Love and Fandoms (21 page)

MANDY

The four of them
sat in a shaded courtyard built into the hospital. This was a much nicer
setting than Wyatt's room to hang out in. They had pushed him in a wheelchair,
and while she could see a bit of discomfort on Wyatt's face from having to sit
up for more than a few minutes, he assured them he'd much rather be out here.
He still looked a fright, but she couldn't be more pleased that he was slowly but
surely getting better.

It had been two
weeks, and the doctors were almost positive he'd be home before three elapsed.
He had a bandage wrapped around his head and his ribs, but there wasn't much
except time that would make those better. His sprained right wrist was basically
healed, though he did say it still occasionally hurt, especially when he
overused it or leaned on it too hard. He had big casts on his left arm and
right leg, and those would stay for a while after he went home. He wore a brace
on his left knee where the kneecap had been dislocated, and still had some of
the bigger bruises, now mostly a sickly yellow color, but even those were
beginning to fade. All in all, the doctors were pleased with where his recovery
was headed. Time and rest would be the main factors in him getting back to
100%.

The mid-November
afternoon was bright, and the sun warm, but a chill filled the shade of the
courtyard. Wyatt had a thick blanket draped over him, while she, Luci, and
Kareem wore warm sweaters. Luci cuddled into Kareem on one of the benches,
making Mandy wish she could do that with Wyatt. Even if she wasn't afraid it
would hurt him, he wasn't hers to do that with. Yet, anyway. There wasn't an
hour of a day that went by that she didn't think back to their conversation the
first time he woke up here. He said he loved her, and though he probably didn't
even remember, she'd never forget. And she couldn't be prouder in herself for
her answer of "I know," a classic Star Wars response. Even in his
doped-up, almost zonked-out state, he smiled at it. So maybe that little tidbit
no longer existed in his mind, but it had given him a momentary blip of
happiness when he needed it most.

Technically, she
supposed, she was still Alex's girlfriend since they'd never officially broken
up. In fact, they hadn't so much as spoken a word to each other since that
night. For all intents and purposes, they were done. He came back to school
after missing a couple of days, and from what she both saw and heard, he'd been
pretty humbled by all of it. She hoped it would stick this time. He got
suspended from the football team for the rest of the season, and she had no
idea what that would do to his future as a college quarterback. Outside of
school, he got some sort of probation, community service, and had to attend
drug and alcohol counseling. His parents, the school gossip/information
grapevine told her, settled out of court with the guy Alex had hit, but she
didn't know any more details than that. She supposed at some point she'd talk
to him again, but not yet. Luckily, he'd changed kitchens in Home Economics, so
while they were still in the same class, at least they didn't have to interact.

"Has your
brain healed itself enough to read yet?" Kareem asked, giving Wyatt a
careful nudge.

"Yeah. Mom
brought my laptop, school books, and iPad so I can do homework and read comics
and stuff. I downloaded the first Song of Ice and Fire to finally read rather
than just watch. I can't believe I've never picked it up before."

"Okay, that's
a new one on me," Luci said. "I thought I was starting to understand
most of the geek references."

Kareem jerked a
thumb at her. "I'm getting her into some fandoms. Slowly but surely."

"Well, we all
knew she'd never drag you out of yours."

Mandy answered
Luci's question. "It's Game of Thrones. The book series is called A Song
of Ice and Fire. The first book was the one called A Game of Thrones."

"So why wasn't
the TV series named the fire and ice thing?"

"Why else?
Short-sighted buffoonery," Kareem said.

Mandy caught
Wyatt's eye, and they shared a smile at Kareem's reaction. She then took up the
commentary. "If there's an official reason, I haven't heard it, but I
believe it's simply a snappier title. And it's more on the nose for what it's
about, at least for the first few seasons and books. Plus, it's a better title
to draw the mainstream audiences in."

"Did Mr. Yong
start talking about it since I've been gone?" Wyatt asked. "Did he
show any good clips?"

Both Luci and
Kareem snorted laughter, while Mandy mimed smacking him. "No. Mr. Yong has
not talked about it, and he certainly hasn't shown any of those clips you
shouldn't be watching in the first place."

"You gotta
admit, though," Kareem said, "many of those scenes do push the plot
forward."

"Is that what
you boys call it now?" Luci said.

Mandy burst out
laughing, while Kareem tried to vehemently deny that's how he meant it, but his
own laughter gave his fake exasperation away. She glanced over at Wyatt and saw
him wincing. She was up and by his side in an instant.

"I'm
okay," he wheezed. "Laughed too hard. Ribs hurt." He gave Luci a
thumbs-up. "Good one, Luc. But now, no matter how we mean it, we can never
say that phrase around you two again."

Luci giggled and
said, "Sorry, Wyatt," while Kareem said, "Y'all are nasty, you
know that? Nasty."

Mandy rolled her
eyes but smiled. This was good news. Maybe they were destined to be sooner
rather than later. First standing up to Alex, and now making a sex joke of
sorts. As far as she could remember, that was the first sex reference she'd ever
heard from him.

"So if you
guys didn't discuss it in Pop Culture, when did you become the expert?" He
gave her one of his smiles she knew he had no clue was sexy, causing a warm sensation
to blossom in her stomach. "It's awesome."

"I wouldn't
say I'm an expert. I've seen all the episodes, and I'm about halfway through
the third book. Plus I've been on the Wikipedia page more than once."
She'd spent quite a bit of time here at the hospital these past two weeks,
asking Wyatt's mom to take her along as often as she minded. And when she was
home, she rarely went out. She didn't want to be a third wheel on Luci and
Kareem's dates, even though neither of them would care. Besides, she was
enjoying her time alone for the moment. When she finished her homework, she found
she had plenty of time for discovering new fandoms and adding to her love of
the ones she'd only tasted before.

"More than
I've read, obviously," Wyatt said. "But you do have some catching up
to do." He nodded towards Kareem.

"Let me
guess. Anxiously awaiting the next one?"

"You know
it."

Luci let out a
deep sigh. "I suppose you guys expect me to read them next."

"I'd be happy
if you finally read the Harry Potter series," Mandy said.

"Why? I've
seen all the movies. More than once."

The three of them
groaned, and then laughed. Kareem assured her and Wyatt that he'd make it his
next project to show Luci the light. She rolled her eyes and said,
"Whatever."

"Anyway,"
Kareem said. "Back to my original query about you being able to read.
Since you can, make sure you check your email later this evening. There'll be a
surprise in there for you."

"What is
it?"

"Those Pigs
squish your head so hard you forgot what surprise means?"

"Oh, come
on," she said. "He's injured. He shouldn't have to worry about
surprises." Besides, she wanted to be there when he found out.

"All right,
fine. But you spill it."

With pleasure
.
She smiled at the excited look in Wyatt's eyes. "We pitched in and got you
a ComiXology gift card. There's plenty on it, so you'll be able to pick up some
titles you've never tried before. Since you're not going to be moving all that
much in the near future."

The happiness
spread across his face. Yeah, she was glad she was here for that. "Sweet!
Thanks, guys. That's way awesome."

They all said they
were happy to, and then it was decided they should get him back to his room, as
he was starting to stiffen up. When they reached the elevator, Kareem said,
"Looks like the Pigs are in even bigger trouble than we thought."

"Good,"
Wyatt spat out, bitterness in his voice.

"This might
all be half-truths and rumors, but it's totally some idiocy they would pull. When
the cops were interviewing them, they couldn't understand what the fuss was
about. They kept saying that you were a nerd and they were football players. They
had every right to beat you almost to death."

"That's how I
heard it, too," Luci said. "And I believe it."

Kareem continued. "There's
another rumor going around that they threatened to beat the crap out of their
lawyer when he told them to shut up."

"These
half-truths and rumors sound like absolute fact to me," Mandy said.

Wyatt gave a
disgusted grunt that she took to mean he agreed with that sentiment.

"Sounds like
they're screwed up because of their parents," Luci said. "One set
said it was survival of the fittest, one mom cried her eyes out, saying her
little angel would never hurt a fly, and the last set wouldn't, and still won't,
bother to show up anywhere."

"Glad they
all raised such fine, upstanding citizens," Wyatt said, with even more
vitriol in his voice.

Mandy rubbed his
upper back, and he calmed down. She could tell he was dragging, but he looked
to be fighting to keep up appearances. A couple of nurses followed them in and
helped him into bed. She wasn't ready to leave yet, but he probably needed his
pain meds, which would knock him out. Luci kissed his forehead, Kareem patted
his shoulder, and Mandy gave him a lingering kiss on his cheek. He smiled up at
her, and then said goodbye to them.

WYATT

Wyatt hadn't
expected company until Mandy and Kareem got there after school, so he was a bit
surprised when Luci walked into his hospital room. He'd been reading the newest
issue of Danger Squad on his iPad, but set it aside when he saw her.

"'Sup,
homie," Luci said with a grin. "I have to babysit Johnny after
school, so I figured I'd come hang with you for a bit while everyone else is
stuck in 6th period. I feel bad that with Taekwondo and helping with my
brothers I don't get to see you as much as the other musketeers."

He chuckled at the
musketeer comment. "Cool. Glad you came."

She sat down on
the edge of his bed. "Kind of a memorable senior year, huh?"

"Yeah, I
doubt I'll forget it."

She rubbed the
cast on his leg. "I would think not. Kind of funny how we became friends
again."

"Junior high
ruined great friendships."

"Put them on
pause, anyway. You and Mandy didn't forget about each other."

Had he been that
transparent? But Mandy had Alex all these years, back when Alex was actually a
good guy. Maybe she sometimes reminisced with Luci when they saw him, but he
didn't believe she kept tabs on him or anything like that. Why would she?

"Well, what
about you?" he said. "I didn't see your relationship with Kareem
coming."

"We've had some
classes together, and I fell for his sense of humor. Plus he's really cute. I
never thought I'd get a chance to go out with him, though, since he was so hung
up on Noel. But when the chance came along, I took it." She gave him a
pointed look. "Sometimes you have to take a chance to get what you
want."

"I'm glad you
did. Kareem couldn't be happier." He gave her a little nudge with his good
hand. "Especially since you're starting to show an interest in some of his
fandoms."

"Yeah, yeah.
I have to admit, I enjoy some of them." She nudged him back. "I doubt
you'll ever catch me reading any comic books, though, at least on a regular
basis like you guys."

"That's fine.
He's more interested in getting you into his TV shows and movies. Stuff you can
do together."

"Looks like
you and Mandy have plenty of the same interests now, too. That's a bonus."

"Yeah,"
he said, not sure where she was going with this.

A sly smile
crossed her lips. "I saw you sophomore year, you know. When you bought
Mandy the Spirit Shorts. I made sure not to out you, but you should have walked
up and handed them to her."

"I didn't
…" His face heated up, and he imagined he looked tomato red. "Alex
wouldn't have appreciated it."

"Alex
wouldn't have cared. As far as he was concerned, Mandy was head over heels for
him and him alone."

"Well, she
was, wasn't she?"

Lucy ignored his
question. "I didn't realize until recently that Alex could never stack up
to you in her eyes. Looking back, I see it clear as day. The way she used to
stare at you across campus and things like that, I should have picked up on
it."

"No," he
said, "I could never compare to Alex. I'm just some geeky nerd who can't
even run the mile in PE without talking significant walk breaks."

"Can't even
walk it now," she said, a sly grin working its way onto her lips.

He laughed.
"Think they'll let me use a Segway or something when I get back?"

"Coach Green
is so fat and out of shape that I'm surprised they don't have a few lined up in
the PE teachers' office." Her face went a bit more serious. "But
Mandy has never cared about physicality. It doesn't matter to her that Alex is
built like that and you're not."

He didn't know
what to say, so he kept quiet. Besides, she was just humoring him because she
could probably tell he liked Mandy. Too bad Mandy was just being nice to him.
She had to be, right? He was too much of a coward to want to date. Allyssa
proved that.