The Halloween Incident

by Dawn Sister

  Tristan’s mum had been understandably tearful as Danny had explained what had happened to their son. His dad had been quite calm, considering. He had made Danny promise that someone would stay with Tristan until they could get there and told him that they would be on the next available flight out. Danny had made the promise, determined not to actually leave the hospital until Tristan did. He assured Tristan’s parents that he would let them know if there was any change in his condition.

  The four young men had then taken up residence in the waiting room to wait for any news of their friend. Scott and Jason had eventually succumbed to lethargy, not that they didn’t care as much as Danny and Reuben, but they had played a big part in restraining a completely raving Troy and he had gotten some lucky punches in before the police had arrived. The two guys were exhausted. They had refused any offers of lifts back to College however, both wanting to stay for Tristan and for Danny.

  Danny leaned forward in his seat and held his head in his hands. Reuben rubbed between his shoulder blades and Danny groaned,

  “You know I think I might call Steph to come and pick up the sleeping beauties and take them back to college before they fall off their seats.” Reuben murmured, as if thinking out loud,

  “They said they wanted to stay.” Danny reminded him, “You know you could always take them yourself. I promised Tristan’s parents I would stay until they got here, you don’t have to stay though.” Reuben regarded him with shrewd eyes,

  “Are you kidding?” he asked shocked, “I’m not leaving you here on your own Danny. You’re in enough of a state as it is, without someone with you you’ll be a wreck.”

  Danny hung his head again. He had told Reuben and the others that had visited them in their dorm room all about what had really happened in the bathroom at the party the night before and the state Tristan had been in when they had got back to their dorm room. He had left out the part about him and Tristan becoming lovers but he knew that Reuben and the girls at least had the intelligence to work that one out for themselves: especially after what Tristan had shouted before he had left the room that evening.

  Danny gingerly touched the bruise on his cheek,

  “Tristan packs a hard punch, huh?” Reuben asked as he concentrated on sending a text to Steph,

  “He sure does.” Danny agreed, grimacing at the memory of why Tristan had hit him,

  “He was pretty angry with you, and with us.” Reuben went on, “I feel really bad about what I asked him, and what we were all thinking.” He sounded full of sadness and regret,

  “Trouble is Reuben, it is something that we could probably all imagine Tristan doing: coming on to someone completely inappropriate. He’s never been one to pass up an opportunity to flirt; but he’s always been able to defend himself if there was trouble. What happened to him last night though, what Troy did to him, it shook him up.”

  “He looked pretty shaken. Troy gave him a good beating.” Reuben sighed, “Why the hell did he agree to meet him tonight? What was he playing at?”

  “I think he was curious. Troy said some stuff to him in the bathroom last night that wasn’t entirely Troyish. I think Tristan felt sorry for him, but he was also angry with him. It didn’t help that I all but called him a slut, that probably made him want to call Troy out even more.” There were a few minutes of silence while Reuben mulled it all over in his head,

  “Danny, you and Tristan have always been good friends.” Reuben began, and Danny sat up to look Reuben in the eye because he knew what was coming next, “I’m assuming by what you were saying to each other tonight in your room that has changed somewhat.”

  “More than just somewhat.” Danny told him quietly, he didn’t really want to talk to Reuben about it right at that very moment though. He wanted to talk to Tristan about it. He looked anxiously towards the treatment room doors, “What do you think is taking so long, Roo? Do you think there’s something wrong? They would tell us right?”

  Reuben noted the panic in Danny’s voice. He wanted to tell him everything was okay but in truth he was worried himself. He knew that Tristan had been given a drug that had potentially life threatening side effects, he had gone into respiratory failure once already, and he could potentially fall into a coma because of it. The state Danny was in right now though, Reuben didn’t think that telling him the whole truth would help him a great deal,

  “They will be doing everything they can to help him Danny.” He said neutrally, “Knowing what drug he was given helps a great deal. We just have to wait for them to come tell us how he is. Right now, no news is good news.”

  “Do you think they remembered we’re here?” Danny asked,

  “We could go and ask at the desk.” Reuben suggested, “If it will make you feel better.” Reuben seriously doubted that the staff would forget they were here after the entrance Danny had made. He’d been so wild eyed and demanding he had almost been restrained and committed. It had taken all Reuben’s skill to calm his friend down.

  Danny stood to go over to the desk when he noticed a diminutive, middle aged nurse approaching them. He sat back down again, with a gasp, feeling suddenly weak at the knees. His face paled as she stopped in front of them,

  “You are the boys that came in with Tristan Gillman aren’t you?” she asked softly. Her expression was motherly and sympathetic a she took in their dishevelled appearance and Scott and Jason’s sleeping forms. Danny gulped, unable to answer her,

  “Yes we are,” Reuben spoke instead, nudging Jason because he had chosen that moment to let out a loud snore “Is he alright?” he asked, anxiety touching on the edges of his voice for the first time since they had come to the hospital. He didn’t want there to be bad news. Danny had grabbed his arm and was holding on for dear life.

  Jason and Scott both woke at Reuben’s nudge. They sat up rubbing their eyes, eyeing each other a little warily and then placing their full attention on the nurse that had approached them,

  “Which one of you is Danny?” she asked softly,

  “Me.” Danny said. Standing suddenly,

  “You’re the one that gave us all the information about Tristan when he first came in?” The nurse asked. Danny nodded. He remembered the other’s surprised faces as Danny had answered a whole lot of questions about Tristan, seeming to know a lot of things that only couples would know about each other. Danny hadn’t really given it much thought that he knew so much about his friend, they were roommates after all. Reuben had told him afterwards that he didn’t even know if his own roommate had brothers and sisters, let alone where he lived or what his parent’s names were. Danny had even known what Tristan’s blood group was; even couples who had been together for years might struggle with that one,

  “Tristan is doing fine.” The nurse informed them and they all let out sighs of relief, “He’s been moved to one of our observation rooms. He’s still unconscious but he’s really just sleeping off the sedative effects of the drug now.” Danny looked as if he might even break down in tears. The nurse placed a caring hand on his arm and looked up into his pale face, “He is allowed one visitor to sit with him. It is supposed to be a next of kin, but I know his parents aren’t here yet.”

  “They won’t get here until tomorrow.” Danny explained, “Can I see him?” he asked nervously, wanting desperately for the one visitor to be him and no one else,

  “Of course you can, Danny, I came out to get you,” the nurse smiled, for all as if it was a forgone conclusion, “I’ll take you to him right now.”

  Danny looked uncertainly at Reuben, Scott and Jason,

  “You go, Danny. We’ll wait for Steph to come because she’s on her way now and then we’ll all just go back too. You call us when you know anything more.”

  “Oh God, Roo, I really don’t know how to thank you for today, for everything you’ve done.” Danny told him, hugging his friend,

  “You don’t need to thank me, Danny; I know you would both do the same for me.”

  “You probably saved his life yo
u know.” Danny said, his voice catching in his throat,

  “The paramedics and medics here have done that, not me. Now go be with him. Call me later.” He pushed Danny to follow the tiny nurse.

  Jason and Scott said their goodbyes too. They were equally as concerned about Tristan and shocked to see the usually carefree Danny in such a state of anxiety and panic,

  “You call when he wakes up.” Scott told Danny,

  “Yeah, tell him there’s a football game next week and we need you both there.” Jason winked. Danny chuckled in spite of the anxiety he was feeling. He was pretty certain both he and Tristan would not make that game, but it was nice to hope.

  The tiny nurse led him through the double doors he had been watching so avidly all evening and into the treatment area of the ER department. He followed her along a corridor until she stopped in front of one of the doors leading off it. She turned to him before opening the door,

  “Your friend is in here, Danny.” She told him, “He’s sleeping now but the effects of the drug caused his breathing to stop. He’s hooked up to monitors and oxygen, though he’s off the ventilator because he’s now breathing on his own. There are a lot of wires and tubes; I just wanted to warn you before you see him.” Danny nodded, swallowing anxiously. He had only ever seen that kind of thing on TV shows before, never for real and had never expected to see it on anyone he knew.

  The nurse opened the door and allowed him to walk through, his eyes wide. Tristan lay in a bed in the middle of the room. Several medics were moving about the bed, checking charts, writing notes and looking at readouts on machines. As the nurse had explained Tristan seemed to be hooked up to every monitor and machine possible. Despite being prepared for it Danny was still shocked to see his friend so incapacitated and wired up. He could feel tears burning his eyes but took some deep breaths to keep it together as he approached Tristan’s bed. He wasn’t doing a very good job though as two tears rolled unchecked down his cheeks. A sob escaped his mouth and he bit his lip to try to stop any more. The nurse laid a sympathetic hand on his arm and urged him to sit on a chair that had been moved close to the side of the bed,

  “He’s unconscious, asleep really, but if you speak to him there’s a fair possibility he’ll be able to hear you. He’ll probably be in and out of consciousness throughout the night. He’s a fighter that one: so strong. He called your name several times before he finally went to sleep.”

  Danny regarded her with shock. Was that how she knew his name because Tristan had called for him? Then he remembered he had given his name at the beginning when he had answered all the questions about what had happened. He stared at Tristan’s still, sleeping form. He was pale, his face still bearing the marks and bruises from Troy’s two beatings, the one from tonight and from last night.

  Danny sat slowly and gently took Tristan’s hand in his. He had known Tristan for just a little over a year; they had been friends from the very first day of college. Even if they hadn’t been roommates Danny was sure they would have started their college life off as firm friends. They had a lot in common, from their love of cars and mechanics, to their skill at sports. The only thing they didn’t share was their sexual preferences, but that had changed overnight, for Danny at least.

  Had it really just been last night that they had gone to the Halloween party? It was hard to believe that barely twenty four hours had passed from the beginning of the party to now; so much had happened. He glanced at his watch. The time read nine thirty. Twenty four hours ago he had been picking Tristan up off the floor of the bathroom at the Student Union bar after Troy’s first attack. Twenty four hours ago he had been Tristan’s roommate and best friend; his straight best friend. Now what was he? Was he his boyfriend?

  They had spent the night together in each other’s arms, but that had hardly been out of passion, more out of compassion since Tristan had cried himself to sleep. This morning had been a completely different kettle of fish. Tristan’s kiss had awakened something in Danny that he didn’t realise he’d been feeling at all.

  Growing up with a gay older brother, Danny had been exposed to the concept and the acceptance in his family, of same sex relationships from an early age. His own brother had come out when he had been about fourteen. Danny had been only nine at the time; too young to really understand what his brother was going through but also young enough to allow him to grow up thinking that being Gay or straight or whatever; was just part of what you were, not something that happened to you overnight.

  This thought was confusing him more than anything else, because twenty four hours ago he had been hoping to spend more time with Steph. What he had actually ended up doing was having sex with Tristan. As he looked down at his friend lying there in the bed, he couldn’t help thinking that it sounded just a little messed up. He also couldn’t help thinking that it had been the best sex he had ever had. What the hell did that mean? Was he Gay? He’d never had feelings like this for another guy, only Tristan. The more he thought about it though the more he realised he hadn’t actually had these feelings for anyone, girl or guy, only Tristan.

  What Danny really needed was to talk to someone about it all. The trouble was the only person he could really talk to was lying unconscious in the hospital and Danny was holding his hand. He gently held it up to his lips and kissed it holding it against his cheek,

  “Tris.” He whispered, his cheeks wet with tears, “I really need you right now bud. I wanna tell you how sorry I am. I didn’t mean what I said to you. I should’ve been there for you. Dammit, I should’ve been with you last night in that bathroom then none of this would’ve happened. Just please be okay, bud, please.”

  Danny took one more look at his friend’s sleeping face. He stood up and placed a soft kiss on Tristan’s forehead and then on his lips, not caring who saw him because all he cared about was Tristan. He sat back down on the chair, pulling it closer to the bed as he did. He laid his head down on the edge of the blanket covering Tristan and, still holding tight to his friend’s hand he fell asleep.

  Chapter 13: Cheesy Hospital Drama

  Strange noises and unfamiliar smells invaded Tristan’s senses. He listened: something hummed quietly and there was a beeping noise, like a heart rate monitor. Was Danny watching one of those lame daytime hospital dramas again?

  “Bud,” Tristan’s throat felt dry and he could barely manage a whisper. He cleared his throat and continued, “Turn the TV down, will ya? I’m tryin’ to sleep.” There was no response.

  Tristan tried to open his eyes but they felt heavy and crusty, like they did when he had a hangover. Did he have a hangover? He tried to move his hands to rub his eyes but found that one hand was being held down by something heavy. He reached his other hand over to try to move whatever was in the way. He gasped as his fingers came into contact with something soft and silky: hair?

  Tristan lifted his head and forced his heavy eyes open to see what it was his hands were feeling. A blurred shape came into focus; the shape of a head lying on the bed by his side; a head with short blond curls. He twined his fingers through the soft curls and smiled. Danny let out a soft moan at the contact and shifted his head, his hand tightening its grip on Tristan’s,

  “Hey.” Tristan whispered softly to get his attention. Danny’s head shot up, his grey eyes wide, his grip on Tristan’s hand tighter still,

  “Tris?” he gasped, “Oh my god, Tris, you’re awake?” He held Tristan’s hand to his lips and then to his cheek, “How are you feeling?”

  It was a strange question; and a strange reaction, and why was Danny looking at him with such intense relief? Tristan tried to sit up but regretted it instantly as his head began to pound and spin. He lay back down with a groan. It was then he realised that he wasn’t in his own bed.

  He opened his eyes as wide as they would open, since his eyelids were still as heavy as lead. He looked around him in confusion. This wasn’t his bed. Danny was here but it wasn’t even their dorm room. The beeps and hums he could hear weren’t co
ming from a TV they were coming from monitors in the room with them. His hand moved up to his face where he could feel something lying across his cheeks and beneath his nose: an oxygen tube? He’d never seen one for real. He crossed his eyes to look at it, but then regretted that movement since it made his eyes hurt and his head pound more. He looked up at Danny who was regarding him with a patient, but concerned expression, waiting to answer any of his questions,