Chapter Text
It had been a year since Liam had put a stop to ONE. He had managed to get everyone home, including himself. Bryce had been promoted from worker to manager of Epic Burger, and he finally had enough money to move out of his apartment and buy a house. Amelia returned to her yoga studio and resumed her life as a yoga instructor. Liam managed to get his previous job back and earn enough money to find a place to live, Charlotte had finally gotten her mold treatment but by the time she got it, her eye had to be amputated.
Liam tried reaching out to Charlotte, but he never got a reply. The others went back to their lives as regular objects. Bryce, Liam, and Amelia still kept in touch and they were all going to much needed therapy. The three planned a visit together, eventually deciding to take a week-long vacation together at Bryce's new home.
Things were going great, and everyone had arrived safely. Amelia had slept in and Bryce and Liam decided to surprise her with some tea from a nearby café. Once they had arrived, Liam and Bryce visited for a bit before buying their drinks and walking home. However, the weather had decided to spoil their plans with heavy rain and harsh winds.
The rain poured down onto the street, painting it a glossy black. It was raining hard and it happened so suddenly anyone outside was sure to be soaked. Unluckily for a particular soda bottle and backpack, the rain had hit just as they were on their way back to Bryce's house. Trying their best to avoid the oncoming rain, they darted into a nearby alley. Liam placed their drinks in his top pocket, making sure they were set at an angle where they wouldn't spill.
"Jeez, the rain just started out of nowhere…" Liam said, glancing down at his now soaked fabric. "It's like it knew we were coming." They found themselves standing in an empty alleyway with no other objects. The only things in sight were a few trash cans and a broken window that seemed to have been boarded up by some kind of wood panelling. As they stood there, listening to the rain fall against the pavement, Bryce began pacing up and down the alley. He turned to look at Liam.
"So, what do you think? We can go back to my place and dry off or we could wait here until this passes," he said.
Liam glanced around him again; there was nothing else in sight but the two of them. He looked back at Bryce and thought about how much time had passed since they'd left the café. "I'm not sure I want to walk all the way back home if we're gonna get soaked on the way."
"I mean we're practically soaked already, a bit more rain can't hurt, c'mon." Bryce urged.
Liam thought for a moment before nodding his head. "Alright, let's go."
Bryce smiled and nodded in approval, then turned to start walking down the alley. Liam followed behind him. What they didn't expect was the strong winds challenging their every step. Liam pressed onward, but Bryce slowed down behind him. The rain and wind made it hard to see, blocking their vision. Bryce took another step before he tripped, and a gust of wind made him fly toward a nearby building. "LIAM!!" Bryce screamed as his head flung against the corner of the building. Liam looked behind him quickly. Bryce slowly reached his shaking hand up to his now dented head, his vision becoming blurry, before his eyes began to close against his will, all thoughts leaving his brain. Liam watched his friend as he was knocked out cold.
"Bryce?!" Liam shouted. He ran over to him quickly, kneeling next to him. "Are you okay?"
Liam grabbed onto his arm, stopping his friend from being taken by the wind. Bryce remained motionless, there was no response. Liam began panicking, he checked his pulse, he was alive. Liam sighed a breath of relief as he carried Bryce back to his house. Once he arrived, He laid him gently on his bed, before rushing to the kitchen to grab some bandages. Liam ran back to Bryce's room and wrapped the bandages around his injury. Bryce must have passed out due to the shock of hitting the wall, or maybe he was just exhausted from the long day. Either way, he needed to rest.
Liam left Bryce's room, set the drinks on the table, and made his way to Amelia's room. He gently woke her up and began telling her what happened. "Then the wind picked up and..he flung into the building corner..he hit his head and passed out…" Liam sighed.
Amelia looked shocked. "He's still breathing right?" she asked. Liam nodded.
"It sounds like a concussion, it's a good thing he's made of plastic, if he were glass he would have shattered.." Amelia continued. Liam shuddered at the thought, he remembered when they both fell off of the wooden poles in the first ONE challenge. Amelia had shattered from the impact and the pain Liam felt in his leg was unbearable. He shook away the memory.
They were both worried for Bryce's safety, but they knew letting him get some much needed rest would be for the best.
Bryce's eyes opened wide and he sat upright in bed. A sudden pain shot through his head and he quickly grabbed at the side of it. He began to rub vigorously, trying to get rid of whatever was causing the pain.
"Ow, ow, ow…" he muttered under his breath as he continued rubbing.
He was used to having headaches from being hungover, but this one had been more painful than any Bryce had ever experienced before. His fingers felt a large dent around his head, plastic turned inward, almost reaching his eye. He realized he was wearing a bandage around his head upon feeling the texture.
"What…happened to me?" he asked himself quietly. He tried to remember what had happened, but his mind was fuzzy and his headache was getting worse. He decided he would try to sleep for a while longer. He looked around the room for something to drink to take his pain away, but he couldn't find anything. He was thirsty though, he desperately wanted to drink something. Just before he could get up, there was a knock at his room door. "..come in.." Bryce said.
Liam opened the door, he looked visibly anxious, one arm grabbing onto the other in tension. He glanced over at Bryce, and seeing he was now awake, Liam let out a sigh of relief. Amelia followed behind him, smiling happily upon seeing Bryce was okay. She set down Bryce's drink from the café on his bedside table. Amelia and Liam both ran over to him and hugged him. "Bryce!! I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Ow…careful guys…" Bryce sighed, his body still sore from the impact. They both let go and backed up to give him space. Liam laughed nervously. "Sorry, we were worried about you." He sighed. "I'm so glad you're awake, I was worried you wouldn't wake up. How are you feeling?" Liam continued.
Bryce glanced up at the both of them and gave them a weak smile. "I'm doing okay…my head hurts like hell though…How long was I out for?"
"A few minutes, I thought it was best to let you rest. But, I brought you some water." Liam showed him the glass he had in his hands.
Bryce drank deeply from the glass, it helped ease some of the pain. "Thanks, what about you, how did you make it back here without being blown into the alley?"
"Well, for one: I'm much heavier than you, I had things with me that helped weigh me down," Liam replied. Amelia chuckled. Bryce nodded his head, still slightly confused. "Oh right. So, why am I in a bandage?"
Liam looked away and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I didn't have anything to call for help on, I didn't have a phone with me and the streets were empty, so I brought you home and set you down in bed. I looked through your kitchen for any first aid supplies and I found bandages under the sink. So, I wrapped them around where your head was dented." Bryce looked at him curiously. "Why'd you do that?"
"Well, I didn't know how hurt you were. I figured maybe the force from hitting the wall got your head cut open, so I wanted to be safe and wrap it up."
"Well I'm grateful you did, my head doesn't feel so hot anymore."
Liam chuckled, a small smile forming on his face. Amelia smiled as well. Liam then stood up and walked over to the door. "Well, we'll leave you to rest and come back later to check up on you."
"Have a good rest, Bryce." Amelia smiled before leaving.
"You too." Bryce nodded his head goodbye, watching them walk out of the room. He looked down at his bedside table and saw his phone sitting there. He picked it up and examined it. He put it back down on the table and looked at the time. 10:45 pm. He laid back down and tried to go back to sleep. The pain had subsided slightly, but he still couldn't seem to get comfortable. After trying to find a position that didn't hurt him, he finally drifted off into a deep slumber.