Hanahaki

t h r e e

"Sorry," Tobi shrugs at Dennis as she waves him off for the third time in the week following her encounter with Ashton at The Tea Shack, the cafe he works at. "I have stuff I need to do tonight, man." The stuff being discussing how she and Ashton are supposed to tackle her Hanahaki 'situation'.

Looking frustrated at his failed attempt to invite his friend out again, Dennis inquires, "Okay, then what are you even doing? Can I tag along? I really don't wanna be by myself all weekend while my parents are out of town. I mean, you're kind of the only person I hang out with outside of school other than, like, maybe two other people or something." Regaining his usual relaxed composure, he asks with a slight smile, "So can I tag along, or not?" 

For a moment, as Tobi leans against the wall next to the row of lockers, she stares down at her shoes thinking of Ashton. About her Hanahaki disease. About her relationship with Dennis. About how all of those things are so closely linked, but she can't bring herself to connect all of them in one place, fearing that it'll only exacerbate her whole situation. Slightly shaking her head, she responds with a nonchalant shrug, "Nah, I don't think so. Besides, you probably wouldn't like what I'm doing anyway." 

Narrowing his eyes, he prods for more answers, asking, "What exactly are you doing, Stronghold?" 

After giving him a roll of her eyes, she responds, "Nothing dirty, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just meeting up with someone to do some research, that's all, dude." Tobi elaborates, only giving him about half of the facts. 

Dennis visibly relaxes and breaths a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Really had me worried there for a sec, Stronghold." He chuckles and hoists his bag higher over his shoulder. Then, now over thinking she may be doing something scandalous, asks, "Well what are you researching, anyway?" 

Giving a low groan, she answers, "Just some medical stuff. It's kinda annoying, but I guess it'll be beneficial in the long--" She coughs into her closed fist, feeling the petals fill the compact space of her hand. Keeping the saliva covered contents hidden by pushing her closed hand back into her jacket pocket, where a startlingly large amount had been stored throughout the day, she finishes, "run, you know?" 

"Man, that cough of yours is persistent as hell, man. It's good it's the end of the day, but are you sure you don't need to get it checked out again?" Dennis asks, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. "I mean, I guess the nurse can't legally give you cough medicine or whatever, but still." 

Shrugging off his concerned words and gesture, she mumbles, "Nah, it's fine. Look, I gotta go meet the person I'm doing research with, so I'll catch you later." Tobi walks off at a slightly faster pace than her usual one while giving Dennis a half-wave as she makes her way around the corner and into the hall. Halfway down the hall, she turns into the bathroom and locks herself in a stall, taking the petals out and examining them.

As she presses her back against the stall door, she closes her eyes and sighs deeply. Man, this really does bite. She thinks to herself somberly. Tobi takes the rest of the petals out of her pockets and dumps them into the toilet before flushing them. But I can't keep thinking about it so much.

❀❀❀

"Okay, so how are we supposed to go about making you fall in love with someone else? Like, what the hell am I supposed to do, just set you up with dudes until you find one you like, or...?" Ashton asks as her twirls his hand in the air. 

Leaning her chair backward, Tobi shrugs and replies, "Yeah, I don't really know, man. I mean, we could do that, but the whole love at first sight thing is a total sham, so I don't really think that would work out at all." With a sigh, she mutters, "Man, I might actually be murdered by some lame ass flowers, huh?"