Davyn's head throbbed and it wasn't in the rhythm of the much-too-loud corny dance music coming from some hidden speakers. If he were to die, he had the feeling it would be by Eurodance.

Somewhere along the way, after the game, he'd been dragged to some dude's house for an after-party. A part of him was sure he'd complained and protested. After all, he had to get back to the hospital and Ron.

It had taken the combined efforts of the school and Freider to get him out of there in the first place. He'd completely lost track of time, but the upcoming basketball game was important enough for the principal to call Freider and ask him just where the hell he'd been.

Davyn wasn't sure he cared, but he was so out of it that he'd let himself get pushed around, and before he knew it, he was in his uniform, on the field, his head pounding from the noise and the light. He couldn't focus at all, so he chose to just pass the ball and make sure not to fuck things up for his team. Everyone yelled at him to shoot for the hoop, but he didn't dare. Not when his vision doubled and half of him was still in the hospital.

Then, she came. Or had it only been inside his head?

Millie.

Millie, who had lingered on the edge of his thoughts while he'd spent endless hours in the hospital. Millie who he thought had truly abandoned him.

Why wasn't she there? How hard would it be for her to find out what had happened? To come see him in the hospital and offer some of her lame words of comfort?

But he knew. He'd been so evasive, there was no reasonable way for her to figure out where to find him. She didn't seem like the type to handle mundane things like that gracefully anyway.

He didn't want to be reasonable. He wanted her to do the impossible and come to his aid, pull him out of his misery. Why exactly, he still wasn't sure.

No one did. Until she'd shown up at the game and put his music on. The moment Shoot to Thrill started playing, his mind cleared and he could focus on the hoop. He'd taken his shot and scored. By the time he shook off his ecstatic teammates and turned back towards the door, she was gone.

Which was why he thought that maybe he'd hallucinated her in the first place. The ghost of the most typical savior.

That's a rescuer's fantasy, darling.

And yet, he hoped she'd want to fulfill it. Instead, she kept to the edges of his life, maybe too afraid to dive in.

Why would she leave? Didn't she want to talk to him? To see him? His pounding head made it hard to tell time. It also made it hard for him to focus on anything and pull himself together. He shouldn't be at this party. He should be on his way back to the hospital.

How long had he been gone? Was Freider still there, or had he decided he'd had enough and left Ron alone? Even if he dreaded this scenario, a part of him needed this break from the sterile environment and the armchair he'd turned into his bed. His entire body ached, but it was nothing compared to his head.

The pain in his temples only increased and he was aware that he was sinking into a full-on migraine. The drink in his hand was probably not helping.

His fingers curled around the red solo cup. He didn't even know what was in there. It smelled like alcohol. Would it make the pain worse or better?

Someone clasped him on the shoulder and he almost poured the drink on himself.

"And then, like in one of those movies..." Will took his hand off him and mimed taking a free throw. "Swish! A three-pointer from almost mid-field."

"That's our Dav!" Kevin raised his glass to cheers and laughter.

Normally, Davyn would've raised his hands and taken the praise, even showing off a little because he was good and he knew it. Normally, he would've heard the conversation. Right now, all he wanted was to sink onto the floor and sleep. Or maybe teleport to the hospital.

The thought of the hospital increased his headache. Maybe not there. Millie's room sounded more appealing. Her bed, to be more precise. He didn't even want to sleep with her. Just sleep. And have her there. He really wouldn't mind her arms around him.

Ugh, what was wrong with him? But he'd been giving this more thought than he liked to admit, especially as time lost its meaning in Ron's hospital room and he had nothing else to plot. It was either not thinking about her at all or imagining he was in her bed with her draped around him.

The excited buzzing shifted into something else, a grumbling reminiscent of the sudden appearance of a villain.

"What the hell is she doing here?" Will mumbled next to him.

"Some nerve," Kevin huffed. "After she almost ruined the game."

Davyn frowned and turned to look where they were looking. The crowd was parting, the bodies draped in party attire making room for someone who obviously didn't belong there.

Paint-splattered overalls, French braids, and a meek expression. There was actual paint on her face this time, shades of blue that had him wondering what she'd been working on. Him again? Or had she moved on and decided to paint the skies?

The crows didn't like her. It was obvious from the disgusted expressions everyone had. Her roommates looked wary but didn't outright seem capable of defending her. That pug-faced Karen was there, too, a satisfied snarl on her face.

And in that precise moment, Davyn was certain that he was hallucinating. There was no way Millie was there right now, dressed like that, facing a hostile crowd that kept jeering at her. Millie wouldn't have the nerve to show up like this, expose herself. She was probably in her room, and his exhausted mind was just making things up because he'd been thinking about her.

"Get lost, loser," Will snarled.

"Yeah, don't you have some paint to roll over in or something?" someone else said.

"Traitor! You almost ruined the game!"

Millie glanced from one enraged face to the next and her frame seemed to shrink.

"Go back to your hole!"

"Freak!"

"Loser!"

"What the hell?" Davyn mumbled.

"Exactly!" Kevin said, turning to him. "You should lay into her, Dav."

"Lay into her?" He glanced back towards Millie.

He couldn't tell if she'd seen him or not. Her eyes were glassy with unshed tears and she kept glancing from face to face as if searching for an escape.

"Yo, loser, who are you looking for?" a voice called from the crowd.

Karen sniggered and shoved her to the side. She collided with a random guy who shoved her back into someone else. Rage bubbling inside him, Davyn stood. His head throbbed even worse, but he didn't care. The laughter of the crowd was getting on his nerves.

"Enough!"

His voice hadn't come out nearly as strong as it should have, so only the people around him heard and turned towards him.

"What do you mean?" Will asked, his eyes wide with confusion.

By God, he was surrounded by idiots. "She didn't ruin the game. The music helped me focus. If anything, she's the reason we won!"

His teammates exchanged worried looks, as if there was something wrong with him. There was, but not what their puny brains could imagine. Unfortunately, their hesitation didn't appease the crowd who kept sneering and shoving Millie around as if she were a pariah. His head throbbed harder, turning the entire scene into a nightmare.

"You should be thanking her, you morons," he said between his teeth.

"Dav, you should stay away from her. She's trouble."

He didn't even process which of the morons had claimed that atrocity. They had no idea who she really was. She was many things, but trouble wasn't one of them. They'd hurt her and there was no way in hell he was going to allow it, so he stepped into the fray.

She bumped into him and he grasped her arms to steady her. The eyes she rose to meet his were terrified and filled with tears. This was so unfair. She hadn't done anything wrong. She most definitely didn't deserve the scorn of an entire room.

Her lips parted, but no words escaped them. She was caught in the moment, obviously overwhelmed, fear slowly morphing into something else. Recognition. Relief. Concern.

He hated the noise, the tension, the crowded room. It pressed on his temples even harder than the migraine. He shut his eyes, trying to drive them all away.

A warm touch on his cheek had him opening his eyes again. Even if she still looked terrified, Millie had tried to comfort him. It broke something inside him, the final barrier of self-control he'd managed to hold up with incredible difficulty.

The sounds around him disappeared once he made up his mind. He leaned over and kissed her lips. She drew in a sharp breath and made to pull away. He put his hand on the back of her neck and kissed her deeper. All traces of protest vanished and it was back to just the two of them, her kisses perfect. It took her seconds to wrap her arms around his neck and succumb, bringing with it the certainty that she was where she belonged. With him.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he could tell the crowd was laughing, judging. They didn't know that she made the pain go away. So he released her and raised his hands in the air, flipping everyone off. The laughter turned into something else. Clapping and sounds of longing and approval. He didn't care for those either.

Millie pulled away from him, her cheeks crimson, but there was a smile on her face now.

"Let's get out of here," he whispered.

She just nodded and turned around, heading for the exit. He followed, ignoring everyone who wasn't her, and was more than happy to be out in the cool night air. His mind cleared as he realized how loud everything had been in there.

"I'm sorry," Millie said, sounding breathless.

"Whatever for?"

"I don't know. Bursting in like that and ruining your party."

"My party?" He looked back just to make sure it wasn't his house since he believed himself out of it enough not to notice if it was.

"I mean, it was obviously in your honor. You're the hero of the school."

"It should be in your honor. If you hadn't turned the music on, I wouldn't have taken the shot."

The pleased smile on her face made him want to kiss her again.

"I did get in trouble for it, though. Wanna walk?"

He nodded because standing still was making him jittery, so they started off on the sidewalk. The further away they moved from other people, the lighter he felt. After a few yards walked in silence, Millie reached out and took his hand. He let her.

"Thank you."

"Okay, what's this for?"

"Getting me out of there."

"It was brave of you to face them in the first place."

She nibbled on her lower lip, her gaze moving to the concrete slabs beneath their feet. "I was terrified, really. But I wanted to see you. And for a moment... Well, for a moment I had the feeling that you didn't want me to be there."

"To be fair, I'm not in a great place right now. My head is killing me."

She raised worried eyes to him, but he chose to ignore her show of concern and keep walking.

"What happened?"

The question was barely there and he wondered just how much courage she'd had to muster to let it out in the open.

"You'll have to be more specific."

"I haven't seen you in days. Were you that upset with me or is it something else?"

After what happened with Ron, he'd completely forgotten about being mad at her. It took a consistent effort to remember why he would be in the first place. Not that it mattered anymore.

"I haven't exactly been around." He hesitated.

His head still throbbed, he was walking hand in hand with her and he'd basically kissed her in front of the whole school. He could tell her a bit more about what troubled him.

"I've been in the hospital."

Her hold on his hand tightened, but she didn't say anything, waiting for him to continue. It gave him the strength to go on.

"It's not for myself, obviously." Though, seeing how badly his head hurt right now, maybe he should go in for some tests. "Someone..." No. Someone was vague. She'd earned more than vague for being there with him. "Well, my baby brother ODed on drugs."

Millie gasped and turned to face him. Fortunately, she did not let go of his hand. He wasn't sure why that was a good thing.

"I'm so sorry. Is he alright?"

Davyn shook his head, torn up about how to answer that. "He's recovering, I guess. But the fact remains that he did it and it's very likely that it will happen again." More likely than he cared to admit. "So, I've been with him for the past few days and I'm sort of out of it."

She let go of his hand, but only to catch him in a tight hug, her head resting against his chest. "I'm here for you."

He had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but the hug felt good, so he allowed it. After a few moments, he even wrapped his arms around her as well and rested his cheek on top of her head. She smelled like paint, but he didn't mind. It grounded him, made him realize that she really was in his corner, no matter what. She wasn't blaming him for what happened to Ron, wasn't scoffing at him for missing school, for not being perfect every hour of every day.

And until the moment, he hadn't realized just how much he needed that. How much he needed her. The thought was somewhat terrifying, but it paled in comparison to the effect she had on his migraines. She made the pain go away, and it was all that mattered.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No. I'd rather not even think about it while I can. So tell me what you've been up to."

"Nothing much, really. I just thought you were really angry at me and went through that particular roller-coaster of anxiety."

He let out a huff of laughter. "That sounds fun."

"I don't know about you, but I've had enough anxiety to last me a lifetime. Especially after tonight."

"That was unusually brave of you." And he didn't think he'd ever stop saying that.

She gave him a tiny nudge, but didn't step out of his arms. For a while, they just stood in silence, Davyn's mind blissfully blank, his headache subsiding with her there to distract him.

"They're going to talk, you know," she whispered.

"Hmm?"

"In school. They're going to talk. After all, you kissed me in front of everybody."

Indeed he had. And at the time, he hadn't even given it any thought. Not that he cared much now, so he just shurgged.

"Let them talk. Unless you're embarrassed to be associated with me."

"No, of course not. It's just... Strange."

It was. "Let me get you back to your dorm."

She sighed, sounding defeated, but stiffened and pulled away, glancing around. "Where's your car?"

"I don't have it with me. I think someone picked me up."

"Okay, there must be a payphone around here somewhere."

Not exactly since they were basically in the suburbs. "We can just walk."

She turned to him like he was insane which was justified and not entirely untrue. "It will take us hours!"

"Have something better to do?"

She glanced around, perhaps ready to point out that it was already dark, but to her credit, she didn't. She was safe with him, safer than she knew. So she just nodded and took his hand again. For some reason, this time it worked for him. It felt nice. Liberating.

When she launched into a story about her latest classes or how far she'd gotten on her original song, a weight seemed to lift off his shoulders. Platitudes were safe and easy. He could sneak a few hours to recharge before returning to the hospital. As they began discussing constellations and ancient myths, he felt even better.

Yes, he'd kissed her in a crowded room, but it didn't have to be a bad thing.

After all, he truly didn't care about what other people thought. And if they decided to mess with her again, he would make sure it would be for the last time.

♣️♣️♣️

Poor Davyn isn't in a great place. But at least he stepped up and got Millie out of there. And kissed her in a crowded room. Now everyone knows about them. Or a great deal of people anyway.

Maybe it's time for them to relax more around each other and admit that there may be feelings there... What do you think?

Join me for more trippiness in the next chapter because I definitely love writing exhausted characters. They do all sorts of interesting things!