Begonias

Chapter Thirty Six|Hospitalization

George was worried beyond belief.

Everyone else was too, but they would definitely agree with him if he said he was the most affected by it.

He found himself forgetting meals sometimes, and he could hardly sleep a wink without knowing what was wrong with Clay.

He hadn't seen Clay's face in days. The taller boy had locked himself in his room, and George had no idea what to do or why he was doing it.

George was talking with Nick and Darryl in the living room on this specific day.

"Guys... I'm worried about him." Darryl said, looking towards the staircase longingly.

"Tell me about it, honestly," Nick responded, his eyebrows drawn back a bit to show that he wasn't being sarcastic.

"Yeah. Something is obviously-" Then there was a loud thud, and they were frozen in shock for a moment before Nick jumped into action.

"Darryl, call nine one one! C'mon George- let's go!" Nick said, dragging him off of the couch until his body caught up with the moment and they raced up the stairs.

Nick had to kick open Clay's locked bedroom door, and George ran in, gasping when he saw Clay.

"Why.. Why would he hide this from us?" George thought out loud, running his fingers across Clay's check before Nick picked him up bridal style. They had to wait for an ambulance to come, and when it did, the blinding lights flashed over George's face.

They sat in the ambulance with him, his heart rate alarmingly slow. George began to pray, as he unashamedly leaned over Clay and kissed his forehead.

Please, please let him come out of this alive.

---

In the end, George has pushed away. They had to diagnose him, take care of him.

When the doctor came back, she came bearing bad and good news.

"Your friend, Clay, he's been diagnosed with what is a very unresearched disease called Blumen Werfen, which translates directly into 'throwing up flowers'. It's known in the media as Hanahaki disease."

Doctor Sage informed George. He began to tremble a bit, and he felt like crying.

"He flatlined twice before we were able to get him into a stable enough condition to be moved into a hospital room." George flinched at the news.

"But, on the contrary, a charity foundation that is specifically for this disease found his case interesting, and they are going to pay for the shot which will take immediate action into killing the disease and eradicating it from his system."

George could have fallen to the floor in relief at this. Clay was going to be okay. Clay was going to survive this. It wasn't too late to confess.

"They will send someone to talk to him when he is awake." George looked up, confused. The doctor seemed to realize something.

"We have him in a medically induced coma until the disease is eradicated from his system. However, you can still visit him."

And George did. Once every two days he would visit Clay. Once every two weeks he would hold his hand and tell him about the world, only the good things though.

Every time he visited, Clay looked a little better. A little bit more alive.

He's confessed countless times now. He's said 'I love you. See you soon.' every time he left the hospital room.

It had been a month since Clay was first Comatose. George wasn't looking good. The bags under his eyes were terrible, and he always felt tired, but he couldn't sleep.

But this time, he couldn't handle it.

"It's your anniversary.." George spoke, his voice breaking. He shouldn't be crying. Clay would be awake any day now. They were no longer inducing a coma onto him.

"Please, please come back to me," George said, his voice a whisper, tears sliding down his cheeks.

"I miss you. I want to hold you and hug you again. And I want to tell you how I feel in person when your eyes are open and you can say the same thing back." George confessed, body shaking as he buried his face in his comatose crushes chest.

And then he felt a shaking hand brush over his hair. 

George looked up slowly, hope in his eyes.

He saw Clay's looking back, and that he was crying too.

"I love you, George." Clay said, and his voice was nearly gone. George choked on his tears.

"I love you too, Clay."

---

The next two weeks Clay dropped in and out of consciousness, but George visited every day so he could be there along the way.

It was rough on him, he'll admit it. Every time Clay dropped back into unconsciousness, George would be afraid that he'd never wake up again.

But he was proven wrong every time. Every time he heard Clay's voice again, it gave him hope.

Until Clay was finally awake for good.

Dream was sad for George when he had first woken up. He had hurt him without meaning to. He should've just asked him.

But now, he got to see him every day. They were still doing small gestures, like hand-holding and hugging. They had never kissed.

Darryl and Nick would swing by every once in a while. And then Dream realized something.

They didn't call him Dream anymore. He was Clay.

And this led him to a huge realization.

Dream was someone who was afraid. Dream was constantly drowning in ankle-deep anxieties that just kept crawling their way up to his legs and body.

Dream was someone who hid behind a mask. He never displayed his true self to others, even the ones he cared about.

Dream always doubted he could ever truly be happy. He was never sure if the world thought or felt the same way he thought or felt, and it constantly scared him.

Dream wasn't who he wanted to be. Dream didn't see the good things in life.

And now, through this experience, maybe he could leave Dream behind.

He told a joke as he kissed George's hand, just to hear him giggle.

Maybe, just maybe... Maybe he could be Clay instead.

An

Guys, thank you so much for being there for me through this whole thing.

I loved writing this, and I'm so glad you guys enjoyed reading it.

After this, there will be two more chapters. There will be one chapter a day, until the last one, the day after tomorrow.

Until then, thank you for reading,

Sincerely, Blythe.