✓Hanahaki Diease [ Reddie ]

II. Weird Situations

Looking in the mirror at himself. Seeing his tired eyes, pale skin, and messy hair. Pulling his bottom lash line down, admiring his long lashes and brown eyes. Something about the deep chestnut gave a pulsing feeling behind his eyes, rushing adrenaline feeling his asleep face awake into consciousness.

Richie held broken, black framed glasses in his left hand, looking at the broken split that lined the side of the deep frame. At least it wasn't the glass.

His thoughts interrupted by a sudden knock at the door. Richie put his glasses down, springing up to meet face with a friend. Taking a deep breath, he twisted the cold knob seeing a familiar face.

"Hey Richie-" Ben chimed, to be pulled in the house quickly. The dark haired boy stumbled into the bathroom, locking the door behind them.

"Rich?" Ben's face pulled into confusion laced with worry. Richie gestured to the toilet in hopes he'd have his answers. Cautiously the boy peeked over the seat but pulled back with concern.

"What?" He felt his face heat up and his head pound anxiously.

"What do you mean what? Don't you see it?" Ben looks around confused. Richie felt pale, running his hands up his face, planting against the wall once again. The boy walked up to him placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder,

"Richie what is going on?" His eyes, tired. His palms slipped from his face,

"The blood, the petals.." The vivid vision came back to haunt him relentlessly. He rested his head back.

"Blood? Petals? This doesn't make sense." Ben tried to think, but nothing seemed to add up. He reached into his bag, grabbing out a thick spined book. "Phytotoxicology: The World's Toxic Plants." The hardback book was a forest green with gold lettering.

"Richie what do the petals look like?"

He sat puzzled, trying to remember. "Almost like rose petals but discolored."

Ben desperately flipped through the pages to no result. "Richie, are you sure you aren't just imagining things? You used to have those night terrors about werewolves as well too."

He stared in disbelief.

"No, no I swear I saw it." He began.

"Listen I've got to go I promised I wouldn't be gone too long." Ben got up without another word. Richie laid in defeat.

"I'm not crazy." Richie laid his hands on his face. Silence, again. He decided to clean up his bathroom from the puddles of despair he left behind him. He opened the door to the empty hallway on the other side, to go to his kitchen and grab tape. When he met the drawer he pulled it open and grabbed out a big roll of tape.

Richie sat down at the table, glasses in one hand and tape in the other. He bit his lip, trying to line up the split in his glasses before wrapping tape around the frame. As he tore of the piece of tape, the phone rang. He froze, staring at the phone. Carefully he put down the tape and his glasses, to reach the unanswered phone.

He looked down at the familiar number and panicked. "Hello." He cleared his throat.

"Richie, I heard your back from your trip." The voice called on the other side of the line.

"I am, I thought we were all going to meet up soon." Richie placed his hand on the table.

"Tomorrow sound good?"

"Yeah. Can't wait." The awkward conversation ended in a facepalm. Richie placed the phone back down onto it's stand, stumbling back to the kitchen table.

"God damnit Richie why'd you have to make it so weird." He thought to himself, finally finishing the repair on his glasses. He slid them on his face. On the way back to his room he grabbed a bucket, just in case. He flipped the light on in his room, flopping onto his messy bed. The big suitcase overflowing to the floor. He tossed and turned at the thought of what happened last night.

"What is it?" He asked himself holding his hands on his stomach. He breathed heavily though his nose, noticing a struggle. Richie started coughing into his hands bloomed flowers cover in hints of blood. In disgust he dropped them into the bucket.

Richie felt his face burn up slightly, his eyes grew heavy and dizzy. As much as he tossed and turned eventually he went to sleep.

Bright lights streamed though his curtains and onto his bedsheets. Richie rubbed his eyes, sitting up to grab his glasses.

"Well today is the day." He told himself. He began by getting dressed, he threw on a black t-shirt with a brown flannel and jeans.

"Today is the day I get to face my friends again."

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word count: 792