Chapter Text
“Poor Carmilla,” LaFontaine said, shaking their head sadly, looking over at the raven-haired girl who was lying in the bed, her back facing us—covered in blankets, shivering, sneezing, blowing, and sniffing from a bad cold.
I tut-tutted and shook my head mournfully, gently closing the door behind me. “Like a fish out of water.”
Setting down a tray with a pitcher of water, a glass, and a pack of medicine capsules on Carmilla’s bedside table, LaFontaine smirked. “And here I thought Carmilla Karnstein was Silas U’s notorious invincible badass.”
Carmilla only groaned and wiped her runny nose with a wadded up tissue.
I walked further into Carmilla’s dimly lit room and sat down on the edge of the bed by the sick girl. “Here, Carm. Take this paracetamol.”
“No,” she grumbled, shaking her head.
“Carmilla,” I said in my most adult voice, “please. You have to. Don’t be stubborn now.”
Another groan.
“Carmilla . . .” I warned.
“Fine, Nurse Hollis.” She finally turned her face up and lifted her head a bit, and I smiled at her adorable red nose. She grinned. “You are . . .” She trailed off as she stroked a hand over my hair. Confused, she pulled back, eyes narrowed, and studied me. “What the hell did you do to your hair?”
In automatic defence, I combed my fingers through it. “Natalie sort of made me her human art project during lunch break. She put some ridiculous feather locks and had it curled very disastrously. I’m never gonna wear a dead animal on me again. And look at my nails.” With a little scowl, I held out my hands to show her the weird Inca nail art Natalie did.
With a half laugh, Carmilla said in a stuffy nose voice, “Come here, cupcake, let me get a good look.” She pulled me closer to her.
I sat there, pouting a little as the gorgeous girl inspected my hipsterrific fingernails.
Carmilla snuffled. “Ever the toy, eh?” Her dark brown eyes twinkled with humour.
“I didn’t want it, but Nat and Sarah Jane insisted it would look good on me and give me a little edge, you know,” I mumbled when she only continued her silent study, and LaFontaine was snickering in the background. “I just got tired of arguing with those two freaks so I let them play with me.”
LaFontaine cleared their throat loudly. “Okay. I’m gonna go grab my medicine boxes real quick. I’ll be right back.” I waited for the ginger to close the door before I scooted closer to Carmilla. If LaFontaine had a clue about the weird thing going on between me and Carmilla, they’re doing an excellent job in acting dense or nonchalant about it.
I picked out a neon green lock of fake hair. “Natalie said this one is glow-in-the-dark. Outrageous, right?”
“Um-hmm. You still look perfect to me.” Fascinated, Carmilla reached out to toy with my earlobe, then skimmed her finger down the side of my throat. “Either the fact that I can’t make out with you right now is playing hell with my libido, or you’re the sexiest woman alive.”
Delighted, flustered, I held up the capsule. “As much as I love your verbal flirtation, Miss Karnstein, I would have to ask you to open your mouth,” I commanded, and Carmilla wiggled her eyebrows at me.
“Oooh, kinky,” she said.
“Carmilla . . .” I warned again, and the dark-haired girl grudgingly did.
Gently I put the capsule into her mouth and handed her a glass of water. After seeing her take a couple of big gulps, I leant over to give Carmilla’s forehead a sweet laudatory kiss. “Good girl. I promise you’ll feel better in no time—” I jerked back up when LaFontaine interrupted.
“Although I have to warn you, lady,” LaFontaine began, “you might be knocked out in a few minutes.” The redhead was standing in the doorway, carrying a couple of large plastic boxes labeled ‘Allergy & Stuffy Noses’ and ‘Pain Relief’ full of medicine bottles and a pill organiser. “And you never know what unimaginable things could happen when you’re unconscious and medicated. You might transfigure into an armchair.”
Carmilla pinched at the bridge of her nose. “LaF, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me, but please shut up,” she groaned, and I laughed. Oh, the perks of having a dorky Bio major friend.
“How’d you catch a cold, anyway?” LaFontaine asked.
Carmilla and I stared at each other, exchanging meaningful grins, both knowing what the answer was but refusing to say it out loud.
The Hollis Effect.
LaFontaine’s brows knitted in question.
There was a giggle working its way up my throat, and suddenly I couldn’t take it anymore. I burst out laughing at the exact same moment that Carmilla lost it too.
LaFontaine shot both of us a weirded out look, and scratched their head.
“It’s a long story, LaF,” I finally answered when I had sobered.
LaFontaine just shrugged it off. “Whatever, weirdos.”
As the redhead sauntered over to the study desk to prepare a pill organiser for Carmilla’s swift recovery, I moved to massage Carmilla’s temples with my thumbs, slowly, lovingly. Her eyes fluttered closed and she seemed more relaxed now. The whole time at the university, she’d been whining about her headaches and stuffy nose through texts. And I felt so bad that I couldn’t just ditch my classes to take care of my . . . well, whatever she was or wasn’t to me.
I couldn’t stop a sheepish grin as I remembered something. “I took care of your laundry, by the way,” I said in a low voice.
Carmilla’s head jerked up. “You did not.” She began blushing the colour of a goddamn tomato.
I nodded, my grin growing, as I went on rubbing her temples. “I did so.”
“Did not.” She shook her head, mortified.
Another nod. “Did so.”
Carmilla let out a groan. “Laura, I told you not to touch my laundry,” she said a bit too loud.
“Shhh.” I put an index finger to her lips and shushed her. After casting a cautious glance over my shoulder at LaFontaine who seemed to be so absorbed in arranging medicines and humming the Pokémon theme song, I mouthed to Carmilla, “It’s okay. I love doing laundry. I mean, your red lace G-string?” I made a fanning gesture.
Camilla instantly threw me a What the hell? look. She shook her head in incredulity, glaring at me, and mouthed back, “Don’t tell me you—”
“I was joking,” I mouthed, giggling a little, and leaning over to sneakily give her forehead a quick kiss. Then I moved my mouth to her ear so I could whisper. “Chill, Carm. I didn’t touch your undies. But I gotta be honest, though, I was so super tempted.”
“Not funny, cupcake,” she grumbled, tugging the blanket over her head.
“I’m really not used to seeing you with all these fabrics on,” I went on in a hushed tone, sounding disappointed, as I clutched at the pile of covers wrapping the brunette. “Remind me as soon as you feel better—”
“Oh, you bet I will. And you better be ready, creampuff,” Carmilla replied right away from under the covers, and I laughed at the frustration I heard in her voice.
LaFontaine suddenly spoke with fake sympathy. “Too bad we’re hitting Lustig Pub tonight . . .” The redhead gave me a look as if they wanted me to chime in on the teasing.
“I know, right?” I responded. “Free tequila shots from the Zeta bros. Yum.” I did a silly little clap.
Our ginger friend smirked. “And all the Summer Society girls dancing in their skimpy dresses.”
“Woot woot!” I hooted with pretend enthusiasm. I really didn’t care about other girls. Carmilla was the only girl for me.
“Bite me, you merciless dorks,” Carmilla barked from under her blanket. “Leave me alone.” She punctuated her words with a cute little sniffle.
LaFontaine and I only laughed at this. It was just highly amusing to see Carmilla this vulnerable. It’s very rare to witness her in this sort of state. And I couldn’t help but think this was probably her most adorable look.
I gently pulled the blanket off her face, kissed her forehead and murmured, “Don’t worry, Carm. You’re still beautiful.”
“And you’re a fucking liar,” she jokingly retorted.
“Okay. You look horrible but I still love—” I stammered, “I love the way you look in your see-through shirt.”
Shit. My heart did a bungee jump. I noticed Carmilla had stiffened right away.
Shit. Shit shit shit. I squeezed my eyes shut, mentally slamming my head against the wall for almost letting those precious words slip. You little shit, Hollis.
The silence that descended was palpable. Carmilla turned on her side again, her back facing me. One could probably sense the moment of sudden awkwardness between us.
Good thing LaFontaine jumped up from their seat and accidentally broke it.
“So, uh, anyway, I'm done with the pill box. I'll, uh, I'll just leave it here on the desk.” The ginger awkwardly grabbed their big medicine boxes from the desk and moved toward the door. “I gotta bounce. I still have to finish some experiments. I’ll leave you lovebirds alone now. I’m sure you would like to talk more about laundry.” I threw the redhead a mild death glare—same one I'd always give Perry, and they just stuck their tongue out. “Rest, Carmilla. You need it,” LaFontaine added as they held on the doorknob. “And drink lots and lots of water.” Then the door was shut.
I turned my attention back to the dark-haired girl. “Carm?”
“Hm?”
“I could stay here,” I offered, gently touching her shoulder. “I can’t leave you like this. LaF was right. You might turn into an armchair.”
Carmilla suddenly sat up and snort laughed. “Who says I’m not already an Animagus? I might just morph myself into a giant black cat.”
I doubled over, laughing. “Oh my God, we’re such dorks.”
“I know. It’s nauseating,” Carmilla agreed, making a face. “It’s probably the Hollis Virus.”
I slapped playfully at her shoulder, and she only laughed. “Hey! It’s the Hollis Effect,” I corrected her with a scowl. “Hollis Effect, okay?”
She kept laughing and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Then her face turned serious as gradual drowsiness crept over her. “But seriously, cupcake, go out with them and have fun tonight. I’ll be alright. Miserable but alright. I actually already feel the paracetamol kicking in right now.”
I pulled out my phone from the pocket of my jeans and quickly composed a group message. “I’m actually texting them right now. I’m not going. I’d like to stay here and make sure you get some sleep and drink lots of water and take your meds on time.”
“You don’t have to, Laura.”
I looked up from my phone and smiled sweetly at her. “I insist. I want to stay here with you.”
Carmilla weakly threw a balled up tissue into the nearby trashcan. “Suit yourself, cutie. But I feel like I’m gonna pass out soon . . .” She did sound a little out of sorts already, like she’s giving way to the sudden languor. She gave me a lingering kiss on the cheek before laying back down on the bed. She rolled onto her side, and I helped pull the blanket over her shoulder. “Thanks for everything, cupcake,” she mumbled sleepily.
Suddenly Carmilla’s phone started ringing on her bedside table. With a grunt, she reached behind her blindly to get it. Seated nearer to the table, I grabbed the ringing phone, saw that it was her study buddy, Ell, calling, and handed it to her, ignoring the rowdy knots in my tummy again. Seeing the caller’s name, Carmilla put her phone on silent mode and groaned, “I’ll deal with you later.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. The sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach was getting worse. Even though Carmilla already said that I’m the only girl she wants, I was still unconvinced. I need to let her know that I’m not messing around, that I’m serious about her, that I genuinely care about her. The DTR could wait until later. For now, exclusivity is something that I should put out there. Giving the “Exclusivity” talk is one giant step and I felt like I had to do it soon. And by soon, I mean now.
“Carm?”
A yawn. “Hm?”
“So I’ve been thinking . . .”
“Hm?”
“I don’t think it’s a good idea that Ell sleeps over here tonight.”
“You don’t?” she asked drowsily.
“I mean, you’re obviously too sick to function. I don’t think she’ll enjoy your company given your unfortunate state, anyway. She might be grossed out.”
“Hmm . . .” She sniffled and I handed her more tissue.
“Also, so you can rest in my room and I can take care of you.”
“What’s wrong with my room?”
“It doesn’t have your favourite yellow pillow.”
“Oh, right.” Another yawn.
“And also to prevent me from going to jail ‘cos, erm, you know.” This elicited a tiny titter from her.
“Oh, I know. You might transfigure into a scary, green-eyed dragon and fry poor Ell’s ass.”
“Maybe,” I admitted. “But for the most part, I just want you to get well as quickly as possible so I can kiss your pretty little mouth again.”
“Hm . . . yeah, I’ve been thinking about it, too. It’s not like I’m mentally and physically capable to study, anyway. And you’re right.” She sniffled. “I like the idea of cuddling in your bed better . . .”
“I don’t want to sound like a controlling,” I thought about the right word for it but ended up with, “whatever, and I know it’s weird to say this, but I just want to take care of what we have, Carmilla—whatever this is. I enjoy being with you. And call me selfish, but I . . . I only want you for myself. There, I said it.” I bit the inside of my cheek, afraid of how the girl would react. Crap. Yep, I just said it.
“Don’t worry, cutie, I’m all yours,” was all she said, and before I could do a little victory dance in my head, Carmilla’s face scrunched slightly in pain. “Oh, fuck. You know, sweetie,” she grunted, pressing her whole hand to the side of her head, “as much as I enjoy listening to you babble, I can’t properly process your words in my head. Fuck. I hate being sick.”
“At least we can cuddle,” I suggested.
“Oh, yes, please. I need you.”
Quickly I took my jeans off then slipped under the covers and held Carmilla close. “Wow, I’m the big spoon this time.” I pushed aside a handful of her hair and kissed the back of her neck as she sniffled on. Lying next to Carmilla and somewhat protecting her felt so right. I stroked her arm, slowly, a bit sensually.
“Mmm . . . that feels so good . . .” she breathed.
“You like that?” I laid a soft kiss on her shoulder as I went on stroking her arm.
“Mm-hmm . . . You can be my big spoon anytime, sunshine.”
I smiled at that.
“Carmilla?”
“Hmm?” I could tell she was nearly asleep.
“I . . .” I bit down on my lip, nervous. “I . . .”
“Hhm . . .”
“Carm . . .”
“. . .”
“I . . .”
“. . .”
“I think I’m in love with you.”
I looked over to see her reaction but Carmilla’s eyes were closed and her steady breathing told me that she was already fast asleep.
Well, shit.