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October 18

I don't know what's weirder, the fact that when I wake up, I'm in the medical room at school, or the fact that when I open my eyes, the first face I see is Shane's.

"Thank God you're okay." He exhales a relieved breath, stuffing his phone into his pocket before taking a step toward me.

"What happened?" I groan.

"Cliché question," Shane points out, tilting his head to one side. "One you should be answering seeing you're the one who fainted and nearly gave everyone a heart attack."

I narrow my eyes at him before looking around the room. Pushing myself up, I wince when nearly pull out the canola inserted into the back of my hand. I stare at it, taking in the rest of the hospital room.

"Am I going to die?" I ask Shane, suddenly curious.

He huffs and rolls his eyes. "Hopefully not."

"But chances are I could?"

He scowls at me. "Can you stop talking and have some patience while we wait for the doctor to come in and answer both our questions?"

"Patience? Never heard of her."

A smile slides onto Shane's lips and he chuckles. "Oh, so patience is a she?"

I shrug, trying not to feel awkward that I'm lying on a bed and that Shane is the only one standing beside me.

"I don't know, I guess I always kind of see patience as feminine," I admit, looking around.

"That's sexist, don't you think?" Shane asks.

"What can I say, I'm a bad person."

Questions spring up in my mind. The last thing I remember is falling in the school corridor while following Racheal out of the girls' bathrooms. My thoughts go back to Riley and Racheal and where they might be. More importantly, though, did anyone tell my parents?

Shane sighs. "You're one of the only people who believe that lie."

"What's a lie?" I ask, having lost track of our conversation.

"That you're a bad person," Shane says calmly.

It's weird how gentle his tone is and how evenly he can keep conversing with me. He's one of the easiest people to talk to that I've ever met, his expressions non-judgmental and his full attention on me when I talk. I'm pretty sure it's not just me who feels this way.

"You think I'm a good person?" I ask.

"One of the best." He smiles.

Is it crazy that I blush?

"You're so weird," I mumble, tugging at the drip attached to me and pumping an opaque liquid into my bloodstream.

"And you're low on glucose which is worse," Shane counters, nodding toward the liquid.

I roll my eyes and try not to smile. Try and fail.

The door to the room opens and a nurse comes in, carrying a clipboard with a few sheets attached to it. Following at her heels are Racheal and Riley, wide-eyed and exhaling when they see I'm awake. As for the nurse, she looks at Shane who takes a couple of steps away from the bed to give us some space.

"Glad to see you awake, Taylor," the nurse with a smooth bun of dark-blonde hair says to me, smiling before peeking down at her notes.

"Thanks," I mumble. "Can I go home?"

I catch sight of Racheal and Riley's exasperated expressions but the doctor nods.

"You're good to go," she says. "But don't you want to know what happened?"

"I'm sure you're going to tell me either way," I say.

Over her shoulder, I see Shane stifling a laugh with the back of his hand. The sight almost makes me laugh too.

"Well, your glucose level dropped pretty low," the nurse says, probably not amused by my attempts at humor. "What I need you to go is get some fasting sugar tests done. Do you think you can go to a lab tomorrow morning before you eat something?"

"I have to stay hungry?" I ask, inwardly freaking out. I'm not sure why but staying hungry doesn't work out in my favor these days. Look at where skipping dinner and breakfast landed me.

"I'll take her."

The voice that speaks is Shane's and everyone looks at him, including me. I raise my eyebrows but he refuses to glance my way as he smiles at the nurse.

"And we can get breakfast right after we get the tests done," he adds with a reassuring nod toward me.

I don't answer, feeling Riley and Racheal's gaze burning holes in my skin.

"Well, okay," the nurse says, looking at me again.

She gives me some details about the next tomorrow morning but I barely pay attention. I'm more focused on Shane who's standing the furthest from me but seems to be the only one on my mind. His offer to bring me to the hospital and take me out for breakfast makes me feel giddy inside. It's nothing special to him, I keep telling myself. He's just trying to be his usual nice self. Still, I can't help but feel uplifted that he cares so much.

Soon, I'm swinging my legs off the bed and getting a band-aid plastered where the needle has made a hole in the back of my hand. The nurse leaves and Shane goes after her.

My heart sinks as he leaves but I don't even know why.

"You scared us," Racheal says. "I freaked out pretty bad."

"I'm sorry," I say. "But how'd you get me here?"

"Well ... Shane carried you," Riley explains.

My eyes go so wide I'm afraid they'll fall out. "He carried me?" I gasp out in horror.

"It was either that or we could drag you across the floor," Racheal says seriously. "Shane carrying you was definitely the better option.

"Not that he gave us a choice," Riley adds. "He saw you and scooped you up like you were weightless or something, running before we could even know what he was doing."

"We thought he was going to abduct you or something," Racheal says.

I snort. "Sure," I mumble, heat creeping up my neck and cheeks as the embarrassing realization sinks in. It's honestly humiliating that he had to carry me here. Who knows how weird I looked? Was my mouth hanging open? Did I fart while I was unconscious? I have a sudden urge to sniff myself and make sure I don't stink too bad tonight. I didn't take a bath this morning because I slept in these very clothes in Racheal's room.

Bad timing is a bitch.

The door opens again and Shane walks in, towering over all of us. "You ready to go?" he asks.

"Huh?" I blink.

Shane fights a smile. "I'm driving you. You can't walk in this state."

"I can take a bus," I suggest. "Or Racheal's mom can drive."

"She has classes to take," Shane says.

"I can wait till she's done," I hesitate.

Shane huffs. "Can you just get up and come along? I really don't mind carrying you to the car. Wouldn't be the first time."

I flush crimson while Shane snickers. As for my friends, they're not helping my awkwardness, looking from Shane to I and back. Their eyes are wide and a dozen questions and theories spiral above their heads in invisible bubbles.

"If you don't want to go, my dad will be here if I call him," Riley suggests, misinterpreting my attempts at playing hard to get as hesitance.

The thought of her dad is enough to make up my mind, though. Fuck dignity.

"Okay, fine, I'll go with you" I grumble toward Shane, resigning when I'm sure I'm not getting out of this.

"Great," Shane exclaims, pulling open the door and holding it open as I get up from the bed and bid my friends goodbye.

"Call me when you're home," Riley says as I pass her by.

I nod, forcing a smile.

"Wait, where's my ..." I begin and stop abruptly when I see Shane already picking my bag up from a chair next to the door. "Thanks. I can carry --"

He's already out the door and I have no choice but to shake my head and follow him like a total loser. Unexpectedly, though, he's standing right outside and watching me cautiously.

"You're not dizzy or anything, are you?" he asks, holding out an empty hand to me.

As tempting as it may be, I can see more than just my friends' eyes watching our exchange. Quite a few students are stalling around the halls, glancing our way. My bag over Shane's shoulder is enough to birth some scandals -- combined with the fact that Shane carried me and ran to the medical room when I fainted -- and holding his hand as I walk to his car and let him drive me home ... yeah, probably not a great idea.

"I'm good," I say. Honestly, I don't even feel too bad now. Whatever happened a while ago has probably settled down inside me now.

I just hope things are better settled at home as well.

As I walk toward Shane's car a few feet behind him, I can't help but wonder what Mom and Dad felt all night. I got a couple of calls from Mom but they stopped after a while. She probably decided I'll return eventually. Ironic how soon it is.

I stop next to Shane's Navigator as he unlocks it.

"You want help getting in here?" he asks, a teasing edge to his tone.

"Ha ha, funny."

I pull open the passenger side door and jump in -- almost falling over but managing to get in without making a fool of myself -- and close the door. It's once I'm inside that I notice how spacious and homey the car is from inside. It's not only vast but the seats are so big and comfy I almost melt through. I'm about to slide down it when Shane gets in and turns the car on.

"Strapped in?" he asks. "Where to?"

Remembering when he mentions it, I click the seatbelt into place and sit back uncomfortably, waiting for either my awkwardness to fade away or the ride to end quickly. I tell him my address, not knowing why I'm even feeling this way. Maybe it's because I'm not used to being vulnerable in front of anyone. Even after Carter died, I didn't cry in front of anyone. I'd rather shed tears behind closed bathroom doors or silently in bed than in front of someone, let alone faint in front of God-knows-how-many people. A part of me is afraid Shane will ask me something about what happened.

He doesn't speak a word, though, and I wonder if he knows more about vulnerability than he shows.

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A/N: I know some of you are really curious about Shane's story but Taylor's story leads to Shane's and you'll just need to be a bit patient. The next couple of the chapters are important and I promise you'll like them. Also, this story's chapters might be shorter than the other stories but I update two to three times every day. So ... yeah. Just putting it out there for those of you who might be (thinking of) complaining ;) Love ya!