ONE

*Tony's POV*

Hi there. I am Tony Andrew, a 20-year-old normal dude who is stuck in college. Guess what? I have a big secret I have been hiding from every freaking creature. 

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"He's gotta take a break. It's gonna be at least 3 months until we free his hands from the cast..." The doctor yaps and yaps about my situation while my mom's jaw keeps hitting the floor with every word. "Oh God! 3 months?!" My oh-so-dramatic mother gives me this look of pure sympathy. Meanwhile, I'm stuck chilling on this hospital bed that feels like a black hole I keep tumbling into - the pale sheets, that sterilized stench hanging in the air, and the teddy bear-covered gown I'm rocking... Ugh, hospitals suck.

"Fear not, ma'am. He'll be back in action before you know it." The doctor adjusts his dull glasses and then flashes me a grin. Yeah, right, like a doctor's gonna give a thumbs-up to a dude who managed to break both his arms.

"Tony, just look at yourself, constantly stirring up trouble and giving us heart attacks!" She's been throwing that same accusation at me ever since I landed in this hellhole of a hospital.

"Mom, it was an accident," I sighed, repeating the same excuse I had been giving her during her rambling. She narrowed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. I knew my mom too well. She was about to launch into the same scolding she had used since I was a mischievous little kid.

"Tony, my dear..." Here it comes. "You know your mother loves you, right?" She sat on the edge of the bed and gently held my face in her hands. I could see the sincerity, the love in her warm brown eyes, and the genuine smile on her aging face. It was her way of showing affection, in her unique style.

"I'm not a child anymore," I couldn't help but feel a sense of déjà vu.

"Then I'll leave you be. Just remember, Mrs. Andrew, call me if you need anything," the doctor said, sensing the tension in the air. No, wait, come back, doctor...

"I brought your favorite soup, sweetheart." No, no! Not that soup! As tears welled up in my eyes, she opened the lunchbox. Even the smell made me feel queasy.

"Let's have some before it gets cold." The color drained from my face. This was pure torture. I could detect the pungent aroma of ginger and onion in the soup.

"I'm stuffed, Mom," I said, feeling like I couldn't fit another bite in my stomach. She shot me a glare so intense it could've killed me on the spot. With my throat as dry as the desert, I gulped down some saliva to at least give myself some moisture. Slowly, I opened my mouth, awaiting the arrival of the spoon.

But just as the hideous aroma wafted into my nostrils, making my eyes water and my nose tingle, I spotted a mysterious figure lurking behind the door. Who could that be? Before I could even begin to wonder, my friends burst out from their hiding spots, roaring with laughter that echoed throughout the hospital corridors. One emerged from behind the curtains and another from behind the door. What on earth were they doing here?

I couldn't help but stare at them in disbelief. "What the..." I started to say, but it was drowned out by their uncontrollable laughter.

"Oh my goodness, I can't even handle this!" Dan Jackson, the heartthrob of our group, cackled until tears streamed down his face.

"Man, you're wrecked!" Greg Brown, the goofball of our group, snorted like a pig between his fists of laughter.

"Didn't you miss your friends, baby?" Mama's confused eyes studied me with concern, and she patted my head as if I were her pet or something.

"Why them, Mom?" A struggling whisper was all I managed to let out. I never hoped for a visitor, especially when I was in such a sorry state with a pair of arms in casts. The reason behind my injury was the most embarrassing thing at the moment...

"They were worried, you know. They insisted on seeing you, honey. So behave and greet them warmly." My friends managed to keep their big mouths shut, but I could see they were struggling to restrain themselves due to the funny and sweet names my mom kept throwing at me. This is insane! Now they will humiliate me the whole year, scratching at a scar that may never heal. The thing moms will never understand is a guy's dignity.

"Oops, I need to take this call... you boys can chat until I come back." My mom announced when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. She placed the soup, which looked like poop, on the table next to my bed before heading to the door. Now, I am all alone with these idiots. After the sound of the door gently closing echoed in the room, the loud laughter of my pals took over the brief silence. Huh God, what a humiliation!

"Hahaha... look at the bears." My friend, who was none other than Greg, said, pointing at my gown, and the others joined in to make fun of me. Seriously? A glare was all I could offer in response to this embarrassment.

"Oh my, hahaha... 'Baby, drink your soup before it gets cold.'" Dan joked, imitating my mom, and another round of earsplitting laughter filled the room. They even started hugging each other, tears flowing from their eyes to their faces, which began to hurt after laughing like fools. They look like they don't know whether to laugh or cry for the sorry-looking dude who managed to break both his arms in just 12 hours. Of course, that dude was me.

"Guys enough." silence took over when we heard a deep and commanding voice of a guy. Feeling curious, my eyes scanned every angle of the room until I saw an eyeglasses guy, Steve Logan, who was the genius and silent one in our group.

After announcing his presence, he takes a step forward towards me, then narrows his eyes like he is experimenting. "What happened to you?" his seriousness reminds me of my dad, who left this world some months back. I swallowed my saliva, readying myself to lie through my teeth like I did to my mom and the doctor.

"I fell from the stairs." Of course, it was bullshit. I mean it's not like I could just say 'I decided to hit the gym for the first time in my life and then I tried to lift worth of 20kg dumbbells then I got my arms cracked just to look cool in front of the hot chicks. so that's why I am in this pitful situation.' shit it even sounds bad this way.

"Mmm..." Steve makes an unsatisfied sound. "I don't think so," he says in a low voice before his legs start hovering around the bed, his gaze holding mine. I can feel the sweat falling like a fucking raindrop. Okay, he was a genius but I never thought he could tell lies from believable reasons.

"Oh come on Steve. Physics just doesn't work in every situation, man. Don't stress the poor guy." I said my heartfelt thanks to Dan in my head for stepping up for me.

"Guys, look at him." Steve stands in front of me, scarily pointing his finger. Suddenly, his pointed finger started looking like a gun. "How could he be in this situation just because he fell from the stairs?" This piece of shit.

Narrowed eyes stab me, looking at me calculatingly. No, no, not now...

"Spill the beans, Tony. we know you are lying." Greg says with a betrayed voice.

"Geez, why are you being serious over a useless matter." Dan rolls his pretty blue eyes, an annoyed look written on his unearthly handsome face. No wonder he turned out to be a big flirt who tasted half of the girls' population...

"I am telling the truth." Even if I try to stay calm, my voice shakes whenever I speak. "Now, get your flat asses out of the room and let me rest."

"Huh, trying to hide from the truth, aren't we, Tony?" Steve will never let go. I knew that.

"Damn, guys, we completely spaced on why we're here." Dan's eyes bulge out of his head like he's seen a ghost. And everyone else in the room suddenly snaps out of their trance and gasps in shock. They all look like they've just remembered something crucial and unbelievable that made their jaws drop.

"Oh, crap! We totally forgot." Greg switches from goofy to grave in an instant, startling me.

"W-what's going on, guys?" I ask, feeling nervous. But no one bothers to give me an answer. Instead, they scream. A kind of scream that pierces your ears and shreds your throat.

"Happy birthday, dude!" Holy cow ... what the heck?! Who the heck told them today is my birthday?!

Then, before my overwhelmed brain can come up with a suitable curse for these morons, they start singing the horrible birthday song that I hoped to never hear again in my life.

"You idiots, my birthday is January 20, not July." I don't even think they hear what the hell I just said because they keep singing the worst song ever.

"My baby, happy birthday!" You've got to be kidding me... Mom, too?! She's the worst of all because she brought a cake.

My mom comes near me, and I see a birthday cap hidden behind her back. Only idiots would fail to notice it's going to end up on my head. Now that both my hands are useless, I can't do anything to stop it. Today is simply the worst...

"I'm so proud to have such an obedient kid like you, son. I'm so happy you were born." My mom starts sobbing loudly, and my friends don't waste a second to act like sympathetic relatives. They hand her a tissue and pat her back, and I can only give them a look of annoyance.

"Now, wear this cap, birthday boy." Dan approaches me holding the deadly cap in his hands, and before I can react, it's already on my head. This is too much humiliation! Those jerks! I can see them smirking like they've accomplished something great.

"Now, now, we need to eat this cake, right kids?" My mom is already glowing, happiness radiating from her tear-stained face. And yeah, I don't have the heart to tell her today isn't my birthday. (More like the day of my doom)

Then, the most embarrassing thing happens... Greg, the dumb one, steps forward, holding out the knife in front of me so I can cut the cake. What the... is he insane? How am I supposed to cut a cake with both hands broken to bits?

Everything goes silent as if someone hit the mute button on their remote.

"Ahem ... heh, uh, well, um..." Greg's awkwardness fills the silence, but it doesn't last long.

"Well, kids, I'll cut it, so don't you worry." My mom saves me from any more humiliation.

To make a long story short, we eat the freaking cake, and of course, my mother feeds me, also giving me glares every time I try to protest. Sigh, my reputation is already ruined.

Then, after staying for a while, they leave thanks to my countless excuses for them to get out of my sight and leave me alone. But before they leave me all by myself, they say they have gifts for me. Then I just tell them to put their worthless stuff in the drawer in the room. Yeah, I know it's something stupid just by looking at the way they wrapped the so-called birthday gift.

Fuck them.

Fuck the day.