"Sorry," Tobi shrugs at Dennis as she waves him off for the third time in the week following her encounter with Ashton at The Tea Shack, the cafe he works at. "I have stuff I need to do tonight, man." The stuff being discussing how she and Ashton are supposed to tackle her Hanahaki 'situation'.
Looking frustrated at his failed attempt to invite his friend out again, Dennis inquires, "Okay, then what are you even doing? Can I tag along? I really don't wanna be by myself all weekend while my parents are out of town. I mean, you're kind of the only person I hang out with outside of school other than, like, maybe two other people or something." Regaining his usual relaxed composure, he asks with a slight smile, "So can I tag along, or not?"
For a moment, as Tobi leans against the wall next to the row of lockers, she stares down at her shoes thinking of Ashton. About her Hanahaki disease. About her relationship with Dennis. About how all of those things are so closely linked, but she can't bring herself to connect all of them in one place, fearing that it'll only exacerbate her whole situation. Slightly shaking her head, she responds with a nonchalant shrug, "Nah, I don't think so. Besides, you probably wouldn't like what I'm doing anyway."
Narrowing his eyes, he prods for more answers, asking, "What exactly are you doing, Stronghold?"
After giving him a roll of her eyes, she responds, "Nothing dirty, if that's what you're thinking. I'm just meeting up with someone to do some research, that's all, dude." Tobi elaborates, only giving him about half of the facts.
Dennis visibly relaxes and breaths a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank goodness. Really had me worried there for a sec, Stronghold." He chuckles and hoists his bag higher over his shoulder. Then, now over thinking she may be doing something scandalous, asks, "Well what are you researching, anyway?"
Giving a low groan, she answers, "Just some medical stuff. It's kinda annoying, but I guess it'll be beneficial in the long--" She coughs into her closed fist, feeling the petals fill the compact space of her hand. Keeping the saliva covered contents hidden by pushing her closed hand back into her jacket pocket, where a startlingly large amount had been stored throughout the day, she finishes, "run, you know?"
"Man, that cough of yours is persistent as hell, man. It's good it's the end of the day, but are you sure you don't need to get it checked out again?" Dennis asks, giving her shoulder a light squeeze. "I mean, I guess the nurse can't legally give you cough medicine or whatever, but still."
Shrugging off his concerned words and gesture, she mumbles, "Nah, it's fine. Look, I gotta go meet the person I'm doing research with, so I'll catch you later." Tobi walks off at a slightly faster pace than her usual one while giving Dennis a half-wave as she makes her way around the corner and into the hall. Halfway down the hall, she turns into the bathroom and locks herself in a stall, taking the petals out and examining them.
As she presses her back against the stall door, she closes her eyes and sighs deeply. Man, this really does bite. She thinks to herself somberly. Tobi takes the rest of the petals out of her pockets and dumps them into the toilet before flushing them. But I can't keep thinking about it so much.
❀❀❀
"Okay, so how are we supposed to go about making you fall in love with someone else? Like, what the hell am I supposed to do, just set you up with dudes until you find one you like, or...?" Ashton asks as her twirls his hand in the air.
Leaning her chair backward, Tobi shrugs and replies, "Yeah, I don't really know, man. I mean, we could do that, but the whole love at first sight thing is a total sham, so I don't really think that would work out at all." With a sigh, she mutters, "Man, I might actually be murdered by some lame ass flowers, huh?"
Ashton groans and throws his hands in the air, saying, "You could have it removed like a sane person and just be fucking done with it, but no, you're too cool for normal people shit, huh?"
Tobi giggles at her new friend's exasperation. "Dude, relax. It's my choice, so I really would rather not risk my ability to fall in love, even if it means dying." She laughs lightheartedly as she continues, "I mean, a life without loving is hardly worth living if you ask me." With a shrug, she adds, "I dunno, I just feel like one of the main purposes of living is to find something to fall in love with." A wide smile spreads across her face as she says, "You know, being in love is pretty great sometimes."
Ashton's face is still serious and annoyed as he listens to her talk. "You know what else is the main point of being alive? Uh, I don't know, how about fucking breathing?"
Taking a sip of her tea, Tobi replies with a laugh, "Tell that to people with respiratory hinderances. You know, like asthma."
Dropping his head to the table in defeat, Ashton groans, "You're absolutely impossible." Heaving a sigh, he turns his head down to face his lap so that she can't see his face. "Why do people always have to be so stubborn when it comes to things like love, huh?"
With her chin in her palm, Tobi laughs a reply, "Maybe it's because matters of the heart are worth being stubborn about."
For a long moment, Ashton is silent. Finally, she hears him mutter, "I don't think things like love should ever have to determine your lifespan. How many people do you think die because of love?"
Tobi hums, "Well that depends if you specifically mean the Hanahaki disease or just stupid things people do because of love."
"Mm, both, I guess,"
She laughs and turns her head down to her tea, staring at her rippled reflection. "Then probably more than anyone can ever really determine. People kill and die for love -- directly and indirectly. Maybe someone you really have feelings for dies and you just can't take it, or you're so angry because of something related to the one you love that you kill someone." With a sigh and a good-natured roll of her eyes, she adds, "Or maybe love literally kills you to tell you to confess your feelings or some crap, but you're too chicken, so you just fucking die." Ashton looks up at her and rests his chin on the edge of the table. "I mean, who can really say when love is just as unpredictable as people."
Ashton is quiet as he absorbs her words. Finally, he gives a sigh and says loudly, "Okay, I don't know what your deal is, but you're like stupid wise, and I kinda hate it." His false annoyed look melts into a smile as he adds, "But that's good because a lot of people are extremely lacking in the way of wisdom."
She laughs. "Oh, I'm well aware of that. I mean, just look at the people in the high school. I lose brain cells by just breathing the same air as them." Tobi rolls her eyes. "Okay, I just wanna say that I'm kinda sick of having overly sweet flower tea every day." Heaving a sigh as she leans back in her chair, she asks, "Wanna come over to my place instead?"
Ashton chokes on the tea he's drinking and a concerning amount of it bubbles out of his nose and onto the cloth of the table. "Shit,"
Tobi laughs at his reaction and says, "Damn, dude, you okay? I swear, it's solely for the purpose of this Hanahaki business, I'm not tryna jump your bones or anything."
As he attempts to scrub the tea out of the tablecloth with one of the napkins, his face red, he responds, "No, I know, I was just kinda surprised is all because, you know, we don't really know each other all that well and most people don't invite practical strangers into their house until they've known them for a substantial amount of time or if it's just, you know, a hook up."
Giggling as he continues to ramble, Tobi stands and starts helping him clean up the mess. "No, that's not what I was thinking, but..." Ashton stops cleaning and his face flushes all over again. Tobi continues in a low voice, "maybe that would be an easy out with the Hanahaki disease." She hums and ignores her new friend's beet red face, mumbling, "I guess a physical connection would help with the whole process of falling in love. I mean, a lot of people start out with sex rather than love..."
Finally, he bursts, "Okay, I'm not letting some chick I barely know become a Hanahaki Hoe-bag. Cool your jets, we have time to come up with a plan."
Tobi chuckles but silently wonders if that statement is true. Does she have time? It's hard to say. The Hanahaki disease is as unpredictable as the love it stems from.