This is just an excerpt I wrote a few days ago that will be included somewhere in the (currently nameless) sequel to my Outsiders fanfic, Don't Think Twice, It's All Right.

Right now it reads more like an original piece because it only features my two main OCs, Jack and Eleanor, but it's not very long -- close to a page and a half, typed on Word -- so obviously it'll be added on to as everything comes together. I'm trying not to work so on the sequel until I finish Don't Think Twice but this just came to me and I wanted to write it down before I forgot entirely.

The only warning I could give for this is that it deals with drugs, but it's very vague yet. I don't know why I bother giving warnings, most of you can deal with this stuff, lol.

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Eleanor awoke in a room unfamiliar to her, though having been unconscious for over twenty-four hours left her disoriented and unaware. The lights were fluorescent and bright, the walls minty green, and nearby a window was open; the ocean pulsed a slow, careful rhythm in time with her heart, which in turn was loud and frightening in her ears. She realized she didn’t know where she was and briefly panicked, feeling the sweat form in tiny beads on her skin.

Somebody was stroking her hair, and then placed a cool cloth across her damp forehead, but she didn’t need to struggle to see to know it was him. He brushed her dark waves away from her face, and with a weak arm she reached up and closed her fingers around his wrist, stopping him. She ran her hand up his arm and back and it hurt to force a small smile.

“Jack.” Her voice sounded like brittle glass. It was as if she’d been sleeping for years and had only just awoken, her vocal chords not quite ready to make their grand debut after having been silenced for so long. She reached up further and stroked his cheek gingerly. He hadn’t shaved in a day or two and she could feel it.

He took her arm and placed it back at her side. “Just relax,” he told her, his own voice edged in worry. “You’ll be just fine.”

Eleanor managed a feeble nod. Her vision was still slightly blurred, but it was returning to her, and she could see Jack leaning over her the way an anxious mother tends to her sick children. He sat at the edge of her bed, nearly expressionless save for that fear, that worry that wouldn’t leave him. She could see his dark hair, could make out the outline of his chin and his cheekbones and she wanted to kiss him, but she didn’t have the strength nor the motivation. She was still so tired …

“This isn’t my apartment,” she remarked, the glass of her voice cracking. “Do you know where I am? Or why I’m here?”

Jack reached forward to brush away a stray lock of hair, though there was nothing there. It was only an excuse to touch her, to comfort her, for he was going to be blunt and he didn’t want to upset her. “You’re at the hospital, sweetheart.” He took a deep breath. “You overdosed.”

She looked at him curiously, and when she spoke her voice was no more now than a thin whisper. “On what?” And then her eyelids fluttered shut and opened again, and her eyes were moist as if she’d been crying, though she couldn’t remember if she had been or not. She seemed to be lapsing in an out of consciousness, and she would forget her inquiry in a moment, so Jack didn’t answer her.

“I overdosed …” she repeated quietly, affirming it, and as her eyes closed, her lips curved into a strange smile that made Jack’s blood run cold.

“Eleanor. Baby, come on, wake up, now.” He took hold of her shoulders and shook her gently until her eyes opened again.

“Hmm? Wha—?”

“You didn’t mean to do it, did you?” She looked at him, drowsily, and he at her, waiting for her to throw him a bone, to tell him no, it was completely accidental. “Tell me you didn’t do it on purpose, Eleanor.”

“No. Of course not.” But her answer was too quick, and the strawberry blush that colored her cheeks told him all he’d needed—and wanted—to know. It had been no more accidental than her own conception.

“Shit,” Jack muttered, just as sleep claimed her again.

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I would appreciate feedback even if you're not familiar with my fic. I like concrit so if something seems wrong or unrealistic or out of place, please let me know. Thanks. :)

<3 Sarah