Alan gasped for air suddenly, his eyes shooting open. A bright light shone above him, his vision blurry at first, before focusing to show a ceiling light. He hears a rhythmic beeping noise, before he hears shuffling nearby.

"Alan?"

He looks over to his right to see his mother, a worried look on her face.

"M-mom?" he forced out, his voice dry.

"Allie, you ok?"

His sister came to their mother's side, her expression full of worry.

"Wow... you didn't call me buttface." he weakly teased.

"Don't joke, you jerk." Kristen replied back, fighting back tears. "You scared us..."

Alan frowned weakly, unsure of what she meant.

"Your dad will be here soon... go meet him outside when he calls, and also let his friends know they can come back and visit." Mrs. Wilson stated, his sister nodding before she exited the room.

"Mom... what is Kris talking about?" Alan asked, trying to sit up in bed, but he was stopped by his mother gently.

"Sweetie... you had a seizure... your classmate found you passed out in the library." Mrs. Wilson answered.

Alan wasn't sure if he heard her correctly, his frown still remaining. "A... seizure?"

"Yes... they're still running tests to see what caused it, but you were out for at least 15 minutes before he found you." Mrs. Wilson answered, thankful.

"Who... found me?" Alan asked, puzzled.

"Mrs. Wilson?" a voice called from the hallway. They both looked over to see Daniel standing in the doorway. Alan stared back towards Daniel in surprise, trying to piece together how he ended up here with Daniel's help.

"Oh, hello Daniel." Mrs. Wilson stated, waving him into the room.

Daniel walked in cautiously, stopping near the foot of the hospital bed with a very concerned expression. "How is he feeling?" Daniel asked, worried.

"Seems fine. He was just talking to me before you walked in." Mrs. Wilson stated with a smile.

"Really?" Daniel asked, relieved.

A ring tone was soon heard, Mrs. Wilson pulling her cell phone out. "Yes? What do you mean, you can't find your father? OK... I'm coming." She ended the call before speaking. "His sister is a little lost in finding their dad... can you watch him, Daniel? I'll be right back."

"Sure, no problem Mrs. Wilson." Daniel replied with a smile, watching her leave the room quietly. He soon turned his attention back to Alan, his eyebrows meeting in the middle as he gave a worried frown. Alan watched his face change in silence, still recovering from what appeared to be a daze after waking up.

"Hey... how are you feeling?" Daniel asked, a smile trying to appear on his face.

"....like shit." Alan forced out with a weary grin.

Daniel couldn't help but laugh, not expecting such a reaction. "At least you still have that blunt humor, Moogle." he replied, moving over to take a seat on the bed.

"That's never going away, no matter how sick I get..." Alan stated with a soft laugh of his own.

"What... happened?" Daniel asked. "They said you had a seizure..."

Alan frowned at that statement, as his brain was still trying to piece everything together. "How... did you find me, Daniel?"

Daniel's face showed a mixture of emotions. "I came looking for you since you didn't respond to my texts. The last time you were hiding, you were in the library, so I came looking for you and saw you unconscious on the floor... I called the nurse and librarian immediately."

Alan listened to him intently, piecing everything together. She left me there after that... she was really trying to kill me... He looked back to Daniel, a somber expression coming to his face. He began to recall the story that Daniel told him about the origins of the curse, of the woman who wanted his distant relative and was willing to have the other woman he loved murdered. Is... Mika that woman? But... how?

"As soon school ended, I headed over. I also told Nicolette and she's planning to grab a ride over with Manny." Daniel stated.

"Manny?" Alan asked, surprised.

"They started talking at lunch. They obviously like each other. They couldn't even wait until after school ended. " Daniel said with a smile.

"Apparently... glad someone's love life is going well..." Alan spoke softly.

"Well, you still might have a shot with Mika. Have you even asked her out?" Daniel stated, lightly teasing.

At the sound of her name, Alan sat up slightly and grabbed Daniel's hand, holding it tightly with his face full of fear. "Stay the fuck away from her, Daniel."

Daniel stared back at Alan in shock, not expecting that kind of a reaction. "What... what's wrong with her?"

Alan paused, his mind racing through several thoughts as he was trying to figure out how best to explain things. But, his mind immediately went to the one thing he knew he needed to reconcile. He kept his grip on Daniel's hand, looking him in the eyes as he did so. "Daniel... I need to tell you something."

Daniel remained quiet, watching Alan intently.

"I... should have told you sooner... way before I even learned about your curse..." Alan hesitated, his heartbeat increasing the more he spoke, the heart monitor reflecting his nervousness.

Daniel glanced over to the machine, confused as to what was happening. "What... is it, Moogle?" he asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

Please... don't let this backfire on me.

Alan kept his eyes locked on Daniel, his expression calm and unwavering, before he took a deep breath and carefully spoke.

"I like you, Daniel. I've had a crush on you for a couple of years now, and I didn't want to hide it from you anymore."

-

THANK YOU FOR THE 10,000 VIEWS!!!

I truly appreciate all the views, votes, comments, and followers you guys give me. I honestly didn't think this story would hit this kind of milestone, so thank you all for the love and support.

I'll update next week. Have a safe and pleasant weekend!