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Flynn had never been this far back in the stacks.
The Powell library at UCLA had been built in 1929, and as Flynn explored the rows of tomes, she became more and more convinced she was the first person who’d been this deep into the fourth floor since it opened.
“Fuck Professor Lockhart, and fuck comparative literature,” Flynn muttered under her breath. Their assignment was to find an original version of a fairy tale and rewrite it with modern sensibilities. Only, the fairy tale couldn’t be a Disney version, and it couldn’t be published after 1900. Thus, her trek to the darkest recesses of the humanities library, where it was already deeply shadowed, even though it was only two in the afternoon.
Seeing a boy lying on his back with his feet balanced on the edge of one of the shelves was therefore completely unexpected. Flynn let out a little shriek of surprise. “Reggie! What are you doing here?”
“Oh hey, Flynn,” he said pleasantly and gave a small wave. “I didn’t think anyone else would be around.”
“Hi,” Flynn said uncertainly. Reggie’s face was very pale in the low light of the stacks, and despite his cheerful demeanour, his eyebrows were drawn down and his eyes were tight. His hands were pressing on his stomach, like he was holding himself together. She tilted her head. “Are you okay”
“Not really?” he said with a wince. “My stomach was hurting so I went here to lie down.”
Flynn glanced around, but there was no one else in sight. “How long have you been here?”
“What time is it?”
“Around two.”
“Since eleven?” Reggie said. “Damn, I missed class.” He grunted with pain, face contorting.
Flynn took off her school bag and sat down facing him. They were both in Fine Arts and she’d noticed Reggie from the first day of their music class. She’d always liked the contrast between his dark brown hair and bright green eyes, how sharp his cheekbones were and the kissable shape of his mouth. He was still really cute, even though right now he looked whiter than a white boy should. “You really don’t look well.”
“I’m okay,” he said. “It just hurts.”
“But you’ve been in pain for three hours! Maybe you should go see a doctor?”
“Ten hours?” he corrected her awkwardly. “It actually started around three this morning.”
Flynn’s jaw dropped. “You’ve been in pain for ten hours?”
He slid his shoulders up in a shrug. “It wasn’t so bad at first.”
“But it’s bad now,” Flynn confirmed.
“Yeah,” Reggie admitted. He grimaced. “Fuck, that hurts.”
Flynn winced in sympathy. “Maybe you should go to the doctor?”
“I’m okay,” he said again, although it was really obvious he wasn’t. “I probably just ate something bad? Me and Luke ate these hotdogs the other day and—” The sentence ended in a grunt. He squeezed his eyes shut.
Flynn bit her lip. It was hard to see him hurting like this. “I really think you need to see a doctor.”
“I was hoping it’d go away when I was lying down,” Reggie said, like he needed to explain why he was on his back on the library floor.
“Okay. But it hasn’t gone away,” Flynn said. “So, doctor?”
“No, it hasn’t. And that’s the problem—” he let out a strangled cry and curled up. His foot knocked down a couple of books as he rolled onto his side and practically into her lap.
Flynn balanced his head on her thigh. His skin was warm to the touch, like he had a fever. “The pain is definitely a problem,” she agreed, heart pounding. He was in agony and she didn’t know how to help. “We need to get you up—”
“I can’t walk!” he choked out. “I can’t—” he cried out again, face scrunched up and arms wrapped tightly around his middle.
“Okay, okay, we can deal with that. I’ll just call the paramedics,” Flynn said as calmly as possible. When she took her phone out of her school bag her hands were shaking.
“No, wait,” he gasped. “I’ll be okay.”
“You can’t walk, Reggie! And I’m not strong enough to carry you!”
“Luke is,” Reggie ground out. “Luke and Alex. If you call them, they’ll help.”
Luke and Alex were two other boys in their music program. Reggie always did group projects with them. Luke especially seemed impressively muscular. “But they’re not here,” Flynn said reasonably. “The paramedics—”
“They’ll get here!” Reggie interrupted. “Call them first, please?”
It was the please that did it. It broke Flynn’s heart for him to ask so nicely when he was hurting so badly. “Fine, I’ll call them. But if they’re not here in fifteen minutes I’m calling 911.” She was actually going to wait no longer than ten, but Reggie didn’t need to know that.
“They’ll be here,” Reggie said, then groaned.
“Give me your phone,” Flynn said when Reggie’s pain had finally ebbed and he still hadn’t made any move to give her his cell. “I don’t have their numbers.”
He made an ineffective attempt to move his arm, then cried out. Whatever was going on was bad. It took him a moment before he could speak. “Back pocket.”
Flynn slipped her hand into Reggie’s back pocket and fished out his phone. “What’s your code?”
“Solo.”
Flynn’s eyebrows raised. “Like, Han Solo? I don’t know if that’s cool or really geeky.” Reggie huffed out a small laugh, then moaned. “Don’t laugh!” She ordered him. She opened his contacts. “I assume Luke is Guitar Hero?” Reggie nodded, pain etched into every line of his face. Flynn called the number.
Luke picked up on the second ring. “Hey dude! Theoretical mathematics got boring?”
Theoretical mathematics? That was an impressive piece of information Flynn decided to store away for later. “Hi, Luke, my name’s Flynn Taylor. We’re in music class together? Anyway, I’m calling for Reggie. He’s kind of on the floor in the Powell library?”
There was a small pause on the other end of the phone as Luke clearly digested all that information, and then: “He’s on the floor?”
“Yes. Straight back on the fourth floor.” She looked at where Reggie was still lying in her lap, breathing hard against the waves of pain. She bit her lip. “He’s really sick and he needs your help.”
“Reggie’s sick?” Luke cried. “How bad?”
“He’s in a lot of pain? He says he can’t walk.”
”He can’t walk?” Luke’s voice screeched, loud enough Flynn pulled the phone away from her ear. “What the hell happened?”
“Tell him my stomach hurts,” Reggie gasped. “And I need him.”
“His stomach really hurts,” Flynn repeated. “He says he needs you.”
She heard Luke swallow. “I’ll be there in seven minutes. Make that five. And Flynn? Thanks.”
“Can you bring Alex too?” Flynn asked.
“Fuck!” Luke swore. “I’ll bring him, and Willie too. Tell him to hang on.” He hung up.
“They’re on their way,” Flynn reported. She ran her fingers through Reggie’s hair, wishing she could do more for him. It was damp with sweat.
“Thank you,” he said, voice shaking. His whole body was shaking, trembling as it tried to cope with the agony he was in. He made a sharp noise in the back of his throat, clearly trying to keep his cries behind his teeth. It was awful.
“Is there anything I can do to make it better?” Flynn asked desperately. She felt so helpless just sitting there, watching him writhing.
“Could you… just talk to me?” he asked, jaw clenched tight. “It helps distract me and… and I like your voice.”
“Oh.” Flynn’s cheeks heated at the compliment. “Um. Okay. I was in the library looking for a fairy tale.” He nodded, and she took that as her cue to continue. “I was looking for Sleeping Beauty. You know that one?”
“Everyone knows that one,” Reggie said haltingly. “Kissing without consent.”
“Yeah, Disney’s version. Not great,” Flynn agreed. “But the version I’m getting doesn’t actually include that? It’s from before the Grimm version and the prince just drops to his knees when he sees her, because he’s totally overwhelmed by her beauty.”
“I like that,” Reggie gulped.
“Me, too.” She stroked his hair. “I’m meant to write a modern version of the fairy tale. You know, with zippers and cell phones?” Reggie laughed, then groaned. “Sorry!” Flynn said quickly. “I didn’t mean to make you laugh!”
“it’s okay.” Reggie grinned up at her, and once again she was struck by how handsome he was. Then he grimaced as he was hit with another jolt. “God,” he moaned. “I wish you could put me to sleep for 100 years.”
“I like you awake,” Flynn said honestly. “I’m just sorry you’re in pain.”
“Worth it, to finally talk to you,” Reggie said.
Flynn’s jaw dropped, “What?” she breathed, just as Luke, Alex and Willie came careening around the corner.
It was appendicitis, and Reggie ended up in hospital for two days.
Luke had called Ray, who’d taken him home after he was discharged after his surgery. Ray wouldn’t let him do anything more strenuous than feed himself or take a shower for an entire week. By the time Ray decided it would be acceptable for him to return to school, Reggie thought it’d be okay if he never heard the Netflix tone again.
Alex, Luke and Willie were super pumped when he got back to residence, and his professors were all really accommodating, considering he’d missed over a week of classes. All in all, except for the excruciating pain, it hadn’t ended up too badly.
Especially when Flynn showed up at his door that evening.
“Flynn!” Reggie said, delighted she was there. His face heated at his complete lack of chill, but he couldn’t stop smiling.
“Hi, Reggie.” She grinned back and gave him a hug. He closed his eyes, loving the feeling of her in his arms. He let go sooner than he wanted to, not wanting to seem like a creep.
“Can I get you anything? Coffee?” He tried to remember what they had in the fridge. “Milk? A Pop Tart?”
Flynn laughed and Reggie took a moment just to admire her: the natural curl of her hair, her smooth skin, her stunning eyes in an equally stunning face. “No, I just came from the dining hall. I’m good.” She sat down on the couch. “Where are the guys?”
“They went to the gym,” Reggie explained. “I’m not allowed to go for another couple of weeks.”
Flynn frowned at the reminder of his surgery. “I’m so glad you’re not in pain anymore. That was awful.”
“You’re telling me! And thank you. Thanks for helping me like that,” he said, suddenly feeling shy. His hand went to the back of his neck.
“You’re welcome. Although I really didn’t do much. It was Luke, Alex and Willie who got you to the hospital.”
Reggie was shaking his head before she’d finished. “No, Flynn, that’s not true. You stayed with me. You talked to me. Gave me something else to think about besides the pain. It helped. It helped a lot.”
Her gaze was warm on his. “Really?”
“Promise. And you also called Luke when I couldn’t. So, you didn’t just help, you pretty much saved my ass.” He grinned.
She chucked as he hoped she would, then bit her lip. “You said the pain was worth it, so you could finally meet me?”
His face flamed. “Yes?”
She glanced at him through her lashes, a small smile touching her lips. “Well, I’ve been wanting to meet you, too.”
His jaw dropped. Flynn had wanted to meet him? It was too amazing to believe. “Really?”
“Uh huh.” She nodded. “I just didn’t expect it to be like Sleeping Beauty.”
He titled his head, confused but unable to stop smiling at her. “Sleeping Beauty?”
“Remember the assignment I had to write? To make a modern version of a fairy tale? Well, what happened to you reminds me of Sleeping Beauty.”
Reggie’s grin widened. “But I wasn’t asleep.”
“True.” Flynn shifted closer so their knees touched. She was looking deeply into his eyes, and his pulse quickened. “But I did find you lying down in one of the oldest parts of the library, hidden away from everyone else.”
The comparison made him laugh. “But I’m not a princess.”
Flynn’s eyes sparkled. “Maybe this time the prince gets saved.”
“I like that idea.” Reggie smiled. He leaned towards her, gaze dropping to her beautiful mouth before going back to her beautiful eyes. “But… you didn’t kiss me.”
Her gorgeous lips curved up. “I don’t kiss without consent.”
“I consent,” he breathed, and she kissed him.
END