"OW!" I just bit into an apple and the back of my jaw started to ache.

"Hunter, your teeth have been super sensitive for days now. You need to go to the dentist."

"Cristina i'm not going to the stupid dentist, I don't need it. I just have a small toothache, that's all." She grabbed me by the jaw and I felt a shock of pain go through my whole body when she grabbed my jaw so aggressively. "OW! WATCH IT!"

"I barley touched you, but now do you believe me?"

"I can't even afford going to the dentist."

"My dad went to college with this guy who's a dentist now and they are really good friends. I'm almost like a niece to him. I can pull a string or two and get him to either give you a really good discount or even do it pro bono."

"I'm assuming that means free but either way I can't ask you to do that for me."

"You're not asking, i'm offering. Plus this isn't entirely selfless. I can't stand hearing you complain about your mouth every 5 minutes and i'm hoping they fill you with enough drugs to shut you up for the next year."

I burst out laughing and she smiles. "Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no?"

"I'll get on the phone with him at lunch and we'll go after school."

"I'll meet you at your locker."

"See ya then Hunter."

"Quit being such a baby." I say as he lays back in the dentist chair waiting for someone to come see him.

"Okay, you're not the one in the chair. I can be as big as a baby as I want."

I groan and sit back in one of the regular chairs that are set up against the wall. Just as I do, the dentist walks in.

"Hey kid nice to see ya again. Wow, and you changed your hair. I like it. How's your dad?"

"Thanks, and he's good Pete. How are the kids?"

"Shelly just started middle school and Brian just started playing soccer at his school."

"Good for them."

We both turn to Shawn to see him just sitting there looking very confused.

"Okay Cristina, who did we have here?"

"This is Shawn." I say as I walk over to his chair.

"I am both pleased and scared to be here."

"It's okay Shawn, most people are. So Cristina told me your jaw was hurting?"

"Yeah it's mainly in the back of my jaw. It hurts a lot whenever I eat something or brush my teeth."

"Hmm. Can I take a look in your mouth?" Pete says as he puts on his gloves.

"Sure." He goes over and looks in the back of his mouth.

"Does this hurt?"

"Ow. Yes."

He takes his hands out of his mouth and throws this gloves in the trash.

"You're gums are pretty swollen. And from what i've gathered from your sensitive teeth, you need to have your wisdom teeth pulled."

"WHAT?! PULLED! AS IN YANKED OUT OF MY MOUTH!?"

"Don't worry Shawn, you'll be under anesthetic the whole time. You'll only feel a little bit of discomfort after the surgery for a few days."

"No way! I'll just ignore it until it goes away."

"Shawn. Don't be stupid. You can't just ignore it."

"Sure I can."

"Oh really?" I lightly slapped him in the jaw and he screamed.

"WATCH IT!"

"Shawn, she's right. If you don't get them removed the wisdom teeth can cause infection, overcrowding, decay..."

"Alright alright I get the point." He takes a deep breath. "I'll do it."

"Good." Pete says.

"How long is this gonna take?" He asked nervously.

"The surgery on average takes about 45 minutes. So you both are probably set to leave in an hour. But I need to ask you a few questions first to make sure you can have the surgery now."

"Okay doc, shoot."

"When was the last time you ate or drank anything?"

"Umm. I had orange juice and a bagel for breakfast this morning. I didn't get to have lunch at school today."

"When did you have the bagel and juice?"

"I don't know. Maybe at 7?"

"Okay it's 4 now so you should be good. Have you smoked or drank alcohol in the last 8 hours?"

"No I don't do that stuff."

"Okay good. Do you have anybody to come and drive you home? It's gonna be difficult to walk back after coming out of surgery."

"I can call my dad and he can drop him off." I suggested.

"Okay then Shawn, you're all set for surgery. I'll just go get a few things set up and then i'll come back and we can start."

After he left Shawn looked over at me and he looked nervous.

"Why did I let you talk me into this?" He asked with an anxious smile on his face.

"Because i'm the one in this relationship with the brains."

Right after I finished my sentence I realized that I said relationship instead of friendship and i'm currently internally panicking.

However he doesn't seem to notice and continues the conversation.

"Yeah yeah." He exhales deeply. "God i'm having surgery."

"It won't be that bad. Remember he said you're gonna he passed out the whole time and won't feel a thing."

"That's the only reason i'm letting this happen by the way. If I start feeling metal on my gums i'm out."

"Relax Hunter. You're in good hands." I held his hand for reassurance and I squeezed it.

God this feels nice.

"Yeah, I know." He says.

He meets my gaze and we stare at each other for a few seconds.

However a few seconds later Pete walks back in with a bunch of equipment and I let go of his hand. A breath I didn't know I was holding was let out. I need to stop doing stuff like that.

He's gonna find out.

"You ready to start Shawn?"

He shifts in his chair uncomfortably and thinks for a moment.

"Let's just get this over with."