Ꮇ𝑦 ℤօｍ𝘣ⅈ𝖊 𝗕օ𝑦𝚏𝔯ⅈ𝖊𝖓꒯ ||Parkster

Fate; Black Is The Soul That's Led Astray

"When people fall in love, they experience a surge of hormones and neurotransmitters that make them feel good", Dr. Feuerman told INSIDER. "Such chemistry overrides our logical, rational thought," she says, which can lead you to doing things you might not otherwise."

Title of Chapter is from Korn lyrics, 'Black Is The Soul'

~~~

Chester daubs away the viscid filth with a wet wash cloth. It's spilled down Parker's shirt front, adhering the fabric to his skin like a tacky glue. So Chester removes it, and is again reminded how thin he's gotten. All angles and hard planes, zero body fat from it being eaten away as his body works overtime to accommodate the infection flowing through deep purple veins, latticed under muted flesh like tendrils of toxic sludge.

Parker lays shirtless in a state of comatose on gray sheets while Chester lays on his side, propped up with an elbow and a bent knee resting on his friend's upper thighs.

Hovering, always hovering, with his back to the door as if shielding him from the outside world. But Chester knows the only thing Parker needs protection from is himself.

The fact that he can't do that, can only do so much.. It weighs on his heart like a slab of steel. Chester places a hand on the center of Parker's chest to feel the palpitating organ beneath it speed up erratically, then slow back down at odd intervals.

Out of nowhere, he feels tension against his palm and realizes Parker's entire body has stiffened. It starts to jerk and Chester's heavy eyes snap wide open in high alert, shifting to his knees to lightly shake the other.

"Bro wake up, it's just a nightmare! Dude!" He shakes him harder but Parker still won't wake up.

At a loss, Chester sighs and embraces him. "It's okay. I'm right here.. I got you.." He can feel his arms and legs twitching uncontrollably, and then it dawns on him.

Parker's not having a nightmare, he's having a seizure.

The revelation turns his body to ice, almost like the one in his arms, and only hugs tighter as he waits for it to be over.

When the trembling stops, his eyes trace every detail of Parker's face, looking for any sign of distress, but he may as well be gazing at a corpse. After taking a deep breath, he presses the back of his hand against Parker's forehead and recoils violently.

"What the hell!" This is NOT good.. There's no thermometer anywhere but he's pretty sure no human forehead should ever get this hot, not without receiving damage to the tissue. Not without consequences, the extent of it being unknown until Parker gains consciousness. How long could that even take?!

Chester almost doesn't want him to wake up.. but goddammit he's selfish and can't go on living without his best friend. His only source of love and affection..

The steel slab compressing his heart feels like it just doubled, a constant ache evolving into waves of physical pain that ripple across every nerve, to the tips of his fingers that dig into the flesh of his palms. With each new wave more tears escape from unblinking eyes, the muscles in his face slack and completely devoid of emotion as he leans into Parker.

Inside is a hurricane of guilt, grief, and anguish. It'll take time to pick up the wreckage, time he knows is running out, can almost see the end drawing closer.

But it's not the end. Chester reminds himself. Not yet. He can still do something. He just has to wait.

~~~

Day one and two, Chester won't let go of Parker. Only gets up to use the bathroom or change the wet rag on his head.

Day three and four, Chester sits on his side of the bed and watches like a hawk for any signs of movement or waking.