His Jars of Hyacinths (STYLE)

5

POV: Kyle

"Okay, come on, open. Your account or mine?" i ask, typing into the computer infront of me.

"Yours, dude, yours, I don't want medical shit on my search history." Kenny responds, grabbing a chair to sit next to me and watch.

it was recess, and we both had slipped away early to sneak into the IT room and borrow one of the computers for research purposes.

"So you'd rather keep the porn website links, and women swimwear catalogues on top of your search history?"

"Shut the fuck up and google this shit."

i snicker, opening up google, then pausing.

"Why did you stop?" Kenny asks, raising an eyebrow.

"What do I type?"

we both sit in silence for a few moments.

"Uhhh... flower puking?" he suggests.

"Ew, no dude, thats fucking gross. I'll just.. here." i start typing:

'why am i puking flowers'

"What does it say?" Kenny asks eagerly.

"Theres a link. Something called... hananaka.. hanakahi? What? Hanaha..ki.. hanahaki. Weird." i state, as Kenny giggles at my pronunciations.

"Hanahaki. Click the link, let's do some research."

i click the link, my eyes scamming the information on the screen.

'Hanahaki Disease (花吐き病 (Japanese); 하나하키병 (Korean); 花吐病 (Chinese)) is a [fictional] disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings (romantic love only; strong friendship is not enough), or when the victim dies. It can be cured through surgical removal, but when the infection is removed, the victim's romantic feelings for their love also disappear.'
(^^^^^^^ google😭)

we both stay silent for a few minutes. the air is tense, and so's our emotions.

"I could.. die?" i mumble. i always thought there was a possibility i wouldn't be okay, but i never thought i'd be this disappointed to be correct. i fucking jinxed it, i hate being right now.

"Oh my god," Kenny mutters, at a loss for words.

"So, Stan.. doesn't love me. Figured as much, since he's so in love with Wendy. I love Wendy, trust me, but... why? Why her? What does she have that I don't? Oh god, is he straight? Am I going to die? Oh no no no no, I need to tell him, I, no, I can't, I need to convince him to love me instead. Shit, no, I need to apologise, I need to-"

"Kyle, breathe." Kenny places a hand on my shoulder. i stop rambling to just look at Kenny, and then it hits me.

i could be dead in 3 months.

my eyes start to water, as Kenny pulls me in for a hug, letting me cry on his shoulder. i sob as quietly as i can, feeling true fear for the first time since these flowers started.

"Look, go talk to Stan. Apologise, explain why you ignored him, and stay his friend. And maybe he can start to see you in the way you see him, maybe in the time you're together his feelings could...change." Kenny tries to reassure me, as he holds me in a supportive hug. i sniffle, nodding slightly.

"Okay.." i mumble, wiping the tears from my eyes with my sleeve.

"I'll go log the computer off, okay? Go while it's still recess and go find him."

i nod again, and leave Kenny in the IT room, my eyes still red and puffy from the recent tears. i head to the playground, my eyes scanning the people in the area until my gaze falls upon him.

he leans against a tree, watching Wendy and Cartman argue about something. this is my chance.

i quickly walk over to him, ignoring the confused glances from the two arguing acquaintances, and i grab Stan's sleeve and pull him to a more empty and secluded part of the playground.

"Kyle? Are you- why were you-"

"I'm sorry, Stan," i sniffle, wiping my eyes again with my sleeve as my other hand continues to hold Stan's arm.

"Dude, have you been crying?" he asks, tilting his head at me and raising his eyebrow.

"I was ignoring you because I was pissed off you blew off our saturday get-together to go to the cinema with Wendy, it just made me annoyed then shit happened and I got mad and didn't know how to react, I'm really sorry I wasn't thinking straight and my life sucks without you please forgi-"

he cuts my rambling short with a short "Kyle". i stop talking, and look at him, and he looks back.

"I'm the one who should be apologising, not you. I'm sorry I blew you off for Wendy, I just hadn't spent much time with her for a while and I was scared she was gonna dump me." my eyes widen slightly at his words, and the sound of his motive makes my heart drop. wow, he really loves her.

"Then she sent me a message saying she got tickets, and.. well, you know the rest. I'm really sorry, Kyle. I promise if she asks to do something on a day I've already planned to hang out with you on, then I'll blow her off." he smiles sadly at me, and i don't know how to respond.

"It's.. okay. I'm sorry for getting mad." i mumble.

he just smiles at me, and i let go of his arm.

"Are we okay now?" he asks. i sigh.

"Yeah, yes, we're fine now."

"Awesome, now let's go stop Wendy before she beats the crap out of Cartman." Stan says, walking off.

i smile, feeling a rising pain in my chest.

i cough once, then twice, and then i watch as four purple hyacinth petals fall elegantly to the grass.

[958 words]