Open Your Eyes

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Ember knew it was only a matter of time before Zoe appeared at the hospital acting as though the world was ending. She hadn’t known Ember the first time she had been admitted to hospital like this, so the gun slinging blonde was expecting a full scale freak out from her innocent minded, country raised friend. However, the last thing she was in the mood for was a lecture. The doctors had been in that morning and assessed her health before the cardiac specialist she knew only too well appeared with a number of potential options to talk about with the twenty one year old. They had finally decided on one form of treatment that would render her medication redundant from here on out and she knew that trying to explain that to people was going to take a lot of work and probably the doctor himself coming down to reiterate what she was saying about the treatment.

She also knew that Zoe, more than anyone, would panic when Ember revealed that she was going under the knife and having wires inserted into body parts that should have been able to control themselves naturally without an invasive method. Nevertheless, Ember was all ready to argue this to the death and she wasn’t going to play nice about it either. So far, all of her visitors apart from Brandon had yelled at her in some way and she had, at one point, had the nurses remove her dad and step-mother from the room when she was on the brink of ripping the wires from her own body and hitting the both of them for acting like they knew so much better than her. Her relationships with her family may have been good compared to the past, but there were things she could never forgive them for or get over and not just because she was naturally as stubborn as they came.

Feeling a little better and finally with some time alone, Ember picked up one of the magazines Brandon had bought her earlier. They were typical hospital garbage filled with puzzles of various sorts to keep her entertained when she wasn’t being flocked with visitors and their random gifts. If anyone walked in now it would look like she was running a small flower shop that sold chocolate gifts with each purchase and she hadn’t even been in the hospital for more than forty-eight hours. She was still weak, but Ember was always a fighter and refused to spend her time sleeping and just lying motionless in the bed. She picked up a pen and began to make quick work of the first puzzle in the magazine. The beeping machines were just background noise now and she was quite content to spend the afternoon alone with her own company. Brandon had mentioned popping in again before his shift at the Marquee and she suspected Andrew would demand an audience with her once more before the darkness of the night fell, but she didn’t care so much about the latter, still slightly angry with him.

Her fingers toyed with the locket around her neck. Of all the things Andrew had brought her yesterday, this was what she needed the most. Absently, she played with it, popping it open and closing it time and time again and she scribbled answers into small boxes. It was when she heard the small click of the door opening that she looked up, sighing when she saw the familiar blonde hair of her easily startled friend. Great. This was the last thing she wanted or needed right now.

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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe <3
WORDS! 639
OUTFIT! Walking Tragedy
LYRICS! Even Angels Fall - - - Jessica Riddle
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe knew how bad Ember was about her health, but she had thought her blonde friend wiser than to be so careless as to land herself in the hospital! Since Andrew's call last night, it was all the country girl had been thinking about, even though she could do nothing about it. Visiting hours were long over, and her endearingly over-protective boyfriend had reminded her that it was almost the middle of the night. It made sense to wait until morning, take a shower, put on nice clothes; it made sense. But, Zoe hadn't seen it that way, and still didn't. To her, it was all wasted time away from her blonde friend who was more like a sister in the New York streets.

She took a taxi to the hospital, Romeo having snatched her keys that morning so she wouldn't endanger herself with reckless driving. The subway seemed like too much trouble, and Zoe really only had one thing on her mind; to go see Ember. How she got there, what she was wearing; that was all in second-place right now. She had to make sure Ember was okay and still alive. If they ended up planning a funeral for her, there was no telling how long it would take Zoe to get over the guilt and "I should haves". But, no. Ember was alive, at least she was still supposed to be, and there were no funerals to plan yet. Now was the time to help get the blonde back on her feet but as far away as possible from the things that brought her to the hospital in the first place.

Trying to somewhat calm down, Zoe smiled as she asked the nurse where Ember's room was. She hadn't been in the hospital too many times before, but she already didn't like the place. Hospitals scared her, which was odd coming from a vet. She didn't deal with sick or injured people, though, which was the biggest discrepancy. This building took and gave back lives to actual human beings; she only dealt with the animals who were their companions. There was a big difference there. Zoe followed the nurse's instructions carefully, finding Ember's wing and room number after getting lost only once. The nurses on this floor warned her not to knock, saying the patient might be asleep, so, in her mouselike way, Zoe crept into the room, an extremely fake smile on her face as she found Ember on the bed.

"Nice to see yer awake, hun," she greeted in her cheerful manner. However, her eyes were wide as she looked at the monitors and screens proving that Ember was still alive and kicking. Hesitantly, Zoe stepped further into the room, coming closer to Ember as her smile faultered. "How're you doin'? They feedin' ya okay and all? You don't need yer pillows fluffed'er somethin'?"

• • •

WORDS: 506!
TAG: Ember <3
LOCATION: Worried, The Hospital
OUTFIT: Pretty Mess!
LYRICS: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Ember was a fighter. Brandon had even called her it the first time she saw him after she woke up. She wasn’t about to let this hold her back for very long and with the surgery already scheduled for later in the week, she was eager to get back on with her life. However, she knew people were going to fuss and worry and push her to breaking point again. The only thing that would make it different this time was that she would no longer be relying on medication, so she could get angry and yell at people to back the hell off without her health needing to be questioned too much, so long as this surgery was going to work the way her cardiologist had promised her.

Of all the people to reassure though, Zoe would probably be the hardest. She had known Ember the least amount of time and definitely wasn’t used to Ember’s way of life or the manner in which she approached her healthcare. Whilst a lot of people sat back and gave Ember her leeway, Zoe was always the one questioning it with more worry than the others and it was lucky she was so damn innocent or else Ember may have snapped at her several times already. Still, she didn’t want a lecture or a friend asking countless questions about something that Ember had explained several times before.

Ember closed the book, resting the pen on top of it as she dropped it onto the bedside cabinet where most of her things had been temporarily housed. “It’s hard to sleep with so many visitors.”

[/color] She answered, her voice neither bitter nor joking; she was just stating a fact. “You’d think I’d died or something.”[/color] Technically, she had, but that was not the point. Her room was beginning to look like a memorial than a hospital room. Yet, not one person had managed to bring her favourite so far. She raised her eyebrows at her friend and then rolled her eyes. “Zoe, it’s the hospital, not prison. And I’ve only been here for what? Two days?”[/color] As predicted, her friend was overreacting and Ember was not in a position to calm her down. She sighed and leaned back against the wall of pillows that she kept sinking back into. “Andrew called you, didn’t he?”[/color] She should’ve known that her brother would broadcast this to the world without thinking about her first. Rest, recuperation and sleep was not something she was able to have when people kept coming through the doors, all claiming how worried they had been since Andrew had told them the news. Andrew didn’t even know what the hell had happened. No one but Brandon did and yet he was acting the calmest out of the lot of them and it had been him who had seen her die and brought her back. People ought to be taking lessons from him for how to deal with this situation. “I’m fine, Zoe, nothing to worry about. I’ll be back on my bike before you know it.”[/color] Ember said, waving her hand, careful not to pull the IV out as she gestured to her friend. She was just so tired of the fussing and the worry; it didn’t suit Ember, even if the situation had been one that no one liked to think about.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe <3
WORDS! 565
OUTFIT! Walking Tragedy
LYRICS! Even Angels Fall - - - Jessica Riddle
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe's first instinct was to worry. It was what she did best, after all. Ember almost always had her in a state of "Are you sure you're alright?" and the current situation was not helping that in the slightest. Seeing her usually active friend confined to an extremely flowered hospital room was not a sight Zoe liked, especially since it was Ember. If it'd been anyone else, she would've still been worried and probably cooked up some soup to bring with when she visited, but this was Ember. This blonde wouldn't get better with soup and a card, which Zoe knew perfectly well. How did you help somehow who wouldn't help themself, though? That was the million dollar question right now.

Choosing not to take the comment in an offensive way, Zoe said in a careful voice, "Sorry I couldn't git down before all'a them, but Romeo wouldn't lemme outta his apartment until this mornin'." It was true, but not for the reasons that less-innocent minds would think; minds like Ember's. That didn't cross Zoe's train of thought, however, and she couldn't see the harm in the words. Nothing sexual had happened; nothing would happen for a long time. Convincing other people of this, however, was harder than just not mentioning it.

Zoe looked around the flower-filled room, suddenly realizing she hadn't brought anything for her friend. She hadn't even thought of grabbing a plate of cookies or something; how selfish could she get? Well, not exactly selfish; the idea of a gift had been overrun by her concern over Ember's health and wellbeing. "It's a bit more like'a greenhouse in here. Want me to get more water for these? They're lookin' a little dry," she commented with no hint of the things whirling through her head right now. No, Ember hadn't died; but she was slowly killing herself. No, the flowers didn't look parched, but she needed to do anything to help. Even if it was getting water for bouquets, at least it was something. At the sound of Andrew's name, Zoe shrugged, "Who else would? Not like you woulda till ya were out of the hospital. 'Sides, someone needed ta be down here when he couldn't." She hadn't heard from Andrew since the phonecall clueing her into how bad Ember was, and she hadn't had the time to worry about it. However, now that she'd seen that Ember was fine, it did strike her as odd that the older Grant wasn't here. "Ain't he here? He sounded like he'd been sleepin' in the waitin' room for ages when he called me."

Ember's nonchalant attitude towards all of this had Zoe's mom-side coming out. How could she be so okay with this? She was in the hospital. Being in a place like this wasn't a situation you joked with, specifically where your heart was concerned. "Just be careful, Em. I don't wanna see you in here more'n I need to," Zoe sighed gently, pushing her blonde curls out of her face as she met her friend's eyes with her concerned ones.

• • •

WORDS: 579!
TAG: Ember <3
LOCATION: Worried, The Hospital
OUTFIT: Pretty Mess!
LYRICS: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

She had heard all the lectures and had most of the lines memorised herself. People thought that she had brought this on herself, which might be true, but it didn’t mean that Ember was about to change her lifestyle because of it. She was who she was and even with a critical heart condition she wasn’t about to let that go. Besides, this new treatment was basically going to allow her whatever kind of life she wanted, so long as it didn’t involve heavy labour. No one seemed to care about that though and just kept treating her like she was some stupid little girl, intent on ruining her life and having everyone else see her as nothing more than a selfish little bitch. As she had told them several times over the course of the last day; if they didn’t like it, they didn’t have to care.

She was in a sour mood now. The only visitor so far who had cared more about her being alive than how she got here was Brandon and they still had one hell of a mess to talk through once she was capable of a conversation without feeling as though she owed him the world for saving her. Her bad mood made her less able to think clearly or to be as patient as she usually was with Zoe. She raised her eyebrow at her casual comment, her mind already lingering on the fact that Zoe had been with that Romeo kid during the night. “Well, you didn’t waste any time letting him into your pants did you?”

[/color] She scoffed, shaking her head at her friend. She wasn’t judging her, Ember was in no position to, but she didn’t expect Zoe to be so easily played by a guy who only wanted one thing from her.

Ember rolled her sapphire eyes at Zoe’s comment, hating when her friend started beating around the bush just to avoid the topic at hand. Ember was in the hospital and Zoe was acting as though they were in a garden. “The quicker they die, the quicker I can get rid of them.”[/color] Her fingers closed around her locket and she glared at the bouquets. Ember disliked flowers like this. She didn’t like them arranged around a room in such abundance. They reminded her of death and more specifically, Robert’s funeral. All those roses and lilies had turned her stomach then and in a room where she was supposed to be getting better they did little to ease the pain of those memories.

Her glare only deepened at the mention of her brother. She did better alone, always had done and now she was understanding exactly why. “It’s not like you and everyone else coming in here magically cures me!”[/color] She snapped, sick of hearing how Andrew was some perfect brother doing everything in his power to help his sister when all he had done all along was push her further into the mess she had become. If he’d given her more freedom, stopped patronising her and treated her like an adult – his equal – then maybe she would have found her way back a long time ago. “He hasn’t been here since last night and I’m sure the nurses are relieved that he’s not lording his imaginary power over them again.”[/color] She said, toying with her locket, her voice bitter at the thought of the brother she was still angry with.

Growing exasperated, Ember let out an annoyed sigh and turned to look at her friend with that fire behind her blue eyes. “Yeah, well, after they cut me open, I’ll be out of here and probably not back for a while. So you can calm down before you give yourself an ulcer over nothing.”[/color] Her accent was thicker than usual, as it always was when she got mad. Zoe might not have done anything wrong, but her “innocent” demeanour was grating on Ember’s last nerve and she couldn’t take it anymore.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe <3
WORDS! 705
OUTFIT! Walking Tragedy
LYRICS! Even Angels Fall - - - Jessica Riddle
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

While Zoe was more than used to Ember's attitude, this was something new. Usually, the harsh comments and bitter remarks weren't directed at her; they were at everyone else in the room. She hadn't done anything wrong, however, besides show up to reassure herself that Ember was okay and to offer up help if it was needed. "Go get some coffee," "Could you run to my place and grab a better pillow?"; that was what she'd been expecting when she got here. Being shot down and insulted wasn't something she'd even considered as a possibility.

Zoe was the level-headed one out of the blonde due; she was the one who had to remain cool for the sake of the other. If both of them were hot-headed, she doubted their friendship would've lasted long at all. But, what Ember's comment suggested had Zoe's temper prickling. She knew her friend was aware of the morals she'd stick by until her dying day. Running around letting guys "into her pants" wasn't something Zoe would ever do, and she thought she'd made that clear to Ember a very long time ago. "Ya know perfectly well nothin' happen, Em," she said, lips pressing into a thin line as Zoe's eyes burned into hers. Being called a whore by anyone else would've hurt her, sure, and she would've brushed it off. But, by Ember, someone who knew her better than that? No, that wasn't a forgiveable action, no matter how much medication or stress the blonde city girl was under.

"Maybe me'n everyone else are just comin' to make sure yer okay! Ya really scared me, Em. I don't know what I woulda done if you died," Zoe snapped back, the tenderness totally lost on the words. At the moment, she didn't feel that Ember deserved the pity or comfort hospital patients usually got; what she really needed was something to knock her out again so this bitchy attitude would be gone for awhile. Maybe it would've been better if she'd found her asleep. "Cut him some slack. He's just only tryin' to make sure ya get the best they have to offer here," she said gently now, not having as many issues with Andrew as Ember seemed to at the moment. Whatever had happened, she knew it'd blow over; the Grant fights always did.

Zoe met Ember's eyes with her cool, controlled ones. She would not crack; she would not break. "It's not me I'm worried 'bout. It's you and yer love'a partyin'," she answered, shaking her head but not breaking their eye contact. She stayed close to the flowers, and as far from the bed as possible for awhile. Right now, she wasn't sure if she'd be staying much longer. Ember was putting them both into a sour mood.

• • •

WORDS: 519!
TAG: Ember <3
LOCATION: Worried, The Hospital
OUTFIT: Pretty Mess!
LYRICS: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars
NOTES: <3 <3 <3

[Ember Thistle Grant]

Zoe might not have done anything wrong, but Ember hated the way she was always so nice and polite, even when it was obvious that the country blonde wanting to say and do harsher things that she forbade herself from doing. Ember couldn’t understand why she didn’t lash out every once in a while, why she had to be the typical ‘good girl’. It was times like this when there was still so much anger in Ember and Zoe was being so sweet that she had to pride herself on her self-control for not snapping at her, but now? Ember was beyond it now. She needed to yell, scream and shout at someone who wasn’t Andrew; who wouldn’t piss her off even more than she already was.

One of the things Zoe stood by that Ember didn’t understand was her morals and naïve attitude towards intimacy. Ember didn’t understand why she made such a big deal out of it when sex was just sex. It didn’t have to mean love or promises of forever, but Zoe didn’t seem to see it like that and Ember was waiting for the day when some asshole opened her eyes to that fact. The country girl was dangerously head over heels for a guy whose whole life had been the city, much like Ember’s. She may not have met the guy yet, but she knew that he would know only too well about the dangers that loomed in the shadows of the concrete jungle and no one who knew about those could be of virtuous soul and morals. “Well, must’ve been a let-down for him then.”

[/color] She said, her eyes dark as she looked at Zoe. “All night and no action? A guy will only wait around for so long before he’ll chase another skirt.”[/color] She said, her voice bitter. Real ‘love’ and happy endings didn’t exist; Ember discovered that in the accident when she was eighteen.

Ember tilted her head and studied her friend. Really? That was the card she was going to play? “You’d have your Prince Charming to pick you up.”[/color] She said with a casual shrug. “It’s not like I do anything other than stress you out anyway.”[/color] She was tempted to mention the fact that she had ‘died’ tonight and one time before, but she didn’t want sympathy right now; she wanted to kick and scream and yell her way out of this hospital bed. “Like he knows anything. He’s an asshole who’s trying to fit the role of hero now because someone else beat him to it.”[/color] Her blood was boiling at the thought of her brother and the machines started beeping faster as her anger grew. “Don’t mention his name to me again because he is the one who pushed me over the edge.”[/color] If he had never mentioned Robert then she might not have gone out and recklessly wound up on the street with Brandon trying to revive her.

She met the blue eyes of her friend and kept her jaw tight. If she could get out the bed there would be vases getting smashed and flowers all over the place by now. “I’d be worried about you and your pretty innocent reputation, if I were you. Like I said, it’s only a matter of time before he wants more than cuddles and kisses.”[/color] Yes, it was a low blow, but Ember didn’t care now. She just needed to let this anger out before it consumed her entirely. Plus, she wasn’t in the mood to sit with Zoe and discuss the particulars of her condition and the surgery they were scheduling for her; it was too technical for rage. So, she did what she did best and kept working at pushing her closest friend away instead.
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• • •

TAGGED! Zoe <3
WORDS! 565
OUTFIT! Walking Tragedy
LYRICS! Even Angels Fall - - - Jessica Riddle
NOTES! <3 <3 <3

[Zoe Diana Tylers]

Zoe wasn't a verbal or physical fighter. She hated how many people were hurt in fights; they generally just made her feel bad afterwards. It wasn't worth it. Instead, she bottled it up, channeled it somewhere else to be dealt with late at night before she fell asleep. She couldn't do what Ember did and simply let it all fly out in a screaming rage or in a punch. No, she kept her cool and level head. Her lips tightened, her eyebrows furrowed; that was all she would show when she was angry or frustrated. Anything more and she would crack.

Physical "action" wasn't a part of Romeo and Zoe's relationship. They did fine without the pressure of sex or the complications it brought. Their romance wasn't centered around that; it was the emotions and the little things they did that kept them together. Dates tailored especially for one another, trinkets that were reminders of some inside joke, the way they could banter without actually fighting; those were the things that made up their love. Sex didn't even factor into the equation. Zoe wondered why Ember hadn't ever tried a "serious" relationship before, why she spent varied time between different guys. Wasn't love supposed to be special and priceless, not something you did for one night of fun? Zoe still believed that true love existed, but she doubted she'd ever be able to fully convince her friend of this. "He knew long a'fore he asked me out that I wouldn't give him any 'action,'" she said in a quiet voice. Her lips were pressed into their line, keeping her from saying more. There didn't need to be more fuel for her friend's fire today.

"Wish ya had one, too. Maybe he'd change yer mind 'bout a lotta things," Zoe retorted, shaking her head. Why didn't Ember understand? It didn't matter if they stressed each other out; they were best friends, they were supposed to help each other through things like this. "It doesn't matter how much ya stress me out. I'll still want ya safe and sound at the end of every day. I need someone to drag me out to clubs against my will."

Zoe didn't say anything about Andrew. Something had happened there, and she wasn't in the mood to coax Ember into thinking things through rationally. Already, this visit was turning sour. Bringing up more drama than needed would be a complete mistake. Instead, Zoe pressed her lips together again, forcing herself back under control. She wanted so badly to shake sense into Ember, to make her see that she couldn't lose her brother or family or anyone. People needed each other to survive; it was what made the human life so wonderful.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to wait to have sex. She wasn't insane, or stupid, or afraid; she just wanted to save that for the right person one day. Being attacked for it, especially by Ember, made Zoe's little bit of faith crumble. She was already out of place enough, being pressured like this into conforming to modern ideas was too much for her. She couldn't place nice any more. Zoe shook her head in disgust at Ember, blue eyes brimming with tears she refused to shed. She couldn't believe someone who was supposed to be her friend would tear apart her and someone she was in love with. "Yer actin' like a total bitch, Ember Grant," she said, voice cold. "I'm leavin. Ya got what ya wanted. I jus' hope yer happy."

And, with that, Zoe stormed out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

• • •

WORDS: 655!
TAG: Ember <3
LOCATION: Worried, The Hospital
OUTFIT: Pretty Mess!
LYRICS: "Safe and Sound" by Taylor Swift feat. The Civil Wars
NOTES: <3 <3 <3