"Okay, do you want to start with the semi-normal cures or the off-the-wall-what-the-hell-are-they-thinking cures?"
"Do I hic have a choice?"
"Not really. I was just asking for reference sake. That way you can't say I didn't offer you another option. " Abi flashed Riley a playful wink and highlighted a sentence on the website.
"Wow, I'm so hic glad I'm friends with you hic two..." Riley muttered sinking into a chair and looking between Ben and Abigail.
"It could be worse." Ben offered gently, shrugging his shoulders a little as he spoke.
"How is hic that?"
"I could have left you alone with Abigail." Ben grinned playfully, laughing as Riley's eyes widened as Abigail's simultaneously narrowed.
"Wow, touche hic salesman"
"You are just so cute Benjamin Gates, sometimes I can't even stand it." Abi muttered, shaking her head and highlighting a few more sentences off the internet. "We'll see what happens the next time you need help with one of your little treasure hunts."
"Aw, you know I love you Abigail." Ben laughed, walking over and hugging her from behind, ruffling her hair into a pretty blond puffball.
"Ben!!"
"What?"
Riley stepped to the side as Ben was thrown to the floor with enough force to make the table shake. He watched for a few minutes as both Ben and Abigail wrestled in what seemed like a death match, Abi obviously having the upper hand.
"Okay! Okay! Uncle! You Win! I'm sorry!" Abigail nodded in satisfaction and hopped off the treasure hunter's back, brushing off her clothes and strightening her hair. Ben sat up a few seconds later, breathing hard with disheveled clothes and equally messed up hair.
"Wow, either you hic really suck at fighting hic or you let her win." Riley observed from his perch on the kitchen counter.
"I let her win." Ben rasped, standing slowly and pulling the carpet fuzz out of his shirt.
"What was that?"
"I said you rock." He repeated, flashing a cheesy grin and backing away from the chair.
"That's what I thought you said. Okay, Riley, you ready?"
"Hic I guess."
"Alright, the first one says to eat a handful of green grapes followed by a teaspoon of peanut butter."
"Peanut hic butter? What, am I making hic a sandwich?"
"No but the acidity of the grapes combined with the peanut butter will cause your throat to open and contract enough to work the muscles and hopefully stop your hiccups." Ben explained from over Abi's shoulder, watching her out of the corner of his eye in case she decided to attack again.
"Ah, of hic course." Riley walked over to the pantry and pulled out the peanut butter, setting it on the counter and turning to the refrigerator. "Umm, do they have to be green?"
"I think so, the green ones have the highest acidic content."
"Well, we have some red grapes that are starting to turn green but I don't think it's the same concept..."
"Nah, it's okay." Abigail called. "We have some more things you can try."
Riley nodded and came back with a mouthful of peanut butter anyway, his hiccups muffled in the sticky mess.
"Okay, this one says to blow up a red balloon."
"Why does it have hic to be red?"
"I don't know, maybe something to do with the body's reaction to color..? Anyway, it says you're supposed to blow it up for 30 seconds breathing in through your nose and pushing the air out through your mouth."
Ben left the computer table and began to dig around through the closet. After a few seconds he returned with bag full of brightly colored balloons they'd kept from New Years Eve. "Here you go, buddy. It's sparkly." Ben grinned and handed his best friend a glittery red balloon with 2008 written across the front.
Riley glared a little at his friend but took the balloon and stretched it out carefully. Taking a deep breath, he began to inflate it.That is, he tried to inflate it. With each breath he blew into the balloon, a hiccup would emerge and cause him to suck the air back into his mouth, creating a tiny squeak with each attempt. Finally, after about 2 minutes of Abigail and Ben's laugher and a completely useless balloon, Riley gave up and threw the horrible object in the trashcan.
Abigail giggled to a stopping point and read another highlighted sentence off the page. "Hmm, okay this says to draw a thin line across the base of both wrists, over the pulse points, with a purple marker." All three looked at the computer screen incredilously and read the directions again.
"What is it hic with all the colors today hic?"
"Well the cooler colors, like blues and purples, have a sedating effect on the body and will cause you to relax." Ben explained, digging through a drawer on the computer table and pulling out a magenta Crayola marker.
"I could get hic morphine for that trouble." The younger man muttered, presenting his wrists to his best friend and watching as Ben drew a line from the base of his thumb to his pinky. "Great, now I hic look like I'm marked for hic death by someone who works for hic a marker factory..."
"Yeah, yeah. Quit whining." Ben teased and he ruffled the younger man's hair and stood. "I'll be right back, I have to pee." And with that farewell, he exited the room leaving Riley and Abigail to stare at the remaining cures.
Abigail read through a few more sentences and chewed on her lip thoughtfully. "All of these seem a little far fetched..." she mused, twirling a strand of hair aorund her finger in contemplation.
"As opposed hic to...?"
She smiled and squinted at one in the middle of the page. "Well, this one seems like the most logical of the bunch. It says to put ice on either side of the throat for 30 seconds to numb the muscles." She read carefully, pasting the directions onto a blank page.
"Uh...yeah, that's hic not going to happen..."
"Why?"
"It's just not...hic I'm sorry Abigail but that's the hic only one I refuse to try." Riley crossed his arms protectively over his chest, his shoulders raised just slightly as if guarding his throat.
Abigail watched him closely, confusion fading into realization. She smirked and moved a little closer. "You're ticklish aren't you?"
"What? No, I just...I don't hic like people touching my neck...that's hic all."
"Uh huh." Abi reacted quickly and reached out, tickling Riley's neck and shoulders with long, pointy fingers. The younger man jumped in surprise and nearly fell out of the chair trying to get away. He burst into a fit of giggles and batted uselessly at Abi's hands as she continued to torment him mercilessly. "The website never said anything about "tickle therapy" but it's worth a shot." She laughed, watching as Riley scrambled to get away.
"Ben!" The younger man called in hopes of some rescue. "Ben!! Hic!! Help!!" His words were drowned in a fit of giggles however and he broke into a run to escape the brutal attack. He rounded the corner sharply, just in time to run face to face into Ben. Their lips touched briefly and both pairs of eyes widened exponentially, a blush spreading across both faces.
Riley stumbled back, his blue eyes impossibly wide. The next few seconds were a blur but there was a combination of the surprise, tripping over Abigail's foot and the rug sliding out from under him that caused him to tumble backwards. His head connected solidly with the kitchen counter and everything tilted. He briefly heard Abigail and Ben shout his name but he was too far gone to answer as darkness closed in around him.
Yay!! Okay, some of these (weird as they may sound) have been documented and some people swear by them. If anyone has the hiccups and gets the burning desire to try one of these cures, be sure to let me know how they work :D Also, anyone who liked the slash concept, let me know and I may write an alternate chapter for this [grin Please review, they're like my cocaine XD
