The appearance of the night came a lot sooner than he thought it would. Beau said his goodbyes to Harley a little after he agreed to dance for him when he got out. Truthfully, Beau could feel his stomach turning again at the thought of it. He racked his brain for any reason as to why Harley was so obsessed with watching him other than just curiosity. It had to be to make fun of him as others have in the past.
Soon, he was back in his hospital room falling back into his dreams. He could still feel the cold wrapped around his wrist.
That feeling stayed even through the morning. When he opened his eyes, Beau spotted Claude draped across the chair in the corner asleep. His arms were crossed over his chest. Beau observed him for a moment, feeling thankful that his parents weren't in the room. They had to work so if they were there instead of Claude then a fight would break out between the three.
Beau picked up his pillow after sitting up and threw it at Claude. The male did get hit but he just grumbled and swatted the air in his sleep. "Claude," Beau called, starting to get up from his bed. He walked over to his best friend despite wanting to crawl back in bed and under the blanket to hide from the cold, stale room. The floor felt like ice against his bare feet. "Wake up, please…" He picked up the pillow and tossed it back onto his bed. Beau took hold of Claude's arm and shook it gently.
Claude pulled his arm away and swatted the air once more with a nose scrunch. Beau rubbed the back of his neck in thought. When Claude was asleep, it was hard to wake him up. Beau learned that over the years but what convinced him was when Claude's mom started a fire when cooking and he slept through the alarm and smoke. He was only woken up when he was pulled off of his bed and his face smacked the floor. Beau couldn't blame Claude's mom for that. She was a great mom for not worrying about hurting her son in that situation. Of course, she couldn't stop apologizing to Claude every time she saw him. On the other hand, Claude's sister could only laugh when she saw him with his bandages on his nose and blackened cheek.
Beau looked down at his arm to see he didn't have an IV in anymore. He should have noticed that when he woke up but he was more focused on Claude. Before he went to bed last night, his attending nurse said he would be able to leave today. There was no reason for him to stay longer since he didn't have another attack. In silence, Beau picked up his bag of clothes and changed out of the hospital wear.
Just as he was pulling his shirt back on, there was a knock on the door. Beau looked over to see his doctor walk in with an inviting smile. "Getting ready to leave?" He asked Beau.
Beau nodded and adjusted his collar so it didn't feel tight around his neck. "I hope you aren't upset. This is the first time I'm seeing you since I got here."
The man laughed and shook his head, "I'm happy you're on your feet still. Yesterday must have scared you. I hope you go home and rest." Beau could sense the hidden message under his tone telling Beau not to go to the studio.
"Sir…"
"Leonard. Call me Leonard. You know I don't like being called that.." Leonard looked down at Beau's chart.
"Then Leonard," Beau started back up again with no hesitation to be casual, "If I sign up for a competition, will you support me?" the younger male flashed Leonard a smile. He had no intentions of actually signing up for anything but he just liked to tease the man.
Leonard's smile dropped into a line. He parted his lips to speak but before he could, Claude's voice rang through the room tiredly, "What are you talking about?" He asked with a groan.
Beau looked over and watched Claude sit up and yawn. "It's a joke…" Beau mumbled and started collecting his things. Beau shoved his phone in his back pocket.
"Sir, can you test Beau's mental state too? He's been so carefree lately. He used to be stingy and mean." Claude complained and went over to Beau to help him prepare to leave. Beau rolled his eyes at the comment and pushed his bag towards Claude. Did he not want Beau to be nice?
Leonard held his breath at the 'Sir' but covered up his dissatisfaction with a light laugh that faded into a sigh, "A personality change is normal with his condition. He may do different things than usual as well or have memory loss. There have been cases of hallucinations as well-"
"I have not had anything but headaches and nausea." Beau interrupted.
"No, as far as we know. Though you've been dizzy and I recall you saying you often had blurred vision. I'm surprised you are still standing and that you haven't gotten completely weak. Others in your situation would rather rest and stay in bed because of the exhaustion." Leonard marked some things down on the chart as he finished speaking in a matter-of-fact tone.
Beau scowled slightly at the comparison to others with his diagnoses. He glanced at Claude and without warning started walking to the door. "I'm no one but myself. Can I stop being treated like a case study and compared?" Beau opened the door and walked out, slamming it behind him. He didn't want to be at the hospital any longer. He didn't even care if he was done or not with his check-up with Leonard
The sound of Claude calling for him from inside the room got quieter the further he got away. Claude did nothing wrong. He couldn't seriously be mad at Claude but Leonard acted like he knew everything about him.
Beau didn't know how he got to the desk to check out as quickly as he did. Maybe it was because he left his things with Claude to carry down. Despite his urge to run off from the hospital, Beau stepped outside and waited by the exit for Claude.
He looked up at the bright sky. There were some dark clouds in the distance to alert everyone in New Orleans of rain. Beau squatted and hugged his knees to his chest. Even if he was dying, he wished everyone he loved and cared for would understand why he didn't want to worry about it so much. Beau wondered if he was as selfish as they all thought. He could still be the boy who yelled at Claude for interrupting his focus or the son that would sneak out at night to join the parties.
Or was it because they didn't want to lose what he brought to the table?
There had been plenty of times where he pulled things together for his parents when they were in tough situations. He worked through high school and almost dropped out. There was a year where he didn't even find time for ballet. For Claude, he was there for all of his heartbreaks (even if Claude was the one breaking hearts most of the time). Claude didn't listen to Beau's problems and when he did, Claude would brush him off and tell him "Things will get better".
Beau sniffled and quickly wiped his nose with the back of his hand. Yeah, they had to only care about what he could do for them. Even if they did chant their love to him every day now.
"I couldn't find you!" Claude exclaimed and stood in front of Beau. He looked down at him, in Beau's way of looking at the sky.
Beau waved his hand, "Can you move?"
Claude knitted his brows together and looked up behind him to the sky like Beau. "Oh… will it rain?" He stepped out of Beau's way, "We should hurry and leave then so we don't get caught in it."
"I don't mind getting caught in it." Beau pushed himself up to stand straight. He stretched out his arms and playfully bumped his shoulder in Claude's, "Who knows if it'll be the last time?" Claude didn't say anything but he didn't look away from Beau with a serious expression. Beau just started walking forward without his friend. He paused and turned around. "Let's walk. Remember when we got caught in that storm on the way home from school? Your hair was ridiculous that day." Beau chuckled at the memory.
Claude sighed and smiled gently. "Sure." He agreed and walked to Beau's side. This time, he was the one to bump his shoulder into Beau's.
They walked together under the sunlight. The clouds got closer to them as they did. Every now and then, Beau could hear a hum from Claude as music played in his mind. As the clouds got closer, Beau spotted some water droplets hitting the ground.
"Hey," Claude spoke up again. He adjusted Beau's bag on his arm, "I have to tell you something…" He stopped walking, causing Beau to do so as well. Beau gazed at the brunette with curiosity.
Then, he could feel the rain start to hit his skin with their needle-like touch.