Hey, readers.

So I'm pretty sure I have a cold.

Cold and Flu season is fun, huh?

Anyway, I can't miss my classes, so that's also fun.

So as I suffer, I also decided to think about happy things, like the lengths Oscar would go to when he found out that Ruby had a cold.

You know he so would. He has a caring soul.

Anyway, it's almost 1am at the time I am writing this and I have been having insomnia, so if there are grammar mistakes or spelling mistakes or typos please forgive me. I also don't bother to edit, ever, so... Yeah. Sorry in advance.

Oscar opened the door, making Mrs. Tucker jump.

"I heard Ruby is sick. Is she ok? Oh, I'm too late, aren't I! RUBY! YOU WERE TO YOUNG!"

"Mom, what is Oscar talking about?" Ruby asked from her room.

"Ruby! She's still alive! RUBY!"

"I was just heading out to grab some medicine and run a few errands. Could you take care of Ruby while I'm gone?" Mrs. Tucker asked, putting her coat and scarf on.

"Of course, Mrs. Tucker," Oscar replied.

Oscar rushed to Ruby's room. She was cozied up in bed, tissue boxes and cough drops scattered around her.

"Sterling and Jade both had the flu last week, and I caught it," Ruby said. "Don't come closer, you'll just get sick."

Oscar came prepared in case and tied a black bandana around his mouth.

"Do you need anything? Like water? Or tea?"

"No. I'm actually kind of tired. I think I'm gonna take a nap," Ruby replied.

Oscar sat in a chair next to her bed.

Ruby shut her eyes and Oscar picked up a book and began reading it.

An hour later, Ruby woke up. Mrs. Tucker was still out running errands.

"Your mom called and said she was caught up in some traffic, but she just has to get groceries and then she'll be home," Oscar said, putting the book down.

"Do you think you could grab some water for me?" Ruby asked, yawning.

"Of course," Oscar said.

He grabbed a glass of water for Ruby and then came back.

"Where's your grandma?" He asked.

"We didn't want her to get sick, since she's elderly so she's staying with one of her bingo friends until everyone in out family is not contagious. I'm thinking my mom will get the flu soon but my dad got the vaccine so after my mom she'll probably come back."

"Why didn't you get the vaccine?" Oscar asked. "They gave all the renegades an opportunity for a free vaccine. And if you missed that, Tara, from the Renegades fan club, was giving out rides to the clinic for all the renegades."

"Since my blood is... weird, I don't get vaccines because the doctors don't know how my body will react. I usually just rely on herd immunity. It didn't work this year because my mom never had time to get my brothers vaccinated before it was too late. Were you vaccinated?"

"No. My mom always needs the car. I begged her to get another one, but we can't afford it. I never made it in time. I got to the clinic a few minutes after they closed. Kinda glad I missed Tara's car ride. According to Danna, one of the members of the Renegades Fan Club has a band who sing about the renegades and that's the only music she would listen to. It got old after the third song that talked about how amazing the Renegades are." Oscar said, laughing.

And another source confirmed that Danna was not exaggerating.

"It's so weird," Ruby said.

"What is?"

"The whole flu thing. We are superheroes. We have powers. But we are no match against viruses. I can kick a villain in the face or maim them with a blood dagger but I can be struck down by the flu? Not fair," Ruby said.

Oscar shrugged. "I guess that's just how it is."

"You shouldn't even be here, Oscar. You're not vaccinated," Ruby repeated.

"I love you, Ruby." Oscar said. "I wasn't going to let you die alone."

"I don't think I'm going to... Wait... did you say you love me?"

"I did. Because I do." Oscar whispered. "I've been waiting for the right time to say it. But you're sick, so now is as good a time as any."

Ruby opened her mouth to say something, but the pair heard the front door open.

"I'm home!" Mrs. Tucker announced.

She bustled into Ruby's room. "I got the medicine."

She held a bottle of cough syrup up.

She opened the bottle and gave Ruby a capful.

Ruby swallowed and made a bitter face. "You'd think that living in a time with superpowers, they could make a better tasting cough syrup."

"Illnesses can befuddle even the smartest scientists," Mrs. Tucker said. "And there's no potion to cure them. Just science."

She turned to Oscar. "Thank you for visiting Ruby. I'm sure she appreciates it. She wouldn't shut up about your most recent date."

"Mom!" Ruby exclaimed, then fell into a coughing fit.

"Don't raise your voice, Ruby, it will only irritate your cough," Mrs. Tucker said.

Mrs. Tucker out some hand sanitizer on her hands. "I'm trying not to get sick," She explained, offering some to Oscar. He gladly took it.

"But between Jade, Sterling, and Ruby, it's probably inevitable."

"But you should go, Oscar, you still have a chance of not catching it," Mrs. Tucker said, eyeing the bandana around his mouth. "And looks like you were smarter than me, too."

"My dad used to get sick a lot before he died, so my mom taught me this trick." (A/N: We never heard about Oscar's dad, so I assume he's not in the picture, so I just made up this backstory, but it's non-canonical.)

Oscar's wristband beeped.

"Well, my mom's here, and she's my ride, so I'll see you later, Ruby."

"Bye, Oscar," Ruby said. "Oh, and, I, uh, I love you, too."

Oscar, at the door, turned around and saw Ruby blushing. Mrs. Tucker was beaming.

Oscar walked to his car, where his mom was waiting.

"Oh, you're smiling. I take it Ruby's ok, then?"

"No, she's still sick. But we both love each other." Oscar replied.

"Aww. Nothing's as sweet as the first 'I love you'," Oscar's mom said, smiling herself.

"I told you you'd get sick," Ruby said as Oscar's mom let her inside the house.

"Ruby offered to look after you while I go to work," Oscar's mom explained. "Isn't that sweet?"

"Well, at least I tried. I even took your mom's hand sanitizer."

"And she's the one who ended up not getting sick," Ruby laughed.

Ruby sat on a chair, next to the couch, where Oscar lay.

"Why aren't you in bed?" Ruby asked.

"There's no TV in my bedroom," He joked.

"I hope you don't mind, but I invited Danna over so we could watch The Goblet of Fire together," Ruby said.

"Sounds great. As long as Danna doesn't mind being a third wheel," Oscar said. Ruby just laughed.

She put her palm on Oscar's forehead.

"You're burning up. I'll be right back."

She came back a minute later with a wet rag and draped it over his forehead.

"There," She said. She kissed his cheek.

"You do that again and I'll get even hotter," Oscar joked. Ruby gave him a playful little slap.

"Well, you're obviously not sick enough to be your usual self," Ruby replied.

A few minutes later, Danna arrived and Ruby put The Goblet of Fire on.

"This is nice," Oscar said, with Ruby next to him on the chair and Danna in the recliner.

"Oh, Adrian and Nova are coming over, too. They're worried."

Adrian and Nova arrived twenty minutes later, and Adrian insisted on bringing his new goldfish.

"I don't trust the new fish-sitter. Who is actually Max." Adrian said when Danna questioned it.

"This is cramped," Oscar said, as they squeezed into his living room as Ruby took the movie off of pause.

They had a marathon that day, and even Adrian's fish seemed to enjoy it.

And done. It took me three days to write that, but the good news is, aside from a runny nose and a cough, I think my cold is gone. I usually don't even get sick, as my immune system is extremely strong, so I wonder how this one slipped through the cracks.

Anyway, I'm feeling a lot better. This isn't my best work, but I like it. I think it's cute. I tried to add the romance, with Oscar and Ruby exchanging "I love you", and it turned out really cute.

Remember, as flu season starts, to get vaccines! Flus are the worst type of illness because of the duration and the symptoms, so protect yourself. Don't be like Oscar (though it's not entirely his fault).

Anyway, until next time,

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