person A is teetering on the edge of a sneeze, or sneeze fit. they can tell that it’s going to be big. they look around, nostrils flaring small, hitching breaths catching in their chest. a classmate looks over. A tries to give their classmate a small smile, but just manages a twitch of the nose.
shit. snot shoots everywhere, coating the inside of their black cotton mask. they feel as the eyes of their classmates bore into them. a few people bless them. another snickers.
a few seconds pass before A feels a pat on the back. it’s their s/o, B, looking sympathetically at the growing wet splotch on A’s mask. A sniffles wetly, reigniting the itch. before they can help it, another wet sneeze tears through them.
their hand instinctively goes to cover their nose, but their mask catches the mess instead. it’s thick and wet against their trembling nose.
they sigh with releif when the bell rings and chairs start scraping. B grabs their arm and gently (or not so gently- A whines about B’s grip) leads them to the nearest bathroom. locking the door, B pulls out a travel pack of tissues and a clean mask.
turning their back to B, A pulls down their mask. mess is strung from the soaked cotton mask to their pink nose. their nostrils tremble as the cold air dances along the inside of the itchy appendage. the reaction is innevetable.
a messy, chest heaving, spraying sneeze tears through A, spraying the mirror in front of them as well as their hands. petrified, A looks up to see the delicate spray splattered along the mirror. next, they notice the mess on their hands. fuck it.
they take a deep breath, allowing the air to burn their allergic nose. they indulge their trembling nose.
there’s a moment of buildup. B watches as A’s chest rises and falls, desperate hitching breaths getting shorter and shorter. their eyebrows scrunched, mouth hanging open, completely subdued to the fit.
“AHSXH! HEH’PTSCHHEW! KTSCXHX! HIh? p’TSCHFDEW!”
sneeze after sneeze escapes them. their soggy mask lays forgotten on the floor. A sneezes until their nose is finally content, hands dripping with the mess they splattered everywhere. B is dumbstruck. they pull out a few tissues and gently start cleaning A up, whispering blessyous and the occassional, “goodness gracious. you sure put on a show, love.”
A and B forget about the rest of their afternoon classes, instead choosing to go home and tend to A’s sensitive nose.
