Eden Doesn't Do Gardens (f/f)

[Galaxy]

Hey, gang, Galaxy here with my very first f/f story. In fact, I think this is my first original story, other than my drabble thread. I won't bore you lot with the details, so let's get to it!

Description: Gemma's excited to be entering college, but fears she might not make it past a semester if she continues having difficulties in her classes. So she hires a tutor, the very pretty, smart and sneezy Eden. Normally disgusted by sneezes, Gemma can't explain why she's so drawn to Eden, and the two soon become friends. They experience love, fights, parties and illnesses over the course of their college life, and all the while Eden remains as allergic as ever, and Gemma can't ever seem to get shake this crush she's got on Eden.

(If anyone cares, I have faceclaims for Eden and Gemma. uvu)

(also, this is just the prologue so sorry it's short and there aren't many sneezes; there will be many more next chapter, I promise~)

Prologue

I heard Eden Rowe long before I ever met her.

No, not heard of her; just heard her. Thought it would be quite a while before I even knew that was her that I was hearing.

Cranson University was big and vast and honestly terrifying, but I couldn’t let my parents see how scared I was to be facing the reality that I was going to college. Mom grew up in a pretty lax home, and it was her personal belief that Grandma and Grandpa’s relaxation is what caused her getting knocked up with me at age sixteen. So somehow she thought that meant she should raise me under an iron fist so I wouldn't end up the same way. Dad was protective, too, just not as severely as Mom. He would let me stay out past curfew as long as I texted frequently to tell him where I was, and he would let me have two sodas on Friday and Saturday nights, and on prom night he bought me a box of condoms. “I know I can’t stop you from doing what you want, so at least be safe,” he told me, and we shared a profound, bonding father/daughter hug...even though I didn’t tell him that I just sold all the condoms that night to fellow students and made a decent twenty bucks. I mean, come on, did he really think that the chick nicknamed “fire crotch” was gonna get some action? No, no, they didn’t call me fire crotch because I was somehow good at sex or something (pfft, I wish), but because I got my dad’s ginger gene. You know, the carpet matches the curtains and all, so I had been a frequent joke since entering high school as the only ginger in Freshman year.And Sophomore year, and Junior year and--surprise!-- Senior year. Maybe Freshman year as a college student would get me less ridicule. College was supposed to be accepting, right?

Even so, I was pretty scared at the thought of going to college. Mom and Dad were used to keep me relatively protected and safe, and the thought of this big campus scared them, so of course I couldn’t show that it scared me, too. I had spent eighteen years under my parents thumb; How the hell was I going to survive living by myself, in a city an hour from home and everything I had ever known? I mean, sure I was eager to go on and live my own life, but I didn’t think living my own life was going to scare me so horribly.

We were guided around the campus by a Senior named Rick, along with about thirty other potential students and their parents. The more I saw of the place, the more excited I got, as well as more fearful. There were sororities and clubs of all kinds, cool classes and wide, open space where students were studying, mingling and playing frisbee. There was a church across the street from the campus (which mom got seriously excited about. I, however, planned on spending my Sundays sleeping in for the first time since I was five), and a mall just a few miles away. I was still a bit iffy on if I was going to try and get into Cranson U, but Rick completely changed my mind with five magical words: “The campus has pizza delivery”. Half-way through the tour, I knew this was the college for me.

Rick showed us the gym and pool before taking us through the big green house where the botany classes grew their plants. Our tour group barely took one step into the place before there was a huge gasp from someone in the back. I just figured they pricked their finger on a thorn or something, when I nearly jumped out of my skin at hearing a loud

“AhheSHEUHH!! HASHIEUWWW!! ISHIEUHH!! Hahh-ahKKHTSHHH!!”

Ugh...You know those kind of sneezes where you just hear them and think, “Yeah, they’re totally misting the person in front of them”. Yeah, that’s what these sounded like, real wet and sounding like a spray nozzle. An extremely loud spray nozzle. I was the sort of person that carried around a bottle of Germ-X wherever I went (Bath and Body Works had been my best friend; scented hand sanitizers for a dollar? Yes freaking please), so naturally I couldn’t help shuddering a bit at the sound. I couldn’t help looking curiously behind me, and in the crowd, I could only see a tall, dark-haired woman talking to someone next to her, a someone that was hidden behind all the other potential students.

“Eden, hush!” she snapped, and I figured this woman was the mother to whoever was sneezing, this Eden who clearly didn’t know how to cover her nose.

“Mom, Mom, I-I’m sorry, I ca-hahh-- haAH-!!”

The voice threw me off entirely. It was quiet and breathy, and not at all what I associated with when I heard those monstrous sneezes, and honestly cute. Like someone who you could just tell was giggly. I don’t know, maybe I just thought that because her rapidly hitching breaths sounded like a desperate, forced giggle.

“HaESHIEUWW!!”

“How gross...” Mom murmured to me, just as much of a germaphobe as I was. But her saying this made me feel instantly bad for this Eden, who probably could tell that the rest of the group was a bit disgusted and noticed her obviously huge sneezes. Even Rick had stopped talking, peering to the back of the group as if waiting for there to be silence again. As if he was being rudely interrupted.

The mother of this Eden apologized to the rest of the group and snatched the wrist next to her. I only saw blue and pink painted nails before the both of them disappeared out the door of the green house. Eden’s sneezes were still audible, muffled through the walls of the big atrium. This was like a signal for everyone to face the front of the room again, and Rick began talking about the excellent botany programs the school had.

Eden and her mother never came back to the group. Or, I didn’t see them, anyway. Well, obviously I didn’t know what Eden looked like, but I didn’t see her mother, and I didn’t see any girls with pink and blue painted nails.

By the end of the tour I was exhausted and slept in the car all the way home. I didn’t think of this Eden or her massive sneezes or her cutely painted fingernails. I thought of Cranson and the programs and the opportunities.

Well, that wasn't all I was thinking of. Mainly, I was thinking of how much fun I was going to have being out on my own, having this huge campus to call my own. To have parties and boyfriends and new friends and everything.

And September couldn’t come soon enough.

[LoveFemaleSneezes]

Wonderful read, loved the description of the wet sneezes. Can't wait for more!

[PollenFiend]

That was very enjoyable, and not just for the sneezes. I like the story and the style of writing. I look forward to the next instalment.

[hails]

You're ten times the writer I thought you were! This is really, really wonderful!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

For you're first story this is amazing man just amazing much better than I could write c:

[Curiosity234]

Woo off-screen sneezer! The mystery!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Interesting title. Am very curious to see where you take it next.

[Heathcliff]

I like this idea very much! I'm looking forward to seeing the two characters meet in the next part.

[Anonymouse]

This was awesome. Can't wait for more of those sneezes.

[Jack]

Amazing !! Really like those huge messy sneezes, and your description of them is simply one of the best i have never seen.

More please !!

[Galaxy]

Gosh, everyone, I didn't think this would be so well received! I appreciate all the kind words and the eagerness for a continuation, it means so so much. uvu

It's summer for me now, so I really do have all the time in the world, but I want to be sure that all my time isn't thrown into this (no matter how inspired I am!), so I want to keep a schedule for updates; I'm going to try for a chapter every Monday or Tuesday, and then another on Thursday or Friday, and then one on the weekend (or two if I'm especially inspired!). This might differ if I have an especially busy week or anything, but I am aiming for a bare minimum of twenty chapters in all, so I'd best get to work!

One thing I want to mention, I am most definitely interested in hearing suggestions for this! I'd like knowing what you lovely folks want to see so I can make the story more enjoyable; The readers are just as big a part to any story as the author is. uvu

Ah, but without further ado, Chapter 1!

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Chapter 1

The week before I graduated from high school, I got my acceptance letter from Cranson University.

Dad was waiting for me at home with a huge grin and took me tight in his arms. “I couldn’t help it, I had to read it,” he gushed, spinning me around like when I was little. “You got in, Gem!”

“I got in...?”

“To Cranson!”

I immediately grinned and spun around with him, laughing and whooping and hollering until Mom came home and gave us a confused look. Once we told her, though, she was cheering along with us and bouncing and we must have looked like such a ridiculous bunch of white people but it was alright because Mom and Dad and I never got excited about the same things.

We went out for pizza to celebrate, and my parents let me invite my grandparents as well as my best friends Liv, Tana and Stephen, who were all trying to listen politely as I bragged about getting into a good school while they were going to community college it up for the rest of their school careers. Afterward Mom let my friends come over, and we hung out in the basement and drowned ourselves in celebratory Pepsi. Tana and Liv stayed the night, but mom made Stephen go home. See, mom didn't know Stephen was gay, so she was convinced he would try to jump our bones or something. While Dad was the cool sort of Christian that was cool with everyone leading their own lives as long as no one else got hurt, Mom was one of those "I only judge you because I want you to be saved" Christians, who just said that in thinking it justified their pointless shittiness. But aside from that, Mom was pretty cool, but I probably wouldn't have really liked her if she weren't family. But, even with Stephen gone, Tana and Liv and I had a great night and stayed up til dawn.

That was basically the only day of fun I had in regards to Cranson University.

The next day was a Saturday, so mom didn’t have to go into her job as a dermatologist, and Dad took the day off from writing what was definitely going to be the next great American novel. We sat down and talked about everything that was important. Cranson was two hours away in Albany. While they both wished I would stay here in safe old Pawling, they both knew that this was important for me. But, I think my parents made it a bit more about their own securities. For one, they wouldn’t let me live in the dorms, not since Mom saw some movie about a crazy college chick who fell in love with her dorm mate and tried to kill all her friends. So after a bit of arguing, I agreed to have an apartment close to campus, one that Dad and Mom would fund since it was cheaper than getting a dorm room. I had my own car, so we would work on moving up there all together at the end of the summer.

The end of the summer came quicker than I had hoped. Tana, Stephen and Liv were all great pals and helped me move, too, so I could get all moved in within a day. It was a week before classes started that my parents and friends helped me get all moved into a studio apartment just down the street from campus. It was spacious, and not completely tacky for being a studio apartment. I didn’t have many exciting hobbies like scrapbooking or kickboxing or exercise, so a lot of the space went to a bed and other regular furniture. So I had plenty of room if I ever wanted to have a party, and the location was convenient.

“Now you can just walk to church!” Mom said happily as she peered out the window, and I didn’t have the heart to tell her that Sunday school was so not my thing anymore. She had helped me so much in moving, it really wasn’t right to make her sad that way.

And then finally, I was free, on my own, in my very own apartment. And the first thing I did was order that campus delivery pizza.

----------------------------------

Upon looking at the different clubs and activities, one thing that seriously excited me was a comedy club. Oh, that's probably a thing that's important. While I was going to school to be a middle school teacher, what I really wanted to do was stand-up comedy. Mom and Dad were pretty supportive of it, as long as my comedy didn't have swear words (but come on, what comedian is funny when they don't toss around words and phrases that could offend large groups of people? No comedian, that's who.). The Cranson comedy club met on Thursday nights, and once a month, the club hosted Comedy Night at a restaurant down the street. Once classes started, I went to the first meeting. Honestly, all the real material most of these people had was about “trolling” and griping about how they got “friendzoned”. I considered just dropping this entirely before deciding to stick around; Maybe some real talent could come around, some people that could actually help me improve and strut my stuff. I got very excited about this, and immediately started working on more material. And I may or may not have let this control most of what I did. Sure, I started making friends in some classes and in the cafeteria, and started to merge into the group this girl Anna had with some other students. And maybe it was just me, but this tall, blond Sophomore guy seemed to be checking me out in the Journalism class we had together.

“Maybe he’s got a thing for fire crotches,” Stephen suggested when he came for a visit a few weeks into the school year.

It wasn’t until about the end of September that I got a call from mom screeching about how I was failing. I guess there was an online system of checking grades, and I had C’s or below in all my classes. It was only then that I realized I was probably spending an unhealthy amount of time working on my material for the comedy club. If this were high school, it wouldn’t be a big deal, but it wasn’t so easy to make up grades in college, and I began to get genuinely terrified until one night on the phone, Tana suggested getting a tutor.

“Maybe a super smart British guy or something,” she suggested. “And then you can fall in love and get married under the Eiffel Tower.”

I did take what Tana said into consideration. Not about the British guy, or about the Eiffel Tower (well, maybe the Eiffel Tower part), but about getting a tutor. Maybe it could help me make friends as well as improve my grades. Hell, maybe I would even meet that British guy she was talking about. He would educate me in classes and I would educate him in the fiery sexual frustration that had been in me for years, one of the main reasons my mom sent me to Bible Camp in the tenth grade.

But when I checked the bulletin board outside the main office of fliers, there were no ads advertising a strapping young British tutor. The only ad I could find involving anything actually school related was one with peel-off papers with a number. Half the paper had been covered by another ad, and I was too short to reach it, so I couldn’t see the name of this potential tutor. But I did get the number, and immediately called it. There was no answer, and the voice mail had been disabled. Later that evening, I got a text from this number:

Hi, did you call about the tutor?

Oh ya i did! Hi!

I’m sorry for not answering, I’ve recently been getting over a bad cold and lost my voice. But I should be better in a few days, if you’d like to meet somewhere to start tutoring. Could I have your name?

Sure my names Gemma. Um theres a cafe across the street from the school if youd like going there?

The Blue Moon Cafe?

Yeah thats it! Wanna go there

Sure, sounds perfect. Monday at 4, is that alright?

Thats perfect! Thanks so much. Im the one with the really curly red hair if you need to know who to look for lol. Whats your fee?

You only pay me if you go up a letter grade on your next test

Omg thats really cool. Lol watch ill just be like one point off

LOL. See you Monday.

“Well, this mystery tutor isn’t much fun...” I murmured, noticing how formally they texted and wondering if that last ‘LOL’ was sarcastic or passive aggressive or what. Oh, well, it didn’t matter if they were a stick in the mud as long as they helped me with school.

It wasn’t until Monday, when I was sitting in the Blue Moon with a brownie and a fancy sort of blended coffee drink that all the other college kids had, that I realized I didn’t know my tutor’s name. I was just in the middle of shooting them a text asking what it was when I looked up at a ‘ding’ of the cafe’s from door. I was sitting around a corner, and couldn’t see the door, but could immediately hear a bout of miserable sounding coughs. I peered around the corner and saw a young woman in jeans and a loose blue blouse, looking about my age. She was pale, with black hair falling to her shoulders that may or may not have been purposely made to look unkempt. Her face was full, but not fat, looking like an innocent little china doll with big blue eyes. By habit (because girls always have to see if other girls are hotter than her), I looked to her chest and saw decently sized breasts, without an ounce of cleavage peeking out from her blouse. The first thing I could think of was how awfully pretty she was. The only part of this girl that wasn’t pale was her nose, which was an irritated red and as she got closer, I shuddered a bit at seeing the shiny moisture around her twitchy, sniffling nostrils.

“Hi,” she greeted me in a scratchy, but still soft voice when we made eye contact, face breaking out into a smile that was extremely sweet despite how miserable the rest of her looked. “Are you Gemma?”

Oh, God, little Miss Sicky was my tutor?

“Ah, yeah, hi,” I said, smiling sheepishly. “I’m Gemma, alright. Heh, it’s nice to meet you, thanks for helping me,” I said, reaching to shake her hand and reminding myself to apply Germ-X the moment she looked away.

“Oh, sure thing,” she said with another sniffle, still smiling politely. “I’m Eehhh...”

She was standing in front of me while I sat, so I had a clear view of the shudder-worthy moisture that slid from her flared red nostrils. I looked politely (and uncomfortably) away while she breathed out an apology, snatching a napkin from the table to hold to her nose. The tutor’s breath hitched for a moment, before snapping at the waist with three huge sneezes that made my eyes widen in surprise, and not just at the volume.

“EihESHUEUHH!!” she sneezed fiercely into the napkin, snapping at the waist with the force and causing her mussy black hair to snap along with her. “IhyeSHUEWW!! HESHEUHHEHH!!” By the time the sneezes were out, I could clearly see the places in the napkin that had been soaked. The tutor inhaled shakily and sniffled, looking up to me with a bit of red on her cheeks. “E-Excuse me, I--”

“Are you Eden?” I asked before I could think about how this question would sound. That was it. THAT was the sneezing that I had heard on my tour day through Cranson. And lo and behind, her nails were painted the same as they were that day, albeit this time the colors were green and purple. Wow, on the few occasions I had thought of that sneezy girl in the greenhouse, I had honestly figured she was some kind of hideous troll, not this petite, sniffly cutie (and you had to be pretty damn adorable in the first place to be called a cutie when your nose was running like a faucet and your sneezes could scare the shit out of a giant).

Her brow knit, red nose twitching with a thick sniffle. “Y-....Yeah, Eden Rowe, it said on my ad...?” she murmured with a confused look.

I was about to tell her what I meant before pausing and thinking, what kind of freak would remember some random sneezing chick nearly half a year after that occurrence? Me, obviously, I was that kind of freak, but I couldn’t let this girl-- let Eden know.

“Oh, s-sorry,” I apologized with a sheepish smile as she slid into the booth across from me. “Just--heh, sorry...”

Eden nodded with a sniffle, wiping her nose with another napkin and wincing a bit. I realized the scratchy paper napkin probably hurt her nose, and for some reason found myself glad that nosebleeds were common for me in the summer; It meant I had plenty of tissues on me.

“Here, do you need a tissue...?” I offered, holding out a pack of tissues as her nose started running visibly again. Eden couldn’t have snatched the tissues quick enough, taking one and holding it to her nose with a relieved sigh.

“Gosh, thank you so much....” she sniffled, rubbing at her chapped red nostrils. She took in a deep breath, and I was prepared to jump at another bout of huge sneezes, before seeing she was just about to say something before stopping herself.

“Were you gonna say something?”

“J-Just ask if you would mind if I blew my nose...B-But it’s okay,” Eden said, removing the tissue to tuck in her pocket, giving me the same polite smile. “So...snf, what was it you needed help on today?”

I was about to insist she go ahead and blow her nose before thinking better of it, knowing she probably felt gross enough without me forcing her to drench that tissue just like she had the napkin. I showed her my Calculus textbook and the problems I had been having troubles with. And for having a nasty cold, Eden was really quick and easy to learn from. She didn’t give me unnecessary instructions, just cut right to the chase. I probably would have been able to pay attention better if she wasn’t constantly sniffling, though.

“I’m sorry...” she murmured after noticing a wince I gave at a particularly thick sniffle. I looked up to Eden, seeing her bright blue eyes looking shyly into her lap, and felt instantly bad for her.

“No, no, I’m sorry,” I sighed. “Just-- heh, just easily distracted,” I lied. I was normally so easy to keep concentrated, but hearing her sniffle every other word was seriously destroying whatever kind of concentration I had previously had.

It took Eden a moment to look up at me, expression soft and looking a bit scared. She was about to answer me before suddenly snapping forward, eyes squeezing shut with the force. “HaeHSHEUHH!!”

Judging by the wide eyed stares from those sitting around us, they were probably thinking the same thing I was: Did this chick just seriously sneeze all over the table!?

“I’m sorry...” Eden croaked out. It took me a moment to shake my complete and utter shock at this, but once I did I realized that her eyes were welled with tears, a hand clamped over her nose. “I’m sorry...” she said again, sniffling from behind her hand. “S-...Sometimes I just can’t control it, I...” She shook her head and stood, legs wobbling and shoulders trembling. “I-I hope you aren’t angry--- uhh, but of course your are...I-I hope you find another tutor, Gemma, I’m sorry...” she choked out before hurrying out of the cafe.

Needless to say, I was pretty appalled. I blinked at the obvious mist on the table, and then looked back the way Eden left. And only when she was gone did I realize---I really didn’t think she was gross. At all. God, my own father couldn’t even sneeze in my presence without receiving a growl from me, and a command that he wash his hands. But Eden...I mean, obviously I was surprised that she would come out looking like such a sneezy, sick wreck, and I was shocked that she actually sneezed so openly, and I was definitely a bit confused on how she was actually drawn to tears over it, but I really wasn’t angry or upset or revolted or anything. Just...confused. Maybe a little fascinated.

“Eden, wait!” I called, snatching my drink and my bag and hurrying out after her. I left the cafe, blinking blearily at the sunlight, and saw her leaned up against the building, sneezing into the single tissue I had given her earlier. God, the poor thing was probably drenched through (the tissue, not Eden). I stood next to her in wait for it to stop, and once she rose from her fit with drippy nose and eyes and saw me, she gasped and buried her face in the tissue. “I’b sorry, Gebba, I-I’ll leave you alode dow...”

I had a bit of trouble decoding her stuffy speak, but knew she just sounded miserable. I offered her another tissue, which she hesitated about before taking it to wipe her nose. She sniffled into the tissue and shook her head. “I-...I really am sorry...S-Sometimes sneezes just come on my like that,” she said, snapping her fingers with the last word. “No warning, no tickle, no nothing...I can’t do anything about it...Ugh, God, I know I’m gross...I’m sorry, did I sneeze on you....?”

“No, you didn’t,” I assured her quietly, leaning against the building with her. “And you aren’t gross, it’s okay.”

“I appreciate that, but you don't need to lie to me...”

“Hey, I”m not lying!” I told her, crossing my arms over my chest. “You can tell when gingers lie, their freckles expand.”

This got a cute little giggle out of her, and I remembered back to that tour when I had thought that she sounded like a giggly sort of person. And I found myself hoping to hear it again, thinking her laugh was just like bells chiming.

“You should go home and sleep, Eden,” I told her carefully. “I know you must be miserable out here in the heat with that cold.”

“Y-...Yeah...”

“You take care of yourself, and we can do the tutoring when you’re better,” I told her.

Eden sniffled into another tissue and sighed. “....I’m sorry to put you out like that...But I really would appreciate it...” She said, and I noticed her nostrils starting to flare as her long lashes fluttered. “Haehhh...”

I knew Eden probably didn’t want me to witness the upcoming sneeze completely destroy that little tissue, so I was quick in saying, “Text me when you’re better,” and turned to go. I first placed my pack of tissues next to her before starting back for my apartment, hearing her fit erupt, wetter and more forceful with each sneeze. I couldn’t help shuddering a bit, but only by reflex. Honestly, I thought Eden Rowe looked rather pretty with her cherry red nose framed by her shoulder length, mussy black hair. But thinking about her huge sneezes and runny nose and hitching breaths made me feel....weird. Like I said, I wasn’t disgusted, but...I honestly didn’t know what to think. All I really knew that I was seriously eager for that girl to text me...

Edited June 3, 2013 by Galaxy

[ichixshiro14]

This is a fun, original fic! I like it so far!

[TheCakeIsAlive]

Ooh, lovely. Poor Eden, she does seem quite adorable.

[hails]

Oh my gosh this is awesome. Gemma's indifference to Eden but her total hatred for all other germs...heh, I can totally relate to that and Eden is super cute! I love your writing style, and omg those spellings had me at H.

You're awesome as always~

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Cute<3

[Siorlasair]

I like it! Totally cute!

[6DDDDDD6]

Really great read! And the face claims really helped for imaginative purposes!

[Heathcliff]

I don't suppose you're in any doubt, but my verdict is: please continue!

[SneezyReader]

This is a great story so far!

[Galaxy]

Ah, thanks again for so much positive feedback, everyone; I appreciate it! And once again, don't be afraid to offer up suggestions or anything regarding the story; I'd love knowing what you want to see!

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It was two days later that I got a call from Eden saying she was better, and wanting to know when we could study again. I figured that without the cold, she would look and sound so much better than she had on Monday. But, dead God, was I wrong.

Sitting in the same booth in the Blue Moon Cafe on Thursday, I heard the jingle of the front door opening, and then a massive “IhheSHIUWW!!” from who could only be Eden. I turned in my seat to peer to the front, just as I had the day we met, and saw her with a tissue held to her nose.

“Oh, excuse me..” she sniffled, taking a seat across from me. While she talked, she wiped at her nose with the tissue thoroughly, producing a bit of a squelching sound. I saw a tall blond girl in the booth next to ours shudder at the sound, and I nearly cocked my head in confusion as I realized this normally would have bothered me, the noisy wiping, but...It didn’t.

“My mom couldn’t give me a ride today, so I had to walk to class and...huhhh...Oh, my allergies...” Eden sniffled, bunching up the tissue and standing briefly to go throw it in a nearby trash can. “Ugh, not that I should be surprised...”

“Your allergies are really bad?”

“Oh, that too, but no matter what, I’m always sneezing and dripping like a disgusting idiot...” she murmured into another tissue,and I saw the deep blush on her cheeks, the irritated crease in her brow.

“I can give you a ride to school if you ever need one,” I offered honestly, feeling the same strange feeling I had experienced before at the thought of Eden sneezing like crazy in my car.

“Oh, no, no, it’s okay, you live so close to campus--”

“Yeah, and I walk every day, so it’s not like gas is so imperative,” I said with a shrug. “Where do you live?”

“D-Down on 34th street...”

“Great!” I said with a grin, getting a pad of paper from my backpack to jot down her address. “Hey, whenever I pick you up, we should go eat breakfast at McDonalds or something. I always skip breakfast, and I know it’s the most important meal of the day or whatever, so maybe on those days we could--”

“Why are you being so nice to me...?”

I paused and glanced up, Eden’s brow knit in confusion and what looked like hurt, her nostrils twitching in a tickle she was obviously trying fiercely to fight off. “...Huh?”

“I know I’m gross...” she said, sniffling briefly and bringing a tissue to her nose as it started to run. Eden’s big blue eyes looked up at me, and without seeing any part of her expression other than what was above her nose, I could see in her eyes that she wasn’t used to people being nice to her. And that made me sadder than it really should have.

“I don’t think you’re gross,” I told her quietly with a shrug. “If that matters at all...”

Eden kept eye contact before her long lashes fluttered in what could only be an oncoming sneeze. “Hehh...”

I know it was wrong to laugh, but she was just so germy and adorable at the same time. I got another packet of tissues from my purse (what? Pftt, no I didn’t buy more packs just to give to Eden...) and offered it to her. She looked up, about to get another napkin before spotting the tissues, sighing shakily in relief. Eden took a tissue with trembling hands, quickly folding it before her nose. I couldn’t help laughing a bit again at seeing her chest rise and fall with the oncoming sneeze, and felt instantly bad at seeing Eden visibly blushing deeply at my laughter. “I-I’m sorry, I wasn’t laughing at you, I--”

“IhshieWW!!” she sneezed a bit squeakily in the tissue, a serious surprise after having heard such loud, deep sneezes from her before. But this one was girly and cute. But, I did think her regular sneeze was cute, too...That’s not weird, is it?

“Then what were you laughing at...?” she grumbled into the tissue, eyes down in her lap as her face burned red with a blush.

I swallowed and shrugged, instantly feeling shy myself and wondering just why I felt embarrassed about saying this. It wasn’t a big deal...It shouldn’t have made me feel so damn timid.

“I just...th-think your sneeze is funny is all,” I said before quickly shaking my head. “No, no, I don’t mean funny, I-I just...I mean...” I shrugged once more, glancing away and realizing why this made me felt so awkward; It felt like I was flirting. “I just think your sneeze is cute...Is all...” I murmured, my own eyes in my lap like an embarrassed child who got caught in a lie.

Eden and I both kept our eyes down before peeking up at the same time. She sniffled into the tissue before lowering it, and I saw a small, shy smile on her lips.

“Heh, th-...thanks...” she said, sniffling again and getting a new tissue. “No one’s told me that before...I’m just glad I don’t gross you out...” Her nose wrinkled suddenly, giving me a clear view of wide, twitching nostrils before she sneezed fiercely into the paper. “HaeYYSHIEUHH!!” Eden blushed deeply and excused herself, clearly glad that she already had that tissue to cover one of those unstoppable, unpredictable sneezes she had mentioned. “Heh, l-let’s get back to work, huh...?”

We went to my calculus book, working on problems with Eden sneezing every couple minutes. I honestly haven’t ever seen anyone who just seemed to sneeze for no reason, and I found this incredibly interesting about Eden. Everyone time I heard her breath hitch, I would look up and see fluttering lashes, upper lip pulled back to reveal dainty white teeth, flaring nostrils, sometimes even a sudden drip of moisture slide from her distressed nose...I found myself entirely fascinated with watching Eden’s sneezes prepare themselves. She sprayed me once or twice with a sneeze, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I didn’t mind it, anyway. Had it been someone else, I probably would have kicked her for sneezing on me, but I just couldn’t bring myself to feel any sort of resentment towards her.

We finished studying within the hour, and I was sure that my next calculus test wouldn’t be as much of a disaster as the last one. “You seriously have no idea how grateful I am,” I told her with a relieved sigh, closing my text book. “Maybe next time we can work on chemistry?”

“S-Sounds great...” Eden said, looking to her nose and giving it a wiggle, obviously feeling a new sneeze building up. She pointed to my pack of tissues, and I quickly offered her one just in time for her to catch a huge sneeze. “AhHEEHSHEUHH!!”

“Oh my God,” groaned the girl next to us, turning to look to Eden with a pointed glare. “Some people are trying to study. Can you try keeping it down?”

“Jen...” murmured the guy sitting across from her, rubbing timidly at his neck.

“Shut up, Alec. Look, there are other people here, too, and maybe this chick is into you sneezing all over everything, but the rest of us sure as hell aren’t,” the blond snapped. “So do you fucking mind?”

I wanted to snatch this skinny bitch by her fake blond hair and punch her square in the jaw, before remembering that I was just as skinny as her and probably didn’t do as much cardio or yoga as her, so she could probably kick my ass. I glanced to Eden, and saw her eyes already welling with humiliated tears. She tried to croak out an apology but could only sob, scrambling to her feet and running to the bathroom without a word.

“Bitch,” I immediately snarled at the blond, Eden’s tears making me feel a pulse of genuine fury. She blinked at me, about to respond in what I’m sure would be just as nasty as what I said, but I was hurrying to the bathroom after Eden.

“Leave me alone...” she croaked miserably from within a stall, sniffling and sneezing and sobbing all at once.

“Eden, hey, don’t listen to that bitch...”

“You don’t even know me! Why do you care!?”

I paused and glanced down, knowing she was right; I didn’t know her, and it was just weird how close I felt with her already. “I’m sorry,” I told her quietly after a moment. “I’ll leave you alone if you want, Eden...”

She was quiet a moment before opening the stall door, eyes and nose running like a faucet as she continued to cry miserably.

“Ohhh, hon, it’s okay...” I soothed, giving her another tissue from my purse. She took it and wiped her eyes and nose before letting me take her into a hug.

“...I don’t know why I have to be so gross...” she hiccuped, hugging me back. Eden seemed like such a shy, withdrawn person, and I figured that she wouldn’t be opening up to me so much if she had anyone else to turn to. “I just don’t want people to look at me like I’m so disgusting...”

“Fuck everyone...” I told her quietly, holding her close like we had been friends for years. “I know it must not matter much, but like I said, I don’t think you’re gross...I think you’re funny. And you’re nice and helpful and smart and...”

“IhEEHSHEUHH!!”

I wouldn’t let her back up, hugging her tighter when she tried to apologize for sneezing all over my chest. “Bless you,” I said for the first time; Not just to Eden, but to anyone. When I was younger, my mom always tried to force me to say bless you to people when they sneezed, but it always made me uncomfortable, so I never did. Since then I hadn’t ever liked blessing people, but it just kind of slipped out with her.

“How about next time,” I said, backing up to let her blow her nose and dry her eyes, “We meet at my place for studying. I’ll order a pizza and everything.”

Eden blinked at me, sniffling into the tissue. “Y-You mean it...?” she asked hopefully, and I could tell she was excited to be able to study without feeling like people were judging her.

“I sure do,” I told her, smiling warmly at seeing her nostrils flaring in a clear sign of an upcoming, surprise sneeze. “...Now let me drive you home, Eden. And we can study again tomorrow.”

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Rude blondes too add a little spice. Nice touch. And great story so far I love it<3 I'm never one for female sneezing but this is just too good.

[hails]

Oh my god I love them! I love Gemma the most, strangely enough. Her bravery is so cool, and her kindness is wonderful, and the fact that the first blessing she gave was to Eden is so cute~

Awesome as always!

[omgomgg]

Very good!

[Via]

Ah, this is so fuzzy and adorable. I love it. Can't wait to see Eden and Gemma bond further over Eden's unfortunate (or maybe not so unfortunate) nose.

[Galaxy]

Ahh, thank you very much, everyone! Here's part 4!

-------------

Eden was quiet as I drove her home, just sniffling into the tissue I had given her. Her eyes were still red and puffy from crying, and she looked like a shy little mouse from her place in the passenger seat of my BMW.

“HeIhsheuww!!” she sneezed right off the bat, squeaky and girly again. I had begun to realize that it seemed she had three different settings for sneezes. 1, this high-pitched, sudden sneeze. 2, her regular sneeze with hitching breaths and shaking shoulders and a loud volume. And 3, the surprise sneezes that completely caught her 100% off guard, the ones too quick for her to cover. Were there more? I’d have to pay attention...

“Bless you,” I told her, turning onto her street. “Wow, you get it bad, don’t you...?”

Eden sniffled and nodded, giving her nose a blow into the spent tissue. “Ohh, like you wouldn’t believe...” she said, and judging by the way her shoulders started to tremble, another sneeze was creeping up on her. “Ugh...I-It’s so obnoxious...hih...hihehh...”

I glanced away from the road to watch her, seeing her pink nostrils twitching desperately against the tissue that was barely lingering before her face. Damn it, how did she manage to be so crazy cute even with a drippy nose, spraying sneezes, constant sniffles...

“This is it,” she told me after chasing off the previous sneeze, and I pulled up in front of a small white house, the paint peeling and the yard looking like something out of a horror film. I looked to Eden, and noticed her looking down timidly. Was she embarrassed of me seeing her living in such a..hovel? Well, maybe it just looked like a hovel to me. I had basically lived in complete comfort forever; Dad published his first book when I was two, and it was an instant hit, and only the first of novels from him on the New York Times bestsellers list. So since before I can remember, my family’s lived in complete luxury in a big house with a pool out back, with nice cars in the garage, with a nanny for me until I was twelve. Maybe I was just too used to living without worry that this seemed terribly unfortunate?

“Sorry it’s a dump...”

Nope, wasn’t just me.

“Hey, I like it!” I insisted with a forced smile. “It looks homey.”

Eden peeked up at me through her curtain of dark hair and smiled shyly. “Heh, y-you mean it....? Heh, thanks...I’d invite you in, but my mom’s home, so she’s probably napping...”

“Hey, no problem,” I told her, still smiling. “So, as for studying. How about at my place after class tomorrow?” I asked, jotting down my address and apartment number for her.

“That’d be great, thank you...” Eden said, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. “I mean, um...You really don’t have to offer up your own place for this...I-I don’t mind doing it in a cafe or something...”

I shrugged and shook my head. “No big deal...I mean, you clearly weren’t comfortable there...Plus, I don’t...exactly have friends here yet,” I said, not wanting to mention that girl Anna I’d met. She and two other friends of hers, Courtney and June, had invited me to study with them, and I was about to take up on their offer had I not met Eden. I politely told them that I was just too busy, but the truth was after meeting Eden, I wasn’t interested in studying with anyone else. “So no one’s seen the place yet or come over to hang out.”

Eden thought a moment before nodding, the same sweet smile on her lips. “O-Okay...I’ll see you tomorrow, then, Gemma,” she said, jerking with three girly sneezes into her tissue before getting out of the car, sneezing all the way up to her front stoop. And I had my mind on her the whole drive home.

---------------

Now, let me tell you about Mark.

Mark was that cute Sophomore who I thought was checking me out in my Journalism class. I was just really sort of flattering myself by thinking he was into me, and just let it be a bit of a guilty pleasure to think that such a handsome guy was into me. He was tall and blond, very thin but not so that he looked unhealthy. He was lanky is all, and looked adorably awkward with his glasses that always slid down his nose and hands that he never seemed to know what to do with. We only talked whenever Professor Anaheim made us ‘turn to another student’. We were always, religiously, each other’s ‘other student’. He and I talked about what was happening in the class, of course, but it was only on the day after my second attempt at studying with Eden that he said something with depth.

“You’re Gemma, right?” he asked one day when Anaheim left the class to answer a call. “Gemma Meloni.”

“Ohh, you’ve learned my name,” I said with a teasing smile, hoping my smile looked flirty and not weird. Mom had a hard time of making her smile look flirty, and I was always terrified it was the same way with me.

“Well, I knew you looked familiar,” he said, retrieving a book from his shoulder bag, and I noticed the book was “Stars and Shadows” by Peter Meloni. He flipped to the back page to Dad’s author’s photo and showed me. “Don’t tell me that’s your dad?”

“Pfft, Meloni’s a common last name. The ginger gene’s common, too.”

“Well, it says here that he lives in Pawling, New York with his wife Dawn, daughter Gemma and Golden Retriever Jasper....”

Damn.

“Uh, yeah, that’s me...” I admitted with a sheepish smile, already terrified he was going to ask to meet my dad, get his autograph, all sorts of things I had experienced in school when kids actually cared that my dad was a pretty decent novelist. “You like his books?”

“Um, well, no, actually,” he said, smile just as sheepish as mine. “A friend of mine mentioned that the ginger chick in his Child Care class was the daughter of an author...I figured it would be a good ice breaker. I’m Mark.”

“Heh, I know,” I said before deciding that sounded creepy. “I mean, heh, you said your name when we first met...”

“Did I? Huh,” he said with a shrug, looking back to me as he pushed the glasses up his nose. “I wanted to know, do you think you might want to grab lunch some time? I mean, I’d really like hearing about your views on Journalism outside of the school setting...” he told me, and I saw the smile twitching playfully at his lips.

God he was legitimately flirting. I couldn’t wait to get home to Skype my mother so we could squeal like children about a boy being into me. “Um, sounds great,” I said, jotting down my number on a page in my notebook to give to him. “How about tomorrow? After this class?”

He agreed, and I left the class once it ended feeling completely satisfied with everything in the world.

Eden was standing before my apartment door, notebooks in her arms and a pair of adorable reading glasses set on her nose. She was watching her feet, rocking patiently on the balls of her feet as I turned the corner and greeted her. “Hey, Eden!”

“EhHESHIEUHH!!” she responded with a sudden sneeze, and I tried to keep my straight face so she wouldn’t realize she completely splattered my arm. “Ohhh, gosh...” she murmured with a harsh sniffled, trying to get a tissue from her pocket and dropping her books in the process. She groaned and held the tissue to her nose, looking timidly up at me (holy crap, she actually has to look up at me, I realized, noticing that she was a solid few inches shorter than me). “Ugh, sorry, sorry, that snuck up on me...”

“Hey, no worries,” I said, giving her shoulder a friendly pat before going to unlock the door. “Gesundheit!” Once getting the door open, I stepped in and gave my arm a dramatic sweep. “And here we have the lovely Casa del Gemma,” I told her in a pompous British accent, seeing Eden looking around curiously. “Let’s have a grand tour now! Here’s the kitchen, it’s where I store all the edible items and some cleaning products--”

“Ihsheiueww!!”

“Mmm, bless you,” I told her with the same accent, taking a tissue from the box and giving a dramatic bow in offering it to her. This got a giggle out of her as she accepted the tissue from me, obviously enjoying my joking around. “And here we’ve got the general living area, and since it is a studio apartment-- ooh, sorry, flat-- you’ll find the bed right next to it-- Look at that Hello Kitty comforter, really something--”

“HeEHSHEUWW!!”

I paused and looked to Eden, seeing her shoulders heaving as more sneezes built. “Hey, you okay?” I asked normally, going back to Eden.

She nodded, long lashes fluttering as her chest heaved. God, her ample chest...I didn’t quite realize just how big her nunga-nungas were. Now that I noticed, I couldn’t help but just stare as her chest heaved and shuddered with the tickling breaths she was desperately taking in...

“IhesheEUHHH!!” she sneezed fiercely into the tissue, dropping her books again as she fell into a sneezing fit. “HeshEHUUEHH!! Hehh...HehhEKKSHUEUHH!! HISHEUWHH!!”

Watching her sneezing fits was honestly...interesting. I had only ever seen a couple sneezing fits in real life--they were really mainly used in stories when the character was hiding and gave themselves away with a bout of sneezes--- but hers were definitely unlike any I had seen. Rather than rapidly firing off sneezing, there would be space between each. So sneeze...few seconds wait, sneeze...few seconds, sneeze...After each sneeze, Eden would hold the tissue before her face, face desperately knit with the tickle. Her chest would heave a few times with uneven hitches. And just as her expression softened, thinking the sneezes were over, her brow would knit again, her nostrils would flare, and she would buckle into the tissue would another sneeze before repeating the whole process.

This fit lasted about a minute, and I had time to snatch the box of tissues and stand by to offer them to her once she was done. Eden stayed hitching, but accepted a tissue and held it to her face. She gave her nose a blow, and was interrupted half way through with a sneeze that sounded genuinely messy. “Ugh, ew, ew...”

“Here, hon...” I said gingerly, offering her more tissues and giving her back a rub in an effort to be soothing. “Just breathe, it’s okay...”

Eden took tissue after tissue until she had completely cleaned her face, shoulders still shaking with itchy breaths. She sniffled thickly and tossed all the drenched tissues into the wastebasket, and the moment she removed them from her face, her rosy red nostrils immediately started twitching again.

“I-I’m sorry, Ge-hehh...Gemma...” she hitched, holding a new tissue to her face. “I-...I think I”m allergic to something in here, I;...ha--hahhh....”

I frowned and glanced frantically around. “What’re you allergic to?”

“I-I dod’t dow, but I deed to get out of here,” she croaked, eyes streaming with allergic tears. Eden turned and scrambled to the door, sneezing messily into the tissue twice. “Ugh, G-God...I’b sorry, b-baybe we cad study toborrow at the cafe...” Eden said before hurrying out the door, her sneezes echoing down the hallway.

I thought about following her, but knew she would be humiliated for letting me see her like that. I stood in silence for a long while before glancing around my apartment, wondering just what would be bothering her. I didn’t have candles or pets...No perfume, none that I was wearing, anyway...Was the place dusty? Was there something in the carpet?

“Maybe I should vacuum,” I thought to myself, going to get the vacuum cleaner from the closet. But it didn’t end with vacuuming. I dusted and swept, borrowed the neighbor’s steam cleaner to thoroughly clean the carpet. I took the drapes from the windows and shook them out outside, and then decided they should be washed along with all the blankets, as well as my collection of stuffed elephants that sat on the love seat. I took them down to the laundry room, putting in tons of my lavender scented laundry detergent before thinking--Christ, what if it was the detergent she was allergic to in the first place! Which lead me to go out and buy odorless, hypoallergenic laundry detergent and coming back to the apartment to wash everything again. And by the time I realized I was thoroughly cleaning my place just so a cute girl could come over and study, it was past one in the morning.

“I swear to God, if she’s still allergic to this place,” I murmured to myself upon crawling in my freshly made bed with the recently washed sheets, “I’m going to jump off this building.”

----------------------------

I had to cancel my lunch date with Mark the next day because I could barely keep my eyes open in class, much less lunch. He was cool and understanding about it, and didn’t ask what I was doing out so late. He probably thought I was a crazy partier drunk. Which I totally wasn’t. Well, unless he was into that sort of thing, because I could totally pick it up no problem.

After class ended, I texted Eden and asked her to come over to get her books. She was lingering in the hallway again by the time I got there, and she looked a bit nervous. “Um, I can’t go in,” she told me, shifting shyly on the balls of her feet. “Just...y-you know.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that, I actually,” I told her, stifling a yawn into my wrist. “I cleaned up a lot last night, like dusted and vacuumed and stuff. Maybe you could just sniff around and see if it still sets you off?”

Eden still looked nervous, but wasn’t going to protest. She sniffled and stepped in the apartment with me, glancing around in silence. She wandered around the while place before stopping and grinning to me. “It’s fine...”

“Oh, thank God,” I groaned, yawning and sinking onto the couch. “I swear, I felt like a frickin’ warrior against dirt and germs...”

Eden smiled to me before it faded, looking down timidly. “I’m sorry, you didn’t have to go to so much trouble because of me...We could have kept meeting at the cafe, really...”

I smiled a bit to her and shrugged. “Yeah, but you would have been uncomfortable...You’re important too, here, you know. So, come on, sneezy, let’s study!”

We got about ten minutes of studying in before I seriously started falling asleep. Eden asked if she ought to leave, and I shook my head. “No, no, we can stay,” I said a bit deliriously, fumbling for the television remote. “Just hang out with me...?” She went red, and I assumed she actually hadn’t been asked to hang out in a long, long time. But she complied, and we sat on the couch watching The Golden Girls for about five minutes before I started to drift off.

“IhEHSHEHSUHH!!” she sneezed suddenly when I had barely drifted off, and I jumped about a foot in the air to see a drippy-nosed, blushing Eden. “Sorry, sorry!” she said, quickly getting a tissue to wipe her nose. “It just snuck up on me...”

I vaguely remember giving her a sleepy “no problem” before letting myself slump against her shoulder. Had I been functioning normally, I never would have let myself fall asleep on her shoulder, but I think everyone just acts like an idiot when they’re tired. She let me sleep, and I distinctly remember hearing and feeling her sneeze quite a bit more. But with each sneeze, I got more and more used to it. I got used to the volume, to her body shaking with the force, to feeling the occasional sneeze droplets on my flesh. I woke up around midnight, seeing a blanket draped over mine and Eden’s legs, and her sleeping soundly against me as well. I watched her for just a while, seeing her nostrils fluttering with breaths, wondering if each little twitch would lead to a sneeze. Eventually I had to fall asleep again, but not before sliding my arms comfortably around Eden. She was warm and soft, and even if I had been fully aware of everything, I don’t think I would have changed that part of the evening. I slept wonderfully with her snuggled up with me, and though I can’t remember the dreams I had that night, I do remember that they were very sweet, and they had something to do with Eden.