(***small author's note - Just quickly skipping ahead to Sophia arriving in LA and reaching the Hospital!! Thank you - I'm just desperate to get into the main story line!"***)

Sophia's POV

After my short turbulence infected flight, I arrived at the hospital with bags by my side. I spotted Johnny in the distant smoking area indulging in a cigarette. I rushed over to him with a smile, he spotted me and too, smiled, but with his lips wrapped around the cigarette end. He inhaled quickly, his system responding to the smoke, lungs being wrapped by a warm blanket. As I got nearer, he tossed his cigarette onto the floor, ignoring the 3 bins surrounding him. He stamped on the bud and ran the rest of the length towards me.

"Hey, long time no see" he chuckled hugging me tightly, also being hugged by the scent of smoke. "Come on, I'll take you up to Brian's room"

"How is he?" I asked worryingly, preparing myself for whatever sight he was going to bring me.

"He's fine, you really didn't need to come out here. He's in a lot of pain which is why they can't let him out, but he's not dying" he laughed. I was offended by the humor which tickled him.

We entered the hospital and walked down a narrow hall. The hospital corridor was stuffy and the air had an undertone of bleach. The walls were magnolia and were scraped in places from the hundreds of trolleys that had bumped into them. The pictures on the walls were cheap benign prints of uplifting scenes and above the double doors were large blue plastic signs with the areas of the hospital that lay ahead.

"We're just up these stairs," he snatched my 2 suitcases and ran up the stairs with them, I was surprised by his strength for such a small man. By the time I had reached him at the top, he was waiting for me at the double doors with a solemn stare. "You came back for Syn, didn't you?"

"Well, yeah?" I questioned his thought. "He's in hospital, why wouldn't I want to come and see him?"

"No," he frowned and shook his head in confusion. "Of course I get that" I glared at Johnny who was puzzling together all sorts in his mind. "Let's go, Brian has been dying to see you"

We walked down another hallway, it was in a private ward, and the atmosphere was completely different. The air had a perfumed scent and the seats were plush. Every surface was dustless. The nurses were unhurried and they moved with a serene purposefulness from room to room on their rounds. There were vases of flowers and beautiful framed pieces of art on the walls. In the corridor was a water dispenser and in most rooms could be heard the noise of a television. At the end of the hall we came to a dead end. Denim and leather coats sprawled over chairs, even a pair of boots. I knew this was Brian's room.

"Where's Zacky and Matt?" I asked suspiciously.

"Matt has gone for an x-ray on his wrist, and Zacky has gone to fetch Brian some greasy food" he chuckled. "Go on in" he urged. "I'll sit out here"

I partly smiled at Johnny, mainly a smile of nerves. I slowly opened his room door, which was dark from the closed blinds. There was enough light from the bright white lamp on his bedside table, enough light that I could see his beaten face.

"Oh my god," I whispered to myself.The door closed behind me and I stared at Brian, who was indulged in a deep sleep. He laid shirtless, with an open hospital dress which revealed purple welts scattered across his abdomen like a disease. I imagined it was painful to breath, even wondered if some ribs were cracked. A bruise which had begun as a purple stain above his eyebrow had sunk into the socket itself, and so now it had the appearance of a swollen black eye. As well as a black eye, on the same eyebrow he had a deep cut enhancing the swelling. I walked closer to him and stared over him, tears from my eyes dripped onto his bare and bruised chest. I gently held his freezing, lifeless hand which was grazed and bruised on the knuckle from hitting Matt. I felt a squeeze on my hand, and quickly snatched my hand away from his in worry of hurting him.

"Sophia," he squinted focusing his vision on me. "Shit, sorry" he coughed, rubbing his undamaged eye and beginning to sit up.

"Stop!" I rushed, gently holding his shoulders. "Don't move, you'll hurt yourself"

"I'm fine" he quietly laughed. He etched himself up carefully, hissing at some pain somewhere in his body.

"How're you doing?" I fully wiped my eyes accepting no tears would fall from now on, I sniffed up what had ran out of my nose and grabbed a hold of Brian's hand again. "I've been so worried about you"

"The nurse said I should be allowed home tonight" he half smiled.

"Is one of the guys gonna stay with you to look after you?"

"No," he laughed. "I don't need looking after"

"I don't mind staying on your couch for a few days to make sure you don't hurt yourself doing anything?" I asked, eagerly.

"Matt will beat the shit out of me again," he laughed loudly, realising it hurt. He suddenly spat into a fit of coughs, screwing his face in agony. I quickly grabbed a plastic cup from the water machine and filled it half way, I passed it over to Brian who - still coughing from his chest - took it from me and forced the water to stop his spluttering.

"No, he won't" I sighed. I took the cup from him, and held his hand again. "Why did you punch him Bri?"

"He told me you were back together, and I just got upset-"

"He what?" I snapped. "We're not back together"

"That's what he thinks" Brian chuckled.

"We're not, we talked about just taking things super slow" I began. Even slower after this.

"Go and tell him that," Brian let go of my hand and stared at his grazes on his knuckles. "Safe to say I lost the fight?"

"Shut up," I reluctantly laughed at him.

"Are you offering to stay with me because you haven't organised anywhere to sleep? Or you really wanna take care of me?"

I giggled like a little girl. "Both"

"Okay," he nodded. "If Matt allows it"

"Matt can't tell me where to stay, you're my best friend and he put you in here. I'm gonna look after you" I felt strange calling him a friend, I should be doing this as a girlfriend or a wife. Sleeping in the same bed, giving him soothing massages for his recovering bruises. But I'm just a friend. I made that choice.

"I have a few spare rooms for you to choose from," he winked.

"Lucky me" I smiled. "Listen, I haven't eaten today - I should really go see what's in that cafe downstairs. Can I get you anything?"

"No, Zacky is bringing me some food" he smiled. "Don't go too far, will you?"

"No," I smiled with a confused frown. "I'm right here and I'll come straight back" I gave him a small wave before I left his room. As I left, Matt was sat with Johnny outside.

Matt shot up with an immediate smile, pulling me eagerly towards him into a hug. "I fucking missed you" he spoke, squeezing me with his big muscles.

"I missed you too," I smiled in his arms. "Will you come for a walk with me? I need some food" I asked. Matt's lips alight on my cheek like a dew freckled petal caught in a breeze, so soft and with the smallest hint of coolness.

"Of course," his lips moved from my cheek to my lips where he softly kissed me. He took my hand and walked me back down the hall, this time we took the elevator instead of the stairs. As soon as we entered the empty elevator, he backed me up against the elevator wall, and kissed me hard. He kiss my ear lobe after, softly, with just the right hint of passion, then worked his way down to my neck to my collar bone before coming right back up for the lips where I was waiting.

"Matt," I mumbled under the kiss. "Stop," I giggled. He pulled away from me with a cheeky smile, up close to his face I noticed subtle yellow and gray bruises on his cheeks. I was so happy he had marks too, definitely not as much as Brian.

"What's wrong?" he smiled. The doors opened for us, and he lead me out.

"I was thinking of staying with Brian for a week or so" I admitted. "He needs someone to care for him at home"

"Oh," he snarled.

"Maybe one of those days, you let me spend the night with you?" As I asked, his frown turned into a smirk. "As long as you quit telling people we're back together" his face dropped again. "I never said that - did I" we stopped walking to the cafe.

"No you didn't" he sighed. "Yes I know I shouldn't have told the guys, okay?"

"Look what happened because of it," I held his arm and spoke orderly, probably in the way his mom would. "It was so stupid of you"

"What do you expect?" he lent closer to me. "I'm fucking crazy about you, I always have been and I have you back in my life - of course I'm gonna tell the world I have you back"

"You don't though," I sadly sighed. "We're working on it-"

"This doesn't mean you can go fucking Brian, okay?" he snapped clenching his jaw. I didn't want to admit to myself it turned me on when he got a little angry, the way his jaw grips together - not in a hospital Sophia.

"Keep your voice down," I rolled my eyes so hard they could have easily gotten stuck. "Just because we're not official yet, doesn't mean I'm gonna sleep around"

"I didn't mean it like that"

"Yes I know- can we- just please get some food!!"

"Yes," he laughed. "Tell me about your flight here?"

....

Brian's POV

I didn't want to admit it to her, but I did need somebody around and she was the first to offer. Desperate for the bathroom, I attempted to stand up and walk. I walked like my limbs didn't really belong to me and each step is a negotiation rather than an order. Everything hurts now. Every damn thing. It feels like there is a stake being hammered into my lower back, that strikes radiating pain in a way that shatters my brain - or at least that's what if feels like. I stand so still for a second, breathing shallow. Zacky finally bursts through the door with a paper bag soaked with grease, I smiled at the sight.

"Dude you okay?" he put the food bag on my bed and rushed over to me attempting to move. I tried so hard to hide my pain, so hard. "You're walkin' like an old guy"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Little achy that's all"

Zacky supported me and walked me to the bathroom which was built in with my hospital room, luckily. He stared at the door awkwardly. I stared back at him with a blank expression.

"You don't need help do you-"

"No!" I snapped. "Waiting for you to fuckin' close the god damn door"

"Oh," he realised, he closed the door behind me and insisted on persisting the awkwardness by talking to me as I tried to piss. "Has Sophia arrived yet?" he shouted through.

"Yeah," I yelled back. I stared at myself in the mirror for the first time since I got beat up and was pretty shocked at the damage. "Matt really fucked me up" I laughed.

"Are you guys okay?"

"Yeah," I shouted finally sorting myself out to use the toilet. "We laughed about it this morning"

"Yeah but- he broke a small bone in his wrist but- you're in here, and you can barely walk and you don't even look like the same person" I flushed the chain and opened the door.

"I'm alive?" I sighed. "Jimmy isn't"

"Dude," Zacky questioned.

"What? It's true" I lectured to him. "I'm not gonna mope about just cos I have a broken rib and a black eye. I stared the fight anyway, Matt finished it"

"He nearly fucking finished you - you were unconscious for hours"

"Will you please drop it?" I sang in a mimicking tone. "I'm fine" I walked myself back to the bed, and waited for Zacky to serve me whatever grease he had brought me.

"I don't know what's going on with Sophia and Matt- but trust me, me personally - well I wouldn't come all the way out here for just anybody like she has"

"I know," I nodded accepting an unknown food wrapped in foil.

"You can't fall in love with her anymore than you are now" he admitted. "It's gonna cause so much fucking crap that we don't need"

"I know-" I complained, not liking the sound of Zacky's advice. "But what if supposedly- I'm better for her, and I wanna show her that-"

"Don't interfere with them Syn," he sighed. He handed me a tall icy cup with a straw poked in the middle. "If it's meant to be, it will come to you"

Notes

Hey guys!

Let me know what you think, the next few chapters are gonna be interesting ones :D what do you think will happen if Sophia stays with Syn??