01<@Ardweden> [Day: Tuesday, September 28. Time: 8:30 a.m.] 01<@Ardweden> [The bell for the first class just rang, but Tyler and Tiffany are not in class. This is not especially surprising, but the reason may be: Tyler's face has effectively been rearranged, blood streaming from a cut in his head, his nose broken, his lip split open again and one of his eyes swelling to epic proportions. He's (understandably) having a hard time standing, much less walking, so Tiffany's helping him with that.] 01<@Ardweden> [They've made some distance from the side entrance before anyone else used it, so fingers crossed nobody's seen them. The coast seems to be clear all the way down the parking lot. Clear, that is, except for Sydney, who's wandering around. She's probably lost, but she did just spot the pair of them.] 01<@Ardweden> [Start!] 06* Sydney was pretty sure that she'd been heading for a different entrance that was closer to her locker, but what the hey. This isn't all that unusual for her, to be honest. 06* Sydney spots Tiffany and the wreck of Tyler and starts jogging in their direction. 06* Tyler is just draped over Tiffany not really doing much. 06* Tiffany carries the wreck of Tyler, hefting him up as much...okay, so she seems to be having a hard time of it. She's not necessarily the most athletic. Silently cursing the fact she doesn't have a vehicle or thought this through better. 06* Sydney reaches them. "What the hell happened?" She looks at Tiffany. "Here, hand him over. I can carry him." 06* Tyler blinks and barely looks up at Sydney. "I'm sorry." He sounds.... sad? regretful? Something not Tyler like. 06* Sydney hefts Tyler. "Don't apologize to me. I'm not the one you were screaming at earlier." 06* Tyler seems to deflate more at that. 01<@Ardweden> [Tyler deflates all over Sydney. Downside: Deadweight. Upside: He's not punching her?] I'd ask what the hell your problem is, but... yeah. Where are we supposed to be hauling you? 06* Tyler groans. "Hospital. Please." Uh. Should I call an ambulance? No... they would ask questions here. I got jumped on the way 06* Tiffany does hand him over. Or did. She then looks at Sydney, the last person she really wanted to see. She tries to wave with her hand, but winces. Ow. "Yeah. Hospital. I'd drive myself but..." The hand is obviously the excuse. She waves it. 01<@Ardweden> [A couple of Tiffany's fingers are swelling a bit, and given the way she's wincing they're obviously not that fine.] 06* Sydney eyes Tiffany's hand. "Apparently Tyler is not the only one who needs to go to the hospital." She exhales. "Tyler, I'm not dragging you all the way there. Can we get far enough away from the school that calling would be safe?" 06* Tyler sighs, tired, "take my car." Does it have a GPS? 06* Tyler sighs more. "Cell phone." Okay. Your car is where? 06* Tyler will guide Sydney to the far end of the parking lot but he's sounding tired and worn out. 01<@Ardweden> [The three of them get to the car! Sydney is driving, it seems.] 06* Tyler will get Sydney to his car. It's last year’s model of midclass sedan. Not quite luxury, but with tons of features. Of course. It is also bright cherry red. 06* Tiffany frowns and looks at her hand, but doesn't respond to Sydney's asking. She's just sitting quietly in it, fidgeting uncomfortably. Hospitals... 06* Sydney places Tyler in the passenger seat. Hopefully he won't bleed all over the leather! (Assuming it's a leather interior. Seems right!) 06* Sydney buckles up and starts the car. "Okay. Directions. Very detailed ones." And also we figure out what we tell the nice people at the hospital when we get there. Tiff...tiff do it. please. But directions first. 06* Tiffany sighs as she leans back and points in the direction. "That way." It's almost unconscious. Rubbing her hand gently. "Best I can come up with is that he got jumped in the parking lot going back to his car. Really made a mess out of him..." 06* Sydney heads that way! No, seriously, she really does, but only because it is physically impossible to go the other way and she's trying not to get in an accident. "And we just happened along. Which is true for me, actually. And your hand?" 06* Tyler grunts. "She hurt it saving me" 06* Tiffany gives a glance to Tyler, then sighs, slumping back. "Was *gonna* say caught it in bike spokes. Thanks. Now you got people thinking I actually *give* a shit." Bike spokes. Good. I can remember that. 06* Tyler sounds out of it. 06* Sydney drives! Hopefully someone is giving her directions. "Well, you didn't leave him lying somewhere. That counts as giving a shit regardless of cover story." 06* Tiffany glances at Sydney and then blushes a little, arms going in between her legs as she looks down at the mats under the seat. "...so....you're talking to me again now...?" Yeah. What, did you think I was going to stay mad at you forever? I mean, sure, I would have liked it to be better circumstances than hauling you and Tyler to the hospital to start talking about things, but... yeah. can...can we focus on me not bleeding out? We still going the right way? Because if we are, then you're not bleeding out. 01<@Ardweden> [They are! Sydney drives to St. Joseph's Medical Center, where the emergency room is thankfully not packed - Tyler's condition may have something to do with why they got such quick service, too. Sydney is stuck giving the cover story, though, as Tiffany's been called away for a nurse to look at her hand.] 01<@Ardweden> [So - Tyler is in a room somewhere, Tiffany is in a different room somewhere else, and Sydney is outside of Tyler's door, facing down a male nurse with graying black hair and a concerned expression. He has a clipboard, too. Go!] 06* Sydney has an expression of genuine worry on her face as the explains to the nurse that as she was coming to school, she found Tyler in the parking lot, and in the two words he could put together, said that someone had jumped him, so of course she had to bring him here because she wasn't going to just *leave* him, but she's already gotten in trouble for being late to class before and isn't this a silly thing to get in trouble for, honestly? 06* Tyler will be feeling better after some medical attention and just relaxing in a bed. 01<@Ardweden> [The nurse nods, sympathetic, and says that she was right to bring her friend here as quickly as she did. He'll see about writing a letter for her and her friends so they'll be excused from school. Now if she doesn't mind waiting a bit, she'll be able to see her friend as soon as they can manage.] 06* Sydney nods and thanks him profusely. 01<@Ardweden> [A few hours pass, and in those few hours, Tiffany's released with a shiny new splint binding her middle and index fingers together on her right hand. Eventually, the nurse returns and says that Sydney can see Tyler now, pointing his room out to her that Tiffany's not there. A quick glance around shows her that Tiffany's leaving for another part of the hospital; she seems to know where she's going.] Tiffany? Tyler's room's over here. I think. Am I wrong? 06* Tiffany frowns and freezes up, then glances over towards Sydney. Her fingers go carefully to rub her hand. Her splint must be bugging her. "Uh...yeah...probably? I...don't feel much like visiting Tyler right now though...you go ahead..." I... can understand that. Are you going to want a ride back? 06* Tiffany 's frown only deepens more, then she sighs, almost murmuring. "How...how late are...?" She then gestures with her head to a less public spot down the hallway. "...can we talk a bit?" 06* Sydney follows to the indicated spot. "Yeah?" 06* Tiffany sighs a bit, shoulders slacking. "I...I don't...don't really like hospitals all that much..." She's still scratching her wrist. They're not really fun places, no. So you want to just get out? 06* Tiffany sighs slightly, then shakes her head. "I...well...there's som--I've gotta visit someone...while...while I'm here...ah...but...I'll be back for Tyler..." The "I guess" is hard in her voice. 06* Tiffany frowns then turns towards Sydney. "Can you not tell him? Just say I had to step out for a bit?" Oh. Sure. Listen... can we talk about stuff later? 06* Tiffany frowns a little bit more at Sydney now. "...can we not? Um...your sister's okay though, right?" 06* Sydney frowns back. "Yeah. Yeah, she is. But... okay, this is obviously *not* the time or the place, but we need to talk. I get that there's stuff you don't want to get into, and that to you it's important enough to go ahead and do even when we have other missions we're working on, but at least you came back unlike Hank who's just totally blown us off completely, the asshole..." Her voice is steadily rising. "But yeah, go. Do your thing. I don't *need* to know, but I wish you'd have been able to trust me a little." She heads into Tyler's room. 06* Tiffany frowns at Sydney all the way into Tyler's room, clutching her arm and holding both arms close enough to her chest to squeeze the fabric. She squeezes out, voice barely a whisper. "...I barely even know you though..." before going off on her own direction. 01<@Ardweden> [Sydney walks into Tyler's room. Inside is one (1) Tyler, conscious and lying in a hospital cot with a blanket, nose and head bandaged, eye treated (but still swollen). Sydney was trying to be quiet - at least at first - but unfortunately, he heard her entire rant.] 06* Tyler looks up. "H..Hi Sydney" 01<@Ardweden> [End!]