CONTENT WARNING
descriptions of thalassemia (lack of oxygen cells in the blood) and anemia (lack of iron) and the treatment used against them (blood transfusions)
Category : Fluff/Angst
Request : "Felix moves to Changbin's school and everyone is shocked because he's taking care of Felix and smiling"
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SSICK
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We all know the story of boy meets girl. Boy and girl meet in school and boy falls in love with the girl. After a long time, the girl eventually begins to love him back. Then the two will graduate, get married, have kids, and live together until they're old and gray and one passes away.
When we read these stories as children, we always believe that they're real. That they're these tangible lives we'll all happily live. You grow up being convinced that it's just how the world works.
And you don't find out it's all a load of shit until it's too late.
You see, my story changed early on. Lie number one was boy meets girl. My fairytale involved two boys in the gym locker room in seventh grade. Everyone else had already filtered out and headed home after basketball practice. It was only me and that year's foreign exchange student from Germany, Otto Adal. He was my first kiss and I thought I was in love.
Till I came back the next year and he was gone, traveling back home a month before without a word.
However, as I grew older, the rest seemed to fall into place. I met a boy, a lovely boy who made my heart race every time I saw him. He was strong, caring, funny, and just everything a guy could ask for. The only downside was our school differences.
He went to the Seoul Institute of the Arts and Literature. A prestigious secondary school for the rich and mildly famous. Me on the other hand, I went to Seoul Consolidated. I know, even the name alone sounds poor.
Seoul Consolidated is an ancient, broken-down dumpster fire that the "less fortunate" send their children to. This means if your house makes less than the cost of a Ford Mustang annually then the country pretends to care about you enough to get you through algebra.
We made it work though.
Until the second lie came crashing down on me.
One year, five months, and sixteen days into our relationship I was rushed to the closest hospital after passing out during work. They did test after test, drained vile after vile of my blood, and came to the conclusion that I had severe thalassemia that then caused anemia.
They explained that thalassemia was inherited and that three of the four genes involved in making hemoglobin in my body were mutated. This meant one of my parents had mild thalassemia and the other was a carrier for the disease; however, neither of them was in need of treatment. I, on the other hand, severely needed medication and blood transfusions to care for the diseases. Both of which my parents couldn't afford, meaning I wouldn't be getting them.
The diagnosis explained a lot about me though. It explained why I was sickly pale, and why I was almost always fatigued. It told my parents that my frequent abdominal swelling as a child and my stunted growth weren't something they were the cause of. I was just a sick kid who doctors could never help due to the lack of funds for care.
I told Changbin the next day, which then resulted in him asking me thousands of questions, none of which I had the energy to answer.
"Bin." I sighed, exhausted as always
Changbin was pacing around my room, most likely burning a circular path in my already worn-down rug. I'd never seen him this anxious before. His confidence always filled the room where ever he went, but that was just part of the deal when it came to dating the "most popular boy in school." God, gag me.
"What are you going to do to treat it? It took them this long to notice, so it can't be deadly. And what about your work? You'll have to cut down on shifts so that you don't pass out again."
I flopped back on my bed, sprawling out in a starfish shape.
"We aren't going to treat it. The cheapest option we have is to get vitamins, but they're not a be-all-end-all, especially for severe cases like mine."
I felt the bed dip and a glance over told me that Changbin was kneeling on the edge of my bed.
"What's the be-all-end-all then?"
I closed my eyes, "There isn't one. Thalassemia doesn't go away. The best they can do is give regularly scheduled blood transfusions."
"Then do that! I'll help pay for them!" He yelled
I shook my head, covering my face with my hands. I shrank into myself. I always deflate when Changbin tries to give me money. I hate the idea of him paying for my anything. I know people at his school found out that he was dating someone from Seoul Consolidated. I've heard the rumors people spread about the mystery person just leeching off of him for money.
"No Changbin, no. I can't let you do that. Even if I did, half of it on a regular basis is still too much for my parents to afford."
I could feel him start moving on the bed, coming closer to me. He ended up hovering over me. He had pulled my hands away so I opened my eyes.
"I don't care if it's expensive, and if what I pitch in isn't enough then my parents will help. They love you, you know that. They'd do anything for you to stick around if it meant their boy stayed straight," he scrunched up his nose," well not straight straight, but you get the point."
I hit his chest slightly and laughed, "Oh shut up you weirdo. This is not the time to make a gay joke."
He laughed as well, grabbing my hands and interlocking our fingers. I let my thumbs brush over his knuckles.
"Okay, okay, but I'm serious. Let me do something for you. I can't just let you go untreated now that we know what's wrong."
"Binnie."
He squeezed my hands, "Felix, please. Just, please. Let me do this."
I stared at his face, my eyes flicking across his features. There was so much worry, so much pain, etched into his skin. He looked like he aged twenty years in the span of a few hours. I don't want that. I don't want my disease to affect him like this. I want to see his smile again. The one he gives me when he laughs so hard he stomps and his voice seems to increase three octaves.
I let out a breath of air, "Fine, yes, okay. I'll let you do something."
I could see the wheels turning in his head as he perked up. I let one finger escape from its lock and pointed at him.
"Not the blood transfusions. I won't mooch off of you like that. We can do the vitamins. They won't help completely, but the doctor said they can help regulate my symptoms. I won't be as weak or as tired as often."
"That's okay, I can handle that," he dropped his head down and kissed my cheek, "god, thank you. I'll take care of you, I promise."
His kisses traveled to my nose bridge, then my forehead, and surround my face until he hit my lips. He continuously pecked them, so fast I could hardly time them to kiss back. I dropped one of his hands, letting it slip into his hair and mess with the strands there.
"Thank you too, Jingjingie," I whispered between the kisses
He pulled back, giving me an offended look, "You know, the moment is much less sincere when you call me whiny in the same breath."
I raised my eyebrow at him, "Really? I thought you would like that."
He scoffed, "Well, you must not know me then. I only accept the title of whiny when I whine, not when I'm begging my boyfriend to let me care for him."
I hummed, smiling again, "Oh I guess not then. This past year must have all been for nothing."
He smiled back at me, "I think it might have been just that."
I nodded, smiling wider as he leaned down to kiss me again.
The third lie hit two months later. By then I was taking daily vitamin pills. I wasn't cured but I was better. I had gained back some color to my skin. I wasn't as tired. I could keep up with my friend Minho as he attempted to teach me to dance. Picking up my 15Lb cat wasn't as much of a hassle as it once was. I felt good, for the first time in a long time.
Then my mother got the email.
"Dear students of Seoul Consolidated, due to much-needed maintenance, we will be shutting down for the rest of the school year. We are very sorry l and we understand what this means for many of you. If you need any financial and/or housing help call blah blah blah blah blah."
I tossed my phone onto Changbin's bed, tired of looking at the blatant lies. He stared up at me from his floor. He had been sitting there for an hour, letting me rant about the email before I even read it to him.
"Don't they need to give you all more time for this? I mean, giving an entire school filled with children no heads up and just closing down can not be legal."
I laughed, an ugly, sad noise, "Yeah, and so what if it is? None of us can afford to sue them or something anyways."
Changbin reached out and grabbed my hand pulling me down in front of him. I fell easily, landing in a heap of limbs.
"Do your parents know what they're going to do?" He questioned
I shrugged, "I don't know, pull me out of school completely or something. Seoul Consolidated was the cheapest school in Korea. We can't go anywhere else."
"There has to be something. You're an ace student. There has to be somewhere that will take you in for your grades."
Arms wrapped around my torso and pulled me into his chest. His chin pressed into the top of my head.
"Binnie, I'm a B student, not in the honors society. They don't give out scholarships to B students."
His chin jerked away from my head, "The Institute does! Most kids there a passing because their families pay everyone off, so they have a scholarship for actual hard-working students. It's the scores they show publicly."
A small laugh escaped my mouth, "Oh really, and they'd give that to me why?"
His arms pulled away and he moved from his spot behind me, instead moving in front of me.
"Think about it from their perspective," he lifted his left hand into the air, moving it as if he was laying out a blueprint, "Sick student loses everything but is rescued by Korea's top school. They'd get amazing press for something like this. Plus, you being a B student will be another person to average out all of the bribe grades, so the scores seem real."
I nodded my head, laughing at his insanity.
"Come on, what do you think?"
I moved onto my knees and scooted closer to him until I was in his lap, "What do I think?"
He gave me a firm nod. I took a breath in, placing my hands on his shoulders. He moves to rest at my waist.
"Well, I think that you should definitely find a career far away from journalism."
He opened his mouth to say something, but I placed a finger onto his lips to get him to stop.
"But I'll give it a chance. Only because you're cute when you're excited."
He smiled wide behind my finger before kissing it. I placed my hand back on his shoulder as he began a round of assault kisses.
With the Seo family's help, my scholarship application went through smoothly. I was able to transfer to the Institute quickly due to the school board's greediness. Changbin drove me to school every morning and to work after. We didn't share any classes, but he always seemed to meet me at the end.
"How do you always get here right as the bell rings? Your classes are basically in Narnia."
He was walking me from Literature 207 to Advanced English during my second week there.
He shrugged, "Who said I was in class?"
I stopped and stared at him, "You have to be joking!"
He stopped and turned back to look at me, "Come on, you know me, school isn't my thing."
"Yeah, but it's important! What about your grades, you told me you were doing better!"
He placed his hands on my shoulders, "Just because I'm not in class doesn't mean I don't get the work done."
I huffed out a breath and began to walk again. Changbin adjusted with me, beginning to walk beside me and grabbing my hand. He interlocked our fingers and bring the back of my hand up to his mouth to place a light kiss on it.
"No, no acting sweet to get out of this." I said through a small smile, "Why are you even here then? What's the point of being at school if you aren't in class."
"You're here." He said simply
I bumped into his shoulder jokingly, "Oh, don't be gross. Tell me the real answer, you weirdo."
I could feel his smile, "That's the real answer. You being here make sitting in empty rooms all day worth it."
I glanced at him, my face seemingly showing my doubts due to his reaction.
He laughed, "Ask anyone here, I didn't even attempt to show face until you were here. Driving you to school every day, surprising you at your locker," he lifted out interlocked hands, "holding your hand as I walk you through the halls, it all feels so mundane and perfect. I'd go through years of those empty rooms just for this."
Our hands flopped back to our sides. I nodded my head and laughed.
"Okay, yeah, I'll definitely accept that."
He laughed back and kissed my cheek, "Good, cause it took a lot of energy to come up with such a solid lie."
I scoffed and bumped into his shoulder again, pushing him away slightly, "Shut up."
He laughed, the loud stomping one I love. It echoed through the hallway, gathering the attention of the students around us. Many of them stated at us like we both sprouted three heads, four arms, and a tail. I was paying so much attention to them that I didn't realize someone had come up beside him.
"You okay there, Changbin. You're doing this weird noise with your mouth that I haven't heard before and it sounds a lot like you're having a stroke."
My head snapped to the voice. It was a tall, pretty boy with long black hair. He had large eyes, big lips, and a defined nose. His skin seemed so dewy and soft that it almost looked like it glittered brighter than diamonds dangling from his ears.
Bin smacked his arm, "Oh shut it, bean stock."
The other boy gave a short nod, "And you're back."
He looked at me and waved, "Hey, I'm Hyunjin. I'm one of the only few people who can handle this guy's grouchy ass. You must be Felix."
I nodded, smiling at him.
His hands flew up and slammed together, creating a loud, short clap, "Well, it's good you're here. I'm pretty bored of hearing this dick talking about how much he misses you all the time."
He snapped, pointing down the hallway, "This also means people might stop hitting on your gremlin face all the time. Now they'll know you already bagged someone ten times hotter than you, so you don't need a new one."
Changbin dropped my hand, reaching for the boy. He was too late though, as the kid had already run off down the hall, expecting that reaction.
Changbin turned to me, "I need to lower his ego a bit."
He gave me a quick kiss before walking backward, "I'll meet you by your locker after class. Love you."
With that, he turned and began to run down the hall in the same direction as the boy. I waved to him while laughing, even though I knew he couldn't see me. Glancing to my left, I saw that I had ended up at my next class during the mess. I smiled and opened the door, walking in.