章 27: 27.

After Rayne's fight the medical staff had immediately rushed her and her opponent into the infirmary for treatment. Albert, Elliot and Sheree had joined her as soon as they were allowed.

The room itself was a pale shade of beige, with gray tile floors. It was a cold lifeless decor for a room. As Rayne looked around at the people that had come to support her recovery however, the space felt more warm and lively than any she had ever experienced.

"Well that was dramatic don't you think?" Sheree said as she sat beside Rayne's medical bed.

Rayne looked at her and grinned with bloodstained teeth. Her scarlet smile scared everyone at her bedside.

"Oh god, is she bleeding internally?" Elliot asked Albert, who was sitting so close to Rayne he was basically on her bed with her.

"Yeah, she was when they first brought her in. Her doctor told me that she's not in any real danger, since our bodies heal so fast, but I don't know if I trust that," Albert said, his hands visibly trembled as he spoke.

"Babe, I'm fine. I just gotta rest," Rayne whispered and slowly closed her eyes.

Everyone in the room jumped forward at the same time screaming "nooooo!" They had been instructed not to let her fall asleep. Each person gave her a quick shove or a soft tap to wake her up.

"Okay, dammit I'm woke," Rayne said and smiled. The truth was that she wasn't even tired. She just liked the way they responded when she did that. She had pulled the same stunt 3 times already.

"I know you're messing with us Rayne, but I'm also scared that the one time we don't wake you up, you're gonna actually need us to," Elliot said in a stern voice.

"I'll stop fucking with you guys," Rayne said weakly and smiled again.

"Did they say how long you would be in here for?" Sheree asked.

"If her doctor wasn't lying to me, she should be able to compete in the next round," Albert said, the distrust audible in his tone.

"Yeah, don't worry Sheree that ass beating is still on its way," Rayne said.

"Well, just get better first," Sheree said, feeling like Rayne had missed the point of her question. She didn't care about the fight, she wanted to know how long her friend was going to be in the infirmary for.

That made her wonder if they were really friends or just rivals. She was okay if it turned out that they were just rivals, but she hoped they would actually be friends. She actually enjoyed Rayne's company, plus she made Albert bearable to be around. That was something she had only been able to fake once, the day they met. She had mostly tuned him out as he bragged about how impressive his life was. She had also managed to stay just engaged enough to keep him from figuring out that she wasn't listening to him. The whole time they talked she was looking around at the people that also had powers. She was wondering which ones she would see again, maybe she would make a friend somehow. Albert wasn't on her list of possibilities for sure. Now as he sat silently freaking out over his injured girlfriend, he had become a member of her friend's group. She looked up at Rayne and found her beautiful hazel eyes staring directly at her.

"You okay over there?" Rayne asked in her tiny weak voice.

"Me, yeah I'm fine. I'm just in my thoughts," Sheree said, caught off guard by Rayne's concern.

"I don't have your phone number yet," Rayne said.

"Oh, here I can add it to your contact list," Sheree said and picked up Rayne's phone from the white folding table beside her bed.

Rayne slowly unlocked it and pulled up a new contact and Sheree filled in her information. She found herself getting antsy as she did so. This was the closest she had ever come to friendship before. If Rayne never used her number, she would still be one of only two people to even have her number saved in their phone. If she did use it though. Sheree found herself playing out shopping trips and other outings the two of them could have together. She smiled as she handed Rayne back her phone.

"Now you gotta send me the best pic of yourself that you have," Rayne said and texted "hey bitch," to Sheree.

"Only you would start a conversation that way," Sheree said as she looked through her images for a good pic to send back.

"No naked selfies though," Albert joked, smiling for the first time since before Rayne's fight.

"Don't speak for me, I prefer naked selfies," Rayne said and stuck out her tongue at Albert.

Sheree smiled awkwardly as she actually scrolled past a naked selfie she had recently taken to send Elliot while he was in class one day. She found her favorite picture of herself and sent it. It was a picture Elliot had taken of her one day with a beautiful setting sun in the background.

"Damn, bitch you just sexy for no reason huh?" Rayne asked when she received the picture.

Sheree felt herself blush and looked at the floor in embarrassment. Rayne had a way of complimenting her that caught her off guard at times. She didn't hold her tongue and that made the compliments feel so much more authentic. It was something that was still new to her.

"She blushed, Elliot you lucky I'm straight," Rayne said and laughed. Her voice was a whisper as she spoke, but her presence still dominated the room.

After a few hours of sitting together Elliot and Sheree left for the night. Rayne was actually able to sit up and say goodnight to them as they did. Shortly after they left, a tall, white man in a white doctor's coat came into the room and informed Rayne that she could leave if she felt strong enough to walk.

"I'll walk you to your dorm room," Albert said as he helped her put her shoes on.

"I kinda wanna stay with you," Rayne said tentatively. Her eyes avoided Albert as she spoke.

"Well duh, I was gonna help you pack some stuff, so you could come back with me," Albert said without looking up at her as he tied her shoes.

They went directly to Albert's dorm room as Rayne only had enough strength to make one trip. She showered and dressed in one of his t-shirts and a pair of his basketball shorts. She stood in his bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror for a few minutes, not sure if she could go back and sit next to him. She wasn't wearing a bra and the shirt was tight on her belly and boobs. He's gonna take one look at me and offer to carry me back to my dorm, she thought as she looked at herself. After a few more minutes of self loathing thoughts she hit a point so low that she no longer cared what happened to her. She walked back into the room and sat next to him on the bed. Albert tensed up and looked away when he saw her.

"I know, I'm a slob," she said abashedly.

"No, it's not that at all. I wanna touch you, like a lot, and not just with my hands," Albert said as he continued looking away from her.

Rayne turned his face to hers and put her hands on his cheeks, "Babe, I love you and I believe you love me too. So understand that you have my permission to express that love physically, if you go too far I'll stop you," she said and kissed him.