Wow. I can't believe I'm finally able to come back to this story o.o Anyway, welcome to In My Eyes! If you're a newcomer, feel free to ignore this whole spiel I'm about to go on and enjoy the fic! If you're from the old version, thank you so much for waiting for me to write this. I know I said late Jan/early Feb, but let's just say my health was a lot more unpredictable than it is now. I'm thankfully on top of everything and I've been excited to work on this again, so I hope it's just as good as you'd hoped!

A few changes have been made (some small, some big), so I hope it doesn't take away from the experience the original gave you. Just as a little preface, In My Eyes will be split into two parts - Changes and Family. Changes will be covering CoB, while Family covers CoA. The chapters will probably vary in length, but right now they each average about 3k words! There's only five other chapters written up, and I'll be uploading them every two weeks to keep a steady pace for myself.

PART ONE: CHANGES

It didn't feel like she was waking up all of a sudden. Not like those nightmares you get where sheer terror forced your eyes open, or those bouts of microsleep that always came with the reminder, Wake up! You're on the road!

No, it was slow and disorienting. Like she realised she was dreaming, but couldn't figure out how to open her eyes. Her mind was wrapped in warmth, tempting her to just go back to sleep and deal with it later. She could barely feel her limbs, let alone her face, but the rise and fall of her lungs was as clear as day. Her throat wasn't as dry as expected. Her breathing was clearer than ever. The smell—the sterileness of it all—was overbearing, though.

Eyes fluttered open once. Fell back shut. More attempts were made before Yu could finally say her vision was blurry, that she actually had them open at last. She knew hospitals when she saw them, but what had her stumped as the tides of sleep tried to bring her back in was why. Why was she in a hospital right now? Why did she feel like she was barely even existent? Why was she so groggy?

Each time she tried to delve through her memories for answers, blocks appeared along the way. Red hair. A bike. Squealing tires. Yu couldn't make sense of it. She breathed deeply—she could actually feel her lungs expand now—as she tried to sit up.

Someone moved beside her, having noticed her wake up. She didn't recognise the voice at first when they muttered, "Oh!" in shock. But the familiarity soon settled once Yu looked blearily to her right. Mrs. Fray—Jocelyn, she thought. Her best friend's mother and an acquaintance of her parents'.

Red hair falling around her face. Drowning out her stunned expression. Down, down down.

Yu wanted to break the silence with a greeting, but her lips were so numb and her throat was so weak that all she could manage was a pitiful, "Ah."

Jocelyn let out a relieved breath. The look on her face went from surprised to absolute relief, a hand flying to her eye and wiping at it furiously. "Thank goodness," she sighed. Yu blinked up at her. "How are you feeling, Yu?"

The word she wanted to say was "crap". The word that came out was a long, drawn out, "Eh…"

Jocelyn's nose crinkled. "I'm not surprised." She reached out and took Yu's hand, rubbing her knuckles with her thumb. "I'll be right back, okay? I just need to get the doctor."

She released her hand and rose from her chair. Just as she turned her back, Yu desperately wanted to reach out for her. Why was she here? What happened? Where were her parents? She pictured her hand reaching for Jocelyn, hoping it would help her move, but all it did was remove more blocks in her memory.

Pressure of her hand against her chest. A powerful shove. Panic. Desperation. Will she push her far enough?

She blinked her eyes tightly, scrunching up her face to try and bring back some sensation to it. To her left was another bed, unoccupied and free of any belongings that would hint at any other patients in the room. There were no windows, but Yu could swear she heard the sounds of birds chirping nearby.

A cautionary glance along the ceiling revealed a small speaker above her. She was confused as to why it was there, playing white noise, but she wasn't allowed a lot of time to dwell on it. Jocelyn Fray came back into the room with a few doctors behind her, as well as a nurse trailing behind her. Yu blinked slowly at them all. An old female doctor, a young male doctor, and a female nurse with… blue skin? She stared at the nurse as they all gathered around her bed. Blue skin and white hair—that wasn't natural, was it?

Jocelyn and the nurse shared a wary glance before the doctors began asking Yu about how she felt. Lights were shone in her eyes, small instructions for her recovery were given to her. They paused every so often to relay the information to Jocelyn as well, and then by the end of the conversation they'd say the darndest thing.

"What you did was very heroic, Ayumu," one of her doctors told her as sleep came over her again. "Your parents will be proud when they come home."

She clicked her tongue, annoyed. "The wheel's busted," she said.

Clary groaned. She bent down and double-checked the laces of her sneakers. "I knew the rock path was bad."

"I made an error in judgement." Yu rolled her eyes as she lifted the foot brake. So her shortcut turned out to be a bust. At least now they knew the stones in the park were sharper than they looked. "It's not like we'll be home late at this point."

"Mom'll still flip," Clary pointed out. She stood back up and joined Yu as she walked the bike along the path. "We're meant to be home before five. It'll six by the time we're there."

"She'll understand once she sees the bike."

Clary scoffed.

"If Jocelyn punishes us for coming home late," Yu added, "then I'll eat an entire serving of Elmo's dog food."

"Gross."

"Sorry for all the trouble, Jocelyn." She peeked over the newspaper at the woman, both scared and eager to see through the blank mask the redhead wore. "I can see if Eric's mom or Simon's can have me for the rest of…"

She trailed off, not sure if what she was saying was wise. Yu's parents had already asked Eric and Simon's about the possibility of staying with them—and they'd both explained that there simply was no room. Jocelyn had been the only option, outside of staying home alone.

Jocelyn simply shook her head and turned a page. She folded the paper in half and moved it towards Yu, pointing to an article. "Didn't take them long to talk about it," she said. "And don't worry about it. One trip to the hospital isn't going to make me kick you out. Lord knows the fit Clary would have if I were cruel enough to do that," she muttered.

Yu smiled nervously. She took the newspaper, her gaze dropping to the small hundred-word article Jocelyn's index finger hovered over. The first thing that jumped out at her was the title: Hit and run hospitalises teen.

"It's only been a couple of days." Yu frowned as she gave it a quick read over. "How come no one's come to ask about it?"

Jocelyn shuffled in her seat. Part of her expression said she was apologetic with the news she was about to deliver, but another part of it screamed the desire to keep something private. "I told them that I wouldn't consent to you being put in the news," she told her. "I know the idea of having your name in a newspaper is exciting, but…"

"I get it." She handed the newspaper back to her. All she had to offer was a sympathetic smile. What was the point in being upset over someone wanting to keep their life to themselves? "I'm actually glad. The last thing Clary and I would need is more stress from it."

She breathed a sigh of relief. The relief soon disappeared, though, once Clary's name had been brought up. Yu watched her carefully, once again hoping to see past Jocelyn's mask.

Clary hadn't visited yet. Every time Jocelyn came by to visit and bring her some homemade cookies, Clary was never behind her. Never in front of her. Never walking in by her side. Yu understood that the shock of the whole event would probably leave Clary a little anxious—but a stupid, irrational part of her always made her heart ache with the suggestion that Clary is upset with Yu. How dare you put yourself at risk, and all that.

"I'm hoping she'll be okay to visit tomorrow," Jocelyn said softly. She looked over at Yu and caught her concerned expression; with the speed only a mother could have, Jocelyn turned into a force of reassurance. "She's still feeling tired from all the blood they took."

"Is she okay, though?"

Jocelyn took in a breath—and then reconsidered once she realised Yu was asking about Clary's mental health. "She'll get there," was all she said.

God, she hated pedestrian crossings. Even when the street was empty and the cars had long since left, they still took their time to tell someone it was safe to cross. Yu tapped her foot against the ground rapidly. At this rate, she really would be eating Elmo's dog food.

Clary grinned up at her. "You're hopeless," she teased.

So what if she was? Yu was impatient and proud of it. It just wasn't her fault that the world moved slower than she did. "I don't wanna eat dog food," she muttered.

Once again Clary scoffed at her, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms across her chest. "I'm not making you eat it if we get in trouble."

Yu groaned. She tapped her foot faster against the pavement. The damn light wasn't changing, no matter how often she tapped the crossing button.

"Screw it." She shoved her bike out in front of her and began to cross. Clary followed her closely behind. "We're jaywalking."

Plastic spoons sucked. Sure, they kept you from scooping out someone's eye—like that's a thing most people want to do, Yu thought sarcastically—but the way they were made was hazardous. Every time she took a large spoonful of pudding, she wound up cutting the inside of her mouth as she removed the spoon.

But, she reminded herself as she opened a third cup, it was pudding. Pudding made everything better.

"It's been forever since I've had something as good as this."

Clary looked at her sideways, stirring up her own pudding. "You've survived on hospital food for five days."

Yu nodded. "A lifetime," she agreed.

The smaller girl just rolled her eyes and finished off her pudding. There wasn't a lot of other people in the visitors' lounge; it was mostly parents and their children getting some fresh air after surgery, with the occasional dislocated shoulder or broken leg sitting somewhere. Yu would probably be lumped in with them—wheelchair and leg cast and whatnot—which made leaving her room feel a little less intimidating. Ever since that article was published and Jocelyn mentioned how many companies reached out to her to interview the two teens, Yu had been stressing over the possibility of "unorthodox" reporters showing up to visit.

Like in the movies.

It was nice to see Clary was okay, though. All she had was a small scrape on either arm and a small bump on the back of her head. Nothing life-threatening, though the exhaustion she showed was a little concerning. Yu still wasn't game enough to ask anyone how much of Clary's blood had been needed to keep her stable.

Thoughts like those weren't good to dwell on. She stabbed the pudding with her spoon, grinning gleefully at how easily it fell apart. "What'd I miss with the fearsome foursome?" she asked.

Clary sank into her seat. A whole new demeanour washed over her, displaying amusement and embarrassment at the people in question. "You mean Caffeine Crisis? They're doing swell with the new name."

Yu snorted around her spoon. "Was the fact that they get mostly brewhouse gigs the reasoning behind the name?" she giggled.

"Kirk just really likes coffee, apparently."

"Oh, no, sure. Totally an obvious reason for the name." Yu shook her head with a final chuckle. "And is the Thong still a thing?"

Clary groaned. "Unfortunately. She's shown up to all the practices this week now that she knows you aren't there."

"She hates their music, though."

"But she likes making out with Eric. A lot." Clary didn't linger on the subject of the band or Sheila Barbarino for long. Neither of them enjoyed talking about that train wreck of a relationship, though sometimes it was a nice kind of reassurance. An, at least I don't have a relationship that shallow, kind of reassurance. "Luke's been taking care of Elmo, too. I think the li'l guy might be warming up to him."

Now that was a surprise. Elmo hated Luke for some reason, always going off and growling at him whenever he entered the house. Luke always went out of his way to avoid Elmo, too, because of how territorial that the dog got at times. Even though it was a surprise to Yu, it was also touching.

She didn't know Luke as well as she did Jocelyn, which made the kindness he'd shown mean all the more to her. It meant that he'd be willing to help a friend of the Frays if they needed it, especially if the Frays themselves couldn't do it. With Clary on lockdown and Jocelyn bouncing between the two girls, it would've been easy for them to leave Elmo with extra food—but they didn't. They put in effort.

"Tell him I said 'thanks'." Yu smiled at Clary. She liked the idea of Elmo getting along with Luke, anyway. "Can't wait to see which of them is Turner and which is Hooch."

The screeching left a ringing in her ears. Yu flinched and paused, almost tripping over her bike as the revving of an engine got closer. Clary bumped into her back, just as confused as she was, and let out a surprised squeak.

A red car. Small, two doors. That was all that Yu could coherently think when she laid eyes on it. She wasn't aware of how close it was getting or how fast it was moving. It wasn't at the forefront of her mind.

But at the very least, her body knew.

She threw her bike in front of her, hoping to create a barrier between her and the car. Without even waiting for Clary to recognise the danger rushing at them, Yu slammed her open palm against the shorter girl's chest. Clary stumbled back, the force of Yu's push just barely sending her back over the pavement, and she crashed to the ground hands-first.

Relief settled in Yu's chest for just a moment. For just a moment she was unaware of the bike being thrown back at her by the car. For just a moment she was unaware of the car slamming into her and throwing her into the air.

Once that moment passed, there was only pain.

Party horns were the best. Loud and in your face, and they always came in bright colours. Yu loved getting them for all types of celebrations.

And the best part of them was that no one could yell at you if the celebration was in your name. At least in Yu's opinion it was. This was why she stuffed two of them in her mouth upon arriving home, and this was why she blew them as often as possible once the door was opened.

It was a small welcome home party on her behalf; little balloons with stars on them hanging from the kitchen table, a platter of sandwiches just waiting to be devoured. At the centre of it all was a red velvet cake—Yu's favourite. She gladly walked herself inside with her crutches, Clary and Simon at her heels, and made a beeline for Elmo. The border collie almost knocked her over as he whined and sniffed her shirt. Before Yu could even bother scratching his ear, Elmo was back by Luke's side and sitting dutifully next to the man.

The gathering was sweet and the most fun she'd had with a broken leg. All it took was almost a month of waiting and putting up with terrible hospital food. Even as her favourite music began to play over the speakers and fill the house, the mood didn't diminish. Simon and Clary danced in the living room, throwing a balloon between the two of them; Luke and Jocelyn stood in the kitchen and cleaned the dishes, talking amongst themselves. Yu could just lose herself in the calm, munching away at endless cake and listening to Eurythmics play on a loop.

She was on her third slice of cake by the time Jocelyn came over and took a seat next to her. The woman had her hair up in a messy bun, the remnants of paint still speckled around her neck and on her knuckles. Yu offered her a slice, but was politely declined in favour of a concerned stare.

"How have you been feeling?" Jocelyn asked quickly.

Yu tilted her head at her. It was an odd question, considering she'd been right there for the girl's recovery process. "Fine?" she said.

Jocelyn chewed her lip. It must not have been the right question to ask. "I mean," she started, then stopped. She looked helplessly over to Luke, then back to Yu. "I mean, you haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary?"

That was definitely more specific than asking how she felt. Yu shrugged at her and shovelled a piece of her cake into her mouth, savouring the cream cheese icing. "I feel pretty good," she decided. "At first I was all wonky from the pain meds—" Jocelyn furrowed her brows— "but now my head's clearer and everything. Think I won't even need the crutches for long, y'know?"

"Wonky?" Jocelyn leaned forward in her chair.

"Like, hallucinating. Some people get that as a side effect." Yu chuckled softly. "For a few weeks I thought my nurse was blue. That kind of wonky."

A nervous laugh came from Jocelyn. It didn't do much to make Yu feel like she'd said the wrong thing. "Is there something wrong?" Yu asked slowly.

Jocelyn glanced at Luke again—and this time Yu followed her gaze. Luke stood silently by the fridge, arms crossed over his chest as he stared the two down almost sternly. A chill ran down Yu's spine. She was quick to look back at Jocelyn, finding a nervous smile waiting for her.

"Just don't hesitate to come to me if something feels off from here." Jocelyn gave her hand a little squeeze and wandered back to Luke's side at that.

There were so many people around her, prodding and lifting her and making her scream out in pain. Her whole body was on fire, the heat lingering in her leg and threatening to melt her bones. All she could recognise was Clary's voice in the distance, following the men and women who carried her and tried to keep her talking—keep her screaming.

"She might not make the trip," the man stressed. He wiped at her leg, removing some of the fire, but it soon returned with a vengeance.

The woman cursed under her breath, shouting something to people whose names she hadn't heard earlier. All Yu could see was the bright light inside the truck shining down on her. "Do you know your friend's blood type?" the woman asked. It took Yu some time to realise she was directing the question to Clary.

The truck shifted, the man beginning to tell her that she shouldn't be in there, but Clary ignored him. "I don't think she even knows what her blood type is," Clary wheezed. Yu tried to lift her head and see if she could spot the girl. Once her gaze landed on her leg, though, she began to feel faint. That was a lot of blood…

"Charlie, are you a universal donor?" the woman demanded. Charlie—the man doubting Yu would make a trip to the hospital—swore under his breath.

"Positive. You?"

"A." The woman clicked her tongue and banged on the wall behind Yu. "Push it as fast as it can go!"

And then came Clary's voice again, offering quite possibly the most beautiful chance at not bleeding out that Yu had ever heard: "I'm O-negative."

They harassed her with questions. How old was she? Was she sure that was her blood type? Did she have anything bad in her blood? Was she certain she wasn't too hurt to donate a pint or two?

Yu stared up at Clary once she came to stand by the gurney. She barely felt the needle go into her arm, too focused on the small scrapes on Clary's palms. She hoped that was the worst of it.

Let me know what you think of this prologue! I'll be back in two weeks with chapter one, and I hope Yu is still as enjoyable as her old self :)