35. The Semi-Private Room #3
"Were either of you going to call me?" JP demands. "Or was I supposed to get a phone call from the hospital saying my friend was in the emergency room and have a heart attack in the middle of the library?"
"I was unconscious!" I protest.
"For part of it!"
"Most of it, I woke up like an hour ago!"
JP turns his glare on Max, who winces before he even opens his mouth. "I was… distracted?"
"Distracted." JP's voice goes dangerously flat. "By what, exactly?"
Max and I exchange a look. Max's face turns red again, which is really all the answer JP needs. "Oh, my god." JP pinches the bridge of his nose. "Were you making out with each other while I was having a panic attack in an Uber?"
"To be fair," I say carefully, "we didn't know you were having a panic attack in an Uber. Because you didn't tell us."
"Because you didn't call me!"
"Hang on—" Max grabs at what is clearly a lifeline "—why were you in an Uber? Where's your car?" The look JP gives him could curdle milk. Max's shoulders inch up toward his ears, his whole body shrinking under the weight of it.
"Getting an oil change," JP says, voice dangerously calm. "I left it at the shop this morning. Which is completely beside the point, Max. Do you want to ask about my tire pressure next, or can we get back to the part where my friends almost gave me a heart attack?"
Max wisely shuts his mouth.
"Aish," JP mutters under his breath, rubbing his temples.
Behind him, I can see the pinched-faced nurse from earlier approaching with a thunderous expression. "Sir, you absolutely cannot be back here. This is a restricted area—"
JP spins around to face her. "I wouldn't have even known he was here if the hospital hadn't called me. So obviously, I'm a family member."
The nurse's mouth pinches closed in a hard line.
Her gaze darts to me, to Max, to our joined hands, and her expression sours even further.
"Family," she repeats, skepticism dripping from every syllable.
Her eyes now move between the three of us.
JP with his black-and-purple hair and Korean features.
Max, who's five-foot-six, blue-haired, and wearing a magical girl costume.
Then me, the tallest and palest of the group, still sporting crushed bunny ears.
We look like the setup to a joke; a K-pop idol, a magical girl, and the Easter Bunny's hungover cousin walk into a bar.
"Yes." JP's voice is firm. "Family."
My throat tightens… Not from the allergic reaction this time.
Family. My brother Harold hasn't called me family with that much conviction in years.
But JP… JP, whom I've known for way less time, who has no obligation to me, who sprinted across a hospital because he was scared… says it like a fact. Like it's obvious.
Family. Because that's what we are, isn't it? Me, JP, and the rest of the geeks. A weird little found family of socially awkward geniuses.
"We're leaving anyway," I say, stepping forward and waving my papers in the air. "Just discharged."
The nurse looks like she wants to argue, but can't find a reason to. "Fine," she snaps. "The exit is that way."
"Thank you," Max says sweetly, in a tone that definitely means go away. She huffs and stalks off. JP watches her go, then turns back to us. His expression has softened slightly, the panic fading into relief.
"Aish,” JP swears again and shakes his head. "You scared the shit out of me."
"I know. I'm sorry."
He shakes his head. "You're buying me coffee for a month."
"Deal."
His eyes drop to our hands again. This time, a small smile tugs at his lips. "So," he says. "Finally figured it out?"
"Shut up," Max and I say in unison.
JP's smile widens. "Come on, lovebirds. Let's get out of here before someone else yells at us." He pauses, looking Max up and down. "Are you going to be okay walking through the hospital in that skirt?"
Max looks down at his Sayaka costume, the short skirt, the thigh-highs, the whole magical girl ensemble, and shrugs.
"Leo made this costume himself," he says primly. "I'm not ashamed of it."
"I didn't say you should be ashamed. I asked if you were going to be okay walking through the hospital in it."
"Yes. With my boyfriend." Max squeezes my hand. "Who almost died because he was too busy being jealous to check a snack label."
Boyfriend. I squeeze his hand back, probably harder than I mean to. Max glances at me, startled, and I pull him in closer by our joined hands until his shoulder is pressed against mine. I don't have words for it, I just need him closer. Boyfriend. He said boyfriend.
JP's expression shifts, smiling for just a second before the glare reasserts itself. "In my defense," I say, "you looked really good in that costume."
"I always look good."
"Fair point."
JP makes a gagging sound. "Oh no. You're going to be insufferable now, aren't you?"
Max beams at him. "Absolutely." We walk out of the hospital together, JP grumbling about heart attacks and phone calls, Max's hand warm in mine, the bunny ears flopping against my head with every step.
Best worst day ever.