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AFTER A day and a half of not talking to Gyro, you had to admit it hurt your feeling a little. Would you ever say that out loud? No. Plus, not talking to Gyro kept him from asking you every five seconds if you were okay or not, and with the way your headaches kept coming and going in waves, you were extremely glad. Well, extremely may have been an overstatement— the point was, now that you and Gyro weren't talking, you could focus on nursing yourself back to health in silence without being interrogated every breathing moment. It was...nice. Yeah, it was definitely nice.
You tried your best not to space out as Thunderstruck followed close behind Johnny and Gyro but found that you couldn't help how your vision drifted over to Gyro, no matter how hard you tried. Though you hoped he didn't realize, you had a feeling he had noticed a long time ago. When you found yourself looking at the back of Gyro's head, you forcefully tore your gaze to the heavy forestation all around you. The lush green was entrancing in your sick state and as Thunder maneuvered through the small obstacles in the path, you couldn't help but smile. Your relaxation, however, was interrupted by a cough full of phlegm.
You brought your elbow to your mouth, coughing directly into your bandana regardless. When you pulled your arm away, you grimaced and picked up the edge of the fabric around your mouth so you could spit out the foul-tasting spit in your mouth. "Guh," you moaned in disgust, sniffling away tears as you caught Johnny looking at you in concern. "Speedwagon, do you want to take a break?" he asked as you shook your head fervently. "No, no, I'll be fine. I don't want to slow us down," you replied, looking over at Gyro as you uttered the last words.
Johnny looked awkwardly between you two and sighed, "Speedwagon. I'm serious. If we need to stop-" You grimaced, a knot forming in your brow as you glared hard at him. "So am I. I'm fine," you said through grit teeth, biting back a groan when your head started to pound again. You really didn't mean to be mean to Johnny, but the headaches and the soon-to-be sore throat were not helping your case. You winced at the sharp pain in your temple and gripped Thunder's reins tighter, letting your head hang low for a moment. Johnny's gaze lingered on you a bit longer and he too turned back around, his shoulders sagging.
When you looked back up, your vision blurred, making you blink harshly until it was back to normal. Maybe you should just take a break. Your mouth opened to tell Johnny you had changed your mind but then kept it shut. Could you really ask that after being so rude to him? A pool of guilt settled at your stomach and you kept your gaze low, biting back your throat-killing coughs. Instead, you sniffled back your snot, hoping it would somehow soothe the ache. Sure, it was disgusting, but you had more important things to worry about than whether it was gross or not. While you fought off a sneeze, Johnny had perked up, head swinging back and forth.
"Did you guys see that?"
"See what?" Gyro asked as you rubbed at your nose which had done nothing but leave you with that terrible itch you'd get before sneezing. "There...There was someone in the bushes!" Gyro raised a brow at Johnny but you had not even registered that they had spoken in the first place. You were far too focused on trying not to cough up a lung or fall off your horse— you were seriously starting to think about just swallowing your pride and asking Johnny regardless of your guilt. Surely, Johnny would understand. Your temple throbbed and you groaned, holding a hand against your temple.
