I opened my eyes, and glanced around me, disoriented. My surroundings were familiar in the worst possible way. How many times had I been in a,hospital since I moved to Belleville? Three? Four? Too many, in any case. I squinted up at the ceiling and thought hard, and the memories flooded back. Everything that had happened, breaking up with Gerard, Austen's words in the art room, and my suicide attempt, it all hit me in full force. I shivered and looked down at my arm, seeing that it was heavily bandaged and there were tubes snaking from beneath the gauze. I shuddered again as I fully processed it. I was in hospital, very much alive, so... someone must have found me unconscious in the girl's room. The whole school probably knew by now... My mind started on another train of thought as I tried to work out when 'now' was, exactly. There was no clock in my little room, amd no-one to ask. Well, as soon as I thought that, a nurse bustled in. She looked at me and I saw surprise in her face for a moment. "Oh, honey, you're awake!" And she was gone again before I could so much as open my mouth. I stared after her, wondering where she could have run off to. A minute later, a doctor came in, one I'd never seen before. Her tag identified her as Dr Ballato. She was pretty, dark-haired and with red lips that you wouldn't expect to see on a medical professional. She smiled at me sweetly. "Hello, Krissy," she greeted me. "How are you feeling?" Her smile was warm and geniune, I felt like I could trust her immediately. "Um... I'm a little bit confused, and my head feels funny..." I said quietly. "Well, your head is probably an after-effect of the drugs you've had, and confusion is completely normal in these situations, sweetie," she said comfortingly. "now, how about I fill you in on the details?" I nodded eagerly - I didn't like this whole not-understanding thing. "you've been out in a coma for nine days, Krissy." I felt my eyes widen. "We had to put a few stitches in your arm to get the wounds closed ass soon as possible.You've had a few transfusions to get your blood levels back to normal. That's pretty much it; you're body has been asleep to recover from the blood loss, that's all." I frowned down at my sheets, then glanced up, unsure if I wanted to know the answer to my next question. "Who-who found me?" I asked quietly. Dr Ballato regarded me with sympathy. "Your boyfriend," she told me. I looked at her, confused. "My... my boyfriend?" She nodded. "Yes, your  boyfriend... Gerard, is that his name? He's been very worried, he hasn't actually left the hospital - he's been sleeping here. I'd imagine he's around somewhere now, he'll probably  be in soon." She patted my hand - the one that wasn't wrapped up - and left me lying in stunned silence. Gerard... what the hell was he doing? I couldn't grasp it, at all. I wanted to confront him, ask him what the hell he was playing, but at the same time I hoped never to make eye contact with him again. He was the one who'd found me, spilling my lifeblood on a bathroom floor. How pathetic. Just as I was struggling with all of this, who should walk in but my saviour himself. He'd looked better, I had to admit. His hair was straggly and messed up, his face drawn and his skin pale. His face was showing the slightest hints of stubble - barely any, but enough to tell me he had indeed spent nine days sleeping rough in the hospital. I saw light spread through him, however, when our eyes met. "Kriss! Oh my god, you're awake!" He ran forward and carefully perched on the edge of my bed, careful not to disturb me or the medical equipment I was connected to. I just watched him wordlessly, and watched his elated, beautiful smile slip under my expressionless gaze. Rough as he looked, he was still hot... not that I was allowed to think about that. He touched my face, and sighed. "I'm so glad you're alive, sugar, you have no idea..." He closes his eyes and shuddered. "When I saw you lying there... I thought you were dead, Kriss. I thought you were gone forever and... It was brutal." I frowned. He opened his eyes and looked me dead in the eyes. "I'm sorry Krissy, I am so, so sorry. When I broke up with you... I thought it would be better for you. When Austen beat you up, it hit me that he would never have done that if you weren't with me. Or I thought that, anyway. Obviously not, he still harassed you just as much. I just thought... I thought I was doing you a favour, getting you out of the 'emo crowd'" - he made air quotes with his fingers - "so that it wouldn't happen again. Because I care about you too much to watch you get hurt that way again." He looked down at me tenderly, stroking my face and pushing my hair back from it. "So... You don't hate me?" I asked in a soft voice. He stared at me in shock. "Hate you? Kriss, sugar, I love you." He meant it, I could see that in his eyes. I smiled at him, just a little, and felt a huge weight lift away from me. I took his hand , and he lifted it to kiss mine, then leant forward to kiss my lips. "I love you, too," I murmured. "Always."

Notes

So, that's the end. A bit cheesy maybe, but I like it. Do you? I kinda can't believe this story is done, it's very much my first fanfiction.. The first one I ever started, published, and finished. My baby, I guess. And now its over... But I'll do a sequel if people want it. Stay subscribed to this and I'll post a note regarding the sequel when I start it. It might be a while though, while I get my ideas organized. I know I say it a lot, but seriously, a huge amount of love and thanks to every single reader, for sticking by me while I write. And on that incredibly cliche note, this is Paranoia Violence signing out for the final time. xø