1: Emma/Leo

So maybe they hold hands a lot.

It's normal, expected even, because they're dating. And it's not even considered real PDA, but we can make out if you're really interested, Dash -

No, it's mostly because they need the reassurance that yeah, I'm still here for you, and you're going to be ok, and I'm not leaving.

So there's this one time when they're at Leo's grandma's house on a rare trip from the hospital, because sometimes the doctors grow hearts and let stuff like that happen. And his grandma made dinner, and Emma's trying her best, she really is, because she remembers very clearly what Lauren had said to her awhile ago about Leo not being a saint. And so she wants to get better, so badly she can feel her bones vibrate.

But sometimes she just can't help pushing her food around, because it just gets bad, and every bite that goes in is one more chance you lose to be normal, to be skinny, to have friends.

"Don't you like it, sweetie?" Leo's grandma interrupts her thoughts. "You should eat, you're so thin! I need to fatten you up!" She laughs, and it's totally innocent, in the most grandmotherly way, but Emma isn't really processing that too well.

Because I need to fatten you up is just repeating over and over in her head like some sick mantra, and suddenly she feels like puking up her guts. Because who is she kidding, that's all food ever does. Make you fatter, uglier, so no one wants to be around you and you're alone.

She flashes a quick smile to seem polite, and is about to excuse herself to go and either throw up or cry, but then Leo laces his fingers through hers under the table. And he slowly rubs his thumb against her knuckles, laughing and talking with his family and ignoring the quick glance she shoots him.

And so Emma relaxes, and manages to take another two bites and he squeezes her hand every time she does, thank you.

And she squeezes back, I love you.

So they're ok.

2: Hunter/Kara

Gun to her head, Kara would probably tell you that yeah, Hunter is probably the best thing that's ever happened to her.

And it's not like he's perfect at all, because he'd be a medically proven pessimist if that was a thing and he's definitely cocky and self-righteous. But, and it's the weirdest thing, Kara barely notices the bad stuff. It's just, he makes her laugh and smile and whenever he's near her, her heart pounds like Andy Hurley is using it for a drum set.

And yeah, she scares herself with just how much she cares about him.

So like, they're all on the roof, because it's a nice night and they like to take advantage of the nice nights. Hunter is stretched out on a bean bag, and Kara is on her stomach on a bean bag behind his, her chin propped up right next to his ear. And he's scrolling through some stupid instagram account and they're laughing at all the stupid memes and life feels good.

"Do your friends have accounts?" Kara asks, resting her head against the side of his.

"Yeah." He glances to her, lightning quick, before he's back to typing in the user of one of his friends in the Explore tab. "This is Kyle. He's sort of stoned, all the time..." And Kara laughs, as he explains how Liam has the scar on his lip because he tried to eat a stapler, and Dave's fourteen girlfriends, spilling everything about all of his friends and it's actually really sweet.

He comes to a recent picture of someone, and he's in it. The caption is something like, 'We miss you Hunter, get better,' and Kara watches his Adam's apple bob up and down as he swallows. "Yeah, I miss them," he says, and his voice is weirdly gravelly.

Hunter's upset, obviously, and so Kara does the first thing that pops into her head. It's sort of twisting her arm uncomfortably, but if she reaches forward, she can grab his hand, so she does. He actually turns his head towards her when he stares at her, and suddenly they're very, very close. "What?" Kara asks, half-defensive, decidedly staring at his eyes and not his lips.

A slow grin spreads across his face, and he looks back at his phone, turning his palm so he can thread their fingers together. And then they're back to looking at Grumpy Cat.

3: Leo and Jordi

It probably hits him around the hair loss stage.

Because even though he's sick and being pumped full of chemicals all the time, Jordi somehow still feels like Jordi. He wakes up every morning and puts two feet on the ground - thank god he at least has that - and he looks in the mirror and sees Jordi Palacios and that's all good.

So he still feels normal, okay? Sue him.

But then there's this one day, and he's in the shower. And he's washing his hair, because when it gets as long as his, as annoying as it sounds, you have to do that. But when his hands come back to grab the soap, there's something dark on his hands - oh my god that's my hair -

And that's when he gets it. Because he has cancer, he's had it all along, and it's stupid to think that just because he looks okay, he is okay.

So maybe he panics a little and won't look anywhere near his hands until he's completely sure there's not a strand of hair on them. And he gets right out of the shower, not even bothering to wash out the rest of the shampoo, and dresses with shaky hands, not looking in the mirror, and barely touches his head with the towel, so his hair is still basically soaking wet.

When he gets out of the bathroom, Leo's staring at him from his bed. "You still have shampoo in your hair, man," he says. And Jordi doesn't want to say it, so he looks up and he needs Leo to understand. And judging by the look on his face, Leo completely understands. "Wait here a second," he says, and then disappears into the bathroom.

So Jordi sort of collapses onto his bed, trying not to cry, but it doesn't really work, and when Leo comes back out of the bathroom he sets the hair scissors and the electric razor down on his bed and grabs his hand. He can't really process what Leo's saying, but it's a constant stream of I know it sucks it sucks so much life sucks this sucks it's terrible - and Jordi grips his hand tightly as he sobs, big, fat tears rolling down his cheeks.

And when he's finally stopped crying enough to look up at Leo and say "Thank you so much," Leo only smiles a little and keeps holding his hand until he's fully calmed down.

He hands Jordi the scissors and the razor and says, "It hurts less when you get to do it, not your body," and Jordi knows. He knows.

And when he starts to shave away the hair, and his hands are shaking too much, Leo guides the razor across his head. "For he who sheds his blood with me shall be my brother," Jordi says quietly, and Leo smiles.

4: Brittany/Adam

So the thing with Adam is he doesn't do clowns. He's not afraid, per se, he just doesn't do clowns and that's that, okay?

Another thing with Adam is that he can't say no to Brittany. He's not in love, per se, he just really likes her eyes and her energy and she makes him happy and that's that. Okay? Okay.

So you see, when Brittany suggests that they bring in a clown for some kid in the pediatric ward's birthday because Ben really loves clowns, Adam, please, he's stuck between a rock and a hard place. And since he can't say no to Brittany he's being crushed by the rock, because he really, really, really doesn't do clowns.

"Yay, thank you so much, he's gonna be so excited-" And then Brittany's off ranting about something else, and that's one of the reasons Adam likes her, because she's bigger than this, whatever this is.

And so when the clown comes the next week he really tries to smile, for her sake and also the kid's sake, but all he's thinking about is how totally sinister it looks, and is that just his imagination or does it keep staring at him? No no no, Adam's not scared. He's not. He just... the clown looks really shifty.

And to his completely-not-scared credit, he makes it a whole twenty uncomfortable minutes into the clown's show-thing before excusing himself to go outside and press his head to something cold. And it's barely thirty seconds after that before Brittany's standing next to him, looking sort of nervous and sort of amused, and it's kind of attractive in a weird way.

"You didn't tell me you're afraid of clowns," she says.

"I'm not afraid, I just don't like them," he excuses, turning to her.

She sighs. "I would've dropped the whole thing if you'd have just told me." And then she presses a hand to his forehead, and her expression morphs into one of concern. "Adam, you're burning up..." She frowns. "No more clowns for you, at least not for today. We are going to get ice cream, and you are going to eat it."

And so she takes his hand and drags him along to the cafeteria, and his heart is beating embarrassingly fast. Because she's still surprising him.

5: Kara and Charlie

So she's never really... talked to Charlie. Sure, she's annoyed him and yelled at him and blown cigarette smoke in his face, but she's never... talked to him.

It's not until everyone has come to terms with yes, Charlie is awake, and the excitement has died down and it's just him and her that she takes a good look at him. He's a cute kid, and now that his eyes are open she sees that they're a pretty shade of hazel. He really can't be more than twelve. Kara wonders just what he did to deserve this, and then she thinks maybe not everyone is like her and not everyone is sick because they did something wrong.

It's dark outside, and she doesn't want to go and bother Hunter because that's what she'd be doing, bothering him, so she walks over and sits in the chair next to Charlie's bed. "So you're awake now, huh?" Kara says. "Guess I can't call you Coma Boy anymore."

Charlie blinks. Kara lets out something that's half-laugh, half-sigh. "Yeah, well, I've changed a lot too since I got here. I have friends who actually care about me, which is strange, I'm actually making an effort not to be a total bitch, which is strange, there's a guy here who I actually like, which is strange." She smiles. "Also I'm talking to a kid who's been in a coma for the past three months. I guess being awake is pretty strange, huh?"

Charlie blinks.

"Alright, if you're really in there, Blink Boy, we're gonna play a game. Two blinks yes, three blinks no." Kara pauses. "Can you even hear me?"

Charlie blinks three long times, and somehow he manages to make blinking look sassy. "So you can do sarcasm too," Kara says dryly. He blinks twice.

Something in Kara's stomach is churning, and she smiles a little, taking Charlie's hand despite the lump in her throat. "You're gonna wake up, Charlie. You're gonna see your parents, your friends, you... I know you will. You're gonna be okay."

And no, it's not her imagination when he blinks twice and she feels a little pressure in her hand. Kara smiles and squeezes back. "We're gonna be okay."

XXX

So, this is an idea I had. Chapter 2 is going to be called If I Lay Here, and it's all about the cuddles, so if anyone wants to request any relationships/friendships, please tell me! I don't care how strange they are, I will do it! :)

Anyways, tell me if you like this idea! And stay awesome.

-QOTX