Out of A Shell (Dash Parr x Fem!Shy!Reader)

Too Close

I cracked my eyes open, taking in the appearance of my dimly lit bedroom around me. And instantly, the weight of my illness crashed down on me. I groaned.

I was so dizzy. It was like my head was spinning, and my vision was cloudy. I noticed how cold I was, despite being underneath three blankets, and I was shivering. Chills rolled across my body in rhythmic waves, and...was I out of breath?

My breathing was quickened, not by much, but it still was. You'd think I just got done lifting something heavy or doing some other strenuous activity, but I just woke up from sleeping. Well, barely sleeping. Throughout the night, there were times I slipped into unconsciousness or just kept my eyes closed.

I pressed my hands down and pushed, so I could sit up in my bed. That alone took so much energy, I did not want to move anymore. Nonetheless, I pushed my blankets off so I could lift up my shirt and take a look at my wound. As usual, it was hurting very badly, and I gritted my teeth.

The pads I had taped to it had an awful yellow spot in them. I decided to partially pinch the pads to pull them up, so I could see the gash a little better.

The skin around it was as red as an apple, and I couldn't exactly see the gash itself, as that cloudy yellow fluid caked it. Even now, it was still draining out.

I'm sure now, without question, that it was pus. And it was so disgusting. My stomach did flips as I eyed it, before pressing the pads back onto the gash and attempting to stand up.

So...I think now it was safe to say that my wound was infected. That could be why I felt so terrible, but...there wasn't anything some more cleaning couldn't fix, right? And I'm sure my body was fighting the infection.

But now, I was feeling doubtful. Maybe I should go to the hospital?

...No, I'm in too deep. Might as well see where things go from here.

For now, I needed to clean this and get ready for school. I slid my legs off of my bed, hissing and huffing at the pain, and slowly inched myself up to my feet.

Moving around the house was a total challenge. It's a wonder I'm even capable of standing right now, but I guess I'm stronger than I give myself credit for. I hope my strength can last throughout the school day...

~~~

By the time I got to school, I somehow felt worse.

I lumbered down the hallways, all too aware of how terrible I seemed. Yet, no one stopped me to either lend a hand or ask what was wrong. Someone did call out that I looked like a zombie, so. That was nice.

I made sure to wait for Dash to leave with his friends, before I went to my locker. I wasn't in the mood to be slammed with a dozen questions.

When my history class started later in the day, I saw that Cam was still absent. It was weird, she normally didn't miss days like this, but I didn't think too hard about it.

When lunch rolled around, I chose to spend the time sitting in the girl's restroom behind the security of a closed stall, sitting on the toilet with my head in my hands. Why go into the cafeteria when I knew I wasn't going to eat anything? I'd also be subjecting myself to being stared at by others... Didn't feel like putting up with that.

After lunch ended and the bells rang, I made my way to my next class.

I wanted to collapse, badly, but I kept going. I had to. But, maybe overexerting my body wasn't a good idea though, since by the time science class started, I felt like I was dying.

~~~

"That's all for today. The bell should be ringing any minute now, so I'll leave you all be."