Starlight (Book 1)

34: We Can Be Famous Together

For the next few days, I was visiting Jax like clockwork. Every day, after school, I crashed into his hospital room to cheer him up.

I knew that what had happened with Midnight affected him, as much as he tried to pretend it didn't.

I was sitting in my chair as usual, in the same place I'd chosen previously. Next to me was the side-table, where Jax's phone was sitting. He was digging into the last of the French fries Alaina had brought him earlier. She was a whirlwind of emotions, and it still seemed to linger in the air even after she'd gone.

"Nurse Jyotshi said I might be discharged by tomorrow," Jax said. He watched me as I snickered at his words, predictably—he'd figured out that saying anything in a certain tone of voice made me chuckle, without fail—and had since started using it for everything. "I'm pretty sure she only deals with me because she likes you."

"Not true," I defended. "She doesn't like you because you're annoying."

"I know," he replied simply. "I'm annoyingly awesome."

I scoffed and nabbed a fry from his plate. "When did you get your phone back?"

"Earlier this morning." He crossed his arms over his chest. "That detective guy came to give it to me. I really hate the idea that somebody out there looked through it."

I poked him. "Everyone knows the dumb nicknames for all of your contacts now. There's a whole police file dedicated to decoding that."

He looked visibly shaken by the idea of this. "Oh, I hate that. That's the worst thing you've ever said."

I chuckled. If I remembered correctly, I was pretty sure my contact name was 'not my friend or anything.'

"Well, it's true. Probably."

He sat back, casting a look towards the seat where Alaina had been. Lily and Vivian, who'd both been visiting him as much as I had—were also responsible for bringing Jax the homework he'd missed. The huge stack of worksheets now occupied the chair, forebodingly watching us.

"You would know," he said lightly, kicking me from underneath the scratchy hospital bedsheets. "It was practically your family reunion."

I let out a gasp, pretending to act offended. "Shut up. Dad and Papa were only there because they don't trust me enough to let me drive anywhere myself."

"Do you even want to drive?"

"No, but that's not my point," I stated calmly, watching as he dramatically rolled his eyes. "What? If they don't start teaching me now, my learner's license is going to expire."

He scoffed. "Okay, but do you still think we should use both feet to drive?"

I sat up, folding my hands in my lap. "Listen to me. It makes no sense that you only have to use one. You have two feet. Why don't we use them?"

"Because we don't need to," Jax said, sighing. "You know this."

I did, of course—but that wouldn't stop me from playing dumb to get on his nerves. "Why not? Two pedals, two feet. It makes sense."

"No, it really doesn't. What if you get your feet mixed up? Then what?" he challenged, waiting expectantly for my answer.

I groaned. "When have you ever, seriously, gotten your feet mixed up?"

"That question," he pointed out, "is a trap. If I say yes, you're going to say, 'that sounds like a you problem,' and if say no, that's going to prove the point you think you're making. And it's a flawed point, for your information."