Female *untitled* (f-a now, m-i later)

[DanniSneeze]

These two are so adorableeeeee

[RipleyToo]

Omg they are both too cute!! Love sick Oliver!

[dominchoo]

dont come for me... i feel bad too lol

it's crazy short, but I promise theres lots of sneezes and plot stuff ahead 

i feel so bad leaving for a bit then coming back with no snz oops

anyways enjoy 

 

 

3 days until my family reunion. I had a plethora of clothes shopping to do - both for myself and for Oliver - and I still had to plan out what to do for makeup and hair. I was so focused on fake-dates, and classes that I almost forgot why we were fake-dating. 

Hey fbf! Meet me in lot F in 15! Bring your wallet. Or don’t, I can sugar-mama you 😜

That’s what I decided to text him this morning at ten o’clock. It was a long shot he’d even be up, but we needed to get moving, knowing that getting in for custom suit and dress fittings would be tight. Especially this close to a big event. And, you know, I was anxious to see him after yesterday. I arrived at the lot promptly at 10:15. A minute later, I called him. 

“Where the hell are you?” I asked, a bit more pointed than intended. 

“What?” Oliver’s husky morning voice replied. God that was nearly enough to shake my resolve. Nearly.

“I texted you fifteen minutes ago saying to meet me in lot F in fifteen minutes.” I say, hearing shifting on the other end. 

“I’m on my way right now.” He sighs. It sounds like he’s about to cough, but he hangs up the phone. 

“Dammit I’ll just pick you up myself.” I mutter, twisting the ignition again. My car screeches forward towards his dorm. It takes me five minutes to get to his dorm, and I pass him waddling through the parking lot in what looks like pajamas. I roll down my window. “What the hell are you wearing?” 

“Clothes?” He says, nearly falling over when he sees me. I see his demeanor instantly shift from downtrodden to upbeat. I rub my sinuses, both in frustration and to keep the twinge in my nose at bay. 

“Fine. Just get in.” I say. He looks confused but opens the door and slides into the passenger seat. I sniffle and start driving once he closes it. 

“What are we doing today?” He says, exhausted. I feel a bit sorry for waking him up so early when he’s sick but I’m also really nervous for this event. 

“Is that your question for the day?” I ask back, a bit too aggressively. He turns away defeated. I sigh. “Going clothes shopping for the reunion that’s in three days.” 

“Oh. Yeah.” He says. I sigh again. “You doing okay? You look tired.” 

It takes everything in me not to snap at him again. I was so excited to see him this morning and now I can’t stop yelling at him. “I’m fine. We’ll be there in ten, I hope they have a spot left for us.” 

He sits back in his seat and watches me drive the whole way there. 
 

“Okay, Eliza, are you seriously sure you’re going to be okay?” 

my apoligies, mes sneezy amis, there is more to come... pls dont cancel me ahh

[RipleyToo]

Can’t wait for the next part! Small, but a good update! 

[dominchoo]

okay so.. heres more. I'll post Eliza's POV soon. 

 

Eliza pulls up to the dress store, named ‘Bridal dream’, and immediately steps out. I almost laugh at the name of the store, both because this isn’t for a wedding and because we aren’t even really together. As we open the door, a wall of flowery perfume hits my face. It was enough to make me want to sneeze, so I can’t even imagine what Eliza’s sinuses are going through right now. 

“Okay, Eliza, are you seriously sure you’re going to be okay?” I’ve bent down a few inches to look at her, she isn’t showing the reaction yet, but by the end of whatever this is I’m sure she’s going to be incredibly swollen and inflamed. I watch her hand as she reaches for fresh tissues to press to her twitching nose. 

“I have to be,” she replies, massaging her bridge tentatively, “this is the only place approved by my mother.” 

“Okay, I’m starting to question what kind of family reunion this really is.” I joke, nudging into her. She smiles and takes my hand, removing the tissue from her face before immediately putting it back. 

“Maybe I’ll tell you, or maybe you’ll have to find out.” She retorts. My whole body goes warm when she touches my hand. Once we get to the front desk, Eliza begins talking to the receptionist. 

“Hi Tiffany!” She pauses to sniffle. I can see her eyes getting wetter as we move further into the store. “I’m going to need a classic dress fitting, for you know what.” She winks at the receptionist. “And my- my boyfriend, Oliver, here needs a luxury tuxedo fitting for the same.” 

“Oh! A plus one! How cute. And you’re treating him.” The receptionist smiles at us. Eliza sniffles and offers a big smile back. “I’ll get those all sorted for you. I do have to let you know that we have a wait. There’s been a lot of people coming in for you know what.” Tiffany winks at Eliza. Eliza sighs. 

“Okay, But-“ She pauses, her eyes fluttering closed. In a moment she’s back to normal. “But we’re VIP guests, so I think we should take to-hah-top priority.” 

I watch as she rubs at her nose through the tissue. It’s already soaked almost all the way through, so she’s probably just getting more of this scent in her nose. I gently remove the bag from her shoulder and start searching through it for her stash of tissues. There’s only one left. Trying to be as discreet as possible, I hand her the tissue. She takes it, shooting me a grateful smile. 

“My apologies, Miss Greene, but everyone here is a VIP guest in the eyes of-“ Eliza cuts Tiffany off.

“Just get us in as soon as possible, please?” Eliza says, before wandering off to her car. I follow her like a lost puppy, feeling super out of place. In a moment we’re back in her car. Eliza blows her nose thickly. “Can you believe her? 20 years I’ve known her and she still has the balls to pull the ‘everyone’s a VIP guest’ bit? What bullshit!” 

“Eliza?” I ask, my voice coming out squeakier than I intended. She immediately softens and turns to me. 

“What? What’s wrong?” Her hands hover over mine for a second but refused to grab them. 

“I’m confused.” I say, sounding a lot more stupid than I thought I would. Eliza laughs, which makes me blush. 

“I thought you might be. I just want to be clear with you that this is, in fact, your question for the day.” She says. turning to face the front of the car. I copy her motions. “Okay so basically my parents are these super famous, super rich musician people. You’ve probably heard of them, Emily and Richard Greene? From the Greenies?” She pauses, glancing over at me. I’m wide eyed in shock and disbelief. My parents had been fans of them for years. “I’ll take that as a yes. Well basically, they’re huge philanthropists, and are always investing in these big projects or whatever. This year, they’re investing in some tree group or something. Something to do with planting tons of trees. You see, not just family comes to this thing. I mean, it’s mostly family, but they invite anyone they think will donate a lot of money ” She concludes. “Oh, Tiffany texted me. They’re ready for us. You coming?” 

She turns around, hand extended. Nothing could contain the amount of butterflies the look on her face in that moment gave me. I held her hand the whole way into the boutique once again. She had one hand firmly grasped around mine, and the other firmly grasped around her nose. 

“Alright, Eliza, come with me this way, Oliver, please follow Damien that way!” She said happily. I let go of Eliza’s hand, watching her walk away as long as I could before bringing my attention back to the man in front of me. 

“Oh don’t worry. I know it doesn’t look it, but you’ll be right next to her.” Damien said as I followed him down a corridor. I smiled halfheartedly in response. “And everyone here has known her silly antics forever! You have nothing to worry about!” 

Yeah, nothing except her passing out from an allergy attack, I thought. Once we reached our destination, Damien put me on a pedestal in the middle of the room, just a few inches off the floor. 

“Okay, now strip.” He said, turning around. “Don’t worry, I’m not peeking.” 

“What?” I asked. He sighed, swiveling back around on his heel. 

“How do you expect me to get a proper measurement if I can’t see you properly?” He said. “Leave the undergarments on, please. This is a place of work.” 

I did as he said, feeling a bit self-conscious as he worked. He chatted me up about anything and everything - including my relationship with Eliza. I didn’t know what to respond, as it was all supposed to be fake anyways. 

 

sorry about how it cuts short, honestly it's better than the random fluff I had added in previously. And yes, its a fancy event. ahahaha 

and for a tree association... wow. masochistic, huh (yes I now realize I used the wrong word in the second? chapter ahhh)

okay back to lurking bye

[Kolen]

Aww. Cute update.

Please don't apologize for updating! Like, ever!!

Every one of them is important and special ^^

[NotWho]

I like the way it cuts short. It keeps the readers on the edge of their seat, much like how your writing already does!

[dominchoo]

On 11/27/2021 at 2:03 AM, Kolen said:

Aww. Cute update.

Please don't apologize for updating! Like, ever!!

Every one of them is important and special ^^

aw! thank you!

On 12/2/2021 at 5:36 AM, NotWho said:

I like the way it cuts short. It keeps the readers on the edge of their seat, much like how your writing already does!

you flatter me 

 

heres some more. I’ve been writing genshin fics, and doing the prompt list of the month over on my tumblr - same user - and i’m pretty much always active over there. 

oh! I wanted to mention that i think this story is coming to a close (there’s quite a bit left! but it will be over soon) so if there’s any other concepts you’d like to see from me, let me know!

I plan on doing more long form content here, and short form on my tumblr

 

“You’re not doing my fitting today are you, Tiff?” I ask. She shakes her head. 

 

“You get our newest stylist, Alexandria.” Tiffany gives her a gentle push forward. 

“Please, call me Lex.” She says, extending a hand. I shake it, keeping my other hand firmly against my nose. Tiffany leaves when she hears the chime of another customer enter the store, and then it’s just me and Lex.

“I’ll stri-hih-strip now, if that’s okay.” I say, stepping up onto the pedestal, silently cursing my nose. Lex hesitantly turns around. I take all but my undergarments off, and look in the mirror. Same as always. “Okay, I’m ready” 

“I’ll just start measuring you now.” She speaks softly. She works around my curled arm until she reaches it. “Oh. Do you mind moving your hand away from your face for a moment so I can measure?” 

This is the part I was dreading. I hesitantly nod and take a deep breath through my mouth. I remove my tissue-shield and extend my arm outward. Almost instantly, the prickle in my nose extends forward, causing me to nearly lose control. It’s small armies massaging the sensitive inner membranes of my overly-stimulated nose. I’m doing all I can to not breathe through my nose. I can feel my lips and nose begin to quiver uncontrollably. My eyebrows and cheeks are even spasming a little. 

“E-heh-excu-heh-excuse meEH’TIshuu-isshuu-issshuUU!” I sneezed, snapping my tissue back to my face for a wet rapid fit. All that air freshener has caught up to me now, and my nose does not want to stop here. 

“I got a good enough measurement, no worries.” Lex smiles, rolling her tape up and moving over to the rack of dresses. They are black and white, with floral lace and chiffon detailing. 

“Are you shheEH sure?” I asked, willing myself to hold it in. Lex nods silently continuing to pilfer through the dresses. I breathe a sigh of relief and move to stifle another fit into my tissues. My sinuses are starting to clog up as I release another 3 rapid-yet-silent sneezes. I’m rearing up for another fit when Lex spins around with a dress in her arms. 

“Try this one on.” She offers the dress to me. I grab at the dress with my free hand, my chest still bouncing up and down with the urge to sneeze. With one hand holding my nose within the tatters of a tissue, the other arm holding the heavy dress, and my whole body working against the allergens invading my nose right now; I was unable to put the dress on by myself. 

“Lehhhh,” I started, pitching my nose shut to stop the hitching. “Lex, I need you to dreHEh dress me.” I spoke as fast as I could, my hand still clenched over my quivering red appendage. She nodded quietly and took the dress from my arm, and began to instruct me on what to do. 

“Thoughts? It fits you perfectly. We have a few other designs we could pick from if you wish.” Lex said, eyeing me in the mirror. I simply shook my head, desperate to get out of the store as soon as possible. “Then I’ll bag this up for you.” 

I stole a glance at myself in the mirror before Lex unzipped the dress and helped me into my other clothes. My eyes were red and watery, with tears streaming down my face. It seemed like my entire face was red and puffy; you could tell how itchy I was by just looking at me. I resisted the urge to scratch at my eyes and hide from everyone, I hate looking super allergic in public. 

“Eliza?” A familiar voice called tentatively from the doorway. Oliver was back in his pajamas and holding a bag which presumably held his suit. “How are you doing?” 

“Juuuhhh just greeeaaahAH’tishuu-issshuuu-isshuu!! Just great.” I say with a congested voice. Oliver takes my bag from Lex with a warm smile and takes my free hand to lead me back up to the front desk. 

“Eliza! Caught a cold, did you?” Tiffany asks, I nod; earning a sympathetic smile from Tiffany and a confused look from Oliver. “Here, take the tissues. No one uses them.” 

“Ihhh-It’s okay Ti-HIH-Tiff, I have tissues-“ 

“You’re out of tissues.” Oliver leans down to whisper into my ear. I bite back the shiver that threatens to run down my spine. His voice is… Hot.

“I’ll taahhhh- take them.” I say, hastily reaching out towards the box of tissues to stuff it into my purse. “Here’s myyeehHHH! My card.” 

“All set.” Tiffany says after a moment, handing my card back. I nod thankfully and exchange goodbyes from a safe distance - as to not give her my ‘cold’. Oliver then takes my hand again and we walk out to the car. 

“I’m hEEh’Isshuu-isshuu-isshuu-isshuu! I’m out of tissues?” I say as we slide into my car. Oliver nods, handing me Tiffany’s tissues. 

“Use these for now, although they probably smell a little like that air-freshener.” He says. I roll my eyes. 

“It cahh can’t be that bad.” I toss my soiled tissue into the backseat and grab a new one to blow my nose. Clearing a small bit of congestion, I took a deep breath in preparation to blow again. “SeH’Tihischuu! Ischiuu-ischiiuu-ischhiuuu!” 

“God that air-freshener was really-“

“HEH’TShuu-shuu-shuu-shuu! HieeHH!! HiEh’TiSchiU-SchiU-sCHiUU!” I cut off Oliver unintentionally, keeping the tissue clamped against my nose out of habit. 

“…Bad.” Oliver finishes his sentence slowly over my hitching breaths. He gives me a puzzled look before pulling a tissue out of the box Tiffany had gifted me. Once pressing it to his face, his expression contorts into something unreadable. He reaches over to take away the tissue, but isn’t fast enough. 

“EH’SchiEw-SchIEW-SchiEW-Schiewww!” I sneezed, unconsciously cupping my hands behind his to brace my sneezes. “HEah! HEH’TISHuu-Ishuu-Ischuu!” 

“Eliza.” Oliver’s honey voice meets my ears over the sound of my own sneezing. “You need to stop using the tissues, they’re-” 

“HeH! NoooHhhhh!” I respond. He sighs, pulling his hand out from in between my nose and hand. I shiver when I think about my sneezing on him. 

“Then at least let me drive you home?” He says, stepping out of the car, and coming around to the drivers side. I hesitantly step out with the help of his hand - I’m not sure whether this hand was the one I had sneezed on or not - and slip into the passenger side, stifling a triple. “And for Christ’s-sake just let them out? Stop hurting yourself like that.” 

I cringe when I hear him say this. Not only at the harsh tone (quickly followed with a quiet, blushed apology), but at the idea that he was aware of my feelings toward sneezing around others. It used to be better, I reveled in each sneeze, as they were rare feats. But now I’m embarrassed - of my sneezes, red and swollen eyes, flushed cheeks, the constant stream of allergic tears, constant runny and stuffy nose. My seeming inability to breathe without a tissue stuck to my face -I guess you could call it a mental-block. I’ve always been a bit of a control-freak. Growing up with rich parents that are always in the lime-light will do that for you. I was told every part of my life had to be perfect. From my laundry to my toys; and now my allergies. 

“HEH’Ishuu! ISchiUU-IschuUU!” I sneeze wetly, the tissue in my hands reduced to tiny tatters of paper. I sniffle heavily. “What were you sahhh saying about the tissues?” 

“You mean before you sneezed in my hand?” Oliver teased, turning towards me. I shrunk down into my seat from embarrassment. “You couldn’t help it, there’s no shame in that.” I smile at him past the knuckle that’s now pressed to my septum. “Oh yeah. The tissues are some kind of cologne-scented tissue. Real fancy.” 

“WhEeH’IShiu-shiuu-shiiuuu! Why the heH- hell would they make cologne s-scented tissues?” I say, tossing the tissue remnants out the window. I put the box strategically into the back-seat and buckle myself in. I was going to be pretty sneezy for the rest of this trip. 

“Home?” Oliver pulled out of our parking space. I made sure to cover each sneeze with the fabric of my shirt collar. 

“No. We have work to doOhiH’Ischiuu!” 

 

———-
 

“Why aren’t we going back to your dorm again?” Oliver asked, glancing at me during a red light. I look up at him through glassy eyes. The bulk of my sneezing has subsided, now I’m just itchy. 

“We need to plan out a lot of other things for this event.” I say. “ And I want to give you a little spa day to prepare.” I bite back my blush. Oliver is obviously trying not to blush too as he turns forward for the green light. 

“Okay, most of those things we could do at one of our dorms.” He deadpans. I offer a half-hearted smile. I know that we could do most of the talking back at home, but the rest needed to be done out, and I’d rather do one really horrible trip than multiple moderately horrible trips. 

“I promise we can go back to your dorm and plaH HIh’IScHIU! play games after if you want?” I offer jokingly. He chuckles, shaking his head. 

“There’s no amount of games that could make up for what you just put me through in that dress shop, Liz.” God I love the way he says my name. 

 

———

 

2 hours at the salon, and a successful phone call later, Oliver rushes to my side at the receptionist’s desk, where I’m sliding my card across the counter. 

Back in the car, Oliver smells faintly of perfumes, but I try to ignore it while I slip into the passenger seat; he had convinced me to let him drive the rest of the day. My burning sinuses made me almost regret the trip to salon, but seeing Oliver light up makes the regret go away. 

“Liz?” We haven’t started driving yet. I whip around to see Oliver’s blue eyes locked with mine. I sniffle. “You okay?” 

“Yeahhhhh Yep.” I hitch in response. My whole face is itching now. It’s been such a long day, I’m so exhausted but I have so much to do. It seems even my nose is tired. 

“We’re going back to my place. You’re going to take a nap.” He says in a matter of fact tone. “I’ll take a shower and then hopefully it’ll be less of an issue.” 

“Nehhh-“ I begin to speak, but Oliver puts his fingers to my lips. I’m reduced to silent hitching instead. 

“We’ll be there in 15, just hang tight, doll.” 

 

———

 

I’m laying in Oliver’s bed, muffling my sneezes into his comforter as he takes a shower. My nose is running like a faucet, my head is pounding, and my whole face is itching. I didn’t know my ears could itch before, but I absolutely hate it. I had my antihistamine after the whole scented-tissues fiasco - per Oliver’s request - and I don’t think it’s been long enough to take them again. Slowly but surely, my sneezes began to slow

“HET’shuu! HET’shiuu-shiuuu! God!” I said, my voice thick with congestion. 

“Eliza!” Oliver yells, stumbling out of the bathroom with fresh clothes hanging around his frame. “I know what it is.” 

“Know what wh-HUH’TIChSChUIUU! SChiuu! What is?” 

“You chose to go out when the pollen count is fucking insane, then there’s the perfume. Are you trying to make yourself die?” 

I hide my face sheepishly. “There’s only a few days left, and I needed teh hEH’TIschUU! to get things done. The allergies was just a downside to it all.” I hadn’t actually seen that the pollen count was that high, but I guess I should’ve been more careful.

“Eliza,” Oliver warned, “you need to take better care of yourself. You could get hurt.”

“Oliver, I’m fine! I’ve taken care of myself for years before I met you, there’s no reason for me to do anything different now.” I say, all the exhaustion from the constant sneezing and errands catching up with me. “I’m sick of people acting like they know better than me! It’s so annoying. I’m the one who lives with this shit!” 

The moment after I spoke the words, I regretted them. I’d been irritable since this morning, and my exhaustion from the constant sneezing was not helping. Despite this, there was no reason to treat Oliver like shit. Oliver’s expression becomes unreadable, his eyebrows furrow. He nods a few too many times. I stutter over my words, trying to think of the best apology for what I had said. There’s nothing I can say to take my words back, though. 

“I can drive you home now, Eliza.” Oliver said quietly, standing up to go towards the door. I opened my mouth to speak, but I closed it. Instead, I followed him silently down to the parking garage of the building, sneezing every few feet.

 

hehe its a bit longer than usual, and I’m not a huge fan of how i wrote it but i have a LOT of work to finish before my semester is over… ughh

ill be back soon, thank you for all the lovely comments and compliments, they really make my day 

[ryan0805]

Omg this is soooooo good!!!!!

[NotWho]

I’m actually really sad this is going to be coming to a close. I really really really enjoy reading your work, but I’ve got to admit, I cannot wait to see what else you have in store.

[RipleyToo]

Hopefully there will be more Oliver sneezes before it ends! I’m kinda sad that it’ll be coming to a close as well, but I enjoyed it a lot!

[Kolen]

Congratulations, Eliza. You done hurt ya man's heart.

[dominchoo]

On 12/5/2021 at 9:49 PM, ryan0805 said:

Omg this is soooooo good!!!!!

thank you!!

On 12/6/2021 at 1:58 AM, NotWho said:

I’m actually really sad this is going to be coming to a close. I really really really enjoy reading your work, but I’ve got to admit, I cannot wait to see what else you have in store.

me too! I can't wait to share more with everyone

On 12/7/2021 at 3:15 AM, Puzzle said:

Hopefully there will be more Oliver sneezes before it ends! I’m kinda sad that it’ll be coming to a close as well, but I enjoyed it a lot!

....only time will tell

I'm sad about it ending too, but I'll be able to write other things !

20 hours ago, Kolen said:

Congratulations, Eliza. You done hurt ya man's heart.

hahahah!

 

back a bit sooner than usual to give yall some food /j

this is a bit rushed both because of the time constraints of the fic - im a bit dumb with that stuff haha - and because I have to study for finals so I didn't get to edit as much as I would like waaa

anyways, its pretty cute. im giving you both povs (which is something I continue to mess with later in the fic)

 

Two days. I was as nervous as ever. I just wanted to go back to when we played games in Oliver’s dorm. When he brought me food that day I couldn’t leave my room. When he brought me to his parents house and we went swimming. When I slept at his dorm because he was so sick and I needed to make sure he took his meds on time. I just miss hanging out and doing nothing with him. I’ve drafted about a hundred texts, all consisting of half-baked apologies and an invitation to hang out. 

My phone dinged faintly as I was washing my face and I rushed over to see what it was. My face was still dripping wet when I was reading it. 

Hey. Let’s chat about that event of yours this afternoon. Your class is over at 3, right? - Oli

My stomach fluttered a bit as I read the message. I bit back a squeal. 

Yep. See you then! Super excited!!! .

I tapped the back of my phone waiting for a response, but I never got one. My face was almost completely dry by the time I slipped my phone into my pocket and moved to change for class. I downed my meds and dropped the extras into my bag, grabbing the emergency stash of tissues from my drawers. I was so anxious for this lecture to be over so I could spend time with Oliver, probably more anxious than I’ve ever been. 

It felt like it took forever for this class to be over with. By the time I was walking out of the building, my nose was dripping and my breathing was erratic as usual. My eyes were blurry as I saw Oliver leaning against his car that had pulled right up next to mine. 

“HiH’TehChiEw!” My nose finally released after what felt like an eternity of congested torture. Oliver opened the passenger door and let me into his car silently. I nodded a thank you. He slips into the drivers seat and closes the door, turning towards me after grabbing something from the backseat. 

“I got these for you.” He hands me a box of tissues. 

“Wow, thanks, Oli-HhhiHH’TchIEW! God!” I said involuntarily, taking a tissue from Oliver and pressing it to my nose. Oliver watches as I blow hard through congested sinuses. 

“You’re just going to-“ Oliver stopped himself from saying something, turning away from me. He starts to pull out of the parking lot. I stop pushing against my clogged sinuses and turned to face him. 

“Oliver I’m sorry about whah- what I said yesterday. It was out of line. I’m juh HIH- huuhhh sorry, just really stressed about this event, and my fUHHhh family’s always been super on top of me about dating and all that stuff. I’ve never been a romantic person. I’ve always ke-HEH’TisHIEEW!! Kept to myself.” I continue rambling, only being interrupted by my own hitches and sniffles. “Please, Oliver, I’m so sorry.” 

“Liz,” Oliver cuts me off before I can continue speaking. Him calling me my nickname almost makes me cry. “I just- I wish I knew before I made you upset.” His eyes are set forward on the road ahead of him. I reach toward him, but falter for a moment. 

“I’m sorry.” 

“Let’s talk more over some food, okay?” He shoots a small smile over to me, I try to return the sentiment but I’m drawn into a harsh double. ‘

“Hah’ETchShUU! HEH’EshHiuUU!” I’m lucky enough to snap my neck away from Oliver and down towards my chest so I don’t spray right onto his face. He offers a tiny chuckle, it wasn’t more than a sharp exhale out of his nose accompanied with a smirk. 

“And we’ll eat it inside.” He glances over at me, my glistening nose once again buried within the confines of a tissue. I narrow my eyes at him, jokingly. 

~~~~

 

God I really wanted to see her. I let the water rinse the shampoo out of my hair as my thoughts ran wild. I felt so bad for just kicking her out last night, but I just didn’t want to say anything stupid to her. Was I right for being a little angry with her? Eliza, queen of all things sneezy, went out when she knew it would be horrible for her. I should be able to reprimand her for that, as her fake boyfriend. Fake boyfriend. With all these thoughts running through my mind, and my body still dripping from my shower, I texted her. 

Hey!! I miss you and I’m sorry about yesterday

No, that’s too excited. 

Please forgive me. I don’t want to lose you.

God, am I really that desperate? 

Hey, I just showered and all I was thinking about -

Okay, abort mission.

Hey. Let's chat about that event of yours this afternoon. Your class ends at 3 so I’ll pick you up. Your class is over at 3, right? 

There. The perfect text. Not too desperate. Not too lovey-dovey; I’m only a fake boyfriend, after all. After this event, Eliza will have no reason to talk to me or any need to see me. I placed my phone on the counter and shook my head, maybe a bit too violently, sending water droplets to stick to the walls. Chucking, I gently rubbed at the wall with my towel, then at my body. 

Not a minute had passed, when my phone had chimed with a notification. I nearly slipped across the tile floors trying to reach my phone. A text from Eliza emerged on the lock screen. 

Yep. See you then - Liz!!!

I sighed; mostly at the screen name and picture I had given her all those days ago. The picture is one she said I took while delirious from a cold. It was the day we went to my step-moms pool, and I had picked her up after class. She was stepping into the passenger seat, had a tissue pressed to her nose, her eyes were already red from allergic itching. She looked as if she was about to sneeze again. If my memory serves me, it was because of the bush in front of the F building. Her free hand was extended out in an attempt to cover her face from the camera; it didn’t work, obviously. She had given herself the name ‘Eliza!!!’ when we first started this whole thing. I changed the name to Liz when we started going by nicknames, but I kept the cute exclamation points that she had tacked onto the end. 

Her text didn’t make her sound very excited about me picking her up. I hope I don’t disappoint her. I just wanted to hang out and talk with her. The pollen was still super high and I hate seeing her suffer. As cute as she is when she’s putting up a fight, I hate seeing her like that. 

 

———

 

I pulled up to the building at about 2:45. By some dumb luck, I was able to get the parking spot right next to her car. The only way I knew it was her was because I could still see the perfumed tissues in her backseat. 

I step out of my car right before 3, only to see her flushed face waddling out of the building a minute later, looking incredibly miserable. It took everything in me not to rush to her side, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her, especially after being such a dick to her yesterday. 

“HiH’TehChiEw!” She sniffled really thickly, but there seemed to be no reprieve from the congestion in her sinuses. I walked over and opened the car door for her. She nodded a thank you through glassy eyes, clamping her soaked tissue tighter over her nose before closing the door behind her. I slide back into the drivers side and turn towards her. I reached back to grab my surprise gift for her. 

“I got these for you.” I hand her my best idea of a gift; a box of tissues. I watch her unfocused eyes look over at the cardboard box in my hands. She gives a watery smile. 

“Wow thanks, Oli-HhhiHH’TchIEW! God!” She said, grabbing a tissue from the box I had already opened and pressing it to her nose. She blew as hard as she could against her congested sinuses but nothing came out. 

“You’re just going to-“ I stopped myself. I was going to say she was going to hurt herself, but I didn’t want to offend her again. I turned forward in my seat. She stops blowing and turns toward me. 

“Oliver I’m sorry about whah- what I said yesterday. It was out of line. I’m juh HIH- huuhhh sorry, just really stressed about this event, and my fUHHhh family’s always been super on top of me about dating and all that stuff. I’ve never been a romantic person. I’ve always ke-HEH’TisHIEEW!! Kept to myself.” She’s rambling, only interrupted by her allergies. 

“Liz, I just- I wish I knew before I made you upset.” I cut her off. If I look at her, I’m going to do something stupid. I see out of the corner of my eye that she reaches out for me, but falters. 

“I’m sorry.” She says. I swallow hard. 

“Let’s talk more over some food, okay?” I offer her a small smile, and I see her try to smile, but face contorts into her adorable little pre-sneeze face. 

“Hah’ETchShUU! HEH’EshHiuUU!!” She quickly snaps back towards the window. Her desperation to not sneeze on me after just yesterday practically sneezing into my hand makes me chuckle a little. 

“And we’ll eat it inside.” I glance over to her, her glistening nose buried in her tissue again.

 

————

 

“Good call with the tacos.” She says, smiling at the bags set out in front of us on the floor. “I love spicy food.” 

I shoot her a hesitant look. “Me too.” 

“What’s the look for?” 

“Oh nothing.” I purse my lips, staring at a suspicious spot on her wall. I doubt with that sensitive nose of hers that she’ll be able to handle much of this stuff, but I begin to un-bag all the food anyways. She instantly grabs the spiciest taco we had ordered. “You’re sure you can handle it?” 

She nodded, taking a bite. It took less than thirty seconds for the effect of the spice to kick in. I could see her fighting against her hitching breaths, wanting to itch her nose so bad. 

“How do they taste?” I ask, reaching for the same one. It was pretty spicy, I’ll admit. She swallows and blinks hard; trying not to sneeze. 

“GoohhIH-“ She pinched her nose. This seems to quell the itch for now. I hold my laughter back. “Don’t lauhhIHH!” 

“Go ahead and sneeze, Liz” I chuckle. taking another bite of my taco. 

“IhhhhHIHh!! I dohhHH don’thavetosneeEEHiiH!” She’s fighting against the itch, and it’s so goddamn adorable. But anyone with eyes could see that she’s losing. 

“Oh, I think you do.” I say, leaning in, my eyes focused on her twitching nostrils. She can’t even respond, she’s just hitching, her mouth slack, eyes threatening to roll back. “What do you think would happen if I just…” I lean in and peck her nose. Barely touch it really. 

That tiny contact was enough to make her nose erupt into a flurry of tiny sneezes. “HEH’ishhuu!-isshuu! HAH’ishieWW!” Despite her best efforts, she hit my bottom lip with her spray. 

“Oh my god, I am so sorry!” She begins to apologize. I wipe my lip off with a chuckle. 

“No, I definitely deserved that.” I say. “Don’t keep holding them back though, that can’t be good for you.” She blushes and nods. 

We continue eating with this rhythm. After a few bites she releases a string of two or three sneezes, and then continues eating. I chuckle at her behavior, prompting her to apologize profusely.

“Hey, it’s no biggie.” I hold myself back from saying anything more. I definitely don’t think that her sneezes are hot, but her face is so adorable it’s hard to look away; even when she’s sneezing. 

“Oliver, can we-“ She stops herself for a second, looking as if it’s painful to continue. Quietly, she keeps speaking. "Can we please stay friends after this?”

 

teehee okay ill go away now.... 

[RipleyToo]

Such a cute cliffhanger! Can’t wait for more!!

[ryan0805]

Definitely continue this!! I'm in love with it!

[NotWho]

I have no words to say how much I enjoy this story. I’ve said it so many times, but here it is again: this is so fracking good! 😍

[Kolen]

(ﾉ -益-)ﾉ︵ ┻━┻ 

That's how I feel about cliffhngers 😟

But this is how I feel about your writing skills ♪♪＼(^ω^＼)( /^ω^)/♪♪

[dominchoo]

wow… i kind forgot ab this with my finals and other stuff i had to do…. sorry y’all…

here’s some story…. sorry it’s mostly filler. 

 

Today is the day of the benefit. I would’ve called Oliver to wake him up, but a glance at my phone told me I already had three missed calls from the boy. I clicked play on his voicemails as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes.

“Hey, Liz!” His voice chirped through the phone. “I’m super excited for this event of yours this evening! No need to send a text or anything, I’m already awake. You, on the other hand… I’m sure you’re still in bed. Let me know when you get this!” He lets out a wheezy chuckle before hanging up. I didn’t quite understand how he was still sick, but I hope he’s feeling okay. I clicked the next voicemail. 

The line is eerily silent for a moment, my ears strain to hear shuffling on the other end. “Good morning, Eliza!” He sings. And damn, he had pipes. Not pretty ones, but they were there. “If you don’t wake up within the hour you’ll be late for your hair appointment.” My heart fluttered for a moment. His memory of my appointments and classes was really endearing, but it was hard to tell whether it was because he was such a good friend or because maybe… 

No. There’s no way. I click the last voicemail. “Ugh, Eliza,” Oliver draws out the ‘ah’ sound of my name. “Okay, fine. I’m on my way over right now to wake you up. I’ll knock on the door so loud you’ll get a noise complaint!” He chuckles before hanging up. I groan, looking at when the message was sent. Shit. It takes him a maximum of 5 minutes to get here, and he called me 10 minutes ago. Oliver will be here any minute. 

Before I had a minute to think about it, a rap on the door echoed throughout my tiny dorm.

“Coming!” I yell, tossing the comforter off of my lower body. I leaped off of my slightly lofted bed and took a few bounding steps over to the doorway. I unlocked and opened the door slightly. 

“Morning Liz- Oh. Nice pj’s.” Oliver slips through the small crack in the door, eyeing my too-small flowery pajama pants and oversized plain white t-shirt. I instinctively cover up my body with my arms. 

“Sorry! I was just about to change when you knocked.” I feel myself shrink a little. Oliver reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder. 

“You- I mean. They’re cute, Liz.” He says with a soft smile. I look up at him with wide eyes. He’s no more than 3 feet from me; I can practically feel his warm breath falling onto my cheeks. 

“Tha-thanks.” I manage, not able to break his gaze. We probably stared at each other for about a minute. I was the one to look away first. “Uh, I’m going to change. You know, for my hair appointment.” His face instantly flushes three shades redder. 

“Oh! Ye-yes. Of course.” Oliver glances to his favorite spot on my wall before he ducks out of the room once again, gently closing the door. “Let me know when you’re finished!” He says through the door. I smile gratefully before going through my drawers for a fitting outfit. I decide on a simple top and jeans with a cardigan I had recently picked up from the store. I debated over whether to put on makeup in the mirror for a few seconds before putting on a few swipes of mascara. 

“Okay. Ready.” I said, opening the door and grabbing my bag that was hanging up next to it. Oliver whipped around from his place leaning against the wall just outside my dorm. He flashes me a smile before reaching out for my hand. I gratefully take it after turning around to lock my door. 

“I have my question for today.” Oliver says, opening the passenger door to my car and sliding into the leather seat. I do the same on the opposing side, resting my foot against the brake, not twisting the ignition. 

“Yeah?” 

“I’m just kinda curious how you find out you’re allergic to something?” He cocks his head at me. “Like do you just wake up one day and then bam! You’re allergic to, like, everything?” I let out a laugh involuntarily, but his face is serious. 

“Oh! No!” I say through chuckles. “You just kind of feel like you have a perpetual cold, but without the icky feels. I was nineteen and so stuffy and sneezy, and I couldn’t figure out why. I didn’t really go to the doctor until I had been dealing with it for, like, maybe 2 months? I was pretty used to it at that point, but I was also sure that it was not one of my awful colds.” 

“You got colds in the spring?” Oliver cuts in, reaching over to turn over the ignition. I bite back a blush as I realize I was so caught up in speaking that I had forgotten we had a place to be. I shook my head. 

“No, this was in the fall.” 

“There’s pollen in the fall? Isn’t everything… dead?” Oliver cocks his head again as I turn to pull out of my parking space. 

“The ragweed, everything giving it’s last ‘huzzah’ before going to sleep, animals, I could go on.” I swipe a finger under my nose instinctively. All this sneeze-talk is making me itchy. “Anyways, I wasn’t as allergic as I am now. It was more just constant itching. Meds handled it fine for a while until I got to college and for some reason they got so much worse. I started to find new triggers all the time, and it feels like no matter what I do or take I’m always sneezing.” 

“You weren’t in college at 19?” He questions, eyes watching the other cars pass us on the highway. 

“I took a gap year. I wanted to be a veterinarian. Go figure.” I laugh with a bitter undertone. 

“You could still be a veterinarian!” Oliver argues, turning towards me. I take a deep breath, knowing what he’ll say next. “Aren’t there, like, hypoallergenic dogs? And there are a ton of medications out there. I bet you could get one of those allergy shots or something. Have you asked a doctor about those?” 

“I think you’ve reached your question limit for today.” I say, trying my hardest not to sound angry.

When I found out I was allergic to dogs and cats, I tried everything - every medication you could buy from the pharmacy with and without a prescription. They either put me to sleep, gave me a whole slew of side effects from out of left-field, or straight up didn’t work. Eventually my doctor got tired of my desperate attempts to ‘overcome’ my allergy and just told me to avoid animals. It was like telling a fish not to swim. I tried to just power through it, determined I was not allergic. I would sit with the animals for as long as I could before I would be overwhelmed with sneezes and the consequent sobs. For me, being allergic to dogs and cats was like being allergic to air or water. At the time it felt like the world was ending, and sometimes I still mourn the loss of my life before I sneezed at everything around me. 

“Liz?” Oliver said in his careful voice once again. I took an unintentionally shaky breath and glanced over. “You missed the exit, sweetheart.” 

I’m staving off tears as I merge over and take the next exit off of the highway. Pulling off to the side of the road and allowing the car to shiver to a halt, I turn to Oliver. 

“Can you drive?” I knew it was only another mile or two to our destination, but my eyes were watering so much I could hardly see. Oliver nodded and we swapped places; I pulled my feet up onto the seat and hugged my knees in the passenger seat. 

“Did I say something, Liz? I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to offend, I-“ I cut him off as he starts to drive. 

“No. I think it’s just my allergies.” I lie. He gives a hesitant nod before turning back to the road. Sniffling, I dig my nose and eyes into my knees, a silent and mascara-filled tear leaving a trail of black along my cheek. 

 

———

 

“Alright. Appointment doHhIhhh! Done.” I pause for a hitch as we exit the hair stylist. Oliver passes me a tissue, which I graciously accept. 

“I liked your long hair!” He says in protest as we step onto the asphalt of the parking lot. I give a smile. 

“It was all dead! I needed a trim.” The tissue is clamped over my nose in its usually feeble attempt to stop the mucus from dripping down my face. Oliver opens the passenger door for me, slipping the keys out of my bag. 

“It looked just fine to me!” He says as he closes the driver’s side door, the car roaring to life as he flips the ignition. When I only chuckle in response, he continues to speak. “So what’s next on the agenda?” 

“Picking up my corsage and your boutonnière.” I say in a matter of fact tone. Oliver looks over at me. 

“What is a boot-on-air?” He says, giving his best attempt at pronouncing the french word and failing miserably. I stifle a laugh. 

“A boutonnière is a flower for your lapel, silly boy.” I tease. He blushes but quickly composes himself. 

“Fake ones right?” It’s my turn to blush and look away. He gives me a look. 

“It’s a benefit for a fucking tree association, how stupid would I look with a fake corsage?” I say, turning towards him, wiping my nose a final time before putting my tissue away. Oliver looks like he holds his tongue, then speaks after a moment of silence. 

“You’re going to be miserable with that thing on your wrist. Just get a fake one.” He says, rubbing his temples. “And I don’t want to be making you sneeze, either.” 

“You won’t.” I reassure him, but he gives me a wary look. “There's going to be a million things there that are going to set me off, you don’t have to worry about that, okay?” I put a hand on his thigh, feeling him tense up at my touch. Just as soon as I had rest my hand there, I pulled it away; not wanting to make him uncomfortable. 

“I’m going to worry. What if tonight you find out you have asthma and you get really sick or-” He reaches back out for my hand, placing it back on his thigh. 

“Oliver.” I interrupt, resisting the urge to lean over and plant a kiss on his pink lips; instead I squeeze his thigh lightly. 

“God, you make me worry so much, Liz.” He says under his breath. I don’t think that I was supposed to hear it, I bite back a blush and sigh. 

“Thank you.” I say quietly. I wanted to say more. I wanted to say so many things to him, but all I could muster in that moment was a measly thank you. 

 

——-

 

“Okay, sohhIhh’tsshIIUu! So the event is for the San Diego arborist group, the color theme for the flowers was green and white, which is so ugly in my opinion but whAt’Chhiieww! Whatever.” I held a tissue up to my face as we walked through the florists, looking at the different corsages and flowers. 

Oliver sighs, knowing I had my mind set on real corsages and boutonnières for the event and nothing he could say would change my mind. He just picks up a small white corsage and presents it. My nose instantly flares angrily. 

“I think this one would look nice with your dress.” He says. There's a big lily in the middle, surrounded by baby’s breath, with a few wild daisies adorning the sides. I smile at it, feeling my nose twitch in opposition, the allergic twinge in my nose growing by the second. 

“I liiihhhIh’TCHiew! I like it!” I say, with a smile, taking what I thought was an inconspicuous step backwards. I didn’t want to be too close to that thing if I didn’t have to be, right now. My nose was quivering at just the thought of wearing it for a whole evening. 

“It seems your nose does not, though. Do you want to keep looking?” Oliver isn’t really asking, he’s stating that we should keep looking for a corsage that doesn’t make me sneeze as much. 

“No. I li’ISShhU! I like that one. Let’s find a matching boutonnière.” I state, taking the corsage, just to defy him. My whole body seems to shiver in opposition to the flowers in my hand, like they’re a dangerous thing I need to be rid of. I stop at a section of lillies and stifle a sneeze into my shoulder. “H-how about these?” 

“Let’s find something less,” He pauses to search for the right word, “Pollinated.” I want to laugh, but the sheer force of laughing would send me into a fit of sneezes right now. Instead I give a small smile. nostrils flaring. “Your eyes are watering so much standing next to these, let’s find something else, Eliza.” 

“But th-this… tieeh’ChiEW!! This ties in with my corsage really well!” I take a fresh tissue out of my bag and pinch my nose with it. He sighs deeply. 

“Fine. I don’t want to argue with you. We’ll get these.” He takes the lilly boutonnière and my corsage and goes to pay. “Go sit in the car, though. I don’t want you to get tuckered out before the big event.” 

I smile shyly, sneezing softly into my tissues once more before I retreat back into the car. I sit and wipe my nose for a minute before Oliver slides into the driver's seat once again. 

“No opening this container until we get to the venue, understand?” He says with a serious look on his face. I nod, watching him place our beautiful flowers into the backseat. 

Beautiful, torturous, flowers. 

 

its not the best but it’s not the worst. please accept my humble peace offering 

 

[Kolen]

Offering accepted ~

Ooh, I can hardly WAIT for the event to happen!!!

^^

[RipleyToo]

I hope that there will be future Oliver sneezes to come!! Can’t wait until the next part!

[Nekomancer]

I can't wait to see how this turns out!! 

[dominchoo]

hey... i'd like to apologize to yall... i'm kinda burnt out from this story...? 

I'm going to keep writing other stuff, mostly short form on my tumblr. 

I'm really not in the mood to keep up with this story - the premise and characters aren't really doing it for me anymore.  

i might post something else on here some other time, but for now i'm going to retire to my tumblr. 

[Kolen]

2 hours ago, dominchoo said:

hey... i'd like to apologize to yall... i'm kinda burnt out from this story...? 

I'm going to keep writing other stuff, mostly short form on my tumblr. 

I'm really not in the mood to keep up with this story - the premise and characters aren't really doing it for me anymore.  

i might post something else on here some other time, but for now i'm going to retire to my tumblr. 

I understand fully about getting burnt out from stories, it's the reason I myself haven't posted something of my own in months.

I keep getting ideas, write about five posts' worth, then I lose inspiration. 

So. I respect your choice, and I hope others can and will, too.

[dominchoo]

okay. since i basically have this story finished, i'm going to share it 

(not talking about the fact that i crave attention and validation and this thread having 7.7k is like crazy good for my attention wh0re needs lmao)

just know that i really hate where this story has gone and i do not have the energy to fix it. 

anyways, thats it lol thank you for the attention this story is getting even though its literally a carbon copy of that other story on the forum. 

 

 

“Okay. I’ll pick you up like we talked about, yeah?” Oliver said, holding the corsages safely in his hand as we walked to the door. “I’ll keep these with me.” 

“But I’m supposed to give you the boutonnière.” I reach out for the flower, but Oliver holds it above his head, making it near impossible for me to reach it. 

“You can present it to me there, Elizachoo.” He says with a chuckle, pressing a boyish finger to my nose. I felt it twitch for a second, but no sneezes. 

“Fine. Just make sure you’re on time!” I say, turning around to walk to my dorm. I hear a muffled snicker come from Oliver behind me. Walking down the corridor to my dorm, I feel the allergic twinge in my nose return. Someone probably left a window open, and with my nose already on edge from the floral excursion, the rising pollen outside is not helping. 

I go to unlock my dorm, sliding my key into the lock, only to end up locking my door. What the fuck? I repeat the action of twisting my key in the lock again and my door unlocks. Had I left my door unlocked this morning when I left with Oliver? I could have sworn I locked it this morning. Thinking for a few extra moments, I specifically remember locking my door before we walked out to my car holding hands. My cheeks flushed warm at the memory. I’ll be closer to him than just holding hands all night tonight, I really need to get it together. 

I pushed the door to my dorm open, the itching in my nose intensifying. I instinctively reach up to wipe my face as I close the door behind me. Resting on the kitchenette table, there’s a large bouquet, with a note attached. I pinch my nose with only my fingers, willing it to be enough to grab the paper. My emotions go on a rollercoaster as I read the words. 

“I miss you, Eliza. Please come back to me.” 

As I reach for my phone in my bag, I hear the handle twist in the door. Through teary eyes, I can see a male figure. 

“Oliver?” I guess. The person gives a throaty laugh. That’s not Oliver’s, that’s-

“It’s Jonah, babe.” Jonah moved towards me. “Do you like the flowers?” 

“Le-HEH Leave me alone.” I said, desperately digging for both my phone and a tissue. Grabbing onto my phone first, I dialed a number. Someone, anyone, come and get me out of this torture. Then I was searching for some tissues to press against my twitching nose; the bare-fingered pinching was only going to help so much. 

“But, I love you, L.” He said, stepping closer, forcing me towards the blooming bouquet behind me. “Just let me love you.” 

“Gohhh- go away.” I say, finally grabbing onto a tissue. I hear a crackle and a voice on the other end of the phone call that is active in my bag. Part of me hopes it’s Oliver, knowing he would be the most comforting person right now, while the other doesn’t want him to see me in a desperate state. 

“Please, L.” Another step. My back is mere inches away from the torturous sprigs behind me. I close my eyes, allowing the allergic tear to fall. 

“Youhhh-hih- you lost your ch-chahh chance with me when you whhhhheHHhh- were a fucking c-creep.” I say while massaging my nose tentatively and attempting to take a step forward. “I do-HIH- I don’t know how y-yohh you got in here, buuhhhHH- but just leave.” 

“You know I love how you fight it, right L?” Jonah’s cornering me, forcing my hand. I shoot him a watery glare before I’m reduced to hitching again. “Oh, just let me help coax it out, babe.” 

“DoHHIIIHH! Don’t call me thaahhh that!” I say defiantly, pushing him away from me as hard as I can. 

“I guess little Eliza’s gone feisty now.” He says in a low voice; his hands reaching up towards my tissue covered nose. “Where’s your little Oli to save you now? Who’s to stop me from just…”

Things seemed to go in slow motion. Jonah was gently removing the tissue-barricade from my sensitive nose. I could feel every emotion running through my body; confusion, anger, but most of all fear. Jonah was mumbling something under his breath as he unfolded my fingers from around my appendage, resulting in a harsh fit of hitching. I refused to let him enjoy another one of my sneezes. He smiled deviously and began to stroke it from bridge to tip, resulting in a full body shiver as I fought against the impending allergy attack. He was reaching behind me, his breath hot on my skin, when I heard stomping down the hallway. 

“I’m right here, asshat.” Oliver. He’s shoving Jonah into the paper-thin wall; that’s going to earn me a noise complaint. “What the fuck are you doing, you bastard?” 

“I’m just having fun with my precious L.” Jonah sneers, looking up at Oliver with a cocky expression, despite Oliver’s clear dominance in the situation. Oliver had Jonah pinned up against the wall and was holding his shirt so tightly he might have ripped it clean off. 

“You call that fun?” Oliver jabs a finger at my helpless body, who had now moved as far away from the flowers as possible and was stifling my seemingly endless string of sneezes into a wad of tissues. Jonah shrugs, earning him a punch in the gut. 

“She’s just has the best-“ 

“If you even think of finishing that sentence, it will be the last thing you say.” Oliver growls, glaring at the other boy. Jonah gives a dry chuckle, throwing Oliver off of him. 

“Whatever.” Jonah scoffs. “Have fun at that little event of hers tonight. I’m sure she’ll be super cute there now. You’re welcome.” And with that, Jonah is out the door. 

Oliver is about to chase after him, a string of profanities at the ready, when a sneeze escapes my lips.

“HIH’tcHIEW!” 

“Holy shit, Eliza, are you okay?” His whole demeanor has changed in a split second. He’s down by my side, reaching into the bag that had been dropped by my side for more tissues, concern written all over his face. 

“HIh’Tchuew! HehE’tsCHiew!!” Is my response. He sighs, and moves quickly to dispose of the flowers. In less than a minute, we’re walking to his car; Oliver holding my dress in one hand, and holding me up in the other. I can hear him speaking, but I can’t discern what he’s saying. 

“Liz?” Oliver says, quietly. I sniffle harshly, causing another sneeze. He flinches and looks back to me as I wipe my nose gently. “What the hell happened?” 

“I don’t wahhhnt to talk about ihhhh it.” 

“It’s okay. We’ll get ready at my place.” He responds after a long and contemplative pause. Oliver opens the doors and lets me in before sliding in himself and starting the car. He looks over to me with a smirk. “Maybe we'll go get some fake corsages instead?” 

 

- - - -

 

“I aah-fuck! I already told you, Oliver, I want to use the rehEhh the real flowers!” I argue as I tug at my dress. Oliver gently finishes zipping up the dress for me, our hands brushing against one another. If it weren’t for my already angered sinuses, you would’ve been able to see my face flush pink. 

“And you’re already miserable because of that prick, I’m not letting you torture yourself even more.” He says softly. I can feel his breath on my neck, making me shiver. “No one will be able to tell, okay? I’ll make sure they’re super realistic; with no pollen.” 

I don’t respond, but instead look at him through the mirror. A hand instinctively comes and rubs at my nose. He watches me for a moment before stepping away with a sigh. 

“What?” I ask, sniffing through my perpetual congestion. 

“Nothing. You took medication today, right?” Oliver responds, busying his hand on the cuffs of his suit. 

“Yes, of course.” I nod, patting the dress down and moving towards him. 

“How did he get into your apartment?” He asks in a low voice. My breath catches, but this time it’s not from the incessant tickle in my sinuses. 

“I… I really don’t kno- hold on- Heh’shiew! I don’t know.” I say, reaching for my tissue to wipe my nose with. “God it’s like even thinking about that situation makes my nose itch.” I joke. 

Oliver grimaces, passing me a tissue from my bag. “I should start keeping tissues in my dorm. Maybe you should…” He trails off, turning away. 

“I should what?” I say, nudging his shoulder. After a second he turns back with his head hanging low. I can just barely make out the deep red flush over his cheeks. 

“Maybe you should stay here for a little while. Only if you want to, though.” He whispers, his hand reaching up to rub the back of his neck. It takes everything in me not to giggle at the sight. The juxtaposition of his actions. 

“If it’ll help you sleep at night.” I say with a sniffle. Oliver gives a tiny smile and turns away again. 

“I’m going to go pick up our fake flowers, do you want to come with?” He asks after a moment to compose himself. I take a deep breath. 

“I still want to wear the real ones! I don’t want to look tacky, Oli.” I whine. He hands me another tissue preemptively, allowing me to catch the sneeze that was brewing. 

“You’re already a sneezing mess, I don’t want you to be any worse than you need to be.” He said, flinching a bit as I blew hard against my congestion. “You don’t like having to sneeze constantly, do you?” 

“No, bu-hUhhh… Sorry. But it’s weird to roll up to a benefit for a nature thing and be wearing fake flahhh-hEh- sorry! Flowers.” I fought desperately against my impending sneeze, which only resulted in my argument weakening. Oliver sighed. 

“Can I do anything to make you change your mind?” He was looking at me so intently, with so much concern. I wanted to leave the flowers behind and just go with a fake corsage; but I knew that it was better for appearances if I just powered through. 

“HEH’tsheiw! No.” I replied stubbornly, nudging his shoulder in a playful manner. He gives a small chuckle. 

“Then I guess we’re ready to go, Elizachoo.” He says with a boyish smile. I roll my eyes, slipping my hand into his. “I didn’t get you a limo, I hope that’s okay.” 

“We can just drive in one of our cars.” I laugh, feeling his fingers tighten around mine. As we approach his car and enter it, I turn to him. “Are you nervous?” 

“A little.” He admits, a pink tinge toying at his cheeks. I reach over the center console to where his hand is resting on the steering wheel. 

“I’ll be there the whole time, don’t worry.” I smile. 

“Yeah, yeah. That’s what I’m worried about.” He says under his breath. I’m not sure whether he meant for me to hear it and laugh it off, or if he was genuinely concerned and hoped I didn’t hear it. I decided not to dwell on this, as we began the 2 hour drive out to the banquet hall. 

 

[Kolen]

Well that was rude of mr. h0rn d0g "/

But a lovely addition nonetheless😘