Chapter Text
"Your heart decides who it likes and who it doesn’t. You can’t tell your heart what to do, it does it on its own when you least expect it, or even if you don’t want it to…" - Unknown
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
It wasn’t like she hated living in the hospital. The nurses were nice, the food was surprisingly decent, and she’d made a few friends in the other patients. There was Isaac, who suffered from PTSD and had multiple serious injuries from being abused by his now deceased father. He had been there for a few weeks and would most likely leave within the next few months, but they had formed an instant friendship. Then there was Cora who was still recovering from severe burns sustained from a house fire years ago. She was rather quiet, but when she had an opinion, she would state it whether you wanted it or not. Of course, Erica had a few friends out of the hospital, but because of her situation, those friendships were more than a little strained. The conversations were empty, as her friends didn’t want to bring up her condition, and she couldn’t really keep up with all of the happenings outside of the hospital. It was difficult, and when her friends slowly stopped visiting, she couldn’t help but be a bit relieved.
While a lot of her time was spent in her room, reading or writing or drawing, for a few hours in the day, she would wander out of her room and roll Cora down to Isaac’s room for cards or movies. That day had been like any other day. It was a Thursday. That much she remembered. It was also one of the first days of spring. Although she couldn’t open her window to enjoy the sweet smell of budding flowers, the shades were kept open and she could see the change surrounding Beacon Hills. She’d always loved spring, but ever since moving into the hospital a few years ago, she hadn’t been able to really enjoy it like she used to. With spring came new beginnings. Flowers bloomed, animals were born, and the chill that had settled in from winter slowly drifted away. Change was in the air, and it sent a thrill of excitement through Erica. After taking her medication for the day, Erica grabbed her deck of cards and slipped it into her robe before making her way down to Cora’s room.
"Morning starshine, the earth says ‘hello’," she greeted, smiling brightly at Cora as she walked over to her, sitting in her wheelchair over by the window.
"I regret watching Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory with you now,” she muttered, her voice rather monotone as she looked back at her. “What’s got you so cheery this morning?”
Erica shrugged as she started looking through the movies Cora’s big brother Derek always brought her when he visited. The two had been really close, but Cora knew that he didn’t like visiting because seeing her only reminded him of the people they had lost. Erica understood, so she didn’t bring it up. “I don’t know. It’s spring. I like spring.”
"I don’t," Cora stated. "Those stupid birds always wake me up at like four in the morning. And the nurses always do something stupid like try to get me outside or decorate my room with those stupid gel flower things." Erica rolled her eyes and shook her head. Cora always saw the negative in the things. No matter what it was, she would figure out a way to make whatever Erica was excited about sound as appealing as the plague.
"Well I like spring. Now," she started, effectively ending that discussion before turning with two DVDs in her hands, "Captain America or Forrest Gump?”
"No rom-com suggestion today? I’m shocked," Cora teased, a small smirk on her lips, causing Erica to glare at her slightly.
"Yeah well the last two times we watched one, you and Isaac made snarky comments the entire time, and I’d rather you not ruin another classic," Erica explained, grabbing both DVDs and placing them in Cora’s lap.
“‘Classic’? Puh-lease, Erica. I would hardly call Never Been Kissed a classic,” the brunette commented, holding the DVDs in her lap as Erica started rolling her out of her room and down toward Isaac's.
"You didn’t even give it a chance. It’s a great movie," Erica insisted.
"I’m sure it’s okay, but I doubt it’s great," Cora retorted.
"You’re such a pessimist," she groused.
"And you’re a hopeless romantic. Chances are that the closest you and I will get to experiencing romance will be our movie days with Isaac," Cora stated.
Erica bit her lip and looked down. She knew Cora was right, but she couldn’t help it. She’d read so many books about love and seen so many romantic movies. She wanted to feel what love was. Girls her age were experiencing it every day. Girls of all shapes and sizes could go out in the world and find someone that saw their imperfections as beauty and loved them for those imperfections. It was something Erica had always dreamed about. But when you suffered from epilepsy and spent every day in a hospital, the chances of finding a date are pretty slim.
Her mind was running through this realization, and her eyes remained off her surroundings. She was so oblivious to reality that she didn’t hear Cora before she crashed her chair into someone.
"Ow, crap," the voice said, Erica gasping softly as she looked up and saw the boy she’d hit holding his foot.
"Did you not hear me tell you to stop?!" Cora practically shouted at her, turning her head to look at her. "Where was your head? Jeez, Erica."
"I am so, so sorry," she muttered, her eyes wide and her eyebrows cinched together in concern. "A-Are you okay?"
The boy stopped rubbing his toes and looked up, sighing softly before offering a small smile. “I’ll survive,” he stated, looking down at Cora for a moment. “Um, I’m Stiles. New tenant. Patient? Whatever you call it,” he rambled, offering his hand first to Cora, then to Erica, who couldn’t stop her stomach from flipping at his charming smile.
"I’m Cora. Been here for about five years. This is Erica. She’s been here for about three," she explained, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Cora and Erica. Shouldn’t be too hard to remember," he replied, that smile still spread on his lips. "Uh, where are you two headed anyways?" His eyes locked with Erica’s, and her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
"Our friend Isaac’s room," Cora spoke for her, shooting a look back at her for a moment that made her cheeks flash red. "We’re going to watch some movies. Maybe play some cards. Want to come?"
Stiles looked back into the room he had come out of where a man in a police uniform was talking to a nurse. “I should probably say goodbye to my dad. What room is he in? I’ll come join you in a bit.”
"Room B14. It’s just a few doors down," Cora explained, pointing down the hall to where Isaac’s room was.
"B14. Got it. I’ll see you guys then. Cora," he said, nodding down at the girl. "Erica," he repeated, his eyes once again locking with hers and making her heart flutter. He shot them both another smile before walking back into his room.
Her cheeks still felt warm as she started pushing Cora towards Isaac’s room. She knew it was coming, so the second the girls entered the room, she shut the door behind her. “Not a word, Cora Hale,” she stated, immediately moving to her seat near Isaac’s bed.
"Not a word about what?" Isaac asked, perking up a bit.
"She doesn’t want me to talk about how she nearly drooled over the new resident," Cora explained, a teasing tone to her voice as she took the DVDs and handed them to Isaac. "His name is Stiles. Brown hair, big brown eyes, a bunch of weird moles on his face. He’s kind of handsome, but too lanky. Not my type, but apparently he’s Erica’s."
"Shut up!" Erica exclaimed, her face turning a darker shade of red. "I did not drool over him. I was just embarrassed from running him over."
"You ran him over?" Isaac asked, clearly amused by this story. It wasn’t everyday that they had something this juicy to talk about it. Most of the time they gossiped about possible relationships between doctors and nurses and ranted about the food.
"It was an accident," Erica pointed out, grabbing Captain America and moving to put it into the DVD player. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
"I’m fine by the way," Cora stated, laughing softly. "You should have seen her Isaac. She was flapping her mouth like a fish trying to talk. I was half expecting her to melt into a little Erica puddle." Isaac’s laughs joined her own, and Erica crossed her arms over her chest before sitting in her seat.
"I hate both of you," she told them, pouting.
"Love you too, Eri," Isaac replied, squeezing her shoulder. "Now are you going to tell me your side or should I just take Cora’s story as fact."
Erica sighed and leaned back in her chair, looking over at Isaac. “It’s not every day a cute guy comes to stay here,” she stated with a shrug. “He is cute. And I guess it’s just been a long time since someone smiled at me like he did. I don’t know. It’s not like I have a chance. He probably has a girlfriend or is only here for a little while or something. Either way, I’m not getting my hopes up.”
A knowing smile brushed Isaac’s lips, and he shared a look with Cora before nodding and turning towards the TV. “Whatever you say, Erica.”
She turned towards the TV and locked her attention on the movie, but her mind wandered to Stiles. What was he there for? Was he going to stay long, or was he just a temporary resident? She wanted to learn more about him. She wanted to learn everything about him. But above all, she wanted him to smile at her like that again. Even if he was just being friendly, the way she felt when he smiled at her was something she wanted to experience as much as possible.
Fifteen minutes passed, and Stiles hadn’t shown up. Then a half an hour passed. Then an hour. Captain America ended, and Stiles still hadn’t arrived. Maybe he had been more upset over her running him over. Maybe he didn’t want to talk to anyone that lived in the hospital. When Forrest Gump ended, and Stiles still hadn’t shown up, Erica had given up hope. She felt so stupid for thinking that she could have found a new friend in Stiles. As she played hearts with Cora and Isaac, she could feel their eyes on her, but she couldn’t find it in herself to hide her disappointment.
About an hour later, it was time to go, so she grabbed Cora’s movies and her deck of cards and rolled the girl to her room, keep her head facing forward as they passed Stiles’s room. She left Cora in her room, ignoring the slightly sympathetic expression on her face and being thankful that for once, Cora didn’t give her opinion. She felt humiliated for getting so excited over Stiles. He was just another person that clearly saw her for what she was: a freak.