▸ I Ran - A Flock Of Seagulls

H O L L Y  J O L L Y

Danny quickly carried me inside the house. He gently set me on the couch while he ran to use the Harrington's phone. Quickly dialing our house's phone number, Danny anxiously looked over at me.

"Hello? Mom? I-Mom, Mom! Hey, Dawn's hurt. I'm taking her to the hospital." There was a short pause. Danny sighed, running a frustrated hand through his hair. "I don't know. I went outside to check on her and she was on the ground throwing up. I think she hit her head. Yeah, it might be a concussion. Okay, I'll meet you guys there."

Danny hanged up the phone and ran over to me. He gently scooped me up. I whimpered in pain as another waved of nausea flooded over me.

"Set me down. I'm gonna puke." I groaned out. With wide eyes, Danny rushed me to the bathroom. He sat me down on the ground in front of the toilet and lifted up the lid. I emptied my stomach's contents into the porcelain bowl. I blindly reached out for some toilet paper and wiped my mouth in disgust. Not wanting to look at the paper, I threw it away. "Ugh. This is gross."

"C'mon." Danny helped me up. "Let's get you to the hospital."

"Where's Barbra, though?" I mumbled, laying my head on my brother's arm.

"I think she left, Dawn." Danny replied, leading me to the door. Right when he was about to open it, it swung open to reveal Becca.

"Oh my God, Dawn? Are you okay?" Becca rushed over to me, placing a hand against my forehead. She looked up at Danny with uneasiness. "Danny, what happened?"

"I don't know. I think she hit her head and has a concussion. I'm taking her to the hospital." Danny informed her.

"Alright, I'll come with. Let me just get some stuff from my house. I'll meet you in your car." Becca said, already backing up the door. Danny gave her a desperate nod. Becca sent me a small smile before running to her house.

Danny carefully opened the back door to our car, making sure not to hit me in the process. He mumbled to himself as he gently ushered me inside. I went to lie down, the dizziness becoming too much for me.

"Okay, okay, I'm here." Becca ran up to us with her bag, a towel and a brown paper bag from the stores.

"I totally forgot to get that stuff." Danny cursed himself as he stared at the towel and paper bag.

"Hey, it's okay." Becca placed a hand on my brother's arm. "Just focus on getting her to the hospital. I'll be in the back with her, okay?"

Danny nodded. They both go into the car. Quickly turning the ignition on, Danny backed out and sped down the road. Becca frowned at me, before helping me sit up. I groaned in protest as the dizziness hit me again.

"You need to sit up, Dawn. If you throw up, you could choke on it." Becca told me. She placed my head on her shoulder and had the supplies in her lap. Biting her lip, she caressed my hair, trying to soothe me. "If you're going to throw up, just grab the bag, okay?"

The entire ride to the hospital was filled with nausea, my killer headache, and trying not to vomit all over our car. I had one hand over my stomach while the other was over my mouth. Danny roughly parked in front of the hospital. I immediately went for the bag and threw up in it. My door opened to reveal Dad.

"Dawny. Let's get you inside okay?" Dad gently said, placing a hand on my shoulder. Becca grabbed the towel and wiped the bile off of my mouth.

"Okay, let's go." Becca whispered to me, giving my shoulder a squeeze. They got me out of the car and held me up. Dustin and Mom rushed over to us their eyes filled with worry.

"What happened? Is she going to be okay?" Dustin asked.

"She'll be fine, we just need a doctor to check her over, Dusty." Mom told him, licking her lips. Everyone helped me into the front desk. The receptionist looked up from her paper work, popping her gum.

"Can I help you?" She smacked her gum. She frowned when she saw my state. "Is she okay? Do I need to get some nurses in here?"

"Please? She hit her head." Mom nodded, placing a hand on my shoulder. I laid my head on Dad's shoulder, my eyes fluttering. "We think she has a concussion."

"Okay, I'll go get help. You guys keep her awake." The nurse pointed towards me before rushing towards the back to get help.

"Dawny, you need to stay awake, okay?" Dustin stated, standing in front of me. He gripped my hands and looked up at me. "The doctors are on their way. They're going to help you."

"Okay." I slurred out giving him a brief nod. Grimacing at the headache, I slowly lifted my head off of Dad.

"Okay, let's set her in this wheelchair and we'll take her to the back." A nurse came with a wheelchair. There were to more nurses with her, heading straight towards me. The two nurses, Dad, and Danny all eased me into the chair. "Only two people can come with her."

"I'll go." Mom expressed. She turned towards Danny. "You come to, Daniel. You were with her when she started showing the signs."

Danny nodded, biting his lip. Becca held his hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Everyone else, I will need you to stay in the waiting room. We'll come out and notify you about anything." The nurse said before she started to wheel me away.

We went through the door, the nurse wheeling me into a closed off area that was surrounded by a pale blue curtain. The two nurses helped me onto the hospital bed, steadying me. I gripped the edge of the bed, closing my eyes to push away the dizziness and nausea.

"You're her brother, correct?" The nurse who wheel me in pointed at Danny. He nodded. "Can you sit next to her and keep her up. It's just a precautionary. We don't need her falling over and hitting her head again."

"Sure, yeah. Of course." Danny went to sit next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulder. The curtain in front of us closed as a doctor with a clipboard entered.

"Ms. Henderson, correct?" The doctor asked me.

"Yeah." I said.

"I'm Doctor Andrews." Dr. Andrews smiled at me. He went around shaking Mom's and Danny's hand. "Now, I've been informed that you hit your head and may have a concussion? Can you explain to me what happened?"

"I, uh, don't really remember how it happened. One moment I was talking to Barbra and then next I hit my head on the cement." I explained. "I can't remember what happened on between."

"Okay, that is normal for someone who has a concussion. Can you tell me how you're feeling?" Dr. Andrew wrote something on his board.

"Erm, dizzy. I feel nauseous, and I've thrown up. Looking at bright lights hurts my eyes." I fiddles with Steve's hoodie sleeves.

"She doesn't seem to have a good balance." Danny added.

"Well, the symptoms are leading towards a concussion. Let's go ahead and check your eyes, okay?" Dr. Andrew reached into his coat pocket and brought out a small flashlight. He clicked it on and shined it in my eyes. I squinted my eyes at the bright light. "Now, I know it's bright for you and it may hurt your eyes, but I need you to focus on my finger."

Blinking, I focused on Dr. Andrew's finger. He slowly moved it side to side. I did my best to follow it. the doctor hummed a few times before turning the flashlight off.

"Now let's check your reflexes, yeah? Go ahead and squeeze my hand and tightly as you can." Dr. Andrews held out his hand. Furrowing my brows together, I did what he said. "Yup, it looks like you have a concussion my dear."

"So what do we do?" Mom asked, nervously pinching her bottom lip in between her fingers.

"That is up to you. She is cleared to go home, but if you feel that it is safer for her to stay here over night than we're okay with that." Dr. Andrews stuffed the flashlight back into his pocket.

"Yeah, for the money." Danny incoherently mumbled under his breath. I bit back a smile.

"I want to take her home." Mom told the Doctor.

"Okay, now all you guys have to do is monitor her symptoms. See if it gets better or worse. Keep an eye on her when she goes to sleep. If you feel that she is getting worse, just take her back here." Dr. Andrews explained to us.

"Can we go now?" I looked over at Mom, feeling a little bit better. The nausea and dizziness was slipping away. "I just want to go home and rest."

"Of course, Dawny." Mom smiled at me. "Let's go see everyone, okay?"

"If you need any help getting to the car, one of the nurses can take you in the wheelchair." Dr. Andrews informed me.

"I think I'm good, but," I eyed the wheelchair. "It's better to stay safe than sorry, right?"

"Right." Dr. Andres chuckled out. He turned to face the nurse. "I'm going to go get this to the front to have her cleared. Have a good day Hendersons."

"Thank you, you too." Mom waved goodbye. Dr. Andrews left leaving the nurse and us behind.

"Alright, let's go ahead and take you to the front, sweetheart." The nurse wheeled the chair in front of me. Danny hopped off the bed and helped me into the chair.

"I know you're only agreeing to go in the wheelchair because you want to, not because you have to." Danny whispered to me.

"Shh, it's a secret." I murmured back, giving him a wink. Danny chuckled, shaking his head. We left the curtain encased room and into the waiting room. Dustin was anxiously tapping his feet on the ground while Becca fiddled with her hands. Dad was crashed out, soft snores escaping from him.

"Dawny!" Dustin shot up from his seat. Becca looked up at us in relief. Dad, however, was still sleeping. Dustin sighed and slapped Dad's shoulder. "Dad...Dad!"

"W-what? I'm awake. I'm awake." He muttered, rubbing his eyes. Dad looked at us and sighed. "Everything okay?"

"Yup! I can go home now. I just have a concussion." I smiled at them.

"I just have a concussion." Dustin mocked. He flicked his hand at me. "Dawn, that's something serious."

"I know, and I'm seriously feeling better." I responded.

"You're unbelievable." Dustin let out a groan, throwing his head back. "You had us here waiting all worried for you-"

"Dustin." Mom gave him a look. Dustin exhaled and crossed his arms grumpily. "Now, let's head home. Rebecca, do you want to spend the night with us or do you want Danny to drop you off?"

"I better head home, but thank you Mrs. Henderson." Becca thanked. "I'll see you tomorrow at school, okay Dawn?"

"See you tomorrow, Becca." I waved at her. Danny walked over to Becca, holding her hand.

"I'll see you guys at home."

"Drive safely, Daniel." Dad said. Danny smiled and started walking to the car with Becca.

"Finally, let's go home."

▷

I walked out of our last class with Danny and our friends. As soon as I set foot on school ground, our friends have been hounding me about what happened last night. Of course, they stopped once we were in class because the teachers kept us busy today with assignments.

"I told you guys, I'm fine." I reassured them as we headed to . "I even had a great nights rest."

"You still hit your head pretty hard." Manda scolded me. "Are you sure you want to come to band practice today?"

"Danny and I already missed our last one due to the Chief's orders." I told her. "Plus it's for the benefit concert for Will."

"Yeah, but that was a good reason." Chad said. "You recovering from a concussion is also a good reason. We won't hate you or disown you."

"Stop being hard headed. Mom told you not to go." Danny rolled his eyes.

"See, your mom told you to stay home." Rebecca gave me a look.

"And you tried to lie to us." Chad jokingly shook his head. "Disappointed Dawny, disappointed."

"Oh shut up." I playfully smacked his arm. "You guys would probably do the same."

"No. I wouldn't. I would take advantage of my injury. I wouldn't have even come to school." Amanda stated.

"You nerd." Chad told me. We all laughed. As we existed the school.

"Dawn!" I heard Nancy call me. I turned around to see her running towards me.

"Hey, have you seen Barbra?" Nancy huffed out, clearly out of breath.

"No. Not since yesterday." I shook my head. "Why?"

"I haven't seen her since last night and she wasn't in Chem with us."

"Maybe she skipped." Amanda suggested.

"No, Barbra isn't like that." Nancy denied. "She has never missed a day of school. Even if she was sick. I called her mom and she says that Barbra didn't even go home last night."

"Weird." I frowned, looking at Danny. "I could have sworn I was talking to her before I hit my head."

"Hit your head?" Nancy repeated.

"Yeah, I guess I fell or something causing me to get a concussion." I shrugged. There was a loud commotion coming from the parking lot. We all turned to see Steve, Carol and Tommy arguing with Johnathon. The school's snitch, Darla Myers was with them too.

"What's going on over there?" Rebecca asked.

"Let's go find out." Nancy stomped her way towards them. Danny and I quickly followed after her, our friends staying behind. "What's going on?"

"Here's the starring lady." Tommy smirked.

"What?" Nancy questioned. I noticed that Carol was holding a stack of photographs.

"This creep was spying on us last night." Carol narrowed her eyes at Johnathon.

"What? Johnathon?" I turned to face him. He avoided my gaze, staring at the ground.

"He was probably going to save this one for later." Carol handed a photograph to Nancy. Nancy took it, staring at it with wide eyes. My eyes widened as I realized the shot was of Nancy in her bra, taking off her top with her back facing the camera.

"That's not all. Hand them the picture of Dawn." Tommy nudged Steve. Rolling his tongue over his teeth, Steve gave me on of the photos he had in his hands. Biting my lip, I looked down to see myself caught mid-fall from the accident last night.

"Johnathon?" Danny looked at him in disbelief. "What the hell dude? You say her hit her head and you didn't go help her?"

"I-I was but then you came, and-"

"Wait, Dawn hit her head last night?" Steve asked, looking between Danny and me. "Are you okay? How did that happen?"

"I'm fine." I muttered, still eyeing the picture. "I don't really remember what happened but Danny took me to the hospital. I got a concussion."

"Dawn..." Steve started.

"I'm fine, Harrington. Promise." I looked up at him and offered a small smile. Steve shook his head and turned to face Johnathon.

"See, you can tell he knows it was wrong but," Steve walked over to Johnathon with a rolled up photo. "Man, that's the thing about perverts. It's hardwired into 'em. You know, they just can't help themselves."

Steve ripped up the photo in his hand. He threw the pieces into the air, glaring at Johnathon before walking towards his friends. Biting my lip, I looked down at the photo, noticing a black smudge near the diving board. Furrowing my eyebrows, I rubbed my thumb over it hoping to remove it. Looking at my thumb, I saw no black ink.

"So we'll just have to take away his toy." Steve muttered, grabbing the camera off of his car.

"Steve, that's enough." Danny scolded his best friend. Tommy went to block Johnathon from getting his camera from Steve. .

"Steve." Nancy started.

"No, please, not the camera." Johnathon begged.

"No, no, wait Tommy, Tommy. It's okay. Here you go, man." Steve extended the camera out towards Johnathon.

"Steve, don't you dare." I warned, narrowing my eyes at him. When Johnathon went to reach for it, Steve dropped it.

"Come on, let's go. The game's about to start." Steve gave me a look before walking in between Danny and I.

"You're an asshole, Harrington." I seethed.

"Boo." Tommy got in front of Johnathon's devastated face. Shaking my head, I went towards Johnathon. Carol bumped her shoulder in to me, ripping up the photos she had.

"Bye." Carol sang out, throwing the pieces into the air. She gave me a bitter sweet smile before catching up with Tommy, Steve, and Darla. I kneeled next to Johnathon as he started to pick up the ripped pictures and his broken camera.

"You're all assholes!" Danny called out to them, shaking his head in disgust. He crouched down next to me, Nancy right beside, and started to help out.

"Hey, Nance! Hendersons!" Steve called out. Nancy looked at a piece of the torn photographs and looked up at Johnathon. "Come on."

"No way in hell." I scoffed, picking up some more pieces of paper. Nancy grabbed a few and stood up, tucking them into her purse as she walked towards Steve.

"Do you need any help, man?" Danny asked, standing up.

"No, I-I'm good." Johnathon stumbled out. Danny handed him the pieces he collected. "Why are you guys still being nice to me? E-even if I took pictures of you guys without your permission."

"Will has told us that you take pictures in the moment. We understand that." I shrugged, giving him the ripped photographs.

"The only thing I'm pissed about is you not checking up on Dawn." Danny said.

"Like I said earlier, I was going to but you got there before I could." Johnathon muttered.

"Did you see Barbra?" I asked.

"Yeah, she was there one minute and the next, as I was winding my camera, she was gone and you were on the ground." Johnathon explained.

"So she was with me?" I looked between Danny and Johnathon with confusion.

"Yeah, she was."

So I was able to update today

YAY

what do you guys think so far?

much love,
Lux