Forever and Always

You’ve been sitting here for almost three hours, just watching as the rain patters against the window in front of you softly. You think to yourself as the sky gets heavier and darker with rain. /Where is he? He was supposed to be home a few hours ago. I hope he’s OK./

You know he would’ve called you. He has always done so since he gets off work at 7. Now it’s 10, and you begin to get worried. So you wait a few more minutes, that turning into half an hour. You had messaged Jade and Rose, even Dirk, earlier before. And all they said was the last time they’ve seen him was when he was getting ready for work, Jade only saying that she’d seen him at college earlier that day. You sigh mellow-dramatically and stare out the window again. Thoughts poured out of your brain of the worst kind:

What if he’s hurt?

Did he have to stay late because someone wasn’t there?

Did he lose his phone?

Then the phone rings. And it nearly startles you so you have to rush to the phone so it wouldn’t stop beeping.

"Hello..?" You say warily, hoping it’s him. It’s not, and now you fear for the worst when the voice starts up.

"Yes, hello. This is Nurse Peixes , and I’ve called you on behalf of Mr. Dave Strider."

"Oh God, is everything all right?? Is he hurt?" Your voice wells up in panic as you clutch the phone tightly withing your grasp.

"Since you were number one on his emergency contacts list, we called you first. And we’d like it if you came down to the Alternian Hospital quickly-"

You never gave her a chance to finish as you shut your phone off and reach for your coat. Grabbing your keys and locking the door behind you, your mind travels back to when he first asked you out. When he brought you to his favorite spot a little ways away from the school and to a secluded part of the beach where you both could watch the sunset together. As best bro’s, you had said then. He only laughed, and then proceeded to get down on one of his knees. You thought he was joking when he did that, so you paid him no mind. Only you did, when you heard what had came out of his mouth.

/"John…I want you forever, forever and always. Through the good and the bad and the ugly. We can grow old together, John. Just you and I, forever and always."/

The memory fades as you hop into your car, fighting back the frog in your throat. You start the car and head down to the hospital as fast as you can since it was down pouring right now. As you pull up, the gloominess from the hospital pulls a few tears from you, and you let it happen. You get out, lock your car, and head inside right to the front desk. They notice you right away because one nurse whisks you away almost instantly. She leads you through what seems like a million hall ways as she tells you what happened. You can barely hear her though, as your heart pounds against your rib cage like a drum.

You try to mask your emotions as the nurse leads you into a doorway and lets you have your time. You don’t look at him right away, though, as you pull up a chair to his bedside. Now you look at him, and you knew you shouldn’t have as you reach to grasp his hand tightly.

He seems really weak, and you know that for a fact as he grips your hand tight but with weak force. You sit there, hand in hand, and talk about the good life you both are going to have once he gets out. He says he’s not going to, but you look at him sternly and the chuckle that emits from his mouth sounds so pathetic, you just want to take the pain away from him.

You both talk about the house you are going to get once college ended, where you both would stay forever. You think as you talk; /We could grow old together. We could even adopt and start a family! I’m sure Dave would love that../

You suddenly get an idea from what you thought about. You quickly call in the nurse and a few others, and they bring up the chaplain from the church right inside the hospital. You rush out to the room next door and borrow some rings from the nice couple that was in there. You head back to his room and get seated as the chaplain says a couple of verses. You and him, even the nurses and chaplain are laughing with you both as the tears you’ve been holding back finally release.

He’s even let a few tears loose, and you know how hurt he must have been because Striders never cry and he has also never cried in front of you before. You look into his eyes, suck in a breath, grasp his hand again, and say:

"I want you, forever and always. Through the good and the bad and the ugly. We’ll grow old together, and always remember D-Dave," Your voice cracks at that part,"Whether happy or sad or whatever, I know you and I will still love each other, forever and always."

As you finish the vows, you notice the beeps are getting far too slow, and more tears escape. His voice is almost too low for you to hear, but you strain to heart it because what he says breaks your heart into a million pieces.

"I love you, John Egbert, forever and always…Please just remember, even if I’m not there…I’ll always love you, forever…and always."