Marnie had wanted to run to the Hospital Wing the second Penny had been knocked out of the game, the sick feeling of seeing her friend hurting still lingering in her stomach. By the time she'd made it to the stairs of the stands through the crowd, Todd had already beaten her to Penny's bedside and Marnie couldn't help but hide an affectionate smile behind a hand, busying herself with some stuff as unobtrusively as she could at the nurses station.
She could see Nurse Arora eying her but thankfully she didn't question it as Marnie lingered as much out of earshot, cutting a glance at where Pen was still curled up even as Todd left. It was cute to see them together, Penny deserved that, but Marnie was practically busting to check over Penny herself, all but knocking the nurse out of the way when she finished her check in after Todd left as she flung herself at Pen's beside.
"Oh my god I'm so glad you're okay you are okay right I mean I heard the nurse say you could leave which I guess I shouldn't be listening I wasn't trying to and I definitely wasn't listening to you and Todd I just wanted to make sure you're okay like where does it it hurt do you want me to turn off the lights or anything that could help if your head still hurts we could pretend like we're at a sleepover sorry am I being too loud?" Marnie asked in a rush, hands fluttering over Penny, adjusting the sheets on the bed and patting at her hair.
"Don't get me wrong I love watching you and Milo play seeker but-" Marnie let out a sigh. "-It sure is stressful, huh," she said, giving Penny a weak smile. It was their last year and Marnie had never wanted to be anything but supportive of something it seemed like Penny really loved doing. "Do you think... Like is this something you're going to keep doing? After school?"
She and Penny had never really sat down and talked about it before. The After. Sure, they'd talked in broad terms, 'I wanna be this when I grow up', Pen helping Marnie keep her studying on track in their OWL year when they talked about careers and she knew Penny had plans. But the little details, Marnie had never been good at them and it scared her now to think about it about it when it was right around the corner.
