"My ass itches," Cole groaned, shifting in his place.

I scrunched my face up in a grossed-up way and he scrunched his face back at me, "The gown feels like some mother trucker glued spike plants all over it. My fucking balls itch."

"Cole!" I bit my lip to suppress my laughter. Blake was still sitting across the room silently staring at us with an unreadable expression. He hasn't spoken a word since we were in the room with the doctor hours ago when she was breaking the news to Cole.

Cole took the news like a damn champ, or at least that's what I think based on the expression that had hit his face. He asked for a few minutes alone to process everything and after that, he looked like he was back to his normal cheerful self.

He did have to call his parents though, and so did the doctors. He took an hour or two to talk to Lizzie and his parents over a Facetime call while I napped outside the room because of how tired my eyes were from crying.

Blake was silent the whole time and I don't think he got even an ounce of sleep. He didn't shed a tear, he didn't smile, he didn't move a muscle. We could feel his eyes on us for a while and Cole even asked for some alone time with him for a few minutes but I have no idea what went on in the room.

I would catch Blake staring at Cole while he talked to Peter or Jordan over the phone and see his eyes get just a bit glassy but not one tear would escape them. I tried talking to him an hour ago when we walked out of the room because Huda had entered it but he just shut his eyes close and shook his head softly.

Speaking of Huda, my mind is still burning with curiosity over what the two of them talked about when they were alone. I remember seeing her torn expression and blood-shot eyes when she asked to come in, it broke my heart seeing her like that.

I also remember catching a glimpse of Cole letting go of her hand the moment we entered the room because Mrs. Martin was waiting for Huda outside so she could take her home for the night. My heart kind of warmed when I saw that both of them had their stupid wide grins on their faces during that split second.

"Do you guys think the nurses would mind if I take this shit off and stay butt-naked?" Cole's voice brought me back from my thoughts.

My eyes widened, "You're not staying naked, Cole. We can ask them for another gown if you want," I suggested.

Cole groaned and shifted in his place again, shaking his head and changing the subject. "How many hours left til' the biopsy results, again?"

I looked down at my phone's clock, "Half an hour," My eyes widened, I didn't expect time to pass by that quickly.

"And what exactly do these results tell us, again?" He looks up at the ceiling.

"They indicate whether the tumor is malignant or benign,"

"Right," Cole mutters. "When are you guys supposed to be leaving?"

"We have one hour and twenty minutes left till we're supposed to head back home," I heard footsteps approach and saw Blake walk towards us from the corner of my eye.

He sat down on the chair beside me and scooted closer to us. He let out a sigh and leaned forward, resting his head against the edge of Cole's bed.

"My ass still itches," Cole said out of nowhere.

I groaned. This guy's literally laid down on a hospital bed, waiting to hear his chances at surviving a freaking tumor, and is complaining about his itchy butt and ticklish testicles.

I stood up, "That's it. I'm asking for a new gown." I didn't give him a second to object before I was out of the room.

I pulled my mask over my nose and was making my way to the nurse's desk but stopped when I felt a buzz in my pocket, indicating I received a message on my phone.

I knit my eyebrows, confused as to how I received that buzz; I remember switching it on silent because of the constant notifications I was receiving from that certain account.

ODxIsxAxWhore

I shook my head immediately and forced myself to not think about it. I pulled my phone out of my pocket to put it back on silent mode but stopped when my eyes landed on Andres's name on my screen; he had sent me a message.

Holy crap, I forgot this dude existed.

My mind went back to the last time we contacted each other and I winced. I made a mental note to reply to him later and headed towards the nurse's desk. "Hello,"

She looked up at me with an almost bored expression and I pursed my lips, "Yes?"

"Can a new hospital gown be sent to room 105, please?" Should I tell her it's because the old material tickles the patient's balls or do I just shut up.

I think I'm just gonna shut up.

She nodded her head, "I'll have a new one sent in five minutes,"

I gave her a polite smile, "Thank you." I began to walk out.

I removed my mask once I entered the room because it was suffocating me and Cole narrowed his eyes at me, "Did you tell them my buttocks itches?"

I shook my head, "Just told them it tickles your genitals," I took a seat back on the chair beside Blake.

He rose an eyebrow, sucking his lips into his teeth, "Nah you didn't,"

I smiled and shook my head, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Liar.

I decided to ignore that, "You'll be getting a new gown in a few minutes,"

He smiled and shifted in his place, "Fuck yeah," he muttered.

♛

I moved my chair a bit closer to Blake so I don't block the view of the doctor's face from him and I took a deep breath. It's been thirty-seven minutes and I'm guessing it's time for the doctor to tell us the results of the biopsy.

I heard Blake take a breath beside me too and I saw his hand reach towards mine from the corner of my eye. Automatically, my hand reached towards his too and it took him less than a second to interlock his fingers with my own and squeeze the hell out of them.

I noticed his leg bouncing against the ground as the doctor greeted Cole and I placed our interlocked hands over it, stroking his thigh with my thumb. He stopped bouncing it, took another deep breath, and squeezed my hand harder.

I watched as the doctor looked down at the pathology report, saying a few things that my mind wasn't quite able to process since I only had the two words "MALIGNANT" and "BENIGN" stuck into it and was waiting for her to say one of the words.

My heart started palpitating. The fine hairs on my neck began to rise from fear. My breathing kept hitching and I felt like I was gonna suffocate from how fast the panic was rising. I forced myself to shake every single negative thought crossing my mind at the moment and focus on the doctor's voice.

"The pathology report also states that it's a small benign tumor, around three centimeters. We'll have to schedule a surgery later this week and it'll be removed in no tim..." The next words were all back to being a blur, my mind was fogged up with relief as tears began pooling in my eyes, my mouth was tugging into a soft smile.

It's not cancer. He's gonna be alright. It'll be gone in a week. Cole's gonna be alright. Everything's fine.

I noticed Blake's hold become less tight and I turned my head towards him, finding him already looking at me with a tiny bit of a smile tracing his lips. He eyed my teary eyes and brought my chair closer to him.

He wiped them away with his thumb and I didn't realize that the doctor had left until Cole said, "I fucking told you little shits!"

I swiveled my head towards him and saw him grinning. I smiled back at him and he squinted his eyes when he noticed me crying.

"Are you crying?"

"Shut up," I said, standing up.

He was about to say something else but stopped when I threw my arms around him, smiling against his shoulder. He slowly sat up straighter and brought his arms over my back, rubbing it.

I sighed and felt another pair of arms wrap around me from behind, my nose was hit with the strong scent of Blake's hair over Cole's watermelon one and he embraced me harder.

"You guys have to leave in a few minutes," Cole whispered a moment later. We pulled back but Blake's arm stayed wrapped around my waist. I nodded my head at Cole and wiped my tears.

"Yeah," I placed my mask over my nose. "You need to tell your parents." I reminded him.

Cole rested his head back against the bed and shifted so he could face us. "Yeah, I know. The surgery's in five days. Do you think I'm allowed to go back home before that?"

"I think so," Bake spoke, his voice was so soft.

Cole grinned, happy to hear that he'll be able to leave this boring place soon. "But I think they need to keep you under observation for at least another twenty-four hours before they let you go- I'm not even sure if they're gonna let you leave before the surgery though,"

Cole groaned and let his head land against his pillow again, muttering a load of profanities under his breath.

I couldn't help but smile under my mask. Thank God we won't be losing this idiot.

♛

I laughed as Blake kissed his way up my stomach where my shirt had ridden up. His nose brushed against my heated skin and he brushed my hips with his fingers.

I dug my fingers into his hair and stopped him because I was beginning to feel too ticklish. He lifted his head, my fingers still in his hair while his body rested over my lower body on the bed, and stared at me.

"I'm not tired." He said, his fingers still grazing over my hips. I've been internally sweating over the fact that he might be able to see the stretch marks there and I thanked God he was focused on my face right now.

"Neither am I," I said, playing with his hair. He closed his eyes and parted his lips, letting out a soft sound that was close to a kitten's purr; he adored it when I played with his hair.

"Fuck," He lowly cursed under his breath, sending butterflies all over my stomach beneath him.

I bit my lip to suppress a smile and he opened his eyes, staring at my lips. He moved his body back up, so his face was directly in front of mine, and licked his lips.

I saw him lean in and capture my bottom lip softly between his teeth, stopping me from continuing to bite it. He let my lip go, "Don't hide that smile," He whispered right before capturing my lips with his own.

The kiss didn't last for more than a few seconds before Blake pulled back and rested his forehead against mine, stroking my hair, "Are you hungry?"

I was about to shake my head but Blake held my hand either way and pulled me up with him, walking me towards his door, "I wanna make pancakes,"

I rose my eyebrows, "At two in the morning?" I don't know why I find eating pancakes while it's still dark outside weird- or any breakfast foods for that matter.

"Yep," He continued to lead me towards the kitchen and stopped when we stood in the middle of it.

He turned around, let my hand go, placed both his arms over my waist, and I was seated over the counter with him in between my legs before I knew it. He smirked at me before dropping a hand over my thigh and the other over my cheek, leaning in and literally taking my breath away with a deep kiss.

He was still smiling as he lightly nibbled on my bottom lip, his fingers dug into my hair and my whole body kept getting hotter by the second. Just when I parted my lips for more he pulled back, making me glare at his grinning face.

He turned around to walk towards the cabinets so he could pull the ingredients out and I reached my leg out, kicking his butt from anger.

He turned back around and rose an eyebrow at me, clearly amused. I continued to glare at him and he pursed his lips, "Did you just kick my ass?"

I shrugged and hopped off the counter, walking past him to grab the ingredients before him but I stopped and gasped when I felt him kick my bum too. I shot my hand towards the cheek he kicked and turned around.

He cocked his head to the side and smiled like a little child. Little crap.

I narrowed my eyes and he stepped forward, flicking my forehead. He then started grabbing the ingredients from the cabinets and setting them down on the table while I stared at him.

How the hell does he look this freaking good?

"Would you grab the milk, love?" His voice stopped me from staring at him any longer.

I nodded my head and turned towards the fridge, pulling the milk out and setting it down on the kitchen island before taking a seat to watch him make the batter. Did I mention that he was shirtless?

His abs were literally staring at me- And OH MY GOD that V-line. His sweatpants were hanging low and I tried my best to avert my gaze, I swear, but It's easier said than done.

I wanted to poke his abs. I don't know why, but I really really wanted to.

I shut my parted lips so I wouldn't drool and blinked, forcing my eyes to look back up at his face.

Bad idea.

Shouldn't have done that.

I winced when I realized he was staring at me in amusement this whole time.

I wanna die.

Ovaries: Not before poking Blake's abs, please.

I expected him to be a freaking jerk and say the famous lines 'Like what you see?', but what he said made my face flush an even brighter shade of red.

"Like what's yours, baby?"

"Shut up," I buried my face in my hands, embarrassing myself even more.

I heard him hum and I just knew he was grinning like a moron. "I hate you," I groaned.

I almost jumped in my seat when I suddenly felt two warm arms snake around my waist and I wondered how the hell he managed to get behind me that fast without me realizing it.

He brought his lips to my ear, "You sure about that, Leprotto?"

"Yes," I grunted like a little twat and he chuckled, kissing my neck.

"Say it again, then." He whispered, kissing another spot on my neck.

My breathing hitched and I sucked my lips into my teeth so I could hold back any sounds. Blake continuing kissing my neck, "Say it, Muffin." His breath was hot against my skin.

"I-" I shut my lips when he kissed a certain spot that sent shivers and sparks all over my body. "I h-hate you," I managed to say that without choking on my own spit.

"Hmm," Goddamn it, I would be lying if I said that simple sound didn't make me weak in the knees. "Anch'io ti amo, baby." (I love you too)

I have no idea what he just said but him saying that in a perfect Italian accent made my ovaries pop. My hormones were swimming all over the place and him kissing my neck right after saying that sentence did not help me calm them down at all.

My heart rate slowly began going back to its original pace once I felt him pull back and I let out a huge breath I didn't know I was holding.

I turned around in my place and watched as he brought the bowl of batter towards the counter beside the stove and pulled out a pan. I gulped and stared at the stove for a few seconds before shutting my eyes close.

I inhaled a breath and thought about how big of a baby I am. I just couldn't control it. Fires still terrified me.

I got a bit confused when I still didn't hear the burners light up and heard soft footsteps approach. I felt Blake place a warm hand over my cheek and opened my eyes, being met with his face.

He tapped my thigh, "Come on, let's try something." he said, gesturing for me to get up.

"W-what?" I asked nervously.

Blake helped me up and I immediately started shaking my head left to right and pulling away from him when I noticed he was leading me towards the stove. "No,"

Blake stopped and turned to me, taking a step forward and looking down at me with a gentle face. "Livi, I need you to trust me. Just this once. I'll pick you up myself and move you to the side the second you feel like it's too much."

I stared at the stove behind him and then looked down at the sleeves of the hoodie I was wearing. The flames could catch onto the material of it.

Blake noticed me going that, "You can even take the hoodie off if you want." he whispered.

I looked back at the stove and wondered what exactly was on his mind. I tugged on my sleeves and Blake smiled, helping me take off the hoodie and tugging down at my shirt after it rode up.

He kissed my cheek and held my hand, making me stand a few inches away from the stove. He stood behind me and wrapped his warm arms around me before reaching for the butter on the counter.

The burners were still not lit but I could still feel my heart thumping quickly in my chest, panic was slowly creeping up my chest. I felt Blake press the side of his face against mine and he brought his lips to my ear, "Take a deep breath first, baby."

I took a deep breath and shit my eyes close. Don't think about the fire. Simple.

Don't. Think. About. The. Fire.

Not simple.

My thoughts came to a stop when I felt Blake place the stick of butter in my hand. The top of the wrapper was peeled. He brought my hand over the pan, which was placed over the gas stove, and moved his hand over mine so we could butter the pan.

He set the butter stick aside once we were done and my heart skipped two beats when he placed his hand over the starter. "Take another deep breath," He whispered.

I took another deep breath and slightly jumped in my place when I heard the sound of the fire starting underneath the pan. My breathing hitched and Blake held me tighter, "You can take a step back if you want, Livi."

I didn't hesitate to take a step back and Blake pressed me harder against him, I forced my eyes to stay over the pan and not underneath so I don't freak out when I catch a glimpse of the flames. Damn gas stoves.

"You're doing so good Olivia, do you think you can scoop some batter and drop it over the pan?" The side of his face was still pressed against mine.

I nodded my head begrudgingly. "But c-can I not flip the pancake?" I could almost feel the heat radiating off of the fire and I don't think I'll be able to stand here any longer than a few more seconds.

Blake kissed my cheek, "Of course."

With his hand still above mine, I brought it towards the bowl of batter and scooped some of it using a measuring cup. I could feel Blake smile against my cheek as I placed the batter over the heated pan and he quickly let me step back when the melted butter started sizzling from the heat.

My heart rate began going back to normal and I looked up at Blake, who was smiling from ear to ear. "There you go," He whispered.

I took another step away from the stove and quickly turned around, not allowing myself to see the fire underneath the pan and think about how close I was to the flames.

♛

I readjusted my mask over my nose as Blake turned the knob of Cole's hospital room door and gestured for me to step in before him. I noticed Cole rubbing his face before catching us stepping in and looking up.

I'm not sure if he was tired or irritated from something but the look he gave me the second our eyes met had me questioning the last thing I said to him and if I had pissed him off.

"Hey," Blake said from behind me.

Cole averted his gaze to him and his lips tugged into a small greeting smile but I could still tell he was angry at something. Blake took a seat on the chair beside Cole the same second I received a notification on my phone.