Replay {Skephalo}

28 | Preparation

It's the hanahaki.

I grab Vincent under the arms and bring him towards the nearest sink. He's clearly incapable of standing by himself currently. The blood runs from our hands as we both wash them, tainting the sink red. The memories flood back again and I scrunch my eyes, shoving them away. The room is covered in a thick layer of silence, both of us lost for words. It takes a lot of my strength not to pass out on the spot. I need to stay in control here.

Our bags are laying in the far corner, and Vincent stumbles towards them. He pulls out a pack of disinfectant wipes. He almost falls again trying to stand back up, but I manage to catch him just before he hits the floor. "No" I mutter. "You sit. I'm cleaning, and you're explaining."

He reluctantly hands me the packet, and I start cleaning the cubicle. "So, how come you almost choked to death this time?" I manage to gasp, desperately swallowing the bile that rises in my throat. Vincent is sat on to of the cabinet, panting with wide eyes. We sit in silence for a few minutes as he regains his breath. "Well um-" he pants. "The flowers get bigger the longer it goes on." My eyes widen, hand left in midair as I process his words. If I hadn't been here, he would've choked to death.

"You realise if I hadn't been here you'd have choked to death" I stutter, vocalising my thoughts. His gaze drops to the floor, tears forming in his eyes. "Yeah I... I realised that..." Our eyes lock for a second. "Thank you" he says, forcing a weak smile. "You just saved my life." I brush off his thanks. "Don't be too thankful yet..." I mutter.

Dread runs through me, turning my blood cold. The cubicle is almost clean at last, which I'm very thankful for. If I see any more blood in the next 24 hours, I think I might puke.

Or faint.

Or both.

"So how often does this happen?" I ask quietly, dreading the answer. If it's frequently, I'm terrified. The next time he's alone, that will most likely kill him. "Whenever I think about him..." he whispers, eyes fixed on something in the distance. For some reason, he can't look at me at all. He's probably embarrassed.

"Alright. And how do we stop it?" There must be a way. I remember Vincent telling me about one the first time I confronted him about his hanahaki, I just hope it's simple. "Oh. I just have to confess my feelings to him."

My breathing slows, body relaxing as I sign in relief. "Oh! That's easy!" I chirp, relived at the cure. My best friend's chestnut eyes brim with tears. "If only..." he laughs softly. "They have to return the feelings. You can't fake it either, the disease knows. Or maybe I could kiss him, I think that'd trick the disease even if the feelings aren't returned."

Oh. Well that makes our job a little harder.

My body tenses again. "Oh, well I hate to tell you, but I know the feelings aren't returned. He likes George." Vincent is oddly quiet. "I know" he says, voice steady. How is he so calm about this?

Clay is the reason he's dying, Vin is going to die.

"Well in that case, I guess we'll have to use option 2" I say, faking confidence in hopes to boost his spirits. "What do you mean we?" I lay a hand on his shoulder. "I mean we're doing this together Vin. I'm not leaving your side from now on. When the hanahaki returns, you need someone to be there with you." I lay a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. "That person is gonna be me."

His eyes return to mine, full of tears. A couple overflow, running down his cheeks. "Thanks Zak" he chokes out, voice trembling. "But how are we doing this?"

"Well." I interlock my fingers and stretch my arms out in front of me. "I've been thinking about that. I have a plan."

~~~