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The door creaks open as Tisha peeks inside, Her head tips to the side while she squints, Staring at a sleeping Shelly on the clinic bed. Tisha glanced left and right at the hallway before slipping inside.
She walked over and sat at the chair beside the bed and scoots it closer, wincing as it scratches against the floorboards, making a loud sound that echoes slightly through the quiet room.
Shelly stirs in her sleep as her eyes starts to Flutter open, groggy and confused, she glances at the source of the sound before her eyes met at Tisha's chest then rose up to Tisha's face.
She rubs her eyes and her face lights up, Her mouth curls up to a big grin.
"Tisha!"
Shelly sat up quickly, much to how much her body protested, She lunged her top half towards Tisha and hugged her tight, earning a giggle from the tissue box and a hug back.
"Careful! You might hurt yourself." Tisha scolded half heartedly, too busy grinning at her best friend like an idiot to properly scold her.
Shelly nuzzled her face into the nape of Tisha's neck, breathing in the scent of Bleach and maybe a hint of lavender, whatever the scent is, it makes Shelly feel all fuzzy with a content and blissful expression on her face.
Shelly glances at the wall across from her, not moving her spot whatsoever and looks at the clock mounted on the wall, 11:07pm.
"I thought Sprout doesn't let any visits until 6am to 8pm or so?" Shelly finally pulled away and glanced at Tisha with a questioning look.
Tisha chuckles quietly, giving Shelly a sort of mischievous grin. "Well, I convinced Sprout to visit a little late since his many 'incidents' in the kitchen."
"Ooh, you're such a sneak!!" Shelly let's out a giggle once more.
Tisha couldn't help but giggle as well, like a bunch of school girls talking about their crushes or some drama. She gently pushes Shelly back to the bed, giving her a kiss on the forehead.
"You should rest, alright? I don't want ya' having difficulties because you couldn't keep your excitement down."
"Oh shush, I'll be fine!" Shelly grins, letting her fang peek out from her lips while both of her index finger point at her smile. "See? Perfectly good!"
"You say that but you can't even walk without heaving."
"Ehhh, that's beside the point!"
Shelly has been a little stubborn when it came to her health, always wanting to support someone rather than worry about herself, Tisha would be lying if she said it doesn't concern her at all. The girl is still having troubles with some illness no one can pinpoint what it is, no one even knows how much Shelly could live.
How long does Shelly have? Years? Months? Weeks, or even days? Could she not wake up tomorrow? Will she be dead hours later despite looking fine now? The illness is unpredictable.
Energetic one hour, dead tired the next.
Tisha won't know what will happen to Shelly, she won't be able to prevent it or help Shelly in some sort of way—what if Something bad happens but no one is there? Something churns in Tisha's stomach as she thinks about it.
Shelly can't run anymore, she can't dig in her massive. A few wobbly steps can get Shelly gasping for air, how foggy her memory seems to be or how tired her eyes looked nowadays as much as Shelly smiled.
A hint of bile rises to her throat, God—why is she thinking about something like that about her best friend? Shouldn't she be spending time with her? Instead of delving into meaningless thoughts about what ifs, instead of burying herself in cleaning to take her mind off of it like a coward? She should really—
"Tisha?"
Tisha snaps out of her daze, not realizing tears have been rolling down her cheeks for quite a while, She sniffles and wipes them off quickly.
"Oh gosh! Sorry, Shelly I got distracted and—"
"No, no, it's okay. Why were you crying?"
Tisha bit her lip at the question, the silent worry in her best friend's eyes rests onto her heart and weighs it down.
"Sorry, I just got in my feels about what will happen to you."
Shelly's gaze softens as she softly took hold of Tisha's hand. "Oh, don't worry Tisha, I'll be alright, Before you knew it I'll be back to carrying fossils 300x my weight!!"
Shelly puffed up her chest in mock pride, before bursting into giggled that seems so light and contagious, Tisha almost forgot that Shelly was Ill, almost until Shelly started coughing hard enough to start gagging.
Tisha stood up fast and gently sat Shelly up, nudging her forward as she tenderly pats her back. "Easy there, Don't get ahead of yourself."
"Bleh, It's okay I'm a-okay."
"Good, please be more careful with yourself." Tisha cups Shelly's face, now dawning a more serious expression. "We still don't know what's entirely wrong with your body so it's best if you be super careful."
Shelly raises her hands up to the side of her head as a surrender. "Okay okay! I got it."
Tisha raised an eyebrow at that. "100%?"
"100%!"
"Okay, I'll trust you this time but if you do the same thing, I'm going to get rid of all of the fossils you collected!"
Shelly let out an offended gasp. "What?? No not my fossils!"
Tisha smirks at Shelly's reaction. "Now, don't be reckless, promise?" She lifts her pinky at her.
Shelly held Tisha's pinky with her own. "Promise! Don't throw them away!!"
Tisha chuckles once more at Shelly's dramatic antics, she could almost rival Glisten with their exaggeration and dramatic flair. "Okay I won't."
Tisha smooths out Shelly's clinic gown, getting rid off of all the visible wrinkles on it before pulling away. "Alright, I'm going to head back now, I'll come check on you tomorrow."
"Alright, goodnight Tisha, love you!"
Tisha froze midway at the doorway, feeling a sort of flush to her cheeks and a hard thump to her chest. "Uhh, love you too!" Tisha rushes out of the room with a reddish face.
_____
6:07am. Tisha glanced at the clock mounted on the wall, ticking. She should visit Shelly, maybe it's a little early but Shelly's birthday is coming up and she wanted to give an early birthday present. Tisha looks at the pretty little Box she spent time decorating.
Tisha let's out a small excited squeal, and grabs the present before rushing down the hall and stopping Infront of Shelly's door. She quickly fixes any wrinkle on her dress or any wonky tissues on her head.
She puts on a pleasant smile before entering.
"Shelly! Guess what I got for you?"
Tisha looks at Shelly's sleeping form, She seems to be in a deep sleep, Tisha feels a little guilty for waking her up so early but she couldn't wait, she walks up to her and gently shook Shelly.
"Shelly! Come on, sleepyhead!!"
She shook her again and again and again.
"..Shelly? Hey come on, stop messing!"
Shelly's chest was stagnant, it hadn't risen up or down at all.
"Shelly????"
Shelly wasn't moving and was cold even.