THIRD PERSON

  Her back ached and her wrists were uncomfortably bent, but she hadn't been expecting much when it came to hospital chairs. The white light that shined from the ceiling gave everything a sickly color and made the room seem even colder than it already was.

   But (Y/N) was more than willing to put up with it.

 
    Next to her chair, lied Dylan. His hair was a mess and his beard was growing in, very much due to the lack of effort to deal with it. A small smile grew on her face as her tired eyes watched his still sleeping figure, her ears finding comfort in the constant beeping that let her know he was alright.

   It had been a long week, and there was more to come but for now, she was just thankful he was still even alive.

   Today, under impossibly unfortunate circumstances, his family was flying in to see him and (Y/N) was going to be meeting them. Of course, she had seen them through Facetime with Dylan and phone calls she's heard in their living room, but meeting them face to face made her uneasy.

    Her left hand was suddenly squeezed and she looked over to see Dylan smiling at her, eyes half open.

   "How are you feeling?" He asked and (Y/N) almost laughed.

   "Me? How am I feeling?" She chuckled, shaking her head at him. Dylan's thumb gently rubbed over the top of her hand.

   "Well, you're biting your thumb and staring nervously into the floor - you seem worried."

   "A little." She sighed, lacing their fingers together and staring at them. "Your family flies in today."

  "Pfft - " Dylan scoffed, lazily waving it off with his other hand. "Don't fret it, they'll love you. I do."

   With a blush, she rolled her eyes. "Not correlated, babe."

Dylan hummed. "Well, I lived with them for 18 years, and I'm not worried."

  (Y/N) shrugged and let out a sigh. "Well, forget me - how are you? Yesterday was a big day."

  Yesterday, they tried sitting Dylan up for the first time since his surgeries from the accident on set. He ached and groaned and gripped my hand like it was life or death - but he did it.

   "Pain medicine is still hanging out, so I'm fine right now." Dylan shrugged. "Did they bring in breakfast yet?"

  (Y/N) nodded, "Yeah, want me to sit you up?"

After Dylan softly nodded, his hand grabbed the remote and arched his back slightly to let (Y/N) stand up and slide her arm behind him. She leveraged his shoulders as the back of the bed began to angle itself. With her other hand, (Y/N) adjusted the pillows and when Dylan stopped pressing the button, she slowly began to place him back. Dylan winced and she went even slower, before finally removing her arm. She walked around the bed and placed her hands on the cart, rolling the table over his bed, placing his plates and orange juice in front of him.

  
    (Y/N) froze when she heard Dylan grunt, watching as his legs began to spread under the blankets, creating a V.
 
   "Dylan, careful, what are you doing?" (Y/N) rushed. Dylan finally stopped moving and his face eased, his head nodding to the spot between his knees now.
 
   "C'mon, sit."

  (Y/N) sighed and tilted her head at him, but he gestured once more, and she reluctantly began to climb up. She looked to the door, before both legs were up and she crossed them, facing her boyfriend.

   "There, just like breakfast at home." Dylan smiled, before grabbing the fork and stabbing a piece of strawberry.

   "Except you're usually not in this much pain."  (Y/N) jokes. Dylan wiggled his eyebrows and shrugged.

  "Sometimes. My back is usually all sore and scratched up and -"

   (Y/N)'s eyes were widened and she almost laughed and told him to be quiet but she followed his eyesight to the door and turned around to see his family. She froze and did her best to hop off the bed without disturbing Dylan, straightening out her clothes.

   "Morning, Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien." (Y/N) smiled and shook his fathers hand, before hugging his mother who was 'aw'-ing.

   "Ah, good morning! How are you this morning?" She asked with a smile. (Y/N) nodded.

    "Doing well."

  "I'm doing good too, Mom." Dylan called out. (Y/N) chucked just as his mother did as she walked over to him with his father.

  (Y/N) watched them say their hellos for a moment, before looking to his sister Julia who had yet to say a word.

  "Hey, Julia." (Y/N) smiled, reaching her hand out to shake. "Nice to meet you."

Julia took a moment to hesitate and immediately, (Y/N) felt as if she was going to have to awkwardly drop her hand to her side, but Julia slowly shook her hand. 

   "I hope so." Julia pulled a tight smile, one that was forced, and (Y/N) was beginning to not feel too confident about meeting Dylan's family for the first time. So, (Y/N) simply watched and waited patiently as Dylan's parents spoke on and on about the neighbors and their jobs and how Dylan was, catching up on things. Her stare was noticed and as Dylan nodded along to his father's words, he looked over to her and found her dead gaze. He tilted his head and she snapped out of it, quickly putting on a smile. Dylan raised an eyebrow in question quickly, not wanting his parents to notice him focused on something else as they talked among themselves.

   (Y/N) shook her head, waved it off and decided she needed to catch her breath for a moment. She mouthed the word 'restroom' and pointed to the door. Dylan didn't nod or shake his head as she began to leave, but he felt uneasy about how she was acting.

  As (Y/N) tried to leave the room, Julia stepped in her way, causing (Y/N) to jump and meet Dylan's sisters eyes with her wide ones.

  "Mind if I join? Unless you don't know where it is." Julia wondered shrugging. "Car ride was long from the airport."

   It took a second, but (Y/N) nodded. "Of course."

  The two left the room in silence, nobody but Dylan watching until the door completely shut. (Y/N) awkwardly pointed a finger down the hall to the left and Julia followed right by her side as they walked. (Y/N) was looking for anything to pass the time, other than conversation and just her luck, Dylan's nurse was on her way to the room.

   "Hey, Isabelle?" (Y/N) caught her attention and the brunette stopped with a smile, clipboard on her hip. (Y/N) stopped walking for a moment and Julia followed.

   "Dylan's family just got here, just to let you know. I've already sat him up and he asked for breakfast so I went ahead and gave it, is that all right?"

  Isabelle beamed and nodded, "Perfect. Thank you for telling me, I'll be sure to introduce myself."

  The nurse walked away and (Y/N) looked to Julia's confused gaze. She mumbled a 'sorry', and continued to lead Julia to the restrooms. All they had to do was make it to the end of the hallway and turn right, the women's restroom right on the corner. Just (Y/N)'s luck, it wasn't a single bathroom, but it held multiple stalls so her time with Julia wasn't going to go any better any time soon.

  (Y/N) opened the door and let Julia in first, feeling as tense as ever. Neither had to actually use the restroom, apparently. (Y/N) went for the sink and Julia followed, confusing (Y/N). Hadn't she said she had a long car ride and needed the restroom?"

   (Y/N) began to wash her clamy hands  and before she dried them, quickly swiped a bit of the warm water under her eyes and her forehead, slightly easing her nerves. She tucked baby hairs behind her ears and grabbed two paper towels, swiping her hands until they were dry. 

   Julia had yet to do a thing, except stare.

(Y/N) quietly waited for Julia to use the bathroom, wash her hand, or even just start to leave but the silence sat in the air and (Y/N) couldn't take it much longer.

  "Anything you wanna talk about?"

Julia didn't answer her question directly, but she did finally begin talk to (Y/N).

   "You and my brother have been together - what? 11 months?"

 "Uh, yes. That's right. Well, a year in two weeks." She gave a soft smile. Julia didn't return.

   "Already have a house together. Pretty early for something like that, right?"

(Y/N) took a deep breath, feeling extremely uncomfortable. Not that she had a problem with talking about her and Dylan, but Julia didn't sound interested, she sounded disappointed.

   "We thought it was better than long distance, when he goes on films, rather than either of us having to drive 3 hours. We just - thought it made sense, maybe."

 (Y/N) sighed at her answer. It sounded uncertain. And she wasn't; she loved living with Dylan. She got to see him everyday, other than every other month. It was even Dylan's idea, but (Y/N) didn't want to mention that in fear of sounding like she was throwing blame. She had never been so unsure of a conversation with someone in her life.

   "And your car? Did you buy that?" Julia asked, and (Y/N)'s shoulders feel when she asked because she knew Julia knew the answer already.

  "Uh, no - that was Dylan. I got it on my 26th birthday. It was a very generous gift."

Julia nodded in agreement, "And do you work?"

  (Y/N) was sort of used to this question: No, she didn't. She did have a job, but since she wasn't working any current hours, she didn't like to boast. She was finishing her Master in university and although it was what she wanted, hearing people mock her for not working while Dylan is this huge star always hurt a little. 

  "Uh, not right now. I'm in school."

  "Does Dylan pay for that too?"

  "No." (Y/N) answered definitely, and almost a little too quickly. She felt rude. "Sorry, I just - No, I pay for it."

   Julia stopped talking and simply nodded. 

  (Y/N) was wrong. Now, it was awkward.

  Julia began to leave the restroom and (Y/N) suddenly followed, assuming Julia had only traveled with her to ask her those questions away from the rest of the O'Brien family. (Y/N) was a little confused at the sudden inquisition.  Had Julia thought (Y/N) was using Dylan's money? (Y/N) was horrified at the thought of anyone thinking she was only with him because he was 'Dylan O'Brien' and she definitely knew there was a lot of them, especially when they first got together. She wasn't a star, she wasn't a model - she was just (Y/N).

    They made it back to the room and walked in on Isabelle talking with Dylan and his parents, all turning heads when the two walked into the room. (Y/N) gave a sweet smile to the room, finally feeling a little at ease with Dylan in the room and away from the tense situation.

  "Ah, (Y/N), just in time." Isabella smiled, flipping papers on the clipboard. (Y/N) raised her eyebrows, walking over to the rest of the family, standing on the opposite side of the bed as Dylan's parents, Dylan's hand immediately finding hers.

  "So, after all the testing and the actual injection, it seems the blood is working perfectly fine." She shrugged happily. "No problems, no fluctuations - so, nothing to worry about there. I'll be back - or actually, Sam is coming back in about four hours to give you your second dose of pain medication. And until then, you know what button to press."

  Dylan nodded and smiled up at (Y/N), giving her hand a squeeze. The nurse was about to walk out, before dodging her head back into the crack of the door.

   "Oh, and (Y/N) feel free to remove that bandage whenever."

The door shut once more and (Y/N) smiled, rolling up her jacket sleeve. A small band held a bandage right under the inside of her elbow. She untied it and pulled off the bandage, throwing all of it into the trash can. When she looked back, the entire O'Brien family was staring at her in confusion and question, besides Dylan who looked at you with admiration.

  "Sorry - bandage? (Y/N), what happened?" Mrs. O'Brien wondered, furrowing her eyebrows.

 "Oh, I just gave some blood." (Y/N) shrugged, rolling her sleeve back down. Dylan's mom nodded, until Dylan scoffed.

   "(Y/N), you didn't just give blood, you gave me blood." He shook his head. Everyone looked on in surprise, seeing (Y/N) who was looking embarrassed. 

   "Gave you blood? For what?" Dylan's father asked aloud, curious. (Y/N) blushed slightly, feeling everyone's eyes on her, waiting her explanation. Dylan took over, whether (Y/N) wanted to talk or not.

   "Well, there was some other surgery going on and they weren't going to have enough before the next shipment and when (Y/N) heard that, she so graciously - " Dylan dramatically waved a hands towards her. "Gave blood. An entire pint. She's O Negative."

 The eyes on her shot her nerves through the roof, but amid the staring, (Y/N)'s eyes met Julia's who was actually not wearing a displeased reaction. (Y/N) felt like she was holding her breath, until Dylan's mother came around the bed and held her arms out with a large smile.

   "Ugh, I feel like I need to thank you a million times over!" She giggled, enveloping (Y/N) in a hug. (Y/N) couldn't help but smile and chuckle, returning the soft woman's hug

 "No, no, no-" She insisted, departing from his mother, glancing at all the O'Brien's. "It's really nothing, giving blood was the least I could do."

   "Well-" Julia spoke up and (Y/N) became even more nervous for the words that were going to come out of her mouth. 

     "It's not nothing. I'm not a doctor, but I'm just gonna call it saving my brothers life. So, thank you."

   Finally, it was like a truce was met. Julia gave her a genuine smile and (Y/n) returned it happily, her shoulders instantly relaxing and her back straightening out.

   "Well, c'mon, Dylan-" His father scoffed, gesturing to (Y/N). "How are you gonna one-up that kind of gift?", He chuckled at the end. Dylan laughed along and shook his head, looking over to her.

    "There's no one-uping a gift like her."

 (Y/N) gazed at Dylan and their eyes never left each others, the love filling the room. There's nothing she wouldn't do for him, but only because she knows he'd do the same for her.