Sky

Blocked nose? Check.

A cactus in my throat? Check.

One cough away from being punched by everyone in class? Check.

I wheeze as I try to contain my coughs during class, not wanting to disrupt more than I have so far. I look and feel like a zombie; my hair is up in its usual style where I literally just clip it up, and I'm wearing my mom's grey jacket that is too big on me but it's warm and reminds me of home, calming me down. 

I slowly rub my chest to warm it up as I take another sip of my water, but a cough escapes me and I almost choke on my water.

"Sky, are you okay?" Miss Riley asks me with concern lacing her voice.

"I am, but may I go to the bathroom?" I croak out groggily. She nods and I instantly stand up and leave the classroom with my water bottle. I cough all the way to the bathroom, and they're only getting more violent. My lungs feel like they're on fire, and I could feel my throat being scratched to the point where I won't be surprised if I cough out blood.

I cling onto the sink as I cough more and more, feeling the gross phlegmgathering in the back of my throat. I spit it out and let out a sigh of relief, for a moment. My coughs have stopped momentarily, and I take the time to take off my glasses and splash my face with water to wake me up. I look at my reflection and put on my glasses again, my vision clearing.

My eyes have dark bags from the lack of sleep at night because of my constant coughing, and my face is paler than usual, my lips no longer having color like they usually do. My nose is red from all the tissues I've used, and it's got new pimples because apparently I have baby skin and am allergic to tissues.

The coughs return and I keep coughing until I gag, but I stop myself. I take deep breaths to calm myself. I drink more water before deciding that it won't do, so I get out of the bathroom and go to my locker, where I kept a flask of the herbal tea my mom made me.

I take a big gulp, the warm liquid soothing the pain and easing my coughs instantly. I wait until my coughs have calmed down and not as violent before I turn and walk back to class, not wanting to miss out any more on biology; it's hard enough as it is.

I knock softly before opening the door, sending the teacher a quick smile before going back to my seat, where I'm met with two pairs of concerned eyes.

Well, three, but we don't care about him anymore. 

"You have to go to a doctor." Taybh whispers to me. 

"No, I hate hospitals." I groan quietly while she and Nat glare at me.

"Girl, you literally look like a zombie." Nat whispers to me jokingly.

"What's new?" I smile at her with tired eyes. "I'll go if it gets worse, but for now I'm gonna take a nap." 

I feel my book and notebook being pulled out from under my arms and head, so I look up, seeing Taybh placing them on her desk.

"I'll take notes for you, rest." I smile gratefully at her before she and Nat argue about who gets to write me the notes. I chuckle at them and lay my head back down, and the teacher doesn't bother me, as she's seen my condition.

This is what I love most about our school, the teachers here are like friends; we call them by their first names, but respectfully, they take care of us when we're sick, and they're just really cool, and the environment is so fun and peaceful. The teachers crack jokes with us to make class lighter and more enjoyable.

I cough again and drift off to sleep, for once not worried about missing out on class.

Peter

I hate seeing Sky so tired and in pain. I saw her tears fall with her coughs, and I could tell she was having trouble with breathing. The dirty looks she got from some students all day weren't helping her either.

Right now, we're all at the stage room for the gallery the photography club is having to showcase all the pictures submitted to the contest, and later on they're going to reveal the two lucky winners. 

I stare at the pictures on my part of the wall longingly, wishing Sky was still with me. The pictures remind me of how happy I was when I used to hang out with them, and they also remind me of how much I miss her.

Looking around at everyone else's pictures, I come across Tim's; where the girls were also included in them. My chest tightens as I see the picture of Tim and Sky slow dancing together, the lights around them illuminating their wide smiles, and they both look amazing in their formal wear. I go back to my own stand, trying to clear away the sad thoughts as people come up and compliment my talent.

"It's such a shame that you took pictures of them." Bri says as she stands next to me. "You should have asked me to model for you, you would have had a better shot at this."

"I think they're great, actually." I smile remembering the day before I mutter "The theme is precious moments, after all..." 

"But they don't even know what they're doing!" She exclaims with furrowed eyebrows.

"And that's the beauty of these pictures." My teacher comes up to us, smiling fondly at the pictures. "They capture real emotions, emotions that models usually lack." 

"But, sir, they are amateurs!" Bri argues.

"Not really, they portrayed the theme well." He shakes his head. "Even in Tim's collection; they showcase beautiful emotions that capture the eyes of the people. They don't care that they're being photographed, so they show reality, and that's very rare in pictures these days, Miss Anderson."

I have a feeling Mr. Alan doesn't like Bri that much. She smiles tightly at him before he walks away and she rolls her eyes.

"What does he know..." She mutters to herself but I heard her. "They're not even pretty..."

I furrow my eyebrows at her before looking around to see my old friends. Sky is half asleep on Nat's shoulder as they stand by Tim's collection, laughing at something one of them had said. Nat slowly removes Sky's head from her own shoulder and moves it to rest on Tim's shoulder before she and the two girls run away laughing to themselves. Tim just stood there, glaring at the girls, not able to do anything, but a small smile was evident on his lips as he glanced at her.

I felt my heart shatter into a million pieces.

They're obviously the perfect pair; what's better than best friends falling in love? Nothing. She clearly hates me now, even if she liked me back at a time, and Tim has been there for her for a long time. Hell, they met before Nat and Sky met. I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up dating for real, and I'm sure they'd be happy.

"These photos turned out great, Peter."

I turn around in shock, and I noticed the girls send a quick glare towards Brianna for some reason. Nat, Laura and Anna turned away from her and observed the photos more, memorizing them in their mind, probably remembering all the fun we had as well.

"Uh," I stutter. "Thanks. I'm glad you guys like them."

They give me a small smile and leave, with me staring after them, the ends of my mouth turning upwards in a happy smile.

Maybe they'll forgive me?

I turn to my right and see that Brianna is gone, but I don't have enough time to look for her as Mr. Alan starts to speak into the microphone, grabbing everyone's attention.

"I want to start off by saying how proud I am of you all for participating with such amazing photos; you really proved how talented you all are." He smiled and we clapped happily. "However, only two students will be featured at the national gallery; and those two are..."

Brianna comes back and holds onto my arm, squeezing it in excitement as she bites her lip.

"Tim Hart and Peter Thompson!" My eyes widen and a grin makes its way onto my face. Brianna screams happily and jumps into my arms, wrapping hers around my neck, but I don't return it as I see Sky hugging Tim as tightly as he's holding her. They pull away, still holding onto each other and talk among themselves with bright smiles as their other friends come up and congratulate him as well. 

Brianna lets go of me and scowls at the pictures. "I can't believe they get to be in both collections at the gallery, that's so unfair!"

I ignore her and walk over to Tim to congratulate him. The girls have left his side by now, Sky in another coughing fit.

"Hey, man." I clap his back. "Congrats!"

"Thanks." He smiles awkwardly. "You too, Thompson."

Other students come over to congratulate us on our win as me and Tim thank them, but Tim is being too awkward, so I'm doing most of the talking as he just smiles and nods.

'Just smile and nod...' Sky said with a smile as she whispered that to me once, making me laugh at her and confusing our teacher.

The group comes over again to celebrate with Tim and they spot me, so they congratulate me as well.

"Congrats, Peter." Sky smiles softly at me, but I could see the sadness in her eyes as she spoke to me.

"Thank you, Sky." I smile back at her. She turns and leaves with the rest, taking my heart with her.