Breathe And Release, Pulling Strings [Andy Skib & Neal Tiemann] [PG-13]
[title] Breathe And Release, Pulling Strings
[author] Lire Casander
[beta] princessleia04. Any remaining mistakes are my own fault.
[characters] Andy Skib, Neal Tiemann, Lexi Skib
[rating] PG-13 for language
[word count] 1209
[summary] Andy comes to Neal's rescue when all hell breaks loose.
[disclaimer] I don't own nor have ever met And Skib nor Neal Tiemann nor Lexi Skib. Everything about them is completely fiction, and any similarity with reality is a mere coincidence. I do not own MWK's Waiting Room lyrics, where the title comes from.
[warnings] Flangst, leaning more towards the angst part for some reason.
[author's notes] This is written for momma_dar's birthday. I hope you have a great day. Happy birthday, love!
The waiting room was anything but quiet, Andy noticed with an uneasy feeling creeping up inside of him. He flopped down on the nearest chair with a loud thump, his backpack sliding next to him right onto the floor. He looked around to make sure his sister wasn't sitting on any of the other chairs, and he ran a shaky hand through his hair.
"Dammit, Neal, if it's grave..." he swore under his breath, stubbornly fixating his gaze to a random spot in the white wall in front of him.
He had received the call less than half an hour before stepping into the hospital waiting room. Lexi had been crying, hiccuping that Neal had hit a wall with his bare fist, breaking down the bricks and splitting his own skin in the process. Andy had been able to hear Neal howling in the background, screaming bloody murder. He had almost seen Neal holding his hand while it bled, all the way to the hospital, with his inner eye.
Lexi was nowhere to be found; Andy hated hospitals, and waiting alone in them. For Neal, though, he'd do anything - he was Andy's best friend, after all. While he was musing about the inconvenience of his lead guitarist injuring his hand, he looked around until his gaze fell upon his sister standing in the doorway. Lexi was looking awful - her long hair was tangled and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot as if she had been crying them out. Andy sprang to his feet and waved at her; when Lexi saw him she began walking unsteadily toward him. Andy ran to catch her when she faltered midstep.
"Lexi!" he exclaimed, helping her to sit down. "Are you alright? What happened?"
She shook her head, unable to speak. He waited on his sister until she calmed down enough to barely mutter some words. Andy didn't get everything, but it was enough to grasp the gist of it.
"He broke his hand," he sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples. "What in the fucking hell was he thinking? Why didn't you stop him?"
"He was angry," Lexi explained.
"He was angry," Andy repeated lifelessly. "What happened, Lexi? Why did he feel the need to crash against a brick wall and break his fucking hand?"
"I..." Lexi trailed off and looked at the door. Andy followed her gaze and saw a tall guy, one he had stumbled upon sometimes around his house. He looked really disheveled and nervous when he caught sight of them both sitting inside the waiting room.
Andy wasn't stupid, as much as he feigned it perfectly.
"No way, Lexi," he managed to say. "No fucking way."
"What?" she demanded; her voice was betrayed by her eyes, wide and wet with guilt.
"Were you---" It was painful, to say the words, but Andy forced them out of his throat. "Were you two together? Were you cheating on Neal?"
Lexi blushed; the guy, who had heard Andy's words - pretty much as the rest of the waiting room since Andy hadn't been neither subtle nor low - motioned to turn around.
"Oh, no," Andy cut him standing up and picking his bag. "You can stay, it's me who's leaving."
"Andy, please, let me explain!"
"NO!" Andy screeched. Some heads snapped up at him but he couldn't care less. "You have no right, Lexi, no fucking right! He loves you, and you had to go and cheat on him with... with... him!"
"Andy---"
"I don't know you anymore, Lexi. I don't," he finished.
Andy turned around and slid his backpack on one shoulder before pushing the guy out of his way with more force than necessary. He went straight to the main desk and asked for Neal Tiemann. Lying when demanded about his relation to the patient, he was led into the ER accompanied by a nurse who thought Andy was Neal's younger brother.
Neal was lying on a bed when they reached him. He looked up; Andy's heart broke when he saw the tear-stricken face and the pain so evident in that gaze. He gasped audibly.
"Neal!"
"Mr Tiemann," the nurse said. "Your brother just arrived. I will leave you alone but no stressing my patient, understood?"
Both nodded. If Neal was surprised, he hid it quite well, for he didn't mention the fact that he now had the brother he had been missing for eighteen years.
"What did the doctor say?" Andy asked taking a seat on the bed carefully.
"It's broken," Neal muttered. "It looks bad. They said--- They said I should go into surgery."
"Oh," Andy nodded. "Well, then, they'll fix it, you're going to be fine."
"You don't get it!" Neal roared, startling Andy and earning a stern glare from the nurse at the other side of the room. "The doctor said he couldn't guarantee that I--- God---" He broke down in sobs that shook his whole body. Andy had never seen him so defeated.
"Calm down," he cooed. "Tell me. No crying, okay? Just spill it."
"I can't."
"Okay," Andy sighed. "Then I'll stay here and hold your hand until you feel better. Or until they come get you for surgery."
"I'm not having it," Neal assured.
"Uhm, what?"
"The doctor--- He said I might not be able to play guitar ever again if I went into surgery."
"But it won't heal unless you do!"
"That's what he said. That I'd be in pain for the rest of my life. On meds. That I couldn't play guitar anyway because it'd hurt too much."
Andy nodded. He kind of understood Neal's reasoning. Maybe, under the same circumstances, he'd have reacted just the same.
"She's not worth this pain, you know," he whispered. Neal stared at him in desbelief but simply remained silent. "But she's not worth you giving up on music."
"I'll keep playing. I'm not leaving the band."
Andy blinked away his sudden tears. Despite being only fifteen, he understood the implications of what Neal was saying. They were just a high school band, playing covers for fun, but Neal and he himself had all the intention to keep making music at a professional level. Neal's broken hand and his inability to play whether he went through surgery or not had just put a big damp over their whole future plans.
"The band should be the last thing on your mind," Andy reminded his friend.
"I can't really say what's on my mind."
"I've already told you, she never deserved you," Andy reiterated.
They spent the next few moments in silence. Andy debated with himself; he couldn't tell what was going on in Neal's mind since the redhead had always been reserved, but he could guess. Impulsively, Andy reached out and took Neal's sane hand in his, the bigger fingers wrapping instantly around his slender digits.
It felt right to hold hands with his best friend.
"We'll be okay," Andy promised. "We'll be perfectly fine."
Neal didn't reply with words. He just held Andy's finger tighter and closed his eyes, the shadow of a sad smile playing in his lips as he allowed the meds to kick in and put him to sleep.
Andy watched him the whole night.
[author] Lire Casander
[beta] princessleia04. Any remaining mistakes are my own fault.
[characters] Andy Skib, Neal Tiemann, Lexi Skib
[rating] PG-13 for language
[word count] 1209
[summary] Andy comes to Neal's rescue when all hell breaks loose.
[disclaimer] I don't own nor have ever met And Skib nor Neal Tiemann nor Lexi Skib. Everything about them is completely fiction, and any similarity with reality is a mere coincidence. I do not own MWK's Waiting Room lyrics, where the title comes from.
[warnings] Flangst, leaning more towards the angst part for some reason.
[author's notes] This is written for momma_dar's birthday. I hope you have a great day. Happy birthday, love!
The waiting room was anything but quiet, Andy noticed with an uneasy feeling creeping up inside of him. He flopped down on the nearest chair with a loud thump, his backpack sliding next to him right onto the floor. He looked around to make sure his sister wasn't sitting on any of the other chairs, and he ran a shaky hand through his hair.
"Dammit, Neal, if it's grave..." he swore under his breath, stubbornly fixating his gaze to a random spot in the white wall in front of him.
He had received the call less than half an hour before stepping into the hospital waiting room. Lexi had been crying, hiccuping that Neal had hit a wall with his bare fist, breaking down the bricks and splitting his own skin in the process. Andy had been able to hear Neal howling in the background, screaming bloody murder. He had almost seen Neal holding his hand while it bled, all the way to the hospital, with his inner eye.
Lexi was nowhere to be found; Andy hated hospitals, and waiting alone in them. For Neal, though, he'd do anything - he was Andy's best friend, after all. While he was musing about the inconvenience of his lead guitarist injuring his hand, he looked around until his gaze fell upon his sister standing in the doorway. Lexi was looking awful - her long hair was tangled and her eyes were puffy and bloodshot as if she had been crying them out. Andy sprang to his feet and waved at her; when Lexi saw him she began walking unsteadily toward him. Andy ran to catch her when she faltered midstep.
"Lexi!" he exclaimed, helping her to sit down. "Are you alright? What happened?"
She shook her head, unable to speak. He waited on his sister until she calmed down enough to barely mutter some words. Andy didn't get everything, but it was enough to grasp the gist of it.
"He broke his hand," he sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his temples. "What in the fucking hell was he thinking? Why didn't you stop him?"
"He was angry," Lexi explained.
"He was angry," Andy repeated lifelessly. "What happened, Lexi? Why did he feel the need to crash against a brick wall and break his fucking hand?"
"I..." Lexi trailed off and looked at the door. Andy followed her gaze and saw a tall guy, one he had stumbled upon sometimes around his house. He looked really disheveled and nervous when he caught sight of them both sitting inside the waiting room.
Andy wasn't stupid, as much as he feigned it perfectly.
"No way, Lexi," he managed to say. "No fucking way."
"What?" she demanded; her voice was betrayed by her eyes, wide and wet with guilt.
"Were you---" It was painful, to say the words, but Andy forced them out of his throat. "Were you two together? Were you cheating on Neal?"
Lexi blushed; the guy, who had heard Andy's words - pretty much as the rest of the waiting room since Andy hadn't been neither subtle nor low - motioned to turn around.
"Oh, no," Andy cut him standing up and picking his bag. "You can stay, it's me who's leaving."
"Andy, please, let me explain!"
"NO!" Andy screeched. Some heads snapped up at him but he couldn't care less. "You have no right, Lexi, no fucking right! He loves you, and you had to go and cheat on him with... with... him!"
"Andy---"
"I don't know you anymore, Lexi. I don't," he finished.
Andy turned around and slid his backpack on one shoulder before pushing the guy out of his way with more force than necessary. He went straight to the main desk and asked for Neal Tiemann. Lying when demanded about his relation to the patient, he was led into the ER accompanied by a nurse who thought Andy was Neal's younger brother.
Neal was lying on a bed when they reached him. He looked up; Andy's heart broke when he saw the tear-stricken face and the pain so evident in that gaze. He gasped audibly.
"Neal!"
"Mr Tiemann," the nurse said. "Your brother just arrived. I will leave you alone but no stressing my patient, understood?"
Both nodded. If Neal was surprised, he hid it quite well, for he didn't mention the fact that he now had the brother he had been missing for eighteen years.
"What did the doctor say?" Andy asked taking a seat on the bed carefully.
"It's broken," Neal muttered. "It looks bad. They said--- They said I should go into surgery."
"Oh," Andy nodded. "Well, then, they'll fix it, you're going to be fine."
"You don't get it!" Neal roared, startling Andy and earning a stern glare from the nurse at the other side of the room. "The doctor said he couldn't guarantee that I--- God---" He broke down in sobs that shook his whole body. Andy had never seen him so defeated.
"Calm down," he cooed. "Tell me. No crying, okay? Just spill it."
"I can't."
"Okay," Andy sighed. "Then I'll stay here and hold your hand until you feel better. Or until they come get you for surgery."
"I'm not having it," Neal assured.
"Uhm, what?"
"The doctor--- He said I might not be able to play guitar ever again if I went into surgery."
"But it won't heal unless you do!"
"That's what he said. That I'd be in pain for the rest of my life. On meds. That I couldn't play guitar anyway because it'd hurt too much."
Andy nodded. He kind of understood Neal's reasoning. Maybe, under the same circumstances, he'd have reacted just the same.
"She's not worth this pain, you know," he whispered. Neal stared at him in desbelief but simply remained silent. "But she's not worth you giving up on music."
"I'll keep playing. I'm not leaving the band."
Andy blinked away his sudden tears. Despite being only fifteen, he understood the implications of what Neal was saying. They were just a high school band, playing covers for fun, but Neal and he himself had all the intention to keep making music at a professional level. Neal's broken hand and his inability to play whether he went through surgery or not had just put a big damp over their whole future plans.
"The band should be the last thing on your mind," Andy reminded his friend.
"I can't really say what's on my mind."
"I've already told you, she never deserved you," Andy reiterated.
They spent the next few moments in silence. Andy debated with himself; he couldn't tell what was going on in Neal's mind since the redhead had always been reserved, but he could guess. Impulsively, Andy reached out and took Neal's sane hand in his, the bigger fingers wrapping instantly around his slender digits.
It felt right to hold hands with his best friend.
"We'll be okay," Andy promised. "We'll be perfectly fine."
Neal didn't reply with words. He just held Andy's finger tighter and closed his eyes, the shadow of a sad smile playing in his lips as he allowed the meds to kick in and put him to sleep.
Andy watched him the whole night.