Again

Shane's POV~

"Shane..." Joey sighed, leaning in towards me. The moment before our lips touched, there was a low rumble and the lights went out. Cries of surprise rang out through the dark, and Joey fearfully gripped into me, his arms squeezing my waist. I could feel him shaking with fear.

I hugged him tight to my chest and closed my eyes, preparing to say, "It's all right, it'll be over soon," but the words never left my lips. The ground gave an enormous jolt and I stumbled, falling to the ground.

I had experienced my fair share of earthquakes in my life, and this had been one of the most powerful ones I'd ever felt. I lay still on the ground for a moment, until the rumbling stopped, then slowly got to my feet. "Joey?" I called, reaching blindly around. "Where are you?"

"I'm here..." he softly cried out, followed by a whimper.

I extended my arms in the direction his voice had come from and moved closer as my fingers met his back. "It's ok, I've got you..." I quietly said, running my hand down his arm until I found his hand and entwined our fingers.

"My side hurts..." he muttered, slipping out of my grip. "I think I wrenched something..."

"Let me have a look." I dug my fingers into my pocket and pulled out my phone, turning it up to full brightness. I held it back so I could shine some light on the situation.

Joey removed his hands from his side and paled as we both saw the red seeping through his shirt. "You did more than just wrench it," I murmured, kneeling next to him and biting my lip.

"It's my stitches, isn't it?" he asked, his voice wavering with despair. "I hate them. I wish I'd never cut myself--"

"Don't," I placed my finger to his lips. "Don't think about it. It's ok, we'll get you all fixed up again." I slipped my arms around him and lifted him slowly, cradling him to my chest in a bridal fashion. "I'll drive you down to the hospital and--"

"No," Joey interrupted me, making me stop in my tracks. "We... we can't. I don't want to."

I narrowed my eyes a bit. "Why not? You're bleeding, for god's sake!"

"I know," he shook his head, exhaling and looking away. "I just... can't go back to the hospital."

I sighed. "Come on, Joey, you're not gonna get better if we don't get this fixed. Why can't you just tell me what's wrong?"

He turned his head away and refused to answer, avoiding my gaze for shame. I frowned and continued to carry him across the dance floor. When we got back to the car, I undid his shirt and pressed my jacket to his wound, trying to slow the bleeding. Most of the stitches had been ripped open once more, and the area around it looked tender and red.

Joey inhaled sharply as the fabric cut into his side. I squeezed his arm, feeling a bit bad for being so hard on him earlier. "Joey... I just don't want to see you in pain."

"It's ok," he choked out, his breath catching in his throat.

I rested my hand on his cheek. "Sorry," I breathed, leaning in and kissing his forehead. I headed around to the driver's side and hopped in. I started the car and we drove in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds being Joey's shallow breaths and my knuckles tapping nervously on the wheel.

"That was an earthquake," he suddenly said, out of no where.

I nodded. "Yeah."

He looked out the window. "I've never experienced one before."

"They're usually nothing serious," I gave a little half-shrug. "Just enough to get your heart pound--"

"I'm scared," he suddenly interrupted.

I looked over in confusion. His green eyes were locked on the road in front of us. "Scared?" I asked.

He bit his lip and avoided my gaze. "Of the hospital," he said after another great pause.

Looking over at him, I could see the strain on his face. "Joey..." I reached over and grabbed his hand. "It's ok. You don't have to say anything more--"

He cut me off again. "No," his mouth formed the words slowly. "I'm afraid of the hospital. I... I have so many bad memories there. I... I'm so scared that they'll tell me there's something else wrong with me. So please... don't make me go back there."

"Oh, Joey..." As I we reached a red light, I leaned over and hugged him. "That's absolutely fine. Absolutely. I understand. But there is genuinely nothing wrong with you." I smiled, brushing his hair back off his face. "You're perfect just the way you are. I just want to go get your side fixed."

"I know..." Joey looked away again, tears shining in his eyes. "It... it hurts a lot. I kind of want to, but..."

"What ever you want, babe," I spoke gently, smiling a bit. As the light changed, I asked, "So where are we going?"

"I'd like to go home now," he softly said, looking down at his lap. I was a little bit disappointed, but I didn't want him being uncomfortable. I turned on turn signal and drove to the right.

The house was dark by the time we got home, and I carried Joey inside. I rested him on the couch and went into the bathroom to get some new bandages and some comfortable clothes. I tossed him a loose fitting sweater and some lounge pants, sitting down on the arm of the couch.

"Thanks Shane..." he murmured, carefully undoing his dress shirt and slipping it off. I pressed the gauze onto the cut, then bandaged overtop of it. He slipped the sweatshirt over his head and down over his hands, folding in around himself. He shuddered a bit and asked, "Could you grab me a blanket?"

"Are you sleeping out here tonight?" I asked, walked into the bedroom and grabbing a blanket off the bed.

"I think so, yes," he softly said. "It's easier for me if I lie on my good side."

I sighed and pouted dramatically, "Fine," I laughed. "Here," I chucked him the blanket.

He pulled it up to his chin and closed his eyes, sighing contentedly and pulling his knees towards his chest. He slipped off his skinny jeans under the sheet and slipped on the sweats I'd given him. "You don't have to be so shy!" I laughed.

He smiled a bit and shrugged. "I don't have to, no."

I sighed and bent over, kissing his forehead and muttering a soft, "See you in the morning."

He looked up at me, smiling for the first time since the earthquake. He reached up, brushing his fingers along my jaw. "Love you," he whispered, propping himself up and kissing me on the mouth.

~~~~

A/N: Hey guys, kind of a short chapter today. But it didn't take me as long as usual... I think. I actually have no clue when I last updated. But... yeah! I'm so close to 100 votes now, only, like, TWO MORE! :D Haha which is a big deal for me! And not to mention almost TWO AND A HALF THOUSAND READS. Holy moly. It seems like more when it's written out. So thank you all!

And that's about it, the only thing is that last chapter, it was an earthquake they were experiencing! I've never lived through one myself, so I apologize for any mistakes there. ^^; Anyway, that's all! Love ya!! :3