He raised an eyebrow at him. Was he serious? Charlie Bellwether had died in a car accident years ago, his mother had been devastated. But what if he was serious? "Yeah, sure, right. Charlie Bellwether died like 5 years ago. Try again."
“Bud, I’m suuuuuper high on all sortsa painkillers right now. Think I’m conscious enough to lie to ya? I’m gonna regret gettin’ shot in the mornin’, but at the moment, it feels great to get rid of all the filters, hun.” Charlie shot him an exaggerated wink.
He was definitely surprised but didn't push further. It wasn't worth it. He smiled a little. "You're flirty when you're high, aren't you?"
“I’m always flirty, sweetheart. And for th’record, I ain’t usually high. Imma man of morals, thankyouverymuch,” Charlie said. Wow, I’m better at this then I thought! Thanks, person with a gun hired by mum.
"Well then, this should be a very interesting night. Not that I'm complaining, cutie." He winked, smirking slightly.
Charlie opened his mouth, ready to come back with a snappy remark, but suddenly collapsed against the stretcher, unconscious. An EMT moved to adjust his IV, and gave Cameron a kind look. “Don’t worry, he’ll be alright.”
"Yeah, I figured that. My sister's an EMT in Chicago." He smiled gently. He hadn't seen Rebecca in years but he was hoping she'd show up to the Chicago show.
Charlie began to wake up as he was lifted out of the ambulance. He caught flashes of faces and florescent lights as he was wheeled down a bright white hallway.
Even though the nurses made him stay in the waiting room, he felt better knowing he was at least there. He pulled his magazine close to his face, this was the last place he wanted to get mobbed.
(Sorry I left! I fell asleep :) )
Charlie slowly broke into the world of the awake. Little snippets of conversation trickled through his ears, and he fought to lift his heavy eyelids. “Oh my goodness,” he groaned. “This. Sucks.” Charlie didn’t really remember how he had gotten to the hospital bed, only remembering the blinding pain of getting shot. He gingerly touched his side, flinching as his fingers brushed the thick bandages.
Eventually, a kind nurse came up and tapped him, saying that Charlie was awake again and he was instantly up, following the nurse into his room and Cameron sat by his side. "Hey Sleeping Beauty."
Charlie immediately sat up, and scooted back as fast as he could. “With all due respect, Mr. Starr, what are you doing here? Last thing I remember is getting shot at your concert.”
He chuckled softly. "I take care of my Starr-struck nation, so sue me." He glanced up at Charlie. "You're a lot more relaxed when you're high on painkillers. You asked me out, for starters."
“I asked you ou-!” Charlie cut himself off in shock and slumped back down on the bed. “Of course I did. Curse my lack of impulse control!” He sighed, and turned towards Cameron. “Would you at least inform me of the day, time, and location of this date? I’m not one to waste golden opportunities.”
He laughed, shaking his head. "The only thing we agreed on was next Friday. And please, call me Cameron."
“Next Friday, then, Mr. St- Cameron. When do you have space in your busy tour schedule for a guy like me? 4:00? Not in the morning, of course,” Charlie replied slyly.
He thought about it for a minute. 4:00. He could get away from that meeting with no problem. "4:00 it is." He smirked slightly.
“I’m sure I can,” he lowered his voice to a whisper, “sneak away from the hospital. After all, they probably won’t let me out of her for a bit. Gunshot wounds usually don’t heal very fast.”
"Yeah, I know the feeling." He checked his phone, ignoring the thousand texts from Alyssa to see the time. "I've got to be getting back, Alyssa's already going to give me hell but hey."
“Go then! You have millions of adoring fans and a whole entourage waiting!” Charlie said, making a shooing motion that didn’t cover the giant grin on his face. He spent all this time waiting for me? Damn.
He chuckled softly. "I'll be back to check on you later, alright? I promise." He flashed his dazzling smile before heading out. Alyssa was already waiting for him by the curb and she did not look happy.
“Please do come back! Please!” Charlie yelled after him. He settled back down on his bed, and al the worry he had been holding back flooded through his veins. They found me. How? How did they find me… and why didn’t they kill me?
"What the hell were you thinking?" "Alyssa, it'll look good for the media, alright?" "How??" "It'll show that I care, that'll be enough." She sighed. "Just get in the car, we need to get you back to the venue."
Charlie heard the sound of Cameron’s souped-up-cool-boy car zooming away from the hospital. He rolled away from facing the window, and closed his eyes, figuring he might as well get some rest.
Luckily, last night's concert was his last one for the week which gave him time to just relax a little although he did have a lot of work to do.
(Can we do a timeskip to the night of the date?)
(Sure!)
The Next Friday:
Charlie still hadn’t been released from the hospital yet, but luckily, a nurse on the afternoon shift took pity on him when he said he had a date, and conveniently left the room at 3:30 in time for him to sneak out. Of course, he remembered that they hadn’t set a place when he was standing in the middle of the sidewalk in a hospital gown. He walked home as quickly as possible with his wound, and huddled up in a mound of blankets, considering his next move.
Cameron was stuck in a meeting, his leg bouncing in anticipation and his eyes flicking to the clock every couple of minutes. At 3:45, he made his excuse and dipped, heading out of the building and smiled. That was, until he remembered that they'd never actually set a place. So where would he go?
“Screw it. I’m going for a walk,” Charlie said aloud to his empty apartment. He gently tugged on a bright yellow sweatshirt and a pair of sweatpants, slipped his feet into some flip flops, and left his apartment. Each step he took caused a shiver of pain in his side, but it felt good to be doing something other than lying in bed. He decided he’d walk towards the stadium where the concert was; maybe he’d find Cameron there.