He stepped down,
Trying not to look at her,

J A M E S

"Where the fuck is she?" I mutter to myself angrily as I glare down at the phone.

It rings, and rings, and rings- and then it goes to fucking voicemail. Again.

'Hi, you've reached me! And by me, I mean Annabeth Evans! Sorry, I can't take your call right now, but please leave a mess-'

I nearly throw my phone aside as I hang up.

Fifteen fucking minutes. She was fifteen minutes late.

Now, this might seem like I was being dramatic, but that was because she was never late. She had only been late once- because she couldn't find earrings to match her outfit or some stupid shit like that.

She was always at least ten minutes early- and she had assured me, quite insistently, that she'd leave extra early so she could walk the distance in time or so she could catch one of the early buses.

Technically, that meant she was nearly half an hour behind the time she would have usually turned up at.

I run a hand through my hair frustratedly.

It was getting dark and cold too, from what I noticed when I glanced outside. The Town Square was practically empty at this point, except for a few meandering people.

"Can I get you something?" the waitress, who had greeted me a little too enthusiastically when I came in, says. From the corner of my eyes, I can see her lean closer as she lifts a hand to touch me- but I push my chair back and stand up before she can.

"You're leaving?" she asks stupidly when I sling my bag over my shoulder as if I hadn't ignored her the first time she spoke to me, "Uh, do you, maybe want to grab din-"

I step out of the diner before she can finish the sentence. 

At the moment, that seemed like a better option than telling her to shut the fuck up.

The only thing illuminating the cobblestones of the Town Square was the dim light of the streetlamps- because dusk had already started to set in. 

I look around the Square- hoping that perhaps the little idiot got lost, or was at another shop because she got distracted since both those options were very plausible- but nope.

There was absolutely no sign of her.

I didn't know whether to be annoyed or worried. And after five whole seconds of considering it, I decided to be annoyed. Definitely annoyed- because this little shit ditched me.

I stare up at the sky, muttering a curse to myself.

The moment I start to almost think she's tolerable, even if she smiled a little too much, she does something like this. Fucking hell.

Just when I'm about to spin on my heel and make my way back home, I hear the faint patter of footsteps behind me. And somehow, I just know it's her.

Thank fuck, is my first thought. Little shit, is my next thought.

I turn around, gritting my jaw- and I can see her silhouette hobbling in my direction.

"There you are," I snip, and for a moment- I almost feel relieved to see that it is her, before the annoyance hits with full force again, "Where the fuck have you been?"

I didn't notice how she was holding her side, nor did I notice how she was walking barefoot.

Not until she finally steps into the light of the nearest street lamp, and I catch sight of something deep red on the side of her head.

The sneer drops right off my face.

"What-" I take a step in her direction, "Evans, what the fuck is that on your head?"

She just gives me a feeble smile.

"Hi," she says quietly, and even her voice sounds weak, "Sorry, I'm late."

And then her knees give away.

I catch her before she hits the ground, one arm wrapping around her waist and the other wraps around her shoulders, pressing against her arm.

"Fuck, fuck," I mutter, my voice nearly turning frantic, "Evans? What the fuck happened?"

I'm practically on the ground right now, with both my knees pressed against the cobblestone- with her half draped, half pressed against me, but I don't care one bit about any of that.

She lets out a small pained sound, as the side of her head leans onto my chest. I can see what I had seen earlier on her forehead more clearly now, and when she pulls her arm away from her side, there's even more down there.

Blood. So much blood.

"Hey," I shake her slightly, my voice urgent, "Hey, talk to me- what the fuck happened?"

"I got jumped," she says, her voice weak, "He had a knife. But if you... if you saw me, you'd think I was in Mission Impossible. I...I pepper-sprayed him, kicked my shoes off, and hightailed outta there. Gosh...I haven't run like that in forev-"

"You ran?" I demand angrily, as one hand presses against the side of her head and the other against her waist. 

I hate that I can feel something warm and wet against my hands and I hate that I know if I pull away they're going to be stained red with her blood.

"Cuz I'm like... super athletic," she says, leaning into my hands with another tiny pained sound, and at this point, I'm half cradling her against me.

"You ran while bleeding?" I ask again, with just as much anger in my voice although there was a lump building in my throat, "The fuck were you thinking? You could have called-"

"My phone," she frowns slightly, her eyelashes fluttering like she was trying to stay awake, "...I left it, I think?"

I let out a shaky breath when her head slumps against my chest again.

"We need to call 911," I say more to myself, as I fish my phone out.

I hadn't realized that my hands were shaking until I tried to unlock it, and just as I'm about to dial it in she makes another pained sound that has me looking down at her.

"No," her eyes got big, full of a silent plea, "No, No, please- no hospitals-"

"Shut the fuck up," I tell her sternly, but my voice trembles, "You need medical assistance- fuck, this- this is a lot of blood-"

"I'm fine," she says shakily, and I can see her eyes brimming with tiny tears, "James, I-I've had worse-"

"Because that's supposed to make me feel better," I snap at her, dialing it in any way.

"No, don't, please," she begs, her lips trembling as I press my phone to my ear, "I'll-I'll take a nap, right here- for five minutes, and I'll be alright-"

"Fucking close your eyes on me, and you're done," I threaten, but the hand that was holding her head was also shaking as I held her closer, "You better fucking stay awake-"

"911, what's your emergency?"

I see her shaking her head at me, almost desperate but I speak anyway. "My partner got jumped, and she's-she's bleeding-"

"Okay, sir, I'm going to need you to calmly walk me through this so I can help- where is she bleeding?"

Annabeth chokes out another weak 'I'm fine' but I ignore it. "Her head, and near her stomach- can you send fucking help, or what?"

"We'll send medical assistance out to you as fast as we can- where are you, right now sir?"

"Pittsburgh Town Square," I tell her, breathing out another shaky breath, "Please, please fucking hurry- the stupid girl already ran at least half a mile while bleeding-"

"Stay on the line with me, sir," the woman on the other end says calmly as if there isn't anything wrong, "An ambulance is on the way. Please keep your partner awake to your best ability-"

"I can't go back to a hospital," she says softly, her eyes still watery, "Please, James- I can't- I can't go back there-"

"Let me see how bad it is," I mutter, my fingers curling around the bottom of her shirt to lift it, but she pulls it back down, shaking her head. "Evans, let me fucking see-"

"You can't," she whispers, her lips wobbling, "I don't- I don't want you to see them."

Them? 

I almost open my mouth to ask, but she just shakes her head even more with tears in her eyes- and I know, I just fucking know- that if she cries, I'm going to lose my shit even more.

"Okay," I say quietly, holding her to my chest. Her eyes were starting to flutter, so I shake her gently, "Stay awake for me, Evans-"

"I'm totally awake," she mumbles, though her eyes are nearly closed, "Like an owl- whooooo's awake, Annie's awake, that's who-"

"Open your damn eyes," I shake her again slightly, "I'll buy you all the candy in the world if you stay awake- don't fucking close them-"

She smiles lazily, and that just has me getting more worried. The fuck was she smiling for at this time? How'd she go from being in tears to this, that quickly?

Maybe the blood loss was getting to her. That was not good.

"You're... really this worried for me?" she says like she can't quite believe it, "I grew on you, didn't I? Like weird fungi?"

"I will fucking leave you here to bleed," I tell her sternly, but it was just getting harder to sound like I was calm and unaffected, "Just- you're going to be fine, okay? You're g-"

Her hand presses against my jaw and cheek before I can finish.

"Don't worry, James," she says softly, her blue eyes tired and drooping, "I'm going to be okay."

And then her hand goes limp.

*****

My hands hadn't stopped shaking.

Even though I had clenched them into fists, and pressed them against my legs- I could still feel my fingers trembling underneath. I didn't know how to get them to stop.

"James?"

I looked up to see Tyler, who was followed by two of Annabeth's friends. Beth? Elliot? I think those were the names. All three of them had worried looks on their faces.

I had called him almost immediately after we had gotten to the hospital, panicking because I didn't know what to do. I don't remember the last time I felt this way. Terror had gripped me in the chest, and I didn't know what to do about it.

He must have figured out what was going on even though I could barely string together a sentence, because he told me he'd bring her friends.

Tyler makes a bee-line straight towards me, while the other two hold back staring at me with slight horror.

"Go to the bathroom," he says, his voice serious.

"What the fuck?" I glare at him, "I'm not going anywhere-"

"Listen to me," Tyler says, his gaze set firmly on me, "You need to go, right now-"

"Like hell, I'm going anywhere-" I start to sneer, but he grips my shoulder.

"You've got her blood all over you," he hisses lowly, looking me up and down, "So go, fucking wash it off- or so God help me, I'll drag you there myself."

I stop talking.

His eyes don't waver from mine as I clench my jaw, and relent after a few moments by nodding slowly.

The horror in their expressions makes a little more sense. So do the concerned stares thrown my way as I trudge in the direction of the bathroom.

It makes a lot more sense when I look at myself in the bathroom mirror.

The first thing I notice is the blood on my jaw. I stare at it for a whole minute, before remembering that she pressed her hand against that very spot just before her eyes shut.

The bottom of my sweatshirt has blood all over it, and I damn near rip it off myself because I can't stand looking at it.

And then I scrub. I scrub and I scrub and I scrub at my hands, my neck, my face, my jaw- everything because hopefully, that'll scrub away those images of her and blood in my mind.

My skin was starting to turn red and raw, but I didn't stop scrubbing.

I hear the door swing open behind me, and then a sigh echoes through the empty bathroom.

"James," a hand wraps around my arm, tugging me away from the sink in the bathroom, "James- hey, you need to calm down-"

"Don't fucking tell me to calm down," I snap, wrenching away from Tyler's grip, "You have no fucking idea what that felt like-"

"I know," he mutters, reaching over to turn off the water, "I know. But she's going to be okay.."

Don't worry, James. I'm going to be okay.

I shut my eyes, gritting my teeth. "Shut the fuck up, Tyler."

He places a hand on my shoulder and I have half the urge to shrug it off, and then break his wrist, but I don't- curling my hands around the sink tighter.

"She'll be okay," he tells me quietly, "She will, alright?"

I swallow. "You don't know that."

"I do," he says, with so much conviction that I nearly believe him, "She's going to be okay, James. Trust me."

And in a moment of blind faith, I decide to trust him.

Please be right.

*****

One hour and seventeen minutes later, a doctor finally walks up to us.

"Friends and family of Ms. Evans?"

The knee that was bouncing halts, as I look up at her.

"Friends, yeah," Beth stands up with a worried frown, "Is everything okay?"

The smile that the doctor gives us is a perfectly practiced reassuring smile, but there's still something tight to it. "No family?"

"We're from a different city," Elliot says wearily, "So no family here. At least, not yet. Do you have news for us?"

I just continue to stare at the doctor expectantly.

"She's perfectly fine," she says, the smile easing into something genuine, "No concussion, fortunately- the wound on her head was minor. She did need stitches for the one near her stomach, but she should be up and walking around in three days."

I can feel the collective relief that everyone in the tiny circle feels, and it feels like a huge weight is lifted off my chest. It feels like I can breathe again.

"If you'd like to check in on her," she continues, "She woke up a few minutes ago."

The relief in my chest only increases, as I slump back into my seat.

All three of them quite literally run in the direction she had gestured to, but I stay put in my seat.

"James, was it?" the doctor smiles at me when I don't move, "I heard you kicked up quite a fuss when the ambulance got there."

I only stare at her blankly.

"Tough crowd, huh?" she mutters with a shrug, "You said you'd be footing the hospital bill?"

I nod tightly, gritting my jaw.

"But you want it to be anonymous?" she raises a skeptical eyebrow, "Wouldn't your girlfriend want to know that you're paying?"

"She's not my girlfriend," I say immediately.

"Right," her eyebrows go up, and she nods slowly like she can't believe me, "You going in to see her, or what?"

I narrow my eyes at her but stand up straight- to walk towards the door to her room.

Just as I'm about to enter, however, I turn back around to see the doctor- Dr. Prince, according to her name tag- standing in the same spot.

"Thank you," I tell her quietly, "for making sure she's okay."

And I mean it. I really, really do. I don't think I've meant something that I've said- at least this much- in a long while.

She gives me a small smile. "Just doing my job."

I nod, turning back around.

"I'm fine," I can hear her say as soon as I step into the room, "I'm completely okay- Dr. Prince even said I'll be okay in three days! That means I'm very healthy. I don't even need to eat vegetables-"

"You love vegetables though-"

"Not the point," she insists, and I almost roll my eyes- even though a major part feels more and more relieved at the sound of her voice.

When I step into her line of sight, the movement of the curtains draws her eyes towards me.

For a single second, I almost think her eyes light up. Her lips seem to be lifting into a tiny smile, and I could've sworn she was about to say something.

But the door behind me slams open, and a guy marches in nearly pushing past me.

The fuck? I scowl at his back. 

If he did touch me, I'd probably deck him in the face.

Tyler looks like he's never seen the guy in his life either, but the other three seem to recognize him because their eyes go big.

"What the hell happened?" he demands, walking over to her bedside.

"What the heck are you doing here?" Annabeth retorts, her eyes wide.

"What am I doing here?" the guy repeats, his tone both irritated and incredulous, "You're literally hurt?!"

"That doesn't mean you fly all the way here, Thomas!" Annabeth says, still stunned, "I'm fine- it's a tiny gash-"

"Annie," Thames, or whatever the fuck his name is, says, "I will lose my shit in exactly five seconds if you don't tell me what happened that landed you here."

"She got jumped," Elliot answers meekly on her behalf, "and she needed stitches."

Troy over there, glares at him. "And you couldn't mention that over the phone?"

Both Bethany and Annabeth's heads snap in Elliot's direction at that, disbelief written in their expressions.

"You called him?" Annabeth says, appalled, "Elliot- why on earth would you do that?"

"I just wanted to let him know!" Elliot says defensively, "I didn't know he'd fly down here!"

"Annie," the guy says again, grabbing her hand. The action makes my eyes narrow, and I have to grit my jaw to prevent myself from saying anything. "Why the hell wouldn't I come? You're seriously hurt- you have any idea how much Elliot's phone call scared me?"

"Okay, who the fuck are you, again?" is out of my mouth before I can help it.

"Who the fuck am I?" the guy scoffs, his eyes going to the ceiling, "I'll tell you what, why don't you mind your damn bu-"

His voice dies down when his azure eyes find mine.

"What?" I snip when he just continues to look at me like he just saw a ghost. "The fuck you looking at? I just asked you who you were?"

Annabeth sighs in the background like she didn't want to be here, but the guy in front of me just stares.

"Who-" he points at me, before turning back to Annabeth, "Who the fuck is that?"

"That's my partner," Annabeth says slowly, shooting me an embarrassed and apologetic look, "James, remember?"

He turns back to me, his hand still raised. "James what?"

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" I bite out, crossing my arms across my chest, "James what?

"I mean, what the hell is your name?" he takes a step closer, "James...?"

"Why would I tell you?" I pull a face, scoffing, "Who even are you?"

"Answer the damn question-"

"Like hell, I will-"

"Thomas," Annabeth says pointedly, making me pause, "This is my partner James