Anxiety [Reserved- Chase and Mia]

The Sun slowly escaping below the mountains, skies painted orange and purple in it's wake. The afternoon felt strangely hollow, filled with a tense impatience and doubt.

Or perhaps, that was just Mia.
She tried to focus on the book she held in her hands, but the words might as well have been washed completely off. She just couldn't see past the gnawing anxiety that lingered in the back of her mind.

She wasn't sure where her friend and love had gone off to, but it must have been important to leave in such a skittery rush.
She did try to reassure herself all would be well, and later she'd laugh at the fact that she thought anything was even remotely wrong.
But tension was biting, and not letting go.

Chase breathed in deeply. He wondered how much trouble he was in, and if he should've brought flowers or something as an apology. But it was too late to worry about that now; he was standing outside of Mia's hotel room. The doom and gloom practically emitted from her side of the door out into the hallway. He took a measured breath. He knew he had a good deal of explaining to do.

He exhaled, and knocked on the door. "Mia? It's me." He counted in his mind, praying she would even open up.

Mia's thoughts broke apart almost immediately upon hearing Chase's knock.
Quickly, she got up, setting her book on the nearest bench and came to the door, unlocking it and pulling it open.

There stood Chase, much to her relief.
"Chase, I was so worried!" She sighed, pulling him into a tight hug, relieved.
Kazumi was nowhere to be seen; whether that was good or bad, she was yet to find out.

"Come inside, what happened?" She asked, frowning. There were a million questions running around in her head, but, first things first.
She lead Chase into the lounge and sat down, notioning for him to sit beside her.

Chase let out the breath that he didn't know he had been holding. "Hi," he said, hugging her back. "Uh... Guess I owe you a little bit of an explanation, huh?" He smiled sheepishly, and followed her inside. He sat down on the bed and tilted his head up at the ceiling.

"Well, you saw what happened with Kazumi at the beach. That was part one." He paused. "When I followed after her - and left you behind, like a horrible person - she was still mad, but then she, like, collapsed. She was burning up, so I took her to the Clinic. I kept thinking about you, just standing there and waiting on the beach." He shook his head. "But the Doctor told us that she had mono, and apparently, since she's still a minor, she couldn't be released unless someone accounted for her." He looked at Mia, then down at his hands. "So she's...staying with me for a while. Until she's better." His last words came out in a rush.

Mia thought for a moment; contemplating the events of earlier that day.
She was just glad the two were safe-
Wait.
Mono?

"Kazumi has... Mono?" She asked quietly, unable to believe the words that had just come out of her mouth.
Such a delicate girl as Kazumi, with such a terrible disease...
Mia hated to think what might happen.

Chase nodded. "Mononucleosis," he said, tripping over the middle of the word. "I'm not very surprised, honestly. She works herself to death." He sighed, shaking his head. Seeing the worried expression on Mia's face, he quickly added, "Don't worry." He reached over and grabbed her hand. "It's not deadly. The only thing that would even possibly be bad is if her spleen ruptures. I know even that sounds bad, but it's so incredibly unlikely. Besides, even her spleen can be treated." He looked up at her. "But...I'm going to need some help taking care of her farm for her while she's out of commission. You want to help?" He kissed her head. "Sorry, again."

Mia nodded absently, trying to imagine the bubbly girl simply bedridden. It just didn't work, not for someone as alive as Kazumi.
It was a little nostalgic to her days of immobilisation, really.

"I'll do as much as I can." She promised; though she couldn't guaruntee her success. She'd grown up a city girl, and never done a days worth of farming in her life. It would all be a little shaky to begin with.

Chase shrugged. "I won't have a clue what to do, either," he confessed. "But we'll figure it out, eh?" He wrapped one of his arms around her and gave her a quick hug, just like that. Something Kazu had been talking about was on his mind, and as much as he was trying to ignore it...it was hard. "Anyways, I'm back now," he said. "...Want to do anything?" He grinned. "We've got a lot of catching up to do for three days."

Mia thought for a moment, trying to remember something she had previously thought of doing upon Chase's return. But her mind, strangely enough, was slowly being consumed by Kazumi's state.

"Umm," She began, biting her lip, "I'm not sure."
Inching closer to Chase, she tried to find solace in his eyes as she often did.
It shooed away alot of the doubt in her mind.

Chase shrugged. "You should come over and keep her company," he suggested. "Or me." He grinned and felt her inch closer. "Mia, don't worry. She'll be fine. I promise." He had a pretty good idea of where the next month or so was going to lead...but he had never claimed to be a medical expert. He could only hope for the best. But expecting the worst didn't solve anything.

"Really? Nothing even slightly interesting happened while I was gone? No gossip? No tears? No drama?" He was kidding, of course.

Mia shook her head, reaching up to kiss Chase's neck.
"Nope," She said, grinning, "After all, you are the life of these towns."
She paused, wrapping her arms around him.
"And the love of mine." She whispered.

There would be sad times ahead, what with Kazumi's illness, but she knew that the cheery girl would make it if they helped. They'd all make it through this smiling, she was sure of it.