Chapter Text
Snow has been following me around for the past week. He keeps insisting that I’m off plotting. Plotting his demise, plotting to steal his girlfriend, plotting something. In reality I just want to escape him. Him taking up his fifth year habits isn’t doing much to help that. In our last year at Watford, I just want peace and quiet. I just want to finish the year at the top of the class, and then let Snow run me through with that infuriating sword of his.
When I finally get a moment of peace in our room, it’s short lived. I feel like I have something stuck in the back of my throat. I try to clear the feeling away, but nothing works. I take a deep breath, somehow it feels more shallow than before. I shrug it off, vampires can’t get sick. I sigh before standing, I have class. Snow shares Elocution with me, right now I can’t decide whether it’s a blessing or a curse, maybe it’s both.
I sit next to Dev, and I feel the moment that Snow enters the room. The smoky scent that follows him always gives him away. I turn and give him my best sneer. He instantly glares back at me and the smoky smell intensifies. Bunce tugs on his arm and gives him a pointed look. I turn away, no matter what, getting under Snow’s skin gives me satisfaction. I frown as I cough again, Dev turns to me with a raised eyebrow. I shake my head, and he doesn’t ask. He simply turns back to what Miss Possibelf is saying. I can feel Snow’s eyes on me again, this time I ignore him. If I want peace and quiet, I’m going to have to tone down antagonizing him.
Elocution passes without any more insults, but Snow keeps staring at me. I sighed, willing the tickle in the back of my throat to go away. I make my way back Mummers, hoping Snow doesn’t come back right now. Of course the universe hates me, because he trails behind me, probably thinking he hasn’t been noticed. On the walk back to our room, the cough comes back. It makes my shoulders shake, it feels like it might be getting worse. I’m not sure I understand what is happening, again, vampires can’t get sick.
When I finally reach our room, Snow slams the door shut behind him. I roll my eyes and sit down at my desk. Maybe the oaf will stay quiet and I can work on my Latin homework. The silence in the room only lasts a few minutes before Snow interrupts.
“I saw you coughing. Are you getting sick?” Snow accuses.
“I might be coming down with a cold Snow. It’s something that happens.” I reply, holding in another cough.
“Vampires don’t get sick.” He’s standing in the middle of our room now. I sigh and turn to him.
“Pity I’m not a vampire then.” I get up from my desk, obviously Snow isn’t going to drop this by the look on his face. When he gets angry, his face flushes and he reaches for the Sword of Mages.
“Fuck off Baz. I know you’re a vampire. And vampires don’t get sick.” He yells, stepping closer. Snow just won't let go of the fact that I’m a vampire. He doesn’t actually have proof, and no one believed him when he went around telling everybody in fifth year.
“Seriously Snow, leave me the fuck alone.” I storm off into the en suite. Snow just stands there, mouth gaping open. I slam the door closed, and sit against it. The smoky smell that Simon has begins to fade. I hear the door open and softly close. Apparently he took my advice today. I’m surprised that he isn’t pounding on the door, insisting I let him in. More coughs wrack my body. When they are over, I sigh. Whatever this is, it isn’t getting better on it’s own. It’s getting worse.
SIMON
After Baz stormed into the en suite and told me to leave him alone, I actually did. I wanted to make him come out and tell me what was going on. Instead I went to find Penny. I know vampires can’t get sick. Doubt about Baz being a vampire fills my head. I push out the thoughts, thinking is pointless, I need Penny.
When I find her, she’s in the library. I know she is going to tell me that I already met my Baz quota today, but I feel like she might allow this. I sit down across from her without saying anything. She peeks over her book, eyes narrowed, but she doesn’t say anything. Minutes pass as I sit restlessly until Penny finally sighs.
“Simon, this better not be about Baz.” She sounds tired.
“Penny I swear it’s important.” I insist. She rolls her eyes and motions for me to continue.
“I’m not sure anymore that Baz is a vampire.” I confess. She pauses at that, and puts down her book. She apparently finds this important enough.
“Why the sudden change?” She questions. I glance around the library, there isn’t anyone around.
“I think he’s getting sick. Vampires don’t get sick.” I tell her, she frowns at this. She doesn’t answer right away, lost in thought.
“I’ve never seen Baz sick before.” She states quietly. “If he gets a cold, then he couldn’t be a vampire Simon.” I nod. I was almost hoping that Penny would tell me that vampires could get sick, what if I was wrong about Baz? Maybe he isn’t a monster. Penny turns back to her book and I just stare blankly at the bookshelves. Could I have been entirely wrong about him?
BAZ
A week passes without Snow getting in my face and accusing me of being a vampire or of plotting. It's peaceful, yet unnerving. I feel like he’s up to something. I pause for a minute, Crowely, I’m starting to sound like him. The coughing gets worse, and I feel like I can breath less. Niall and Dev have both noticed, but when they tried to ask, I shut them down. They haven’t brought it up since. Snow continues to stare at me throughout class, and he stares at me in our room. Every time I turn to sneer at him, I end up coughing. Even teachers are starting to notice. Miss Possibelf suggested that I went to the infirmary. I told her I would go, but I didn’t mean it.
Saturday morning is when I finally get my answer as to what’s wrong with me. Snow had already gone to breakfast, and I was finally getting out of bed. After I shut the window, hard coughs wracked my body. It was painful this time. It felt like I was trying to rid myself of my lungs. The coughing didn’t let up for a few minutes, and when I brought my hands down, there was a white petal in my hand.
I stared at it for a minute, this could not be happening. Simon Snow was going to be the death of me, and he would never know. Hanahaki disease, unrequited love so strong, it suffocates its victims. I feel tears drip down my face. This was going to be the way that I die. I always thought I would die pretending to fight Snow until the last breath, but I was going to suffocate. I sank to the floor, more tears spilling, pooling into my hand along with the petal.
Hanahaki disease normally kills within a month and a half. This meant that I had roughly a month and a week to live. I would never graduate, Bunce would finish at the top of the class, I wouldn’t live to see another Christmas. Briefly I wonder if anyone would care. I know Dev and Niall would, but they wouldn’t show it. Snow would be relieved, he wouldn’t have to spill my blood himself.
I hack up another petal, it floats to the ground. I quickly grab my wand and spell them away. If Simon walks in here and sees me on the floor with flower petals, he is going to accuse me of something.
Two more weeks pass without anyone noticing anything. Snow still gives me weird looks, but that's normal for him. It’s gotten harder to breathe, and I cough up more than one petal now. Sometimes it’s a whole flowers’ worth of petals, sometimes it’s even more. The petals are speckled with blood too. I know that my appearance has started to change. I look paler, sicker now. I act like nothing's wrong. I have about three weeks to live, and no one but me knows it.
It all goes wrong when Bunce and Simon are doing whatever it is they do in our room. I’m trying to study while ignoring those two. I start to cough, this time it's deep wheezing coughs. I see both of their heads whip up and stare at me. Their eyes follow me towards the en suite as the coughs don’t stop. When I finally get the door closed behind me, I can hear their whisperings.
I slump to the ground, catching the flower petals that fall out of my mouth. I breathe deeply, hoping the fit is over, but it’s not. The coughs start up again, and this time, an entire flower comes out. The petals are getting covered with more and more blood as time moves forwards. My throat always feels raw, and I always feel like I am gasping for breath.
I move to spell the petals and flower away, when I realise my wand is sitting on my desk. Bunce and Snow don’t sound like they are leaving anytime soon, I start to panic. What am I supposed to do locked up in here? I can’t flush this many flower petals down the toilet. I gather up all of the petals and the flower, I am just going to have to hide them, grab my wand, and leave the room.
The minute that I leave the en suite, Snow is up on his feet, stalking towards me. I hear Bunce protest, but he doesn’t stop.
“Seriously Baz. You’re sick and you need to go to the infirmary.” I moved to push past him when he grabs both of my arms. This sends the petals and the flower tumbling out of my shirt and onto the floor. The minute Bunce’s eyes land on them, I know she knows. While Simon is distracted by her, I make my escape. I run to the catacombs, ignoring Bunce’s pleas for me to stay.
Simon
Baz leaves while I stare at the petals on the floor. They are white and red, I wonder where he got them. Maybe someone gave them to him? I turn to Penny, she looks like she’s seen a ghost.
“Pen, what's wrong?” She doesn’t answer, instead her eyes are locked on the door. I look down at the petals again.
“Do you think someone gave him some flowers? Why would he hide that?” I question aloud. I lean down to pick up one of the petals.
“Simon, leave the petals alone.” Penny suddenly shouts. I startle, taking a step back.
“Penny, what’s wrong?” I ask again. For some reason she has tears in her eyes. I step around the petals and sit down next to her.
“Simon, do you know what Hanahaki disease is?” Her voice is quiet, I almost miss what she says. I shake my head. I have never heard of Hanahaki disease.
“When a person is deeply in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same way, flowers grow inside their lungs, suffocating them to death.” Penny whispers.
“Penny I don’t understand. What does this have to do with Baz?” I’m confused at how this disease came up.
“Simon, Baz has Hanahaki disease.” It takes a moment for these words to sink in; Baz, suffocating, deeply in love. For a moment I don’t understand, and then it all makes sense. Baz Pitch is going to die.
“There has to be something that we can do? Right Penny?” I turn to her, but the look in her eyes tells me all that I need to know. There is nothing we can do.
“No Pen. There has to be something. We can research it in the library.” I go to stand up, but she tugs me back down, shaking her head no.
“Si, there are only three ways Hanahaki disease can end. The love is requited, the flowers are removed surgically, or they die.” Penny says in a small voice.
“So Baz gets them removed.” I go to stand again.
“Simon, the surgery also removes the person's ability to love. They can never love again. It’s also incredibly dangerous, not many survive.”
“Oh.” I don’t try to stand again. I feel like I should be relieved that I don’t have to kill Baz, but he’s still going to die. He’s going to suffocate to death. I look at the petals again, this time I notice they aren’t white and red; they are white and cover with blood.
“He probably doesn’t have much time left. If that cough you told me about was the start, that was three weeks ago. Hanahaki takes lives within a month and a half” Penny whispers.
“Oh.” Is all that I can say.