49

irl

matt packs everything into the basket and gets in his car, he sets it in the passenger's seat while he drives to the hospital after school.

he arrives and pays for parking, walking inside and checking in at the front desk for visitors.

the receptionist lets him go upstairs and he gets in the elevator to go up to the floor kaia is on carrying the basket with him.

once on the floor, he walks down the hallway and approaches her room. he knocks on the door and peaks his head around the corner.

the doctor was just taking the tape off of her nose when she saw matt waiting at the door.

"i'll leave you two here, just be gentle and try not to hit your nose with your hand." the doctor says, leaving the room.

"hey, kai. how you feeling?" he smiles and pulls up a chair next to her bed.

"pretty good. he said i'm healing pretty quickly. my nose is still sore but it's ready to take the tape off." she smiles, sitting up straighter to talk to him.

"that's good. i'm glad you're doing well." he looks at her lovingly.

he stands up a bit to give her a quick kiss, sitting back down and pulling the basket out from behind his back.

"matt. what is this? you didn't have to buy me things." she sighs, taking the basket from him.

"i know, i just feel awful about everything and i can't help but feel like it's my fault, so i just wanted to get you a few things.

"well, thank you. but it isn't your fault, don't beat yourself up." she shakes her head.

she looks through the basket and sets her flowers on the table next to the bed. she smiles at all the candies and  stuffed animals but her face drops when she sees the phone hidden in the bottom.

"matthew bernard." she slaps a hand to her mouth in shock.

"what? you needed a new one, don't you?" he smiles, proud of himself.

"yeah, but i can't take this! go return it, this was too expensive." she hands the box back to him.

"it would be a waste if you didn't take it. plus, we've had a really good few months with youtube, this won't affect me at all and i love you, just take it." he hands it back to her.

"i could've got one myself, i just haven't had the chance, this is too much." she shakes her head repeatedly and tries to give it back, but he refuses.

"kai. just take it. you need one, this will make me feel better about the whole thing." he insists.

she sighs and holds her arms out for a hug, he sits on the edge of the bed with her and gives her a big massive bear hug.

"i love you so much, matt." she says against his shoulder, not letting go of the hug.

"i love you more." he smiles and squeezes her extra tight.

they break the hug and he lays next to her, an arm around her shoulder as she opens the box and begins setting up the phone.

"this takes so long." she complains while the phone loading screen is finishing the set up.

"you're so impatient." he laughs.

"i waited, what, 15? 16 years to be with you? i'm very patient." she jokes.

"nuh uh, you only liked me this year." she argues.

"i was in denial, duh. why do you think we've always been so close?" she smiles at him.

"because i always wanted to be near you. nick and chris have been teasing me about liking you for years." he answers with a small smile.

"well, we're happy now. yes! it's done!" she happily looks at the new phone and starts downloading all her apps.

"you're gonna have to get everyone's numbers again." he realizes.

"i remember most of them. i know yours, chris', nick's, nathan's, chloe's my mom, your parent's, i think justin? that's all i really need, anyway." she shrugs, putting all the numbers into her contacts and saving matt's as what she had it as before.

"now i can text you when i'm gonna come visit." he side hugs her and kisses her forehead.

"i can finally have something to distract myself. all i do in here is watch cable tv and eat shitty hospital food." she enthuses.

"do you want me to go grab us some food? there's a couple small restaurants in the plaza down the road." he offers.

"absolutely not. you've already spent way too much money on me." she denies.

"that's what boyfriends are for, kai." he laughs.

"not true. i don't want people to think i'm a gold digger and use you for all your youtube money. i hate when people spend money on me, this phone is already too much." she shakes her head profusely.

"nobody thinks that. all our viewers know we've known you our entire life, plus now that we're dating i finally have an excuse to buy you a bunch of nice things, i love doing it for you, really." he explains.

"thank you, but i'm not hungry anyway. maybe another day." she thanks him.

"alright, but now you can text me if you ever need anything, you'll only be in here for a couple more weeks. and i promise i'll take you on a nice fancy date as soon as you're out." he offers.

"we will just have to see about that. it's gonna take me a few months of buying you shit to make up for the phone." she nods.

"no, this isn't an "owing" situation. you needed a new phone, i got you one. that's it." he crosses his arms.

"ok, well maybe i just wanna take YOU on a fancy date, nothing to do with the phone." she shrugs innocently.

"nope, i'm the man, i'll pay. you just come with me and look pretty." he jokes.

"i'm more than just a pretty face." she rolls her eyes sarcastically.

"pretty women should never pay for dates, though. plus, with all due respect, i make more money." he laughs and she quickly smacks his arm.

"don't pull that. i have money, plus i'm hoping to get a new job soon, i'm almost through all my savings." she adds.

"you still deserve to be treated well." he shrugs.

"you do treat me well. too well. the phone was completely unnecessary, i'm still unsure about it." she sighs.

"don't worry about it. honestly, it's not a problem, don't make it one." he shakes his head.

she smiles and gives him a quick kiss as a thank you, and they sit there and chat for a couple hours, enjoying eachother's company.

when visitor hours are over, he hugs her goodbye and leaves, driving home listening to their playlist.

she sets the new phone background as a picture of her and matt from a few weeks ago, smiling at it and constantly checking "the time".

1172 words