Chapter Text
It started the day after Jake joined the Music Club.
The cafeteria was loud that morning. Chairs scraped against the tile floor, trays clattered, and the constant overlapping conversations filled the air. The smell of fries and cheap pizza lingered, but Drew barely noticed any of it. His focus was locked entirely on the blonde sitting next to him at the table.
“Wait, hear me out!” Jake blurted, raising both hands defensively. His voice cracked just slightly, subtle enough that most people wouldn’t notice.
Drew did.
Henry and Liam had already half-stood from their seats in shock, their seats rattling as they sat back down again. “I know what you're thinking,” Jake continued quickly, tripping over his words, “but there's a reasonable explanation!”
Drew leaned back in his chair, arms crossed across his chest. Too tight. His fingers pressed hard into his sleeves. “You seriously ditched us yesterday to audition for the music freak club?!” Drew snapped. The words came out sharper than he intended, but he didn’t bother correcting himself.
He couldn’t believe it. They’d spent years making fun of that club. Years. And suddenly, Jake was joining it?
Jake shifted his weight on his chair. “Look, it’s…” He paused. Drew held his breath without realizing it. Something cold settled in his stomach.
“Daisy,” Jake finally said. “She told me that she loves singers and that I should try out for the competition, so I agreed.” He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
Henry exploded into laughter so loudly that a few nearby students turned to stare. “You joined the music freak club for Daisy? Dude, you’re so whipped!” Jake’s face turned pink almost instantly. “Don’t scream it out to the whole school!”
“That’s it,” Drew said slowly, disbelief dripping from every word. “Daisy told you to? So you said yes!? What’s next? Are you going to strip down in front of everyone because she asked you to?”
“Simp!” Henry added, giggling and nudging Liam. Liam laughed, shaking his head. Drew didn’t. He couldn’t. Something tight and uncomfortable pressed against his chest, like fingers curling around his lungs. He inhaled slowly, but the air didn’t feel like enough.
“Look, it’s all part of my plan,” Jake said, leaning forward. “Daisy said she’d come and watch me practice during the rehearsals, which gives me a chance to get closer to her! And once I impress her with my singing, I can finally ask her out!” He looked around the table expectantly. “Good, right?”
“Seriously, dude? I wouldn’t go through that much effort for a chick. I’ll give you props though,” Liam replied. Drew barely heard him.
The pressure in his chest hadn’t left. If anything, it had gotten worse. It felt like something blooming inside him, pushing outward, taking up space that air would’ve filled.
“Liam, if I know anything about ladies, it’s that they love a guy who can sing,” Jake continued proudly. “Besides, it’s called being romantic.”
“Romantic? What’s that? I’ve never heard of that word,” Liam joked. Henry snorted. “Heh. And that’s why you’ve never had a girlfriend.”
“Uh-huh, and what’s your excuse then? You’ve never even kissed a girl—”
“I just can’t believe you’re going to embarrass yourself on stage with those freaks,” Drew cut in suddenly. The words came out before he could stop them. Jake blinked in surprise. Drew forced a laugh to cover it up. “Just to ask a girl out.”
There. That sounded normal. Casual. Like a joke. Not like something was clawing its way out of his chest.
Before Jake could respond, Henry jumped in. “Hey, do you think if I auditioned to sing, I could get Lia to like me? It can’t be that hard, listen!” He cleared his throat dramatically and burst into an off-key performance of Justin Bieber’s “Baby”. Liam and Jake immediately cringed.
Drew sighed. “Great. Look what you started.”
But Jake was already standing, grabbing his tray. “Sorry, I’ll be leaving him with you two. I just realized I’m late for music practice!” He didn’t say goodbye. He didn’t hesitate. He just walked away.
Drew watched him go. Watched the cafeteria doors swing shut behind him and watched the space where he’d been sitting. And suddenly, the noise in the cafeteria felt too loud.
“Can you believe him?” Drew muttered, staring at the doors. “Joining those music freaks just to impress Daisy… What’s so impressive about it anyway?” He scoffed, leaning back in his chair. “It’s not like I had to embarrass myself onstage to get Zoey to like me.” He inhaled sharply.
The breath caught halfway down. A strange tickle brushed the back of his throat. Drew frowned and coughed lightly into his fist. Just once.
It went away.
He ignored it.
“Then again,” he added, forcing a smirk, “I could probably get any girl I wanted.”
So what if Jake joined the music club? So what if he was hanging out with Drew’s enemies? Drew didn’t care. Not one bit.
His throat itched again.
This time, the cough hurt.
~~~
The next time he felt it, he was in Chemistry class.
The room smelled faintly of bleach, metal, and something sour. Sunlight filtered weakly through the windows, catching dust particles that floated above the rows of lab tables. Glass beakers clinked, and the teacher’s voice droned somewhere in the background about safety precautions no one was really listening to.
Drew adjusted the goggles on his face and stared down at the worksheet in front of him. Partner experiment. Observe chemical reactions. Record results.
Obviously, he had partnered with Jake.
He always partnered with Jake.
Except now, it felt less like a habit and more like a decision he had to hold onto.
At first, things had been normal. Drew gathered the materials, measured the liquids, and lit the burner. Jake had helped for the first few minutes, passing tools, making jokes, nudging Drew’s shoulder.
Then he realized Hailey was next to him. Now Drew was the one doing most of the work. Again.
Suddenly, Jake shouted at something Hailey said.
Drew glanced over automatically. He hadn’t even realized he’d been listening for Jake’s voice until it pulled his attention.
Jake wasn’t looking at the experiment. He was looking toward Hailey, shocked in a way Drew hadn’t seen since he gifted him the computer last summer. They were talking like they’d known each other forever.
Drew’s grip tightened around the glass stirring rod. It had only been a week. A week. How were they already so comfortable together? Like they understood each other. Like Jake didn’t already have people for that. Drew swallowed.
His chest tightened sharply, the air from his lungs leaving before he even realized he needed it. He tried to breathe deeper, but the air felt thick, like it stopped halfway down his throat.
That annoying itch brushed the back of his throat again. Stronger this time.
He forced a quiet sigh, setting the stirring rod down harder than necessary. “Are you gonna continue talking to your music girlfriend?” Drew called, just loud enough to slice through their conversation, “Or are you gonna actually help me out here?”
Jake and Hailey turned at the same time. “Don’t call me/her that!” they snapped in unison.
Drew’s jaw clenched.
The way they spoke together made something twist painfully inside his chest. He couldn’t name the feeling, so he buried it the only way he knew how. With irritation. With sarcasm. With cruelty.
“I wouldn’t have partnered up with you if I knew you’d just talk to her for the whole lesson,” he said, focusing intensely on the blonde in front of him so he wouldn’t have to look at her. “Help out, would you?”
The itch in his throat flared. He coughed into his sleeve, trying to make it quiet.
Jake’s expression softened immediately. “Sorry, Drew. I’ll help.” He stepped closer to the table again, reaching for the worksheet. Drew exhaled slowly. The tightness in his chest loosened. Just a little.
Jake didn’t look happy. There was tension in his shoulders, guilt in the way he avoided Hailey. Drew didn’t need him to be happy. He just needed his attention.
That’s all that mattered.
“Okay, so what’s next?” Jake asked. Drew pointed to the instructions. “We mix those two.”
Jake picked up the wrong beaker.
“Jake—”
Too late.
The moment the liquids touched, the reaction was immediate. The mixture hissed, bubbling over the rim of the glass. Then—
Pop!
The beaker burst with a loud crack, sending foam splattering across the table and their lab sheets. Students around them jumped. Someone laughed. The teacher sighed in exhausted disappointment.
Jake flinched backward, startled.
Drew didn’t move.
Because the sudden shock forced a sharp inhale, and something in his throat hurt.
A deep, tearing cough ripped out of him before he could stop it. He doubled over slightly, clutching the table as the coughing continued, harsher than before, scraping painfully up his throat. It felt like something was stuck there. Something soft. Something that didn’t belong.
Drew swallowed hard, forcing the cough down. “I’m fine,” he muttered quickly, straightening up before Jake could ask.
The itch didn’t go away. It lingered.
~~~
The feeling followed him for the next two weeks, coming back in waves.
Sometimes, in the hallway, Jake walked past him, offering only a quick “hey” before hurrying off. Sometimes, at lunch, when Jake was absent from their table. Sometimes late at night, when Drew opened their old group chat and realized Jake hadn’t sent a single message in days.
Drew tried to ignore it. But by the second week, it took effort. The pressure in his chest had become familiar, a heavy weight pressing down on his ribs. Breathing wasn’t impossible, but it never felt easy anymore. Like his lungs could never quite fill all the way.
He told himself it was stress. Annoyance. Frustration. Obviously, Jake was causing it. But he didn’t miss him.
He absolutely did not miss him.
Once the competition was over, Jake would quit the club. He had to. This whole thing was for Daisy. Just Daisy. After that, everything would go back to normal. Jake would sit and joke with them again.
One week wasn’t that long. Everything would go back to normal. It had to.
Right?
There was one moment that made the pressure in his chest spike so sharply it nearly stole the air from his lungs.
“Hey, Jakey!”
Drew stepped inside the club room behind Henry and Liam, already irritated with himself for coming. His hands stayed shoved deep in his pockets, shoulders stiff like he didn’t belong there.
Jake jolted upright from his chair. He’d been sitting beside Hailey at the desk, a notebook open between them.
“Oh, uh, hey guys! What are you doing here?” He looked nervous. Drew noticed immediately. And pretended he didn’t.
“Just seeing what you’re up to,” Drew said casually. “You spend an awful lot of time in here, and you never invite us in.” He stayed near the wall, crossing his arms and watching.
“Yeah,” Liam added. “Why don’t you show us this angelic voice of yours for once?”
Jake leaned closer to Hailey without realizing it. Like it was natural. Like it was normal. Like Drew hadn’t stood next to him in this exact way for years.
Henry crept toward the desk. “Ooh, is that what you’re singing?”
“Ahem. Jake.”
Jake’s attention snapped to Hailey instantly. Drew’s chest stung. “We’re sort of busy here, remember?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, right. Hey, uh, sorry guys. I’m a little busy right now.” The words hit harder than they should have after two weeks of hearing them in different forms.
“God, you’re always busy,” Drew muttered. He pushed himself off the wall. The irritation came more easily now. Faster. It was easier than admitting anything else. “Haven’t you rehearsed enough for this stupid competition?”
“Well, we had a change of plans, so we have new stuff to go over.”
“Hey guys, check this out.” Henry slammed a piano chord. The awful note echoed through the room. Hailey flinched. “Hey, get off of that!”
Liam grinned and headed straight for the drum set. “Hey, wait, let me join in.” The noise doubled. Drew smirked. And for a moment, the crushing weight in his chest lifted.
Hailey sighed sharply. “Jake, can you please do something about them?”
Drew walked closer, grin still in place. “Why are you so angry?” he asked sweetly. “The instruments are there to be played, aren’t they?”
“Not by the likes of you buffoons!”
Jake tried to intervene. “Hey, uh, guys. You sound great, but could you please stop?”
Liam hit the steelpan one last time. “I didn’t realize this was a fun-free zone. Geez. Is this what you have to put up with, Jake?”
“She probably doesn’t know how to have a laugh since she’s so uptight all the time,” Drew added automatically. “I’d hate being around that.” Henry and Liam returned to his side, high-fiving.
Then Hailey stepped forward. “Maybe there’s a reason I’m uptight around you jerks. Now get out.”
Drew blinked. “Damn, we barely did anything,” he scoffed. “We’re allowed to come say hi to our friend. Don’t act important just because he’s your singer.”
Hailey stepped closer, pushing Jake gently aside without even looking at him. “Oh, I’m the one acting important? Everywhere you go, you reek of insecurity.” The words landed. “Picking on others just because you think you’re better than everyone. You can’t stand that everyone else in the school is excited for the competition.”
Drew laughed sharply. “The only reason people are going to this competition in the first place is Jake.” He leaned closer. “Sweetie, don’t get so cocky.”
“You of all people do not get to tell me that—”
“Guys, stop.”
Jake stepped between them. Drew’s stomach dropped. “Look, I’ll hang out with you guys after school. We can catch up then, okay? So, could you leave us?”
The room went quiet. Drew stared at him. At the space Jake had created between them. At the way Jake met his eyes. The pressure in Drew’s chest returned full force, squeezing tighter and tighter until it burned.
“Fine,” he choked out. “Whatever. Have fun with little Miss uptight.” He turned quickly before his voice could betray him.
He didn’t hear what Henry said as they left. All he could hear was the rushing in his ears. All he could feel was the ache in his chest.
“Why was she acting like they were best friends? She’d barely known him a month. He was only her singer.
After the competition, he’s quitting. He has to be quitting. Right?
…Right?
No way Jake actually liked those freaks. This was all for Daisy. Just Daisy.
Drew coughed quietly into his sleeve as they reached the hallway. The ache didn’t fade.
~~~
It was the day before the competition when everything finally broke.
The hallway buzzed with restless energy. Students were clustered in excited groups after Jake’s speech, and the air felt electric with anticipation. Drew hated it. Everywhere he looked, there was another reminder of the thing that had taken Jake away from him.
And now Jake stood in front of them, shoulders tense, hands clenched at his sides like he’d rehearsed this moment a hundred times.
“But,” Jake started, voice wavering before he forced it steady, “I won’t be that weak-minded person anymore. I won’t stand for them being called freaks anymore. And…” He hesitated, glancing between the three boys like he was bracing for impact. “I also won’t lie to you guys anymore.”
Henry and Liam dropped their gazes. The hallway suddenly felt quiet.
Then the slow sound of clapping echoed between the lockers.
“Wow…” Drew said, each clap deliberate and hollow. “I’m so happy for you, Jake.” The chuckle that followed didn’t hold any humor. It scraped out of his throat like it hurt to make the sound at all. “It’s funny,” he continued, voice tight, “I really thought they were using you.” He inhaled shakily. “Turns out, you’ve just been manipulating me this whole time. Nice to know we were never really friends.”
The words hung in the air, sharp. Jake opened his mouth again, “That’s not—” but the fight drained from his shoulders. His voice dropped to something quiet and defeated. “Drew…”
A breath of laughter escaped Drew as he shook his head. “Whatever. I’m done with you. Have a nice life…” He paused. For a split second, something in his chest twisted painfully, like a warning. Like a plea. Like something begging him to stop.
He ignored it.
He wanted Jake to hurt. Jake deserved to hurt. So why did it feel like his lungs were being torn apart from the inside?
Whatever. Who cared.
“…freak.”
The word slipped out quietly, but it landed like he wanted it to.
Drew didn’t look back as he walked past him. He barely registered the music club members standing nearby. Didn’t notice the way the hallway had gone silent. All he knew was the burning in his chest.
Ever since the clubroom argument, the pain had never fully left. It used to come and go in waves. Now it stayed, a constant pressure pressing against his ribs.
Six days.
Six days since he’d last felt normal. And it was getting worse.
He turned the corner of the hallway. Then it happened. Something moved in his throat.
Drew froze mid-step.
It felt like a lump forcing its way upward, scraping painfully against the inside of his throat. His breath caught, panic flashing hot in his chest. He started walking faster. Bathroom. He needed the bathroom.
The urge to cough clawed its way up his chest, but he clenched his jaw and forced it down. Students passed by in blurs of color and noise as he hurried down the hall. Behind him, Henry and Liam slowed, confused by his sudden pace. Drew didn’t notice.
The pressure in his throat climbed higher. Sharper. Closer. By the time he reached the bathroom door, he was barely holding it back.
He shoved the door open and rushed into the nearest stall, dropping to his knees in front of the toilet just as the cough finally tore free. It came out harsh and violent, ripping through his chest.
Again.
Again.
His lungs burned, throat raw as he coughed harder, body shaking with the force of it. Something dislodged. Something came up.
With one final cough, it fell into the toilet bowl with a soft splash.
Drew gasped desperately for air, gripping the side of the stall as he tried to breathe. His throat stung, the metallic taste of blood spreading across his tongue. He swallowed automatically.
His breathing slowly steadied. Silence filled the bathroom. Then curiosity crept in.
He leaned forward and looked into the bowl.
At first, it didn’t make sense. A pale yellow shape floated in the water, tinged faintly red where the blood spread around it.
Drew stared. His brain scrambled for explanations. Anything logical. Anything normal. But only one answer stuck.
A flower petal.
He recoiled slightly, heart hammering in his chest. He didn’t need to touch it to know what it was. The shape. The color. The way it floated so delicately in the water. A flower petal.
His stomach dropped.
A single thought echoed in his mind, louder than anything else.
How the hell did a flower petal get inside him?