurt me. Aching ripples of heat curled my insides like a bushfire, painful but pleasant, especially when Tyler opened his mouth wider for me. Losing myself into the kiss, I accidentally wrapped my arms around his torso and crushed his body against mine but a hiss left his lips and showered mine with scalding heat.

"What's wrong?" I pulled back and frowned.

Tyler leapt off the bed, clutching his ribs and panting heavily.

"Maybe we should pause making babies and just get out of here," He winced again and I flashed him an apologetic grimace, before rolling my eyes at his choice of words.

He wrapped an arm around my shoulders, carefully lifting me into an upright position before pushing the bed sheets back and swinging my legs over the bed. With a tight grip on my waist, Tyler gently helped me stand up but my jelly legs failed to hold me upright and I slipped out of his arms like water. Alarmed, he managed to catch me seconds before I slumped to the ground. I bit back a scream when his fingers dug into my bandages, forcing the wet linen to sear my burns.

"Tyler!" I croaked and began to squirm to relieve the pain.

His eyes widened with horror at the sight of my contorted features and I couldn't suppress a tight scream when his fingers move to clamp my back.

"Shit!" Tyler hissed, quickly lowering me and moving his hand to my lower back where there were no bandages. "I'm so sorry Ash."

I breathed deeply, trying to ebb the excruciating agony away from my tight veins. It took me an entire minute to catch my breath again but even then, my skin continued to scream in pain.

"Yeah, this isn't going to work if I can't even stand up," I groaned into my hands.

Tyler helped me scoot back, leaning me against the headboard and positioning me like a porcelain doll before holding up a finger.

"I have an idea."

A slow grin graced his features and his bright eyes sparkled before he shot out of the room and returned minutes later with a wheelchair and a smug smirk.

"Am I genius or what?"

"Seriously?" I scoffed with a wry grin when he parked the chair beside the bed and lowered me into the seat.

"Yup," He popped the 'p' and chuckled. "We're going for a crazy midnight ride!"

With an eye roll, I let him wheel me out of the room, holding back a laugh when his head snapped left and right as he scoured the corridors for any of the grumpy nurses that were working night shifts. I couldn't understand why they were so cranky and mean but they were nothing like the suffocatingly polite daytime nurses.

"Tyler, stop acting like we're in a spy movie. There are no evil nurses!"

"Shh," He silenced me, darting around to crouch in front of me. "They'll hear us!"

"But there's no one around."

A childish glint in his eyes lit the sea-green, giving rise to the ocean blue ring and I battled to stay afloat when he tried to suck me in with the exaggerated o-shape of his lips and his wide eyes.

"Do you hear that?" Tyler whispered, peering over my shoulders.

"Hear what?"

I glanced over my shoulders, met with nothing but a dim and deserted hallway. It was eerily quiet. Turning around, I squealed when Tyler's lips cupped into mine, surprisingly soft and slow. I tried to pull away but he slipped a hand behind my neck to keep me imprisoned. When I purposely kept my lips still, he groaned and pulled back a fraction.

"Kiss me back," He whined in the voice of a spoilt five year old. "We're supposed to be on some epic mission to escape this dumb hospital. I'm the hero and you're the damsel in distress so you have to kiss me back."

"Do I look like a damn damsel in distress to you?" I crossed my arms over my chest.

"No, you look like a cross between Ghostface, Cruella Deville and Scarface."

In a smug manner, I pursed my lips when he leaned in to kiss me again. 

"Seriously?" Tyler groaned, before his eyes lit up with an idea. I frowned but his smirk only widened. "Fine then, have it your way."

Before I could comprehend his intentions, he dived for my pursed lips and literally began to slobber all over me. Literally. It was like having a dog drool all over my mouth. I screamed and pushed him away, clamping a hand over my mouth as he laughed hysterically and dragged his tongue along my cheek.

"Tyler! That's fucking gross!" I screeched, wiping my face when he dabbed his lips with the edge of my hospital gown before lightly pecking my lips. 

I opened my mouth to fire swear words at him when I was suddenly cut off my a shrill screech.

"Hey! What are you kids doing out of your room?"

Tyler shot up and despite the panic that graced my features, his eyes were alive with mischief and excitement. He gripped the handle of the wheelchair, pushing me forward before briskly power-walking to escape the nurse that jogged after us. Since my boyfriend was a one handed dumbass with barely any common sense, the wheelchair didn't follow a straight path. It travelled in a squiggly line that made me squeal when he nearly crashed me into the wall.

"Where are you going kids? Come back!"

Just when I was about to yell at him to slow down and let me talk us out of the situation, he broke into a sprint. I squealed at the sharp squeal of the wheels protesting at our sudden increase in speed. A giggle left my lips when we turned a sharp corner and another one after that. The nurse shrieked about calling security but by then we were far gone, laughing hysterically and screaming at the top of our lungs.

Tyler raced us around the hallways, circuiting the linoleum floor like a race track and guffawing when we ran into the same nurse again. Her dishevelled, ginger hair did little to compliment her beetroot face.

"Get back to your rooms now!"

"Run faster!" I squealed, throwing my arms in the air and laughing as my fragile curls billowed into my face. "Faster! Faster!"

Tyler let out a echoing hoot when we swerved past the nurse, narrowly missing her outstretched arms as he jumped onto the back of the wheelchair, letting the wheels do the rest of the work. We narrowly missed a patient who stalked out of their room, bemused by the sudden commotion.

Eventually we managed to escape another nurse, taking refuge in the elevator as we came to a sudden halt. I pressed the button repeatedly, choking with laughter as Tyler doubled over, clutching his broken ribs and wheezing because of the nurse and the five hallways we whizzed through.

"Get back to your rooms now!" Tyler mimicked the nurse's gruff voice.

I doubled over with laughter, sobering up when the elevator doors slid open, revealing two burly security guards. They eyed us and for a split second, I was sure that we were busted.

The burly guy with closely cropped hair asked, "And where do you two kids think you're going?"

Tyler straightened up and pushed his hair back, gripping my hand tightly although his impassive mask gave none of his sudden nervousness away.

"My devastatingly impaired girlfriend over here," He waved a hand over me as I lowered my head and focused on my bare toes. "Needs to make an urgent call upstairs. Her grandmother just arrived from New York and we need to call a cab to pick her up from the airport."

The other security guard raised a blond eyebrow and replied in a bored tone, "Why can't her grandmother call her own cab?"

Caught off-guard, Tyler blinked and hesitated. I racked my brains for a way to fill the silence, to fill the calm before the storm. If the guards figured out that we were the two kids the nurse called them about we were going to get dragged back to our rooms by force and they'd probably call our parents. Mom was going to kill me for creating havoc in the hospital.

"Umm, alors casse-toi, pauvre con...grandmere." I croaked in an appalling French accent.

Did that even make sense? It was a term that Jonah once taught me in class, proud that he'd learn something astoundingly offensive in French. The security guards blinked with confused. They didn't know French and neither did Tyler. He dropped the subject after sophomore year because Taylor was no longer with us to do his homework for him.

"What on earth did she just say?" The burly guard gruffed and I communicated with Tyler through my eyes, secretly squeezing his hand.

"She said..." Tyler dragged out slowly, glancing at me briefly before holding his chin high, oozing with enough confidence to wipe the confusion away from their faces. "...that her grandmother can't speak English either so I need to call a cab for her as soon as possible."

The guards looked at me, scrutinising my 'impaired' legs before nodding briskly. They shuffled out of the elevator and the blond one kindly wheeled me inside while the other one patted Tyler on the back.

"Make sure to head back to your rooms after. Rules are rules and we can't have patients from the teenage and kids wards out of their rooms so late at night. Safety regulations." The burly one grunted.

Tyler nodded, jabbing the highest number out of the numerous buttons and I straightened out my gown, pulling it over my knees before smiling meekly at the guards. I cocked my head to the left, trying to look confused like most foreign kids do, although I'm sure I looked weird as heck.

"We will Sir. Thank you Sir," Tyler saluted them.

The security guards stalked off, chattering about finding the kids the nurse was talking about and as soon as the elevator doors slid shut, we burst out into hysterical laughter. Tyler clutched his torso, pain contorting his features as each convulsive laugh racked through him, uncontrollable and deafening.

"That...was...epic!" He wheezed, gripping the wheelchair handles and bending over, unable to support his weight.

"They're still looking for us!" I cackled, pounding my fist on the armrest and guffawing at what the guards' faces would look like when they figure out that we were the teenagers they were supposed to be searching for.

"I know!" Tyler buried his face into my hair and let out a loud hoot before stooping low to kiss me quickly.

We had to reign in our laughter when a soft ring announced our destination: the hospital roof. Confusion swept over me and I swivelled around to shoot Tyler a look but he wheeled me forward into the expanse of darkness that blanketed the night sky. A soft breeze chilled my bare legs, disappearing underneath my hospital gown and I forced back a shiver. I rubbed some warmth into my limbs and met Tyler's concerned half smile.

"Cold?"

I nodded and he shrugged off the hoodie he was wearing on top of his own hospital gown, laying it across my lap to blanket my legs and arms. It threatened to swallow me since it was so large and he chuckled at the face I made.

"You're such a giant," I mumbled, inhaling the soft material, grateful to be reminded of my favourite scent.

The hospital had dulled Tyler's addictive aftershave so it felt good inhaling the comforting fragrance of lemons, sandalwood and soap detergent. He wheeled me past the helicopter pad, walking at an incredibly slow pace until we were about ten metres from the edge.

"Out of curiosity, what exactly did you say to the guards?"

I hesitated, wondering if it was too rude to say out loud until Tyler narrowed his eyes a fraction, studying my sheepish smile. Unnerved by his gaze, I focused on my bare toes, wriggling them as they peeked out from underneath his hoodie.

"Ash?"

"Hold on, I'm trying to think of the nicest, least offensive way to phrase it."

Tyler chuckled. "That rude?"

I nodded and glanced up.

"Fine, I won't filter it," I chuckled before meeting his curious eyes. "I said 'piss off you sad cunt' and then threw in the word grandmother to make it sound realistic."

A cutting edge guffaw came from Tyler's lips as he threw his head back and laughed hysterically before doubling over.

"You said what?"

Refusing to repeat myself, I grinned and our hysterics rang loud, echoing for miles.

"You heard me," I giggled, struggling to contain my fits of laughter.

"Whoa," Tyler breathed, drinking in my features with an expression so heated that it sent a river of tingles down my spine. "My girl is a freaking badass!"

Sheepishly, I leaned back into the wheelchair and craned my head up to the sky, flustered that he was still staring at me. My eyes drank in the inky black blanket that was dotted with winking stars, bright and flickering, as if someone had shattered glass, scattered it everywhere and shone light on all the pieces simultaneously. To the north, Orion's Belt had taken it's place amongst numerous, celestial constellations - both known and unknown, real and imagined. 

Tyler clicked the brakes on the wheelchair, rooting me in place before he sat down on the ground beside me. He leaned back on his arm and gazed at the sky with a small smile. The soft summer breeze nipped at his hospital gown, plastering it against his body so that I could make out the outline of his chiselled abs. Turning away from the sight of his toned legs, I bit back a blush as my mind tried to visualise the day I had seen him shirtless at his house and how his towel nearly fell off multiple times. Then I remembered the morning after Blake's birthday party and how I'd woken up naked on top him and I muffled an awkward cough. Tyler tore his eyes away from the sky to spare me a concerned glance before I chased away all thoughts of nakedness with a reassuring smile.

We sat in silence for a long while, savouring the summery chill and inhaling the fresh air, lost in our own thoughts until Tyler broke the silence.

"During the accident, do you remember what you were thinking about when you dragged me out of my car?"

The startling question caught me off guard and I willed all images of the accident away, but they flitted across my mind like a slideshow until I closed my eyes and welcomed the darkness.

My answer? I was guilty for leaving my father and there was no way I was going to repeat the same mistake. The first mistake was an accident and I was just a selfish kid who only thought about saving herself, but making the same mistake again wouldn't have been an accident; it would have been a choice. And I wasn't going to make the wrong choice to leave Tyler to die. My love for him was greater than my love for life and my desire to survive.

The weight of his gaze pulled me away from my thoughts and I leaned back, tilting my head back to gaze at the picturesque night sky.

"I've already lost my best friend. Losing Taylor took a massive toll on me and..." I sighed, meeting his gorgeous, curious eyes. "...and there was no way I was going to lose another."

"I'm your best friend?" He echoed, raising his eyebrows with surprise and I nodded.

"Best friend, lover, soulmate, whatever you want to label our relationship," I smiled softly to myself and lowered my gaze to my stubby nails. "I just know that you're it for me."

Tyler slowly stood up and crouched right in front of me so that we were at eye level.

"You're it for me too," He took my hand, lifting it to his cheek and leaning into my touch.

My thumb stroked his cheek and Tyler closed his eyes, breathing deeply as if he wanted to commit this moment to memory. I traced the deep red scar on his brow, gently sweeping his hair back so I could drink in his serene face. Sleepy lashes tickled his cheeks and his lips were parted, showering my palms with heat as I touched his face.

Leaning forward, I held him in place and pressed my lips to his forehead, transferring my overwhelming love for him into one kiss, hoping he could understand just how much he meant to me.

"The last thing I remember about that day was the sound of your voice and your confession," Tyler murmured when I pulled away, cracking opening his eyelids and leaning closer until I could make out the green ridges in oceanic orbs. Fleeting images of the scorching, blistering heat from the accident flashed across my mind and I flinched.

"You heard me? I thought you were out cold," I whispered, shocked that he knew about my hasty confession when I danced along death's doorstep.

"I was in a lot of pain munchkin. But in the that moment, I knew that I didn't mind dying. Sure I was terrified and shitting bricks, but I didn't fight to stay conscious. I just knew that even if I did die, I have at least experienced something worthwhile in my short life. I've fallen in love with a girl who loves me enough to put my life before hers. Even after all I've done to hurt her, she didn't take a second to think about saving herself until she was certain I was out of harm's way. And life doesn't really get much better than that Ash. It really, really doesn't because people spend their whole life searching for what we have. You have so much love to give away, so much. And I can't tell you how grateful I am to be on the receiving end."

His fingers traced my jawline as his eyes glistened in the pale moonlight. Tears that held nothing but aching, throbbing and pulsating love for him pooled around my eyes, threatening to spill when he tenderly caressed my cheek.

"Thing is Ash," Tyler smiled, letting his thumb lightly brush my lips. A ripple of heat surged through me, lingering in my chest where it burned fiercely. "I've had my own little confession tucked away for years. I can even remember the night I realised that I loved you more than life itself. It was during one of Taylor's middle school sleepover. You must have woken up from a bad dream and went downstairs to watch a movie. Do you remember that night? When I came downstairs to watch Tarzan with you? Well you fell asleep on my lap and I just sat there staring at you for hours, playing with your curls and I realised, at twelve years old, that I was in love with you. I'd always felt so strongly about you but that night when I carried you to my room, I whispered those three words to you and fell asleep beside you. And ever since then, every night that you've spent by my side, I've said those words to you, wishing I had the courage to say them aloud when you're awake. I said it the day you fell asleep after Jonah's party, drunk out of your mind. I said it that morning I found you drooling over my dining table with your homework cluttering the table. I even said it after my first soccer game, months ago; but you were a silly blind bat and didn't realise. Everybody else did and that's why they started chanting at us to kiss."

Hot, salty droplets raced to my chin and trickled past Tyler's palm. My chest inflated so much that my lungs pressed painfully against my rib cage. Silent and still, I was frozen by his captivating eyes though my mind was bombarded with a billion thoughts that flew at lightning speed.

It didn't make sense to me at all. I was broken and burned. I couldn't understand why he still wanted me. Of course I was over the moon that he did, but I just...I just couldn't grasp the concept properly. Why me?

Tyler's head shot past my cheek, allowing his warm breath to tickle my ear as I stiffened, rigid as a pole.

"I love you," He whispered in the sincerest and gentlest voice I had ever heard him use.

Four years. I spent four years disregarding the authenticity of true love because he broke me the first time round but all I ever wanted to hear back then and all that I wanted to hear right now was nothing more than those three words.

A sharp inhalation caused my rib cage to scream in protest but beneath the suffocating pain, my heart detached itself from my chest and soared all over my body. My deafening heartbeat hammered all over my body. I could feel it in my chest, in my fingers, in my toes. I could feel it everywhere. It seared through my blood vessels until it tried to escape out of my throat.

I closed my eyes and froze when Tyler's warm breath tickled the skin leading up to my mouth. We breathed each other in, savouring the taste of his overwhelming words before we raggedly exhaled. When I opened my eyes, I was met with his glimmering eyes that were centimetres away from mine, studying my face with enough intensity to make me hold my breath.

"I love you so much," Tyler repeated in an achingly soft whisper. "I've always loved you. Even when I didn't realise it, like the very first day of kindergarten when I crushed your sandcastle and made you cry. Or when you spilled ketchup on my shirt in front of everyone in third grade because I said your pigtails were ugly. Or even when you rode my new bicycle into the pool. I loved you then just like I love you now. Just the way I'll always love you."

I let out a shaky laugh when he closed the minuscule distance between us.

"I love you too," I murmured into his mouth, struggling to keep my tears at bay by gripping the armrest of the wheelchair when he smiled against my mouth. "Always have, a-always will."

Tyler pressed his lips against mine, holding them still for several seconds to secure the moment before he pulled away. It was by far the most tender kiss he had ever given me and I dissolved into tears, fragile as a broken bird that needed to be nurtured in order to fly again.

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[A/N: I cried while writing this. You know when your emotions pile up and you can't deal with them and the feels get too much...Yeah, that happened and I basically bawled my eyes out. I think it was the song choice too.

Listening to Strays Don't Sleep // For Blue Skies right now so umm...Why am I deliberately making myself cry? This is torture.

Anyway, I had a lot of fun last night. Surprisingly (not really), this dude who was crowdsurfing kicked me in the nose and nearly ripped out my septum ring which sucked but besides that I had fun. And thennnn I ruined it by coming home and watching Katy Perry's tour movie at like 2am and crying because she works so hard and it's really heartbreaking that her marriage broke down </3

Folllooowww me on Twitter (@Kaddy_Dee) so we can chitter chatter like The Mad Hatter...I promise you I'm not crazy. I'm just feeling a little emotional because of this chapter. I'M TOO EMOTIONALLY INVESTED WITH TASHLEY(!!!!!) *sobs hysterically*

Chapter 65: Truths And Stolen Kisses

See you tomorrow. The next chapter is destined to be light and a bit of a breather from all the intense chapters I've been throwing at you guys.
- Kaddy]

P.S. This book is now over 400 pages long *twerks*