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On 6/18/2020 at 8:58 PM, castiel_angel said:

This is so good! It was so cute when Cal was worried about overstepping boundaries with Elle đŸ„ș keep up the amazing work 💗

Thank you! ❀ You're the sweetest!

On 6/19/2020 at 5:52 AM, Large said:

Wow, this is amazing!

I love that Elie denied cold desperately, and stifled sneezes with pinching her nose!!

Haha thanks! Yes, if there's one thing Elle is good at, it's denial ;) 

ALRIGHTY, the next part is very long lol. Enjoy!

 

Elle’s POV:

I was in a small room, and the walls were pushing closer from all sides. There wasn’t much light, and I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on. I didn’t remember coming here, and I sure as hell didn’t know how to get out. I tried to get up, but my limbs were made of lead. 

A stoic face appeared near me. I instinctively lunged toward it in pursuit of some kind of safety or support, but I could still barely move. As my vision came into focus, I realized the face belonged to someone I knew. I couldn’t distinguish exactly who it was. It was as if the face was in a constant state of nearly imperceptible morphing. Each time you focused on one feature, the others would mutate slightly, leaving you unable to match your current puzzle piece to any of the others. And as soon as you moved on to the next one, the prior piece was now unrecognizable, yet somehow still exactly the same. I felt like I was reading a sentence, but each time I read a new word, I instantly forgot the entire sentence beforehand, as if the memories of such things existed in separate vortexes. 

The feeling finally returned to my arms and legs, but I wasn’t in control of them. I felt like I was pedaling rapidly toward a wall and I was about to crash, but I couldn’t slow down or stop myself. The wall felt like it was always a few inches away, as if it was also moving forward, yet just a bit too slowly, foreshadowing the impending crash. 

I could hear voices behind me. Familiar voices. I couldn’t decipher what they were saying, but I got the sense that it had to do with me, and it didn’t seem particularly positive. I felt the hair on the back of my neck rise. 

I held my hands to my ears to block out the noise, but just then, my legs gave way and the wall crumbled. Dissolved was more like it, like cotton candy in the rain. My body collapsed into space like a bowling ball bursting through a sheet of paper. 

I fell onto a bizarre surface. It felt warm and somewhat comforting, yet simultaneously cold and begrudging. I didn’t understand how those two things could co-exist and have both paradoxical parts be so poignant. They seemed to form some sort of structural support, which I supposed was better than falling into the abyss. But I still couldn’t figure out what it was made out of. It seemed relatively smooth? Sort of beige?

I felt like a stone sank through my body as it dawned on me what the structure was composed of. Arms. It was a conglomerate of arms, physically carrying me. Only now, they seemed to be grabbing at me. Every time I fought one writhing limb off of me, another one lunged. The hollow voices returned in menacing whispers, as if they were coming from the arms themselves. One hand slithered up above me and dove for my throat. The others began to follow suit, as if they were a pack wolves and the alpha had given them a direct order. 

I gasped desperately, suddenly shooting upward. I was covered in sweat and I seemed to be somewhere else now. I still didn’t recognize where I was, but it seemed safer. There were no more demonic limbs trying to suffocate me, which was always a plus. Always nice to not be potentially murdered by autonomous, amputated arms. Or perhaps just arms that grew like that, with no bodies attached to them? Okay, this was just bizarre. That wasn’t real. That was a dream. This was real. Whatever this was. I still didn’t know where the fuck I was.

“Elle? Are you okay?” Cal was lying next to me. When did that happen?

I tried to respond, but I seemed to have forgotten how.

“It’s okay. It’s okay. You’re safe. Deep breaths, alright?” I hadn’t realized I was hyperventilating until he’d said that. I made a noteworthy effort to stop doing that. 

“I’ve got you. You’re okay.” He started rubbing my shoulder calmingly. Normally I would have teased him about saying such clichĂ© comforting phrases, but they seemed apt at the moment, so I didn’t really have a leg to stand on.

“I
 had a really bad dream. A fucking weird, bad dream.”

“I’m sorry. I guess that’s what they mean by ‘fever dreams,’ huh?” 

I attempted a small smile. “I guess so, yeah.” I paused for a moment, taking in my surroundings now that my vision was starting to come into focus. I was on a bed in a relatively small room – presumably a bedroom. “Am I in your room? At your house?” I felt kind of stupid having to ask that, but I genuinely didn’t know.

“Yeah. You told me you didn’t want to get your parents involved, and you looked half dead, so this seemed like the best compromise. If I had my way, though, you’d be at the hospital right now.” 

I felt my heart race at the sound of that word, my breathing becoming tense and rapid again. “I-I can’t do that. Fuck. I can’t go to the hospital, my parents would fucking kill me–”

“It’s okay. I know. That’s why I didn’t take you there. But only ‘cause your fever started going down, ‘cause you were scaring the shit out of me.”

I flinched. “I’m sorry.” Damn. This was the exact opposite of what I’d wanted. The whole point of this was to not worry anyone, particularly Calix. And since I was so reckless and irresponsible, I made things way worse than they needed to be, both in regard to my health and the burden I’d been on Cal. “I need to go home
”

That statement seemed to hurt Cal, which made me feel even worse. “Okay, sorry, what? You go through the seven realms of hell to avoid telling your parents you have a fucking cold, work yourself up into a frenzy and then become legit delirious, and now you want to, what? Waltz into your house and announce that you’re on death’s door?”

“How would I be on death’s door if I’m at my house?”

This question seemed to throw him. “...What?”

“I mean, are our houses overlapping? Is it a sort of duplex? Are there zoning issues with Death’s front door physically being inside our house?”

“Now isn’t the fucking time, Elle.”

Okay. Yikes. I mean
 he was right. But that scared me. “I-I’m sorry.”

“What was the point of all this then? Why the hell did you put me through this if you’re just planning on going back home anyway? Why make me play doctor and fucking nurse you back to health?”

“I-I didn’t ask you to–”

“Oh, so what? I was supposed to ignore you and let you treat yourself like shit? I mean, gosh, do you have any self respect?”

Whoa. I had no clue where any of this was coming from. “N-No, I appreciate that you helped me, I–”

“So you just used me then?” I hated the way he was looking at me. I’d never seen such disdain in his eyes.

“No
 No. I
 God, how did we get here
? I just. I’m trying to figure out how to fix this.”

“How about staying the hell home when you start feeling lousy before you get so messed up that you can’t even take care of yourself?”

“Okay. Fair.” Really freakin’ harsh, but fair. “Look, I’m sorry. And you’re right, I-I don’t want to go home. I just
 I felt like I was being a burden on you and I didn’t want to stress you out. I didn’t think it was fair of me to put you in this position. You’re right. You shouldn’t have to take care of me. This shouldn’t be your responsibility.”

“That’s not what I said–”

“But you’re right! I-I shouldn’t be here. If my parents get mad, then that’s on me for getting sick.”

“Elle, that’s so clearly not the point.”

“Then what the hell is the point?! ‘Cause I don’t know what to do. I don’t. I-I’m trying to do the right thing, and I don’t know what that is!” I was going to keep going, but all that yelling was straining my throat and I broke into a really painful coughing fit. The cherry on top of this magnificent day. 

I tried to continue speaking once it subsided, but I couldn’t quite catch my breath and I think I started wheezing, ‘cause it was kind of hard to breath. My suspicions were confirmed when I felt Calix slip a familiar cylindrical object into my hands. I removed the cap and took a couple puffs of the inhaler.

We sat in a tense silence as I awkwardly attempted to breathe like a normal person. 

“I fucked up.” I took a shaky breath before continuing. “I fucked up. I know. But I can’t change that now and I’m just trying to figure out what to do. If I’m being completely honest, I’d rather be here. I’m terrified to go home right now. But I don’t want to get you sick or stress you out or put unnecessary shit on your plate.”

“This isn’t unnecessary–”

“I mean, it kind of is, though,” I responded, a dismissive laugh lacing my voice.

“Stop.” I felt the world slow down for a moment, as if the atmosphere itself had been taken aback by that single word. “Stop acting like you don’t matter. Like you’re a burden. ‘Cause it’s not true, and it’s pissing me off. You are valid, okay? You’re allowed to be sick. You’re allowed to take up space. You’re allowed to be human! You are worthy of having people worry about you. You deserve to be treated right, and I know you’d do the same for anyone else. You are fucking incredible.”

I stared back at him, stunned. I genuinely didn’t know how to respond to that. It was a lot to process. 

“C-Cal...”

He dropped his gaze, seeming as surprised by that outburst as I was. An uncomfortable tension hung in the air as we each waited for the other person to break the silence. 

Cal finally gave in. “Whatever. Just, forget I said that,” he muttered. He seemed
 embarrassed? Which was strange. He had no reason to be embarrassed right now.

“No, no, I just
” I tried to organize my thoughts, which were currently the equivalent of a bowl of alphabet soup. See? Even that analogy didn’t really make sense. Okay. Alright. Focus. Respond. “Thank you.” Woooow that was a lame response. He said all this touchy feely stuff about having faith in myself and valuing my self worth, and I respond with ‘thank you’?! Geez.

“O-Okay, my brain is kinda muddy and useless right now, and I don’t know how to say the right thing. I-I’m not trying to put myself down, I just... Like, literally, from the fever, I can’t really
 think well. I guess. Um
” I scrunched my eyes closed to try to collect myself, but it just ended up making me feel lightheaded and disoriented. Again. Gosh, I was sooo done with being sick. 

My eyes blinked open suddenly as I felt a hand against my forehead. This startled me at first, but then my mush of a brain processed what was happening and calmed down.

“Shit. You’re still really hot.”

“Why, thank you,” I teased. At least my sense of humor was still somewhat intact.

He looked flustered by my comment, which was very off-brand for him. This was some standard Elle-and-Calix banter, from what I could tell. Unless I was more out of it than I realized and my joking faculties were seriously malfunctioning? 

“N-No, I mean
 temperature-wise. Like. You still have a fever, not hot as in
 y’know
”

“I know. You’re good. I was just kidding. Sorry, my jokes might not be coming through that well,” I offered with a shrug, hoping this would help him brush this awkward moment aside.

“No, you’re– It was funny.” Apologetic and awkward was already an ugly color on me, and it definitely didn’t look good on Calix. Why was he acting so weird all of a sudden?

“Alright, I know I’m not doing too hot right now, or I guess, doing a little too hot right now.” I gave him a pointed look as I clarified, “Temperature-wise, of course.” I thought that would help break the tension, but it seemed to fluster him all over again. Seriously, what was going on? “But anyway. Are you okay?”

He looked puzzled, which was hilariously uncalled for. “Me? What are you talking about?”

“Seriously? You’re acting all
 weird and jumpy. Is something bothering you, or
?”

“Oh. I just
 I dunno, I guess I’m just worried about you or whatever, and maybe I’m a little on edge.” He didn’t meet my eye as he spoke.

I couldn’t shake this nagging suspicion that I’d done something to upset him or gross him out or something, back when I was in major-delirium-mode. I couldn’t think of another explanation for how weird and flighty he was being right now.

I tried to sift through the little memory fragments I had of that day, but they were all pretty garbled. I also couldn’t distinguish what had actually happened from what my fever brain simply imagined. Certain things had clearly not happened. Flat birds, pen-knives, et cetera. I also had a vague memory of Cal kissing my forehead. Which
 also obviously didn’t happen. Because that would make no sense.

Wait. Why did I keep having flashbacks of a car?

“Did something happen earlier?”

He looked back at me like I was crazy. “Uhhh, yes. You got sick as hell and almost died and I had to drag you here against your will–”

“No, not that. Did something happen?”

Instead of responding to my very valid question, he randomly stamped his palm against my forehead again. Naturally, I flailed my arms to bat him off.

“Gosh, I’m fine.” He cocked an eyebrow in stoic disbelief. “Okay, not fine, but you know what I mean. I just
 I keep having these images pop up in my head of your car. Did something happen?” 

He broke eye contact and started fiddling with the little makeshift doctor kit he’d assembled. “No. You were really feverish and out of it when I drove you home though, so you were probably imagining things.”

I didn’t fully believe him, but I didn’t have anything else to go on. Besides, my brain was too groggy for investigating, anyway. 

After a bit of an awkward lapse in conversation, Cal broke the silence. “Are you hungry? You should probably eat lunch.”

“Wait
 but lunch already happened. Didn’t it?”

He raised an eyebrow at me, which I found unnecessary. “Ummm. Not today, it hasn’t.”

My eyebrows knit together as I clumsily tried to put two and two together. “But I didn’t
 When did dinner happen? And I mean, breakfast is for losers, so that’s irrelevant–”

“Okay but actually though, you really should be eating breakfast.”

“–so then if we skipped from lunch to lunch
”

“See, if you ate breakfast, maybe your body wouldn’t have the resilience of a cotton ball, and you wouldn’t get so damn sick.” I found it cute that he still thought I was listening to his motherly nagging.

“SHIT, is it tomorrow?”

He sighed in defeat, giving up on his one-sided conversation. “If by that you mean, ‘is it Wednesday?’ Then yes. It’s tomorrow.”

I let out a huff of breath as an overdramatic side effect of my realization. The theatrics cost me though, ‘cause my breathing was still kinda touch-and-go, thanks to my handy dandy asthma.

“Alrighty. You can take me to the doctor.”

He stared at me in stupefied disbelief. “WHAT?!”

“Yup. I mean
 if you still want to. It still scares the shit out of me, and I’m definitely not itching to wait around in an urgent care to have some doctor come yell at me for not taking care of myself, and not being more responsible, and not eating breakfast, and blah blah blerbity blerh.” I said the second half of that sentence in a weird voice that sort of sounded like a mix between Kermit the Frog and Jabba the Hutt. While hilarious (in my opinion), it perhaps wasn’t the best decision, given my current state of health. I may or may not have broken off coughing for the billionth time that day. And it may or may not have hurt like hell.

“I’m sorry
 what just happened here?! I swear, we just had the exact same conversation ten minutes ago.” 

“No. Ten minutes ago, I thought it was yesterday, but now I know that it’s today!”

The poor boy seemed lost. As much as I enjoyed watching his dumbfounded expression and gaping mouth, I decided to throw him a bone and connect the dots for him.

“Yesterday, they would have had to contact my parents. Today, they don’t.”

“Oh, yes, because of the new law they passed yesterday where children are allowed to die sickly on the streets. That makes perfect sense. Thank you for clearing that up.”

“How do you die sicklih
 hih’eaktshuu! ...sickly?”

“You literally just answered my question.”

“My sneeze does not absolve your haywire grammeh
 heh! Hih’etkkshu! Heh’ihkkshuuh!”

“Bless yo–”

I held up a finger to indicate for him to wait, my twitchy nose on the verge of another sneeze. He decided to retaliate with the most mature response imaginable.

“BLESS YOU BLESS YOU BLESS YOU BLESS YOU–”

“Awww, damnit, you scared it away. Now it just feels itchy.” I rubbed my nose with my knuckle as if to prove it.

He erupted into a fit of giggles and scooped his arms around me. “Awwww, poor bb
” he teased, ruffling my hair a bit. Gosh, I could tell just by the way he said it that he’d abbreviated it to ‘bb’ instead of ‘baby.’ Only Cal could abbreviate through verbal communication. 

I succumbed to laughter as well, relaxing in Cal’s embrace before playfully shoving him off. 

I hesitated for a moment, the tingly feeling returning. “Wait! It’s back! I.. huh..! I have to snih
 heh..! Heh’ngx’shiiw!” 

“What was that?”

“Shut up.”

“No, seriously, what just happened?”

“You know what just happened.”

“I absolutely do not. Enlighten me.”

“...I sneezed,” I replied in a very small voice.

“Sorry, what was that?”

“I SNEEZED, OKAY? I tried to stop it but I couldn’t so it came out all small and squeaky and high pitched–”

“That was a SNEEZE?” he exclaimed, mockingly flabbergasted. “I thought it was a small kitten crying for help!”

“Oh shut UP. Your sneezes are way more kitten-ish than mine.”

That seemed to fluster him. “What? No they’re not.”

“Yes they most certainly are. If I’m a kitten, you’re like
 I dunno. A hummingbird.” His face went bright red. “AWWW, are you embarrassed? That’s so cuteee.” I messed up his hair a bit as retribution for earlier.

“Fuck you,” he replied flippantly.

“OK OK SORRY, you have very manly sneezes.”

“Shut up.”

“No, really! I mean, when you sneeze, I swear, testosterone shoots out.”

“Oh my GOD, SHUT UP.”

“You’re a medical marvel——oof.”

I had suddenly gotten tackle-hugged by Calix again.

“My sneezes might be girly, but you’re the one sneezing her head off right now!” He took that opportunity to trace his finger across the bridge of my nose.

“Sh..Shit. C-Cal.” I tried to wriggle out of his grasp, but I couldn’t. Damnit. 

“Hmm? What’s that? Gee, for some reason I just caaannot hear you.” 

His finger made its way to my nostrils, gently stimulating them with his fingernail. Damn, he was unnervingly good at this. I immediately turned to jello, clamping my fingers onto my nose at the last second to safely secure a stifle. 

“Heh’ngxx! Huh’mpxkch.” 

He immediately started laughing again. “Bless youuu.”

“Shove it.” My tone was snippy but he knew quite well that I was suppressing a smile. My tension melted and I felt myself relax. He started rubbing my back comfortingly, holding me a bit tighter. It felt nice, but I was also aware that this hug had exceeded the expiration date for normal-friend-hugging and had now traveled into the realm of weird-lingering-hugs. He seemed to sense this too, and he seemed a bit tense. I opened my mouth to say something, my voice catching a bit in my throat, but he interjected before I could speak, pulling out of the hug.

“Ok, so why is today not yesterday?” Hold on, let me get some Advil really quick, because that radical subject change definitely just gave me whiplash. I took a beat to process the shift in conversation, then defaulted to smart-Aleck remarks to help me through this transition.

“Well, Calix, there’s this thing called time, and gradually it progresses–”

“You know what I mean.” His tone was a bit more serious than before, which surprised me.

“I
” I trailed off, biting my lower lip. “Don’t worry about it.”

“What the fuck?”

I emitted garbled sounds of protest and defeat as I flopped onto my back, my head hurting a bit from the force. I seriously needed to cool it with the over-dramatic frippery until I was past this stupid cold. Not that there was a chance in hell that I’d actually do that, but I at least acknowledged that I probably should.

“Today is the day of adulthood,” I explained in exasperated resignation.

“Excuse me?”

“Well, technically, yesterday was the day of adulthood, but I didn’t know if that really counted, and I didn’t wanna risk it–”

“Elle, what does that mean?”

“It’s okaaaay, don’t worry abouuut iiit,” I assured him in a sing-songy voice, which was one of my default methods of avoiding a subject or navigating through a tricky conversation. Really, just any time I got anxious. Sooo
 pretty much always. 

“Elle.” I knew I could weasel my way out of this, but he looked like a sad puppy and I felt bad.

“Awh, damnit. Look, it’s not a big deal.” I sat up, trying to pacify him without necessarily explaining myself.

“If it’s not a big deal, then tell me.”

“First of all, fuck you. Second of all, hot take. Hear me out... What if, instead... I don’t?”

“Did something happen? Are you okay? Like, I.. I don’t know what you’re talking about and it’s starting to stress me out.”

“NO, no, it’s not something like that. It literally doesn’t even matter. I just,” I took a deep, labored breath before continuing. I knew that this was gonna set him off and I didn’t want to make him feel guilty or whatever. “Yesterday was my birthday. That’s all. Literally not a big deal.”

“WHY DIDN’T YOU SAY ANYTHING–”

“This. This is precisely why.”

“Fuck you!”

“Whoa. Not the reaction I was expecting.”

“I’m your best friend. How could you not have told me it was your birthday?”

“What, I’m supposed to waltz up to you and say, ‘Hello, Cal. Today is the anniversary of my birth. Please shower me in love and compliments.’”

“YES!”

“No human being does that. I am absolutely not in the wrong here.”

“YOU WOULD. YOU are the EXACT person who would do that. You made Madora and I hold a funeral for a butterfly.” I decided not to inform him that it was actually ‘Madora and me,’ not ‘I.’ It didn’t seem like the best moment. 

“It was sad! I was waving my arms around for dramatic effect and I smushed it and it died. It was murder. The least I could do was hold a funeral!”

“But why did I have to be there?”

“You were the one who made the joke! You were the reason I was arm-waving!”

“And Madora?”

I paused a moment before responding. “...Bystander. She was complicit. She didn’t intervene.”

“Good grief
 You are seven different flavors of crazy, yet somehow, this you keep quiet about.”

“Why does it matter?”

“You’re always ridiculously extra on other people’s birthdays. I mean, for mine, you made me this, like, seven-layer card, which was really annoying, by the way, because I had to read so much and it was covered in glitter and the glue hadn’t totally dried, so I ended up looking like a Christmas ornament for the rest of the day.”

“I wanted you to have a sparkly birthday,” I explained, as if that was a completely logical justification.

“Don’t your parents normally throw you a surprise party every year? Except it’s not really a surprise, ‘cause it’s literally every year.”

I felt a knot form in my stomach. “My sister did, yeah.”

“So wouldn’t your parents just take over this time?”

I laughed uncomfortably and averted my gaze. “Yeah, I dunno. I think they forgot.”

“Forgot the party, or forgot your birthday?” His voice was a bit more gentle, which was not helping me with the whole shoving-my-emotions-into-a-tiny-box ordeal.

“Yes,” I replied simply. I had hoped this would come off as comical, but it just seemed to make him deflate a bit.

“Elle...”

“It’s fine! It’s okay, really. I’m not a big birthday person, anyway.” I would have felt a lot more convincing if I could look him in the eye without tearing up. I settled for staring aggressively at the wall instead. Gosh, why was I such a baby about this?

He placed a hand on my arm, which informed me that I was shaking, because he was far more still than I was. Also a lot cooler. Temperature-wise, of course.

I could feel him staring at me, but I couldn’t meet his eye. He knew me too well and if I looked in his eyes, I would break, and I didn’t want to break. Not again.

“...Alright. So why were you sneezing like a kitten earlier?”

I snickered despite myself. “I didn’t wanna sneeze on you! I was being generous. Gracious? Shit, what’s the word? It starts with a ‘guh.’”

“You’re the word girl. I’m just here for comic relief.”

“COURTEOUS!”

“That doesn’t even remotely start with a ‘guh.’ Also, you definitely missed the mark on that one. Or, the ship has sailed on that, I guess?”

“What do you mean?” I felt myself tense up.

“You sneezed on me a ton yesterday. Like, literally to a ridiculous degree.”

Shiiiiiiiiit. “Ugh. I was really hoping I had imagined that.”

“Nah, sorry Sneezy. It really happened.”

Good lord. I was ready to crawl into a small hole and die right about now. My time had come. This was the end.

I was about to explode in a fiery ball of apologies, but instead, I rolled down dramatically onto the bed and began burying myself in blankets. This action was accompanied by a low moaning sound of defeat and resignation.

“Elle, it’s okay! Come back out.”

“No. I can’t. I’m one of the blanket people now. We who are unfit to be seen by humans.”

“It wasn’t that bad, I promise.”

“You’re just being nice. It was probably awful and gross and you hate me now.”

“I swear, it wasn’t. Here, come back out.”

I was about to respond, but the ocean blankets were further impeding my ability to breathe, as if my shitty lungs weren’t bad enough already. I broke off into a particularly painful bout of coughing. 

Cal frantically tried to clear the blankets, which only really ended up jostling me around and preventing me from breaching the surface of the bed. I finally managed to claw my way out while casually hacking up a lung.

He immediately started rubbing my back in little circles again with his hand, which I always found oddly soothing. I wanted to brush him off and convince him I was fine, but my blanket brawl had gotten me pretty tuckered out. Kind of like when you let your dog run around a lot outside so that it’s all tired and calm at night.

My face flushed as I realized that my head was on his lap. In all of the covers commotion, I guess I hadn't really been paying attention. I would have repositioned myself, but it was remarkably comfortable and, as much as I tried to argue otherwise, I still felt like complete crap. Every part of me ached. It felt so nice to be held.

His fingers gently ran through my hair. Of course, my hair hadn’t been properly brushed since the day before, so it was sort of tangled. If it were anyone else but Cal, I’d be mortified and crawl back into my shame shawl (I was running out of decent blanket-hiding-place related puns). But it wasn’t anyone else. It was Calix.

“You could never be gross,” he mumbled softly. It took my tired brain a moment to determine the context for that comment. Apparently, short term memory loss was one of my symptoms. Not actually, of course. God, that would be awful.

Was I rambling in my thoughts to avoid addressing random instance #243 of Cal being weirdly sentimental and sweet today? Yes. Yes I was.

Okay, he was probably just worried about me and
 I dunno. Trying to make up for the birthday thing? Maybe? Gosh, I hated that all my memories of the recent events were foggy and unreliable. That random memory of Cal kissing my forehead kept popping up in my head, and I didn’t even know if it had happened or not. Nor did I know if I wanted it to have happened or not. God, this was confusing. I decided to give up for now. This would be a whole ordeal for me to figure out even if I wasn’t half-dead while doing it. And there was probably nothing to figure out, anyway. The most likely explanation was that my fever was making my imagination go haywire. 

While my brain attempted to disentangle this inextricable mess, a great deal of time had passed with my head on Cal’s lap and him stroking my hair and a whole lot of silence. This hadn’t really occurred to me, but apparently it did to Cal, because he suddenly slipped out from under me and stood up. Granted, he made sure my head safely flopped onto a pillow, but it was still generally random and flighty. I looked up at him in confusion, but he was facing away from me, putting on shoes. Oookay?

“Going out to run a marathon, are ya?”

I expected at least a pity laugh for that, but he seemed to be very interested in tying his shoelaces at the moment. 

“We should, uh, get you to urgent care. See if they can give you anything to treat this, or at least make it more bearable.”

My eyebrows knit together, making my forehead look a bit like that of a pug. “Treat it? I mean, it’s just a cold. A shitty cold, but still–”

“I doubt it.” Alrighty then. That was comforting. “You were out in the rain a ton, you adamantly refused to rest, and your fever was through the damn roof. Plus, I don’t think I’ve ever heard someone cough and sneeze that much before.”

“Okay. A
 really shitty cold?”

“It’s probably turned into something worse by now. I mean, your sister’s in med school. You must have learned something from her.” 

I scrunched my eyes closed, trying not to let that bother me so much. He didn’t mean anything by it, of course. But logic didn’t really work on my sick-brain-emotions, and that statement kind of stung.

“No, yeah. I do know things, I just
” I sighed, surrendering. “Yeah, alright. Let’s go.”

He grabbed my shoes and helped me put them on. I carefully sat up and scrambled to my feet, but I immediately got dizzy and had to put my weight on the bed while awkwardly half-standing. Cal promptly laced his arm around my waist for support, which made my face flush, and I didn’t know why it was flushing. What the hell was going on. Jesus.

“Hold up. I just need to grab one thing.” I looked up at him, unsure of what he was talking about. I watched him snake something out of his drawer. It seemed like a ziplock baggie, but I couldn’t tell what was in it. “Alright. Ready. Follow my lead.”

“What are you—Oh hell no.”

I saw a glimpse of orange dance past my vision as we crossed through the threshold of his bedroom and into the rest of the house.

(TBC... ;))
 

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Cal’s POV:

“Huh’EHKschiew!” I imploded with a sudden sneeze as I burst through his bedroom door, making my way down the hallway and into the living room. My arm was wrapped around Elle in a way that made it look like I was putting my weight on her when, in reality, she was putting all her weight on me. All part of the master plan.

“Bless y–”

“Eih’TISSHiew! Eik’TSSHieuu!” I snapped forward with two more harsh sneezes, cutting off my mother’s attempt at a blessing. 

“Are you two feeling any better?” she inquired sympathetically, suddenly materializing in front of me. 

“Doh,” I admitted in pretend misery, manufacturing a supremely stuffed-up voice for dramatic effect. “I was tryi’g to hide it, but it’s gotten a luh.. huh.. HUH
!” I fanned my hand under my nose. I pretended to wrestle with a stuck sneeze while simultaneously inducing secretly with my tiny, handy dandy flower. I held the desperate, absent expression for a little while before feigning disappointment that the stuck sneeze had eluded me. “Ughhh,” I moaned, sniffling thickly and wetly as I did so. “It’s gotten a lot worse,” I continued, finishing my earlier sentence.

“Why didn’t you just stay home yesterday?”

“I didd’t wadda worry you or have to biss school. But that was really stupid, ‘cause dow I feel like shit, and I edded up missi’g school today adyways, so it obviously wasd’t worth it.” I felt Elle elbow me sharply in the side, indicating that my thinly veiled insults were veiled too thinly. Heh heh
 Whoops.

“And dow, I got Elle sih.. sih
! –sick tuh
 too, so I fi..figured the lu-least I could duh.. do whu
 whah! –w-was tah.. haake c-care of her.. h-heih... Heh! Heeiiih...!” My voice quivered erratically throughout the sentence as I wriggled the flower around a particularly sensitive spot in my nostril. I pretended my hand was there to catch the inevitable sneezes, so as not to draw attention to the flower. My breathing hitched on every word, making me almost unintelligible. Gosh, even though it was helpful right now, my allergies were usually never this bad. I actually found it a bit concerning. 

“Do you need to go to the doctor?” Gosh, I felt bad lying to my mom like this, but I couldn’t guarantee that she’d let Elle stay here if I told her the truth. And I knew Elle needed me right now.

“Yeah, we’re od our w-way right d-dow.. doww... dahh.. Aehkschiew, Ehksshiew! Huh! Hah’EIHHschhiuew!” Shit. Those actually hurt my throat.

“Well, I can see how you managed to get her sick. You’re sneezing all over her,” my mom jokingly reprimanded, her voice gentle yet firm.

My face got really hot and my little soap opera performance buffered. “W-Wait, what?” I sputtered, glancing panickedly at Elle. She offered me a reassuring look, but I was still mortified. I’d gotten too focused on making my acting believable, and I didn’t realize I hadn’t been covering my sneezes. I tried to wipe off Elle’s face with my sleeve, but I wasn’t sure it was helping.

“It’s okay,” she assured me, her voice hoarse and croaking.

“Elle, honey. You look miserable, you poor thing. Do you want me to make you two some tea before you go?” My mom immediately grabbed an extra blanket–which seemed to come out of nowhere–and wrapped it around the small blonde human.

I was about to apologize for my mom’s excessiveness, but Elle’s eyes were wide and appreciative, like she was a puppy at a shelter who’d just been offered a home. 

“I-I’m okay, I promise. But thank you so much.” I could tell she wanted to say yes, but she was afraid to impose. Which was hilarious, because my mom was the most generous person I’d ever met.

“I’ll get my keys, go wait by the car.” Maybe a little too generous.

“It’s fine, mom,” I insisted, not wanting to put her out or make Elle uncomfortable.

“What, you’re gonna drive? In your condition?” she challenged, raising an eyebrow at me.

“No, I called an Uber. It’s probably already here.” That part was actually true. I could feel Elle looking at me in confusion, but I averted my gaze away from her.

It occurred to me that I’d completely dropped the sick act. I was about to induce with the flower again when a sudden tickle came over me. Huh. That was lucky timing.

“Huh’ihhkkshiew! Hah! Huh’Ihhkshuu! Eeshhiuh!” That fit had been a bit stronger than usual, and it made my side sting from the force. I stiffened, trying to mask the pain. 

“Calix–”

“Huh’IHKshhiew!” Damn. “Bless me,” I mumbled sheepishly, barely getting the words out before succumbing to yet another sneeze. “Eiih’tshhiew!” Elle squeezed my hand a bit and I could tell she was worried.

“Sorry mom, we gotta go! BYEEE!” I shouted, ushering Elle out the front door before my mother could intervene.

 

(TBC!)

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I’m literally loving everything about this story! can’t wait for the next part!

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  • 2 weeks later...

(Thank you guys so much for the positive feedback! It means a lot to me. I'm glad you guys are enjoying it! :))

 

Cal’s POV:

I deflected Elle’s endless flurry of concerned questions as I led her toward the curb.

“And why are we ubering?” she continued impatiently. “You have a car!”

That was the one question I wasn’t keen on answering. “Er
 ‘Cause my mom thinks we’re both sick, so
 Maintaining appearances, right?”

She cocked an eyebrow. Apparently she didn’t buy my story.

“OKAY, THE CAR’S HERE!” I announced, steering her toward the uber car and away from my own.

“Is there something wrong with your car?” she demanded weakly. For someone who was totally worn out and sick as hell, she was surprisingly inquisitive. 

“My car’s fine,” I insisted a bit too quickly, helping Elle into the dark grey Sudan that had pulled up in front of us. After checking to make sure it was the right car, of course.

I reached over to help her put her seatbelt on, but she’d managed to do it herself. The uber driver glanced back at us, asking to confirm our intended destination. The driver lady seemed a bit skeptical, and I swear, part of her thought we were sickly, wayward orphans, but I gave her a stern look and she dropped it.

I groaned under my breath as another tickle surfaced, even though I’d ditched the flowers before we got in the car. “Hhm’mnxgh. Hip’mgkschh.” My body rocked forward a bit with each painfully stifled sneeze, my side stinging a bit. I waited in frustration for the inevitable third one, my knuckle hovering under my nose expectantly. “Hih’nxgkkt!” 

“Bless you,” Elle mumbled quietly. She placed a hand comfortingly on my thigh and refrained from asking more questions. I appreciated that, since I knew it was probably hard for her. I loved how caring and considerate she was, and I didn’t want to be evasive, but I also really didn’t want to talk about what had happened with the car. 

I looked down at her hand, feelings brewing inside of me. Without thinking, I placed my hand on top of hers, my slightly stubby fingers lacing between her dainty ones. She stiffened at first before relaxing into it. I stared straight ahead at the back of the seat in front of me, terrified to glance at her and risk fracturing this incredibly fragile moment.

 

Elle’s POV:

So. That happened.

What happened, you may ask? Well, what a great question! As for the answer
 Who the heck knows! Most definitely not me. There was a good chance this was all some weird fever dream, because none of this made sense. And, given the events of the past few days, all signs pointed to deliriousness. 

That being said, I wasn’t
 opposed to what had just happened, to say the least. IF it had indeed happened, and I hadn’t imagined it.

Oh whoa, we were at the door of the urgent care now. I didn’t even remember getting out of the car. Okay, see, this was way too distracting of a predicament when my brain was already at half capacity!

We went inside and out of the rain, forming a trail of water from the door to the little self check-in machine. I typed in my information, tapping the letters on the screen. This proved to be a tedious process. 

When I’d finished, I looked up at Calix. “Maybe you should sign in too? Just
 in case your mom asks. So your story will hold up.”

He gave me a narrowed look, which I responded to with an innocent and nonthreatening expression. 

“You know I’m not sick though, right?” he pressed. 

“No, yeah, I know.” I could tell from his face that he didn’t believe me. 

I had to pause my efforts as a bout of coughing overcame me, causing me to snap downward and sideways, away from Cal. He reflexively started rubbing my back gently until it passed. 

“Thanks,” I mumbled hoarsely, straightening back up. As I did so, his hand seemed to linger on my back for a moment. But I might have imagined it. 

He sighed in resignation. Part of me thought he’d cave and type his information into the little machine, but he led us to the waiting area instead.

We went and sat in the unpleasant, oddly-shaped wooden chairs in the waiting area. I think they were intended to look modern, but they just seemed bothersome to me. I kept testing different positions to try and get comfortable before finally accepting that no such position existed. I eventually tried to use part of my blanket—which I still had with me from when Cal’s mom shrouded me in it—as a pillow. However, there wasn’t enough of it to stay wrapped in it and rest my head on it at the same time. 

“You know, you shouldn’t have a blanket on at all, anyway. You still have a fever.”

I looked up at him with slightly exaggerated dismay. “But
 it’s so comfy. And I’m cold.”

“Yeah, ‘cause the fever!” He rested his palm against my head again and frowned. “At least you’re not as hot as before,” he offered, though still disappointed.

I replied with mock offense. “Excuse me? Not as hot as before? Why, I would think I’m hotter than ever right now!” I did a small, stupid pose, though it was half-assed since I was ridiculously exhausted. In the middle of the bit, I felt my nose come in with a rather rudely timed interruption. I hitched breathily before crumpling forward in a bout of particularly high pitched sneezes.

“Hih’itchh’ahh! Hih’iihkshiiu!” A shiver ran down my spine, causing my voice to quiver as I spoke. “C-Come on, I’m bruh.. bringing out ah.. all the.. the
! Huh! Heikschhiew!” I inwardly cringed, because that last sneeze had been especially girly and, as Cal had put it before, ‘kitten-like.’ “...The stops,” I finished, resuming my dorky pose at the end of my haphazardly completed sentence.

He shifted in his seat, looking down at the ground for a moment before rolling his eyes and avoiding my gaze. I could swear he was fighting off an embarrassed smile. “Shut up, dumbass.”

“Whaaat? This isn’t doing it for ya?” I leaned in closer to him, my hand resting on his shoulder. He turned to face me, moving to jokingly shove me off. However, he hesitated, as if someone had pressed the pause button. When he’d turned toward me, he’d gotten a lot closer than either of us had realized. Our faces were mere inches apart, our eyes locked. I could hear our breath echoing in my ears, and not just because my ears were all plugged and foggy from being sick. My skin was tingling. 

Okay okay okay. There was a reasonable explanation for all of this. He was this close because he was
 checking on me. Yes. And my face only felt warm because of the fever, and I was just shaking because
 Well, the same reason. And I was cold. Or, hot. I don’t know. But
 because I was sick! That’s why. Nothing else. And my heartbeat was only this fast because—OH SHIT he started leaning in.

I stared at him with eyes so wide they might as well have been frisbees. Needless to say, I had dropped the bit by this point. I wished he’d close his eyes so he wouldn’t see my dumb expression right now. I probably looked like an idiot.

As if on cue, his eyes closed, his head turning a bit to the side as his lips began to part. Damnit. Never mind. It was better when his eyes were open! Far less frightening than this.

My eyes fell shut as I leaned into him, my left hand still on his shoulder and my right raising to cup his cheek. My lips parted, a tiny, panicked gasp escaping me as I—

“Elizabeth Allen, we’re ready for you.”

Damnit.

(TBC... 😌)

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Elle's POV:

My name rang obnoxiously from the other side of the room, as if someone had chopped up all the syllables, stuffed them into a machine gun, and opened fire on me with them. A heavy-set man dressed in turquoise scrubs looked at me expectantly, his nails tapping idly on his clipboard.

For the love of God. Of all the moments to call me in
 

Cal was, unsurprisingly, flustered, to say the least. He spastically pulled back and resumed what he thought of as an unsuspecting pose. Personally, I’d describe it as an alien child’s clay model of what a human in its natural habitat should look like. That is, if alien children were void of all artistic and creative capabilities. A string of unintelligible sounds flew out of him as he regained his composure. 

I expected myself to be somewhat relieved. To have more time to think this over and process. Or at least be calmer now that the imminent stressor was absolved. But I wasn’t. I felt oddy
 disappointed? No
 Frustrated. Yeah. That was it.

“Elizabeth Allen?”

A weird knot formed in my stomach as I realized I had to actually go in now. Shit. Somehow, I hadn’t connected the dots between coming here and actually being seen by a doctor. 

“Elle? You going?”

I realized I hadn’t moved since she’d called me. My body felt like it was made of lead. Shit.

“It’s okay. You’ll be fine. And your parents aren’t here, so
 Everything’s good.”

I nodded, though my head was a bit foggy for some reason. Oh wait. I think I was hyperventilating a bit. Yup, that would explain it.

I slowed my breath and shakily got to my feet. 

“Do you want me to come with you?” 

A bit of my anxiety melted upon hearing that. Before I had even processed his question, the words, “Yes, please,” shot out of my mouth. 

We made our way through the hallway and into the indicated room. I awkwardly sat on the weird, crinkly, papery seat covering and rambled off all the preliminary information the nurse asked me for.

“How long have you been sick?” the nurse asked.

“Uhm.. honestly, since Saturday or Sunday, I think. So, four or five days?” I could feel Cal eyeing me in surprise. “Yeah, yeah, I know. Shut up,” I muttered to him quietly.

“And how are you feeling? What are your symptoms?”

I stared at my feet, waiting to see if he might just skip the questions if I delayed enough with my answers. No such luck. “Um. I’m feeling alright, really. I–” I heard a sarcastic laugh from Cal. “Er, okay. Not great, I guess,” I admitted. “I feel kind of worn out, dizzy. Lightheaded when I stand up. Really stuffed up. I’ve had a headache for, like, days now. I constantly feel like I have to sneeze. Honestly, I’ve been sneezing my head off, which has been really annoying and sort of exhausting. Coughing a lot too, and I guess my asthma’s been pretty bad
 I’ve had to use my inhaler a lot.” Well, Cal’s inhaler, but that was irrelevant. 

“She literally almost passed out yesterday and she had a 103.2 degree fever.” I felt my face go red hearing Cal recount the past events. “I’m surprised she’s still alive.”

“It wasn’t that bad,” I argued.

“Not that bad?!” he echoed, eyes wide as he gave me a challenging look. He turned to face the nurse, acting as though I weren’t even in the room. “She’s been sick as hell, and I’ve been taking care of her. Her throat’s been killing her, she can’t breathe that well even when she uses the inhaler,—Oh! And yesterday, she got so delirious and out of it that she didn’t even know who I was at one point.”

I felt the pit in my stomach grow. I kept my eyes locked on the floor, thoroughly mortified by this post-mortem of my illness. The nurse exchanged looks between the two of us before leaving, informing us that the doctor would be in shortly. I forced myself to look at Cal and found him trembling slightly. I couldn’t be sure, but I thought I saw him tearing up a bit.

“C-Cal?” I stammered. God, I hated this. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for any of this to happen, I–”

“No, no, it’s okay. I just.. It freaks me out a bit, you know? This could have all gone a lot worse.” 

He was right. I was lucky things hadn’t been worse. I wanted to say something to make him feel better, but I couldn’t think of anything that would help. We sat there awkwardly until a sudden sound broke the tension.

“Huh’ehkshh’iuh.” I looked up in surprise to find Cal’s head ducked into his elbow, his face contorted with a pre-sneeze expression. He raised one finger to signal me to wait. As if, after all this time, I hadn’t gotten used to his routine.

I waited patiently for the two inevitable sneezes to follow. I almost felt embarrassed watching him build up to the sneeze, like I was intruding on something private. His face looked so helpless in that moment, so innocent.

Just as the door swung open, Cal snapped forward with the long awaited sneezes. “Eihkshhuu! Aik’TISHHhu!” Those sneezes had seemed a bit more forceful than usual. He shivered a bit, then seemed to go back to normal.

“Bless you,” the doctor mused. I was going to bless him, but it seemed the doctor had beaten me to it.

Cal’s face immediately went red. “Er, thanks,” he mumbled, suddenly quite interested in the floor.

“Alright. The nurse briefed me on what you told him, but I’d like to hear it myself, if that’s alright with you,” she offered. She had a warm smile, but her demeanor told me that she wasn’t to be underestimated.

Before I could even open my mouth, Cal interjected.

“Alrighty. So, here’s the scoop. She’s been super stuffed up, coughing like crazy—which has seriously messed with her lungs. She might need something for that, ‘cause her breathing sometimes makes her sound like Darth Vadar—and she’s been sneezing her head off. Like, she’ll be good for a while, and then, the flood begins. Armageddon arrives. And she just randomly sneezes her head off for like five minutes. Not like, five minutes nonstop. But just
 A lot in a short time frame, I guess. Like someone’s flipped a switch on her nose or something, and it’s like ALRIGHTY, IT’S SNEEZE TIME! Like there are little sinus soldiers—”

He paused for a moment, noticing that we were both staring at him with blank, dumbfounded expressions. “Sorry. That was a little off topic. ...Anyway, she decided she’s superwoman or something and refused to go home, even though she obviously needed to go home. It all started ‘cause she forgot to bring a jacket or an umbrella, which was so stupid, and she wouldn’t even borrow mine! And I offered her a perfectly good jacket, too! Well, actually, she apparently started feeling crappy this past weekend, which I didn’t know until now. But anyway. She started getting really out of it and her mind was all foggy and she got a really bad fever. Like, dip the thermometer in a puddle of magma or stick it in her mouth, and you’ll probably get the same reading. And she got really lightheaded and she kept doing this thing where she shut her eyes really tight, like she was in pain or something, or maybe she was just trying to get her bearings? Either way, whenever she did that, it just made everything worse. She almost passed out, multiple times, and I had to drag her ass back to my place, because her parents–” 

My stomach tightened with discomfort. He paused for a moment before continuing. “...Her parents were busy. So she’s been crashing at my place. She slept for practically a day straight. And before that, when we were leaving school, she got freakin’ soaked. Like, it was pouring rain. And at one point, I was trying to talk to her, but she was really confused and delirious, I guess, ‘cause she didn’t know who I was. The nurse might have already told you that part, but it’s important, so I wanted to make sure you heard it. Anyway, I had to tell you all this ‘cause she’s scared of doctors and stuff, and I knew she’d try and sell you some crap about being fine, because she never lets anyone worry about her, and she cares more about everyone else than she does about herself. So obviously, someone needs to look out for her. And I wanted to take her here yesterday. Hell, I wanted her to come here two freakin’ days ago! But she got scared and she was having really bad anxiety and I think she was having panic attacks, and just
” He took a deep breath, collecting himself. “But yeah. That’s the gist. Basically, she’s sick as hell.”

The doctor took a beat to soak that all in. This was probably a first for her. Having a patient’s overprotective friend explain their symptoms in the form of a spirited monologue.

“...Alright,” the doctor replied, finally. She typed a series of notes into her computer, jotting down what Cal had told her before looking back up.

The next ten minutes consisted of various tests and general check-up things, beginning with death by stethoscope. I tried to take deep breaths, but it felt like sipping a really thick milkshake out of a flimsy straw: it took way too long, required too much effort, and ultimately felt inexpedient.

The doctor began blathering about what was wrong with me, but I only processed some of it. Apparently I had a cold that got a hell of a lot worse and now I had a sinus infection, I think. Also, they said something about my asthma that I didn’t really hear or understand, but they made me do this weird breathing treatment that tasted like metallic crap and made my entire body shake. I was relieved when it all seemed to be over.

“And what about you?” Her gaze was fixed firmly on Calix.

“Me?” He looked rather taken aback. His brain processed for a moment before he seemed to understand. “Ohhh, ‘cause I was sneezing a little? Nah, I’m fine.”

“No, I’m asking because you said you’ve been taking care of her this whole time. Which means there’s a good chance you’ve caught whatever it is she has.”

“I feel fine,” he replied flatly.

“Humor me.”

“He has been sneezing a lot,” I offered hesitantly. 

“Well yeah, but from allergies.”

“What specifically are you allergic to?” the doctor inquired. Her hands hovered over the keyboard again in preparation for additional note-taking, which seemed to annoy Cal. “And why has this been a sudden issue for you?”

“I’m somewhat allergic to pollen. And it was only a problem ‘cause I had to pretend to be sick so I could take Elle home.”

The doctor looked perplexed. “Can you
 elaborate on that?”

Cal squirmed uncomfortably. He looked like a fly trapped inside a house, without the slightest inkling as to how to escape. He also seemed apprehensive, as if he was unsure whether to disclose certain information. “I stuck this little flower up my nose to make myself sneeze. ‘Cause, y’know. Desperate times. So yeah, obviously I was sneezing. And I know that was probably a dumb thing to do, but I had to.”

I timidly piped up again. “He also had a slight fever when we went to the nurse.”

“It was BARELY a fever!”

The doctor fished through her equipment and pulled out a thermometer.

“OH MY GOD, I’M FINE!” 

“Great. Then you should have nothing to worry about, because this should get a normal reading. Right?” With that, the doctor inserted the thermometer into his ear.

I did my best to stifle my laughter. Cal seethed silently beneath a veil of complacency. 

“Fine,” he grumbled, unable to argue with her logic.

We sat in awkwardly tense silence until the device emitted a series of rapid beeps. The doctor glanced at it and nonchalantly resumed typing her notes into her computer. Cal looked at her expectantly, though still attempting to appear indifferent.

With the doctor nonchalantly ignoring him, Cal’s eyes nearly popped out of his head. “Well?” he demanded suddenly.

The doctor feigned confusion. “Well what?”

I seriously thought Cal might have a conniption. He looked like he was going to burst at any moment. “Well, what’s my temperature!?”

I thought the doctor might milk the bit out longer, but she took pity on him and surrendered the answer. “100.7°.”

Cal deflated. “But
 I feel fine!”

“I doubt that.” She took a beat to consider before continuing. “If you’d like, we could speak in another room about this, as to not breach your confidentiality by discussing it in front of your
 friend.” My hair stood on end at her suggestive pause in that sentence. “But I cannot, in good conscience, allow you to simply walk out of here without being checked out.”

Cal hesitated. For a moment, I thought he was going to take her up on that offer, but we locked eyes and something in him seemed to give way. “No, it’s fine. We can discuss it here.” He took a deep breath before proceeding. “I guess I haven’t been feeling fantastic? I dunno. I really haven’t been paying attention.”

The doctor took this as, “Yes, please subject me to a string of random testing,” and did just that. When she was checking his breathing, I noticed Calix flinch.

“Does it hurt when you take a deep breath?” she inquired, raising a brow.

“No. I mean, yeah, it does, but not...” He groaned quietly. He was now actively avoiding eye contact with me. “It’s not because I’m sick.”

“Cal...” I began hesitantly.

“It’s not.” He was responding to me, but he wouldn’t look at me. Instead, he kept his gaze locked on the doctor. “It’s because I got in an accident, okay? It was really freakin’ minor and wasn’t a big dea—FUCK.” He winced as the doctor gently lay a hand on his side. 

“I’m
 guessing that hurts?” she inferred. She pointed at what she presumed to be the general area of impact. “May I take a look?” Cal reluctantly nodded and pulled up his shirt, revealing faint purplish red markings along his ribs. I felt my throat close up.

The doctor soaked in this information for a moment before informing Cal that they would need to do some x-rays and give him a formal checkup. Apparently, this also meant I ought to leave them and go back to the waiting room. I felt like I’d eaten a hive of bees.

“It’s okay, Elle. Just wait for me there and I’ll be out before you know it. I’m fine, I promise.” He tried to mask his fear with a reassuring smile and a wry wink. I tried to do the same, forcing a smile and a nod. I wanted to hug him, but I was afraid to hurt him, so I just paused for a moment before scurrying to the waiting room, then did precisely what the name implied.

(TBC...)

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Omg! I LOVE how he was called out in front of Elle! I can’t wait for more! Maybe he’ll continue hiding and denying that he’s catching anything..

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( @ickydog2006 It took a while, but the contagion is finally here. :thumbsupsmiley: 

@Puzzle Hehehe I'm glad you like that. And denial? Hmm. Who knows...? ;) )

 

Elle’s POV:

Eons seemed to pass as I waited for Calix. Sitting in an incredibly uncomfortable chair, wrapped in a blanket yet still extremely cold
 It wasn’t my ideal way of passing time.

Eventually, I must have fallen asleep, because I awoke to him gently rubbing my shoulder.

“Elle, wake up. The uber’s here.” 

I blinked a few times, the surroundings gradually coming into focus. “What did they say? Are you okay?” My words slurred together, as I was still a bit out of it from just having woken up.

“I’ll tell you on the way.” That
 wasn’t really an answer, but okay.

 

Cal’s POV:

I did my best to shut down Elle’s suspicions. Good god, she is annoying when she’s worried about someone. And I mean that in the nicest way possible.

“But your fever. You had a fever, so that means you probably did catch whatever I have.”

Damnit. I liked her better when she was loopy. She was a lot less observant that way. “Yeah, they said it was from the car crash. The, uh, the bruises on my ribs caused it, they said.” That part was actually true. Apparently, my body was overreacting and set itself on fire. ...Well, actually, it was gonna potentially get infected so the fever was just its way of telling the infection to go screw itself. But still.

I looked over at her, expecting to hear another pestering question. Instead, I saw her staring forward with a blank, sad look.

“Hey? You okay?” I placed a hand on her shoulder. Damn, the whole point of all this was to not worry her, and even still, she looked worried as all hell. 

“What happened with the car crash?”

Ah. That. “I...” There was no use lying about this too. She’d seen the bruises. She’d heard me admit it to the doctor. “When I was driving us to my house after we left school, I was
” Fuck, how was I gonna explain this? 

“I had just done the whole ‘I’m sick,’ thing for the nurse, and I forgot to get rid of the flower, so it sorta set me off while I was driving, and I went a little bit onto the curb. I had you get out of the car just to be safe, and I
” I sighed. This was excruciating to recount. I felt like I was peeling off my own skin. “I started sneezing again when I was backing out, and a car ended up hitting me. I mean, it was probably my fault–it was my fault–but yeah. That’s it. That’s the story.” I felt like I’d just walked out of confessional or something. Not that I have any experience doing that, but I imagine it would feel like you just regurgitated a bunch of crap you’re embarrassed about and then you feel like shit afterwards. Okay, that’s
 probably not what confessional is like. Whatever. I felt like shit.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” She didn’t sound upset or anything. She just sounded confused and kind of sad, which was somehow worse.

I shifted uncomfortably. A small part of me hoped for another car crash so I could escape this conversation.

“I felt bad. I was stupid and reckless and I could’ve gotten you killed. Wasn’t really a story I felt like telling.” I didn’t realize how tense I was until I felt Elle’s hand on my arm. I made a conscious effort to relax a bit, but I don’t think I was successful. 

“I’m sorry. That sounds really stressful.” Damnit, why was she apologizing to me?! I’m the one who put her in harm’s way.

My brain tried to form a comforting response, but instead, something in me blurted out, “Yeah, no shit.” Great. Now I’m an asshole. 

“I don’t think you did anything wrong. It wasn’t your fau—”

“God, could you just give it a fucking rest?” I didn’t even feel like my voice was coming out of me anymore. It was like I was hearing a recording of myself being a jerk.

“Huh’IShhieuu!” Aaand then there was that. Fan-freakin’-tastic. As Elle timidly withdrew her hand, I waited for the inevitable follow-up sneezes. They decided to take their sweet time coming, which left me with that obnoxious tickling sensation for a hot minute. After hovering my hand stupidly in front of my face for way too long, I finally felt the sneezes creep up on me. “Hih’iihkkshuu. Huh’uhpshhu!” 

She didn’t bless me, which didn’t surprise me since I’d just snapped at her. We sat there in awkward silence for the duration of the drive and remained that way as we entered the house. 

“Elle...” She turned around to face me and I realized I had nothing prepared to say. So I just stood there, staring at her stupidly. 

After a while, she decided to speak. “I’m kind of tired, so I’m gonna get some sleep.”

My heart sank. “But, you haven’t had dinner–”

“It’s okay! I’m not that hungry.” That was a total lie. She hadn’t eaten in over a day. She just didn’t want to bother me. But it didn’t bother me to give her food! Ugh. 

“Thank you for driving me to urgent care. Or-taking me,” she corrected quickly, seeming flustered. She was choosing her words carefully so she wouldn’t piss me off. That’s the same way I’ve heard her talk to her parents. Fuck.

“Er, anyway. Thanks. I appreciate it. Sorry that I’m turning in early.”

“Don’t fucking apologize–” It took me a second to realize I was speaking out loud instead of in my head. And that definitely did not come off the right way. Hell, I wasn’t sure there was even a good way that could have come off.

She stared back at me and I could swear she looked scared of me. She offered me a small, timid smile and retreated to my room. I felt like punching a wall. 

Just then, my mom decided to grace the world with her presence. “Hi Cal! How are you feeling? What did the doctor say?”

“God, just
” I pressed my lips firmly together so I wouldn’t say anything else stupid, because I could feel I was about to. Instead, I barged into my room, grabbed some headphones, and stormed out of the house. 

I had no idea what my goal or intention was. I just started running. I was mad and embarrassed and frustrated and I didn’t know how to fix any of it. I just ran. The wind whipped by my ears, the frigid breeze beating against my arms. Because I’m fucking brilliant and I forgot to bring a jacket. Yep. Sounds about right. 

I don’t know how long I was running. I finally stopped against my will when my ribs felt like they were on fire. I could distinctly hear the doctor’s voice telling me to avoid strenuous activity and all that crap. That made me want to run even more. Run away from all of this shit. But it fucking hurt and I couldn’t. For a second, I thought it was starting to rain, but then I realized I was crying. I didn’t even have the energy for a spiteful mental response to that. The street seemed to spin a bit and my side was definitely trying to kill me. For the perfect pathetic end to this pathetic day, I called an uber to pick me up and drive me home from my little tantrum, wasting even more money that I didn’t have. 

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This is getting more interesting! Poor Calix is going to make himself worse. I also love the way Calix’s sneezes are written! Can’t wait for the next part!

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The characters are amazing and the story is so new and fresh. You have a great writing style, very good to read and so energetic. I especially love Calix and I hope that not just his illness but his allergies will be discovered even more throughout this installment. I'll be waiting for a new update, I freakin' love it!Â đŸ€©

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I am enjoying this SO much! 

 

That was a comment I apparently didn't submit last time đŸ€Šâ€â™€ïž

BUT I am still loving this, I get so excited for updates. I particularly like Calix's pov but I am looking forward to his care.

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( @ickydog2006 Aww I'm glad! Honestly, I'm wayyy too invested in this as well, so it's good to hear that it's not just me 😂

@Puzzle Hm? Cal? Make himself worse? What? Totaaalllyyy not planning that at allll.Â đŸ€”

@glitter_ Thank you so much ❀ That means a lot to me, seriously. And as for allergies, who knowsss? ;) 

@Seeker LOL no worries! And aww yay! Y'all are seriously the reason I'm writing this. Your support and kind words mean a lot to me.

Oof. Everyone loves Cal. No love for Elle. 😂 Hopefully she's still a redeemable character LOL. Here's a quick update for ya! Dw, the next part shall be longer. The length depends on what's going on with them and where I feel like the "chapter" should end.)

 

Cal’s POV:

When I got home, I managed to slap together some half-assed apology to my mom and agreed to eat some dinner. I explained the gist of the car situation without necessarily mentioning the details. 

I didn’t feel pissed off anymore. I just felt
 off.

When I went into my room, I found a small pile of things on my dresser. I sifted through them and determined they were things Elle figured I might need, given the accident. Damnit. Even when I was an ass to her, she was still a fucking gem. 

I wasn’t sure where she’d found all of this, but she’d covered all the bases. She even rummaged up some aloe vera, arnica and ace bandages for the bruises. She was such a sweetheart. It was infuriating.

I turned to face her but was surprised not to find her on my bed. I was about to go check the couch when I found her curled up on the floor like a cat. Ugh. I was supposed to be the one taking care of her. Not the other way around. 

I bent down to pick her up so I could move her to my bed. But as soon as I lifted her, a stabbing pain went through my ribs again. In my stupidity, I’d managed to wake her up. 

She looked at me, confused and still kind of out of it. 

“Uhm
 You can sleep on the bed. If you want.”

She took a second to process this. “But you’re hurt. You need a bed.” Though her words were slurred, her logic was sound.

“Oh. Um. We could
 It’s a big bed.” God, I sounded like a moron.

She did that eye-scrunching-thinking thing that always scared the shit out of me, then nodded. “...Okay.”

“I, um. I can’t lift you right now,” I explained awkwardly. She registered what I was telling her and brought herself to her feet, wobbly making her way to the bed and climbing in.

“Did you, uh.. Did you take any medicine?” She shook her head. I poured a little capful of Nyquil and handed it to her. She downed it like a shot and her eyes almost immediately started to droop. It was like something out of a cartoon, like it had somehow instantly taken effect. 

I turned off the lights and awkwardly changed into sleep-appropriate clothing before getting into the bed. For a while, I couldn’t get myself to relax. We’d done the same thing the night before, but it wasn’t the same thing at all. Before, she’d been half-dead and I was scared to get a wink of sleep unless she was like half a foot away from me, and even then, I kept waking up to check on her. Now, we were both more or less coherent and aware of the situation and it was stressing me out.

She seemed a bit tense at first too, but probably because she still thought I was mad at her. After a while, I could feel her shaking. I looked over at her and figured she was probably mostly asleep but still a bit aware. I tried to pull more covers over her, but it didn’t have much of an effect. 

“Hey. You okay?” No response. I figured as much. Eventually, I drifted slightly closer and wrapped my arms around the shivering girl. I felt her relax within my arms. Finally.

I wondered if she could feel my heart racing against her back as I held her close. When she finally stopped shivering, I started to let go, but she let out this really quiet sound of objection. I melted into a puddle then and there. I continued holding her, only turning away when a rouge bout of coughing or stray sneeze snuck up on me here and there.

I felt the anger and confusion and pain from before melt away as I held onto her. She was like a drop of golden food coloring in a glass of water. She just made everything feel warmer and better and safe. We fell asleep like that, with her in my arms, finally at peace.

(TBC...)

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

No love fï»żorï»żï»ż Ellï»żeï»ż.Â ï»żï»ż

I don’t know about anyone else, but I LOVE Elle. I feel so bad for her with her family life and I am so here for Cal+Elle

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I dont dislike Elle...I feel sorry for her, she was in a tough spot. I just like Cal's general narration, maybe felt more reliable when Elle's fever made everything distorted or just his personality is more relatable. But now he's heading down her track...and I love it 😈

Edited by Seeker
đŸ€Šâ€â™€ïž
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  • 2 weeks later...

( @ickydog2006 @Puzzle LOL I gotchu ;) 

@chronic reader @glitter_ Okay yay! That makes me happy! ❀ 

@Seeker That's valid, I can totally see that!

Here's the next part! I couldn't find a stopping place so it took a while to finish this next part, but it's quite long, so I feel it evens out LOL. Hope you enjoy!)

 

Elle’s POV:

I woke up to find Cal’s arms around me. If it had been anyone else, I would have found that quite unnerving. But it was Cal, and all I felt was safe.

Since I couldn’t move without waking him up, and I figured he could really use some sleep, I stayed put. Plus, I was still fairly sure there was more going on that he wasn’t telling me about. All the more reason for him to get rest.

Lying there in his arms, I could feel heat rise in my cheeks. I suddenly felt nervous and very self conscious yet oddly peaceful at the same time. It was a wildly confusing sensation and I didn’t understand it one bit. All I knew was that I didn’t want it to end.

Cal’s breathing got kind of weird all of a sudden. I got confused, turning over to face him. Then I saw that his breath was hitching. I waited for him to pitch forward with his usual three-part fit, but he didn’t. He just lied there, his mouth awkwardly hanging open as his breaths grew in intensity. 

I wasn’t sure what to do to help this situation. For a while, I just stared at his dopey pre-sneeze expression. I could tell he was still technically asleep, though his nose was definitely awake. 

I reached over and grabbed a tissue from the box on the nightstand. I decided to hold it over his mouth and nose until the sneezes came. However, the sneezes never came. Instead, I ended up spending a long period of time listening to the helpless sounding buildups that poured out of the sleeping boy. They slowly became louder and needier, and I knew I had to intervene. I tried to tickle his nose with the corner of the tissue, but it didn’t seem to work. I mean, it seemed to make his nose more tickly, but it didn’t help him get the sneezes out.

“Heeihh.. heeEIH! HIH! HUIH
!” I switched to using my finger to stimulate his nose, tracing his nostrils with the tip of my fingernail. It seemed to be working, but I couldn’t really tell one way or the other. 

At least, not until he suddenly broke into a tired string of sneezes. “Huh’uhkshhu. Huh’uhpshhuu, uhkshhiew!” I caught each one with the tissue, making sure to be gentle. After the third sneeze, I lowered the tissue, assuming he was done. And, well. You know what they say about assuming things.

“Huh’UHkshhiew, ehtshhuu!” Since I’d lowered the tissue, the wet sneezes ended up spraying me in the face, which made me blush a bit. 

I frowned, concerned. While my stupid nose would send me into random fits of sneezing, Cal’s didn’t usually do that. This was unusual. I mean, sneezing in your sleep is already pretty unusual, but
 I dunno. This was a different unusual. And the two different unusuals probably didn’t add up to anything good. 

Finally, Sleeping Beauty decided to wake up. He seemed confused as to what was going on, but then he seemed to get a general idea of what had happened, blinking repeatedly in an attempt to clear his head and wake up.

“Did I
 Was I just
?” He dropped his gaze, apparently not wanting to hear the answer. 

“...Good morning,” I chuckled, amused by his out-of-it expression.

As his eyes became more focused and he grew more coherent, I suddenly remembered we were lying in bed together. That, coupled with the events of the previous day, made me quite unsure of how to proceed. Not to mention that Cal still had an arm wrapped around me.

My eyes got lost in his and my heart started racing. Despite the odd tension yesterday, things seemed completely different now. Though we were silent, more seemed to be said in that moment than in the past few days. 

Here I was, lying next to my best friend of however many years. I could fill an encyclopedia with all the things I knew about him. His ridiculous fashion sense that made me genuinely wonder if he was colorblind, not to mention that smurf jacket! So many articles of clothing that, separately, were valid. But together? They just formed chaos. Pure chaos. And he would never see the light about that. 

Then there was his incredible stubbornness that might even outmatch mine, which was definitely saying something. I once saw him hang upside-down for seven minutes just to prove a point. I don’t even remember what that point was, but it surely wasn’t worth how crappy he felt afterward.

Even just the little things. The way his eyes almost seemed to sparkle a bit when he got excited, like he was a freakin’ Disney princess or something. How he could convey a paragraph’s worth of information in one little expression from across the room, and I always knew exactly what he meant. His fear of rabbits and how he would, rather than acknowledging it was completely unfounded and ridiculous, simply double down and insist that I was the weird one for not fearing innocent little fluffy bunny rabbits. 

And then there was his loyalty. His amazing, unconditional loyalty. Even for people like me, who absolutely did not deserve it. I was terrified he’d realize it, too. That I didn’t deserve his friendship. That he’d probably be better off without me in his life. Part of me was convinced that he’d eventually drop me like the dead weight that I am and find some better friends. And the thing is, I wouldn’t even blame him if he did. I wouldn’t even be mad. I’d just
 sink.

It was easier not to care. It was easier to be flippant and aloof and brush him off and make jokes. Gosh, it was so much easier to make jokes. To just run out the clock with humor before he could realize what a shit hand he’d been dealt to have me as his best friend. And in the slightest chance that he viewed me as anything
 more than that? If there was even a glimmer of a possibility
 Well, what was I supposed to do then? Risk losing everything on the ridiculous notion that someone like him could be happy with someone like me? It’d be the end of everything. Everything between us, at least. 

I couldn’t say any of this to him, or to anyone else. They’d think I was seeking validation or something. I guess I did need validation, but not about that. I needed to be told that I would be okay. That if I lost him
 I would survive it. Because frankly, I wasn’t sure if I would.

I managed to keep myself from looking away, though everything in me wanted to. Between the odd, inexplicable moment we’d just shared and the weird, angry energy from the day before, all of the alarms in my brain were telling me to hide under a blanket and run out of the room. Well, maybe not in that order. 

But I didn’t. I didn’t look away and I didn’t run and I didn’t hide. 

His face started scrunching up, his eyebrows knitting together. At first I was confused, but I quickly understood what was happening. 

He turned away, his lips parting. “Huh’ihksshhuu!” With his arm still draped across me, he was unable to cover the sneeze. I quickly repositioned to free his arm. He consequently withdrew the arm and used it to cover his mouth and nose as he crumpled forward with the remaining sneezes. “Huh’uhkkshuu. Hah’uhpshhiew!” His sneezes sounded itchier and more labored than usual, and I could tell it was taxing on his ribs.

“Bless you,” I offered. “Are you
 feeling okay?” I felt my stomach squirm as I asked, and I knew he wouldn’t give me a straight answer.

“Yeah. It was just a few sneezes, dummy.”

“Well, more than a few.”

“God, you’re such a worrywart. Don’t worry. I just get really sneezy in the morning. I dunno why that is, actually.” He ruffled my hair as he spoke.

I couldn’t really contest that, since I never see him when he’s just woken up. Aside from right now, of course. Nevertheless, I wasn’t convinced, but I decided to drop it for now.

“So. Are you done being pissed at the world?” 

He looked surprised by my bluntness, but he knew it was warranted.

“I’m sorry for being an ass yesterday. I was just...”

“It’s okay. I know. You were stressed.” A long beat of silence passed. “But, um
 We’re okay?” I confirmed, feeling my heart beat out of my fucking chest.

“Yeah, silly. I just get sorta moody when I don’t feel good.”

I stared back at him with milk saucers for eyes. “Did you
 Did the Great Calix of Nonsicklihood just admit that he wasn’t feeling well? Did that just happen? Please tell me someone got that on video.”

“No, dumbass. I mean ‘cause my ribs hurt.” Oh. Yeah, okay. That made sense. 

“But really though, you’ve been sneezing a lot lately.”

“From allergies. We’ve been over this. This is old news.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? From allergies?” My voice was deadpan. “Unless you have some flowers hidden in your room, that’s bullshit.”

“I guess I’m allergic to you, then,” he replied with a shrug.

I wanted to smack him. He was so flippant about these things.

“Elle. I’m fine. I don’t get sick.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yup. I just decide not to get sick and then I don’t.”

“So you admit that you’re at least getting sick?”

“Literally the opposite.”

“But you said you decide not to get sick. Which means you must have felt yourself starting to get sick, then made an executive decision not to be sick.”

He paused for a moment, trying to work through that statement. “...I don’t entirely know what you just said. But no.”

“Mhm. Sure. Whatever. You’re sick,” I said nonchalantly, knowing that would tick him off.

“No! Don’t go being all smug and thinking you’re right! You’re not right! I’m not sick!”

“Yeah. Sure. Whatever you say.”

“Noooo.” He put his hands on my shoulders and turned me around so I was facing him, his face fairly close to mine. “I. Ammm. Noooot. Siiiiick.” He stretched out each word as much as humanly possible, which was incredibly annoying. Just then, his face started scrunching up. Before I could get out of his grasp, he turned to the side. 

“Huh’IHkkshhu. IHKshhiew. Heh
!” Though his head was turned sideways, I still felt a good portion of the spray hit my face. He withdrew one of his arms and muffled the second sneeze into it. However, the third sneeze didn’t want to come out.

“You know what? You’re right. You’re not sick. I don’t know what I was thinking. And you obviously don’t have to sneeze, right?”

“Sh.. Shut uh.. huh... HUh
!”

“Sorry, what was that?” I teased.

His face froze in that cartoony pre-sneeze expression for a while before scrubbing his nose angrily. “Ugh. It went away. I hate that.”

I frowned. That was a genuinely frustrating sensation, and I could definitely empathize. “Aww. Sorry about that.” I paused before adding another little comment, unable to help myself. “Also, sorry that you’re sick.”

He glared at me in a mostly joking manner. “If you don’t shut up. I will sneeze on you.”

“You’ve already been sneezing on me. This is nothing new.”

His face suddenly went as red as his nose. “No I haven’t!” he insisted, clearly embarrassed by the prospect. He absolutely had been sneezing on me a lot lately, but I let it go. I didn’t want to embarrass him and, besides, I was guilty of the same thing.

“Alright then. Go ahead. Sneeze on me,” I dared him.

He leaned in close to me, his face practically touching mine. His nostrils flared overdramatically in preparation for the sneezy tempest that was apparently awaiting me. He took a few deep inhales, and I flinched, bracing myself. However, nothing ended up happening.

“Damnit. The one time I don’t have to sneeze.”

“Ha! Karma!” I chided, grinning triumphantly.

“Next time I sneeze, I’m sneezing on you. And it will be terrible. And you will die.”

“Because there will be a next time. Because you’re sick.”

“No, because ALLERGIES. And because shut up and because fuck you.”

“You’ve literally sneezed ten times today.”

“You’ve been counting?”

“Dude, it’s all been in the past, like, fifteen minutes. It wasn’t hard to keep track. Deadass, though, Cal. You should take it easy. Especially since...” I trailed off, not wanting to mention the car situation. “Just
 Don’t be stupid, okay?”

“Whatever. Let’s get breakfast.”

I swear, he had the attention span of a squirrel. Well, at least he had an appetite. That was a good sign, right?

Unsurprisingly, Cal’s stellar breakfast choice was a donut. a DONUT. I don’t even know how he had access to a donut, but there it was. The breakfast of champions. 

I opted for some cereal. Normally, I’d indulge in some sugary breakfast, but I still felt like crap and I didn’t want to risk feeling even worse.

As I pawed at some Cheerios, Cal appeared to be trying to brush through his hair with his fingers. 

“How long does it take you to get ready?” he asked suddenly. Whelp. That was random.

“Um, depends? Like, you mean in the morning?” He nodded. “Uh, prolly like fifteen minutes?” 

Without even acknowledging my response, he looked up as if there were something interesting floating around on the ceiling. I assumed he was doing some sort of math in his head.

“Okay. In that case, we should probably be able to get to school by second period. We’re definitely gonna miss zero and first period though.” My eyes almost popped out of my head. Was he kidding? 

“Uh. Cal?”

“Whah?” he replied, his mouth half-filled with donut.

I was about to insist that there was no way in hell I was letting him go to school with him hurt like this. Not to mention that he had a fever and I wasn’t convinced that it was just from his ribs. If he was getting sick, I didn’t have his Get Out of Jail Free card of having an escape vehicle waiting in the wings. And it wasn’t like we could take his. Granted, we could just contact his parents, but something told me this kid was gonna be particularly stubborn. 

Okay. I couldn’t go about this directly. So, I’d have to go with the absolute worst option. Well, the best of all the horrible options, but this specific option was distinctly crappy for other reasons.

“I don’t know if I’m feeling up to going back just yet,” I informed him, hoping he couldn’t see through my bullshit. I mean, it was true. I still felt like shit. My head hadn’t totally stopped spinning, my throat was killing me, and I was fairly certain I could sneeze away a small village. But in no universe would any of that stop me from going back to school, especially now that the meds that were starting to really help. 

“You okay?” His eyebrows knit together as he placed his hand against my forehead. “You’re still pretty warm.” Shit, really? Well, I guess that worked in my favor. I tried not to look surprised.

“Yeah. I think I need to rest one more day before going back.” I was surprised my lips didn’t shrivel up and crawl away from the blasphemy that was passing through them. To make my false claim convincing, I turned away, bending into a coughing fit. I meant to just cough a tiny bit, but it ended up triggering something and I actually coughed a shit ton. I guess that helped prove my point, but it hurt like hell.

“Jesus. Okay, yeah, maybe you should stay home,” he agreed, ruffling my hair again. 

Thank goodness.

As I continued to pick at my cereal, Cal disappeared into his room and, a couple of painful sounding grunts later, he had returned in different clothing. Not quite stay-at-home clothes, but hey, to each their own. 

It wasn’t until he grabbed his backpack that I realized there still may be an issue. 

“Um, Cal? What’re you doing?”

“...Going to school? I thought we already talked about this. Maybe you’re sicker than I thought,” he teased, pretending to check my fever but instead scuffling up my hair for the bajillionth time that day.

Whelp. It would seem my efforts to keep him here hadn’t been terribly effective. Greeaat.

I racked my brain for another idea, but I knew that suddenly trying out a totally different tactic would raise too much suspicion. With a sinking feeling, I realized I needed to double down on my initial ploy. Of course, I’d rather lather myself in barbeque sauce and jump into a den of lions, but whatever.

“Would you mind staying here with me?” I could feel the self-hatred sizzling holes into my skin. It took conscious effort not to cringe as I eked out my next statement. “I’d feel better if you were here with me.” 

He gave me a funny look and raised an eyebrow. After a moment, he started chuckling. “You’re silly. You’ll be fine. Your big, scary cold will not eat you before I get back from school.”

I wanted to snap his arm off and hit him with it. Instead, I opted for the less violent option of logic and reasoning. Pretending an idea had just occurred to me, I feigned surprise and sudden realization. “Oh wait! We can’t go back. We both had fevers yesterday, and you have to be afebrile for 24 hours before returning to school.” He gave me a blank, confused look. I sighed, realizing my mistake. “You have to be fever-free for a whole day before going back.”

He frowned, distressed by this development. I felt relief sink in as I–

“Wait! They don’t know we had a fever yesterday, so we’re technically in the clear!”

I spoke too soon. “Well, I mean, technically we’re not in the clear, but...”

“Whatever! It’s fine. I’m going. Peace out.”

I groaned inwardly as I uttered an idiotic sentiment. “I guess I’ll come too, then.”

He looked confused by this, which was valid. “Why? I thought you were staying home today? Well, not home, but
 not at school.” 

“I dunno. I feel weird about being alone in your house.” That was actually true. It made me feel like a weird house-squatting burglar criminal person. 

He pondered on this for a moment before shrugging. “I mean, if you want to come with me, I won’t argue with you.” He slung his backpack over his shoulder and grimaced, clutching his side. 

Alright. That did it. “Cal. You’re not going to school today.”

“Uh, okay? Thanks, mom?” He continued toward the door and I had to physically block him to make him stop. 

“Cal. You’re hurt. You had a fever.” I checked his forehead before frowning. “You still have a fever. And, like it or not, I’m pretty sure you’re getting sick. That is, if you aren’t sick already.”

He gave an eye roll that even rivaled my own over-dramaticness, which was saying something. “Oh my gosh, Elle. How many times do I have to say that I’m fine?! I’ve already been ‘resting’ for like two days while I was taking care of you. You’re welcome, by the way.” I didn’t like the tone he’d just used. “People get hurt. That doesn’t mean they spend a million years lying in bed like a corpse while their life passes them by.”

“Well obviously, but that doesn’t mean you should work yourself into the ground.”

“Dude, just
 get out of the way and let me go to school.”

“No.” I sincerely hoped he couldn’t see me shaking a bit as I said that. Regular Cal was a dork, but Pissed Off Cal was intimidating. 

“Elle, I..” At first, I thought he was trying to think of precisely how to verbally tear me a new one, but then I realized he was fighting back a sneeze. 

I stood there waiting for him to finish, praying to whatever higher power that was looking over us that the painful irony of this moment would not be lost on Cal. His face contorted with the building itch, his absurdly long eyelashes fluttering in anticipation. 

“Huh’eshhiew! Heh..! Heh’ihkshhuu! Hheh
 HEH! I- hueh
”

“Bless you,” I remarked softly, purposefully interjecting before his third sneeze. In my defense, it was taking forever to come out and it almost felt ridiculous to wait. 

He glared at me, scrubbing his nose. It would seem that the third sneeze didn’t want to come out. “Shut up,” he muttered, sniffling wetly.

“Cal, you obviously don’t feel well. Just stay home. Please.”

“For the love of
 Gosh, it’s allergies! What do I need to do, prove it to you?!”

Before I could respond, Cal stormed off into the kitchen. I knew it would be naive to think maybe he was agreeing to stay home. 

I followed him into the kitchen and my suspicion was confirmed. However, I hadn’t anticipated just how idiotic his plan would be.

“Cal, what are you–”

“Huh’eshhiuuu! Ehk’shhieew! S-Sih.. See?” The idiot boy had stuffed his face into a bushel of flowers that his mom presumably put in the kitchen for aesthetic purposes. I knew he was trying to prove a point, but this was just plain stupid. I already knew he had allergies. He didn’t need to prove that! And it wasn’t like his having allergies meant he couldn’t also be sick. This idiotic display accomplished nothing.

“I didn’t mean that you don’t have allergies. You obviously do. But–”

“Huh’ISSHhiu. Heh’kshhiew!” He pitched forward with each sneeze, his side clearly giving him grief with each harsh sneeze.

Without thinking about it, I appeared next to him. My hands instinctively held his shoulders to stabilize him, feeling the powerful tensing of his muscles against my fingers.

“Easy. Bless you.”

“God, Elle, I.. hih.. hih’IShhiew! ...I kdow how to fucking sdeeze,” he snapped. Jeez, this kid was seriously moody when he wasn’t feeling well.

My instinct was to get offended, but I swallowed that impulse like a bitter pill and opted for a different approach. “Nope. C’mon. Here we go.”

I began guiding him back to his room. As would be expected, he flailed in protest, all while doing a poor job of holding back a sneeze, his breath hitching wildly.

I snatched the thermometer from the top of his dresser and stuck it in his mouth. 

“ELLE. I have tih
 h-hih
!” I rolled my eyes at the ridiculous, panting boy, and fastened my pointer finger beneath his wriggling nose. I frowned, quickly realizing the flaw in my logic.

“Um
 Alright. You have to breathe, so
 Keep your mouth open a little bit, I guess? But keep the thermometer under your tongue?” I would’ve released his nose, but I was 90% certain that I’d be in the mega splash zone of that sneezing fit and I figured I ought to do my best to avoid that happening. Well, this time, at least. At this rate, I needed to get one of those ponchos from SeaWorld.

“Eh'knnshh'iuh. Kssh'uh.” Despite my best efforts, two little half-sneezes slipped out of him. I could feel the delicate spray gush against my finger, but I didn't say anything. Almost immediately after that, the thermometer started buzzing. Just my luck.

“I told you I'd sdeeze od you,” he replied stuffily. Beneath his triumphant grin, I could tell he was embarrassed by what had just happened. 

As soon as the device had gone off, I could tell that he was still indeed feverish. The thermometer always emitted fast, aggressive-sounding beeps when it read a temperature that’s over a certain threshold. 

Not knowing this particular tidbit of information, Cal waited with his arms crossed as if expecting to prove me wrong and somehow wind up with a suitable temperature.

“I don’t know what you were hoping for, but your temp is 101.2°. Back to bed, bucko. Let’s go.”

“Do, Elle–”

“Shhhhhh.” I pointed sternly at the straggled clump of blankets that he called a bed and waited for him to comply. Eventually, he grumbled something under his breath and reluctantly flopped onto the bed.

(TBC...)

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(Here's the next part! Lmk if you have anything specific you wanna see in the coming parts, and I'll see if I can work it in. ;))

Cal’s POV:

“I dod’t get what the problem is!”

“You’re home sick! You should be in bed!”

“Do, I’b dot hobe sick. I’b bei’g held captive by ad overprotective ludatic. I’b basically od house arrest.”

“Like you’re one to talk.”

“Look, just because you’re sick doesd’t bead I ab.”

“Okay, fair. On the flip side, just because I’m sick doesn’t mean you aren’t.”

“Huh’uhkshhiew!”

“CASE IN POINT!”

“Shhhh. You’re so loud.” I fumbled around for her face like she was an alarm clock. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a snooze button.

I soon withdrew my hand and used it to cover my mouth as a bout of coughing overcame me. Fuuuuck that hurt. 

“Cal—”

“It’s fide. I’b taki’g it easy like you said, okay? I’b just also doi’g hobework.” It was true. All I was doing was sitting at the kitchen table and catching up on the shit I was missing.

“Normally it takes forever to get you to sit down and do your homework. Now you’re doing it willingly? And you expect me to think that that’s normal?” 

“Huh’uhkshhiew. UHKshhiuew.” 

“Twenty-two.”

I looked at her in confusion. “Whah?”

“Twenty-two. That’s how many times you’ve sneezed today.”

“God, stop counting!”

“Okay, then stop sneezing.”

I groaned, but was unable to think of a comeback. My head was too foggy. From the painkillers, of course. Nothing else.

“You’re not even sneezing in threes anymore. You’ve broken the rules of Cal.”

“What cad I say? I’b a rulebreaker.” I tried my winning smile on her, but it didn’t work.

“Cal. Seriously. You’re not dumb. You know you’re sick. You got pissed at me for doing exactly what you’re doing right now. So, I don’t get it. What gives?”

“Elle, dod’t get so worked up. I’b fide. You dod’t have to take care of me, or whatever.”

I had a bad feeling that would press a button for her and get her all pissy, but it didn’t. Her expression just looked calm and resolved.

“You’re sneezing your head off. You look like hell. You’re burning up.”

I shifted uncomfortably, breaking eye contact with the obnoxiously observant blonde.

After I was silent for a bit, she spoke up again. “Cal. I’m gonna worry about you. That’s my job. Now please, please just be honest with me.”

I waited aloofly for her to say more, but was instead met with a particularly forceful bout of coughing from Elle. This was nothing new. I knew she was sick. I waited to speak until she had finished, but was surprised by how long it seemed to last. 

“You okay? Do you need water, or...?”

“‘M fine,” she finally mumbled, holding a hand to her throat for a moment as she winced ever so slightly.

“You sure?” She nodded. “Whed’s the dext tibe you can take DayQuil?” I implored, figuring her meds were probably wearing off by now.

“Uh
 I dunno.”

“Well whed was the last tibe you took it?” She was a pretty meticulous person. As soon as she’d been feeling well enough, she’d started making little charts to make sure she didn’t accidentally take a dose too early. 

She took a surprisingly long time to respond, her attention suddenly shifting to the floor. “Uhm
 Earlier this morning, I think.”

My expression hardened. “Elle. You did take DayQuil today, right?”

She squirmed uncomfortably. And there was my answer.

“God dabbit, Elle. Seriously?”

“I was gonna! But I can’t stay alert when I’m taking that stuff.”

“So? You’re sick! Your only job is sleeping!”

She scoffed softly. “No. Apparently, my job is to follow you around and make sure your dumb ass doesn’t drop dead because you won’t learn from my mistakes and just admit you don’t feel well!”

“Oh,” was all I could manage to say. I hadn’t considered that my actions would affect her in that way. Damn. “I’b sorry, I didd’t bead to–”

“I’m not mad at you. I just want you to freakin’ take care of yourself.”

Now it was my turn to scoff. “Look who’s talking.”

“And we saw how that turned out, didn’t we?”

“I’b fide, okay? You dod’t have to worry about be.”

“Yes, I do.” She sounded tired. Drained. Fuck. I felt bad now.

“Look, I kdow, okay? I kdow I’b sick. But it’s dot that bad.”

“It is though, Cal.” 

“I’ve had worse,” I replied with a shrug. Honestly though, I couldn’t recall the last time I’d felt this shitty and sick.

“Can you please go back to bed? For me?”

I narrowed my eyes, contemplating. “I guess. If you do too.”

She shifted in her seat. “Fine. As long as you’re taking care of yourself, then yeah.” 

I grinned, ruffling her hair. “Good!”

She led me to my bed and I slipped into it, fairly exhausted. She disappeared for a moment, then returned with a bottle of orange liquid and sat beside me on the bed.

“Ooo, it’s really a party dow!”

“Shut up and take this, alright?” She pretended to be annoyed, but I could tell she was fighting back a smile. “I called my sister, and she said it shouldn’t have any reaction with the painkillers for your ribs. It will make you a bit loopy, though.”

I frowned. While I was typically a lovable buffoon, much like a puppy that is too dumb to train, I wasn’t very keen on the idea of being that out of it. 

“Do thagks.”

Her expression hardened. “Sorry, let me rephrase. You’re taking this.”

My brow furrowed as I tried to read her expression. I couldn’t determine if she was bluffing.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

“Alright, alright. Edough with the old timey detective talk. Gibbe.” I flinched at the congestion in that last word. I reached out to take the capful of Dayquil she had poured, but I ended up swatting her in the face instead. 

“Yeaaah, why don’t you let me handle this?” As I was in no position to argue, I nodded in resignation, opening my mouth a bit as she poured in the sappy liquid. It tasted like expired mint mixed with fruit. Absolutely disgusting.

I gave her a stern look until she begrudgingly took a shot of DayQuil herself.

Worn out from our squabble, I flopped my head on her shoulder. I didn’t remember making a decision to readjust myself, but I somehow ended up snuggled up to her like a cat. I was too tired to rectify this, so I just stayed put. Besides, she was like a comfy pillow.

She adjusted slightly, and I could feel her fingers running through my hair. It felt nice.

A sudden fit of coughing overcame me. I muffled it into my arm and winced. It really fucking hurt. I felt Elle rubbing my back in small circles, and I relaxed into the sensation.

“Thagk you,” I mumbled softly. My brows furrowed as I saw a white square obstruct my vision. It took me a moment to realize it was a tissue.

“Blow your nose. You sound ridiculous.” I chuckled softly and complied, knowing I sounded absurdly stuffed up.

“Better now?” I asked, gazing up at her with my head still resting on her shoulder.

“Better,” she agreed. “Now get some sleep.”

“Fiiiine.” I snuggled closer to her and she put her arm around me. It felt nice and warm and safe. Wow, I must be sicker than I’d realized if I was saying this stuff. Still though. It was true.

“Sheesh. You got so pissy,” I noted.

“No I didn’t!” she objected. “I just don’t like seeing you sick.”

I started laughing really softly under my breath.

“What? What is it?” she inquired.

“Hah. You’re a softie.”

“Shut up.”

“You aaaareee. You caaaare about me.”

“Not even a little.” Even in my compromised state, I could tell she was putting considerable effort into keeping herself from breaking into a smile.

It didn’t take long for me to fall asleep like that, flopped into Elle’s embrace.

(TBC...)

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