Not Alright (PK/PMW, Open on Request)

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Oh, uh... Yeah. Thanks," Evan called as Swift left the room, clearing his sore throat soon thereafter. Odd circumstances aside, facial hair was the least of his worries, so he opted to ignore it for the time being and shave again later.

As he picked up his glass and started gulping down his water, Carter entered the room. "Hey, kid."

"Mm!" Evan paused to swallow, then chuckled, "Hey, Carter. Where've you been?"

"Eh, figured I'd let ya rest. Didn't want everyone clamoring over you all at once." Carter rested his chin on the bed. "How're you feeling?"

"Sore, congested, tired, but alive," Evan answered with a weak grin, scratching his dog's head. "Not the best I've ever been –SNFF– but certainly not the worst."

"Well, it's something, I guess."

"Yeah. I should be fine in a couple of-!"

Evan had been reaching over to set his glass back down on the side table when he froze up, eyes wide, mouth pursed. Carter leaned back slightly, properly startled. "What? What's wrong?"

"Uhhhhh..."

When it became clear that Evan's panic wasn't a health issue, Carter followed his master's line of sight, craning his neck to look at the night stand. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. At least until a little black speck started skittering across the surface.

"GAH!!!" In one spastic movement, Evan slammed his glass down on the speck, then pulled his arm away like he was recoiling from a rabid animal. The violent act made Carter jump back a good two feet and bark a surprised obscenity.

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"WHAT WAS THAT?!" Swift quickly scrambled back into the room, laptop bag slung over her shoulder. "Evan, are you alright?!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

Evan stared up at her in shock, curled up on the opposite end of the bed as he anxiously attempted to steady his breaths. Carter quickly relaxed, finding himself only mildly irritated by the situation. He should've known. He should've been used to this kind of thing by now. Freaking spiders. It was always spiders with this kid.

"Uh..." Evan nervously looked down at his glass, then back at Swift. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. C-Could you get me a new glass, though?"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Swift just blinked back at him, then at Carter. Then she stepped inside and picked up Evan's water glass. The dead spider plastered to the bottom of it told her everything.

In spite of Evan's phobia, Swift had to chuckle. "You're crazy, you know that?" She then set the laptop down on the bed and walked back out into the hall with the glass in hand.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Evan just pouted in response, pulling the laptop out of its bag with a grumpy look on his face, much to Carter's amusement. Hopefully he could settle his nerves with a movie or two, but he knew too well that he wasn't going to feel completely comfortable physically or mentally for a while now. It felt wrong to ask Swift to dust any potential webs, but that didn't mean the thought never crossed his mind.

Spiders... Why did it have to be spiders?

---------------------------

Late in the afternoon, the apartment door flew open and Jen stepped in with a few bags over her shoulder. "Hey, we're home!"

Patrick barged in soon thereafter. "And I got Evan a thing!"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Swift looked up from the pan she had heating on the stove. "Oh, a thing, you say? Evan does like things."

"Swift, are you cooking?" Ace asked with a snicker, setting down the gratuitous amount of shopping bags she had carried inside. "Geez, you really are the house maid today, huh?"

"Hey, I cooked for myself back home all the time!"

"If instant Ramen and frozen fish sticks count as cooking, I suppose..." Aether teased.

One smug grin later, Swift continued, "Anyway, it's just some frozen P.F. Chang's stuff for two. Figured some spicy food would open up Evan's sinuses."

"And where'd these come from?" Ace questioned, picking up the baggie of cookies on the counter.

"Erin and Evelyn brought them over. Save some for Evan! I'd like for him to enjoy them once his sense of taste fully returns!"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Ooh, nice!" Patrick placed a hand on his chest. "On my honor, I shall restrain my sweet tooth for my best buddy's sake. Speaking of, I gotta show this to him!"

"Whoa, hold up!" Before Patrick could take off, Jen grabbed him by the shoulder and handed him a small box of decongestant tablets. "Take this to him while you're at it."

"Will do!" Patrick happily accepted the box, then scampered down the hall to Evan's room.

Jen chuckled as she watched him go, then wrapped an arm around Swift. "I really appreciate you looking after him today. I try not to smother him, but darn it, that boy makes me worry sometimes."

"Hey Evaaaaan!" Patrick sang as he poked his head through the door. "Guess what I got!"

Evan looked up from the laptop and shot him a playful smirk. "The cure for the common cold?"

"No, but I have the next best thing!" He then leaped over to Evan's bedside and held up a box containing a figurine of a familiar tree creature. "Baby Groot bobblehead! Oh, and some cold medicine."

"Heheh... Thanks, man." Of course Patrick would get him something like that. And he loved it.

"You're welcome!" As he set the boxes down on Evan's night stand, the sound of a familiar cartoon trio on the laptop caught Patrick's ear. "Ooh, you watching the Eds? Nice! Which episode?"

"Oh, it's uh... the episode where they turn Jimmy into a sumo wrestler."

"Ha! Love that one!" The mage gave the keymaster a gentle punch on the arm. "How're you holding up?"

Despite how light the tap had been, Evan hissed with pain and grabbed his hip. The stabbing feeling hadn't gotten better. If anything, it seemed to be getting worse. "Well, I'm holding up, at least. Starting to wonder if I need some Advil too..."

"Ouch. You... want me to send some down?"

"That'd be great, actually. Thanks."

"No probalo, Ev." With a chipper nod, Patrick scampered back out of the room and into the kitchen, jokingly declaring, "Patient needs Advil! Stat!"

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Oh yeah..." Swift's ear drooped. "Probably shoulda thought of that earlier, given how much he's complained about the pain in his sides."

"So he's not doing much better, I take it?" Ace murmured, sticking her head out of her bedroom.

"He'll get there," Swift insisted as she dished out two plates of spicy chicken and fried rice. "First day's always the worst. He can only improve from here."

She then reached into the medicine cabinet and retrieved the Advil bottle, pouring two tablets onto Evan's plate. "Not sure what you guys had planned for dinner, but I can clean up my own dishes when I'm done eating." With that said, Swift carried the plates down the hall and once again stepped into the bedroom. "Hey. Dinner is served. Frozen Chinese food and ibuprofen. A delicacy."

[ParamountKeymaster]

Evan snickered and gratefully accepted his plate. "Much obliged." He promptly swallowed the two Advil and a decongestant with a sip of water, followed by a mouthful of chicken and rice.

For a moment, the two ate in silence, the only noise between them being the Ed, Edd n Eddy episode that continued to play on the laptop. Really, what more was there for them to say? They had been chatting on and off pretty much all day, exhausting every topic relevant to their current situation. Besides, talking with a sore throat wasn't fun.

And yet it was only a matter of time before Evan broke the tension.

"Patrick seems to be in a better mood..." He started down at his plate. "Guess it... only just occurred to me how tough a cold has to be if a high-level healing spell has no effect on it."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Swift sighed. Sure, she had questioned that herself, but she really didn't want to sow anymore seeds of doubt. "Doesn't matter how tough it is." She pointed at Evan with her fork. "You just keep believing that you're gonna get better. Isn't that how the hope aspect works or am I just completely missing the... point?"

She once again tilted her head, making small, circular motions with her fork. "Uh... You got some... spots around your eyes..."

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Spots?" Evan gingerly touched his forehead just above his eye. What kind of spots was she talking about? It felt a little tender up there, but that was about it.

Great. Just another medical mystery to wonder about.

Taking her advice to heart, Evan sunk into the bed and sighed. Before biting into another mouthful of chicken, he murmured, "Guess I'll just have to give myself a thorough inspection when I get up to take my shower."

[Pink Moon Wolf]

Swift shrugged it off, then shot Evan a smirk. "Have you gotten out of bed at all today? Is this gonna be a first?"

[ParamountKeymaster]

"Hey now, don't you remember when I got up to go to the bathroom a few hours ago?" Evan responded before finishing off his dinner. "Other than that, yeah, I have been pretty inactive today..."

With a smile and a nod, he handed Swift his empty plate, closed the laptop, then slowly climbed out of bed and stretched. "Well, here's to hoping this passes soon. It'll be nice to feel physically fit again. TCK...!"

Ouch...! Hips still sore...

[Pink Moon Wolf]

"Hahah..." Swift stood up, dirty dishes in hand, and gave Evan a quick, gentle hug. "You'll get there soon. Now you go enjoy that shower, dude. You need it. I mean deserve it. I mean need it." She gave him a playful wink, then once again left him alone.

[ParamountKeymaster]

Evan chuckled back at her before grabbing a clean set of night wear and stepping out into the hall. When he saw the others gathered in the living room, he did little more than offer a little wave while simultaneously scratching his nose.

"Hey, Ev," Jen murmured. "Good to see you up and moving."

"Thanks," Evan breathed as he stepped into the bathroom. "Getting better every minute."

Upon closing the door behind him, Evan's first move was to look at himself in the mirror. He was quickly taken aback by the sight of his facial hair. Goodness, it really had grown in quickly, and when he brushed his hand along his chin, he swore it was even longer than the last time he felt it. He then leaned in closer to inspect his eyes. Indeed, there were some faint, reddish spots dotting his face; he counted six, two above and one beneath each eye. Broken blood vessels, maybe? Nah, too big to be blood vessels. It looked more like acne. Very... symmetrical acne, but still.

Shaking off any weird vibes he was getting, Evan grabbed his electric razor and quickly got to work trimming his stubble. The task proved to be more painful than usual with Evan winching the whole way through. The razor emitted awkward grinding noises, like it was cutting wire rather than hair, and the sensation on his face felt more akin to plucking out eyebrow hairs than shaving off facial hair. It wasn't the most soothing procedure, but soon enough, Evan's face was back to its typical clean-cut state.

The spots around the eyes, though... well, those would probably fade along with the bags and pale complexion. ...Right?

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Evan started up the shower and hopped in, taking his sweet time basking in the warm, soothing cascade and letting the steam clear his stuffy nose. Just the respite he needed. He probably stayed in there longer than he needed to, but hey, Swift told him to enjoy it, and boy, did he.

Wait...

Was his chest hair getting thicker too?

Evan rubbed his forehead and pushed that notion aside. He had to stop worrying about every little thing.

---------------------------

Twenty minutes later, feeling properly refreshed, Evan stepped out of the bathroom and smiled at his roommates. "There... should still be some hot water left for you guys."

"Well, that's good to know," Darien murmured with a sarcastic smirk.

"You going back to bed?" Jen asked.

"Yeah." Evan rubbed his eyes. "Feeling tired. Might just go right to sleep."