L.O.V.E.

Chapter 9 - Nerissa

Her condition is getting worse, despite of all her attempts to avoid him. Faith decided to act against her will, meddling with both her patience and her sanity. How can she forget about Roone, when he keeps popping up like that? Especially now, that Ilya is spending so much time with his friend, Matt. Twisting the knife further still, his name has become a powerful weapon against her weakness, an ever-present sound on everyone's lips. If it's not about his looks, it's about his arrogant attitude, which, like a magnet, attracts vilifying rumors and lustful wishes. Her life has turned into a sinking ship, going down fast in nauseating swirls, and with ELISA supposing to be next week, she's on the verge of losing it.

Nerissa has never been afraid of the test before, not like this, at least. The symptoms are getting more obvious, impossible for her to ignore them anymore. What's more, deep down, she knew this day will come. She's the child of Amanda and Ethan, after all - the scientists that had a seat at the big table, all while carrying the active virus. For the City, that was the ultimate level of insurgency, to have the knowledge of the infection and hide it for selfish pursuits. 'High treason' - words used for condemning them to death in front of the entire population, are still reverberating in her mind when she thinks about that damned day. Naturally, they couldn't allow for that to happen ever again, thus they created ELISA instead. A hand-sized serology tester, that penetrates the fragile barrier under the ears, detecting on the spot if the tissue shows any signs of necrosis.

'What if I don't show up for it this time?' A shadow of a plan starts forming in her mind and giving birth to a frail stream of hope. Although, she should know better than this. No one ditches ELISA. They will hunt her down and force it on her.

What goes around comes around, and Nerissa is definitely caught in the boomerang effect of her parents' aftermath. However, she thought she has more time. She needs more time. Everything has been going haywire since that night in the park, and there's no way to stop it. The lack of sleep, the decrease in appetite and giddiness are clear signs of illness, as it appears in the textbook, but only if it stopped there. What's really scaring her, is her body reacting to internal stimuli. It takes only a thought of those crystal blue eyes, for the blood to start boiling under her hypersensitive skin, making her light-headed and anxious. Ergo, she immerses herself in work, spending her days hidden in the lab, between glassware and blood samples. More often than not, she brings her lunch in there, devoting the little time she has left to find an antidote, a life-vest that could save the world, and herself. Besides, she can't stand the burning sensation that ignites her flesh every time she gets too close to him. It's so powerful, she can almost feel the microscopic creatures squirming under her skin.

One evening, long after the school hours had finished, Nathan's loud knocks on the door startled her so badly, she almost fell from the sliding chair... The bangs still echoed in the dark hallway, when the matte glass door slides open, revealing his amused face.

'Ha-ha! Very funny!' She exclaims a comeback, narrowing her eyes at him.

'Come on, Ner, you should have seen your face.' He teases, using his hand as a shield to hide his grin.

Her timid smile holds secret a thousand words, captive to make it into sounds. She walks to her desk, searching for something, anything, that would make it into an enticing subject. As expected, she fails miserably.

'So, what have you been up to?' Her mouth moves on its own, breaking the silence and increasing the awkwardness between them.

She would never talk to him like that, but with everything that's going on, normal is becoming to lose its meaning.

'Cut the crap, Ner! You are scaring me! What's happened to you? I haven't seen you in ages and now you give me this bullshit?' He goes full beast mode on her, not caring if she won't talk to him afterwards.