I'm just lonely (somebody reach out and hold me)

Falling Down, I'm An Alien On This Earth

Today was not a good day for Lee Felix.

First, like any cliché character from every single drama he'd ever watched, he woke up late for school.

Second, when he tried to get out of bed, he was assaulted by a headache stronger than he'd ever felt before, and a wave of nausea had ushered him to the bathroom the next second.

Third, he didn't make it in time to said bathroom, and ended up emptying his already empty stomach on the tiled floor, bile burning his throat and tears searing his eyes.

Ugh, of all the days to get sick...

Once Felix stopped hacking out acidic saliva and undigested chunks of yesterday's measly cup of ramen he had had for dinner, he gathered his strength and dragged his feet to the kitchen. Downing an icy glass of water – which momentarily alleviated his pounding headache, but not for long – he then got started on cleaning up. 

As he finished cleaning up the bathroom floor, though, another wave of nausea that thankfully didn't make him throw up again convinced him that he would not be going to school today. Screw his classes, screw his exams – he was going to keel over the moment he stepped foot outside his apartment, that much he was certain of.

He groaned as he felt his t-shirt sticking to his sweat-covered back. He hadn't even noticed up until now, but his temperature was definitely too high for it to be healthy.

He took a very brief shower to get rid of the immediate discomfort before changing into a fresh pair of sweatpants, not even bothering with putting on a shirt. Drinking some more water, he somehow found the strength to write a brief e-mail to his RA before dragging himself back to bed and flopping onto the mattress, exhausted.

Felix absolutely hated being sick. Hopefully, whatever bug he had caught would be gone by the time he woke up again.

.

Felix did not feel better upon waking up.

In fact, he felt worse.

His entire body ached as if he had run an entire marathon without even warming up. His skin felt hot, molten lava running through his veins. His head was throbbing as if someone inside was trying to break through with a pickaxe and, the moment he tried to move, pain shot throughout his entire body as it spasmed, his muscles contracting and refusing to answer.

When he tried to open his eyes, all he saw was absolute darkness. No matter how many times be blinked, he might as well have become blind – he couldn't see shit. Panic set in as he felt tears trail down his cheeks, ice-cold against his sun-kissed skin. And, when he tried to open his mouth to call for help – it was unlikely someone would hear him, but he didn't have many other options – all that came out was a garbled whimper. His vocal cords didn't work either, sore and raw, and his gums were aching, pain biting under his teeth as if someone was pressing ice-cream directly onto the nerves.

Felix had been hurt at numerous occasions in his life, for a variety of reasons. He had felt the pain of breaking his wrist the first time he fell off his bike, he had felt the pain of disappointment when he failed a math exam he had studied really hard for, he had felt the pain of humiliation when he was publicly rejected by his first crush, and then was relentlessly teased for it for the rest of the year.

He had felt the pain of a punch to the face when he stood up for one of his friends back in high school. He had felt the pain of heartbreak when he broke up with his first boyfriend because things simply weren't working out between them, no matter how much they loved each other. He had felt the pain of busting his skull right open after performing one stunts too many on his skateboard.