Cold denial

[v a n i l l a]

Chloe had been taking every possible precaution to refrain from falling ill that week. She'd been drinking tons of fluids, she covered her own nose whenever anyone else coughed or sneezed, and she got way more sleep than usual. Most of all, she tried to avoid getting too close to her best friend Shelby, who had come down with a cold about a week ago, and though the symptoms had nearly subsided, she was still wary. Chloe was determined to get perfect attendance this year. She had an incredible immune system, as she rarely got sick, but there was always something that come up and spoiled her near perfect attendance. She recalled the events from past years. Three years ago, she had a dentist's appointment. Two years ago, she visited her grandparents in Kentucky for a week. Last year, her father's funeral... She pushed that thought out of her head, and refocused on her previous thoughts. Perfect attendance. Only two weeks left of school. She was determined this time.

Chloe moaned softly as sunlight filtered through her ivory curtains, drifting her out of consciousness. Her slate colored covers shifting position as she slid out of her bed and trudged over to her dresser, and changed into a pale ivory tank top, covered with a pastel periwinkle cardigan, a pair of navy skinny jeans, and fawn colored Ugg boots. She slunk drowsily over to her kitchen, and poured a bowl of milk saturated cereal, scooping it into her mouth before heading out the door with her mom and sister, Lindsay.

She headed down her cobblestone walkway, and entered her mother's ebony Lexus, resting her head on the headrest once she had entered. After driving for about a minute, a slight tickling sensation fluttered around in her nose. She shot a glare at the car air freshener, which was fastened onto the air conditioning vent of the backseat, which was where Chloe sat, since Lindsay, being two years older, always insisted on sitting in the front. The citrus aroma of the air freshener was bothering her nose more than usual, and it was getting on her nerves. When her nose began to run, she felt around in her pockets, and was dismayed to discover that she didn't have any tissues. She took a deep sniff to flush the mucus out of her nose and into her throat. She only realized her mistake when it was too late. The massive sniff made the tickle increase vastly, hitching her breathing, making it audible. "Ehhh... Heh... Eeeehh..." She placed a finger gently under her nose, but this only stalled the sneeze, and increased the tickle. "Eeeehhh.... Eh-NXSH." She stifled her sneeze, but the tickle did not go away. "Eh-NXSSH!-SSHH!" She stifled two more sneezes, and let out a sigh of relief as the car pulled into the school parking lot. Chloe and Lindsay hopped out of the car, and headed onto the school campus, the tickle in Chloe's nose nearly completely subsiding... for now.

Chloe grinned, running up to her best friend, Shelby. Shelby and Chloe could not have looked more different. Shelby had well defined facial features, and thick, wavy dark sepia hair with matching coffee colored eyes. She was tall, but not skyscraper-tall. Her skin was a tanned, but not dark. Chloe had extremely pale skin, like a Greek statue. Her hair was blonde with natural sepia highlights, and icy periwinkle eyes that sometimes appeared gray or green. She was about average height; not too tall, but not too short. They both had waist length hair, however. Shelby's nose was still red from blowing it so many times, her eyes had slight bags under them, and her tanned skin seemed paler than usual, but she still seemed much better than she did during the worst bit of her cold. Her mother insisted on having Shelby go to school when she was sick, because there was testing that week, and her mother would not allow her to miss it, even though she'd been suffering from a really nasty cold, and their school would only send you home if you ran a high fever. She'd been running a fever, but it wasn't high enough for her to be sent home.

A mutual friend, and a very close on at that, Thalia, came bouncing over as well. She had bleached blonde hair, natural, not dyed, that was always spun into ringlets that always bounced behind her. Her eyes were an electric shade of lime, which popped from her pale skin, though a bit darker than Chloe's. She was noticeably shorter than Chloe.

"Hi Shelby! Hi Chloe!" Thalia greeted energetically. Chloe waved hello in response, her lips curled up as she grinned.

"Hey guys," Shelby replied, her voice congested, as her nose was still plugged.

"Are you feeling any better?" Chloe inquired, trying to keep herself from sounding wary. Shelby nodded.

"Yeah, I think I'll be completely over this stupid cold in a few da-da....daaa....Acchooo!... days," she replied, sniffling congestedly. Chloe nodded. Shelby was sneezing in singles now, as opposed to the long fits she'd endure during the worst part of her cold. The three girls chatted for a few minutes until the bell rang, and they separated to go to their classes.

[42686]

ooohhhh! i really like this! your descriptions are so great, i may be able to learn a thing or two from your writing ;D please continue!

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

Eeeeeeeeee, this is really cute so far and I cannot wait to read more. You're such a very good writer! I love your descriptions and your grammar is beautiful, and you vary your sneeze spellings, and you don't even use that difficult-to-read "congested spelling"! Thank you so much for posting your beautiful amazing work here.

[v a n i l l a]

@Glue: Thank you so much! (: And I will definitely continue. (: I'm so glad that you like it!

@Amyparda: Thank you soooo much! Oh gosh, I hate the "congested spelling". It's so obnoxious, and it's impossible to read! Aw, you're sooo welcome! XD My pleasure.

Chloe headed towards Biology, skipping across the pale, fawn colored cement hallway that lead to her first class of the day, Biology, which was one of the few classes she had with her crush, Austin. Austin had somewhat curly, russet hair that was trimmed to fall above his ears in the back, and a bit above his eyes in the front. His eyes were a luminescent hazel, popping against his somewhat tanned, freckle glazed cheeks. Chloe slipped into the classroom, and plopped herself down into her chair, which was next to the table Austin was at. The class began, and the teacher, Ms Smith, began her lecture. Chloe listened to Ms Smith, jotting down a few notes. A worksheet was passed out for the students to do, so Chloe withdrew a pencil and eraser from her backpack, as she'd been using a ballpoint pen to take notes, and began to work. She began scribbling down her answers, stopping only when she heard a soft "PSST!" Chloe glanced up, caught off guard, and sighed when she saw that the speaker was Janette. Janette had sleek, ebony hair that was always drawn into a high ponytail and adorned with a ribbon with the texture of fabric, ranging from a wide assortment of colors, but it was usually magenta. Her eyes were a piercing blue that felt unnervingly intimidating with her pale skin and dark hair, ringed with a navy shade that made the lighter core of her iris pop even more.

"Chloe!" she hissed impatiently. "Chloe!" Chloe scowled and glared back down at the ivory parchment in front of her. Janette rolled her eyes and withdrew a bottle of perfume labeled with fancy cursive letters that were impossible to make out as she rapidly pressed the lustrous, silvered nozzle, sending a jet of the strong aroma in Janette's direction. Chloe's nose twitched as the tickly feeling returned to her nose, causing her to groan inwardly. "Chloe! Helloooo? Chloe!" Janette exclaimed. Chloe clenched her fists slightly.

"What?" she demanded, trying not to inhale the fumes of Janette's perfume, as it was causing her sinuses to react negatively.

"What pages do we use for the worksheet?" she inquired, doing an excellent job at sounding whiny and condescending at the same time, though the condescending part was unnecessary, as she was asking for Chloe's help, and this wasn't the best way to get it. Chloe, however, was in no situation to argue, as that would mean talking, which would make her have to sneeze even more.

"It's p-page t-two hundred si-.... siiii-.... si-... itcho!" Chloe attempted, sneezing into her elbow. "S-Si...Sixty f-foo... fooo... Hat-choo! four through s-sixty s-....siii..... Ha-CHOOO! ET-CHOO! HAT-CHOO!" Chloe's cheeks looked like a little kid had scribbled on them with a crimson crayon as she blushed with embarrassment.

"Page two hundred sixty four through sixty six," one of the other students at the table offered, giving a sympathetic glance to Chloe, who was now on her feet and heading towards the drinking fountain, as there was a paper towel dispenser next to it. She yanked on the marble colored towel, and blew her nose softly, trying not to make a large noise, as she wasn't keen on calling any more attention to her allergies than she had to. She felt the all-too familiar tickling sensation in her nose again, and held up the paper towel to her nose, tilting her head back slightly as her breathing began to hitch. "Ehh... Heh.... Haeshoo! Eashoo! Eh-CHOO! Is-SHOO!" Her sneezes were soft and delicate, but a bit harsh as well, and they caused her to double over slightly with each sneeze. She blew her nose once more, and grabbed a few more paper towels, stuffing them into her pocket as she slunk back to her chair, hoping that no one had noticed. Unfortunately, the two people she least wanted to look at her were doing just that. Austin and Janette.

"Bless you," Austin mouthed, a playful, joking grin curled onto his lips. Janette gave her a disgusted glance before tilting her head back down. Chloe gave an embarrassed smile to Austin before returning to her work. She had to stifle a few more sneezes periodically throughout the rest of the period, but she didn't have any more fits, which she was grateful for. Her allergies typically didn't bother her this much, as she could usually tolerate the scents of perfume and car air fresheners better than that, but she didn't let it bother her. When the bell rang, she packed up her things, handed in her worksheet, and exited the classroom, and headed for her next class, English.

Chloe entered her second period classroom, sliding into her desk, which was beside Shelby's. "Hi!" Chloe greeted, her nose ever so slightly plugged from the sneezing fit from her first class.

"Hey Chloe," Shelby greeted cheerily, her nose a bit more plugged than it had been in the morning, making her words a little difficult to decipher.

"You alright?" Chloe inquired, her voice edged with concern. Shelby nodded immediantly.

"Yeah, just a bit sneezy, that's all. The cold refuses to leave me alone," she replied in a joking tone. Chloe nodded and let the subject drop.

"Did you get number six on last night's homework?" Chloe improvised, not wanting to seem obnoxious by constantly asking Shelby if she was alright. Shelby looked like someone had just told her that her house had burnt down.

"We had homework!?" she exclaimed in dismay. Chloe nodded, biting her lower lip.

"It's not too hard, only eight problems. Just do it now," she suggested. Shelby nodded, pulling out the textbook from the basket under the desk that made bricks look as light as feathers in comparison.

"What p-p-pa... pa...ISHOO! ...page?" Shelby inquired, her sneeze louder than an exploding bomb. She looked considerably worse than before when Chloe looked at her a bit closer, but she didn't pry.

"Seventy-two; and bless you," she supplied. Shelby immediantly turned the book into a flurry of paper as she scoured for the page. She began scribbling down the answers, finishing about thirty seconds before the teacher came around to collect the assignments.

"Th-Th...Thanks," Shelby replied gratefully, her breathing hitching as she held back a sneeze. She whipped out her handkerchief and braced herself for another sneeze. "Ehhh... Heh.... Heeeeeh.... HeaCHOO! EaCHOO! ESHOO! HASHOO! EASHH!" A chill ran down Shelby's spine as she blew her nose hard into her handkercheif, letting out a few weak coughs.

"Are you sure you're alright?" Chloe pressed skeptically. Shelby sighed in defeat.

"Honestly... I'm not sure. I thought I'd gotten rid of the stupid cold this morning, but I just can't stop sn-...ssnnn-.... sneee-ASHH! ASHOO! HATCHOO! EACHOO! ...sneezing. M-My nose is getting all plugged up too because of that. Honestly, I'd be fine if the stupid sneezing would just stop. The tickly feeling won't go away either. I constantly feel like I'm gonna sneeze," she complained. Chloe felt a bit unsettled, and backed up in her chair ever so slightly, not wanting to catch Shelby's dreadful cold. The teacher, Ms. Ross, now deeply engrossed in her book, as they were supposed to be reading silently at the moment, didn't notice the quiet chatter or the explosive sneezes.

"I'm sorry," Chloe apologized, really meaning it, as she too detested being sick.

"It's fine," Shelby replied. She folded up her handkerchief and put it in a plastic bag before stuffing it in her backpack to avoid getting her backpack messy with the mucus saturated piece of fabric.

"Ms. Ross does realize we're not reading, right?" Chloe inquired. Shelby laughed.

"Honestly, I don't know what she realizes. We could talk full volume, and she'd have no clue as long as she has a book on her lap," she pointed out. Both girls burst out laughing, and Ms. Ross, of course, didn't even glance up. Shelby, not noticing the increasing tickle in her nose as she chatted with her friend, was caught completely off guard by a sudden sneezing fit. "HeaSHOO! Heachoo! Het-CHOO! EacSHOO! ISHOO!HASHOO!" She hurried to get out a handkerchief, but she wasn't fast enough, resulting in all of her sneezes being completely uncovered and unstifled, spraying directly into Chloe's face, who let out a soft yelp, leaping out of her chair. Shelby gasped in horror. "I'm so sorry, Chloe! I didn't mean to sneeze on you! I was trying to get a handkerchief, but I was too slow, and... Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" she blurted out, knowing all too well about Chloe's determination about not getting sick. Chloe groaned. "It's okay, it's not your fault, I just, urgh!" She dashed over to the drinking fountain, splashing water onto her face, and wiping it hard with a paper towel. After scrubbing as hard as she could, she returned to her seat, and assured Shelby that she forgave her once more, as she was apologizing nonstop. The bell rang, and Ms. Ross, not having noticed the passing time, decided not to give the class the homework that day, as she hadn't had time to give the instructions, and told them that she'd give it to them in two days, as the next day was a minimum day, which meant that there would be no homework given that day. Chloe packed up her things and headed out the door with Shelby, and headed towards her Geometry class.

[NoV]

Great little story with plenty of sneezing - I especially enjoy the way you write the fits More soon?

[v a n i l l a]

@NoV: Thanks!

Chloe slipped into her third period classroom, and took her seat. She also had this class with Austin, but could never talk to him until after class. Her Geometry teacher, Mr. Flost, was very strict on talking, unlike Ms. Ross. Well, actually, he was basically strict on all noises. Chloe zoned out during his monotone lecture that drawled out for basically the entire class period. She jotted down a few notes here and there to make it look like she was listening, but she honestly couldn't have cared less. She tensed as she felt a slight tickle in her nose once more. She glanced around to see what could be bothering her sinuses this time, and sniffed hard, trying to discover if there were fumes from some lotion or hand sanitizer that she was allergic to, but everything smelled completely normal. She held her pointer finger firmly under her nose to suppress the tickle, and for a moment, it went away, but that blessed moment did not last long. Her breathing began to hitch again, and the tickle became too intense for her to hold back any longer. "Heh.... Ehhh.... Heh-Ngx. Ngssh." She managed to stifle the first few, but the more she stifled, the more she had to sneeze. A few kids had glanced over at her, but no one said a word out of fear of being scolded by Mr. Flost, who, at the moment, was giving Chloe an icy glare, as if she could help her sneezing, and was doing this on purpose to disrupt his class. To Chloe's relief, Austin was looking at Mr Flost, not at Chloe. "Heh-NSSH! HeheaCHOO! EACHOO!" The sneezes, now impossible to stifle, were still dainty, but louder than before, though nowhere near the volume of Shelby's fit. "Het-CHOO! Ea-CHOO! ISHOO! A-SHOO!" She sneezed into her elbow, her cheeks bright red. Mr Flost was now completely fed up, as all the eyes of the class, including Austin's, to Chloe's dismay, were fixated upon the sneezing instead of him.

"Miss Miller," Mr. Flost began, using Chloe's last name to address her, which made his words even more intimidating. "Perhaps you should quit spraying your disgusting sneezes all over the classroom before you infect the entire class." Chloe's cheeks now looked like they'd been lathered with cherry colored paint. She slunk into her chair, her breathing hitching a bit still.

"Heh-NGSHH. Atc-CSSH. Ea-CSSH!" Chloe managed to stifle the last few, but they were still loud. Mr Flost had given up torturing Chloe, and returned to his lecture. As soon as the bell rang, Chloe dashed to the door, already haven packed up her things. Unfortunately, her desk was the furthest from the door, so it took her longer than the others to get out. Just as she was nearly at the door, she tripped over a backpack that was poking out from under one of the desks, sending her flying towards the ground, her knees scraping across the floor. Of course, that desk just happened to be Austin's.

"Sorry!" he yelped sheepishly, getting out of his chair to help Chloe to her feet. Chloe stared at the floor.

"It's fine," she murmured softly. "I wasn't looking where I was going." Austin hesitated a moment before speaking.

"Don't pay any attention to Mr. Flost. He gets upset when someone crinkles a paper. I mean, it's not like you could help sneezing," he pointed out. Chloe nodded. She was still embarrassed, but she felt better than before. As if on cue, Chloe let out another sneeze.

"Hi-choo! Ea-choo!"

"Bless you," he replied, laughing softly.

"Thanks, Austin," she replied, her nose a little stuffed up, which affected her speech slightly. "I'll see you at lunch," she replied as she headed out the door.

"Alright! See ya, Chloe!" Austin called after her as he packed up his things. Chloe made her way towards her fourth period class, Physical Education, or 'P.E.'.

[•.*°•☆. Q .☆•°*.•]

<.< It's okay, vanilla, we love this story! You can post as much as you want, it's your thread. I'm excited to see more, any way :3

[v a n i l l a]

@Amyparda: Thank you. (:

Chloe entered the locker room and changed into her P.E. clothes; a navy blue t-shirt with her school's logo and name in the center and matching navy shorts. She tied her blonde locks into a high ponytail, and headed over to Thalia, who also had fourth period P.E.

"Hi!" Thalia chirped, being energetic as always. Chloe grinned.

"Hey Thalia," she greeted, her voice a bit congested still, but Thalia didn't notice. The petite blonde began talking nonstop, speaking a mile a minute, and Chloe had a difficult time picking up everything she was saying. She loved Thalia to pieces, but the motormouth did get a bit on her nerves from time to time with her constant talking.

"Just a moment!" Thalia chirped as she dove back into her locker and pulled out a cyan bottle of perfume. Chloe winced as Thalia doused herself thouroughly with the perfume, giving it seven or eight squirts, spraying the air a bit as well, as if she were trying to make Chloe have a massive sneezing fit. Of course, she had no idea Chloe had such a bad allergy to perfume, but that's how it felt to Chloe. It only took her a few moments for her nose to register what had occurred.

"Chloe, you alright?" Thalia inquired, seeing the pre-sneeze look on Chloe's face.

"I-I'm fine," she assured her friend, her breathing beginning to hitch. "L-Let's just go to the gym."

"Okay!" Thalia chirped. Chloe, now unable to hold back the sneezes, let out a fit of stifles.

"Heh-NGX. Eh-CSSH. Et-CHSSH!" She tried to stifle her sneezes, but it wasn't working too well. "Heh.... Eeeehhh... Heeeeh..." Her buildups just made the tickle even worse, and it was nearly impossible to hold back. "Heeh..... Ihhh... Aaaah.... Eh-choo! Ea-choo! ASCHOOO! E-CHOO!" Her sneezes were massive and unstifled now. "HATCHOO! EASHOO! HAH-ATCHEW! EACHSHEW!HATSHA! ATCH! ATSHAH! EATSCH!" She barley had a chance to take a breath in between her sneezes, as they were increadibly rapid and explosive. Thalia looked alarmed.

"Gosh, Chloe, are you okay!?" she squeaked.

"I-I'm f-f-...HATCHOO! fine... ISHOO!" Chloe's sneezes were somewhat uncovered, as she was having a hard time covering them while talking.

"But, Chloe, you just sneezed like ten times! What if you're sick! Then you might have to miss school, and then you won't get perfect attendance, and-" Thalia pointed out.

"I-I'm fine!" she snapped irritably, cutting her friend off. "Just stop spraying that stupid perfume!"

Thalia looked hurt, caught off guard by Chloe's sharp tone. "S-Sorry, I didn't know you were allergic to perfume! I've sprayed it around you before, and you didn't sneeze!"

Chloe tensed. "T-Then I gu-guess I didn't get as close to you l-la-laaa.... HATCHOO! ...last time, but Iam allergic to per-per-peeer... ITCHOO! HASHOO! HAH-Ngx, ngsh, nssh, ngssh... perfume!" she retorted, trying desperately to stifle her sneezes. She refused to believe she was sick. "Whatever, let's just get into the g-g... ITCHOO!... gym." Thalia sighed and followed her silently into the gym. There was an assembly, so everyone perched themselves onto the risers. Thalia slipped away, as she was very offended from her argument with Chloe, as she was extremely sensitive. Chloe normally knew better than to argue with Thalia, but she was in a bad mood from getting sneezed on, getting in trouble for sneezing, and discovering that she may be sick. She was caught off guard to see Austin sit next to her.

"Mind if I sit here?" he inquired.

"I didn't know you were in this class!" she replied in surprise. Austin chuckled.

"Didn't know you were either. Different P.E. teacher, I guess," he chuckled. "So, can I sit here?" he inquired, his tone joking.

"Oh! Sorry, yeah, sure!" she replied. Austin grinned slightly. The assembly began, the presentation in video form, the topic being bullying. Chloe and Austin stared at the screen that the video was being projected onto, giving it their undivided attention until Chloe felt an irritating tickle in her nose once more. "Eh-tchew! Het-choo!" She blushed slightly, and groaned inwardly.

"Bless you," Austin replied. "You alright? You were sneezing a lot in Geometry too." Chloe nodded.

"Y-Yeah, I'm f-f-fi.... Hah-NGSX. NGSSH. Heh-TCH... fine." She stifled her sneeze, but not completely. Austin smirked jokingly.

"Yes, I can tell by the way you keep sneezing. You haven't caught whatever Shelby had, right?" he inquired.

Chloe shook her head. "Nah, just all... allll... Hah-Ngsh! Ngx, ngssh, ngssh! Just allergies. Thalia had some perfume, and she sprayed a ton on herself, I think she got some on me t-to... HATCHOO! too," she explained miserably.

Austin's eyes widened. "You're allergic to perfume?" he inquired. Chloe nodded in dismay.

"Very allergic," she explained in dismay.

"Guess I shouldn't have sprayed all that perfume on myself in the locker room," he joked. Chloe rolled her eyes and gave him a playful shove.

"Shut up," she replied, though she didn't sound very upset, since she was giggling as she said it. Austin and Chloe continued to joke around and chat until the end of the assembly. They departed, and entered the locker room. Chloe changed back into her normal clothes, and headed out of the gym for lunch.

[42686]

AGHHH *_* i cant explain how much i love this! as soon as chloe got sneezed on, i was like "i know where this is going ;D "

[v a n i l l a]

@Glue: I'm so glad you like it! (: I assumed you'd be able to tell where I was headed with that.

Chloe headed over to the lunch tables, her ugg boots skidding across the paved ground. She sniffled slightly, her nose still stuffed up, which she blamed on her allergies. She took out her lunch, which was a sandwich composed of two slices of plush sour dough bread with smooth, light sepia peanut butter and somewhat chunky, magenta jelly with a half a strawberry on top of the bread, contained in a little Tupperware box, with a bag of lime green granny smith apples also stored in the lunchbox. She took out her lunch, and took a bite of her sandwich before placing it back down in the Tupperware as Shelby came over. "Hey Shelby," she greeted softly, waving at her colleague. Shelby waved back.

"Hey Chloe," she replied, her voice still congested and stuffed up. "Sorry again about earlier." Shelby's eyes were fixated on the asparagus colored table.

"It's fine," Chloe assured her. "I don't feel the least bit sick anyways."

"Liar," a voice said jokingly from behind Chloe, who spun around to look at the speaker.

"Shut up, Austin," she giggled, shoving him playfully.

"Ah, yes, what was it you blamed? Dust? Flowers? Cats?" he inquired, his voice still using the same joking tone.

"Perfume," she replied, rolling her eyes. "And I wasn't blaming perfume. It was perfume," she insisted, still giggling a bit.

"So you say," Austin replied, sitting down beside Chloe, who took another bite of her sandwich, and dropped it in alarm when she heard Shelby's sudden explosive screams.

"HATSHOO! EASHOO! AT-SCHOO!" Thankfully, the sandwich landed in the Tupperware. Shelby's face was pale except for her cherry colored nose, but she still looked much better than before. She was making sure to sneeze into her elbow this time.

"Still sick, Shell?" Austin inquired. Shelby nodded miserably.

"I swear, if this cold doesn't go away by tomorrow..." she began irritably.

"You'll what? Kill it?" Austin asked cheekily. Shelby rolled her eyes.

"I wish," she muttered.

"Ya know, you should be able to spend one day at home. Testing is over now," Austin pointed out.

"Nah, I'm alright, I just keep sneezing, that's all," she replied. Chloe smirked.

"Yeah. Sneezing a lot," she pointed out, though her tone wasn't upset or sharp. Shelby's face fell.

"I'm really sorry, Chloe!" she repeated. Austin looked confused.

"About what!?" he inquired, completely oblivious to the events that occurred during English between Chloe and Shelby. Shelby looked reluctant to talk about it, but she did anyways.

"I... Er... sneezed on Chloe multiple times during Language Arts..." Shelby explained sheepishly.

"Ah... Gross," Austin commented, but his tone was more sympathetic than disgusted. After a few minutes of silent eating, Chloe's nose began to tickle again, but from an unknown cause.

"Heh-itch."

"Bless you," Shelby chirped.

"Thanks," Chloe replied in a congested voice, and they continued eating, but Chloe's nose only gave her about a minute of peace and silence before it produced a few more sneezes that were successfully stifled. "Heh-ngx. Nssh, nssgh, nssh." Austin glanced up skeptically, and opened his mouth to say something, but Chloe began sneezing again before he could make a sound. "Heh... Ihhh... Eh-nish, esssh, isssh, issh, ngssh." Her sneezes were rapid and all in a row, without even a moment of pause in between.

"We should hospitalize both of you," Austin commented with a playful smirk that faded after a moment. "But seriously, Chloe, are you alright? That's the third time you've had a sneezing fit in one day, and there's no perfume around here," he pointed out.

"I'm fine. Someone probably sp-sprayed some per-perfume nearby or so-something," she improvised, though she didn't sound so sure. "Haechoo! Echoo!" She was now unable to stifle her sneezes, as the tickle in her nose was too intense. "HEA-choo. HEA-shoo." Austin maintained his skeptical glance.

"Yeah, sure. Perfume," he muttered. "Chloe, if you're sick tomorrow, don't come to school," he ordered, his joking tone long gone.

"I can't! There's only two weeks left of school, and-" Chloe began in horror, but Austin cut her off.

"Yeah, yeah, and you want perfect attendance, but your health is more important than the stupid perfect attendance award!" he snapped. Chloe's eyes widened, and she slunk back on her chair a bit. Austin took a deep breath. "Look, I just... I don't want to see you suffering just cause you want some stupid award. I care about you, alright?" Chloe looked surprised.

"You do?" she inquired, trying to sound nonchalant. Austin looked confused.

"Well, yeah. I mean, we're friends, aren't we?" he pointed out, which made Chloe feel stupid.

"Oh, right," she murmured sheepishly. Austin was about to say something else when the blare of the bell startled all of them.

"Remember what I said, Chloe. And if you start to feel bad later today, go home early," Austin insisted.

"Alright," Chloe replied, sighing in defeat. The three friends departed for their next classes.

[42686]

"Look, I just... I don't want to see you suffering just cause you want some stupid award. I care about you, alright?" Chloe looked surprised.

*melt*

[v a n i l l a]

LOL I'm glad you like that part Glue! (;

Chloe slid into her sixth period class, which was History. She took her seat, her head slumped down, propped up by her hand as she tried to decide what to do. Listen to Austin and stay home, or go to school and get perfect attendance. Both were very appealing, and she hated having to choose. She didn't want to directly go against something Austin said, she cared about him too much to do that, especially since the request was for her to do what she should be doing in the first place. Besides, she couldn't risk getting embarrassed twice in Geometry for the same reason, particularly because Austin was in that class as well, and she knew he'd chew her out and make her go home sick if she got called her out again, even though her allergies were at fault the first time. She truly didn't feel ill though, if only she could just stop sneezing.

"Miss Miller, could you please recite what I have just said for the class?" her History teacher, Ms. Velasquez drawled. Chloe froze. She'd been completely zoned out, and hadn't been listening to anything, let alone well enough to recite what she had said.

"I-I... I'm sorry, I don't know," she stammered sheepishly. Ms. Velasquez scowled.

"And why was that?" Ms Velasquez demanded icily.

"I-I'm sorry, I wasn't listening, I-" Chloe sputtered.

"Class, what did I say?" the teacher interrupted, her voice condescending and harsh.

"Finals test tomorrow," they recited in sync.

"Thank you. Maybe Miss Miller will learn how to listen and know the answer next time," she sneered.

Chloe's heart sank. A final's test!? Tomorrow!? She had to go to school. She had no choice. Ms Velasquez would never accept an excuse for missing a test. That teacher would do anything to embarrass Chloe or drop her grade, and the ability to do both? That's an offer she'd never pass up. Chloe forced herself to pay attention throughout the duration of the class until the bell rang, releasing the students from the prison that Ms Velasquez called a classroom.

[ThePokeFan599]

This is looking like it'll be a great conclusion. I know the story revolves around Chloe's allergies, but could you make Ms. Velasquez sneeze at least once, or at least look like she's fighting a sneeze, and see who sneezes first? Multiple sneezers in the same room is always good

[v a n i l l a]

@Pokefan: I could try to incorperate that. (:

[Yuuki]

Love the fic continueee *O*

[Pearlised]

actually love this story, plase dont stop yet. It's so sweet!!! <3

[v a n i l l a]

@rechuchii: I'm so glad you like it!

@Pearlised: Don't worry, I still have a long ways to go! (: And I'm really glad you like it!

[v a n i l l a]

Chloe entered her Speech classroom, grateful to have two electives at the end of the day instead of more academic classes. Unfortunately, Austin had eighth period Speech, and she had seventh period, so they didn't have this class together. The fourth quarter speech competition was on Friday, and she was determined to be healthy for the tournament. Chloe slunk into her chair, waiting as the teacher took roll. As soon as the final name was called out, she dashed outside to practice her speech. She was in the category called Storytelling, which is basically telling a little kid's picture book as a speech, with scripted movements and characters. Her speech was called "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas," by Dr. Seuss. She took a deep breath, and began reciting her speech.

"All the whos down in Whoville liked Christmas a lot! ...But the Grinch, who lived just north of Whoville... did not! The grinch hated Christamas! The whole Christmas season! Now please, don't ask me why. No one quite knows the reason," she recited, stopping suddenly when she felt a tickle in her nose. She ignored it, and kept on going. "It could be p-perhaps, that his sh-shoes were t-too tight... I-It could be, perhaps, th-that his head w-wasn't screwed on qu-quite right..." The tickle became too intense, too hard to hold back. "B-But the m-most li... lii... Et-chh! likely reason of a-a-... a-.... AT-ccch! all was that his heart was tw-tw-.... HAT-cssh! two sizes too sm-sm-HATCHOO! small." She started off stifling, but these sneezes were much too powerful to be stifled. "B-But wh-whatever the r-reason... His heart... or-r his... or his.... his.... HATSHOO! HARASHOO! HATSHOO!" She let out a bout of coughing, and cleared her throat before continuing. "H-His heart or his.... his.... ETCHOO! ISHOO! HASHOOO! ATCHEW! ACSHAH! HATSHOOOO!" ...h-his shoes, he st-stood there on Ch-Christmas... hating th-the... the... th-THASCHOO! the whos..." The majority of the tickle gone, Chloe finished up the fit with a bout of stifled sneezes, releasing eight or nine dainty 'Cssh!'s without a split second in between the sneezes. She felt very stuffed up, but the fit was over, and she was free to reciete her speech in peace for the rest of the class period. She entered the classroom with a few minutes left of class, grabbed her backpack, and left as the bell blared through the halls.

[v a n i l l a]

Chloe entered her final class of the day; choir. She went to her spot on the risers, and sang the warm ups with everyone else. She, coincidentally, stood next to Shelby on the risers, as they had a similar range of voice. "Hey Shelb," she greeted with a grin. Shelby smiled back at her, her grin almost instantly fading as the pre-sneeze expression contorted her facial features.

"Aheh-ch! Arecshoo! Aeeshoo!" she sneezed, sneezing into the crook of her elbow, and then let out a moan.

"Feeling better?" she inquired with a playful smirk. Shelby shook her head miserably.

"No, I wish. It's just this st-stupid sn-snee...sneeee.... Atch. Atch-ew!...sneezing. Ugh." Her sneezes were half stifled, but still loud. The choir teacher gave the students a skeptical glance before turning her attention back onto the class.

"Get a lot of sleep tonight," Chloe advised. Shelby sighed.

"Fine. Only if you stay home tomorrow if you feel any worse," she comprimised. Chloe winced.

"I can't!" she whimpered. "There's a finals test tomorrow in History. I can't miss it."

~I'll add more later.

[_Daisy_]

Too cute

[v a n i l l a]

@Daisy: Thanks :3

Shelby narrowed her eyes. "Ms. Velasquez will let you retake it," she insisted. Chloe shook her head.

"No, she won't. Have you met her!?" she pointed out unhappily. Shelby frowned.

"Yeah, but its the finals. She'll make an exception. Besides, you need to rest tomorrow if you are sick."

"I'm fine, Shelby. I was just a little sneezy, that's all." Shelby gave her a skeptical glance.

"If you seem sick at all during choir today, you are not going to school tomorrow," Shelby ordered. Chloe sighed.

"Fine," she muttered, eager to end the conversation. The two sneezy girls returned to their singing, and for about thirty minutes, the only sound that could be heard was the melodic sounds of the choir singing, the creaking of the risers, and the notes radiating from the piano keys, until a tickle crept back into Chloe's nose.

"Heh.... eh...." Chloe tried desperately to hold her sneezes back, as she wanted to prove that she wasn't sick. Shelby, thankfully, was oblivious and singing, but she wouldn't remain that way for long. The tickle was growing, and it soon became unbearable to hold in. "Heh-Nssh, nssh, nsch, nsch!" She let out a rapid fit of stifles, which resulted in Shelby giving her a skeptical glance, but no one else looked over. "Hah-chha! Eatchhoo! Atcheew! Hatchoo!" The sneezes were still dainty and soft, but unstifled. The students around Chloe turned to glance at her. "Hat-CHOO! Ea-CHOO! HAHTCHOO! EASCHOO!" A few people stopped singing, as they'd lost their place upon hearing Chloe's fit. "HASCHOO! HAHETCHOO! EATCHESSH!" Shelby grabbed Chloe's arm and descended down the risers and dragged her behind them.

"You need to stay home tomorrow," Shelby ordered.

"I-I c-ca...can't... I h- ha- HA- HATCHOO! have to take the te- the te... te... TETCHEW! test tomorrow! Besides, I'm not even si-si... siiii.... HEHTCHEW! HESHOO!" Shelby rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you are. You caught whatever I had. Now, stay home tomorrow like I wish I could have done," Shelby ordered. Chloe opened her mouth to object, but was stopped short by the blare of the bell, signalling the end of school. "Stay home tomorrow. Bye Chloe!" she called out as she exited the classroom. Chloe sighed and followed her outside, and headed towards the parking lot where her mom would be waiting for her to take her home.

[42686]

ooohhhh now im curious O_O DOES she stay home? or do others get sick? i cant waittt! hehe

[v a n i l l a]

@Glue: You'll see... :3

I am rushing through the rest of the day because I want to write about the next day!

Chloe entered her mother's car, resting her head on her hand, her elbow propping her arm up. Her mom said hello and began speaking with Chloe, but the sickly teenager just mumbled halfhearted responses, her head beginning to ache. She groaned as the air freshener began to irritate her sinuses once more. "Heeichew. Heeishah!"

"Bless you," her mother replied. Chloe nodded, and rested her head on her hand again, and closed her eyes until the car pulled up at their house. Chloe entered the house, and slunk upstairs, and completed what little homework she had before collapsing onto her bed and falling asleep.

[a-tissue]

Chloe is so cute. I just want to take care of her.

[v a n i l l a]

@a-tissue: Thanks

Chloe groaned as she awoke, rubbing at her eyes. She felt absolutely miserable. Her throat was scratchy and sore, her head throbbed with a headache, and her nose was stuffy. She let out a soft bout of sneezes before pulling herself out of bed to get dressed. She threw on a turquoise blouse and an ivory skirt, and put on the same Ugg boots from the day before, and headed over to the kitchen to stuff some cereal into her mouth. After eating for a few minutes, she headed out the door with her mother and sister, and got in the car.