An Apple A Day... [Raul]

[DANIEL ALEXANDER CROSS]

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"And that should do it..." Danny muttered, looking down at the bag in his hand

It wasn't often that Danny used his powers, at least not here. Back home, he had constantly used it, out of the sigh of others, of course. But having three younger siblings made it nearly impossible not to use his powers. Especially with the twins. They always managed to bang their heads, skinned their knees, cut themselves, and on the most random things. He was often exasperated with them, but they depended on him. His mother had urged him to become a doctor, but how could he do that? He couldn't just use his powers willy-nilly. Not without being locked away. Danny wanted to be one, sure. But now?

Now he was more worried about his friend, Raul.

Danny shrugged slightly, frowning. Honestly, he didn't know what being sick felt like. He had never been sick before. EVER. A slight smile touched his lips as he remembered how indignant Raul's messages had been when he found out Danny had never been sick a day in his life. Danny didn't know why he hadn't been sick - it was probably because of his powers. Healing took a lot out of him, and usually left him feeling like he had ran a marathon or something like that. But Danny didn't mind. Not really. If he could help someone out - especially a friend - he would. Easy as that. There was no ifs, ands, or buts in the equation. People thought him simple at times, but it wasn't that. He was just like that.

The boy left his dorm with a bag of apples and other stuff. Sure, he could and would cure whatever Raul had, but Danny was always cautious. Danny knocked on Raul's door, calling out, "Hey, Raul, it's Danny. Let me in!" Raul probably wasn't going to like the essays he had for him, but oh well...

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[RAUL-PHILIPPE NIX]

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Raul was sprawled on top of his bed sheets, closing and opening his eyes almost rhythmically. He couldn’t really sleep, not with his head banging like this. His stomach felt churned and knotted, like he had just ate a large helping of near raw steak and ribs, and hadn’t realized it was like that until done. This was most likely partially how much he’d been attempting to use his powers as of late, and partially the fact that he wasn’t exactly the healthiest guy alive. He wasn’t athletic, and didn’t have the body to fight away viruses that another person probably did. It annoyed him when he got sick, but it wasn’t as if it was unusual. He got sick like this once a year or so.

The room was currently a mess, and if you knew Raul, you’d guess almost automatically that something was wrong. His computer screen blinked, his clothes from yesterday and sheets from his bed that he had managed to kick off lay on the floor untouched. Three reading books were lying on the ground, and his sketch pad lay unattended at the foot of his bed. A cruddy sketch was all that he’d been able to muster. A trash bin was lying in Rauls arms, being hugged as though it were a stuffed animal. Along with that trash can, a stuffed bunny lay near his head. A fan was blowing away from him, and the cord in hands reach along with a throw blanket. A box of tissues was lying on the table by his bedside.

Yes, he certainly felt much less then his usual self. He’d invited Danny over, which he wasn’t so sure had been a hot idea at first, but when he heard that the guy had never been sick, Raul was happy for the chance at company. Even if he had an essay to do. When he heard knocking, Raul groaned to himself and rolled over. He didn’t want to move.

“Come in man! The doors open!” he said, cursing his pounding head.

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[DANIEL ALEXANDER CROSS]

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"Good grief! It looks like a bomb went off." Danny gazed around, raising one eyebrow. It really did look like a bomb had gone off. Danny was a notorious neat-freak, more out of self-preservation than anything else. When you had so many siblings, you sort of had to be neat, or constantly loose things to grubby little hands. It got to the point where he could walk into his room and spot immediately if someone had been in there. And he knew Raul was also very tidy, so this automatically made him worry. As he picked his way through the room, he picked up the fallen books, setting them on the nearby desk. He also turned off the computer, and picked up the sketchbook, putting them aside.

"And you, my friend, look like hell."Danny approached the bed fearlessly, dropping his bag with a light thump. He said it with a smile, though he was worried. Some people were not as lucky as he was, and he was glad Raul had invited him over. He would probably have invited himself over anyways, though. Stubborn and persistence thy name is Daniel Alexander Cross. The brown haired boy dragged a chair over to the bed, busily taking things out. "I told the teachers you were sick, and they gave me your homework for the week. If you promise to draw me something awesome I'll give you mine." Daniel said with a wink. Being the awesome student he was, he had already done all the work. Actually, he was more bored than anything else, but still.

"I brought some Saltines crackers and some chicken soup. Have you been able to eat anything?" Danny set the soup on the desk, turning to Raul with a frown. "How long have you been like... this?" Danny waved a hand to the bed in a general gesture, a worried frown creasing his brow.

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[RAUL-PHILIPPE NIX]

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Raul closed his eyes and buried his head into his pillow. He looked like an oversized kid, really. He huffed at Danny’s comment. “It feels like a bomb went off,” he exaggerated, curling closer into himself. The one good thing about not being a macho tough guy was that he didn’t feel like he had to keep up an image as one. He looked pathetic, really. And although he was embarrassed, he wasn’t quite as embarrassed as he might have been had he had an image to keep up.

Raul opened his eyes for a moment to mock glare at Danny. He tried to attempt a tough look as he pulled a blanket over himself and attempted to wiggle up. It probably didn’t work. Raul didn’t exactly do tough, not when he was sick. Or ever, really. However, at the mention of trading off homework, Raul smiled. ”No problem, man. I’d do that trade any day,” he said. His stomach groaned as he attempted to sit up more, however, so he frowned once more and went back to lying on his bed. Clutching the trash basket to his stomach, he tried to ignore the aching. With every breath he took it felt as though his stomach were literally contracting and constricting. Knotting itself into a ball. He was a bit of a drama queen, sure. But that’s what it felt like as of then.

Raul again listened to Danny and shook his head in answer. “Not really, was all he said at first. He gulped in before talking again, hoping to settle his stomach. “I ah, was feeling kind of sick three days ago, but I felt really bad two days ago…I thought I’d push through class which was stupid. I went to bed early that night and woke up yesterday really early nauseous as all hell…You can guess what happened when I woke up…So I’ve been in bed since yesterday. I tried eating last night and similar result… he smiled sheepishly, feeling suddenly embarrassed that he just told Danny all of this. However, he was distracted quickly as he buried his head into a pillow to attempt to ward off a wave of nausea that hit him almost as soon as he stopped talking.

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[DANIEL ALEXANDER CROSS]

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"Should I be putting on a nuclear reactive suits?" Danny teased, continuing his cleaning. A mess bothered him more than he could say. He glanced at Raul. He really did look terrible, huddled up in his blankets. He reminded him of his brothers, Caleb and Joshua, when they didn't want to go to school. It was nearly impossible to fake sick with him around the house, though, something his siblings had lamented about frequently. They loved him when he could heal their scratches and sprangs, though, so he got over it. Danny piled the trash in one corner, making a mental note to to take it out when he left.

"Good. Because you have four essays due Wednesday, along with two math worksheets and a PowerPoint to do. Doing that by yourself would really suck." Danny said almost cheerfully. His smile faded, however, when Raul tried to sit up and obviously failed. Danny jabbed a finger at him. "You! Stay lying down until I tell you to, okay?" Danny's words were unusually stern, a lot normal than his normal laid-back, easy-going voice. Danny was normally very jokey, but not when it came to things like this. He couldn't afford to be.

"All right. I'll go and make the soup and you try and eat those crackers. You'll want something in your stomach before I do my healing." Danny said. "So I will be right back. Don't die on me, mmkay?" He tossed the crackers in Raul's lap and left for the common cooking area. He heated up the can of soup and quickly brought it back, setting it on the desk. "And no need to be embarrassed. My little siblings threw up four days straight before, so it's not a big deal."

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[RAUL-PHILIPPE NIX]

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Raul laughed. “Might help, mi amigo,” he said. He watched Danny clean up and felt slightly bad. He knew that Danny was sort of a neat freak. Hell, Raul was a neat freak. He had been since his sister had been born. Having to take care of any rouge spills his father had neglected to clean up or getting rid of object that she could harm herself on was something he was constantly vigilant for. However, through the past couple of days he hadn’t exactly been caring. It wasn’t as though his number one concern had been around him. He just wished he could help out Danny a little…

Raul groaned at the idea of homework, but then remembered that Danny had offered to do it all. “They trying to kill us, man?” he asked. Raul’s eyes widened a bit with Danny’s command, however, and he shrunk back like a little puppy who had just been scolded. He tried to make the mood calmer, hoping Danny wouldn’t explode. ”Yes, mom,” he mumbled, sticking his tongue out. He didn’t have it in him to keep the mocking up.

Raul looked up at Danny’s command and then looked down at the food unpleasantly. ” No problem,” he said duly. Raul opened the crackers and looked at them for a while before nibbling on one and then another. He got to nibbling five when he suddenly quite and buried his head in the waste basket, turning a sickly green color. After the deed was done, Raul stayed like that, shaking lightly. At which point, Danny came in. The new smell made him gag slightly but he looked up shakely at Danny. “Not so much embarrassed as sorry,” he said, voice quivering ever so slightly.

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