Aristotle and Dante Sketch The Earth and Its Miseries

Chapter-2

He'd come to see me even with a fever, I thought as I rushed to the nearest hospital in a cab with Dante's blazing body and Sam's friend. His cheeks were red and his body was burning hot.

We arrived at a hospital. Dante was laid on a stretcher. The staff offered to steer him to the ward, but i insisted to do it myself.
"Bonjour," I said to the receptionist.
"We speak English, sir," the lady smiled.
Flustered, I booked the ward for Dante. The doctor accompanied me to Dante's ward. Sam's friend paid for the ward. He knows the friends he makes, I remarked about Sam.

The doctor concluded that the fever was caused due to an adrenaline rush. He'd screamed at me before, so i assumed the adrenaline came from The Louvre. Hormones are wild, I noticed I'd be talking to myself a lot. Valid, I guess. I'd isolated myself, though publicly.

Dante also made me ponder and complete his sentence. The one he tried to speak before falling.

I figured it out. It wasn't that hard to do so. He said that he's already home. I'm his home. A home he abandoned.

I couldn't stop thinking about how I'd upset Dante twice in half a week. The wound was grave and my verbal band aids weren't working. Hell, I came to Paris just to see him. Am I distracting his college life? I prayed to my necklace that i wasn't, and the Christian cross on my neck must've heard me. I had become too expressive. I was a patient of the Suzie-Byrd-virus.

That reminds me.
I called up Susie. I was sure she'd be with Gina and Cassandra.

"Hello? Ari? Have you reached Paris? Did you meet Dante?" Susie rapidly enquired.

"Hi, I've reached. I met Dante. I'm in the hospital, waiting for him."

Cassandra took over the call,

"Hospital? Why? Did his heart pop out at your sight or did you break a bone in frustration-"

"I'm fine, Cassandra. Dante just has a fever. He fainted in The Louvre."

"LOUVRE?? Your first museum date is fancy as fuck. I wish someone would take me there for a date," I couldn't hear Gina frown through the phone.

"It's not a date, Gina. It's more of a, uh, well... A romantic business meeting?" That made the girls chuckle.

"And I thought you were being solemn. But for real, Ari, something is off. I can hear it in your voice. Are you down? What's up?" Gina analyzed my misery.

I'd stayed friends with them for so long. They knew every mood that resided in my vocal cords. My voice would be altered by my mood and they'd memorized it like sheet music.

And as for Dante? He knew every inch of me. My body was his treasure, my soul was his creation and my heart was his home. His forever residence. He knew me more than i knew myself. I feel like the new Ari is slowly fading away into oblivion. He's lost in the haze and he'll never find a way out.

"Ari? Are you there?" Gina broke my continuous thread of thoughts.

"Yeah. I've upset Dante. Twice. In less than a week. And now he has a fever. The doctor said it was because of an adrenaline rush. And you know where the adrenaline came from? Me. He yelled at me in The Louvre. It hurt. But then he healed me somehow and fainted. It's complicated. I don't know how I feel. I don't know what I feel. The new Ari knew what he felt. I don't. The old Ari is returning. I don't like it."

"It feels like that sometimes. The old version of you never goes away. It hides. Your new version guards it. It comes out to protect you when necessary. So your old version never really dies. It's there, but you just don't know it. You're not just Aristotle Mendoza. You're a-r-i-s-t-o-t-l-e-m-e-n-d-o-z-a. And that's different. Every letter of your name holds a different meaning and value. You're not a whole. You're blocks of different stuff attached together. You're full of good shit, you know? Everyone is. Not a big deal."
Cassandra ended her speech which was practically a counselling session.

"Just know, no matter what version you are, we love you, Ari. We're never forgetting any version of you that you leave in the past." I could hear that Susie was holding back tears.

"Thanks guys. Thanks so much. I'll cut the call now."

"Good luck, Ari." The women echoed.

The nurse approached me with a report. A report? I just knew that was bad. It's supposed to be just a fever.

Why is it that i can use the most complex words in my daily life but when it comes to Wattpad, I can't think of sophisticated words?!

Anyways, tell me your opinions on the second chapter and how I can improve further chapters!

QOTD: Who's your favorite singer?