"This stuff tastes like dog ," I coughed after up all the brown colored medicine in the small glass bottle. The flavor spread through my entire mouth, making my gag reflexes turn on. How the heck do people even put that much bitterness into one tiny bottle?
"It's been making your fever go down so stop complaining," Luhan took the empty bottle from my hands and replaced it with a glass of water. His slight head nod was basically a signal for me to drink it but I drank it because I wanted this nasty taste out of my mouth. Not cause he told me to. Let's get that straight.

"I wasn't even complaining," I retorted, setting the cup down on the bedside table. "I was just making a statement. You try it then talk to me."
"I have, smart one," he flicked my forehead gently before sticking a thermometer in front of my face. I took it and placed it under my tongue. "This is what everyone drinks when they get sick. Just be happy I talked your grandpa out of sending you to the hospital."
"The hospital would've made me better quicker."
"Yeah, but then it'd be all over the news. And that's the last thing we want before tomorrow afternoon hits," he responded as the thermometer beeped. I loosened my mouth a bit and pulled it out. The numbers 38 degrees celcius blinked at me.

"You wanna convert this for me?" I held it out to him. He took it and sighed, using his free hand to push my head back onto the pillows below me.
"It's about 100 degrees fahrenheit. You still have a mild fever so go back to bed."
"I am in bed."
"You know what I mean," Luhan got up and refilled the cup on my bedside table. "I have a meeting with your grandpa about tomorrow so I'll be gone for a couple of hours. Don't do anything stupid while I'm not here."
I threw him a death glare as he pulled his blazer that was drying on the table back on. His hair got a bit poofier and frizzier from being in the rain but it honestly didn't make a difference on him.

Lucky douche bag.

I let my head sink into the pillow, trying to keep my thoughts on anything but Mark. But everything seemed to trigger the old memories. How he'd always want to eat ramen at ungodly hours at night, how he craved things like a girl during that time of the month, how he'd pout after every time I beat him in Smash Bros. I could see it so clearly that it was almost like as if he was actually here.
Tears rolled out from the corners of my eyes, sliding down the side of my face and onto the pillow. I sniffled, pulling the sleeve to my sweatshirt down, and wiping them away before more could come out.

Stop _____________.
There's no point in crying.
You don't even know what exactly is going on, you don't know any of the details.
Don't jump to conclusions. But that was totally easier said than done.

I exhaled deeply as I rolled onto my side, eyeing the green numbers on the clock in front of me.
12:00AM.
Happy birthday to me I guess.

I flung the covers back and slipped on my flip flops. Screw what Luhan said. You only turn 21 once; I might as well enjoy it as much as I physically can. 
Slipping the hotel room key into my pocket, I opened the door and walked out towards the elevators. I definitely couldn't go down to the lobby. Too many people and way too air conditioned. And since the meeting is being held in the hotel in some random conference room on some random floor, taking the elevators anywhere could totally get me busted.
My only option was the stairs.

I walked down to the end of the hall, stopping in front of the heavy fire escape doors that led to the stairs. With the little strength I had in me, I pushed it open and made my way up to the hotel's observation deck. It was literally just a flat, wood-floored area with a couple fire pits and lawn chairs scattered here and there. Despite how nice the night air was today, the deck was empty. The fire pits weren't lit until fall hit so the place was pretty dark too. Only the faint glow from the few lamps lit the area, casting eerie shadows across the floorboards. But even though it seemed a bit on the creepy side, it was still super nice. When you're up this high, you can't hear the traffic. All you see are the lights from the city below you and the stars above you, both of them twinkling and winking at you.

I walked to the metal railing and leaned against it, feeling the light breeze skim over my face. Every part of me wished that Mark was here to pull one of his surprise back hugs on me. The way his hands molded and fit so perfectly with mine, the way his arms felt as they surrounded me. I missed every part of it.
"I wonder what he's doing now," I wondered out loud, shifting all my weight back, pulling myself away from the railing. "If he was at home, he'd probably be eating his way through the ramen stash right now. But I don't even know if he's actually at home or not."
I ran my hand through my hair, feeling the frustration and tension build up inside of me. I just wanted some answers. I wanted my chest to stop feeling so uptight and suffocating all the time.

"Ugh screw it. This is making my headache come back," I pushed myself back, letting go of the railing then turning around to go back inside. The door swung open smoothly this time as I pulled on it and stepped through. No one appeared randomly in the hallway when I made my way back. Everything was a little too quiet. So abnormally quiet that the beep from my hotel key card registering with the lock sounded like it went through an amplifier. I pushed the door open and gingerly walked in, double checking to see if anything had changed in the room since the atmosphere outside sure as hell did. 

Everything was the same.
But even the familiarity felt strange.
I was getting a bad feeling about the sense of heaviness hanging in the air. Or maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm thinking things.
I shook my head slightly, mentally telling myself that everything was fine. Might as well repeat it to myself until I believe it too. The second I let my body touch the bed, my eyelids started drooping and everythign started to ache. Note to seld: late night walks while you're running a fever is not a good idea.  I stuck my hand out and was reaching over to the lamp on the bedside table, but something else caught my attention, making me freeze in midair.

I had a text from Luhan.
Not rare. Nothing special.
But instead of the usual nagging messages and reminders, his text this time was a warning.

Do not respond to any of Mark's messages.

Author's Note
chapter title: Sad Heaven-C-ute [x]