Meeting of old friends

Who: Chance & Jordan
Where: Hospital
When: mid-morning

She was wearing his trench coat, the one he'd worn that night. It covered her dark clothes and surrounded her with warmth she imagined came from him. Jordan had just finished visiting with Devon, her mother having texted her, asking for her to come home. As she stood in the elevator she pulled out her phone and texted her mother back, letting her know she was on her way.

As the elevator stopped on a floor- not hers- she moved out of the way so others could get on. ICU wasn't on the bottom floor so she was used to having a full elevator by the time she got to the bottom. Just as normally she was in an elevator that emptied mostly on the way up. Finally, after a few more stops, the lift stopped on the ground floor and Jordan let the crowd clear out around her before getting off before the people going up got on.

His visit to Devon was well over due. He felt guilty that he hadn't been around earlier to see his friend, but it couldn't be helped. And so he waited in the lobby for an elevator, trying his best not to pace.

When it dinged and opened, a swarm of people exited, including a familiar face. "Hey, Jordan," Chance said quickly, pushing past a few people to jog after her. "Hey," he said again when she spotted him. She didn't say a word, he knew she wouldn't, so he wrapped his arms around her quickly and hugged tightly. It had been far too long since he'd seen her.

Shock, probably the first registered emotion to hit her. It was Chance. Who she hadn't seen all summer. And they ran into each other -here-. And then his arms were around her. Jordan tensed slightly under his touch, anyone's touch had her react the same way, but this was Chance. She just had to tell herself that, this was Chance- and she could keep herself from hurting him. She was in control.

After a moment she weakly returned his hug, closing her eyes, she was happy to see him again. She hadn't realized how lonely life had been over the summer until now.

"Are you leaving?" he asked, once he released her and stepped back. He shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. He rarely saw Devon without Jordan in the room. "I was going to go up and see Devon, but if you have a few minutes, maybe we could get coffee in the cafeteria or something?"

Jordan nodded, digging her notepad and pencil from her pocket. 'was just upstairs, would love a coffee.' She scratched down and showed him the note. She pulled the coat around her a little tighter, though it always hung a bit loose on her seeing as it was too big on her to begin with. She let him lead the way to the cafeteria.

Chance nodded, wanting to take her by the hand, but knew it was probably a bad idea. They walked in silence for a moment, and it wasn't until they were inside the cafeteria and he was buying her coffee that he turned to her. "I'm sorry I haven't been around this summer. I don't want you to think I didn't care, or was too busy for you, or Devon."

It probably wasn't a good time to tell her what had went down. "The last few days of school, and...well, I haven't left the house much."

Jordan shook her head and waved her hand slightly to let him know that it was ok. She took the coffee and signed 'thank you'- not expecting him to understand it. Picking up a couple sugar packets and found them both a seat, in a corner where it was more quiet. She knew what it was like to be busy and have things overwhelm you.

"You're welcome," he replied, grinning slightly when she shot him a look. "I took sign language freshman year, remember?" Maybe she didn't. They didn't really become friends until sophomore year. He settled in his seat and studied her. She looked tired, but then again, she always looked tired. "No change?" he asked in regards to Devon.

Jordan looked down into her coffee and shook her head. She pulled out her pad and scribbled down 'still learning signing' and slid it his way. Devon's status hadn't really changed in the last few months, but he had gotten worse since the end of the school year. The guilt seemed to bare down on her as she sat there with Chance watching her. It was like some silent judgement- which was all in her head.

He read the note and took a small sip of his coffee. With a small smile, he looked at her. "He's going to wake up, you know." Chance was eternally optimistic, at least about Devon. "Maybe...maybe if you talked to him, it would help," Chance suggested hesitantly, well aware of Jordan's self-imposed muteness. "The nurse told me before it never hurt to try..."

She trembled slightly at his words. You swore, you promised him! He'll never wake if you talk! Jordan pulled the pad back and ran a line through the previous words before adding some more. She slid it back to him. 'I can't.' She didn't expect Chance to understand, she didn't expect him to accept it, but she hoped he would at least pretend, or try to.

Chance read the simple words and frowned. Looking up, he studied her, knowing he had an open path to tell her all the reasons why she could, and should, but it wasn't his place. He had been friends with Devon before Devon met Jordan, but he couldn't pretend to know now what Jordan was going through now and if this is what she needed to deal, he wasn't about to try and take it away from her.

"Alright," he conceded, tapping his finger against the cup. "I'll talk to him for you then." Chance decided to try and change the subject to something a bit less depressing. "Looking forward to, er, school?" He chuckled. "That's a stupid question, isn't it?"

Jordan took a sip of her coffee as he spoke. She looked at him when he mentioned school and rolled her eyes. 'Mom's trying to get me a translator.' She wrote to him and then twirled her finger sarcastically. She paused a moment and signed to him 'how're you?' she meant in general, since they'd seen each other last, but she didn't know how to sign the question more detailed yet.

"I'm fine," he said simply. Chance leaned back in his chair as she stared at him. He lifted a shoulder in a small shrug. "I ah...had a few episodes after school ended. Freaked myself the fuck out." He forced a grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Things are better now. Mom's letting me out of the house again."

Old instinct kicked in, and she reached out to take his hand in hers. Chance had seen Jordan change from the affectionate, close friend who- despite being an outcast- was still pretty outgoing and happy around her friends into a deep dark spiraling depression. Closing herself off to everyone, both physically and verbally. But for only a moment her old self kicked in and she found herself reaching out to comfort a friend who looked like he needed someone. She didn't sign or write anything, she was sure nothing would help. Jordan just wanted him to know that while she was closed off, she -was- there for him.

He wrapped his fingers around hers, happy for the silence. He didn't want to explain anything about what had happened, at least not yet. And Jordan had enough on her mind than to have to worry about him. Chance gripped her hand, though not tightly enough to freak her out.

"You and me this year, okay?" he said. "That way when Devon wakes up, we can tell him how it was us against the world, and by world I mean those fuckers at school."

Jordan smiled and laughed silently, nodding. It took a lot of willpower to stay silent all the time, more than most realized. After a while it did become more like second nature. She pointed at him and then at her, signifying 'you and me'. After a few moment she took her hand back and wrote him another note. 'You should go see him before his folks show.' She passed him the pad and then took a sip of her coffee.

"Yeah, I probably should." He sighed and ran a hand through his already tousled hair. They both stood and he led her from the cafeteria. He touched her arm briefly once they were at the elevators again. "Don't be a stranger, okay? Text me if you need anything, or want to get together or something."

She nodded and let her guard down a moment to give him a small hug. Jordan stood with him for a little bit until the elevator came before bidding him giving him a wave and heading off. She pulled out her phone and quickly texted her mother again, letting her know she was still on her way. She was going to get her ass chewed when she got home for taking so long.