Spooky

Chapter 14

{Author's Note: I hope nobody's forgotten about this book. Sorry for the infrequent updates, but I'm very glad to see all the people in the comments enjoying this book! <3 I set out to make people happy here, and so far I've achieved my goal...That makes me very happy.}

-Scourge's POV-

The door shuts behind me with a strange air of finality as I slump against it, letting out a sigh. My backpack thuds heavily against the floor and I drag myself towards my bed, pausing for a second to grab the pillow off Shadow's bed and use it to block out the little window above our nightstand. Falling face-first onto my bed, I groan, rolling onto my back; I thought getting sent home early for a fever would be nice, but my head hurts and I feel like garbage. I just want to sleep, but it's still so bright out that I feel like I can't sleep—and even if it were darker, my face feels too hot, but I'm shivering, but I'm also sweating and I hate myself for getting caught in the goddamn rain. There's no way I can sleep, I tell myself as I tug the sheets up over my shoulders. I haven't even taken my shoes off, but honestly that's not at the top of my priorities right now. Curling up in a ball, I nuzzle into my pillow, eyes half open. The room has a faint golden glow, noonday sunlight leaking in ever so slightly past the pillow-curtain, the trinkets on Spooky's shelves casting strange shadows across their shelfmates. After a short while of staring at the wall, my eyes ease their way shut, and despite the fever I eventually fall into a (very light) sleep.

•~

The door opens again, waking me immediately, but I don't open my eyes. Maybe if I don't open my eyes, I can fall asleep again. The door closes, soft footsteps trek across the room, and a hand much cooler than my face gently presses onto my forehead. I let out a little grumble, scowling with my eyes still closed, and I hear Shadow shush me. "Your fever's gone down," he mumbles, taking the hand away. "Go back to sleep." Gladly, I silently reply, rolling over again and burying my face in my sheets. I hear him walk over to the desk, sit down, and drop his bookbag down next to him. He lets out an oddly sad sigh, and I ease an eye open. My vision is pretty blurry, but I can see he has a textbook in front of him; one of the larger ones. Depressing math? Probably. Math fuckin' sucks. For a moment I want to ask him what his grades look like—I know mine probably range from C-'s to F's—but my eye closes and the next time it opens, the light has changed drastically, and he's lying on his bed, not facing me, snoring softly. Is it dinnertime yet? Or did we both sleep through it? I know if he were awake when the dinner bell went off, he'd wake me up, so maybe we both slept through it. Checking the time would require moving, but right now I feel oddly shaky, like I don't even have the energy to move. That's probably not good—I skipped lunch and breakfast today, I realize. At that revelation, I try to push myself upright, and let out a wheeze.

"Sh–" I cough, throat dryer than sandpaper. "Shadow," I wheeze, and to my surprise he jolts a bit, sitting up quickly and turning to face me. I have no idea how he even heard me, my voice was so quiet, but maybe he's an even lighter sleeper than I am.

"Hey," he says, getting up and coming over to me. "Are you feeling any better?"

"No," I mumble, still shivering, slowly sitting up to swing my legs over the edge, tugging the sheets off myself. "Kinda want some food, though." I look up at him; he looks tired as all hell. Is he getting sick too? His eyeliner is smudged a bit down his face, and his fur is a mess.

Shadow tugs his phone out of his jacket pocket, looking down at it. "The dinner bell is gonna go off in a minute...Do you want me to bring something back for you?"

"If they have some soup or something," I answer, grateful he didn't even try to pretend that I would want to walk out there. "If not, then y'know, don't worry about it."