My mom was still asleep when I woke up Sunday morning. She had a long shift yesterday and was probably catching up on sleep. I tiptoed past her door so I wouldn't wake her. She hadn't noticed the motorcycle in the driveway last night, and I wanted to keep it that way.

It was around ten in the morning when I went downstairs in a pair of ripped jeans and another concert shirt. I let my hair hang limp around my shoulders as I dashed outside, not bothering to eat breakfast. I had grabbed a ten dollar bill from the secret stash in the kitchen for the movies I would be meeting Xander and Riley at.

I shoved the helmet on my head and took off. I had left a note on the fridge telling my mom where I was going and when I'd be home. Christopher was coming over today for lunch. Yep, I wouldn't be there for that.

Traffic was surprisingly heavy today even though it was Sunday and most business places would be closed. I was on the highway riding not even close to what the speed limit was. The farthest left lane, which was two lanes away from me, had a few cars in it and they were zooming down the highway. At this rate, I'd be late for the movie that started at eleven. I signaled the blinker on the motorcycle that I was going to switch lanes. I needed to get to the farthest lane if I wanted to make it on time.

I looked over my shoulder to make sure no cars were coming and turned.

A flash of light streaked across my vision. A car horn blared.

Crash.

I was thrown through the air into the traffic as something much larger collided with my bike. I blacked out before I hit the pavement.

~*~*~*~

Through the haze of unconsciousness and consciousness, I heard lots of commotion. I couldn't open my eyes.

"Let me go see her!" Someone yelled. It kind of  sounded like my mother, but a much more panicky version of her. I only heard her like this when dad was in the hospital after his heart attack.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. She's unstable right now and we're doing everything we can for her," someone else said.

"My daughter is dying and you won't let me in!"

Was I dying? I didn't feel like I was in any pain, except maybe my head hurt a bit. Then I lost consciousness again.

~*~*~*~

"Sir, you can't go in there."

Some shuffling around sounded and I heard a grunt. A door squeaked open and banged against a wall. Then a large, calloused hand grasped mine. I couldn't move my fingers to wrap around the hand that held mine. I tried so hard to even wiggle my fingers. I couldn't.

"You better wake up. You can't just crash my motorcycle and leave."

My hair was gently smoothed off my forehead and soft lips grazed my head. A cold, metallic ring was pressed against my head as the lips kissed me. The hand holding mine was abruptly ripped away. There was more shuffling around and yelling until the door slammed shut and the darkness enveloped me.

~*~*~*~

"I'm here, baby. You can wake up now," my mother whispered with tears in her words. My hand was tightly clasped in both of hers. I couldn't feel my other hand for some reason.

Her other hand rubbed circles on my forehead.

My eyes fluttered open and my mother stared down at me. Tears burst from her eyes and her blond hair flowed over me as she bent her head to hug me tightly. I reached up and hugged her back. Except something felt different. When she leaned off of me, I brought my arms back to lay on the bed beside me.

My arm was bruised with an IV inserted in my veins. A tight bandage was bound around my bicep. I glanced at my other arm and gasped.

A dark blue cast wrapped around my wrist all the way up my arm, past my elbow.

"You were in an accident, honey. Don't worry, everyone is okay. No one was even injured, besides you. You were thrown from a motorcycle," she said giving me a strange look, "And broke your arm. You also hit your head pretty hard and it was really scary for a while."

I had nothing to say. I didn't remember any of that.

"Finn, Xander, and a girl named Riley are all here to see you. I told them I'd let them in if you felt up to it. You also had another visitor..." She stopped herself and bit her lip.

"Who?" I asked.

She waved her hand, "I forgot, but do you want to see your friends?"

I nodded and she kissed me, getting up and walking out the room. The room I was in was dark with one chair and white walls. A potted plant sat on the windowsill of a small window. That was about it.

A few minutes later, the door slowly opened and a head of brown hair peaked through.

"X!" I yelled.

"Eve!" He yelled, rushing to my side. Xander moved his hands all over my face. I swatted him away with my good arm.

"Sorry, just making sure you're in one piece. I speeded all the way when I heard about your accident. Riley and I were at the movies already and we thought you were just running late. I almost passed out when your mother called me from the hospital."

"I'm okay. Mom said I just broke my arm. I'll be alright," I assured him.

Riley entered next.

"Eve, how are you doing?" She asked sweetly, entwining her hand with Xander's.

"I'm good. I'm sorry I ruined our plans."

"Oh no! Don't be sorry. I'm glad that you're doing okay," she said. I smiled.

Xander grabbed a sharpie and demanded me to give him my arm. He scrawled his name across my cast with a message saying he hopes I get better soon. Riley did the same.

Finn came in next and Xander left with Riley. He came over to the bed, pulling up the chair. He shyly handed me a stuffed teddy bear and ran a hand through his hair. His green eyes didn't look as bright as usual.

I held on to the bear as he spoke, "Jeez, Eve. You scared all of us. You were unconscious all day. You're gonna have a nasty bruise on your head, but other than that I'm so relieved that you're okay."

"Finn, I don't even know what to say," I smiled, clutching the bear tighter, "It makes me really happy that you came. I'm so stupid."

Finn reached over and laid his hand on my arm.

"You're not stupid. It was an accident. All that matters is that everyone is fine. The doctor wouldn't let any of us in, except for your mom when it was clear you would recover soon. The five of us waited in the waiting room all day."

"Five?" Finn, Xander, Riley, and my mother made four, not five.

Finn's eyes darted away from me before settling back on my eyes. He sighed and said, "Ryker's here, too."

My eyes widened into huge saucers. Why would Ryker come visit me? He hated me. Then I remembered someone had whispered something about crashing their motorcycle while I was half-conscious. He was even a jerk after I just got injured. Jeez.

I rolled my eyes.

"He's just mad it was his motorcycle that I was driving."

A weird look crossed Finn's face, almost as if he was about to argue, but then he just laughed and said, "You're probably right."

I yawned and Finn stood up.

"You must be exhausted. The doctor said you should have a lot of rest. But," he said, reaching for the marker, "Let me sign your cast."

I gave him my cast and he signed his name. He drew a small heart next to it and my own heart skipped a beat. He capped the marker and leaned down towards me. He pressed a light kiss to my lips and lifted his head up a little. I brought my good hand up, wrapping it around the back of his neck. A look of surprise filled his face as I pulled him back down.

I kissed him and he kissed me back with more passion. I was breathless by the time he stood back up. He grinned at me and said, "Go to sleep now, Eve."

Finn dragged the chair back to the corner of the room. Then he waved from the door and shut it behind him. I fell asleep in an instant, a smile still on my face. 

~*~*~*~

"Ughhhh," I groaned. My head was pounding. I sat up in bed to look around for a drink or something. My throat was so dry.

I scanned the room and gaped.

Ryker was asleep, sprawled across the chair in the corner. His face had none of the sharp angles it usually had. He looked peaceful, not even close to his standard douchey look. Long eyelashes that I had never noticed before fanned his cheeks. His head rested on the wall behind him, black hair covered one of his eyes. I didn't dare move, in case I made a noise and woke him up.

I looked everywhere, but at him. My heart was beating far faster than it ever did around Finn. I didn't understand why, though. Ryker was a jerk. Finn was the kindest guy I've ever met. So why was I so nervous around Ryker?

I found a water bottle on the table next to my bed and reached for it with the arm that was in a cast. A new drawing caught my eye.

A stick figure with long hair sat on what looked like a motorcycle. A speech bubble was above her head, saying 2-Strings = my life.

And underneath the picture, messy handwriting wrote, Get better soon, idiot.