I don't really know what this is, but somehow I can't write it any better, so I keep it this way. I don't think the story is that great anymore, but I still keep writing and make the best of it.

As soon as I finished the call with Brian, I dialed Jaime's number. Now I wasn't a bit tired anymore. Like probably anyone who gets a call at this time of day, it took Jaime a while to answer it. I barely gave her time to say a word.

"Joey is awake" I heard her squeal with joy. "If you call Joe and let him know, I'll call Nick. We can visit him right away"

"Okay. Oh, Mere. That's wonderful!" We hung up.

After calling Nick, who at the beginning sounded just as sleepy as Jaime and, probably, me too, I called Brian again to ask if he could pick me up on the way. He said it wasn't a problem, and despite the cold, I waited outside to get in the car as soon as Brian arrived. And I didn't even have to wait long. The drive to the hospital was pretty quiet, both Brian and I barely said a word. He was probably just like me with his thoughts on Joey. That we could talk to him again right away, that we no longer had to worry about such great worries and much more. However, my thoughts weren't on Joey. Not all the time, anyway. Yes, of course, a large part of the journey, but as I said, not all of the time.

Again and again my thoughts wandered to Brian. To the man who was sitting to my left. My best friend. The day before yesterday and the days before we had so much fun together, Brian and I. A few minutes before this happened to Joey, we were acting like little children together. And shortly afterwards he had become a completely different person, a much more serious person than we knew him. Since the afternoon of the day before yesterday he had always had a little worry line on his forehead. And now it is finally gone. That was pretty much the first thing I noticed when I got in the car. Brian's worry line was gone. His beautiful blue eyes shone again, even if they were still a little tired.

Wait, what!?

His beautiful blue eyes? What did I just think? I mean, yes, they are beautiful, but is that how you feel about your best friend? I also said to Jaime and Lauren sometimes that they looked beautiful when they asked me how they looked, but that was different. They were girls. And Brian was ... well, Brian. And he was so worried about his friends. He was so caring. He loved us as much as we loved him. There was a good reason, if not several, that Brian Holden was my best friend. Brian Holden. Nice name. He focused on the road and drove carefully.

And then we turned into the street where the hospital was. There weren't many cars in the parking lot, which didn't surprise me, it was only 6 a.m., after all. I only saw Lauren's car, so I assumed the others weren't here yet. As soon as Brian switched off the engine, we jumped out of the car and ran into the hospital, where we were stopped immediately.

"Just a moment," a woman called and grabbed my arm. "Where do you want to go? It is six o'clock, so no visiting time"

"Our friend Joey Richter," I explained as calmly as possible. "He woke up tonight. After a day and a half. We have to see him. His family can't be here until tonight. Please!" I was almost begging. We just had to see him.

She sighed. "All right, I'll see what can be done. There was already someone here who ran into here like crazy. You may know her. Very small, brunette..." She didn't get any further with the description, Brian said: "Yes, we know her. Where is she?"

"She is sitting in the waiting room, second door on the left. You can sit with her. I'll let you know right away. Are there even more of your kind?"

I thought about it for a moment, but then decided to tell her the truth. "Yes, there should be five more. But," I spoke quickly before she could interrupt me. "They understand that we can't all see Joey at the same time, if at all. But we are all his closest friends. We're all worried about him!"

She nodded and then walked away. Brian and I made our way to the waiting room. Lauren sat there with her chin on her hands and was quite tired. We took our seats to the left and right of her in silence. She looked up and looked a little happier.

"Good morning," she said.

"You can say that. It's a good morning. Hey, Joey is awake, be happy! Why do you look so sad?"

"He's awake now, but what if he passes out again?"

"Oh no, Lauren, he won't. Don't worry"

After a few minutes, Rosenthal and Jaime came along and shortly afterwards the other three. And again a few minutes later the woman from earlier came into the waiting room. We looked up.

"You may now see him for a moment. He specifically asked when he found out you were here. Do you know the way?"

We nodded and she left us alone on the way to Joey. The corridors were empty and cold and there was almost no one around. We got to room 78. Lauren knocked and a welcoming sound came from inside.

I'm sorry the chapters are so short. The next one is no better in terms of length either (content is debatable), the chapter after that is a bit better.