HEAT |OMEGAVERSE| ⚣ ✔️

The Edge of Something More

"Jasper?" Alex asks from across the room. His voice barely registers as I sit on his couch, zoned out to some random show playing on the TV.

"Hm?" I respond, glancing over to his direction.

"You've barely said a sentence to me all day—" he pauses as he takes a seat next to me on the couch, keeping a small distance, "and you've ingested nothing, well—except for your meds I grabbed for you...but that's not food."

I draw my feet up to the couch, and slump against the backside.

"So?" I reply, my voice void of any emotions.

"So—can you at least eat something?" His tone is soft, but frustration creeps at the edges of his words.

I exhale a deep breath, turning my head to face Alex, noticing the gloom of his features.

Since this morning, I've had a constant, relentless nausea in my stomach that only seems to get worse as night approaches. My head is pounding, a headache lodged firmly in my temples, and my thoughts are a mess, scattered and unfocused.

Sam has texted me a couple times today, checking in to see how I'm doing, and I've only replied once with: I'm alright, and left it at that.

"I'm really not hungry Alex." I say in all honesty, turning my head back to the TV.

All the emotions I felt earlier—sadness, anger, fear—seem to have slipped away, leaving me with nothing but a sour stomach and an aching head.

"Will you go somewhere with me?" I glance over at Alex, confusion set in my features.

"Where?"

"If I said it was a surprise, would you still come?" He smiles warmly at me, despite my lack of energy, and my disinterest in moving from this spot, I agree reluctantly.

"Okay." I say quietly, watching Alex stand from the couch, offering a hand out for me to grab.

I take it, and he pulls me up from my seat, leading me gently to the doorway. We both tug our shoes on and pull our jackets over our arms, leaving the warmth of the apartment.

As we step outside the complex, I gaze at the evening sun, dipping toward the skyline of the city buildings. A breeze sweeps past us, sending a chill through my body. I clutch the sides of my jacket tightly as we make our way to the lot where Alex's car is parked. Once inside the car, the cool leather beneath my jeans seeps through, and goosebumps ripple across my legs.

"So you're really not gonna tell me where we're going?" I ask, and Alex grins at me.

"Well, it wouldn't be a surprise then." Alex says shifting the car into drive, and pulls away from the parking area to the main road. He takes my hand in his, and I savor the warmth of his fingers intertwining with my own. My heart still aches from this morning, but the feel of his hand gripping mine offers a comforting distraction, his thumb tracing gentle circles across my skin.

"I suppose it wouldn't," I respond, making an effort to be optimistic, shoving the negative thoughts to the back of my mind.

I look out the window and watch the buildings and streetlights pass by in a blur as we get onto the highway. The sun shines bright in front of the car now, slowly edging towards the ground still, soon to cast the golden glow of sunset against the city line behind us.

We drive for a while, taking an exit thirty minutes away. The road narrows as we leave the city behind, the landscape shifting from concrete to the lush greenery of the hills. Trees line the sides of the seemingly endless and winding road. The leaves rustle gently in the breeze, their colors starting to turn as fall comes into full bloom. I open my window, taking in a breath of the cool air that spills into the open window. The air seems more fresh, carrying a hint of pine and earth, a welcome change from the urban smell of exhaust.