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miles slammed his hands down onto the piano, frustrated. he doubled over, leaning his elbows on the keys and taking deep breaths as a searing pain shot through his kidneys. as his vision began to blur and darken, miles grabbed his phone and quickly shot out a text to his best friend. sos.
it was their code word. jax had told miles that whenever he texted him the code word, jax would be there. the back left side of miles's head throbbed. he kept thinking of jax, begging himself not to pass out. he turned himself around on the seat and leaned his back on the piano, looking straight at the door.
meanwhile somewhere, in some room, jax had received a text. he dug around in his bag and shot out the door. just as miles's knees hit the ground, jax's sneakers hit the threshold of the room. miles was picked up, and a few "hey"s, "stay with me"s, "you can do this"s and other various reassuring phrases were whispered into his ear. despite his will, miles passed out the second jax laid him on the couch.
when he finally came to, jax was gripping his hand like it would save his life. miles gave a weak laugh. "relax, dude. it's not like i'm dying or whatever."
jax blinked. miles's face was drained of any evidence of a previous laugh as he analyzed what he'd just said. "wait. wait, you know what i mean."
jax closed his eyes and ran his thumb over miles's hand gently, as if it were fragile china he couldn't afford to break. "yeah," he said softly, and sighed. jax pressed a warm hand to miles's forehead.
"you're hot," he observed. miles's eyebrows knit together.
"what? i'm freezing."
jax pulled off the hoodie he was wearing, and offered it to miles.
"offering me my own hoodie. charming," miles joked. jax laughed. miles stuck his hands in the pockets and pulled out a capsule.
"oh, right," jax said, slapping himself on the side of his head with his free hand. "you've gotta take those."
"i'm fine, jax."
"miles. dude. you need to take your meds. have you taken them at all today?"
miles shakes his head. "you had my sweater."
"genius, this is my pack. remember, the extra you got for me in case you ran out or forgot yours? you've got yours in your left pocket," he reminded miles gently.
miles shrugged apologetically. he swallowed a tablet, and jax passed him his water bottle. miles took a quick sip to wash down the medicine.
"you've gotta drink more than that. your kidneys won't get any better if they don't get any water."
"my kidneys aren't getting any better, jax." miles spat.
jax's eyes widened. "sorry, that was insensitive of me. i didn't mean–"
"i know what you meant. i didn't mean to overreact, i'm just...just...ugh, what's the word."
jax racked his brain, but he couldn't find the word miles was looking for. instead, he just nodded. "i get it. it's fine, don't worry."
the two sat in silence for a while. the only thing they could hear was the synced drumming of their hearts in their chests, and miles's ragged breathing. jax knew he should have gotten up and left, but he couldn't stand to see miles in his current condition. in fact, he just couldn't stand. miles's legs were kicked over his lap. the teacher would understand, anyway. this isn't the first time jax has run out. plus, you don't say 'no' to a dying kid, or his best friend.
the arrows in jax's heart twisted as he thought about miles. the poor guy might not make it any longer. he'd been passing out more frequently than before, and sometimes the only things he could say were incoherent sentences.
miles's eyes flutter closed and jax's heart stopped. he moved his grip from miles's palm to his wrist in one quick motion to check for a pulse. fortunately, he found one. he also found miles's amused eyes looking back at him when he looked back up.
"i love how concerned you are for my health."
"well, i love you."
as soon as the words pass jax's lips, the world stops. jax immediately regrets it.
"i love you, too," retorts miles.
"no, you don't get it. i like, actually love you." jax kicks himself, and tells himself to shut up, just shut up already. you're making a fool of yourself, jax, just tell him it's a joke and he'll–
"right. i 'like, actually' love you too, dude."
"huh? seriously?" miles nods.
"what, you thought i was kidding?" it's jax's turn to nod. "i'm not. there's no one i'd rather make music with, play minecraft until i pass out with, spend my last moments with, or whatever else, than you. i'd say i'd die for you but that's pretty ironic, so i guess i'd live for you?"
jax gives a weak grin. "likewise, man. i'm not good with words, but like, you make my heart jump, and this sounds so cliché, but i feel fireworks, and god, i dunno. i've never felt this way about anyone, but hey, this place is full of new experiences, yeah?" jax runs his free hand through his hair, exasperated. miles laughs and squeezes his hand.
just then, the bell rings. jax grabs the capsule and shoves it into his pocket. he helps miles off the couch, and hugs him once he's sure the boy's physically stable. miles, in turn, rests his chin on jax's head. the two stay like that for a while, then separate.
"i'll see you later?" asks jax.
"of course," replies miles. jax stands on his toes (now he knows how the pointe dancers feel, yikes.) and kisses miles on the cheek. he utters a final "stay safe" and leaves to go reclaim his stuff.
miles, of course, is stunned. he can't fathom that someone actually cares for him as much as jax does.