The Experiment

[v a n i l l a]

It was autumn. Crisp leaves cascaded to the carpet of foliage, their saturated edges singed in appearance. Heavy clouds hung lazily from their throne in the sky, dispensing the occasional drizzle now and then upon their unsuspecting subjects. And, within one nearly-vacant Biology classroom, a perplexed dollop of curls stared helplessly at a pile of miscellaneous foliage.

 

“For the fourth time,” his blonde counterpart recounted, “we're supposed to be measuring the different plant parts.” It seemed self explanatory to her, but this lucid understanding was far from mutual.

 

“That makes no sense. Who cares how long each part of the damn flower is. It's a flower.”

 

The blonde chuckled at his obvious irritation.  “Because the world hates you and wants you to die. That's why.” She fiddled with her ruler as she spoke, trying to measure the stem of a plump, ivory lily.

 

“Makes more sense than any other explanation I've gotten.” Though the small ball of rebellion before her was commonly disgruntled, she usually didn't see him react like this unless he had a valid reason. She shrugged it off, figuring it wasn't important.

 

“Hurry up, Calem. We need to start on the next flower soon.”

 

His face fell—almost comically so. “There are MORE?” He looked like a sad puppy abandoned on the side of the road mixed with a terrified child who had just been informed that they would be moving to another continent within the week. "Ughhh, why can't you just handle this. I mean, your name is Bryony. You're literally named after a flower."

 

Bryony smirked, amused by his attempts at worming his way out of responsibility. "Nice try. It's not my fault you need extra credit. I, on the other hand, want the extra credit, but I don’t need it.”

 

“Yes, yes, we know. You’re fantastically studious and intelligent. Your point?” Coming from most anyone else, that would have come off as rude, but the two had known each other for nearly an eternity. They knew there was no weight to their playful banter.

 

“My point is, at least the teacher's letting us use her room to make up the lab. No other teacher would let two students use her room after school without her present. Actually, come to think of it, that probably wasn't the best idea. But whatever. It benefits us, so I approve. Anyways, you can copy what I have down so far, but for the next one, you're on your own.” This news did not sit well with Calem, who had begun emitting low pitched groaning sounds as he lazily jotted down measurements. All the while, he left his head limp on the lab table, his curls forming a dark halo around his head.

 

“Oh.” She glanced down at the worksheet, her eyebrows furrowing as she read one of the warnings on the instructions sheet. “It says these next flowers can be a lot worse for allergy sufferers. I guess if you're allergic to pollen, you could just skip the lab and ask to do some other assignment to make up the points.”

 

Calem's expression hardened a bit as he let out an ingenuine, somewhat forced laugh. She thought this odd, but she didn't question him. Instead, she took out a small box from beneath the lab table and placed it in the center. She promptly withdrew two vibrant daisies, handing one to the irritable teen beside her.

 

Calem accepted the plant gingerly, his nose twitching a bit at the mere sight of it. He scrawled a handful of measurements upon his worksheet until his limited knowledge hindered his process. “Wait... What's an anther? I'm assuming it bears no resemblance to an antler.”

 

Bryony rolled her eyes dramatically. “It's a wonder you even made it into AP Biology. An anther is the little part at the end of the stamen that holds the pollen.” Seeing his unwavering confusion, she added, “Stamen are the little yellow sticks coming up from the middle of the flower. For this flower though, I think you can just put the stamen. The anthers are too small.”

 

“Uhhh, yeah. That's all gibberish to me, so I'm just gonna measure the yellow crap in the middle.” Upon raising the flower, he became almost instantly overtaken by its powerful aura. His head ducked sideways, turning away from Bryony before crumpling into a nearly silent fit. “Hmmp'chk! Ern'knsh!”

 

This instantly caught Bryony's attention. Normally, a sneeze would not raise any red flags. Even two sneezes may go undetected. But this was no mere mortal. This was Calem. The stubborn brunette with a sharp tongue and a severe attitude to match. Bryony seemed to be one of the few people whom he actually tolerated, and even that was conditional. Despite their relatively close relationship, she didn't think she had ever once seen him sneeze. It was a very bizarre occurrence. No, that was an understatement. That would be like saying that seeing a dozen penguins pirouette into an elevator would be ‘a bit odd.’ But this. THIS. This was unheard of. Bryony couldn't help but laugh.

 

This didn't sit too well with Calem. Thankfully, he failed to make the connection, but this didn't prevent some mild irritation from setting in. “What's so funny?” This wasn't necessarily an aggressive comment, but it was definitively confused (what else was new).

 

“Nothing,” she assured him, returning to the assignment at hand. However, she couldn't help but keep one eye on the boy at all times. He occasionally rubbed a finger beneath the rim of his nose, thus irking his nose even further. He snapped sideways again, trying to be subtle.

 

“Hmn'ctsk! Eh'knksh!” Now she was certain that something was up. Four sneezes in such a small time frame? That couldn't be a coincidence.

 

“Bless you,” she offered politely, trying to seem casual about the whole thing. However, she couldn't help but melt internally at how incredibly adorable he looked.

 

He fiddled with the pollen-saturated center of the flower, trying to measure the tiny, goldenrod instrument of torture. He reluctantly raised the flower and ruler to his face in order to get a more accurate reading.

 

Timing was against him. In that very moment, his breathing decided to hitch, causing him to inhale sharply through his nose and mouth. This sent the yellow demons deep into his sinuses, causing him to crumple forward helplessly. “Uhksshu! Ehtkshu! E-Eh'IHKtshu!” He directed these sneezes into his hands, which were still clutching the daisy and the tainted ruler. With each of the three sneezes, his face had nearly burrowed into the soft, lemon petals. It acted like an unsuspecting tissue, though the disguise was thinly veiled. He scrubbed his nose viciously, trying quite hard to rid himself of the lethal particles.

 

Now Bryony simply had to speak up. It would be foolish and almost rude not to. “Bless you,” she offered once again, her voice tentative. She tried not to let out a chuckle at his sudden vulnerability. “You know, if you're allergic, the teacher said you don't—”

 

“I'm not allergic,” he retorted crossly. While this was utter garbage, it would be slightly difficult to navigate this situation without fully upsetting the boy.

 

She decided to take the route of humor. “Uh huh. You're not allergic. Not at alllll.”

 

He raised an eyebrow, his hazel orbs narrowed in confusion. This seemed to be his default setting. “Yeah. That's exactly w-what I said.”

 

Bryony saw straight through his terrible lies. However, she saw an opportunity to have a bit of fun. “So you're not allergic? Not one bit?”

 

He rolled his eyes as far back as they would go. “My gosh. I didn't realize people could get dementia at such a young age. No. I'm not allergic. Can we move on, please?”

 

A cheeky grin absorbed her face as an idea blossomed in her mind––pun intended. Bryony held up a finger to signal for him to wait. “Alright. My hypothesis is that you're allergic to pollen—”

 

“This is stupid and I'm not participating in anything that you're proposi—”

 

“Shhhhhhhhhh.” She held a finger to his lips to shut him up, a tiny smirk toying at her lip in response to their childish banter. He flinched. By pressing a finger to his lips, Jenn had also unintentionally pressed it against the tip of his sensitive nose, causing it to twitch helplessly. His breathing hitched, as he did not want to sneeze against her fingers. Jenn, not realizing the reason for his sudden change in demeanor, continued speaking. “Alright, alright. So that's my hypothesis. Your hypothesis is that you're not allergic. So let's test that theory.”

 

He half-listened to what she was saying, but mainly focused on the burning tickle in his sinuses. He tore sideways, crumpling into his elbow. "Hn'ktchhu. Eh'ksshu!" He turned a tad too late, causing Jenn's finger to catch a bit of spray. Not that she minded. He sniffled softly, trying to glaze over his mini fit as if it had not happened.

His eyebrows knit together as he considered her earlier proposition. The longer his brain chewed on the idea, the less opposed to it he became. “Okay.. IF I were interested in doing this, what would it entail?” He placed the flower back into the box and closed it, as they didn’t seem to be working on the extra credit assignment anymore.

 

“Well, we'd have to have some ‘experiments’ to test whether you're allergic to pollen.” She gave a slight shrug as she spoke, trying to sound offhand. Meanwhile, she was exploding on the inside, incredibly entranced by the idea of making Calem sneeze.

 

“What kind of experiments?” Calem looked slightly concerned, but he masked it well.

 

“Well, we’ll have to tickle your nose with pollen somehow and see how much you sneeze, I guess.” She managed to keep her voice steady, despite her internal giddiness.

 

“Ughhhhh. But I’m not allergic!” he insisted. He overdramatically flopped onto the lab table before him. This was his way of expressing his distressed state of being. It was also an expression of how immature he was, but that was irrelevant.

 

“Yeah, well, I suppose we’ll find out in a minute, huh? Oh, but we’ll probably have to make you sneeze in other ways too.”

 

This made him jolt upright fairly quickly. “Wait, what? Why?” He seemed genuinely confused by this comment.

 

“Because we need to see how much pollen makes you sneeze in comparison to other things.”

 

He sighed in reluctant submission. “Okay, I guess that makes sense. What would we even use though? I mean, I can think of like, what? Pepper? Feathers? ...I’m not sure what else.”

 

“Yeah, those would work. Also dust, perfume, animal dander––which I doubt we can find––, and bright lights.” She attempted to list these things as if she weren’t already terribly familiar with all the different things that can make one sneeze.

 

“Wait, bright lights? That doesn’t make any sense.” Bewilderment laced his gaze.

 

“Yeah, it works for some people. Anyways, I guess we can count the number of sneezes from every different allergen.”

 

“Wait. Aren't we supposed to have a control group?” he inquired, tipping his head to one side.

 

Dangit. His cute sideways-head-tipping was very distracting and unnecessary right now. Especially because this entire situation was far too distracting already. “What do you mean?”

 

“Well, we have me, who you suspect to be allergic to pollen. But don't we need to have someone to compare the results to that we know isn't allergic to pollen?”

 

That was a good point. But not a point that Bryony particularly liked. “You mean me, right?”

 

“Yup! If I have to endure this torture, so do you.” She couldn't argue with him on that. It was only fair. But the idea of Calem trying to make her sneeze was just terrifying in general. She supposed it was worth it if she got to make him sneeze too, though.

 

“Fine.” She sighed, fishing out various inducing materials from the wall of miscellaneous objects that she supposed could possibly be used for some sort of experiment. Though, excluding this experiment, she couldn’t imagine one when most of these could be useful. “We’ll start with pepper.”

 

 

 

~~~TBC?  

Edited October 25, 2016 by v a n i l l a
Typos

[SpookyBoi]

yes just yes....I need more!!!!

[M214186]

Please continue. Loving it. 

[Kiaory]

Oh, this looks interesting. I don't normally read male sneezing, but you writing style is so interesting that I'm really looking forward to Bryony's turn to sneeze. Great work!

[queenie]

What a great idea! Your writing is very fun and suspenseful. 

[Shamaël]

12 hours ago, v a n i l l a said:

~~~TBC?

Oh yes please!!! I love the idea and I'm looking forward to reading the next part! 

[omgomgg]

Love this idea! Please continue!! 

[Serendipity]

The plot is so interesting, and Calem seems so cute! I can't wait for a continuation!!!

[peonyandoleander]

Love the premise! I can't wait for the next installment.

[rockbell]

Yay!! I love your stories and I can't wait to see what happens next for these two!

[dragonko]

OMG, please please please please continue this!!!

[v a n i l l a]

She tore out a clean sheet of lined paper and filled out the necessary components of the data table before pouring pepper into a graduated cylinder to make sure both of them would be getting the same amount of the vile, black powder thrown at them. “Okay. Tilt your head back, I guess.”

 

He obediently did so, seeming surprisingly nonchalant about the situation. Or maybe she was just overly anxious about it. She pushed this thought out of her head and sprinkled the pepper into his nose, careful not to get it in his eyes or mouth.

 

He tilted his head forward once she had finished, wrinkling his nose. He had expected some sort of burning tickle, but nothing had really happened. That is, except for a somewhat painful burning sensation in the back of his nose. “Oww. Okay, uhm, it hurts. If we were trying to achieve pain, then, mission accomplished. But yeah, it d-doesn’t itch that much. We’ll see if it works on you, though.”

 

Bryony was a bit disappointed with the anticlimactic reaction, but she figured the other experiments would produce greater results. Her eyes widened in alarm when she felt him chuck the pepper at her. Having had no time to mentally prepare, her nose was instantly overwhelmed. She pitched forward, pinching her nose as she released a muffled fit of stifles.

 

“H-Hieh.. Hmn’gxch, gmxsh. H-Hah’kngxt!”

 

“Cheater. You can’t stop yourself from sneezing with your fingers.”

 

“Whatever. I still sneezed more than you,” she muttered with slight disappointment.

 

Calem grinned victoriously as he wrote three tally marks on the sheet of paper. “Hah, yep! Three love,” he announced proudly.

 

“My gosh. This isn’t tennis. It’s just 3 to 0,” she admonished, though she couldn’t help but snicker softly. “And it’s not a competition.”

 

He shrugged innocently. “Yeah. Says you.” She rolled her eyes, fishing out the next weapon.

 

“Dust. Let’s see how well it works.” She did the same as before, measuring a certain quantity of dust to ensure that each of them would be exposed to an equal amount of allergens. She then handed the small container to Calem. “Alright. Hold this under your nose and inhale.”

 

The sniffly boy cupped his hands around the glass vial and hesitated for a millisecond. Charcoal gray particles pooled a few inches below him. He closed his eyes and rashly did as he was told, in the same manner that one would hastily remove a band-aid. His breathing quickly became erratic. His head vaulted backwards. His nostrils unfurled to allow the lethal, gray flecks to pool into his sinuses.

 

In the past, he had always gotten a bit sneezy after somebody dusted, but he’d never taken much note of it until now. Unease gnawed at him. Was he allergic to dust? Not that he had allergies in the first place. Alright. Maybe allergic was the wrong word. Okay, bothered. Was he bothered by dust. That was the real question.

 

A prickling sensation overtook him. Or was he imagining it? It was highly probable. After all, this whole experiment was designed to prove he had allergies. It wasn’t irrational to speculate that he could be overthinking things. Some sort of placebo effect situation. Right?

 

But this hesitant optimism did not last. The itch had grown too large to be ignored any longer. His nose began to tremble with the powerful need to sneeze. He fanned his face again, hoping this would alleviate some of the unbearable, stinging tickle. His mouth hung open like a fly motel, his jaw as slack as could be. Miniscule gasps escaped from within it, expressing just how tiny and vulnerable he was in that moment.

 

“Eih… Eh’TKSshu.” His head jolted forward. “Huh’TSChiu!”  He flinched, knowing there were many more of these to come. “Heih..! Hmp’kusshu!” His gasps became more urgent, his chest rising and falling with great desperation. “Eih… Hai’GkTSCHiu! HuikGSCHU! EiKNGXCHU!” His body snapped into his elbow over and over again, sending him into a seemingly endless chain of torturous convulsions. “HEh’TISSHu! Huh’TKschu!” Every eager inhale sent an additional torrent of dust up into his already overwhelmed nostrils. “Ehk’tSCHU! Heh’TSCHIU! Aih’KSStchu! AIEKSchu! Huh… Huah’AHKSchu!”

 

Bryony stared at him in amazement. “Well. That was definitely more than zero,” she noted, jotting down thirteen tally marks. “You sure you aren’t also allergic to dust?”

 

His eyes narrowed into slits. “Yes. I’m quite positive. My nose was just already sensitive from the pepper.” His voice was thick with congestion, which simply made him all the more irresistible to the admiring blonde.

 

“You mean the pepper that didn’t make you sneeze?”

 

A slight pause. “ksschu. ...Shut up.”

 

Fourteen.

 

 

(I'll add the part with Bryony and the dust in the next installment, along with some other stuff. I just felt like that was a nice note to leave off on  TBC!)

Edited November 9, 2016 by v a n i l l a

[Serendipity]

This part is so good! I'm loving this story, and the characters are the absolute best! Calem's vehement denying of allergies is the cutest! Can't wait for the next installment!! 

[hazyy]

Great job! Can't wait for more!

[queenie]

[ebay34]

This is a really intriguing scenario and it is very well written. I hope to see more updates of this story.  

[Just Older]

This is a fantastic story! I can't wait to see what happens next

[jamesdear1]

this is absolutely amazing and i can't wait to see pollen and maybe feathers...

[WishUponAUnicorn]

I love this cannot wait for the next installment!

[v a n i l l a]

(I've been busy and have recently been sick, hence my late update! But I'm gonna try to update a bit more frequently now. Sorry for the delay! Also, if you have any ideas or requests, let me know, and I might be able to work it in )

 

 

Bryony chuckled, pouring herself the same portion of dust while Calem gave a wet yet delicately soft sniffle. She held the container up to her quivering nostrils, inhaling deeply.

 

She had expected a faster reaction. Puzzled, she held the container against her upper lip so that her nostrils served as a sort of lid or cover. She inhaled sharply once more, trying to get better results. However, her impatience would later come back to haunt her.

 

As soon as the girl’s body had processed the massive influx of irritants, her nose became incredibly overwhelmed with the desire to free itself from such misery. “Heih…! Aik’ksshiu! Haiih..! Aeih..!” She paused, her quivering lips parted and her eyelids fluttering up and down like vertical windshield wipers. “Heh’ttshu! Huhtkshu. Huaaah..! Huh’tchoo! Huh’uhshu!” She pressed her thumb and forefinger above her nose in the space between her eyebrows, rubbing it in the hopes of alleviating a bit of the tension.

 

“Jeez. Bless you, sneezy,” he teased, playfully tapping the tip of Bryony’s sensitive nose. Desperation engulfed her tearful eyes as they widened dramatically, her chest heaving with another series of inhales. “H-Haieh…! Aieh!! Huh’AIESHU! Huh’AHKschu!”

 

Her eyes widened again, but this time, out of horror. “S-Sorry!” she stammered. Apparently, Calem had not anticipated her tender nose’s reaction to his innocent tapping. Surprise enveloped him as a fine mist coated his mischievous fingers.

 

Much to Bryony’s surprise, the impish boy simply laughed. “No worries. I probably deserved that,” he reasoned, as he was the one who made her sneeze in the first place. “How many was that? Twenty?”

 

Bryony swatted his arm admonishingly. “Shut up. It was technically only five.”

 

“Nope! I count the last two!” He scribbled down the tally marks overenthusiastically, a cheeky grin lacing his cheeks.

 

“But those were entirely your fault. If anything––”

 

“Alright, alright. Here.” Bryony glanced down at the amended data table, scanning the list of allergens. She glanced at the five tally marks beneath the heading ‘dust’ before noticing another column.

 

“Did you put yourself as an irritant?” She rolled her eyes at the incredulous boy.

 

“What? I think it’s pretty accurate. Besides, you do seem to find me irritating,” he pointed out, which promptly led Bryony to jokingly smack him once more.

 

“Just switch to the next allergen, idiot.”

 

Calem obeyed, cupping his hands around a lithe, mahogany vial. “How about we make it a little more interesting?” he chirped playfully, clearly having gone insane from all the various experimentations. Before Bryony could ask what on earth he meant by that, Calem held the bottle up to his nose and sprayed it directly up his nostrils repeatedly.

 

“Jeez, Calem. Why did you––” She was interrupted by a desperate influx of air and a flurry of high pitched hitching.

 

“Eih..! Aieeh! Shoot, Bryony, I thih.. hih... HIH..! --think this mah.. hah.. hngxxt! Might not have been su.. such a guh.. good idea.”

 

“Gee, ya think?” she replied incredulously. She plucked a plush tissue from a nearby box and handed the ivory square to the boy. However, she wasn’t quite fast enough. By the time she was ready to hand over the brittle cloth, his fit had finally made itself manifest. In an attempt to avoid sneezing openly into the air, Calem ducked his twitching nose into the girl’s vaguely protected palm, cupping his own hand behind hers as if to reinforce it. Of course, this prevented her from withdrawing her hand or honestly doing anything aside from sit idly by and catch the boy’s wet sneezes.

 

“Eh’KTSShu. Huh’ITSSku! Hei’gkTSHU! Uh’tkshu! Hip’ktshiuu! Hehktshu! HEihkschu!” His cheeks flushed vermillion, a flurry of apologies spilling out of his lips as he tore his face away from its admittedly somewhat comfortable position in Bryony’s palm.

Bryony wasn’t quite sure how to respond. She was lying if she said she hadn’t enjoyed that. Having Calem helplessly crumpled into her grasp as he give way to a self induced allergic fit? She nearly melted just thinking about it. But now it had actually happened. She quickly regained her composure, glancing at the nervous brunette before her.

 

“Guess we’re even now, huh?” she teased. Though the tissue wasn’t remotely soiled, she decided it was best to toss it nonetheless and switch to a new tissue, which she carefully supplied Calem with whilst ensuring that he would not lunge forward into yet another fit. She marked down eight tallies while wriggling her nose. Trepidation gnawed at her. If her nose was already starting to tickle when the cologne had only been sprayed on Calem, how was it going to react when he––

 

“Hmmm… I guess if I had the cologne sprayed directly into my nose, and we want this experiment to be fairrrr...” He tapped his fingers against the glass bottle innocently, his eyes widened for added effect.

 

“Calem, I swear, if you––”

 

Too late. The spray had already soared up into her sinuses, inhabiting every nook and cranny of her sensitive nose. Each gasping inhale explicitly depicted her incredible helplessness. “Haaah..!” She let out a helpless gasp, her body thirsty for clean air. “Aaiih..!” Allergic tears glistened in her eyes. “Haaih!” Her chest rose and fell dramatically, her body hungry for release. “AAIHH!” Her chin tilted upward, her eyelids fluttering gracefully closed. “HAI’ktschu! AIEschiu! Aik’chu! Ahschu! AHKSchu! HAESchu! Huah… HAIH…! HAESHOO!” Each sneeze was prefaced with an “ah” or “hah” sound, conveying the desperate nature of her explosive sneezes. It also made each sneeze expel a massive sum of air from her tortured lungs. “Haiih..! AHKschu! AEK’schuu! Huh’AEHShu, AEKSChu, EIKSchu, EHMPKschu! Aik’KUSSHu, Ksshu, Ehmpkshu! Eh’KGHschu!”

 

A devilish grin laced his cheeks. “Huh… Maybe this wasn’t enough to provide a reaction? How about one more spritz, hmm?”

 

“Caleh… heh…! HEHH!! Heih’EKSshu! D-Don’t yuhh…! ..Don’t you dah--AHKschu! ––d-dare!”

 

To no one’s surprise, Calem gave the bottle a couple more spritzes, giving it a quick sniff to give the illusion of this being a fair and even experiment. Taking pity on the helpless blonde, he plucked a tissue from the box and held it over her nose and mouth, knowing she was far too preoccupied with his surprise inducing attack. It struck him for a moment how small and thin she was compared to him. He wrinkled his brow, analyzing the girl until her impending fit drew away his attention.

 

“Eh’ksshiu, EHkshiu, mknshhu! Hah’tschu! Huh’UMpkshu! Ha’UHKshu, UHKshu, UNKShu, UHKschu!” Her delicate sneezes landed daintily in his palm. Without her biting wit radiating from every orifice, she seemed much like an injured dove. Helpless, innocent, and––

 

“Calem.” He looked up, silent for once. “Screw you.” With that, the injured dove became a pestering mockingbird once more, alleviating the guilt that had burrowed within him.

 

“Dang. Twenty-eight,” he announced, tossing the tissue in the nearby trashcan. “Bless you.” He chuckled softly and ignored the accusatory glare she was giving him.

[Serendipity]

This is a really nice addition to this story!

[rockbell]

gahhh i love this so much!!! I can't wait to read what happens next!!!

[M214186]

OMG

[v a n i l l a]

(Still feeling lousy but I felt the need to make up for my long disappearance by updating again, LOL. Hope y'all enjoy!)

 

 

“Alright, let's see how this works.” She produced a thin, taupe feather. It was incredibly long and curled slightly at the very tip. Absolutely perfect. She hesitated for a moment, realizing what she needed to do. The pepper had been easy to administer. She’d only needed to sprinkle it over his nose. But the feather needed to be stuck into the depths of his sinuses and twirled around. She let out a slightly shaky breath as she looked at his unsuspecting nostrils. She pitied them. They had no inkling of what was to come. She swallowed her inhibition and stuck the feather up his right nostril.

 

His expression shifted instantly. His mouth hung open slightly as he let out tiny gasps. “Ugh, i-it itches.. B-But not enough to make me s-sneeze.” She took this as a challenge. One she was all too willing to accept. She eagerly stuck the feather deeper, expertly spinning it across his most sensitive patches and spots. The need to sneeze increased exponentially. He fanned his face with his hand––which Bryony found beyond irresistible––and scrunched his lightly-freckled nose up like a helpless bunny. “S-Shoot.. O-Okay… It’s ih… h-hih..! Hih’ktsshu! It’s st-tISHHu! starting to w-work...” Bryony flushed as she felt the uncovered sneeze spray her hand. Calem didn’t seem to realize what he had done, so Bryony felt no need to bring it up. She moved it around even more rapidly until she felt his breathing become erratic and desperate. “Oh g-gosh…. O-Okay, it’s huh.. Huah! Huh’TISShu! Huh’tsshu! Aht’tsshu! It’s ih.. Ihk’tschuu! It’s itching a lot n-now… Huh’TSShu!” Bryony mercilessly continued, seeing just how many helpless sneezes she could draw from the desperately sneezy boy and his incredibly sensitive nose. “G-Gosh, it w-won’t.. eh’KISShu! ––w-won’t stuh.. huh.. stop… Hah’TKSShu! Huh’EHKsshu! Heh’ehkshu!”

 

She had no idea when to withdraw the feather, so she’d just left it in his nose throughout the fit. Of course, she only fully realized her mistake when it was too late. Leaving the feather in his nose had not only massively increased the tickle in his nose, but it got her hand coated in a fine mist from his cumulative sneezes. She finally took the inducer back, scribbling eleven tally marks onto the paper.

 

“Ugh. I never thought I could hate f-feathers so much.. Huh’UMPKschu!” Twelve tally marks. “That was literally the worst thing ever. Ok, your turn.” Without even acknowledging the fact that he had picked up the exact same feather, he shoved it up Bryony’s nose. Unlike Bryony, he wasn’t very familiar with inducing, so he wasn’t quite sure what to do. This made the itch start up quite quickly, but it took far too long to get to the point where it would create an actual sneeze. She wrinkled her nose, her eyes watering profusely. “Is it, uh.. Is it working?” His words were hesitant and tentative, as he was extremely out of his element.

 

She nodded tentatively, her heart fluttering as she felt her best friend inducing on her with a feather. This was far stranger than any weird dream that her subconscious could have possibly concocted. She shook her head slightly, responding to his question. “N-No. You need to put it higher up. D-De… Heh… HEH..! D-Deeper….” It definitely itched, but only enough to torture her. Not enough to actually relieve her from her anguish. She wanted to scrub at her nose, but there was a feather in the way. What are the odds…

 

A look of determination saturated his face as he pushed the feather higher, spinning it around. She gasped helplessly, her eyelids fluttering. Her nostrils flared, allowing the feather even more access into its depths. He innocently swirled the feather about, gradually getting the hang of things. However, he had no idea how far he could push her. She was determined not to sneeze on Calem’s hand, but doing so was becoming incredibly difficult. She began gasping helplessly, which made Calem laugh.

 

“Awwwww. You look like you wanna tell me something. Is something bothering you? Is there something you need to do?”

 

She tried to yell at him, but all she could do was emit high pitched hitched breaths. “H-Hieh..! S-Stah… Hah… HAAH..!” Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her desperation was tangible.

 

But Calem was still hopelessly oblivious. “What? I couldn't catch that. Sorry,” he apologized sarcastically.

 

“I-I have to HAH…!! HEAH…! S-Sneah… Hieh…!” Her nose was literally trembling at this point, her nostrils unable to handle the torture. It felt like a million flowers were spinning through her sinuses, killing her from the inside out.

 

“What was that? You have to what?” He feigned a surprised expression as he let out a fake gasp, holding his free hand to his chest. “Wait! Do you, perhaps, have to….. Sneeeeeeze?” He leaned forward with that final word, clearly in a far too playful mood. His face was planted directly in front of Bryony’s. As an added bonus, he tapped the tip of her nose with his pollen-saturated finger.

 

That one small form of contact was too much for Bryony’s nose. “Huh’ehkshu! Hih’eikshiew, EIHKschu. Huh’EHKshu. HurEHshuu!” Her head pitched helplessly forward with each release. Being the intelligent human he was, Calem had neglected to remove the feather, so every pitch forward sent the lethal weapon further into her already tortured nostrils. “Cuh… huh.. Huh’tsshu! C-Calem… Huh’tksshu! Huh’tisshu! T-Tah… haih..! Hah’tksshu! Hiah’kisshu! Take out th-the feh… heh… heh..! Hih’tschiew! Hah’tschu! Hah’tisshu! Huh.. Huh..! Hahh..! Hah’tsshu!”

 

Calem grinned triumphantly and completely disregarded her request. Instead, he twirled the feather higher, searching for Bryony’s most sensitive spot. Bryony’s face flushed verillion. Calem’s hand was essentially painted in her spray by this point. While he didn’t seem to mind, this made her quite flustered. Sneezing in public was one thing. Sneezing in front of Calem was another. But sneezing ON Calem? Repeatedly? While he induced her? She was beginning to wonder why she’d agreed to this. “Huh’EHkshu, EHtchu, EHKschiu, EHpkschu! P-Please stuh… huah… HAIH…!”

 

Just then, he withdrew the feather. Frayed hairs from the snakelike instrument traced her nostrils as the inducer left her nose.

 

“Awhh. You’re no fun,” he pouted, sounding like a disappointed little kid.

 

Just Bryony’s luck. The last tickle was stuck. And incredibly itchy. Goodness, she hated what she was about to do.

 

“C-Caleh… Cuh.. Calem. I-It’s stuh… h-huh…! Huah…!” Her voice trembled. Her eyes watered. Her erratic gasps almost sounded intentionally dramatic and exaggerated.

 

The brunette tipped his head slightly to the side, not quite sure what the problem was, let alone how to solve it. He looked at her with confused sympathy. “Bry. You okay...?”

 

She shook her head swiftly, glancing at the overhead light in an attempt to induce the sneeze by any means possible. But alas, no result. The stuck sneeze remained stuck. “Ih… I-It won’t c-come out...”

 

A sadistic, childish grin curled at his lips as he realized the situation. “Ahhhh. I see.” He twirled the feather idly and put on an expression of mock innocence. “Sooo… Does the great Bryony perhaps require my assistance?”

 

“Shut uh.. up and h-help me, idiuh.. Huahh..! –i-idiot...”

 

He clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “See, that wasn’t very nice. I don’t think I want to help someone who isn’t nice to me...”

 

“I sweah.. heah... h-hear to G-God, if you don’t heah… HEAH…! H-help me, I’m gonna… g-gonnaaa...”

 

“Gonna what? Sneeze on me?” he suggested sardonically. She was about to retort something else, but Calem returned the feather before she could voice her threat. The itch soared in intensity, but it still wasn’t enough to spark a sneeze. He furrowed his brow and put the feather deeper, determined to defeat the stubborn tickle.

 

The long awaited fit took them both by surprise. “Huh’EHKshu, EHTshu, EHKschiu, EMKSchiu! T-Thank yih.. h-hih..! Huh’tisshu! Hah’tisshu! Huah’tixsshu! Huh’ksshu! Huh’TISSHu! Huh’KISshu! Hah’KXSHhu! Huh’IHKSchu! Huh’tisshu! Hah’TSShiu! Hah’tisshu, tksshu, tixshhu!” A fine mist shrouded the boy’s hand and hit his face a bit as well. However, once again, he didn’t exactly seem to mind.

 

She groaned softly, snatching a tissue from the box and blowing it a bit to clear up the brewing congestion. Calem chuckled softly, scribbling down the last few tally marks. “Wow. Thirty-five, I think. You could get in the Guinness Book of World Records, y’know.”

 

She promptly smacked his shoulder. “Shut up.”

Edited December 8, 2016 by v a n i l l a

[Shamaël]

Oh. Please just let me... come back to my senses... Well, that was... intense. I'm not really into allergic fits normally, but thanks to you I just discovered that I can LOVE an inducing story (allergic torture seems too strong but not that far). It's amazingly well done and the fact that both your characters sneeze is great (I prefer male sneezing but this time it just worked perfectly...). Thank you very much for sharing this with us!!!

Edited December 8, 2016 by Aliena H.