I'M BORED (Juney)

[Amos Freeman]

Amos Freeman's mind was trying to claw its way out of his body.

He was glaring with contempt at the opposite wall; his eyes occasionally flicked from their glazed, fixed position to the giant pink card being displayed on his nightstand. It was from his younger half-sisters, who lived perfectly normal, healthy lives in New Hampshire with his biological father. It was adorable and had been mercilessly attacked with several colors of glitter pen.

Somehow it only served to make him grumpier.

He rolled over onto his other side with some difficulty, his abnormally weak arms struggling against several layers of blanket. He glared at the other wall.

He hadn't borrowed anything for two and a half weeks. The doctor had forbidden it; he couldn't risk leaving his body in a vulnerable, comatose state while he was recovering from pneumonia, she'd said. All kinds of bacteria could thrive in that situation. It was probably how he'd come down with pneumonia in the first place.

He had been very obedient for the first week, due in no small part to the fact that he had been sleeping too much to protest. Now, however, he was feeling a little better... and too normal to be comfortable.

This gave him plenty of time to focus on all the things that were currently bothering him. His chest hurt, first and foremost. His breathing was still faster, noisier, and more difficult than usual. Even with his mouth open, he felt like he was breathing through a sieve. He couldn't stop coughing, his chest wouldn't stop rattling, his head wouldn't stop hurting, and every time he tried to sleep, he woke himself up with his own strangled snoring.

So there he lay, staring at the wall and hating his life.

Amos Freeman was really bored.

[Juniper Birdsong]

The last couple weeks had been horrible for Juney. Although, she really shouldn't be complaining - Amos was the one that was sick, after all. Still, trying to get by while your best friend (Vegan Amigo) was constantly in bed was very hard for the girl, but she was doing all she could to make it as pain-free for him as possible.

And that meant lots and lots of soup and herbal tea.

"Amy~!" she sang as she pushed open his door, her normal tray of liquid foods in her hand as she approached his bed. He looked positively miserable, as usual, and her heart went out to him as she placed the tray on his bedside table. "How are you feeling?" she asked, though it was obvious he still wasn't well. She hoped he was going better than he had been, though.

"I just saw Alto out in the hall, he said he was going to come visit you after his training session." That should hopefully cheer him up, at least. As Juniper turned to look at her friend again, she winced at the color of the air that drifted lazily across his bed. It was a nasty yellow-green color, which to her meant it was, obviously, contaminated with sickness. She took a moment to crack open a window and blow out the majority of it before closing it again, so not too much cold air would come in and possibly make him more sick.

"I brought mint tea and noodle soup," she told him, going back to perch by his bedside. "Do you need anything else?" She wished she could just magically make him feel better, but she knew that was obviously impossible.

[Amos Freeman]

"I'm feeling hopeful that you've come to finally put me out of my misery," Amos said thickly. He rolled over and pulled himself half-up from the covers, sniffling.

He smiled despite himself at the sight of the tea and soup. He sighed, and his chest rattled.

"Oh man, I forgot to text him back... I fell asleep." He scratched his head absentmindedly. "Um, thanks for this. How's your day been?"

He grabbed the tea cup gingerly; he attempted to inhale the steam that was wafting off of it, but he couldn't smell anything. He sipped it anyway, savoring the warmth that spread into his neck and chest. He wasn't especially hungry at the moment, but he hoped that the tea would stimulate his appetite some. He was pretty sure he'd lost a little weight.

"I'm good, um, thanks though. I mean, I feel a little better, it's just really boring sitting here with nothing to do. Even the internet is boring now. You and Alto are keeping me sane." He pursed his lips.

"How's Lei?" He asked eventually. He'd heard that the other boy had been rushed to the Trauma Center, but he hadn't heard any updates since then.

[Juniper Birdsong]

"Well, I'm doing the best I can," Juniper replied, smiling brightly at his less-than-enthusiastic reply to her question. She knew she'd be going out of her mind if she was stuck in bed for as long as he had been, and was hopeful that his misery was almost over. The sound of his voice, so think and un-Amos-y, made her cringe slightly. "Still have a lot of phlegm in there, huh?"

She laughed lightly. "It's okay, he assumed as much, considering how much you've been sleeping." Alto was adorable, and she was so happy they had found each other. She swore they were soulmates, even if they hadn't been together all that long. "It's no problem at all! You know I just want you to get better as soon as possible, and I need to make sure you're drinking plenty of liquids." She gave him an amused look. "It's been good. Boring without you, though." She was bursting to tell him about Jeff asking her out, but she was going to wait until he was more awake for that. He still looked a little half-conscious.

She went silent for a moment as he drank, nudging the bowl of soup closer to him in case he wanted any of that, too.

When he spoke again, she nodded sympathetically. "I'm sure it is. But, I'm sure you're gonna get over it soon." That, she was quite certain of. He had to be, otherwise they both might go crazy.

She glanced over at him as he mentioned her new friend, and she frowned. "He's doing better. I still don't know what happened, but I... I think he almost died." The thought made her shudder. She wished someone would tell her what had happened to him, but those sorts of things were kept confidential.

[Amos Freeman]

"Yeah, no shortage of phlegm in here," Amos replied dully with a half-chuckle that turned into a cough. He winced a bit, patting his chest with one hand. He spotted her worried look and then attempted a joke.

"Sorry; hairball."

He sipped a little more tea before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

"Um, the tea is really good," he offered, resting the cup back on the tray gingerly. He fiddled with the soup spoon that was laying untouched in the bowl and swished it around a bit. He sniffled again.

"That's what I heard, too, but um, I thought you might know something else." He pursed his lips. "If I was allowed to borrow I'd know by now." He coughed suddenly and rushed to cover his mouth. After it subsided, he cautiously lifted a spoonful of soup into his mouth. He couldn't taste it especially well, but it was warm and thick and comforting.

"Does this have leeks in it?" He asked conversationally, taking another spoonful. He spotted the look on her face, the look that he had come to associate with her holding something back, and he blinked with slight amusement.

"So uh... that's all that's happened, then?"

[Juniper Birdsong]

Juniper winced again as he started coughing, grabbing a box of Kleenex and setting it beside the tray in case he needed any. "Ugh. You gotta get that outta there, Amy," she told him, but laughed at his joke. Even sick, he could always find humor in something.

"Oh, good! I bought the mint and steeped it myself," she said proudly. It was something her mom had taught her how to do when she was quite young. "You should eat something if you feel up to it. You need to get your strength back." She felt like his mom, talking like that, but someone needed to get after him, right?

"Hmm. I wasn't really told much. He just has a lot of bruises all over, and I think he had internal bleeding." She shrugged uselessly. "I'm guessing it was his abilities backfiring or something, but I don't know what his abilities are, so it's just a guess. Mr. Meian is really beat up too. I don't know why." She smiled faintly at Amos as he tried the soup.

"Mm, I think so," she nodded, her smile widening. Leave it up to Amos to ask such a thing. "I didn't make that myself, unfortunately." She probably could, she just didn't have the time. It was much easier to go to the store and buy organic soup.

His question made her look away with a sort of giddy grin. "Um. No." She laced her fingers together and sort of fiddled with them for a moment before blurting,"Jeffaskedmeoutonadate." She had told Amos about Jeff before, and how much she liked him. He would know how big of a deal this was to her.

[Amos Freeman]

"You didn't have to go to all that trouble," Amos said dutifully, slurping up a little more soup. "Mm, yeah, I think this definitely has, um, some leek in it. It's really good."

He let the spoon fall back into the bowl with a slight clink. He wiped at the edge of his mouth and sat up a little straighter. All the warm fluids had enabled him to breath a little more easily.

"That sucks," he said with as much sympathy as he could muster without knowing the entire situation. "The whole situation seems kind of, um, weird. I guess we'll find out eventually."

Nothing happened at Hammel without everyone finding out eventually.

"So, 'um, no, yes'?" He asked sarcastically, grinning. "What'd you say? I mean, no offense, it's hard for me to imagine him actually, um, asking anybody out. But that's awesome. I'm really happy for you."

[Juniper Birdsong]

"Yes I did," Juniper replied cheerily. She was more than happy to help make her friend feel better, especially if it involved good food. She didn't mind at all. "It's okay, I enjoy acting like a mother hen," she giggled. Someday, she hoped, she would be as good a mother as her own was.

She held her hands out in front of her as he sat up, as though ready to help him if he needed anything. But he seemed fine; a bit better than he had been when she got there, at least. Warm fluids really did help.

"Yeah," she agreed, the corner of her mouth tilting down. "I was going to go visit him later with some soup and stuff, too. I don't think he gets a lot of company." She wasn't sure why - he seemed nice enough, if a bit reserved and perhaps almost reclusive. Maybe it was his own doing. "I don't really want to pry, though, unless it's something he wants to talk about, you know?"

"I said yes," she replied meekly, her gaze on the floor as she continued to grin. "We're going to see a movie, I think." As he continued, she let her eyes drift up to the ceiling, before adding,"Well, I kinda... Heard his thoughts that he wanted to ask me out. So I told him I really liked him, and well... He asked me!" It was sort of funny - his ability, which was nearly always a pain for him, had led him to get the courage to ask her on a date. She was ecstatic.

[Amos Freeman]

"When you say it with that tone of voice, I kind of have to believe you," Amos said with a half-smile. He was trying not to feel like a burden on Juniper or Alto, but the more time elapsed, the more irritated he became with his immune system.

"I know what you mean," he mused. At the mention of soup, he shoveled a little more into his mouth. He pondered for a few moments.

"I could call Appoline, maybe, and ask her about her dad. She might know something. Whether she, um, wants to talk about it or not, obviously, is up to her." He paused. "If you go see him, uh, tell him I hope he feels better soon. Maybe we could put a card together or something like that, I mean, if you think he would like that sort of thing. 'Cause, um, I mean, I don't really know him that well."

He finally tilted the bowl towards his mouth and slurped up the remainder of the soup. He gave Juniper a sheepish look to imply that he was still listening.

"That sounds really awkward and really sweet at the same time," he offered after he had wiped the corners of his mouth. "I mean, at least you know he's an honest guy."

He didn't know much about Jeff in the personal sense, but he didn't think Juniper had particularly bad taste in men. He just didn't want her to be taken advantage of.

"Maybe later on we could do a, um, double date or something. If you don't think he would mind, or whatever."

[Juniper Birdsong]

"Good," she replied simply, because it really wasn't a burden. He was her friend, and she knew he would be doing the same for her if their positions were switched.

"Oh right, Appoline is Vincent's daughter, isn't she?" Juniper thought for a moment. "I wonder if she would mind. I'm sure what happened to her dad was really hard on her." She shuddered to think how she would react if something like that happened to her mom. She smiled at her friend's caring nature. "I'll do that. I'm sure he'll appreciate it. And that is a WONDERFUL idea!" she beamed. "We should work on that, definitely. And you should meet him once you're both better," she added with a nod.

"There you go," she giggled as he finished off the soup, giving him a supportive thumbs-up. "Feel like eating anything else?"

"It was, yeah," she replied, chuckling to herself as she remembered how nervous he had looked. "And I suppose he could never lie to me or anything, right? I mean, I feel sort of bad that he won't have any privacy, but at the same time..." She shrugged. He didn't seem the type to be disloyal or anything if they ended up in a relationship, but it was sort of comforting, in a perverse way, to know that she would know if anything was up.

"Oooh, that'd be so fun!" she agreed, clapping excitedly. "I don't think he would mind. I mean, it might be a while, you know, for us to get more comfortable around each other, but... Yeah!" She shot him a sideways look, smiling knowingly. "How are you and Alto doing, anyway?"

[Amos Freeman]

"Yeah," Amos confirmed. His brows were slightly furrowed with worry. "And I haven't talked to her in a while, either, so... anyway, um, I just hope everything's okay. If I find out anything, I'll text you."

He put an idle hand over his stomach, giving her a queasy half-smile.

"I think I'm good. Thanks, though." He had never been a very big eater to begin with, but not being able to taste anything wasn't doing him any favors, and neither was the massive amount of sinus drainage he was experiencing. He felt gross.

"It just comforts me that he won't, er, try anything... sketchy, if you know what I mean. Um, not that I think he's a bad person. Just that I don't think I could beat him up and I would hate to have to try."

He lapsed into another coughing fit that ended in a pitiful wheeze.

"It's awesome," he assured her, still a little short on breath. "I mean, Alto's awesome, and our relationship is awesome. Not being able to kiss right now is, uh, slightly less than awesome," he admitted. "But otherwise, I mean. Things are really great."

He beamed at her.

"I hope I'm better for the holiday dance, at least."

[Juniper Birdsong]

"Please do," Juniper told him, her brows still furrowed in worry. She wanted to know all she could, just for the sake of knowing. It wasn't like she was going to spread rumors.

"Okay. Just let me know if you need anything else. Liiike," she fumbled around his bed for a while before finding what she was looking for. "This!" She threw a stuffed penguin at him gently, making sure it didn't actually hit him. She had gotten it for him when he had first gotten sick, just for a little extra support.

She listened intently as he spoke, then let out a small fit of giggles. She appreciated his overprotectiveness, really, but she didn't think Jeff was someone he had to worry about. "Oh, Amy, I love you so much," she told him, reaching out to ruffle his hair. "Don't worry. He's not exactly a big brawny type anyway, I think you could take him." Not that she would ever want him to. She just thought it was silly.

Once again, she winced sympathetically as he coughed. "Need a throat lozenge?" she asked.

"Well, that just sounds... Awesome," she replied, her happiness for his relationship clear on her face. "Except the not-kissing part." The fact that he had found someone with similar feelings for relationships and sexuality made her so giddy, she could hardly stand it. "You guys are so incredibly cute." She shifted in her seat slightly, adding,"You better be better by then, otherwise I'll probably go crazy not having you around. So, get better," she finished, giving him a gentle poke.

[Amos Freeman]

"Oh, I was wondering where he went," Amos mumbled, grabbing the penguin and squeezing it close. "You wouldn't believe how often things get lost in all these comforters."

He grinned, sliding back down towards the mattress. His eyelids were starting to feel heavy again.

"Well, if you need me to like, borrow a dog and bite his ankle, just let me know," he persisted. He did, however, offer a half-chuckle. "I really hope it goes well. Keep me posted. I mean it."

He rubbed his eye absentmindedly, sighed, then attempted to clear his throat.

"Yeah, um, one throat lozenge wouldn't hurt, I think." He rummaged around for the bag of specially-picked organic cherry-flavored drops and unwrapped one.

He thought of Alto, smiled, and then realized he was getting lost in his thoughts.

"I'm practically better, I swear," he quipped, turning the lozenge over with his tongue. "I might miss Chanukah, but I'll be totally ready for Christmas."

He grinned, and at that moment, the bell sounded for the changing of classes.

[Juniper Birdsong]

"I can only imagine," Juniper replied with a laugh, glancing over his enormous pile of bed comforters. She imagined she would get lost in them all.

He looked like he was ready to drift off again, so Juniper began putting everything neatly back on the tray in preparation to leave.

Grinning, she told him,"I'll keep that in mind. But I really don't think that will be necessary." She just had a good feeling about the entire thing. "I will," she assured him. Of course she would, he was her best friend.

"Maybe I'll have to put some mistletoe in your doorway once you get better for when Alto stops by~" she teased him, going to stand as the bell rang. She had always wanted to kiss someone under the mistletoe; something about it just seemed so enchanting. "I need to run to class, but I'll be back later, okay? Get some sleep!" With a wave, she skittered out of his room so she could get to class on time. As much as she loved him, she did need to attend instead of spending the entire day watching him sleep.