Foreword note: I wrote this story in May of 2003, before I had shifted my attention away from fanfics and more toward novels with my own characters. As such, the majority of the characters are copyright and owned by Maritza Campos and come from her old webcomic College Roomies from Hell and take place (in theory) during the "Fnord of the Rings" storyline. The copyright exceptions are Martin and Ginny, two of my own characters who first appeared in the fanfics and then in the webcomic Tangents, before I finally spun them off into their own world when I rewrote The Trip. As such, Martin and Ginny are copyright to me and all of that. Anyway, this is possibly the best of the fanfics I've written, so enjoy!
Tangential Worlds Presents
Transference
by R. A. Howard
"You know, Margaret, you really should go see a doctor" April said. She held Margaret's hair back as she looked at her friend in concern.
Margaret glanced up at her from the toilet, in front of which she knelt. "Please. You know what they're going to say. 'Drink plenty of fluids and get lots of bed rest' or some nonsense like that. It's just a stomach bug. They can't treat viruses with antibiotics anyway, so why waste the money? Thanks though..." she gratefully took the wet towel from April's other hand and pulling away from the toilet wiped her face and mouth down. "I'm sure it'll go away in a day or two..."
"That's what you said yesterday, and the day before. You've been sick for three days now, Margaret. I'm getting worried."
Margaret smiled weakly. "If I still feel this wretched tomorrow I'll go see a doctor. Still, thanks for making me soup... even if I wasn't able to keep it down."
April laughed "Well, that might have been because Marsha tried sneaking into the kitchen when my back was turned. I am pretty sure I caught her before she added anything to it, but you know her. If she has the chance to cook, she'll leap at it."
Margaret shuddered as a chuckle threatened to erupt into nausea again and swallowed hard. She squeezed her eyes shut for a moment, liquid leaking from the corners of her eyelids, before opening them in amusement. "So you're saying Marsha poisoned me, and it's not a flu? Well that makes me feel better..."
April laughed, though she still looked concerned. "I'd say we should bring you to the hospital in that case and have your stomach pumped, but..."
"Yeah, I don't have anything left in my stomach to pump. I'll just lie down... I'm sure I'll feel better when I rest a little."
"Are you sure? I mean, I'm sure Mike wouldn't mind driving you in the convertible... though he might insist you bring a barf bag along..."
"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you though" Margaret reached up and let April pull her up. She felt rather unsteady on her feet, and it did worry her. She didn't want to be bothered with a doctor though. All she wanted was some sleep.
April helped Margaret into bed and started to pull the blankets over her when Margaret batted her hands away. "I'm not a total invalid you know."
"I know. But my nursing you back to health helps me keep my bed for a little bit longer. Marsha's afraid of catching whatever you have, so she's staying out in the living room."
Margaret shook her head in amusement and then pulled her bathrobe off before pulling the sheets over her. April rolled her eyes as she headed toward the door. "I'm surprised you don't keep the robe on. I mean, what if you have to rush to the bathroom and one of the guys is over?"
"I should be okay. And they know not to look. Except Dave and... well, he's seen me naked before. He wouldn't stare." Margaret's face grew warm and she glanced away from her friend. "Why are you so concerned anyway?"
"Well... because I was going to bring Ted over to watch a movie tonight, and I don't want him to get an eyeful of you, okay?" April's cheeks flamed as she glanced back at Margaret, her arms drawn up under her breasts as she hugged herself.
Margaret laughed for a moment, or tried to before she started to cough. Her stomach roiled and then she swallowed hard and concentrated on breathing. "You sure you don't want a doctor, Margaret?"
"It's just my stomach feels queasy. Maybe Marsha did do something to that soup. I just need some sleep."
"Okay, Margaret. I'll... I'll see you, okay?"
Margaret nodded and pulled the sheets up to her chest, leaving her throat bare. Her throat felt constricted, and she couldn't stand the feel of anything covering it... better to be a little cold than wake up in half an hour feeling like she was being throttled.
As darkness descended upon her she had one last thought, that if she didn't feel a lot better tomorrow, she was going to listen to April and go to the doctor's... and then sleep overtook her.
Margaret blinked as she started awake. The room was a lot brighter, suggesting she had slept through the afternoon and through the night. Her stomach felt a lot better as well, and she stretched, enjoying feeling actually decent for a change.
She sat up and swung her legs around, and stretched again, yawning. Despite the sleep she'd gotten, she was still tired. It was tempting to just crawl back into bed, and after a moment, she crawled back into the bed and closed her eyes, letting sleep drift over her.
Margaret jerked awake at the blaring of her alarm, and she muttered a curse. She could have sworn April had turned it off so it wouldn't disturb her sleep... her hand slapped down on the snooze alarm, silencing the vile sound. Her hand slid off the alarm seconds before a second hand smacked it, and she smiled to herself. The Queen of Quick Reflexes had been slower than her that time. She turned toward April's bed...
Dave pulled himself out of bed, bleary-eyed and started toward the door. He barely noticed as Margaret instinctively clutched her bed sheets to her chest even as she drew her knees up. "What are you doing here?" she blurted out, her eyes wide. She blushed... he'd seen her in the morning before but still... Dave glanced back at her and she could see the shadows under his eyes. He'd slept poorly.
"What?" He blinked and shook his head "Don't you remember? Mike and Marsha are living together now. I was forced to move in here."
Margaret blinked and rubbed her eyes. Was this some joke? She glanced around "Where's April?" It would be just like the girl to pull a prank like this on her, when she was sick. Though... she wasn't sick. Not now...
"I don't know, probably at her apartment. You really do need some coffee, don't you. I'll go brew some" Dave replied and turned to trudge out the door. Margaret waited until he was out of sight, and she scrambled for her robe. It wasn't by the bed where she'd left it, but a long shirt was, and she pulled that over her head and pulled it down past her hips. Dave... something was wrong. He hadn't looked that way toward her since she'd pushed him away during that trip when they'd gone over the cliff...
Something was definitely wrong. Unless it was just a dream or a nightmare... Margaret pushed tangled hair out of her face. She'd feel more awake after a shower.
She searched and quickly found her robe by a chair; Dave or April must have picked it up after she went to sleep... and then she blinked. The towel she'd been using was a blue one... but this one was white. She glanced around and then quickly searched her room. Dave's clothes were in the drawers where April and Marsha's stuff had been; her roommates clothes and belongings were all gone, not even stuffed in a closet. For a prank... a lot of thought had gone into this. If it was a prank.
She walked into the kitchen and glanced around. There were a couple pans on the dish rack, as well as some drying utensils. Margaret paused, staring at them. She'd hidden those pans to make sure Marsha wouldn't try to cook after she and April had tricked her back together with Mike... she glanced at Dave, who was steadfastly staring at the coffee, watching it drain into the Mr. Coffee.
"Um, I was going to go take a shower. Do you need to use the bathroom first?"
Dave blinked at her in surprise. "Oh, um, thank you. Yes, I do..." he pushed off from the counter and headed to the bathroom. Margaret waited until the door closed, and opened the cabinet. Some coffee cups were missing, but her favorite was still up there, and she pulled it down and pulled the Mr. Coffee pot from the machine; it stopped brewing, and she smiled to herself. She'd insisted when April and Marsha helped buy the coffee machine to get one that would let them pour coffee without continuing to drain while the pot wasn't under it. Though when Marsha tried to make coffee it always would jam and the whole filter would fill with water and go over... Margaret shook her head as she added half a teaspoon of sugar to the cup and then poured coffee into it before replacing the pot.
The coffeemaker sizzled a little and the smell of burnt coffee lingered. Some coffee had dripped onto the burner while she'd been reminiscing, but she ignored it and blew on the coffee until it had cooled enough to drink. She felt something fuzzy butt her legs and she looked down to the wide eyes of Chester. Dave couldn't forget his fuzzy soul cat, not even for a prank. She smiled as she remembered Dave telling her about Chester... he'd been so unnerved when he told her, like he was half-afraid she'd be mad at him... she scritched Chester behind the ears, and the cat purred and batted at her hand.
She heard the toilet flush and glanced at the bathroom door as Dave stepped out. He just grunted and nodded at her as he pulled a coffee mug out and pulled the pot out from the dribbling spout and poured himself a cup of coffee. She waited as Dave took a paper towel and wiped the bottom dry and replaced the pot, and then watched in amazement as Dave sipped the coffee black.
He never took it black... "Dave, are you feeling okay?"
He glanced at her. "Hmm? What do you mean?"
"It's just that... you don't look so good. Maybe you should catch some more sleep... I can take notes for you in class."
Dave's eyes rolled and he shook his head "I can't, I have to run errands for Professor Dover again." He paused and then she heard a grudging "Thanks though" before he turned away, pulling bread out and putting it in the toaster.
Margaret shivered suddenly and finished her coffee, almost scalding her mouth in her anxiety to get out of there. Something was seriously wrong. Errands for Professor Dover? Why...
Margaret paused at the threshold of the bathroom and then turned back and eyed Dave. "You forgot to lower the lid, Dave."
Dave's eyes widened and he took a step back. "Um... I'm sorry, I'm tired, I forgot."
Margaret nodded and then walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her. She turned on the shower and let the hiss of the water fill the room. She pulled off her robe and hung it on the hook on the door, and then pulled her shirt and panties off before stepping into the water, letting it surround her. But even as she scrubbed the sweat of the night off, she couldn't shake the feeling that this was more than one of April's jokes...
Margaret sighed as she rubbed her hair with her towel before she started brushing it. She'd not woken up, not even after pinching herself, so it was probably not a dream. That left April as a culprit. As for the pans... obviously April had forgotten to hide them after she made Margaret soup last night. Though why she needed more than one pan Margaret wasn't sure... but it was easy enough to explain away.
As for Dave... he probably was grouchy at April because of the prank, and moving stuff while she was asleep. It must have taken several hours to move everything. Still... Margaret's face grew warm at the thought, but it would be nice to have some time alone with Dave, instead of a few furtive times when the others were out, hoping that they wouldn't come back. Like when April had walked in on them... Margaret's cheeks burned in memory. That had been embarrassing.
She sighed. She hadn't been alone with Dave since the holidays. After they had scrubbed the kitchen (Dave blamed Mike for most of it) and had set traps for the mice, they had had a few rather romantic nights together. Margaret closed her eyes and smiled to herself. They didn't do anything though... she still hadn't been sure. And she was afraid of repeating the same mistakes she did in the sunflower field... at least until New Year's Eve.
April had fallen asleep on the couch in this apartment and she and Dave had gone next door after things had gotten a bit intimate... April had teased her the next day, of course, but she hadn't had proof. At least not until she'd walked in on them in the bedroom a few weeks later.
Margaret paused at a snarl in her hair and worked the brush through it, combing it a few extra times to make sure it was out before working on the rest of her hair. She wasn't sure why Marsha had agreed to the joke though... Margaret hoped April hadn't promised her she could cook... even over at the guys' apartment. After what she and Dave had gone through to clean it... and Dave had promised to help keep it clean, especially after she had chided him on it; it would be a shame if Marsha had another of her spectacular kitchen disasters. She could barely boil water.
Margaret brushed her teeth and then looked in the mirror, brushing her hair over her shoulders. Dave claimed she looked great without makeup; she never enjoyed primping herself up, though it was fun putting on camo paint. At the thought she grinned, and the young woman in the mirror transformed into someone quite pretty. She turned and walked out the bathroom.
Dave had gotten dressed while she showered, and she saw dishes drying on the dish rack. She turned back toward him as he shrugged into his jacket. "Leaving already?"
"Professor Dover has some stuff I have to do. See you in class."
Margaret nodded and then closed the distance between him and hugged him. "Thanks for the coffee. I did need it."
Alarms rang out in her head as Dave stiffened under her arms, and she pulled away. He took a step back, his eyes haunted, and then turned and fled without a word.
Margaret shivered suddenly. Suddenly the thought of this being one of April's pranks seemed less and less likely. She turned and rushed to the bedroom. She pulled out a dress and then paused, in thought. After a moment she returned it and pulled out some jeans and a sweater. She had to talk to April... but if this wasn't one of April's pranks... that left Him. It was best to prepare for the worse.
