This was the worst pain Jotaro had ever experienced in his life. He'd been stabbed, burned, had his spine stomped on, broken multiple bones, and gone through the pain of losing his friends… but nothing hurt as badly as seeing you with someone else. You were nothing like the other brainless, shallow groupies that never seemed to leave him alone. (He thought he wouldn't have to worry about that in college. He thought wrong.) You treated him like a normal person and not some walking stack of muscles to be lusted over and nothing else. You were the first genuine friend he'd made since the incident in Egypt. He hadn't meant to fall for you, but if you spend enough time with someone there's always a chance that feelings will develop. He hadn't meant for that to happen. Really, he should never have allowed himself to befriend you at all, but he couldn't bring himself to refuse whenever you asked him to hang out.

It was also a great deal of fun to scoot a little closer to you whenever his annoying fan club was around. They'd get so pissed and Jotaro couldn't stop himself from smiling. As jealous as the girls got, they never messed with you. They wouldn't dare… and not because of him. That was another thing he liked about you. You weren't some helpless damsel in distress. If anyone tried to mess with you, you could handle them however you needed to. You didn't need anyone coming to your rescue. That gave him such a feeling of security about you. Of course he always had to worry about enemy stand users using you to get to him, but…

… he still couldn't seem to tear himself away from you.

He was well aware of how selfish he was being, but he couldn't help himself. He was drawn to you in a way that honestly scared him. He shouldn't be so attached to anyone like this. With all the possible enemies lurking in seemingly every corner, just being around you could put you in danger. He knew that… but he could make himself leave your side.

It wasn't just the possible danger from outside enemies either. Jotaro was becoming increasingly aware that his feelings for you were developing well past what could be considered normal or healthy. He would think about you almost constantly. He seemed to base his every decision on what you would think or want. It was almost like you were already a couple in his mind, even though he knew that wasn't the case. You had never expressed any interest in him other than close friendship (a fact that ate at his heart, but one he could never bring himself to acknowledge).

Still Jotaro was growing worried about his mental stability. Whenever the two of you weren't together, he found himself unable to handle not being in your presence in some form or another. That's when he started stalking you. It started as a completely unconscious action, with him lurking across the street from where you were shopping or having lunch, watching you go about your daily routine on campus from the window of whatever classroom he was in, and even going so far as to stand outside of your dorm late at night when no one was awake but himself.

When he realized exactly what he was doing, it made him feel ashamed, disgusted, and disturbed by his own actions. This wasn't normal. This was sick and he needed to stop. It wasn't right for him to do this to you. He was always extremely careful not to be spotted by you or anyone else, but there was always that slim chance that he could be caught. While he didn't give a rat's ass about what anyone else would think about his actions, he dreaded the thought of someone getting word to you about what he was doing. What would you think of him then? Would you be horrified? Grossed out? Disturbed? Most likely. No normal person actually wants to be stalked.

He needed to stop. He needed to stop following you around and trying to insert himself into every aspect of your life, but it wasn't easy. You had quickly become something of an addiction for Jotaro, and you were a very difficult addiction to quit. Jotaro gave you your space, at least as far as you knew. He still found himself unable to fully leave you alone, and his stalking habit only escalated the more he tried to leave you alone. He could get help. He could see someone; a professional. He could learn to break this terrible habit of his and go back to normal. He could allow you to drift out of his life… for your own safety and….

Jotaro's chest would squeeze painfully whenever he thought about letting you go. This was bad. Jotaro let his affections for you grow too big. As much as he hated to admit it, he would never be able to let go of you. You had unintentionally wormed your way into his very soul and now it felt like you were a part of him, almost in the same way that Star Platinum was a part of him. Losing you would be just like having his Stand destroyed. It would kill him. It was far, far too late. He could never let you go now.

But today was different. Today he saw you with someone else, and it was clear that the two of you were close. Much too close for your relationship to be merely friendly. Jotaro felt like he'd been struck by lightning when he saw you in someone else's arms. He avoided you for the rest of the day and you made no attempt to seek him out. That was just as well. He went through the rest of the morning in a daze. He wanted to be angry. He wanted to feel betrayed and hurt, but it felt like a fog had settled on his brain. When lunch rolled around, he returned to his dorm. No, he wasn't going home to cry like some broken hearted school girl, but he suddenly began to feel horrible. He felt sick; very, very sick.

The moment he got to his dorm he rushed to the bathroom, coughing and retching along the way. Wave after wave of nausea hit him but nothing came up. He could only crouch over the toilet, dry heaving like a stereotypical frat boy after a night of hard partying. After all the gasping, coughing, gagging, and swearing, something finally came up. Jotaro waited until he could breathe again before he stood up. He reached over to flush the toilet and caught sight of the mess he'd made in the bowl. He paused. That was blood… blood and what looked like…

He squinted down at the toilet.

Were those… flower petals?

He was immediately alert. This was a stand attack. It had to be. He rushed out of the bathroom fully ready to beat someone to death. This was the worst possible day for someone to pull this shit. In the mood he was in, he may actually kill the son of a bitch.

"Star Platinum." He wheezed, his throat still aching from nearly puking up his insides.

The Stand appeared before him and promptly fell to his knees, clutching his stomach in agony. Tears were streaming down the Stand's cheeks and blood oozed from his mouth. Jotaro shook his head.

"Good grief. You, too?" he said.

Star Platinum nodded weakly and Jotaro sighed. He dismissed his stand. There was no way he could fight like that. It made sense, he supposed. A stand usually reflected its owner's innermost feelings, so it was only natural that Star Platinum was just as heart broken as he was, but… he was sick, too. How could a Stand be sick? He and his Stand shared injuries, but did they share illnesses, too? Was that how it works?

Jotaro didn't have time to linger on the thought when an awful tickling sensation welled up in the back of his throat. He was sent into another coughing fit so violent he actually pulled a muscle in his side. He gasped at the pain and the sudden intake of air had him coughing again. Something shot out of his mouth and spattered wetly into his hands. He looked through tear blurred eyes at the bloodied petals in his hands. They looked like rose petals. Why was he coughing up rose petals? Why was he bleeding from the inside like this? What the hell was wrong with him? Yet another coughing fit came over him. When he was done, he stood up and staggered into the kitchen.

Water. He needed water.

He grabbed a glass from the cabinet and filled it with water from the kitchen faucet. He put the glass to his lips and drank. The moment the cool liquid touched his throat he could feel pain and scratchiness in his throat vanish. He set the empty glass down and stood at the edge of the kitchen sink, gasping for air. Once he caught his breath he glanced down at the empty glass.

More. He needed more water.

He refilled the glass and drank just as desperately as the first time. He repeated the process about four more times. He felt a thousand times better after that. His throat no longer burned and the pain in his stomach and chest was gone.

Now that he wasn't distracted by pain and coughing fits, he took a moment to look around the kitchen. The place looked like a murder scene. There was blood trailing across the kitchen floor and smeared all over the counters. He hadn't bothered to wash his hands before rushing to get water so there was a bloody handprint on the glass. He looked down at himself to see that his favorite shirt was now stained with blood and sweat. His whole body was trembling. Still, the water had made him feel so much better.

He needed to take a shower. A hot shower would be good for his aching muscles. Jotaro stumbled to the bathroom, pulling his clothes off as he went. He would clean up later. Right now, he just felt gross and wanted to clean up before bed. Standing under the water felt like ecstasy. Even long after the water grew cold it felt so soothing against his skin.

After a very long shower, Jotaro put on a pair of clean pajamas and went into the kitchen to clean up. As he wiped up the blood and petals, he took a moment to examine one of the petals. It was indeed a red rose petal; so red that it almost blended in with the blood. But it was solid, so it wasn't a Stand if he could touch it. Still, that didn't rule out a stand user's involvement. There had to be some kind of explanation for this.

Once he was done cleaning up, Jotaro consulted his personal library. There had to be something here to give him a clue of what was happening to him. He searched through his encyclopedia collection not really knowing how to search for phenomena that made someone cough up blood and flower petals. He wasn't expecting to find anything useful and was dreading having to go to the library on campus to continue his search. The way he was feeling right now, he was afraid he'd pass out the moment he stepped outside. Finally, he made headway when he came to the H's and found something called "Hanahaki Disease". He paused, staring at the page in disbelief. Was this a real thing? He read the entry then glared at the page in disgust. He very nearly threw the heavy book against the wall.

That was the stupidest shit he'd ever read.

That could not actually be happening to him.

As much as he hated to admit it though, it added up.

He re-read the definition.

Hanahaki disease is a fictional ailment that affects victims of unrequited love. People afflicted by the disease will cough or vomit up petals and sometimes whole flowers due to a plant that has taken root in their lungs or stomach. If the afflicted person cannot gain the love of the person they long for, the plant will continue to grow until it kills them. Hanahaki disease is commonly mentioned in fanfiction.

"Bullshit." Jotaro scoffed.

He couldn't believe this, and yet the timing was too perfect. He didn't start showing symptoms until after he found out you had a lover.

The moment he thought of you, his chest was seized by pain and the coughing started up again. He glared at the blood covered petals in his hands.

"Bullshit!" he snarled through bloodied teeth. "Am I seriously dying to a God damned fan fiction trope?!"

This was all your fucking fault.

You utter bitch!

Jotaro sighed and placed the encyclopedia on his desk. Why was he blaming you for this? None of this was your fault. As literally love sick as he was, he was still lucid enough to know that he had brought all of this on himself. He should have distanced himself from you the very first time he noticed his attraction to you. And he should have especially pulled away from you the moment he realized his attraction had grown to unhealthy proportions. The fault was his, not was bad enough that he was obsessing over you and stalking you, the last thing he needed was to start wanting to blame, and even punish you for something you had no control over.

Jotaro pushed away from the desk just as another wave of nausea came over him. He jumped up and rushed to the bathroom. This latest puking session seemed to last for a half an hour or longer. He heaved and hacked for so long that when he finally stopped he was drenched in sweat and blood. He wiped his mouth on his sleeve, not caring about the blood that stained it, and shakily got to his feet. The moment he stood up it felt as if the room had tilted sideways. Jotaro wobbled, clutching his head and squeezing his eyes shut, trying to gain control as the dizzy spell hit him.

Unable to regain balance, Jotaro fell backwards, hitting his head against the corner of the towel bar, and ended up slumped against the wall like a worn out rag doll. He was out cold. He sat there for a few minutes before regaining consciousness. He stared about the room with bloodshot eyes as his mind tried to remember where he was and what he was doing. For a moment or two, he didn't understand why he was sitting on the floor like that before he remembered getting dizzy. He realized then, that he must have fallen and knocked himself out. He moved to get back to his feet but was hit with another dizzy spell. So he just sat there, slumped against the wall until the room stopped tumbling over and over like a malfunctioning amusement park ride.

Some time later, Jotaro opened his eyes to find himself staring at a rose bush growing out of a clay pot next to the door of what looked like an old brick house. It took him a few minutes to realize he was staring at the painting that hung over the toilet in the bathroom. His mother had given it to him to decorate his dorm, insisting that it would "give the place some color". Jotaro groaned as he became aware of the dull, throbbing pain in the back of his head. He checked his sore scalp with the palm of his hand. It came away bloody. Wonderful. That was something else for him to worry about. That was definitely going to leave a bruised knot in the back of his head.

Jotaro gasped as felt a strange sensation in his chest. He clutched at his shirt in pain as something inside of him seemed to writhe and squirm as if his ribcage had become a nest for snakes. It felt as if something was tightening around his lungs and wriggling up into his throat. He gasped trying to suck in as much air as he could only to end up coughing and sputtering yet again. This time he didn't bother to lean over the toilet in spite of it being right in front of him. He just sat there and spewed blood, petals, and bile all over himself. He felt as helpless as a sick infant and just as pathetic. He was glad no one he knew could see him like this. HIs mother, especially, would be beside herself with worry. And Gramps… well, there was no telling how the old man would react. He vaguely wondered how his father would react. He was currently on the road, as usual, but Jotaro was certain he didn't want his father to see him like this. Sadao didn't know about all the insane things that had been happening in his son's life and Jotaro wanted to keep it that way. It was bad enough that his mother had been involved during all that madness with DIO, he did not want his father involved. Still, this was going to be difficult to keep from his family for much longer. It was becoming increasingly clearer that whatever was happening to him was not going to be something he could handle alone. He needed to call the Speedwagon Foundation. Surely this was something they could deal with? God, he hoped so. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out by himself.

Jotaro closed his eyes. The lights in the bathroom had suddenly become far too bright. The glare from them had set his head to throbbing even worse than before. Now the dull pain had become pounding agony. The squirmy feeling in his chest hadn't died down either. At the very least he wasn't coughing or puking his insides out. His mouth and throat felt like he had swallowed every desert in the world. He was briefly reminded of how he felt that time he and the others had been trapped by that user with the Sun Stand… whatever that loser's name had been.

He was so thirsty… so very thirsty.

Jotaro's eyes snapped open when he heard the faucet in the kitchen turn on. Was he hearing things now? There were other sounds coming from the kitchen now; the sound of a cabinet opening and dishes clinking lightly against each other. Someone was in his dorm. He struggled to get to his feet but was unable to gain any kind of balance. His arms and legs trembled violently whenever even the slightest amount of weight was put on them. Furthermore, he couldn't seem to place his legs in a stable enough position to prop himself up on them. It was like trying to get a stuffed animal to stand up on its own with nothing to support it but its own floppy, boneless, cotton filled legs.

He was going to have to summon his Stand and have Star Platinum take care of the intruder on because there was no chance he was going to be doing any fighting on his own in this state.

"Star Plat-!" Jotaro started with a hideous rasp in his voice.

He was cut off when he got choked on his words and went into yet another coughing fit. Moments later, Jotaro was surprised by the sight of his Stand floating into the bathroom and holding a glass of water out towards him. Jotaro stared at the Stand in confusion. He hadn't summoned him. He hadn't had the chance. Where had he come from just now?

Slowly, Jotaro began putting the pieces together. Star Platinum had apparently taken it upon himself to fetch his user a glass of water. He'd acted without being summoned. HIs Stand had only done that one other time and that was during the final fight with DIO. But Jotaro didn't care about that right now. The only thing on his mind at the moment was that glorious glass of water Star had in his hand.

Jotaro all but snatched at the glass, spilling a little of it on the bathroom rug. Jotaro guzzled down the water so fast that he made himself dizzy with lack of oxygen. Once he emptied the glass, he gasped for breath and thrust the glass back at Star Platinum. Star took the glass from his user and obeyed the wordless command. This time he filled the glass up at the bathroom sink to save time. He handed the glass back to Jotaro who drank just as desperately as the first time. This process continued until Jotaro had emptied at least 10 glasses of water.

Enough was enough. He was going to call the Foundation right now! With great difficulty, Jotaro managed to get to his feet. He had to lean against the wall or grab onto various pieces of furniture in order to remain upright, but he eventually made it to his desk where he dropped heavily into the chair. Star Platinum hovered by his side the whole time. Jotaro wondered momentarily why the Stand was still hanging around but decided not to worry about it for the moment. He reached for the phone and began to dial the number for the Speedwagon Foundation. He only punched in three digits before he felt something twist and wriggle deep in his chest. He paused just long enough for the pain to subside, hung up the phone, then began the process of dialing the number again. The squirming in his chest began again, only this time it moved up into his throat, writhing further and further up until he could feel it in the back of his mouth. HIs chest and throat burned as if heated needles were being dragged through his esophagus.

Jotaro gasped as his airway was partially blocked by something long and spikey coming up from his throat and slithering into his mouth. It rudely slammed his tongue out of the way and pushed its way past his teeth and lips, violently squirming its way out of his mouth. Jotaro watched in awed horror and revulsion as a thick, thorny, blood dripping vine thrashed out of his mouth and slapped the receiver out of his hand. Jotaro's cry of alarm was muffled by the writhing of the vine as it seemed to have a massive tantrum and knocked all the items off of his desk.

Jotaro shifted as far back into the chair as he could go. It was a desperate but futile attempt to get away from the squirming mass that was coming out of his own body. He forced himself to take long, shaky breaths through his nose as more vines dragged themselves up from his throat to thrash and attack the surface of his desk. Jotaro glanced to the floor beside the desk to see that the phone had been smashed to pieces. He wouldn't be making any phone calls anytime soon. Panic welled up inside of him. Was the thing growing in his insides … sentient? Did it know he was trying to call for help? Jotaro was again questioning if the thing was a Stand or not.

Right now, he was fearing for his life. The vines were increasing in number and his airway had been completely blocked. Even breathing through his nose was proving difficult. Not only that, but he had no idea what the vines were going to do next. They seemed furious (if a plant could be furious) and he was afraid they would turn on him after they were done reducing the contents of his desk to splinters. Jotaro's panicked thoughts were interrupted by his body being overtaken by a strange, soothing warmth. He turned to see Star Platinum standing next to the window. The Stand had pushed aside the curtains and opened the blinds to let the sunlight cascade into the room. Jotaro sat directly in the rays of the sun and it felt like pure bliss. Possibly even more so than standing in the shower for hours on end. The golden rays seemed to have a calming effect on the vines as well. They slowed their mad thrashing and slowly, one by one, began to pull back into Jotaro's body. He winced as the thorns dragged against the delicate lining of his esophagus (because of course the damn things had thorns!). Finally, thankfully, all of the vines had retreated and Jotaro could breathe freely again… at least until another coughing fit overtook him. Fortunately, this fit was brief, but Jotaro was spitting up blood long after he stopped coughing. No doubt he'd received some serious internal injury. Having a thousand tiny thorns dragged through one's digestive system was bound to have negative effects on one's insides.

While Jotaro was in pain, it wasn't nearly as bad as it could be. He guessed it had something to do with the blessed sunlight he was sitting in. The longer he sat there, the less pain he felt. He began to feel more relaxed, even a little bit euphoric. It was the first time he felt that way since…

No. He was not going to think of you at this moment. He was not going to remember you in someone else's embrace. He felt the vines twisting against his ribs, pushing uncomfortably against his lungs.

"Ora?" Star Platinum's voice questioned from somewhere to his right.

Jotaro turned to his Stand who was giving him a concerned look. Jotaro's eyes flitted away from Star's intense gaze to stare at the floor. He noted that the floor was surprisingly clean. Apparently, Star Platinum had taken it upon himself to clean up the mess the vines had made. Had Star really been hanging around this whole time and acting totally on his own accord? Jotaro tried dismissing him, but the Stand merely stared at his user, stubbornly remaining in place. Things must be getting really bad if his own Stand was actively disobeying him. Even stranger was the fact that Star seemed to know exactly what to do to deal with the thing growing inside of him. Once again, Jotaro had to wonder if this wasn't some kind of Stand attack. There was no evidence that it was, but there was also no evidence that it wasn't.

He didn't know what he was going to do. He had no way to contact anyone that could help him, and he was certain that if something wasn't done soon, the wretched thing would kill him. Not trusting his ability to stand up, Jotaro willed Star Platinum to bring him the encyclopedia he'd been reading earlier. The Stand obeyed this time and brought the heavy book over to him. Jotaro flipped through the pages until he found the entry on the Hanahaki Disease again. He carefully read and re-read the entry, hoping to find something to counteract the effects of the disease. All he managed to find was something about surgical removal, but the entry mentioned that to surgically remove the plant would also remove the victim's ability to love. He didn't like the sound of that. And neither did the vines, as they showed their displeasure at Jotaro's thoughts of getting rid of them by giving his lungs a slight squeeze. Jotaro jolted at the pain and sudden loss of breath. Having his lungs squished while simultaneously poked by thousands of thorns was not a pleasant feeling. He was grateful that the vines at least made it a point not to actually allow their thorns to puncture his lungs.

The plant, or whatever it was taking over his guts, seemed fully aware of Jotaro's thoughts and actions, proving that the thing really was sentient. Not only that, but it seemed actively hostile any time Jotaro so much as thought about getting help to deal with it. He wanted it gone, but it seemed very inclined to keep clinging to his insides. Jotaro suddenly had an odd thought…

What if the plant was just as obsessed with him as he was with… no. Nope. That's just insane. Sentient or not, plants don't develop infatuations with people, least of all unhealthy ones. But what if…. What if the plant was actually what was making him feel this way about you? What if it was really the plant that wanted you all along and he was just some kind of meat puppet that it was using to get to you? Okay… now that really was insane. First of all, Jotaro really did have feelings for you. That was undeniable. Although, he had to wonder if it wasn't the plant that was making him obsess over you. Or was that just a convenient excuse for his recent behavior? Did the plant start growing inside of him because of his twisted infatuation with you, or was the plant the cause of that infatuation?

Sitting in direct sunlight for so long must be frying his brain. It was making him drowsy, too. His head swam with theories and suggestions until his head drooped forward and he fell asleep at the desk. Star Platinum watched his user for a moment before deciding to move Jotaro to the bed. He picked up his user, carefully so he didn't wake him, and carried him to the bed. His poor user was a bloody, sweaty mess and in need of another soothing shower, but right now he needed rest more than anything.

Jotaro hadn't yet figured out what needed to be done to save himself, but Star Platinum knew exactly what needed to be done. He knew because the plant told him exactly what it wanted. Jotaro didn't fully understand what was happening to him. Some of his theories were close, but still wrong. The plant wasn't some foreign parasite that had taken over his user's body, it was a part of his user. Just as Star Platinum himself was a manifestation of Jotaro's fighting spirit, the plant was a manifestation of Jotaro's unhinged love for his fellow college student: suffocating, twisted, oppressive, and controlling. It was like a Stand, but not a Stand. And it was starving. Just like a normal plant it needed water and sunlight, but it needed fertilizer, too, and what it needed wasn't something that could be bought by the bag from a store. Jotaro wasn't going to like what he was going to have to do, but it had to be done. It was the only way to survive this. The plant would turn on him if he didn't comply.

Star looked down at the picture that got knocked off the desk earlier. It was a picture of Jotaro and the friend he was in love with. Star sighed wistfully as he looked at it, unable to help but reflect his user's feelings for the person. He was going to have to act soon if he was going to save his user. He had no idea how he was going to explain to Jotaro what he needed to do. Not being able to talk properly was a hassle sometimes. He blamed that on Jotaro's own inability to properly express himself.

Star glanced at the picture again before placing it down on the battered desk. Jotaro wouldn't want to lose that. It was the only picture of them that he had. The Stand didn't have much time. He was going to have to make sure Jotaro knew that in order to help the plant thrive, he needed a proper place for it to take root. His user's insides weren't enough to provide it with all the nutrients it needed. It would drain him until he was nothing but a mummified husk. It needed to expand its roots or it would wither and die and take both Jotaro and Star Platinum with it. He would worry about that later. First, he needed to go find some fertilizer. There was some "fertilizer" nearby, conveniently in the next dorm over. He would have to act swiftly and carefully. He couldn't leave any evidence behind, nothing that would point back to Jotaro. Star Platinum could do that. It would be easy. He just… really didn't want to. He had to though. It was for his user's sake, so it had to be done… even if it was a horrible thing to do.