Marco sat up in bed, right around his usual time. Devin, the son of a Puerto Rican scientist snored under and across from him.
Marco could see Zim drool on his perch over Devin.
What a little creep!
At least he wasn't sleep walking again.
He woke up the whole damn dorm that one time!
Marco slapped the ceiling, hoping to startle someone upstairs.
Ahhh, the benefits of thin walled dorms.
Marco yawned, crawling down his mattress and stopped, smiled, and dropped to his chest, swinging down.
Wait, where was Dorado?
Usually the maid (her name was Annafellows, though most boys referred to her as 'Tits',) would make beds and keep things tidy around the dorms.
The bed was made.
Hotel tight, just like Annafellows did it.
You could bounce a quarter off of it.
Marco even caught her doing it.
She'd even turned around once and tossed the coin onto the bed, and caught it like a boomerang when she'd seen her audience.
No evidence Dorado had even sat on his bed last night.
Marco groaned, headache worsening as more and more blood rushed in.
Marco sat up, slamming his skull into the ceiling with a muffled bark of "SHIT!"
It wasn't even morning yet and everything felt too bright.
"Dorado?" He hissed. Where was he? "Dorado?"
Marco heard loud, harsh coughing.
"Dorado?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.
More coughing, loud and painful followed.
Marco got out of bed, "You sly dog, you weren't sober, were ya?"
Yep, it was Dorado all right.
Marco padded across the floor, smiling.
Not so straight laced now, are ya?
He knocked on the bathroom door, hearing more coughing, now becoming wetter and more forceful. "Dude, ya good?"
Seeing it wasn't even closed, Marco pushed open the door into the room.
"Dorado?" He asked, voice raising as he saw his friend and roommate hunched over the sink, shirtless. Dorado's light brown shoulders jounced and tensed, muscles spasming as another gagging cough rattled through his chest.
Dorado shivered, goosebumps racking his skin.
"Dude?" Marco tiptoed forward on the tiles, feet freezing on their square surface. He learned forward, Dorado's face sheltered by shadows.
"Dude, I'm turning on the lights, this is ridiculous. Dorado snapped on the lights and turned back to the quivering, gagging figure.
Marco hurriedly returned to Dorado's side, lights giving him a bigger headache than before. Dorado's eyes were wide and fearful, like an animal's.
That scared Marco.
It scared him in a way it never had before.
"Are you choking?" Marco asked, loud and clear. Dorado seemingly ignored him, pressing a hand to his face and gagging.
With one last cough, Dorado choked and blood gushed around his fingers. Marco's eyes widened as the red waves poured down Dorado's chest and into the sink, painting his hands red. Dorado choked again, blood spewing and splatting onto the mirror and bottles of soap. Dorado made a hollow swallowing sound and released shaking breaths, hand moving from his lips.
His hands were unsteady as he opened the palms, mouth open and any leftover blood burbling over his lips, dribbling down, down, down…
Marco looked into the open palms of the boy under his bed, and saw a pair of eyes with the raw, bloody strings attached to them. Dorado dropped them into the sink, still staring at his raised hand.
Marco fainted.
This was just too much.
Dorado stood over the sink, completely empty.
He stepped over the unconscious Marco and into the shower, thick black hair lank and ungelled from his shower a few hours ago when the coughing started, and sank against the slick wall. He pulled the rolling glass wall towards him, sheltering him in a little blurry room for himself, hair soaked and plastered to his paling face. He put his bloody palm to his eye and choked, still shaking.