Like Loving A Lion (SEQUEL to I'm Not That Perfect)

It was way too early to be awake. I walked slowly Of Mice & Men’s bus just after the sun had come up. Only one more week and this tour would be over.
“Avery, Avery, Avery.” Alan opened the door before I’d even knocked. “Are you here to be graced by my presence?”
“That’s exactly it.” I nodded, stepping inside. “Do you guys have any water? We don’t and the pipes on our bus aren’t working because Nate tried to hook them up while he was drunk. I need to take my medicine.”
“Yeah, totally.” Alan replied.
“Hey, Avery.” Phil and Aaron waved to me.
“Hello, gentleman. Where’s Austin?” I asked.
“Are you pining for me, Ave?” Austin called from the bathroom.
“Yeah.” I said, taking the water Alan handed me and attempting to open my pill bottle but my hands were shaking.
“Are you okay? You’re really pale.” Austin said, taking the bottle and opening it for me before I even knew he was there.
I blinked for a second. “Um. Yeah, I’m good.”
“What do you take meds for, Ave?” Alan asked.
“Alan.” Austin glared at him. The guys were all watching.
I blushed. “Uh, anemia.”
“I wasn’t-” Alan started.
“No, it’s fine.” I promised.
“Have you eaten anything today?” Austin asked quietly.
“Yeah, I just ate a banana.” I said after thinking for a second.
He put the backs of his hands on my cheeks. “You’re freezing.”
“Can I lay down for a minute?” I asked. He nodded, watching closely. I slowly got into his bunk and laid down. “Austin?”
“What is it, Princess?” He smiled.
“Do you have any more blankets?” I asked. He nodded and walked off.
**
“Is she okay?” I heard Vic’s voice ask.
“She got here at nine this morning and went to sleep. I don’t think so.” Austin replied.
I didn’t move. I was trying to sleep and they were being loud. “She’s lost a lot of weight, Austin. She’s skeleton skinny.”
It was time to wake up. I sat up slowly but a pain in my legs stopped me. “Ow! Oh my god!”
“What is it?” Austin asked, rushing to my side.
My back arched in pain. “My legs!”
He pulled the blankets back and looked at them. “There’s nothing there, Ave.”
I couldn’t speak. After a few minutes it went away and I relaxed, breathing heavily. “It’s gone now.”
“Your pulse is so fast.” He murmured.
“Avery, maybe we should cancel the show today. You don’t look so well-” Matt started, here too with the rest of my band.
“As if! We can’t cancel!” I cried. “I’m fine. Let’s do it.”
“Are you positive?” He asked.
“Yes!” I insisted. I tried to stand up but fell back down, dizzy. With some help I got to the stage to play. I felt better until right after we went on. After the first song the stage and the crowd started spinning until everything began to fade.
***
“She’ll be fine. She’s just underweight.” Someone was saying at a distance. I could hear but I was afraid to try and open my eyes.
“I want to see her.” I recognized that voice. That was Austin.
“Family only until she wakes up.” The first voice chided.
“Is she malnourished? Is that it? I don’t really get what you’re telling me here, doc.” Austin said.
“It seems like her anemia is hereditary. She went to a doctor who gave her the wrong information and she probably didn’t know she inherited it. The medicine she’s been taking is doing nothing for her because it treats the wrong kind of anemia. She’s not underweight because she doesn’t eat enough, although that contributes; she’s underweight because of the low amount of red blood cells her body produces.” The doctor said.
“And you can fix that? You can make her better?” Austin asked.
“Yes, I can.” The doctor said.
I opened my eyes and blinked; I was definitely in a hospital. The doctor came in and I sat up, watching him warily.
“You can come in, gentlemen.” The doctor called. Austin, Alan, Vic, and my band entered the room. “Hi, Avery. How do you feel?”
“Like hell.” I laughed quietly. “What happened?”
“You passed out on stage. There’s about a hundred teenagers in the waiting room.” Nate replied.
“Oops.” I mumbled. The doctor explained what was really wrong with me; my body didn’t make enough red blood cells and I inherited that from one of my parents. That was why I’d been so sick lately. The last doctor I’d seen had told me that I had anemia but diagnosed the wrong type.The medicine was actually making me sicker.
“I need you to step on the scale if you don’t mind.” Dr. King said. I got out of bed and onto the scale. It told me I weighed an even 93 pounds.
“You’re five feet and four inches,” The doctor said slowly “And only 93 pounds. That puts your body mass index at 16.0. I could diagnose you with anorexia, Miss Carter.”
“As if!” I scoffed. “I am not anorexic.”
“But you are dangerously underweight. We need to get that up, alright? You should weigh 108 pounds at least.” He said.
I didn’t have to stay so after the doctor prescribed me new medicine we were out. I stopped to talk to some of the fans who were waiting.
“Are you okay, Avery?” A girl asked.
I put a piece of my hair behind my ear and laughed. “Anemia’s a bitch, honey.”
“What happened to your face?” A different one called.
I laughed again. “So is Ronnie Radke. Listen, guys, I’m really sorry you didn’t get to see the show today.”
“I’m glad you’re okay, Avery. It’s crazy to meet you.” A guy said.
Austin walked over, through talking with the doctor. “He said it’s totally okay for you to take this medicine and birth control at the same time. So that’s good.”
All the fans stared and I smacked him. “Austin! Really?”
“Hi, everyone.” Austin smiled. They didn’t reply. “Right. We’ll be outside, okay Princess?”
I turned back to everyone as he left. “Sorry about him.”
“You’re dating again?” Someone called.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “He makes me really happy.”
****
“Do you feel alright?” Austin asked, tucking me into his bunk.
“Better.” I smiled.
“What do you want to eat?” He asked. “We’ve got to put some meat on your bones, baby girl.”
I thought for a second. “Can you make me grilled cheese?”
“Your favourite. Of course I can. Do you want me to put on Adventure Time?” He asked. I nodded and he kissed my head, going to the stove.
“I fucking hate this show. It’s so dumb.” Alan groaned.
“I’m sick so I get to pick what we watch.” I replied, sticking my tongue out at him.
“Okay, princess.” He shot back, making fun of Austin who threw a spoon at him. I was glad to have my friends- and Austin- back.

Notes