Time's A-Wasted, Go (Jonah & Lily, M, 3 parts + small bonus scene)

[Skylacticon]

Helloo. Seasons greetings. 😚 I've reached a sort of creative peak lately. Here's another instalment of Jonah and Lily, in that part of the timeline before they were officially an item - I'd say between 'Kore's Lullaby' and 'For Her'. 

 

Part 1:

 

 

Lily had noticed earlier on that Jonah wasn’t always the talking type. But he was observant and kind, and always tried to be helpful. When he and Lily were still in their early university years, they tended to hang around the same group of friends at school. One summer, they formed a band of sorts and entered in a festival out of town. It was close to a cottage owned by Jonah’s parents, so they decided to stay there for the duration of the festival. Hunter picked them up in his family’s RV on the day of the trip, and Jonah piled everyone’s bags into the vehicle.

 

“What do you mean you’re not gonna swim?” Hunter asked, his hand on the back of the passenger seat. 

 

“I… I don’t know, I mean I don't know what's living in the lake,” Lily replied, dragging her bags to the side compartment.

 

“That’s so valid.” Allison, Hunter’s girlfriend, was riding shotgun. She supported Lily’s hindrance with a cool grin that seemed to tame Hunter’s prying, all the while typing on her phone.

 

Jonah took Lily’s relatively small suitcase and hoisted it into the RV. As she followed with a faint, grateful smile, he peeked back, looking thoughtful. A few more clunky steps in, then, “You know, you might be the wise one here,” he said, stopping at the back of the vehicle. Lily glanced around - there was a booth and a couple of beds, with a couch-like place to sit at the back. It was a small, but cozy space. Jonah lifted Lily’s packed suitcase effortlessly onto one of the shelves. “My mother’s always on about the one time she got a leech.”

 

“Huh?” Lily’s wandering gaze found its way back to Jonah. He combed his long, wavy hair out of his face with his fingers.

 

“My mom, uh, got a leech stuck on her leg one time, when she was a kid,” Jonah went on, in a slow way that made it seem like he regretted mentioning it - though, he acted so casual, standing by the shelf, his mossy brown eyes looking thoughtful as always. His voice was gentle and rare, somehow making this statement slightly less frightening. “Although, there probably won’t be leeches where we’re going. There’s just a stream and some rapids, and a beach but, I don’t think…” 

 

“Jo, did you pack the beer?”

 

Jonah looked up towards the front of the RV, right over Lily’s head. “…don’t think any of us have gotten one, from the area,” he finished softly.

 

He didn’t think?? Well, that was assuring.

 

“Umm-- No, I didn’t. Hold on,” Jonah called out in reply. He bustled past Lily, giving her a strange sense of relief. “Sorry, I'll be back.”

 

“Cool,” Lily breathed, not knowing whether he’d hear her or not. She watched as his tall frame headed off, making his clunky way out of the RV. He wore a pale blue button down with the sleeves pushed up to the elbows, his dark, wavy hair falling just above his shoulders. Kind of fluffy, as if he’d washed it recently. It was still brisk out, the sun slowly rising to greet the early morning. Lily took a breath, staring at the shelf. She lowered an arm to put her backpack down by one of the beds.

 

“Ally, I don’t know if I brought enough bug spray,” she joked, sitting down on the bed. She gestured to the water bottle compartment of her bag, which held the buy-one-get-one bug spray pack wrapped in clear plastic.

 

Allison turned to look. “Oh shit,” she grinned, making Lily chuckle. “You’ll be safe from most bugs. Although steer clear of Hunter,” she teased.

 

“Huh?” Hunter glanced up from his own phone. Just then, Jonah returned with a pack of Coors Light. 

 

Allison’s eyes lit up. She hit Hunter gently on the arm. “Can we stop and get cider? I’ve been craving Somersby for like the longest time-“

 

“You just don’t like beer,” Hunter said, eyeing her lovingly.

 

“No, I don’t,” she replied, watching as Jonah put the beer in the small fridge.

 

The ride was quite peaceful - gentle music came from the radio, a station that played songs that Lily remembered dancing to in primary school. She watched from the booth as long stretches of fields passed by, her eyes following along the smooth rise and fall in the lines of hanging telephone wires. Jonah was cross-legged on the floor near the back of the vehicle, softly strumming an acoustic guitar. 

 

“You guys wanna play ‘I Spy’?” Allison suggested after a while.

 

“I spy a glamper,” Hunter quipped.

 

“Shush,” Allison whined.

 

“I spy a hunter,” Jonah said with slightly dramatized shock, glancing up at the windows to see a row of passing evergreens. Then he just turned and smiled in Hunter’s direction. A tiny grin quirked on Lily’s face.

 

“Ha ha,” Hunter said louder, for his voice to reach the back.

 

“I spy…” Lily began, wanting to be included. “Allison’s ladybug Wellingtons.”

 

“I spy Lily’s beekeeper hat.” Allison said in response.

 

“I spy Jonah’s air purifier,” Hunter jumped in.

 

Jonah kept playing the guitar. “I spy Hunter’s only three packs of beer for four people.”

 

“You know - this is not how the game works!” Hunter exclaimed, making Lily laugh. 

 

Allison laughed, too. “Let’s just roast Hunter instead.”

 

“Aw, man,” Hunter chuckled. 

 

“Hey, man, you started it,” Allison said with a softer grin, giving him a gentle shove.

 

-

 

The passing walls of eroded rock along the highway reminded Lily of when her family used to go on trips to their uncle’s cottage. Her cousins used to come too, and they’d go fishing and watch movies on the VCR. She missed those days when her older cousins used to hang out together. They were clever and brave, always having something to show her. 

 

“hiHt’zZSSCHhiuh!!”

 

Lily blinked, gently being brought back to the space of the rolling vehicle.

 

“Bless you,” she said softly, just as Allison yelled the same thing from the front. Hunter echoed them.

 

Jonah’s eyes shone a bit as Lily glanced up, blinking a few times. His bent elbow was raised above the guitar, covering his face. He sniffed, and let out a sigh. When he lowered his arm, his nose was wriggling. “Thank you. *snf!*”

 

Lily’s sketchbook was slowly being filled, already abundant with pen drawings of flowers and prickly, detailed leaves. Jonah slowly got up from the floor, gently clearing his throat. He set the guitar down gently on one of the beds, close to the wall, on top of a fluffy throw. In her peripheral vision, Lily could see him stretch up his long arms. She dared to take a peek.

 

Jonah sat down on the padded leather bench along the back of the RV. For a moment, Lily stared a little as his arms came down. It had gotten warmer as time went on, and he’d unbuttoned his pale blue shirt, revealing a grey wife beater underneath. He sat leaning forward. Lazily, he bowed his head, and ran his fingers through the long, wavy layers of his hair.

 

He appeared, if anything, quite restless and bored. He seemed sleepy enough to be yawning every ten minutes, but had no desire to nap so far on the drive. Lily watched as he rubbed absently at his scrunching nose with the back of his hand, a small portion of the left side of his wavy hair glowing chestnut brown under the sun that streamed in through the edge of the window curtains. He stood again, eyes narrowing slightly. With another soft sniff, he wandered to the left side of the RV and peeked past the curtain at the road. Lily’s gaze dropped back to her sketchbook, and the pen in her hand. She gently added more delicate lines along the curved iris petal on the open page.

 

From the back of the RV came a familiar gasp, almost quiet enough to miss amongst the hum of machinery. Lily elected to keep drawing, but paused slightly again as there was another gasp, and-

 

“hEHt’ASSCHHIU!!” 

 

When Lily glanced up again, she saw Jonah sitting on the leather bench, holding the crook of his arm over his face. Then, Allison chirped up from the front.

 

“Bless-”

 

“ASSCHHhiuh!!”

 

“Bless-”

 

“ISSCHHh!!”

 

The last one emerged similar to a cough, breathless and itchy. They were mostly muffled into his arm, sounding quite desperate.

 

Finally, Allison could get a word in. “Bless you!”

 

Jonah had backed up from the edge of the window, still seated on the leather bench. He was wiping, then slightly rubbing at dazed, itchy eyes. “Thank you, oh my gosh. *snff!*”

 

“Are you gonna survive this trip, Jonah?” Allison chirped, in a teasing way but also genuinely concerned. It piqued Lily’s interest as well, having known that he suffered from allergies on occasion. Well, not interest, per say, but perhaps, concern, or, something of the sort. She supposed she cared, but apparently not enough to be asking, herself.

 

“Um. Yeah. Sorry,” Jonah chuckled, a rumbling, warm sort of sound. On his mildly itchy features was a calm, reassuring grin that made Lily’s stomach do a little pirouette. He went on, his deep voice cheery and self-conscious. “I- I literally just looked out the window, and the sunlight just went-” he made a gesture with his hand, fingers bursting toward his face. “I don’t know. Aghh, *snff!*” he groaned softly, and ran his long fingers over his face.

 

“You allergic to the sun, mate?” Hunter joked, his voice fairly flat. Ahead, traffic was starting to slow.

 

“Am I allergic to the sun,” Jonah was muttering to himself, amused. He stretched again slightly, sitting up straight with his hands on his hips. “More like everything under the sun.”

 

These words entered Lily’s ears with a strange, touch of disappointment - her whole thing had been flowers lately. Her whole thing might have included him, too, in the course of their collaborative songwriting and friendship seeming to blossom over the past year. However, Lily was fine with the way things were. Maybe she had been interested in pursuing something a bit more - but seeing Jonah every now and then, even just to listen to each other's thoughts and ideas, had been nice. They were often busy with things like school or work, which they offered each other support in. Sometimes she wasn’t sure what business a guy with his talent and background had seeking thoughts from her. But her door was open, and every so often, he stepped through it.

 

“What type of flower is that?” he asked with a gentle curiosity, sliding into the booth seat across from her. He folded his long arms atop the table, leaning casually forward. 

 

His tea-coloured eyes looked particularly green today. Maybe it was just the sun. 

 

“Guess,” Lily breathed, a small grin tugging at the corners of her lips.

 

Jonah’s frame rose with a deep breath, and released with a soft “Ummm…” One of his hands came up to brush his hair behind his ear as he gazed down at her drawing. “Is it an iris?”

 

Lily let out a soft huff, like a scoff or chuckle of being impressed. “Look at you, lucky guess.”

 

Jonah laughed. “My mom loves those. There’s a bunch of them outside the house. I just wasn’t sure I had the name right,” he explained softly.

 

“Ah,” Lily nodded, staring at the curling edges of the petals in her drawing.

 

Things weren’t so black and white that one obstacle could make an entire pathway inaccessible. Even if that obstacle was a bush of irises. Lily wasn’t sure if they might have triggered his allergies, but he seemed to recall the memory of them fondly.

 

“How do you manage to keep blending our song with ‘Plush’?” Lily said after a bit, still shading with her pen. “Like, I don’t understand it.”

 

“So you do notice,” the grin was in his voice, and shimmering on his sunny, charismatic features.

 

“Not to be basic, but that’s such an interesting connection,” Lily went on.

 

“The chords are similar,” Jonah stated simply.

 

“Like, how…”

 

“I feeeel it,” Jonah sang.

 

“No-”

 

“I feeeel it,” he went on to do the second one.

 

An involuntary grin had taken over Lily’s focused expression. God, his voice was gorgeous. “No,” she repeated, trying not to laugh. 

 

“Why not?” he questioned. Lily just beamed and shook her head. Jonah leaned back in the booth seat and put his hands behind his head. “I just think, as humans, we’re just inclined to come full circle with whatever art or act we put into the universe… Like graffiti on walls in tight alleyways… Like handprints on the inside of a cave…”

 

Hm. How poetic. “...Yeah?”

 

“And I feel…” he began thoughtfully. Lily paused a bit, waiting for him to finish. “...and I feel, as the dogs begin to smell her,” Lily finally looked up, pressing her lips together as he dictated the lyrics with dramatic flourish. The guy was gesturing as he spoke.

 

“You’re so…” she muttered, resting her cheek on her palm as she kept drawing.

 

“Will she smell alooone?”  In the same gentle volume, with his voice somewhat relaxed, he’d taken the opportunity to do a vocal run - and god, did he pull it off. What was left when Lily looked up at him again, was the lingering grin of satisfaction, and something cocky, that he knew she was somewhat impressed.

 

Lily snorted a laugh and shook her head. “Wow,” she sighed.

 

“Thank you,” he tipped his head in a small bow, grinning down at the table. “*snff!* I don’t know. It’s a good song,” Jonah said after a bit.

 

“Should I feel like my artistic contribution has merit, then?”

 

“Not on the basis of its similarity to Plush, but yes, of course.”

 

Lily grinned a little. She reached for a brush pen in her pencil case. “Okay, well,” Lily flipped the page to see if the ink had bled through. Luckily it hadn’t. “I’ll need you to cover that one for me sometime, just in spirit of…” She flipped the page again to check - then flipped it back over. “Just so I know what this ‘human experience’ is.”

 

“Only if you put a tip in my jar.” Lily’s eyes flicked upward. Jonah winked at her. She smirked and let out another scoff. As she shifted her gaze back to the open page, Jonah rose to his feet.

 

“Where are you going?” Lily asked softly, in an almost child-like way. A sort of softness she didn’t share with everyone - not like she had many people to talk to that way, but his response was always gentle, as if he cared. She seemed to care - enough to ask like a child, where.

 

“Over there,” he said with a small nod to the back of the vehicle. “I might try to take a nap.”

 

“Okay,” she breathed. “Sweet dreams.”

 

“Thanks, sweet leaves.”

 

Lily beamed. “Thanks.”

 

Jonah’s footsteps gently clunked their way back to whence they came, to the right side of the RV where there was a small bed. It was hidden around a corner. Lily watched as he sat on the edge. As he settled in, she saw only his legs and his hands. Then his feet lifted, and disappeared behind the wall.

 

Lily gazed down fondly at the iris pen sketch. Jonah’s mom had irises planted in their garden. They weren’t particularly one of Lily’s favourites, but now knowing, she had more reason to complete the work in progress.

 

Softly, she sang. “Where you goin’ to tomorrow?”

 

Silence.

 

Lily waited a bit. Then, she kept making dark strokes along the curling petals.

 

Then a deep voice, croaky with sleepiness, replied. “Where you goin’ with the mask I found?”

 

-

 

Lily grew drowsy as the iris had come further and further into view. She decided to take a break, and got up. And carefully and quietly as one could inside a moving vehicle, she walked to the back. As she approached the end of the bed, she lightened her steps even more, but her shoulders relaxed when she could see around the corner.

 

Jonah laid there on his back, one hand behind his head, the other holding his phone close to his face. Like, too close. He was staring at it the way Lily’s mother would, when she didn’t have her glasses. Lily lifted her backpack from the ground, and unzipped it, looking for snacks. She peeked back at him, and his eyes found hers quickly - making her stomach do another little ballet spin.

 

“Hey,” her lips spoke instinctively. “Thought you were napping,” she said in a gentle tone.

 

“Ah, I was… *snf! ahem~* but then my friend messaged me… then I got to scrolling…” He sat up a bit, sitting against the wall at one end of the bed, and raked back his dark, wavy hair with his fingers.

 

Lily found a bag of yogurt pretzels in her bag, and pulled it out. “Want some?”

 

“Sure. Yes please."

 

Lily went over to the foot of the bed where Jonah had made room, and sat down. She wondered if it was really yogurt they’d dunked the pretzels in, and not just white icing. As she crossed her legs, Jonah reached for some.

 

“So,” Jonah brought up a hand to block his mouth slightly as he chewed. “Do you swim?”

 

“Um,” Lily pouted thoughtfully. “No, not really,” she admitted with a shy grin. When she looked over, Jonah’s face didn’t have the usual weirded-out reaction most people had when she said that. “I guess I do whenever there’s a pool. My aunt’s apartment has a nice one I used to swim in as a kid.”

 

Jonah nodded, holding a half-eaten pretzel. 

 

“In lakes, though…” Lily tilted her head, staring at the slightly worn fitted sheet on the bed. “My, uh… My cousin… he was probably in uni when I was around… ten? Yeah, he was super nice. He would bring me and my sisters out to this beach near their house, sometimes with our other cousins.”

 

“Mhm,” Jonah waited patiently as Lily paused and brushed her hair out of her face.

 

“But he went all the time. He was a great swimmer…”

 

“‘Was’?” Jonah breathed.

 

Lily peeked over. Then her gaze shifted. “Yeah, um…” Lily straightened her posture, and cleared her throat. She went on, not really knowing why. “His name’s Randall. He lives closer to downtown now, but… Basically what happened is, he got an infection that he needed to get surgery for… which he did pull through, but now there’s more of a limit to things he can do.”

 

The sounds of the road and hum of the vehicle filled the silence. Jonah watched as Lily broke a pretzel apart piece by piece in her fingers. When she felt that it had some time to sink in, she continued.

 

“They said it could've been something in the lakewater.” After a beat, Lily took a breath, trying to lighten her tone and demeanour. “Well - It was a rare case, but…”

 

“I see how that could…”

 

“Yeah.” Lily’s posture had gone back to hunching slightly, his listening ear giving her a gentle sense of safety and comfort. She picked up another pretzel and began again, breaking it into little pieces. “So, that’s why I’ve been kind of reluctant to go swimming in natural bodies of water… I don’t know. It just isn’t the same sometimes.”

 

“I bet the leech thing didn’t help, huh?” Jonah broke a pretzel in half and ate one of the pieces.

 

Lily’s face twitched with a tiny grin. “No,” she breathed out, looking down at her collection of white-coated pretzel pieces.

 

Jonah’s gaze joined hers. Lily peeked at him as he ran his fingers over his chin and jawline, over his trimmed beard. “That had to be awful, I’m sorry,” he said after a bit.

 

“It’s… Well, I mean, it’s okay,” she said softly, connecting his gaze for a second. “Nature does things… that are… scary,” Lily found herself dawdling through that sentence, realizing she hadn’t explained the lake thing to anyone in a long time. Her eyes drifted over to Jonah, who was already looking at her, his eyes calm and consoling. Another second passed, and the feeling of grief had changed - if possible, a sensation of both longing and fear. She blinked and shifted her gaze. “So, um... do you?”

 

Jonah also blinked. He ran his fingers over his face again, his eyes moving towards the ceiling. “Do I what, swim?” He chuckled nervously.

 

“Yeah,” Lily watched as he lifted his sleeve to dab at watery, itchy-looking eyes.

 

“Uh, yeah, I do. I’m pretty decent a swimmer, if I do say so myself,” he said casually.

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Yeah. Although - I may decide not to go swimming this time, just because… The pollen’s been really high, so…” Jonah sighed softly, widening his pink, irritated eyes and blinking a few times. His nose scrunched with a soft snuffle. “*snrf!* I might just stay inside.”

 

“Did you take your medicine?” Lily asked softly.

 

“I have taken all the medicine,” Jonah exhaled, his glassy eyes staring out the window. “Not all, just a considerable amount,” he added with a small chuckle. “And yet…”

 

“And yet…” Lily rested her chin in her hands. Though his deep voice was gentle like always, a tired desperation shone through.

 

“I feeel it,” he sang huskily, making Lily’s lips pull into a tiny grin. One of Jonah’s big hands came up to rest over his itchy eyes, leaning back on the wall.

 

“Hey! Pilots!” Allison was yelling from the front. 

 

The two froze, sharing a brief glance. After a beat, Lily poked her head around the corner. “Yes?”

 

Jonah snorted from beneath his hand. He sniffled, and mumbled something. “This is your passenger speaking…” 

 

Lily grinned out of view from Allison, and poked Jonah in the stomach. He curled a little with a tiny groan, acting as if he’d been stabbed. Lily peeked out again.

 

Allison’s head was turned. “We’re stopping for lunch. Hunter says there’s a rest stop.”

 

“There is a rest stop, you missed the sign,” Hunter told her.

 

“Okay,” Lily replied, and disappeared back behind the corner. “Well, that beats the bushes,” she joked. Jonah’s features broke into a gentle smile.

 

“Better than beating around it.” 

 

Lily wasn’t quite sure what that meant, glancing over with endearment. Jonah’s eyes were still covered with his hand, and he was lying on his back again, his other forearm resting on his stomach. He was like that - patient and interesting with his choice of words. Something about him could be quite disarming. 

 

She stared out the window opposite the bed, popping another piece of yogurt pretzel in her mouth. When the RV stopped, she got up, and waited for Jonah to join her before getting out.

 

-

 

[Another moodboard I made, just for this topic 🤎

Songs: Plush - Stone Temple Pilots, Mardy Bum - Arctic Monkeys]

Edited January 5 by Skylacticon

[Lilsgjerd]

This is so cute!! I love their relationship ❤️

[dwaekki]

Omg I can't wait to see where you take this, especially in terms of sneezing!

[Skylacticon]

Hey~ Thanks for the sweet comments ☺️ @Lilsgjerd @dwaekki

Hope y'all are having a good day.

 

Part 2:

 

 

[7:04PM - The Knight’s Table pub.]

 

“No, that was back in twenty-nineteen, I… hht’xXckk!! -unhhh, oh, excuse me. *snrf!* No, I had just graduated…”

 

Jonah’s voice had adopted a subtle thickness to it. He made the occasional sniffle, nodding behind a curled fist as he listened in conversation. His meds had kicked in a bit ago, preventing him from becoming a sneezy mess at the venue. Although, that was more like preventing the more uncontrollable sneezy mess, in exchange for all the congestion and itchiness where sneezing could be optional. A very tempting option. A very insistent option, with debatable urgency.

 

See, if he spoke… “I was, yeah… I was… hh’- *ahem!* quite fortunate. *snrff!*” It caused vibrations that tingled through the roof of his mouth, teasing his already irritated nose.

 

Although he seemed quite relaxed, glad that tonight’s performance was over. He’d wandered off after they exited the stage, and didn’t reappear until several minutes later. Rubbing a flushed, tired nose, sniffling softly but thickly. Lily felt for him, watching as he didn’t complain, and was in fact, laughing and mingling with other performers from the festival.

 

Lily was sitting at the bar with Allison, nursing her usual whiskey and coke. She was also happy about the performance. Jonah was such a fun person to work with - he made room for people to be in their element, supporting with his talent. There was interaction, flourish, and immersion in every piece.

 

“You two go well together,” Allison said out of nowhere.

 

“Hm?” Lily glanced at her, swallowing another sip.

 

“You and Jonah.” 

 

Lily kept looking at her. “What do you mean?”

 

“I mean you two, together,” Allison took another sip of her drink, some type of fruity colada. “You’re cute.”

 

Lily huffed a soft exhale, her eyes shifting down.

 

“Do you like him?” Allison immediately went for it.

 

A grin with both shyness and resignation had spread on Lily’s face. “Well, he’s pretty great…” she began, staring at the bottles lining the glowing shelves behind the bar counter.

 

“So has he, like, asked you out?”

 

“Well, no, he… he did buy me a fair ticket, once. But I don’t know if that counts.”

 

“Like the fair in town?”

 

“Yeah. We were just leaving campus one day and there was this fun fair in the parking lot by the grocery. And it wasn’t that late, so we went to go check it out.”

 

“Oh my god, that’s so cute,” Allison cooed, staring at Lily and leaning her cheek on her hand.

 

“Yeah… but I dunno.” Lily peeked over again to where Jonah was. He seemed to be deep in conversation with a producer who worked with one of the other bands. 

 

“Well. I think he has a thing for you,” Allison went on, putting her fingertips on her glass.

 

Lily shifted her gaze back to Allison, then down at her drink. “What kind of ‘thing’?” she mused softly.

 

“I don’t know. Something cool, like a frog he found at the stream?”

 

Lily scoffed and leaned forward. She took another sip of her drink.

 

-

 

[7:45PM. The dining room inside the Anderson Cottage.]

 

“Hunter’s turn.”

 

“Alright. Never have I ever… forgotten my mic was on and nearly deafened my band.”

 

“Oh, fuck off,” Jonah spat, and took a long swig of beer. Lily glanced over with equal parts sympathy and amusement at the memory.

 

“I’ve probably done that,” Allison chimed in, and took a drink.

 

“Lily, you’re safe,” Hunter teased. 

 

It was also her turn. “Never have I ever… accidentally stolen from Walmart while getting snacks for the band,” she said, returning Hunter’s gaze.

 

“Who said that was an accident?” Allison questioned, with a funny, mischievous smile.

 

“Oh, you got me,” Hunter said with a low chuckle, and lifted his beer.

 

Jonah let out an amused breath, and lifted a curled index finger to rub his nose. “…*snrf!*”

 

“Alright, Allison.”

 

“Uhh, never have I ever…” she began.

 

Just then, Jonah turned away from the table, and lifted the crook of his arm over his face. “hdn’ISSCHHhiuh!! *snrk!* Oh, excuse be…” he sighed, wiping his teary eyes.

 

“Bless you,” the others chorused.

 

Jonah reached for a tissue from the box on the table, and folded it. “Thank… oh by gooddess… huHdt’ISSSCHHIEWW!!” he snapped forward with another sudden sneeze, into the folded tissue. 

 

“Bless you!”

 

“Thank you,” Jonah chuckled, pinching his itchy nose with the tissue. The bridge of his nose was visible, glowing red. He rose from his seat slowly, still holding the tissue over his nose. “rrRR’ISSCHHIEWWw!!!” His frame bent with another harsh, itchy sneeze, which he did his best to muffle in the tissue. He paced into the kitchen, sniffling and rubbing at his nose.

 

“Bless you!”

 

“You okay?” Hunter called.

 

“Yeah,” Jonah sighed.

 

As he took a moment, Allison remembered it was her turn. “Never have I ever owned hot pink stilettos.”

 

Soft, honking blows could be heard from the kitchen. Lily grinned at Allison, and took a bitter, fizzy sip of her beer.

 

“Jonah, it’s your turn,” Hunter called.

 

Jonah’s figure came back into view, still wiping and rubbing his poor nose with the tissue. His eyes appeared a little redder, still glassy-looking. “Hm? Uh, what was yours?” he asked Allison.

 

“Have you ever owned pink stilettos?” she asked him, blinking interrogatively. 

 

Jonah sniffed and pocketed the tissue. “Oh, god, I wish,” he replied softly, reaching to rotate his bottle of beer, so that the brand name was facing him. He stood behind the chair he previously occupied, absently tapping his fingers on the wood. “Uh, never have I ever… given up a room for a random creature I was afraid of, in it.”

 

“…huh?” Hunter laughed.

 

“Like for a spider?” Allison guessed.

 

“Yeah, like for a spider, or moth, or… lizard... what have you.”

 

“Oh my god,” Lily breathed, and lifted her beer to take a sip.

 

“Awwww, Lily,” Allison teased gently.

 

“I think we’ve all done it,” Hunter said.

 

Lily let out a burst of laughter, and lifted the back of her hand to her lips. “Um, it wasn’t a bug, though. It was actually, um… a frog,” she chuckled.

 

“A frog?” Allison gasped.

 

“Yeah, when I went on vacation this past summer, there was a frog in one of the hotel’s showers. Just chilling on the drain.”

 

Hunter started speaking again. “So you gave up your entire shower to-“

 

“I didn’t know what to do! I didn’t want to disturb it,” she defended in a hurry, as Allison laughed.

 

“Dear god, that is so Lily,” Hunter shook his head, chuckling.

 

“Honestly, understandable,” said Jonah, nodding vaguely.

 

Lily glanced up at him. He seemed the type to get in the shower and rescue the frog, putting it somewhere safe before turning on the water and going about his agenda. Now, he seemed open to respecting the arrived, unannounced bog creature, just because she admitted such behaviour. What a guy.

 

-

 

[8:30PM. The front porch.]

 

“We’ll be back in a few!” Allison announced, waving as she followed Hunter out the door.

 

“See you guys,” Lily waved back from the porch swing.

 

“Bye,” Hunter turned and waved.

 

Allison pulled the screen door shut, and made her way down the porch steps. She and Hunter turned and walked through the grass, over to the path at the edge of the forest that would lead to the lakeside. Lily rested her hand on the top edge of her sketchbook, staring at the open page. She’d been drawing a view looking up from the clearing in front of the house, where the boughs of the trees formed an oval. Growing smaller and smaller, the couple drew further away, Allison clinging onto Hunter’s arm.

 

Lily stared up again at the tree branches. The sky was still baby blue, but darkening gradually. Lily admired the way each day in summer took its time to end. Leaving time for moments of quiet on the porch. Time enough for an evening dip. The season was generous that way, even providing just the right temperature for comfort.

 

She could hear the thumping of wood inside the house through the screen door, meaning that Jonah must have woken up. A fly landed on her arm, and she moved a hand over it, causing it to react and fly away. The air had a faint smell of cigarette smoke, that perhaps could’ve been coming from the porch swing fabric. To her knowledge, Jonah had been trying to quit smoking. Although she knew, having lived with a smoker, that goals could be just that - goals. 

 

The screen door rattled gently and creaked open. Lily turned to see Jonah standing there, in his grey tank top and black jeans, holding his tan hoodie. His dark hair was a bit unruly, but fluffy still, framing his face. His eyes were still a bit narrowed with sleep. “...*snnff*” He lifted a hand and rubbed his nose.

 

“Hey,” Lily said gently.

 

“Hey,” he breathed, and sniffled softly. He stepped out, letting the screen door fall shut behind him.

 

Lily watched with vague amusement as he shuffled over, squinting out at the tree canopy above the clearing. His hands were arranging his hoodie, pulling his arms through the sleeves and the rest over his head.

 

“How was your nap?” 

 

“Uh, it was fine,” Jonah replied quietly. He buried his hands in the pocket over his abdomen.

 

Lily scooched over a bit, and Jonah looked over, his features softening with a grin. He came over and sat down, causing the swing to rock a little.

 

“Feel any better?” she asked softly, sketching in smaller branches that extended into the clearing.

 

“Um, yeah, sort of,” he muttered, then let out a small chuckle, running a hand over his sleepy face. “What’ve you been up to?”

 

“Just drawing,” Lily said softly, tilting the pen back and forth between her fingers.

 

Jonah watched quietly. “Nice. Did Hunter and Ally go somewhere?” 

 

“Yeah, they went to the boardwalk.”

 

“Oh.” Some crickets were serenading them, somewhere unseen. “Wanna go for a walk?” he proposed.

 

Lily turned to look at him again, just to study his features. His eyes, which were waking up, still looked partly sore, like they could be itchy. His nose was rather red, but for now, he was just a bit sniffly. His breathing sounded a lot better. 

 

“Where?”

 

“Just by the lake. There’s something that I want you to see,” he went on casually, scratching the side of his face.

 

A soft smile pulled at the corners of Lily’s lips. “What?”

 

“Something you might like,” he said simply, slouching back and letting the swing move gently. Lily’s hand had stopped moving, resting again on the top edge of her sketchbook.

 

-

 

“There’s burs on this side, so be careful,” Jonah put a gentle hand on Lily’s shoulder, looking ahead as they descended a steep, narrow pathway. 

 

Carefully, she stepped down. Ahead, there was another turn, and beyond that, a couple of fallen trees covered with moss.

 

“Jonah, I thought the lakeside was that way,” she said, hopping down from another root. He waited until she caught up, and started moving again.

 

“Uh, yeah, you can reach it that way, but there’s something else over here that I want you to see.”

 

“How much further?” she asked, looking up with a shy grin.

 

“Not much. We just need to get, um… Alright, just go under…” They’d reached the fallen trees, a tricky spot to get through to the path ahead. “Here,” Jonah lifted one of the thick branches, so that Lily could go ahead and duck under.

 

“What about you?”

 

“Just go,” he said, his voice a bit breathy.

 

Lily crouched under the branch and stepped out to the other side. Beyond the trail was a valley with a stream. There was a fork - one that kept going up along the lakeside, and another that led in another direction, descending down a steep hill. Lily turned back to help Jonah, who had taken a step back behind the fallen trees.

 

“hrRRSSCHH!!mffh… hih! heHt’USSCHHh!!-hmn… *’hemm~ snnrf!*”

 

Lily peeked under the fallen trunk, pushing back the smaller branches. 

 

“Bless you. You okay?”

 

Jonah sniffled a few times, stepping back into view, wiping his red nose with a tissue. His eyes were glassy and blinking, starting to look itchy again. He lowered the tissue, and wiggled his nose a bit. 

 

“Uh, yeah,” he breathed. “*snrf!* Sorry,” he breathed.

 

“It’s okay. Do you want to go back?”

 

“No,” he responded casually, managing to push up the branch blocking the way so he could pass underneath. “I think we’re getting close. *snrf!*”

 

Jonah was still holding onto the folded tissue as they walked, sniffling, pressing it under his runny nose every so often. The buzz of insects weren’t loud enough to mask the sound, nor were their footsteps, muffled against the earth, crunching twigs and dead leaves. 

 

“Now, I don’t always come here, because… well, you’ll find out, but…” Jonah paused and stopped in his tracks. “A long time ago, when I was a wee lad,” Lily glanced over with a small grin. “*snnrff!* I was really interested in, um… heh! hEHt’GDSSCHHhh!!!”

 

Jonah pitched forward with another harsh sneeze, which he tried to muffle by pinching his nose in the folded tissue. He let out a weary sigh, and sniffled liquidly. “...Ugh, id catching thi’gs…”

 

“Bless you, are you alright?”

 

“Yeah,” he panted, wiping his eyes with his hoodie sleeve. Lily’s eyes were caught on his red, inflamed, dripping nose, which he kept rubbing at with the tissue. “Ub, okay, I thigk I’ll stay right here for a bidute, but… If you go dowd there, there’s a dice… *ahemm* there’s a dice meadow and pond with sobe flowers, that I… oh, pardod be, I- heh-!” Jonah’s eyelids were fluttering. “huHt’ISSCHH!! -ISSCHIEWw!!”

 

Lily’s hand lifted to rest on Jonah’s back, as he kept sneezing. “Bless you,” she said again softly.

 

“Thagk you, *sdrf!* Go ahead, I’b right here.”

 

“There?” Lily looked ahead.

 

“Yeah,” When Lily turned back, Jonah was unfolding a new tissue. “Go take a look. I’ll joid you, id a sec.”

 

The sun was setting over the forest. A soft light shone from the entrance to the clearing below, and Jonah still hadn’t moved. It seemed he wanted to blow his nose, but was reluctant to do so in front of her. With her gaze bouncing back and forth, unsure of this new unknown, she slowly and carefully descended the terrain towards the light. She kept her eyes on her feet, not wanting to fall over and look stupid, or get the wilderness all over her nice lavender cardigan. 

 

When she looked up, there was a beautiful, glistening pond with mossy stones all around, tall weeds standing guard and swaying in the breeze. In the surrounding area were coarse grassy patches, speckled with colourful wildflowers. Cicadas sung somewhere in the distance, above the sound of rushing water nearby, humbling her softly crunching footsteps.

 

“Wow,” Lily breathed, staring at the gathering of flora.

 

She heard light footsteps behind her, and turned to see Jonah coming, squinting out at the view. She could swear that the colour of the deep brown pond and mossy stones reflected in his eyes. He coughed, and sniffed.

 

“This is where we would go ice skating. In winter, *snrff!*” Jonah lifted the back of his hand to his allergic nose. “But sometimes there are frogs, when it’s warmer.”

 

“There are frogs?!” Lily blurted out with delight, turning to Jonah with wide eyes. Wow. Allison might have been right with what she said.

 

“Yeah, *ahem* This one time, I collected a few, and brought them back up to the house. My mother was not happy.”

 

“Oh my gosh…” Lily gazed upon the peaceful area, under a sky with soft hues of blue and orange. “Ice skating, that sounds fun,” she said, turning to look at him again.

 

He chuckled. “Maybe I could bring you sometime. During winter break,” he suggested gently, brushing the forest path with the sole of his shoe.

 

Lily blinked, the warm-coloured sky and shimmering pond reflecting in her distant gaze. “I’d love that.”

 

A gentle breeze made the trees rustle, their canopy of branches swaying above the two of them. Lily heard a soft, but rather liquid sniffle come from Jonah’s direction. He hadn’t moved from the spot he was standing in, a careful distance from the meadow. It was time to go.

 

“Shall we go check on Hermia and Lysander?” Lily suggested softly, after a bit.

 

Jonah sniffled and cleared his throat. He blinked from a thoughtful trance, and turned toward her. “You mean Helena and Demetrius?” he joked, his low voice thick.

 

“Yes,” Lily approved with a smile, which mirrored on Jonah’s face. 

 

Together, they turned and headed back up the path, beneath the setting sun.

 

 

-

[Song recs: In Your Own Sweet Time - Zaska, Sirens - Pearl Jam]
 

Edited December 29, 2023 by Skylacticon

[Alabaster]

Awe that’s so sweet AND hot. Can’t wait for more

[AntheaHolmes]

Oh my. These two are so sweet. Thank you. Can't wait to see more. 

[dwaekki]

Jonah is so sweet 😭

[Skylacticon]

Hey!  Happy New Year's Eve. Thanks so much for the lovely comments~ ❤️ @Alabaster @AntheaHolmes @dwaekki

I hope you all have a lovely day or night, and all the best wishes for the new year. Without further ado:

 

 

Part 3

 

 

Lily awoke from a rather exciting, strange dream - that she couldn’t remember, a few moments after opening her eyes. She blinked up at the white, plastered walls, and the edges of the room, which were lined with long, dark stained planks of wood. She sat up, and slowly got out of bed. She walked over to the window, and stared out at the trees, their branches swaying gently in the wind. Her phone read eight-forty-five. Her chest rose with another breath, and she stretched, then went to exit the room.

 

She turned the knob gently to avoid making too much noise. It was dim in the hallway. She didn’t hear chatter coming from the living room, so she suspected people were still sleeping. Quietly, she stepped out.

 

“…rrRRESSCHHIUHHhh!!! *sngk!* Hihh! EEIHh’szZZISSCHHIEWWw!!! … huhh… *snrk* hih! …”

 

A new sound greeted her, as she passed the  door to the attic. Her eyes naturally drifted upward.

 

“Hehh!” The next sneeze was smothered rather painfully, sounding harsh- “heH’Dj’EISSCHHIEWWW!!! *snrk!*”

 

Lily heard a soft sigh, and some thick sniffles as she got closer. As she kept walking toward the bathroom, another explosive sneeze could be heard.

 

“huUHt’EEISSCHHIEWWw!!! -ahh… *snngrk!* aghh…”

 

Those sniffles sounded so thick and congested, making Lily’s heart sink a little. She paused nervously by the ladder to the attic, but couldn’t see to the farther side, where the bed was. With a strange feeling of courage, she called up softly. “Morning.”

 

A soft, stunned silence, as Lily stared up at the wooden ceiling. From the far side of the room, she heard a gentle cough, in an attempt to clear his throat - then another, a bit more fierce - the poor guy.

 

“...Bordig.” 

 

Lily’s gaze descended, and she elected to keep walking quietly, to the bathroom. She might’ve cared to venture a soft ‘Are you okay?’, but that type of question seemed a bit cruel right now. There were some faint, congested-sounding blows that trailed off behind her as she shut the door. After finishing up in the bathroom, she dried her hands and headed downstairs. No one was there. She suspected that Allison and Hunter might still be sleeping. 

 

“… dDD’ZZSCHHhieww!! *snrk!*…”

 

Very faintly, the itchy, drawn-out fit continued. Lily turned on the stove. She set a pan onto one of the burners and went looking for ingredients. 

 

“USSCHHhioo!”

 

She found bacon and a half carton of eggs.

 

“-rrRR’USSCHHIEWw!! *snrgk*”

 

Then, the sound of footsteps came, the creaking of wooden floors beneath two stumbling pairs of feet. Lily stepped back and peered into the living room.

 

“I just don’t understand why they don’t let me do solos anymore,” Hunter was muttering.

 

“Because you keep doing these really long ones,” Allison supplied.

 

Lily waved as they entered the kitchen. “Hey.”

 

“Hi.” “Hi.” A sleepy duet.

 

“I’m makin’ breakfast,” Lily held up the proteins she found, and set them on the counter. 

 

“Oh, yay.” Allison yawned, and lifted a hand to excuse herself.

 

“You make any toast?” Hunter asked, scratching the back of his head. 

 

Lily was laying pieces of bacon over the frying pan. “No, you wanna start some?”

 

“Sure. How many would y’all want?”

 

“Two,” Allison said.

 

“Also two,” Lily added.

 

“Cool. I’ll make eight then,” Hunter began removing slices from the bag of bread. 

 

“haAAESSCHHIOOoo!!”

 

The oil began to hiss in the pan. Lily’s gaze drifted upward for a second. She watched with an absent gaze as Hunter loaded the toaster.

 

“Hey, does someone wanna go check on Jonah?” Lily suggested shyly.

 

Allison met her gaze, and her tired expression softened with a smile. “I’ll go,” she volunteered, and slouched off towards the living room. Lily beamed gratefully at her.

 

“Should I butter them first?” Hunter asked Lily.

 

Lily grinned up at him, a half foot taller than her. “Is this your first day making toast?” she joked.

 

“Wow, you’re mean,” Hunter answered, smirking.

 

Lily laughed softly. “Just leave them, maybe, I dunno if the others want butter.”

 

“Okay.”

 

“If they want, they can put it on after.”

 

Alison came back into the kitchen, and sat down. “He’s coming down in a few.”

 

“Alright,” Lily breathed.

 

As Lily monitored the bacon in the pan, she eventually heard the creaking of the ladder to the attic, and some thumping footsteps from above. Some moments later, the shower turned on.

 

“So what’d you two get up to last night?” Allison asked, reaching up to grab a mug from the cupboard.

 

“Uh, not much,” Lily replied on an exhale, poking the spatula at a piece of bacon that had stuck itself to the edge of the pan. “Just hung out. Went for a walk.”

 

“I saw,” Allison looked over with a grin. “Where did you guys go?”

 

Another harsh sneeze could be heard from upstairs, strangely muffled and echoed at the same time.

 

“Well, um…” Lily grabbed the plate she’d prepared next to the stove and began to pick up the cooked pieces of bacon. “He showed me this little pond nearby, with a meadow. It was quite nice.”

 

“Yeah? And what’d you do?”

 

Lily shot Allison a warning look. Her friend was staring at her, as if she accomplished some sort of sinful deed. She grinned, and tapped the bacon to let the oil drip before moving it onto the plate. “Said hi to Shrek and Fiona,” she smirked, and put the plate down on the counter. “Should I make more?”

 

“How, um, long? Is five minutes good?” Hunter questioned, turning the timer knob on the toaster oven.

 

“Did you stack them?” Lily came over to look.

 

“Just on the grills,” Hunter breathed. 

 

“Yeah, five minutes should be okay, I think.”

 

Allison poured water into the coffee maker and shut the lid on top. “You sure you aren’t Shrek and Fiona?”

 

Lily didn’t know how to respond to that. “I’m gonna make some more just in case.”

 

After frying up a few more pieces of bacon, Lily started to make scrambled eggs. She hoped that Jonah wouldn’t mind that she was using his family’s ingredients, and did her best to prepare them nicely. Allison helped her move things from the kitchen over to the dining room. Hunter’s toast was trudging along, coming out nice and brown. As Lily was transferring the scrambled eggs into a serving bowl, she felt a warm hand and forearm rest gently on her shoulder. 

 

“Mbordig,” Jonah greeted softly. His voice had improved slightly.

 

When Lily glanced up, his eyes were somewhere else - sore and bloodshot, his expression soft. His damp hair was combed back over his head. A slightly inappropriate thought struck Lily’s mind that may have been fair in this case - the jealousy that he could get his hair wet and still look pretty, not like her when she’d emerge looking like some poor, drenched cat. And he’d still pulled together a smart-looking outfit, an open denim button down over a thin white t-shirt, and brown plaid slacks. Not exactly woodsy, but she understood if that was the vibe today.

 

“Hey,” she greeted with a soft smile, putting the pan down on the stove. “You hungry?”

 

“Starved,” he replied.

 

Jonah watched as Lily brought the eggs over to the table, and reached over to a drawer by the sink to grab cutlery. Hunter approached the table with a pyramid of toast. 

 

“Ladies and gents, toast is served,” he announced triumphantly.

 

“Beautiful,” Lily supported with a grin. 

 

When she looked back to the kitchen to see if she’d forgotten anything, she saw Jonah standing there, holding some forks and spoons. He was doing the same as her, only in reverse. “Uh- Plates?”

 

“Oh yeah, that'd be great,” she responded, and walked past him to look for butter and jam.

 

She found a half jar of strawberry jam in the cupboard, and pulled a tub of margarine from the fridge. Jonah was lowering the cutlery onto a stack of plates. As she came up, his chin turned toward her again, his mouth opening slightly. He paused slightly, as if unsure of what to say.

 

“Wow, did- did you make all of this?” he asked her softly.

 

“I mean, Hunter made the toast,” Lily said, watching with amusement as Allison seemed to be doing a burn analysis on one of the pieces.

 

“Yeah, no shit,” Jonah breathed.

 

After a couple more seconds, Lily glanced up, and Jonah met her gaze - then their eye contact severed again, nervously.

 

Jonah cleared his throat and sniffed. “Ub, thank you, that was really…” His sore eyes were blinking. “Uh, I’b-”

 

“Of course,” Lily breathed, before he could apologize. She stood on her tiptoes and gave Jonah a small peck on the cheek. Her free hand rested on his arm for a moment, then she went to join the others at the table. Soon after, Jonah came and sat next to her, beginning to distribute the plates and cutlery.

 

-

 

Tune up.

 

Jonah was sitting on the living room floor against the couch in just his white t-shirt and brown slacks, with his dad’s shiny black Les Paul resting in his lap. He was playing with a clean, mellow tone, while Allison and Lily were humming, warming up. Hunter was on the couch with his drumsticks, surrounded by some stacked cardboard boxes.

 

“Are we gonna record it?” Allison looked towards the couch.

 

“Sure,” Jonah shrugged.

 

“Yeah, go ahead," said Hunter.

 

~

 

[-Allison Reyes’ Instagram Reels-]

 

*camera recording beep*

 

The four band members sit, ready. The song begins with Hunter, who uses his drumsticks to count them in.

 

And one, two, three, four-

 

“huHdt’ISSCHHiuhh-!!” 

 

“Dude, come on, man!”

 

“Sorry...”

 

A jump cut. “Hi guys, it’s the Clover Quartet,” Allison greets, and waves, along with the band. “We’re super excited to be performing tonight for the festival, so we’ll hopefully see you very soon,” she blows a kiss. “Much love, and in the meantime…”

 

~

 

“For god’s sakes,” Jonah chuckled, leaning his head back on the couch. The Les Paul was left on the guitar stand, the strap hung neatly over the cutaway.

 

“I still think it’s one of our best run throughs,” Hunter shrugged, pacing around and eating an apple.

 

“Yeah,” Allison tilted her bowed head, scrolling on her phone.

 

“hHAAESSCHhhiew!!” Jonah sneezed again, rather fiercely, into his elbow. “Aghh..”

 

“Bless you.”

 

“*snrgk!* Thagk you.”

 

His nose had been bothering him all morning, although when Lily asked, he said he’d taken his meds before he came down for breakfast. He kept sniffling wetly, and making hard, squelching rubs at his flushed nostrils with a curled knuckle. When he spoke, his voice was a bit hoarse.

 

“I liked the run you added at the beginning,” Jonah breathed, with a soft smile. 

 

“Thanks,” Lily beamed.

 

“I always get tebpted to… oh, hold od-'' Jonah turned away, his eyebrows furrowing. Quickly, he lifted the collar of his shirt. “hah’TDSCHHhh!!! -ahHt’DJSSCHHhhh!! -ahh, oh by god…”

 

“Bless you.”

 

Jonah kept rubbing his nose and sniffled liquidly. “…*sdrff!*” He grabbed a tissue from the box on the side table and folded it, his nostrils twinging impatiently. As he hurried to lift the tissue, a harsh, itchy sneeze erupted from him. “huHh- hEHdt’EEISSCHHIEWWw!!”

 

Lily winced a little, as the strong sneeze seemed to leave him a bit winded. “Bless you,” she breathed.

 

Jonah sniffled thickly, his eyes glassy and dazed. He panted a little, keeping the tissue over his nose. “Ahh… Oh, I’b sorry, hih-! That was loud…” He gave his itchy, reddened nostrils a hard rub, still looking sneezy. “huh! HUUTSCHHhiew!!” he turned again quickly, another smaller, ticklish sneeze escaping.

 

“Bless you,” she said gently, and ran a hand over his back.

 

“Thagk you,” he whispered, and got up, rubbing hard at his nose with the tissue. He paced into the dining room, and stumbled slightly with a harsh- “-USSCHHieww!!”

 

Then… “…USSCHHhiew!!”

 

“…AASCHhiew!! - Aasschieww!!”

 

Then, some weary breaths, and a gentle, but soaking nose blow. Lily heard some coughs, and glanced up with concern.

 

“Jonah, you okay?”

 

A soft sigh. “Yeah, I’b alive,” he muttered. He reappeared around the corner, leaning one hand on the wall while he dried his teary eyes with the tissue. 

 

“Yeah, he never sneezes just once,” Hunter said casually. 

 

Lily frowned a little, thinking she knew that, but not always to this extent. 

 

“Yeah… *snrk!*” Jonah leaned against the wall, and sniffled again, thickly. 

 

“Let’s take a break?” Allison suggested.

 

“Sure,” Hunter agreed, stretching his back.

 

“My mom made chilli, if you wanna have it for lunch, but,” Jonah began, wrinkling his nose. “There’s always the village, if you want to explore.”

 

Lily checked her phone again. The time read eleven-fifty. “I like chilli,” she said softly.

 

The group decided to stay at the cottage for lunch, and consumed a hearty serving of Jonah’s mother’s chilli. They weren’t scheduled to perform until the next day, so Hunter and Allison discussed going down to the lake again. Lily was considering it too - she’d only seen it the one time she and Jonah went to find them, and by then it had gotten quite dark out already. She remained at the empty dining table once people had finished, checking texts on her phone.

 

In the next room, she heard the warm tone of the Les Paul again, slightly squeaking with delay on the amp. Jonah was playing the intro to their original song, in a casual, candid sort of way that was looser than how he would play it onstage. And then, the notes slid into another sequence - the intro to ‘Plush’, with singular notes instead of chords, played softly at first, then a bit more jauntily. Lily smirked.

 

As Jonah began to repeat the sequence again, as it would, Lily wandered into the living room, where he was sitting on the floor with the guitar. Jonah glanced up at her as she approached. He stopped, having finished the intro - his face pulled into a small, funny sort of grin, as if he was a child caught being naughty.

 

Lily just came over and sat in front of him, her eyes caught on the sleek, slightly worn body of the Les Paul. She felt Jonah looking at her, and connected his gaze, leaning forward with a soft smile.

 

“...Well?” she prompted simply.

 

Jonah’s face spread into a wide grin. A soft, reverbing squeak sounded from the amp as he moved his fingers down the neck of the guitar.

 

“And I feeeel, that time’s a-wasted, go…”

 

Lily rested her chin in her hands, listening to him play and sing. Sometimes he could really pull off the grittiness with each vocal sustain, like Scott Weiland or Eddie Vedder; and she knew that sometimes he backed off from lead vocals on days like this, when his system was abused by the towering pollen count. Maybe it was strange for her to consider his voice ‘rare’, when perhaps he spoke and sang as much as any other performer. But she loved hearing it. Especially when he got into his element, forgetting the world around him.

 

Later in the day, Lily decided to go for a walk on her own. She hiked into the forest, under the mossy fallen trees and down the pathway on the steep hill. She ventured further into the clearing, admiring the wildflowers by the pond. She would definitely have to shower when she got back. She gazed at the shore along one side of the pond, where small stones lay in shades of blue-grey and reddish brown. Her cousin Randall was the type to be teasing her about Jonah, trying to make her smile whenever they hung out. Maybe she could be brave, and try to have fun while she could.

 

There were different types of unknowns, and braving the risks that came with them, such as a head bobbing below the lake’s surface. A tired pair of lungs guiding her out to the meadow. A small kiss on the cheek.

 

-

🧳🥃🪰🌿🕰️

[Last song recs: 5am - Leith Ross, Like Real People Do - Hozier, Phoenix - Slaughter Beach, Dog] 

[AntheaHolmes]

Oh this was so cute. Please continue. I love them. His sneezes are so itchy but also adorable. The way she cares, love it. 

[rockbell]

so cutee!!

[Skylacticon]

Thank you, glad you liked it!  @AntheaHolmes @rockbell

A bit of a bonus part - I wrote the beginning of part 3 from Jonah's perspective. Hope you might like. xx

-

 

Jonah’s eyes fluttered open, shifting from a lucid dream to the bright, early morning. He shut his eyes again, as they itched, blinking sorely. That wasn’t good. The fluttering of his eyelashes was enough to make them feel itchy, a sensation that spread from behind his eyes, into his sensitive nasal passages. Jonah realized then that he was mostly breathing through his mouth, and sat up a little in bed. The itching sensation began to intensify, causing him to gasp a little, blinking his stinging eyes.

 

A new, urgent thought: ‘I have to sneeze’.

 

Wrinkling his nose, he reached towards his nightstand, where he almost always remembered to keep tissues. His fingers met the flat surface of the table, and the base of the lamp. He looked over. Shit, he may have forgotten the box downstairs. Meanwhile, his nose was burning, his breath beginning to shake.

 

He forced himself to exhale, and immediately after had to sniffle. He winced as the itching, prickling sensation dug in deep, and drew in an uncontrollable gasp of air.

 

“hihH-!”

 

‘Oh, for god’s sakes’. Jonah let his eyes fall shut, and lifted an elbow to his face as the sensation overwhelmed him.

 

“hrrRR’ESSSCHHIUHHhh!!!” He sniffled thickly, cringing at the feel of the wet spray on his arm. He snorted and sniffed, his itchy nostrils overflowing with moisture.

 

He was trying to remember where he’d left his good handkerchief. It was probably in his jacket pocket… the left one… He sniffled liquidly, his eyes bleary and pink. The urge to sneeze took over again, and he tucked his face into his shoulder, burying his nose in the fabric.

 

“EEIHh’szZZISSCHHIEWWw!!! … huhh… *snrk* hih! …” He panted a little, sniffling harder as his nose was dripping.

 

He sighed and got out of bed. He heard a door creak open on the floor below the attic. He wasn’t sure which room it was, but someone could be there. He went to the seat by the window, where he’d tossed his jacket the evening before. There it was. He pulled his extra hanky from the left pocket and breathlessly folded it.

 

Trying to stay upright in this wobbly combination of allergy attack and sleepy disorientation, he sneezed again.

 

"heH’Dj’EISSCHHIEWWW!!! *snrk!*”

 

He’d managed to lift the handkerchief midway, barely smothering the explosive, desperate sneeze. It was quite powerful, causing his long torso to double over. He reached for the edge of the dresser, leaning on it for a moment as he panted. Then quickly, pulled his hand and put it on his aching abdomen, as he raised the hanky to catch another harsh, body-bending sneeze.

 

“huUHt’EEISSCHHIEWWw!!! -ahh… *snngrk!* aghh…”

 

He shuffled blindly back over to the bed and sat down. Sniffling thickly, he looked towards the window, at the sunlight shining through.

 

“Morning,” a voice called gently.

 

Jonah startled slightly, despite possibly having known someone was there. But it was Lily - her gentle voice slightly rough with sleep. He froze, like a deer in the headlights - then finally found to courage to reply, and tried to clear his throat. After two rough, scratchy attempts, he gave his best.

 

“…Bordig,” he replied croakily, his prickling, swollen sinuses protesting at such an action.

 

He pressed the hanky to his nose and held his breath. God, he had to sneeze. He groaned mentally, wondering if it would be like this all day. He might as well get through this part of it, and hope that it was just a morning fit.

 

He exhaled through his nose, trying to for as long as he could without sneezing. At first, the blow was gushing and wet, but afterwards he still felt blocked up, his poor sinuses swollen and itchy. The door to the bathroom closed below. Jonah snuffled and reached into his dresser to look for another hanky. Oh, he had to sneeze again…

 

Moments later, he heard the door to the bathroom open. He heard the flick of the light switch, and the sound of Lily’s footsteps going down the stairs. Luckily he’d found two clean handkerchiefs in one of his drawers. He dropped the soiled one in his hamper, and began to fold the softer of the new pair.

 

“… dDD’ZZSCHHhieww!!” he let out another harsh, desperate sneeze into the cloth.

 

He lowered the hanky, his eyelids still fluttering. It was tickling so intensely, causing his breath to halt- coming back in short, hitching gasps. Why it waited so, he wasn't sure. All he was presented with was the intensity, the overwhelming need for release, which... waited, a torturous sort of grace period before it decided to come. Jonah sat there, his expression frozen in an itchy, allergic, miserable state, his poor, flushed nose pointing into the air.

 

But all that hitching and pausing finally translated into a pathetic, throat-scratching-

 

“USSCHHhioo!!”

 

-that did nothing to tame the-

 

“-rrRR’USSCHHIEWw!! *snrgk*”

 

...the…

 

“… *snnnrgk!* unhh…”

 

...the itch.

 

Jonah rubbed hard at his nose. How could he be feeling this itchy? He could’ve sworn his had his meds last night. Speaking of meds, he needed to take them right now. As Jonah turned to the other side of the bed and opened the drawer in his nightstand, he heard more footsteps below, accompanied by chatter.

 

“If you do that, I’ll toss you in the lake,” Allison was grumbling sleepily.

 

“C’mon, I think with a nice lo-fi beat, we could beat that other one. I’ll call it ‘Ally Don’t Snore’,” Hunter proposed.

 

There was a cloth-y whacking sound. Jonah snorted softly, uncapping his water bottle and raising it to swallow his prescription pills. He cleared his throat again gently, raising the back of his hand to press against his troubled nose. He blinked his sore, itchy eyes, and took a few more sips of water.

 

After a dawdling moment, he reached again into the side table drawer, and took out a small bottle of nasal spray. Coughing lightly, he knew that it might help - but he just felt so sneezy already, that a stubborn part of him just sat, staring at the wooden walls with his chin resting on his hand. After a bit, he lifted his chin, and removed the cap on the bottle.

 

He coughed again, having accidentally sprayed it in a way that must have gotten the back of his throat. Trying to still his breathing, he quickly and steadily did the other nostril.

 

As itchy tears welled in his eyes, he capped the nasal spray and put it back in the door, sliding it shut. His teary eyes fluttered shut, and he pushed the back of his hand hard against his flushed, twinging nose. The urge to sneeze loomed heavily for a few seconds, and he struggled to resist it.

 

He remembered to breathe just then, sniffling wetly, and immediately pinched his streaming nose- “nN’xXrGgkk!! -hnhhh…” -well, lovely, with the hand that wasn’t holding the hanky. He tried his hardest to remember that it would work better if he didn’t sneeze, but…

 

His long fingers fumbled with the handkerchief, his eyes welling up again and his sensitive, allergic nose seeming unable to see reason at this time…

 

“haAAESSCHHIOOoo!!”

 

Well, the goal was that it would work, to any degree. Jonah blew his nose gently, and carefully rubbed it through the cloth.

 

“Hey, uh. Jonah?”

 

Jonah perked up at the sound of another voice calling up through the open hatch to the attic. One thing about the ladder to the attic was the atrocious noise it made when anyone tried to climb it. It still seemed structurally sound enough to take his weight, although for some, the creaking and clunking was enough to make them hesitate. Therefore it seemed understandable that Allison only waited below the hatch, and by extension, left him with a bit of privacy. He made a cautious attempt to clear his throat, and sniffed.

 

“Hey,” he rasped, as casually as his state would allow.

 

“Just checking on you,” she said kindly. Jonah lowered the cloth and combed his gnarly dark hair back with his fingers. Allison went on, casual and caring. “Lily’s making breakfast, so if you wanna come join us, there’s bacon and eggs, and toast.”

 

Jonah froze, his fingers still raked in his messy hair. Lily was… making breakfast? He could feel himself waking up for real.

 

“Uh, sounds good. I’ll, ub… I’ll be dowd id a few bidutes, *ahemm*” he managed to say, the congestion thick in his voice. He sniffled sharply, and let out a soft sigh, letting his hand descend from his hair.

 

“Okay.”

 

Jonah glanced around blankly. He was still in his sleepwear, an old grey t-shirt from phys ed, and some thin pyjama pants that had a green camouflage pattern. He raised the hanky to blow his nose briefly, which was actually a little better after the nasal spray. That, he could tell, because on the next whistling breath through his nose, he could smell bacon.

 

Jonah went to his suitcase and grabbed his towel and bag of toiletries. Carefully, he made his way down the ladder, its old springs groaning beneath his weight. Then, he shuffled into the bathroom to take a shower.

[AntheaHolmes]

Love the scene from Jonah's perspective!