It's the sick fic that no one asked for but that I wanted to write. Here's the second and final bonus story that takes place during Aurora and Callie's one year anniversary. While it has been a pleasure writing these characters, this will be the last story I write in this universe. Hope you all enjoy :)

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The first year of college. Everything is new, everyone is new, and there is a new discovery to be made with every passing second. How to avoid eating solely soggy fries from the dining commons, doing laundry for the first time, living with someone you may or may not have chosen to live with in the first place. These were the college experiences I assumed I would be missing...until my mother agreed to let me live in the dorms.

Throughout my senior year, as I watched my friends get into their colleges of choice and heard them share stories of all that was in store, there was a certain loneliness circling in me. Because my life wasn't going to change. My friends would go off, but I would stay behind with my family. My girlfriend would be in town for another year, but already, she was in the process of applying to new colleges herself.

It was off the table to begin with. The idea of me living in the dorms despite attending school nearby. My father was able to ease my mother a bit, and the deal became that if I were to show I could live independently, if I were able to get enough scholarships, and if I promised to check in often, then I could get my wish. It was probably the first time that someone was begging to live in a small dorm room with another person, but for me, it was all I had ever wanted.

And for the time being, it was exciting. Abigail ended up attending the same school as me, and while she had decided to stay at home, having her attending the same university as me helped me branch out. For the time being, I was content and ready to delve more into my college career. Not to mention, dates with Aurora were not infrequent.

Everything has become scary and yet fulfilling at the same time as I have learned to navigate college. For the most part, I could not imagine anything than better than living on campus and having that iconic college experience.

That was until late September when I now lay sick in bed with fever, coughing up a lung while my roommate grumpily does her homework at her desk across from me.

Maggie Ramirez. That's her name. We were randomly paired. She has dark, glossy hair and tan skin, yet her dark eyes always look cold and annoyed. She is by no means a poor roommate. She keeps her side of the room clean, talks to me every once in a while, is quiet while I'm sleeping, and does not bring too many guests over. We chat occasionally, and sometimes we go to the dining commons together, but other than that, we are not close.

I cannot yet tell if time hasn't brought us together, or if we are just not compatible as friends. She is quieter and studious. She hangs out in different social circles. We get along well enough, but I have never found us to hang out just for fun. I think if we had not been paired as roommates, we would never be friends to begin with.

For this reason, I have been too scared to bring Aurora by my dorm. Maggie does not strike me as someone who is close-minded and conservative. I am sure if I spoke casually about my girlfriend, I would not be judged, but we never speak about our romantic lives. From what I know, Maggie is single. And if she were to do a quick stroll at my Instagram, she would know that Aurora and I are in a relationship, but she hasn't said a word about it. I know a part of me fears that perhaps she is uncomfortable sharing a room with a lesbian, but I have put in my best efforts of being mindful and conscious of that.

I have apologized to Maggie profusely for being sick and keeping her awake with coughing. She merely says it can't be helped and goes to her early morning classes anyway while I lay in bed, wondering when my fever will finally break. I called my mom, who insisted I should come home, but I told her I would be fine. Still, she has threatened to come over with supplies for me, even though I have promised her I am still eating and staying hydrated.

"Are you sure you don't want to go home?" Maggie asks.

"If the fever doesn't break soon, I will," I promise her. I am afraid she has wanted me gone the second I have moved in, but she doesn't seem annoyed. She just seems...unfeeling, if that makes any sense.

I've lamented to Aurora already about my illness, and despite her insistence she come visit me and spoonfeed me soup, I have told her stay away so she doesn't get ill.

"I think I'll nap for a while," I tell Maggie.

"Okay," she says, and that is that.

...

"Thank you for getting me inside, Abigail," I say as I hold a plastic bag full of goodies. When I spoke to Callie's mom about visiting her, her mother insisted I bring a bunch of sick supplies that Callie initially refused. Her mother even wanted me to stay for lunch, but I figured I'd head over sooner. It is amazing how time changes some people. It took Callie's mother a while to warm up to me, but I think now she considers me part of the family, even.

A notification pops up on my phone. Our one year anniversary. It seems strange to think it was only one year ago that Callie and I began officially dating. We had made plans to go out to dinner and watch a movie at my place afterwards, but Callie's illness halted that for now. Not wanting to leave her alone on our anniversary, I decided a surprise visit.

Except I've never visited Callie's dorm before, so I had to ask for Abigail's assistance. We had to awkwardly wait for another student to let us in, but Abigail has been in the dorm before, so she knows where Callie's room is.

"Well, hope you don't get sick," Abigail tells me.

"Gee, thanks," I say. "See you around."

Abigail nods and departs with a class to head to. My classes have ended for the afternoon, so I have plenty of time to spend with Callie before heading home for dinner. I give a quick knock at the door and jolt slightly as a girl who is clearly not Callie opens it. I relax for a moment, realizing this is her roommate, Maggie.

"Hi, um...I'm here to see Callie and bring her some things," I state. "I'm sorry if I'm intruding. I'm not sure Callie told you I was coming. Well, I'd kind of planned for it to be a surprise, so I guess she wouldn't have told you. I'm Aurora by the way," I say, holding out my hand.

Maggie eyes it suspiciously and grabs it.

"You're Maggie, right?" I ask.

She nods.

"Nice to meet you. Is it okay if I come in?"

"It's fine. I have a class in a little bit anyway. Callie's pretty knocked out though," Maggie says as she lets me in. It's true. Callie is buried in blankets and sleeping up a storm.

I frown and set a bouquet of flowers I bought for her on her desk.

"Those are pretty. Are they tulips?" Maggie asks.

"Oh...yes! I just picked them up from the florist shop!" I say. "Um, how has Callie been?"

"In and out of a fever. It hasn't broken completely yet. I told her to go home if it doesn't get better by tonight," Maggie explains.

"She's stubborn," I say. For as long as I've known her, she has been. "I'll see if I can convince her to head home if she's not feeling well. Has she been sleeping a long time?"

"An hour or so. Do you need me to wake her up for you?"

"That's okay. I can wait," I say. I reach for the chair next to Callie's bed. "This is hers, right?"

Maggie nods.

I pull a chair next to Callie's bed and set the bag of sick meds down. As I begin scrolling on my phone, I hear Maggie rummaging around with her things. I turn, seeing she's zipping up her backpack.

"Class?" I ask.

"Yes. I should be back in a few hours. I usually get dinner after. If something happens...well, Callie has my number."

"Thank you for taking care of her for a bit," I say as Maggie gathers the rest of her things.

Maggie lingers by the door. "It's whatever," she says before the door shuts close loudly behind her.

I let out a sigh. I had slightly hoped that Callie would be awake when I came. I only can occupy myself for fifteen minutes before I start growing impatient or worry that she has stopped breathing in her sleep. My fingers reach to touch her cheek, swiping away at some of the hair hanging down there.

"Callie," I murmur.

Her face twitches against my touch, and I watch her eyes gradually open. She looks happily tired at first with the blankets bundled close to her, and she even smiles at me before the confusion sets in, and she realizes that I am not where I am supposed to be.

...

"Aurora?" I ask weakly, utterly confused as to why Aurora is in my dorm room. Maggie has since gone, probably off to her afternoon class, but I have no recollection of Aurora ever arriving.

"Happy anniversary," she says. She leans her face in for a kiss, but I pull away.

"You'll get sick."

"Oh well," she says, landing on my cheek instead. Her hand replaces where her lips were, and I nuzzle against it. My eyes shut as she strokes the cheek, and I think I could fall back asleep just like this, if I weren't aware of how warm and sweaty my body is at the moment.

"I'm sorry I ruined our anniversary," I murmur.

Aurora's hand stops grazing against my cheek. "Ruined? Come on, you know that's not true. We'll just have to postpone plans, that's all."

I grumble and open my eyes again. "How did you get in?" I ask.

"Your roommate let me in. She took off to class a little while ago," Aurora explains. There's a crinkling sound, and she pulls out a white plastic bag. "I stopped by your house an hour ago, and your mom gave me all of this."

"You went to my house?!"

"Well, I texted your mom to say I was going to visit, and she wanted me to bring goodies to you since you were too stubborn to come home yourself," Aurora states.

"You should just live in my house now," I murmur.

Aurora ignores me and pulls out a variety of medication, including ibuprofen and cough drops, some microwaveable chicken noodle soup, and cans of ginger ale. Then, Aurora pulls out a pack of chocolate truffles for me and leaves for a moment to return with a vase of flowers, which she puts on my nightstand.

"The chocolate and flowers are from me, if that wasn't clear already," she says.

"You're so cute," I murmur.

"How are you feeling?" Aurora asks. She places a hand to my forehead and frowns. "Still a bit warm."

"I feel a little better now that I've napped some," I say. "Still not great."

"When was the last time you took some meds?"

"I don't know. Six hours ago?"

Aurora is quick to pull out some ibuprofen and hands me my water bottle. I gulp it down, then suck on a cough drop to ease my sore throat. A part of me is upset she has to see me like this, especially on our anniversary.

"There's a card for you in that drawer," I say.

Aurora pulls it open to reveal a purple envelope. She opens it, reading the note thoroughly, though I can't recall what exactly I wrote in it.

"Sorry there's not more. I was going to go out and buy a present, and then I got sick," I say. "But I hope you know I love you anyway."

Aurora sets the card down and lifts her leg to crawl onto my bed. I stiffen, beginning to push her away.

"No, no, no. Don't get too close," I beg.

My arms are weak, so she easily pushes them away and crawls up onto my bed anyway. She hovers over me and presses her hand to my cheek before leaning down to kiss me. Then, she lets her body relax on top of me buried in the covers and shoves her head next to mine.

"You are going to get so sick," I angrily tell her.

"I don't care," Aurora says. She rolls off of me and curls her body up next to mine on top of the covers. "I love you."

"I love you, too," I say, leaning forward for another kiss. One arm goes around my body while the other she clutches closer to her chest as she leans close to me.

"We probably shouldn't be like this too long."

"When does Maggie usually come back from class?" Aurora asks.

"Well, she usually goes out to dinner with her friends, so maybe six thirty?"

"Then we have awhile," Aurora says. "Besides, I feel like I haven't seen you that often."

"We try to see each other every weekend, dummy."

"Still. I miss when we were in high school together," Aurora says. She tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. "I miss seeing you every day."

"I know. I do, too," I pause, feeling like my body is erupting with heat. "Sorry, did it just get really hot in here?"

"Your meds must finally be working," Aurora says with a laugh. She sits up and encourages me to do the same.

I weakly sit propped up against a pillow while she hands me a can of ginger ale. I sip slowly, listening to the sound of soup rotating in the microwave. When that is done heating up, I graciously drink the broth while Aurora sits across from me on my bed, keeping me up to date with all that has happened in her life the past few days.

"And then I had this gross assignment to work on, but I turned it in this morning, so that's a burden off my shoulders," she rambles on. I think I could fall asleep just listening to her talk. But returning to a nap would mean saying good-bye, so I smile and listen while eating my soup.

"How is college going for you?" Aurora asks. "Besides this, I guess."

I do my best to compose an answer, but I'm clearly exhausted, and Aurora seems to sense this. So instead, she suggests putting on some mind-numbing episodes of The Office while we open up the box of chocolate truffles she got me.

She sits against my headboard with me with her legs sprawled out next to mine. I am slumped against her shoulder, trying not to nod off, while I nibble on some pieces of chocolate. My appetite is slightly returning now that my fever has broken, but it hasn't returned completely. Her arm wraps around me as I nuzzle close, and I shut my eyes, giggling at a few jokes on the show, while her fingers run through my hair. It isn't the anniversary date I expected, but I enjoy it all the same.

"I'll take you to a fancy restaurant when I'm feeling better next week. If you're not sick by then, that is," I tell her.

"Okay. It's a deal, then."

"And then on Sunday we can go to the Farmer's Market and buy those apples you like. Oh, we can make some apple crisp afterwards!" I say as I grasp onto her arm.

"You really had this all planned out, didn't you?" Aurora asks.

I nod. The sun is starting to descend now, and I know Maggie will be back soon. Still, we decide to finish the episode, and with only a few minutes remaining, I hear the sound of the door being unlocked. I scoot away from Aurora slightly and remove her arm from me. She looks confused at first, but she doesn't try to be affectionate anymore when Maggie walks in.

"Oh. You're awake now," Maggie says as she sets her things down.

"Sorry I'm still here! I'm going to leave in a few minutes," Aurora promises.

"It's fine," Maggie says, but as usual, her tone is never that charismatic, so I cannot tell if she's truly upset or not that Aurora has been here a few hours by this point.

We close up my laptop, clean up chocolate wrappers, and Aurora descends from my bed. She puts on her shoes and grabs her belongings. I swing my legs over the side of the bed to walk her out, but she tells me to stay in bed and rest some more. With Maggie still in the room, Aurora squeezes my hand and pulls me close for a quick peck on the lips. Maggie doesn't seem to notice, or care for that matter, but it is embarrassing to me all the same.

"Bye. Feel better soon. I'll text you," Aurora says.

"See you later," I tell her as she exits. I immediately feel lonely when the door shuts. Part of my bed is still warm from where she was sitting, and I slink down from my seated state and curl up in that spot, still trying to catch whiffs of her perfume.

"Your girlfriend is nice," Maggie says from her bed.

That causes me to jolt back up.

"Oh—uh—yeah," I say, not sure what other words to come up with. We have never discussed my romantic life before, and I was starting to doubt if Maggie was even aware I was a lesbian, though I'm certainly not surprised after Aurora's visit that she is aware. "Sorry. I won't bring her by often. It was a surprise. It's our anniversary today."

"I don't mind. Like I said, she's nice. How long have you two been dating?"

"One year," I state.

"Congratulations." This time there's actually a bit of enthusiasm in her voice.

"Oh, um, thank you. Sorry if you felt uncomfortable. We were just watching T.V. in my bed. That was it," I say through stammered speech. I intend to only make the conversation worse for myself.

"I'm not bothered. I'm not a homophobe. And like I said, she's nice. None of the boyfriends I ever dated in high school would have done that for me," Maggie says as she clicks through her laptop.

This gets us talking, until we're eventually having what feels like a normal conversation. We first speak about our romantic lives. I blush speaking about how Aurora is my first actual relationship and share little details here and there. Maggie talks trash about her exes and even hints about a current crush. And then the conversation devolves into regular talk. This is the first time this has happened, that we've just casually spoken for an hour or two.

"Shoot. I shouldn't keep you up so late. You should rest," Maggie says when she realizes we've been talking for an hour already.

"I guess so, though that nap helped earlier. I'm going to go get ready for bed," I say, finally hopping down from my bed and grabbing my shower caddy. "See you soon."

A faint smile appears on Maggie's face. It's faint, but it's the first sign of a friendship forming.

"Okay. I'll be in here," she says.

It's the strangest, yet most heartwarming anniversary I've ever had. And I think Aurora's charisma has landed me a new friend.