• Cassandra •
"Ah... ACHOO!"
"Aw, Cassie, come on! You've been like this since the observatory! I think you're sick,"
"No way! I've never been sick and I'm not starting now!"
"You know you don't exactly get to pick when you get sick,"
"I KNOW CLEMOMT THANK YOU FOR THAT INTERESTING TIDBIT OF INFORMATION."
"Wow, you're a mean sick person,"
I sent a small glare Bonnie's way, which caused her to nervously chuckle before hiding behind her brother.
We were currently trying to resume the path to Cyllage City and get there without any more interruptions like crazy pokemon, evil teams, and weird people.
For some reason, ever since the whole incident at the observatory, my body has been going crazy, health-wise. Every 5 seconds, my nose would tickle and a loud sneeze would explode from me. Every 2 seconds, I had to sniffle up something dripping from my nose. And constantly, my throat was itching and scratching.
"I'm fine, there's no need to worry. I just need a nice, warm cup of tea as soon as we get into town-" I was cut off by my own phlegm getting caught in my throat and having to cough it away.
"Maybe we should take a break! Rest up and relax! We have been walking for a while," Serena recommended and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I knew she was just doing this to get me to rest and get over this "sIcKnEsS."
"No, we don't need-"
"THAT SOUNDS GREAT!"
"SMART THINKING SERENA!"
"LOVE THAT IDEA!"
Before I could even finish taking a breath, I felt myself being pushed and dragged from all directions towards an empty spot in the forest. I was pushed into sitting down on the plain forest floor as everyone started to set up camp. Even Eevee was making sure I stayed down.
Great, they turned my best friend against me.
*****
"I can help if you want, Serena. I'm feeling much better now!"
"Are you sure, Cassie? I don't want you to overwork yourself or make anything worse..."
"Pssshh, that's crazy talk! You've listened to one too many Team Rocket monologues. I can help, I swear! Please..." I extended the length of the single syllable in my last word as I gave my cheesiest smile. Yes, I was trying to get someone to let me do stuff.
I have no shame.
"Fine, just don't go too overboard!"
"Yay!"
I cheered before attacking Serena with a quick hug and bouncing up and down with excitement. She told me all about the performance she was planning, including the dance moves, pokemon moves, and outfits she and Fennekin were going to wear.
"Ok, lemme show you the moves." The dance consisted of a series of twirls, spins, leaps, and steps all over the floor, being enhanced by Fennekin's moves complimenting the magic displayed in the performance.
After showing me the full dance, I gave her a few notes on it, taking from what I've only read in books and seen on the big screens in different cities before. Some of my notes seemed to confuse the honey-blonde girl, so in attempts to show her how the notes would adjust the dance, I stood up from the stump I had been sitting on and showed her myself.
I added twirls and hops and made sure some steps wouldn't cause her to trip over Fennekin.
In the middle of my "coaching," a sudden wave of heat rushed over me and I felt my entire body become drenched in sweat. My head suddenly became dizzy and I felt my feet below me start to give out.
I slowly crouched down and held myself up on the damp grass below me. I tried catching my breath and straightening my blurring thought while I felt Serena quickly run to my side and try to help me up.
"CASSIE! You- You're burning up!"
"No! No, I'm not! Just a little sweaty... I'm ok! I'm great! I'm AWESOME!" I found the strength to stand back up and gently patted Serena on her shoulders in order to try and calm her down. I just shook my head at her and denied everything she was saying about me being "tOo sIcK" and "i nEeD tO rEsT."
I moved away from Serena, heat from frustration continuing to radiate from my body as I moved towards where Ash was cautiously watching our encounter and training for his next battle.
"Heeeeey Ashhhh..."
"Heeey Casss..." I could hear the caution in his voice as I inched closer. I furrowed my eyebrows once I finally reached him and unknowingly reached out for his hands. I spun him around giggled as the sweats started to drench my body. Once I finished with the wobbly spins, I tried my hand at convincing Ash to let me help HIM.
"Can I help you train? Please~" I made sure to tilt my head and use a look that matched one of a begging Eevee. Ash switched from my hands holding his to him holding mine and my already red and sweating face burned more.
"No~ Maybe you should sit and watch Clemont build or talk with Bonnie..."
"Why can't you understand? I'M NOT SICK! I CAN'T GET SICK!" I was starting to get annoyed as all heck with Ash being cautious around me.
"YOU CAN! YOU'RE HUMAN!"
"BUT I'M ONE THAT DOESN'T GET SICK, OK?"
"WHY CAN'T YOU JUST ACCEPT THAT YOU'RE SICK AND GET SOME REST?"
"BECAUSE I AM NOT WEAK ASH! And I refuse to let anyone or anything think otherwise!" All the yelling was exhausting me and I felt my body started overheating and I couldn't find the strength to stand anymore. My legs gave out from under me, again, but I felt a strong pair of arms hold onto me.
"Let's get you into a tent,"
"Yeah, that'd probably be best..."
*****
I woke up to the sound of a zipper being opened and orange rays of sunlight streaming in through the cracks of the entrance. I was in a blue sleeping bag wearing my normal clothes but my flannel and hat off and an ice pack placed on my head. Ash walked in holding a cup and a plate with a nurse-like demeanor.
"Hey... how are you feeling?" His voice was almost a whisper. My body ached as I tried to sit up and the blood went rushing to my head, making it spin. Ash rushed to my side and placed a hand on my back as support before handing me the plate and cup.
"Clemont made some tea and berry stew for dinner, Hopefully, it helps," My nose was unblocked and the scent of the hot tea and comforting stew made it's way to my nostrils.
I ate the stew so fast, my tongue was slightly burned by the end of the meal, but it meant nothing because I could feel myself recovering. My tea had finally cooled down from scalding hot to drinkable.
"Thanks,"
The tent was quiet as he sat across from me, also drinking from his own cup of tea. He just shook his head and shrugged off my gratitude.
"It's nothing-"
"No, I mean it. It meant a lot to me. More than you think." We sat in silence as I thought back to when I lived with my dad. I tried to think back to a time when someone took care of me with the same warmth and care, but I couldn't think of one single time.
Pretty sad, huh?
"You're not weak, Cass."
I was dragged out of my thoughts by Ash speaking up. Only then did I remember the embarrassing revelation I had made when my fever made me low-key crazy.
"Oh.. yeah we don't have to talk about that-"
"I MEAN it, Cass. You're pretty strong and brave. From what I've learned, 'weak' is one of the last things you are," I smiled at him and felt the same warmth from multiples times before rush up to my cheeks again. Hm, I was sure my fever had gone down.
"I owe you, BIG TIME."
"No way!"
"Yes, way! I'm serious! Next time you get near-death sickly, I'll be your personal Nurse Joy!"
He let out a hearty laugh and I couldn't help but smile along with him.
The rest of the evening was really, really nice.
A/N
and i oop-
what do you think of the new cover???
that's it ok bye y'all