Shit shit shit, were the only words screaming at Lev inside of his head.

He dashed through the crosswalk just as the white walking person symbol appeared on the other side, and was nearing the main entrance to the city's general hospital. It had taken him thirty minutes to get here due to the lunchtime traffic congesting Riviam's 'front door' road out of town.

It had been just about forty minutes ago when he had tried to call Alex for the first time. The only thing on his mind since leaving the Prior household earlier this the morning, was the day he had spent Alex Dean Prior. Amazing? Breathtaking? Wonderful? It hadn't been long since he had last seen the boy and parted with him on hopeful terms, but still he wasn't sure he had the right words that could describe their second sleepover. Even though Alex hadn't answered his call, it hadn't managed to crack Lev's optimism.

'Prior's busy is all,' he had thought. 'Dishes drenched in chocolate.'

But then, all his hope had been completely shattered about ten minutes later, when he'd gotten a call from his mother.

"Alex is in the hospital," Kaia had told him over the phone. "He got into a fight with someone outside of his house. He was still unconscious when the paramedics arrived at the hospital with him, so there's no updates yet about his condition."

Lev's heart had nearly stopped, its abnormal beats seeming like they had been tripping over themselves, and everything around him— the very space of the Whitevole Estate — no longer felt palpable.

His mother didn't have details on who or why Alex had been involved in a fight; she only knew what Martin had told her on the phone just beforehand.

Kaia had offered to zoom back home and drive Lev to the hospital, but Lev had declined while already racing out of the estate and towards Riviam's front door exit to get to the only bus that made a stop in this town.

He barrelled into the hospital lobby, slipping a bit over its polished, white linoleum floor. His eyes scanned the scattered mass of patients, visitors and nurses buzzing all over the place. Lev was still in his state of panic, not sure where to go or who to go to first. Kaia had said she'd meet him there, but the traffic must've been worse downtown because she wasn't anywhere in sight.

His eyes did one more slower sweep of the area, when they landed on two faces he hadn't seen in at least two months.

"Yes I know we're not relatives," Ridley tersely said, "but we see each other all the time — him and his father. So we-"

"I'm sorry miss," said one of the nurses behind the front counter, the slick strands of the man's brown hair tied back in a secured ponytail. "We got VPD breathing down our necks. Mr. Prior's been involved in a serious incident and they still need to question him. So unless you're actually related, we can't disclose his room number. Excuse me."

He turned away, leaving a restless Ridley by the counter. Next to her, Ziro stood, unmoving and irritably staring ahead at where the nurse previously was. Unlike him, Ridley's eyes scrambled left and right, searching for someone else to gouge information out of, when they finally settled on...

"Oh...Lev? Is that you?"

Shit shit shit.

"Oh it is! Leven!" Ridley's strained composure was immediately abandoned as she hurtled towards Lev to engulf him in a long awaited hug. "How're are you?"

"U-umm..." Lev stammered. He wasn't sure what to say; he could barely reciprocate the hug as he loosely wrapped an arm around Ridley's back.

Ziro had broken his gaze away from the counter to lock with Lev's, as the latter stared at him from over Ridley's shoulder. Ziro turned the whole way to face his mother hugging his former best-friend, his body shifting subtly, going rigid; Lev saw it clear as day. What could he say to Ridley when Ziro was just in earshot, looking as ready as ever to slaughter him right in middle of the room.

"And what're you doing at the hospital?" Ridley continued to ask, her hand moving in rapid up and down strokes on his back like it always did anytime they hugged. Lev missed it. "Are you hurt?"

The question was enough; zapping sense back into Lev and reminding him of why he'd embarked on a thirty minute bus ride to the downtown hospital. He didn't care if Ziro's was going to hear next words. He didn't care what Ziro would likely do to him afterwards. He had to know if Alex was alright.

"Alex...is he...? Is Alex okay?" he asked at last.

Ridley pulled away, holding Lev at arms length as she stared at him surprised. "Oh...You know Alex?" The look on her face changed quickly from surprised to apprehensive as she glanced back at Ziro, whose rigidness had reached his face, his eyebrows drawing inward making him look nettled. "Um, well, about Alex," Ridley went on, attempting to disarm a confrontation before it happened. "You must've heard that he was in an incident. Unfortunately no one will tell us anything unless we're blood relatives, and we have no idea if he's gone into surgery, or if his injuries are life-threatening, or-or if he's even awake yet..."

Ridley choked out a sob and tugged Lev back in for another hug. Lev didn't falter this time and threw both arms over her back, matching her unyielding grip.

"Shit..." he muttered into her shoulder. His chest felt tight; his body felt shaky like it could give in at any moment; it felt like there was a numb and silent droning sound simmering in his head. "...so then what're we supposed to do? There's gotta be-"

"Lev? Lev!" Kaia materialized in the hospital lobby and wasted no time in sprinting towards her son, spotting him as she soon passed through the automatic doors. She halted midway though, her eyes locking with Ridley's over Lev's shoulder.

Lev could feel Ridley stiffen, and her arms going limb around him before she withdrew them completely, then shuffled past Lev to get to Kaia.

"언니 (On-ni) big sister/Kaia!" Ridley cried.

"헐 (Hol) oh my god!" Kaia cooed.

The two were swathed in each other's arms by now, foreheads gently pressing against each other as beads of tears escape them both. Lev pivoted around to view them, guilt stabbing at his heart. Ridley and Kaia were once as close as Lev and Ziro used to be. When Ziro and Lev had been in the womb, they'd taken birthing classes together; gone on the same pregnancy diet; had the same doctor deliver their both of their sons. Martin had used to make a vulgar, though innocent joke, that Ridley and Kaia were 'essentially joined at the umbilical cord'.

By the looks of it, Lev realized they how close they still were even after two months of not seeing or speaking to each other just because their sons wouldn't. Lev slowly turned his head back to Ziro, whose posture and attitude had staled and slumped, and his eyes now trained on the floor. Whether their mothers had planned it or not, any ounce of anger Ziro had looked like it had been mitigated, and even Lev felt like going over to him to seek out a hug — and not just because he wanted desperately to make up with his best friend, but he still had no idea if Alex was alright, and Ridley and Kaia were busy comforting each other.

"...mom," Lev said, loud enough for both Kaia and Ridley to brake off their reunion and give their attention. "We don't know if he's okay...They won't let us see him cuz we're not family-"

"Not family my ass," Kaia chewed out. "Come on, Ridley." She tugged at Ridley's wrist, flinty and unstoppable-looking as she stormed towards the set of doors at the other end of the room.

"W-where are we going?" Ridley questioned, though she let Kaia pull her along anyway.

"To find Jamie," Kaia declared. "Last I checked he was promoted to a 'chief' around here. Little word from him should give us what we need. You two," she jabbed a finger at Lev then Ziro after pausing between them, "stay here until we get back. Together. And don't you dare start fighting or anything else that might get you kicked out of here. We'll be back soon." She resumed her unwavering path to the doors up ahead, Ridley being led in tow.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Ridley somewhat whisper-shouted to Kaia as they stalked away, both Lev and Ziro still very much in earreach.

When they had gone far enough away, Lev rotated back around to face Ziro and stared at the physical distance between them. His heart was full — fear, regret, yearning — and at last, after two months of keeping it contained inside, he was ready to spill it all out.

"Ziro-" he started.

"Don't." Ziro's jaw tensed along with the rest of his now hostile frame, and his eyes which he'd heaved off of the floor. His bellicose bearing wouldn't last, though, upon Lev's next words.

"I'll tell you," Lev started, moving at a moderate pace to close the distance from him to Ziro. "I'll tell you why I did it."