Categories > Original > Romance
Part 1
He awoke to find himself alone.
Spread out on a medical bed, covered by a thin blanket and dressed in nothing but a gown and his boxer shorts. He was scared and confused. He had no recollection of how or why he was sat, on his own, in the most uncomfortable bed he had had the unfortunate experience of laying on.
The room he was in was painted white and his bed was centred in the middle of a curtain that revolved around the bed. He was able to figure out by now that due to the stench of recovering elders and pastel like colouring in the room that he was in hospital. But why?
Despite the slight blur in his vision and the mild pain in the back of his head, his anticipation to find out about why he was in this situation led him to grab the remote he had noticed placed neatly by the side of his thigh. He hesitated to push the large red button sectioned at the top of the remote labelled “assistance”, but eventually he did. He waited approximately 4 and a half minutes before a small, plump woman entered the room with a large grin plastered across her face.
“Good afternoon, Sir. How are you feeling today may I ask?” said the nurse as she waddled to the bottom of the bed, closing the door behind her and collecting a clip bored with what seemed to have a very limited amount of information on it. “I-I’m fine. I feel… fine” he replied, confused. “Oh that’s good to hear” the nurse replied, showing very little interest in what the response actually was. After several confused looks and a few scribbles on the clip board, she continued, “Well, Sir, it seems that you didn’t sustain major injuries and you are able to leave, let me just get the discharge papers and-“ but before she could continue there was a loud commotion from the other side of the door. The nurse rushed to open the door to reveal two young boys, both dressed in caps and bright clothing, one pushing the other in a wheelchair down the corridor, cursing and laughing as they skidded away out of view followed by some doctors trying to contain the loud outburst. The nurse turned and apologised and then waddled off to gather some paperwork.
There was no point in waiting for the nurse’s return as it was highly likely that she wasn’t going to return any time soon. Plus after the missed opportunity to find out why he was in hospital, waiting around for answers was the last thing on his mind. So, he jumped up out of bed, got changed into his clothes which were draped across the plastic chair that had been pushed out of sight to give the room a little more class. He struggled to pull up his black skinny jeans and was already out the door before he could slide his head through his V-neck top. Luckily, the reception was just to the right of his room. He walked over to the desk to find a beautiful, brunette nurse sat at a computer typing away, she didn’t even pay attention to the smug cough that he accidently amplified across the ward. It soon slipped his mind as his vision was still blurry however he was able to recognise the two boys, who had previously been causing havoc, sat at the far end of the corridor, staring at him.
After a few awkward glances towards each other, one of the boys stood and began to walk towards him. The boy had big curly hair with a red snapback simply placed on top of his afro. He was also wearing black skinny jeans, making the situation a little more awkward; however he was wearing a blink-182 t-shirt, making him a little less intimidating. He was small so there were no worries about being able to take him on if he were to start something. The boy walked up to the desk and without making eye contact they were stood next to each other. The atmosphere within them few minutes was unbearable, until eventually; “Hey, I’m Stefan” said the boy. He tilted his head to find Stefan looking up at him awaiting a reply; “Hello... I'm Ashley”.
Part 2
After several uncomfortable minuets involving some awkward eye rolls from Stefan and glare or two from Ashley, Stefan finally spoke up; “So, what’s wrong with you then?”, Ashley looked confused “I beg your pardon?” He said in a harsh tone. “You’re in hospital. Usually people in hospitals are here for a reason right? What’s your story?” Stefan seemed confident when he spoke, Ashley felt a little more comfortable about being confronted by a stranger now. “Well, what’s it to you?” Ashley said smugly. “A lot more than you think” Stefan muttered under his breath relaxing onto the receptionists counter. Ashley flicked one of his eyebrows up and tilted his head towards Stefan, but before he could respond Stefan quickly jumped up, “You know what, I’m sorry for bugging you. I’m just going to leave yo-“, Ashley had never interrupted anyone so predominantly before, but he didn’t want to be left alone, especially when he didn’t even know where he was or why… “No, no, you’re not bothering me. Promise. Look, the truth is I am not quite sure why I am here.”, “Like memory loss” Stefan said quickly, looking interested. “I-um… I’m not sure” Ashley was worried at the assumption “You don’t think you could fill me in on the obvious do you?” Ashley continued. “Yeah, mate, of course” Stefan seemed more and more sympathetic with every word.
Ashley nodded and eventually managed to track down the chubby nurse who had kindly sorted out his discharge papers. He scribbled a few signatures where need be and he was free! It was late when Ashley had finished with all the paperwork and he was exhausted. He still had a lot to find out about where he was. He was still reluctant as to whether he should trust Stefan or not, but met him in the Hospital café anyway.
Ones in the café he studied the many different arrangements of tables and chairs until he saw Stefan. Stefan looked up, smiling at Ashley’s presents, and waved him over to sit with him. Ashley forced a smile back and began weaving through the chairs, but as he did so, he began to think to himself; What am I doing? I don’t even know this guy. Can I actually trust him?, but before he could make any immediate reaction he found himself towering over Stefan who was looking right up at him, “Got you a coffee” he said with a cheesy grin on his face… Ashley snapped out of his thoughts and back into reality, sitting down, sipping on the coffee and nodding at Stefan in thanks. “So….” Stefan said elongating the word and looking around in an almost uncomfortable way. “Well, first things first I suppose… where am I?” Ashley asked pathetically. Stefan let out a laugh, “Are you serious? You don’t even know where you are?” Ashley shook his head. “You’re in London, mate” Stefan said letting out another laugh. Ashley stared, wide eyed, at Stefan in shock. “Um, are you okay, Ash?” Stefan asked in a worried tone. But the only thing Ashley could think about was the fact that he was referred to as Ash.
He could never remember being called Ash before. He was never exactly the most popular person and couldn’t understand why this stranger felt so comfortable around him. Comfortable enough to call him Ash, anyway. Ashley’s moment of swimming in thought was disturbed by Stefan tugging on Ashley’s shoulder, “Ash! Ash! Ashley… Yo!” Stefan babbled trying to get Ashley’s attention. “Gosh, sorry. I’m just… um…” Ashley tried to gather his thoughts whilst also trying to think of a response for Stefan. “You know what, mate, you clearly don’t have your head straight. Go home, you need some rest, alright?!” Stefan demanded whilst standing up and preparing to walk away. Before he could even get away from the table, Ashley grabbed his arm “Stefan! Wait!” Ashley exclaimed loudly, lowering his tone to explain; “I live in Reading. I don’t know how I got here. I- I haven’t got anywhere to stay” Ashley wasn’t exactly sure why he was asking Stefan for such a heavy chore, especially after only meeting a few hours previous, but something felt right… It was a sickly feeling but somehow, he felt safe around Stefan.
Part 3
Stefan stood, mouth slightly widened in shock. Ashley hadn’t yet released Stefan from his grip. He didn’t want to. The thought of being left alone was too much for Ashley to handle right now. He felt safe with Stefan. But then again, his thoughts about being left alone led him to believe that he would probably have felt safe with anyone who was nice enough to confront him and buy him coffee.
“What? You don’t have a place to stay?” Stefan said trying not to overwhelm himself with sympathy. Ashley shook his head slightly over doing the ‘puppy eyes’ a little too much. Stefan giggled before replying, “You should have just said, Ash! You can come back with me. Come on, let’s go”
Ashley couldn’t believe how kind Stefan was being. It was almost too good to be true. “Stefan, can I ask you something?” Ashley said as they continued to walk out of the café. “Of course, mate. Anything” Stefan replied. “Why do you call me Ash?” Stefan stopped and turned to Ashley who almost walked right into him before stopping and looking at Stefan with wide eyes. “Well, it’s your name isn’t it? People must call you Ash, right?” Stefan frowned with confusion. “Um, yeah… right. Sure” Ashley slurred. “You have friends don’t you?” Stefan smiled. Ashley looked at Stefan for a moment and smiled back, “Yeah, totally. Of course I do… Stef” Ashley’s grin widened at his own response, knowing that he did have a friend now. Stefan turned and continued to walk, attempting to hide the huge, uncontrollable smile that had appeared on his face.
The two of them walked to Stefan’s apartment, bypassing several bus stops because they were so caught up in conversation. By the time the two got to Stefan’s street they had learnt about each other’s age, full name, siblings, parents, childhood, home town and friends. Ashley didn’t speak much about his friends, but he had managed to come up with a couple of names to represent his ‘friends’. Stefan had a best friend called Andrew, Dru for short, who just happened to be waiting for the boys on the steps outside Stefan’s apartment. “Oh, Dru. What are you doing here? I thought you’d have gone home?” Stefan said looking worried. “You told me to wait here for you, Stef. I’ve been waiting for hours” Dru said with an incredibly harsh tone, “And who the fuck is this?” Dru shrugged towards Ashley, “This is Ashley. Look, Dru, mate, I’m really sorry I didn’t realise-“, Dru interrupted, “Whatever, Stef. I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow”, Dru walked off down the road. The pair watched until Dru eventually disappeared into the dark.
Stefan slugged into the apartment, Ashley following close behind curious about Dru. Stefan threw his keys down on the table next to the door, trudged into the front room and slumped himself down on the sofa in sorrow, leaving Ashley stood awkwardly in the door way. Ashley observed Stef for a little while, watching him as he stared, without blinking, at the floor. Hands clutched together whilst his elbows rested on his knees. Eventually, Ashley got the confidence to speak up; “Stef, A-are you okay?” “Shit, Sorry, I completely phased out. I didn’t realise you were there” Ashley’s heart sank a little. “I’m just really tired. You must be as well. Here, I’ll show you to your room” Ashley lightened up a little at the thought of Stefan’s forgetful attitude just being due to his tiredness, but knew it was probably due to him letting his best friend down for a stranger. He understood and followed Stefan through to a small room at the back of the hallway. “It’s not much, but I hope it’ll do for now” Stefan forced a smile. Ashley smiled back and neatly placed himself on the bed. “Thanks, Stef” Stefan smiled again before leaving the room. Ashley scanned the room, not that there was much to look at. He spotted a small photo book, he leaned over to pick it up, still sitting on the bed, but before he could open it up Stefan walked back in, “I forgot to tell you- Ash, what are you doing with that?” “Oh nothing, I was jus-““No, give it here! You can’t look at that” Ashley was shocked by Stefan’ reaction to something so small. He filled with guilt as Stef snatched the book from him and wondered off back to his own room.
Ashley felt terrible about upsetting Stef. But he couldn't stop thinking about what was in the book.
Part 4
Ashley didn’t sleep at all that night. He just stayed awake. Eyes solid at the ceiling whilst lying flat on his back in a rather comfortable and spacious bed. Better than the one he remembered waking up in at the hospital, that is. It gave him time to think about the past 24 hours; Hospital and Stefan. Dru and the photo book. He tried his best to remember how he had got into hospital and why it was so easy for Stef to approach him and forget about Dru so effortlessly. His emotions were all over the place. He wouldn’t have usually gone back to a stranger’s house; then again, Ashley had never been in a situation like this before. He was concerned about how much he had upset Stefan. He was probably just tired, right? Ashley thought to himself.
Ashley was able to get to sleep about 5am out of pure exhaustion. However, waking up at 1pm was not how Ashley had imagined his day to begin. It was silent in the apartment. Ashley sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and listened.
Nothing.
Ashley ran though a few different thoughts before deciding to investigate the intriguing silence. He stood, still in his clothes from the day before, walked towards the bedroom door and squashed his ear against it.
Still nothing.
He thought maybe Stefan was still asleep. It would be best to leave him; Ashley wasn’t ready to anger Stef anymore, especially after last night’s events. But, being Ashley, he grasped the door handle and opened the hollow door that separated him from this silence.
The hallway was empty. Ashley checked several times before reassuring himself that nobody was home, and he was free to wonder around the apartment. Ashley enjoyed exploring things, and so having the freedom to walk around a property that wasn’t his was exiting.
Ashley was quite happy making a long enduring walk down the hallway. He was almost ready to believe he was alone until – “Ash?”
Ashley almost jumped from his skin. He turned around to find Stefan stood in the hallway wearing the same clothes as yesterday but this time he was accompanied with a back pack.
“What are you doing?” asked Stefan. “I was just- I wanted to- I didn’t know-“ Ashley mumbled, still quivering. “What’s up? Are you okay?” Stefan said taking a few steps forward. Ashley relaxed and returned to his normal breathing rate, “I’m fine, sorry, I thought you were out. I was just checking to see-“, “It’s okay, mate. You are allowed to walk around. I don’t bite” Stefan said reassuring Ashley who raised his eyebrows at the idea of Stefan biting. “I’m glad you’re awake actually, I wanted to apologise for last night. I shouldn’t have been such a dick. I was just so tired and-“, but before Stef could continue, “No, it’s cool. Really. I shouldn’t have been so nosey. It’s not my house. I’m sorry” Ashley was relieved to find that Stef wasn’t upset with him. “Look, there was something else I wanted to ask as well. It’s a little soon, I know, and you don’t have to but…” Stefan bit his lip in hope that Ashley would allow him to ask. “Go on” Ashley replied with a smile. Stefan sighed with relief, “It’s just, it can get so lonely around here and I know you live in Reading but I was hoping maybe, you’d like to stay here for a while. I mean, at least until you can figure out why you here, you know?” Ashley wanted to throw his arms around Stefan and shout YES! but he had recently learnt to think before he speaks… “I can trust you, right Stef?” Ashley hesitated. “Yes, of course you can. I just want to help” Stefan said in a sweet voice, taking another eager step towards Ash. Ashley placed his hand on Stefan’s shoulder, “That would be incredible, Stefan” The pair smiled at each other, “There’s just one problem…” Ashley added. Stefan looked confused, “I haven’t got any clean clothes or anything”. An ecstatic grin was amplified over Stefan’s face.
This was a new beginning.
Part 1
He awoke to find himself alone.
Spread out on a medical bed, covered by a thin blanket and dressed in nothing but a gown and his boxer shorts. He was scared and confused. He had no recollection of how or why he was sat, on his own, in the most uncomfortable bed he had had the unfortunate experience of laying on.
The room he was in was painted white and his bed was centred in the middle of a curtain that revolved around the bed. He was able to figure out by now that due to the stench of recovering elders and pastel like colouring in the room that he was in hospital. But why?
Despite the slight blur in his vision and the mild pain in the back of his head, his anticipation to find out about why he was in this situation led him to grab the remote he had noticed placed neatly by the side of his thigh. He hesitated to push the large red button sectioned at the top of the remote labelled "assistance", but eventually he did. He waited approximately 4 and a half minutes before a small, plump woman entered the room with a large grin plastered across her face.
"Good afternoon, Sir. How are you feeling today may I ask?" said the nurse as she waddled to the bottom of the bed, closing the door behind her and collecting a clip bored with what seemed to have a very limited amount of information on it. "I-I'm fine. I feel... fine" he replied, confused. "Oh that's good to hear" the nurse replied, showing very little interest in what the response actually was. After several confused looks and a few scribbles on the clip board, she continued, "Well, Sir, it seems that you didn't sustain major injuries and you are able to leave, let me just get the discharge papers and-" but before she could continue there was a loud commotion from the other side of the door. The nurse rushed to open the door to reveal two young boys, both dressed in caps and bright clothing, one pushing the other in a wheelchair down the corridor, cursing and laughing as they skidded away out of view followed by some doctors trying to contain the loud outburst. The nurse turned and apologised and then waddled off to gather some paperwork.
There was no point in waiting for the nurse's return as it was highly likely that she wasn't going to return any time soon. Plus after the missed opportunity to find out why he was in hospital, waiting around for answers was the last thing on his mind. So, he jumped up out of bed, got changed into his clothes which were draped across the plastic chair that had been pushed out of sight to give the room a little more class. He struggled to pull up his black skinny jeans and was already out the door before he could slide his head through his V-neck top. Luckily, the reception was just to the right of his room. He walked over to the desk to find a beautiful, brunette nurse sat at a computer typing away, she didn't even pay attention to the smug cough that he accidently amplified across the ward. It soon slipped his mind as his vision was still blurry however he was able to recognise the two boys, who had previously been causing havoc, sat at the far end of the corridor, staring at him.
After a few awkward glances towards each other, one of the boys stood and began to walk towards him. The boy had big curly hair with a red snapback simply placed on top of his afro. He was also wearing black skinny jeans, making the situation a little more awkward; however he was wearing a blink-182 t-shirt, making him a little less intimidating. He was small so there were no worries about being able to take him on if he were to start something. The boy walked up to the desk and without making eye contact they were stood next to each other. The atmosphere within them few minutes was unbearable, until eventually; "Hey, I'm Stefan" said the boy. He tilted his head to find Stefan looking up at him awaiting a reply; "Hello... I'm Ashley".
Part 2
After several uncomfortable minuets involving some awkward eye rolls from Stefan and glare or two from Ashley, Stefan finally spoke up; "So, what's wrong with you then?", Ashley looked confused "I beg your pardon?" He said in a harsh tone. "You're in hospital. Usually people in hospitals are here for a reason right? What's your story?" Stefan seemed confident when he spoke, Ashley felt a little more comfortable about being confronted by a stranger now. "Well, what's it to you?" Ashley said smugly. "A lot more than you think" Stefan muttered under his breath relaxing onto the receptionists counter. Ashley flicked one of his eyebrows up and tilted his head towards Stefan, but before he could respond Stefan quickly jumped up, "You know what, I'm sorry for bugging you. I'm just going to leave yo-", Ashley had never interrupted anyone so predominantly before, but he didn't want to be left alone, especially when he didn't even know where he was or why... "No, no, you're not bothering me. Promise. Look, the truth is I am not quite sure why I am here.", "Like memory loss" Stefan said quickly, looking interested. "I-um... I'm not sure" Ashley was worried at the assumption "You don't think you could fill me in on the obvious do you?" Ashley continued. "Yeah, mate, of course" Stefan seemed more and more sympathetic with every word.
Ashley nodded and eventually managed to track down the chubby nurse who had kindly sorted out his discharge papers. He scribbled a few signatures where need be and he was free! It was late when Ashley had finished with all the paperwork and he was exhausted. He still had a lot to find out about where he was. He was still reluctant as to whether he should trust Stefan or not, but met him in the Hospital caf
He awoke to find himself alone.
Spread out on a medical bed, covered by a thin blanket and dressed in nothing but a gown and his boxer shorts. He was scared and confused. He had no recollection of how or why he was sat, on his own, in the most uncomfortable bed he had had the unfortunate experience of laying on.
The room he was in was painted white and his bed was centred in the middle of a curtain that revolved around the bed. He was able to figure out by now that due to the stench of recovering elders and pastel like colouring in the room that he was in hospital. But why?
Despite the slight blur in his vision and the mild pain in the back of his head, his anticipation to find out about why he was in this situation led him to grab the remote he had noticed placed neatly by the side of his thigh. He hesitated to push the large red button sectioned at the top of the remote labelled “assistance”, but eventually he did. He waited approximately 4 and a half minutes before a small, plump woman entered the room with a large grin plastered across her face.
“Good afternoon, Sir. How are you feeling today may I ask?” said the nurse as she waddled to the bottom of the bed, closing the door behind her and collecting a clip bored with what seemed to have a very limited amount of information on it. “I-I’m fine. I feel… fine” he replied, confused. “Oh that’s good to hear” the nurse replied, showing very little interest in what the response actually was. After several confused looks and a few scribbles on the clip board, she continued, “Well, Sir, it seems that you didn’t sustain major injuries and you are able to leave, let me just get the discharge papers and-“ but before she could continue there was a loud commotion from the other side of the door. The nurse rushed to open the door to reveal two young boys, both dressed in caps and bright clothing, one pushing the other in a wheelchair down the corridor, cursing and laughing as they skidded away out of view followed by some doctors trying to contain the loud outburst. The nurse turned and apologised and then waddled off to gather some paperwork.
There was no point in waiting for the nurse’s return as it was highly likely that she wasn’t going to return any time soon. Plus after the missed opportunity to find out why he was in hospital, waiting around for answers was the last thing on his mind. So, he jumped up out of bed, got changed into his clothes which were draped across the plastic chair that had been pushed out of sight to give the room a little more class. He struggled to pull up his black skinny jeans and was already out the door before he could slide his head through his V-neck top. Luckily, the reception was just to the right of his room. He walked over to the desk to find a beautiful, brunette nurse sat at a computer typing away, she didn’t even pay attention to the smug cough that he accidently amplified across the ward. It soon slipped his mind as his vision was still blurry however he was able to recognise the two boys, who had previously been causing havoc, sat at the far end of the corridor, staring at him.
After a few awkward glances towards each other, one of the boys stood and began to walk towards him. The boy had big curly hair with a red snapback simply placed on top of his afro. He was also wearing black skinny jeans, making the situation a little more awkward; however he was wearing a blink-182 t-shirt, making him a little less intimidating. He was small so there were no worries about being able to take him on if he were to start something. The boy walked up to the desk and without making eye contact they were stood next to each other. The atmosphere within them few minutes was unbearable, until eventually; “Hey, I’m Stefan” said the boy. He tilted his head to find Stefan looking up at him awaiting a reply; “Hello... I'm Ashley”.
Part 2
After several uncomfortable minuets involving some awkward eye rolls from Stefan and glare or two from Ashley, Stefan finally spoke up; “So, what’s wrong with you then?”, Ashley looked confused “I beg your pardon?” He said in a harsh tone. “You’re in hospital. Usually people in hospitals are here for a reason right? What’s your story?” Stefan seemed confident when he spoke, Ashley felt a little more comfortable about being confronted by a stranger now. “Well, what’s it to you?” Ashley said smugly. “A lot more than you think” Stefan muttered under his breath relaxing onto the receptionists counter. Ashley flicked one of his eyebrows up and tilted his head towards Stefan, but before he could respond Stefan quickly jumped up, “You know what, I’m sorry for bugging you. I’m just going to leave yo-“, Ashley had never interrupted anyone so predominantly before, but he didn’t want to be left alone, especially when he didn’t even know where he was or why… “No, no, you’re not bothering me. Promise. Look, the truth is I am not quite sure why I am here.”, “Like memory loss” Stefan said quickly, looking interested. “I-um… I’m not sure” Ashley was worried at the assumption “You don’t think you could fill me in on the obvious do you?” Ashley continued. “Yeah, mate, of course” Stefan seemed more and more sympathetic with every word.
Ashley nodded and eventually managed to track down the chubby nurse who had kindly sorted out his discharge papers. He scribbled a few signatures where need be and he was free! It was late when Ashley had finished with all the paperwork and he was exhausted. He still had a lot to find out about where he was. He was still reluctant as to whether he should trust Stefan or not, but met him in the Hospital café anyway.
Ones in the café he studied the many different arrangements of tables and chairs until he saw Stefan. Stefan looked up, smiling at Ashley’s presents, and waved him over to sit with him. Ashley forced a smile back and began weaving through the chairs, but as he did so, he began to think to himself; What am I doing? I don’t even know this guy. Can I actually trust him?, but before he could make any immediate reaction he found himself towering over Stefan who was looking right up at him, “Got you a coffee” he said with a cheesy grin on his face… Ashley snapped out of his thoughts and back into reality, sitting down, sipping on the coffee and nodding at Stefan in thanks. “So….” Stefan said elongating the word and looking around in an almost uncomfortable way. “Well, first things first I suppose… where am I?” Ashley asked pathetically. Stefan let out a laugh, “Are you serious? You don’t even know where you are?” Ashley shook his head. “You’re in London, mate” Stefan said letting out another laugh. Ashley stared, wide eyed, at Stefan in shock. “Um, are you okay, Ash?” Stefan asked in a worried tone. But the only thing Ashley could think about was the fact that he was referred to as Ash.
He could never remember being called Ash before. He was never exactly the most popular person and couldn’t understand why this stranger felt so comfortable around him. Comfortable enough to call him Ash, anyway. Ashley’s moment of swimming in thought was disturbed by Stefan tugging on Ashley’s shoulder, “Ash! Ash! Ashley… Yo!” Stefan babbled trying to get Ashley’s attention. “Gosh, sorry. I’m just… um…” Ashley tried to gather his thoughts whilst also trying to think of a response for Stefan. “You know what, mate, you clearly don’t have your head straight. Go home, you need some rest, alright?!” Stefan demanded whilst standing up and preparing to walk away. Before he could even get away from the table, Ashley grabbed his arm “Stefan! Wait!” Ashley exclaimed loudly, lowering his tone to explain; “I live in Reading. I don’t know how I got here. I- I haven’t got anywhere to stay” Ashley wasn’t exactly sure why he was asking Stefan for such a heavy chore, especially after only meeting a few hours previous, but something felt right… It was a sickly feeling but somehow, he felt safe around Stefan.
Part 3
Stefan stood, mouth slightly widened in shock. Ashley hadn’t yet released Stefan from his grip. He didn’t want to. The thought of being left alone was too much for Ashley to handle right now. He felt safe with Stefan. But then again, his thoughts about being left alone led him to believe that he would probably have felt safe with anyone who was nice enough to confront him and buy him coffee.
“What? You don’t have a place to stay?” Stefan said trying not to overwhelm himself with sympathy. Ashley shook his head slightly over doing the ‘puppy eyes’ a little too much. Stefan giggled before replying, “You should have just said, Ash! You can come back with me. Come on, let’s go”
Ashley couldn’t believe how kind Stefan was being. It was almost too good to be true. “Stefan, can I ask you something?” Ashley said as they continued to walk out of the café. “Of course, mate. Anything” Stefan replied. “Why do you call me Ash?” Stefan stopped and turned to Ashley who almost walked right into him before stopping and looking at Stefan with wide eyes. “Well, it’s your name isn’t it? People must call you Ash, right?” Stefan frowned with confusion. “Um, yeah… right. Sure” Ashley slurred. “You have friends don’t you?” Stefan smiled. Ashley looked at Stefan for a moment and smiled back, “Yeah, totally. Of course I do… Stef” Ashley’s grin widened at his own response, knowing that he did have a friend now. Stefan turned and continued to walk, attempting to hide the huge, uncontrollable smile that had appeared on his face.
The two of them walked to Stefan’s apartment, bypassing several bus stops because they were so caught up in conversation. By the time the two got to Stefan’s street they had learnt about each other’s age, full name, siblings, parents, childhood, home town and friends. Ashley didn’t speak much about his friends, but he had managed to come up with a couple of names to represent his ‘friends’. Stefan had a best friend called Andrew, Dru for short, who just happened to be waiting for the boys on the steps outside Stefan’s apartment. “Oh, Dru. What are you doing here? I thought you’d have gone home?” Stefan said looking worried. “You told me to wait here for you, Stef. I’ve been waiting for hours” Dru said with an incredibly harsh tone, “And who the fuck is this?” Dru shrugged towards Ashley, “This is Ashley. Look, Dru, mate, I’m really sorry I didn’t realise-“, Dru interrupted, “Whatever, Stef. I’m going home. I’ll see you tomorrow”, Dru walked off down the road. The pair watched until Dru eventually disappeared into the dark.
Stefan slugged into the apartment, Ashley following close behind curious about Dru. Stefan threw his keys down on the table next to the door, trudged into the front room and slumped himself down on the sofa in sorrow, leaving Ashley stood awkwardly in the door way. Ashley observed Stef for a little while, watching him as he stared, without blinking, at the floor. Hands clutched together whilst his elbows rested on his knees. Eventually, Ashley got the confidence to speak up; “Stef, A-are you okay?” “Shit, Sorry, I completely phased out. I didn’t realise you were there” Ashley’s heart sank a little. “I’m just really tired. You must be as well. Here, I’ll show you to your room” Ashley lightened up a little at the thought of Stefan’s forgetful attitude just being due to his tiredness, but knew it was probably due to him letting his best friend down for a stranger. He understood and followed Stefan through to a small room at the back of the hallway. “It’s not much, but I hope it’ll do for now” Stefan forced a smile. Ashley smiled back and neatly placed himself on the bed. “Thanks, Stef” Stefan smiled again before leaving the room. Ashley scanned the room, not that there was much to look at. He spotted a small photo book, he leaned over to pick it up, still sitting on the bed, but before he could open it up Stefan walked back in, “I forgot to tell you- Ash, what are you doing with that?” “Oh nothing, I was jus-““No, give it here! You can’t look at that” Ashley was shocked by Stefan’ reaction to something so small. He filled with guilt as Stef snatched the book from him and wondered off back to his own room.
Ashley felt terrible about upsetting Stef. But he couldn't stop thinking about what was in the book.
Part 4
Ashley didn’t sleep at all that night. He just stayed awake. Eyes solid at the ceiling whilst lying flat on his back in a rather comfortable and spacious bed. Better than the one he remembered waking up in at the hospital, that is. It gave him time to think about the past 24 hours; Hospital and Stefan. Dru and the photo book. He tried his best to remember how he had got into hospital and why it was so easy for Stef to approach him and forget about Dru so effortlessly. His emotions were all over the place. He wouldn’t have usually gone back to a stranger’s house; then again, Ashley had never been in a situation like this before. He was concerned about how much he had upset Stefan. He was probably just tired, right? Ashley thought to himself.
Ashley was able to get to sleep about 5am out of pure exhaustion. However, waking up at 1pm was not how Ashley had imagined his day to begin. It was silent in the apartment. Ashley sat up, rubbed the sleep from his eyes and listened.
Nothing.
Ashley ran though a few different thoughts before deciding to investigate the intriguing silence. He stood, still in his clothes from the day before, walked towards the bedroom door and squashed his ear against it.
Still nothing.
He thought maybe Stefan was still asleep. It would be best to leave him; Ashley wasn’t ready to anger Stef anymore, especially after last night’s events. But, being Ashley, he grasped the door handle and opened the hollow door that separated him from this silence.
The hallway was empty. Ashley checked several times before reassuring himself that nobody was home, and he was free to wonder around the apartment. Ashley enjoyed exploring things, and so having the freedom to walk around a property that wasn’t his was exiting.
Ashley was quite happy making a long enduring walk down the hallway. He was almost ready to believe he was alone until – “Ash?”
Ashley almost jumped from his skin. He turned around to find Stefan stood in the hallway wearing the same clothes as yesterday but this time he was accompanied with a back pack.
“What are you doing?” asked Stefan. “I was just- I wanted to- I didn’t know-“ Ashley mumbled, still quivering. “What’s up? Are you okay?” Stefan said taking a few steps forward. Ashley relaxed and returned to his normal breathing rate, “I’m fine, sorry, I thought you were out. I was just checking to see-“, “It’s okay, mate. You are allowed to walk around. I don’t bite” Stefan said reassuring Ashley who raised his eyebrows at the idea of Stefan biting. “I’m glad you’re awake actually, I wanted to apologise for last night. I shouldn’t have been such a dick. I was just so tired and-“, but before Stef could continue, “No, it’s cool. Really. I shouldn’t have been so nosey. It’s not my house. I’m sorry” Ashley was relieved to find that Stef wasn’t upset with him. “Look, there was something else I wanted to ask as well. It’s a little soon, I know, and you don’t have to but…” Stefan bit his lip in hope that Ashley would allow him to ask. “Go on” Ashley replied with a smile. Stefan sighed with relief, “It’s just, it can get so lonely around here and I know you live in Reading but I was hoping maybe, you’d like to stay here for a while. I mean, at least until you can figure out why you here, you know?” Ashley wanted to throw his arms around Stefan and shout YES! but he had recently learnt to think before he speaks… “I can trust you, right Stef?” Ashley hesitated. “Yes, of course you can. I just want to help” Stefan said in a sweet voice, taking another eager step towards Ash. Ashley placed his hand on Stefan’s shoulder, “That would be incredible, Stefan” The pair smiled at each other, “There’s just one problem…” Ashley added. Stefan looked confused, “I haven’t got any clean clothes or anything”. An ecstatic grin was amplified over Stefan’s face.
This was a new beginning.
Part 1
He awoke to find himself alone.
Spread out on a medical bed, covered by a thin blanket and dressed in nothing but a gown and his boxer shorts. He was scared and confused. He had no recollection of how or why he was sat, on his own, in the most uncomfortable bed he had had the unfortunate experience of laying on.
The room he was in was painted white and his bed was centred in the middle of a curtain that revolved around the bed. He was able to figure out by now that due to the stench of recovering elders and pastel like colouring in the room that he was in hospital. But why?
Despite the slight blur in his vision and the mild pain in the back of his head, his anticipation to find out about why he was in this situation led him to grab the remote he had noticed placed neatly by the side of his thigh. He hesitated to push the large red button sectioned at the top of the remote labelled "assistance", but eventually he did. He waited approximately 4 and a half minutes before a small, plump woman entered the room with a large grin plastered across her face.
"Good afternoon, Sir. How are you feeling today may I ask?" said the nurse as she waddled to the bottom of the bed, closing the door behind her and collecting a clip bored with what seemed to have a very limited amount of information on it. "I-I'm fine. I feel... fine" he replied, confused. "Oh that's good to hear" the nurse replied, showing very little interest in what the response actually was. After several confused looks and a few scribbles on the clip board, she continued, "Well, Sir, it seems that you didn't sustain major injuries and you are able to leave, let me just get the discharge papers and-" but before she could continue there was a loud commotion from the other side of the door. The nurse rushed to open the door to reveal two young boys, both dressed in caps and bright clothing, one pushing the other in a wheelchair down the corridor, cursing and laughing as they skidded away out of view followed by some doctors trying to contain the loud outburst. The nurse turned and apologised and then waddled off to gather some paperwork.
There was no point in waiting for the nurse's return as it was highly likely that she wasn't going to return any time soon. Plus after the missed opportunity to find out why he was in hospital, waiting around for answers was the last thing on his mind. So, he jumped up out of bed, got changed into his clothes which were draped across the plastic chair that had been pushed out of sight to give the room a little more class. He struggled to pull up his black skinny jeans and was already out the door before he could slide his head through his V-neck top. Luckily, the reception was just to the right of his room. He walked over to the desk to find a beautiful, brunette nurse sat at a computer typing away, she didn't even pay attention to the smug cough that he accidently amplified across the ward. It soon slipped his mind as his vision was still blurry however he was able to recognise the two boys, who had previously been causing havoc, sat at the far end of the corridor, staring at him.
After a few awkward glances towards each other, one of the boys stood and began to walk towards him. The boy had big curly hair with a red snapback simply placed on top of his afro. He was also wearing black skinny jeans, making the situation a little more awkward; however he was wearing a blink-182 t-shirt, making him a little less intimidating. He was small so there were no worries about being able to take him on if he were to start something. The boy walked up to the desk and without making eye contact they were stood next to each other. The atmosphere within them few minutes was unbearable, until eventually; "Hey, I'm Stefan" said the boy. He tilted his head to find Stefan looking up at him awaiting a reply; "Hello... I'm Ashley".
Part 2
After several uncomfortable minuets involving some awkward eye rolls from Stefan and glare or two from Ashley, Stefan finally spoke up; "So, what's wrong with you then?", Ashley looked confused "I beg your pardon?" He said in a harsh tone. "You're in hospital. Usually people in hospitals are here for a reason right? What's your story?" Stefan seemed confident when he spoke, Ashley felt a little more comfortable about being confronted by a stranger now. "Well, what's it to you?" Ashley said smugly. "A lot more than you think" Stefan muttered under his breath relaxing onto the receptionists counter. Ashley flicked one of his eyebrows up and tilted his head towards Stefan, but before he could respond Stefan quickly jumped up, "You know what, I'm sorry for bugging you. I'm just going to leave yo-", Ashley had never interrupted anyone so predominantly before, but he didn't want to be left alone, especially when he didn't even know where he was or why... "No, no, you're not bothering me. Promise. Look, the truth is I am not quite sure why I am here.", "Like memory loss" Stefan said quickly, looking interested. "I-um... I'm not sure" Ashley was worried at the assumption "You don't think you could fill me in on the obvious do you?" Ashley continued. "Yeah, mate, of course" Stefan seemed more and more sympathetic with every word.
Ashley nodded and eventually managed to track down the chubby nurse who had kindly sorted out his discharge papers. He scribbled a few signatures where need be and he was free! It was late when Ashley had finished with all the paperwork and he was exhausted. He still had a lot to find out about where he was. He was still reluctant as to whether he should trust Stefan or not, but met him in the Hospital caf
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