Modern technology is amazing. After years of study and research, a body's changes can follow a predictable timeline or schedule. There are even phone apps for such things. What a time to be alive.

"ing heeeeeell." Chuntao glares at her phone. The cute animated uterus is smiling and blushing, saying YOUR PERIOD IS COMING IN FIVE DAYS! Bull. It is happening. Right now. Just two days before the national wushu competition.

Throwing her phone at her pillows, she grabs the fluffiest blanket she owns and tugs it up over her head and shoulders, folding her legs so her chin sits on her knees, because being folded in half feels better than feeling like her uterus grew claws and is trying to tear out of her gut. All she wants to do is roll into a tight blanket burrito with an entire keg of hot tea and a few coolers of Huangjiu Bangbing ice cream, but she should be avoiding cold foods and practicing for the competition, like a trained champion athlete.

Except everything hurts.

Some moron decided to suggest exercise helps period cramps, once upon a time. Now, every single list Chuntao looks up says she shouldn’t be a slug and should get up and run around the block or offer salutations to the sun.

Complete and utter bull. How is she supposed to exercise when she can barely sit up straight? Her uterus and spine are attached and want to stay safely small and curled.

She yanks every ethically-produced faux fur coat from her closet, kicking the fallen hangers back and throwing the door shut on the mess. The coats pile onto her bare bed, followed by every plush toy and pillow she finds until her bed resembles the aftermath of a home goods store explosion. Reaching behind her, she unhooks her bra and pulls it out of her sleeve, kicks off her jeans, and curls into a ball, clutching a large stuffed panda bear.

It’s easier on her twisted guts, but she feels the beginning of a muscle cramp in her back and wants to cry at the unfairness.

Something scratches at her bedroom door, and it's only after a solid minute that Chuntao groans and slides off her plush mountain. Candy, her tiny white dog, sits outside, looking up at her with round, wet eyes. Usually, she'd go to pieces over how adorable her puppy is, but today, with a red war raging inside her, she only scowls and throws an arm out beside her. "Well? Get in here."

Candy sniffs at her bare toes, just to be sure the girl is actually her girl, and tup-tups inside. She follows her girl to the bed, but she falls face-first without lifting Candy up! She's too short to hop up herself, and reaching as far as she can with her forelegs and trying to climb with her hind feet doesn't get her anywhere fast, either.

Finally, she tires herself out and sits on the plush rug with a high whine. Her girl moans, so she whines again and yips for good measure. Mama!

Chuntao groans but rolls onto her side and slithers to the edge of her bed, letting her arms dangle like jellyfish tentacles. "C'mere, you spoiled thing." It takes a couple tries, but she lifts Candy and rolls onto her other side, clutching the little dog to her chest. "You're so pure and unaware. Be grateful you’re spayed and are spared this torture." Candy wriggles and shuffles around a little, just to get comfortable, and settles with a supportive to her girl's chin.

Thankfully, the dong gui tea she drank earlier settles her cramping insides enough that she can eventually cat nap, although she wakes up not even half an hour later, debating whether she actually needs to pee or if it's just annoyingly heavy flow. She's kind of too afraid to move, either way, but her phone starts to buzz and then sing as her alarm goes off.

Leaving her phone across the room made her get out of bed to turn off the alarm, and that works just fine when she has classes, but she does not want to move or exist, much less acknowledge anything, so she whips a pillow at it. It misses the mark entirely, whacking against a framed poster of Luhan signed by the artist himself, knocking it askew and causing it to fall to the floor behind her dresser with a shattering clatter.

Hot tears flood her eyes, and Candy whimpers helplessly as her human bawls into her fur.

It's her favorite poster. She waited for hours at that fansign.

Chuntao's tears eventually run out, but she feels even worse than before. Her eyes hurt; her nose is running, and her cheeks feel sticky.

Maybe a bath will help. Sniffling, she sets her dog on the floor and shuffles to the bathroom.

She opens the cabinet her mirror is mounted on and leaves it hanging so she doesn’t have to look at herself before undressing and throwing everything into her overflowing hamper. The hot water throws steam into the air in wispy curls, and she looks at her bottles of soaking salts and bath bombs before choosing both. Salts for aroma and comfort; bombs for color. Glitter is healing.

She knows she's a bloated hot mess of greasy hair, acne, and too many emotions. She absolutely hates her friends who never seem to have any cramping or anything, or can at least sleep through whatever and still look good in the morning. Chuntao turns from a princess to a troll.

The water stings a little, just a bit too hot, but she steps in anyway and eases herself to sit and then reclines in the tub. Her parents' bathroom has an air tub, which is nice and kind of tickly, actually, but she prefers the rougher massage of a whirlpool type of tub. It works on her muscles after a workout and throws soft punches all over her body as she's suffering from cramping and random rage.

She can only sit for so long before thoughts of sitting in her own soup propel her to her feet. After showering to rinse the suds and remaining gross feelings, she ties a fluffy leopard print robe around herself and peels the wrapper from a pad, balling it up in her fist before ing it into the trash bin. Sticking the pad to an uglier underpant that she keeps solely for these times of misery, she dresses in worn pajamas, wraps a towel around her hair, and returns to bed.

Maybe she’ll be lucky, and today will be the worst of it, so she can function like a normal human being in time for the competition. She’s never bowed out before, and she’s not about to start, but she also doesn’t want to be the girl who’s sitting by herself and crying.

Her phone buzzes. Kyungsoon. A girl friend-who’s-almost-a-girlfriend with a sense for the distress of others. She’s great at causing and easing it.

how are you feeling?

Chuntao slouches more, drawing her knees up. tired. like im already asleep tomorrow.

also like i want to murder and devour everything and everyone.

including myself.

any other day, id probably taste delicious. Just to be sure her misery is being communicated properly, Chuntao piles her coats and blankets on top of herself and takes a photo. She looks like a homeless mound of fur. Perfect.

would you feel any better if I came over?

we can watch sehun's new movie.

All Chuntao really wants is to wallow in pain and misery surrounded by the softest things, but she also wants to be held and coddled and cuddled, and Kyungsoon is actually really good at that and is pretty soft herself. ill leave the door open. dont expect me to move much.

i'll bring you some tea and chocolates. twenty minutes.

ilysm Setting her phone aside, she carefully lowers her knees and extends her legs. It doesn’t hurt as much, but she still drags her heating pad from beneath her bed and turns it on a medium setting.

As stated, Kyungsoon arrives twenty minutes later. Chuntao’s dozing but hears the doorbell and her mom answering the door. She didn’t know her mom was home.

Knocking softly, Kyungsoon opens the bedroom door. She’s cute and casual in a black dress and cat print tights Chuntao had bought her a couple birthdays ago. “Hey. You mom said you were quite the dragon today. Feeling any better?” Candy dances around her feet, panting eagerly until she’s lifted and carried to Chuntao’s bed.

“I started my day by waking up in a pool of my own blood. My s hurt; I dropped my hairbrush and cried about it; and Dad walked Candy, so I'm totally failing as a pet parent... Just about anything is an improvement."

Nodding, Kyungsoon pats the to find Chuntao’s feet and sits beside them. The plastic bag rustles as the rifles through it, producing Leconte and cheaper Dove chocolates and a DVD. “Your mom’s making tea. Have you eaten today?”

Chuntao shrugs. “Breakfast.” For as hungry as she feels, she feels equally nauseous.

“Some tea should help. You have a heating pad?” Chuntao flips her blankets down in response. “I’ll put the movie in and get the tea. Need anything else?”

“A kiss might make me feel better.” She’s only partly joking. When she’d scrape her knee or arm messing around as a kid, her mom or dad would kiss the bandaged wound, and it would feel a little better. It’s probably just childish psychology at work, some sort of placebo effect or something, whatever. It worked.

Kyungsoon’s hands are cool on Chuntao’s jaw. She turns her head and kisses the kitten curl corner of Chuntao’s mouth. “Whatever works, right?” She smiles and pops the DVD case open, unaware or unaffected by her friend’s stupefied silence.

Chuntao’s cheeks and chest feel hot, but she does feel a bit better already.

Then she remembers that she’s a total mess. Sure, she showered, but her hair isn’t brushed; she’s still bloated; and her face has probably erupted in a plethora of new pimples.

“Don’t think so hard right now,” Kyungsoon says softly.

“But you—you kissed me!”

“You told me to!”

“I didn’t think you actually would. I mean, yeah, I wanted you to, but…” she trails off, more embarrassed than she remembers ever feeling in her life. She doesn’t really do embarrassment or regret. Whatever she wants, she goes for it.

Except Kyungsoon. She didn’t want to ruin their friendship.

Pushing her hair off her face, although it’s too short to stay and falls right back, Kyungsoon picks up fallen plush dolls and blankets from the floor. Cleaning is her distraction. “Well, like I said: Don’t think so hard. I like you. I thought it was obvious.”

Chuntao starts to cry. Her head aches and her nose runs, but she can’t stop, and covering her face with her hands just makes them wet and makes it harder to breathe. Candy whines and paws at the edge of the bed, but if she moves her hands, she’s afraid her tears will overflow.

Warm hands cover hers, then slip beneath them to push her arms away and draw her into a hug.

“I’m sorry,” she gasps wetly. “I’m such a mess.”

“You are.” Kyungsoon combs her fingers through Chuntao’s hair, pulling the tangles to the ends. “But it’s not just the overactive hormones talking, right?”

Shaking her head, Chuntao takes a shuddering breath and sits back to wipe her face. Kyungsoon produces a tissue out of nowhere, and Chuntao blows her nose. “I’ve had a crush on you since, like forever or something.” She dabs the tissue beneath her eyes, but it’s probably a lost cause. She can’t possibly look worse than she already feels, anyway, and Kyungsoon hasn’t run away screaming. “I just wish we could’ve waited until I was more ready.”

“Sorry. I’m impatient.” She kisses Chuntao’s forehead and picks up the waste basket for her to drop the tissue into. “I’ll get your tea, then we’ll watch the movie.” She pauses, frowning at Chuntao's bed. "Where are your sheets?"

"Crime scene cleanup," Chuntao mumbles. It's embarrassing, like wetting the bed. She thought she had a handle on her body and knew its language. Apparently not.

"Okay. Then I'll ask your mom for some clean sheets, too. You'll be more comfortable." Kyungsoon grins sharkily. "You get one day of wallowing and being pampered, then it's back to business as usual tomorrow. I want to point you out at the competition and brag that my girlfriend kicks ."

Girlfriend. Chuntao feels like crying again but laughs, instead, wiping her face. “When I feel better," and when she actually looks human, "you wanna go out? On an actual date?”

Kyungsoon’s cheeks are pink, and she smiles, heart-shaped and bright. “Of course.”

a/n: Written for Cherry Kisses Fest round one. (self-prompt)

Red Dragon, Crimson Tide, Red Badge of Courage, Shark Week, Aunt Flo...no matter what your call it, a period is a period and a horrible fact of life. Drink lots of water, stay hydrated, sleep lots, hug a heating pad, try ginger or mint tea, eat watermelon...