Ne te Suicide pas
The next day, Siriussy woke up in the infirmary with a raging headache and a dry mouth. His ribs ached when he sat up and the moment his eyes caught sight of the small bit of sunlight streaming through the curtains surrounding his bed, he was ready to faint again.
What had happened yesterday?
Oh.
Siriussy remembered now that Jame had strolled into the room.
“You’re awake! Perfect,” Jame greeted the boy, walking to his bedside. “You’ve been out for a while.”
“How long?” Siriussy asked as Jame pressed a cold hand to his forehead.
“About two days… Wow, you’re burning up.” Jame turned around to grab something off a table on wheels.
Allow me to rephrase this beginning. Two days later, Siriussy woke up in the infirmary with a fever and a recollection of the dumb acts he’d committed directly before fainting.
Jame was now hooking him up to an I.V. It hurt like hell, but Siriussy was distracted by Jame's bulging muscles in the sunlight. He wondered, for a moment, why Jame was acting so domestic and taking care of him, but that was probably the drugs talking because this was literally his job.
“So, I’ve hooked you up to an I.V. and it should help bring your temperature down,” Jame explained, pulling up a chair to Siriussy’s bedside. “In the meantime, care to explain what went down on Thursday?”
“I—can we talk about Benjy for a second?” Siriussy boldly started with, the drugs clearly taking over his common sense. Note to Siriussy: never do meth.
Jame stayed quiet for a minute, tapping his pen to a clipboard he had pulled out of who knows where.
Finally, he took a deep breath. “Fine.”
“Oka—”
“But after, you tell me what the fuck you did on Thursday.”
“Of course.” Siriussy brushed that requirement off. He was just so elated to finally be speaking to Jame after all these days!
“Look, Jame, I know you’re angry with me—”
“Woah, who said I was mad at you?” Jame cut him off, looking up from his clipboard in distress.
“Well you’ve been avoiding me like the plague ever since Benjy died, so I just assumed…”
“Yeah? Well, you assumed wrong,” Jame scoffed, looking back down, away from Siriussy. He wondered why Jame wasn’t making eye contact.
“Then why wouldn’t you speak to me?” Siriussy just wanted to understand Jame’s thoughts, but he wasn’t a mind-reader. “It’s fine if you’re angry, just tell me!”
“I’m not angry!” Jame nearly shouted. He blushed, lowering his voice. “I’m not angry.”
“Then what’s the matter?”
“It’s just…” Jame looked like he was fighting his inner demons. He clearly did not want to answer.
“Just what?” Siriussy pressed after a long silence. He needed to know, no matter how annoying it may seem to Jame.
“I have Sigmadrome,” Jame spat, his eyes welling with tears at the mere mention of what would evidently cause his death.
Siriussy was rendered speechless, his mouth hanging wide open. You see, Sigmadrome was the be-all, end-all of diseases citizens of SAB city could contract. It’s transferred through genetics, but a Sigma won’t know they have it until the routine Sigma health checks at the Sigma Academy. It’s common amongst the Omegas, but it has no known cure. You just have to wait until it ends you, or you end yourself.
Sigmadrome eats through your cartilage and flesh, then moves on to bone and muscle until all that’s left for it to consume is your organs. Some people refer to those affected by this disease as The Walking Dead.
There is no chance of survival, only a chance of slowing the spread with routine dosages of Vegetables, which are highly sought-out amongst the Omegas and Betas, looking to chase a high all the way to hell. That meant most patients with Sigmadrome ended up selling their medication rather than taking it for their own good.
Siriussy finally knew what Jame had been doing on the day they had met.
There was a long silence between them, Siriussy hardly daring to breathe.
“How far along are you?” He couldn’t help his curiosity. How long would he have this boy for?
“Stage three,” Jame said, his voice barely a whisper. Looking at him now, Siriussy noticed the dark circles under his eyes and the pinpricks missing in his skin. Jame looked tired. Jame looked like he was in a losing battle.
Jame was losing a battle. Jame would not be graduating with Siriussy at this rate.
“Great Sigmas,” Siriussy inhaled. He reached over to the boy, grabbing his clammy hand in his own. “Is there anything I can do?”
Jame looked up at him, a cheeky glint in his eye. “You could help me with some of the… financial aspects of my downfall.”
“Like what? Selling Vegetables?”
“Exactly.” Jame smirked, scooching his desk chair back and spinning into a small supply closet. He spun back out holding a Tupperware container of dried leaves. To any regular person, it would look like medical marijuana, but Siriussy knew better (A/N: Also marijuana does not exist to pookie bear over here). It was those infamous Vegetables that The Walking Dead sold to druggies in the Omega and Beta factions. The Alphas would never buy that shit, but if you found the right one, you’d be rich.
“You see, my thoughts are, why postpone the inevitable when you could just make a pretty penny for your family?” (A/N: SAB City has free healthcare <3) Jame shrugged, tossing the container carelessly onto Siriussy’s bedside table.
While Siriussy did not share the same sentiments as Jame did when it came to family, he understood well enough. If he had Sigmadrome, he would like to think that he’d sell his Vegetables as well, maybe to support a partner after his death, or maybe even for his little brother, Edgylus. Siriussy knew that there was good money in the drug trade and maybe Jame’s family needed it. He realised that he didn’t know much about Jame’s family. He wondered if they were a sore subject for Jame. Well, he was about to do illegal things for their sake, so might as well ask.
“What’s your family like?” Siriussy asked, clearing his voice as it became scratchy like your voice always does right before you have something important to say and then you’re embarrassed because you have to repeat yourself because no one could understand your frog voice. “What’s your family like?”
“Well, they’re some of the best people I think you could ever meet,” Jame began, a smile playing on his lips. “They used to take in any pup that was discarded by the city. They’re Omegas, so…”
Siriussy was slightly taken aback by this. No pup from an Omega family ever became a Sigma after sorting. That must be why Jame felt the need to give back to his family. After all their struggling, they finally turned out a kid who would go far in life, only for him to die.
“I’m sorry, Jame.” Siriussy didn’t know what else to say.
“It’s fine, they like it there,” Jame assured him, fully smiling now. “But, y’know, they’re really poor, can barely afford the essentials, but they keep taking in those poor pups who are removed from life as they know it before even being given a chance. So, I just wanted to provide them with some level of comfort before I kicked the bucket.”
Siriussy nodded. “I don’t have a good relationship with my folks, but yours sound great.”
“So, will you help me?”
“‘Course.” Siriussy patted Jame on the shoulder. “Sounds like you need me, sick boy.”
“Coming from the one with a fever,” Jame scoffed.
Siriussy laughed, which turned into a cough, which spiralled into a coughing fit. Jame quickly stood up, slapping him a few times on the back until he recovered.
“But maybe not today.” Siriussy smiled up at Jame.
Jame laughed. “Yeah, not today.”
“But now you have to tell me why you were poisoned. I’m required by Sigma law to ask,” Jame begged, grabbing his clipboard and whipping out a ballpoint pen.
“Well… I kind of… I kind of wanted to talk to you…” Siriussy trailed off, scratching the back of his head like some anime girl.
“You’re joking.” Jame looked over his glasses like some disappointed teacher. (A/N: I feel like I’ve completely forgotten about Jame’s glasses, so just pretend like they’ve been here the entire time.)
Siriussy inhaled. “I wish I was.”
“Right then. I’ll put cause of injury down as ‘suicidal intentions.’” Jame scribbled something down on his paper. “And that way, you get to come to therapy, which is led by me.”
“Therapy?” Siriussy questioned sceptically.
“No one else is in it.” Jame looked up, smirking. “Just you and me in a dark room.”
“I like the way that sounds.”
“Well, it’ll be mandatory until you stop these dumb arse plans.”
“Good thing I’m naturally a dumb arse.”
“Shut up and get some rest, Black.”
“Yes sir.”
“Great Sigmas.”