A Flutter in Time

Chapter 9 - Misunderstanding

"H-hello?"

"Hi! I'm Grian. I'm a friend of Etho's! Can I come in?" Joel tensed.

"No. I'm not the happiest with him right now and-" Grian pushed past Joel into the house, "HEY! I said no!" Grian shrugged and sat on Joel's couch.

"But I say yes."

"I-I'll call the police!" Grian chuckled.

"Always you and your anger issues. They get you into a lot of trouble." 

"Wh-what?"

"We both know you aren't going to actually call the police on me. Now sit down. I have some things to discuss with you." Joel rolled his eyes and sat down on one of the armchairs in the living room. He spoke, annoyance clear in his tone.

"What do you want?" Grian just smiled.

"Glad you asked! I'm working on a school project, and have to educate twenty people about the topic of my report. You're one of the lucky ones who gets to hear my presentation!" Joel pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Grian, I'm not in the mood for this..."

"Too bad! Now, I'm gonna educate you on a disease called Hanahaki. You ever heard of it?" Joel shook his head.

"Can't say I have..."

"It's pretty rare. It's a disease caused by unrequited love." Joel rolled his eyes.

"That is not real."

"It is! I've seen a few cases of it in my day."

"Fine. Whatever. Just get this over with." Grian frowned.

"Rude. Anyway, Hanahaki is caused by unrequited love. When someone catches it, they will start growing flowers in their lungs. The flowers will start twisting and wrapping around the lungs until the person suffocates." Joel's nose scrunched in disgust.

"That's horrid. This made up disease sounds terrible."

"It's not made up..."

"Whatever. Go on."

"Well, there are two ways to cure it. Number one, you get the person to reciprocate the feelings. Or, number two, you get the flowers surgically removed."

"Oh really?"

"Yup! But there's a catch with both. For the first, if the person doesn't love you back, the flowers will grow faster, and you'll have to get the surgery. And for the surgery option, it removes the flowers, but it also removes your ability to love." Joel seemed to get a bit more interested.

"That's... scary." Grian nodded in agreeance. 

"And it's a real thing. Rare, yes, but real." Joel's eyes went wide.

"Wait... actually? You aren't just messing with me?"

"Nope. Like I said, I know people who have gotten it." Joel looked shocked.

"A-and did they get cured? Did they get their love reciprocated?" Grian chuckled.

"Some of them, yeah. Others weren't so lucky. Some got the surgery, others just let themselves die."

"That's bloody terrible!" Joel grew very worried. Grian smiled sadly.

"Yeah, but sometimes it's better to die loving someone than to have your love for them die." Joel stood up and stared at Grian.

"That's horrible! Why the heck would you want to do a school project on that?!?! What class is it even for anyway?" Grian shrugged.

"It's just interesting to me I guess." Joel paced a bit.

"To think that someone could be suffocated by flowers in their lungs..." Joel shuttered at the thought.

"Yeah... they usually cough up a bunch of petals and thorns before it actually kills them. It could take months to fully suffocate them." Joel looked even more shocked.

"MONTHS? Months of pain? That's awful!" Joel felt like he was going to be sick. Grian grinned mischievously. 

"Yeah... but there's something quite romantic and interesting about it. The fact that someone can be so in love that it physically takes their breath away. And the flowers that grow in their lungs, I've found, usually have meanings that correlate with how someone feels. Are you familiar with flower meanings, Joel?" Grian quirked his head curiously, although he smiled as if he already knew the answer.

"A bit," Hw thought for a moment, "when I was in 6th grade I dated a girl who was really into them."

"Lizzie, right?" Joel's eyes widened.

"How did you-"

"I know a lot of things Joel."

"What?"

"Your favorite flower is the lily of the valley, right?" Joel looked stunned.

"Y-yeah but-"

"That one means happiness and luck. People usually give them to their lovers." 

"Yeah I knew that but-"

"Etho doesn't have a boyfriend you know." That comment came from out of nowhere. Joel broke, voice going quiet.

"W-who are you?" Grian smiled sweetly, wings fluttering behind him.

"Me? I'm just Grian." Joel sat back down in the armchair, mind racing.

"Wha- what do you mean Etho doesn't have a boyfriend? I mean, Katherine saw him with some other guy..." Grian chuckled.

"It's a little complicated Joel. I think you just need to talk to him."

"But I don't-"

"Have his phone number? I know. He doesn't have a phone. Here's his address though! Or well.. The place he hangs out the most." Grian handed Joel a slip of paper with the address to the lab scribbled on it.

"T-thanks?"

"Anytime! Now, I should probably get going, I've got a lot of people to visit." Grian stood and walked to the door. Joel followed.

"Oh right, to tell them about your project, right? You never told me what class it was for?" Joel asked, opening the door for him. Grian smirked mischievously. 

"What project?" He then winked and disappeared out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Joel's eyes went wide. He reopened the door.

"Hey wait!-" But Grian was already gone. Joel stared down at the slip of paper in his hands. What on earth had just happened?

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Hehehehe~ Grian is so fun to write 

Excited to get back to writing this story, hope you're excited to get into the crazy stuffs!

Thanks for reading! Now go to sleep. I see you there. 

- Cloud

(2025 words above the line)