A/N: I just found seasons two and three on Paramount+ so I'm definitely staying on my HOA kick for a while. Hope everyone is doing well!

Just a note about this chapter: it switches back and forth between Nina's POV. Enjoy the read…

Chapter Three

All POV

"Amber? Amber, please!" Fabian's knees ached from the coolness of the tile floor. His toes tingled in his shoes, on the edge of falling asleep. He was sure his toes were blue. Nina was heavy in his lap. If he looked close enough – which he was because where else was he going to look? – he could see beads of sweat inching through her skin like flower bulbs in the spring.

His fingers hadn't left her body since she collapsed. They had combed through her mess of curls. They had checked her pulse. They had tapped on her cheeks, pink from warmth, in the hopes that she would wake up. His fingers were met with silence.

"Nina? Can you hear me?" He shifted beneath her, sitting on his bottom instead of his legs. "I know you're having a rough bit of it, but this is too much. You're going to give me a heart attack."

Nina shifted with him, whether meaning to or not. Her lips drew a thin line across her mouth and then opened in a soft little "o" shape. A moan slipped out. Fabian noticed the paleness in her lips, a peach color reminiscent of Amber's nightgown. It was then that Fabian also noticed Nina was still in her own pajamas. Her shirt was striped and oversized, her pants a dark shade of blue that reminded him of all their late night "study" sessions. He couldn't recall if she had been wearing them at breakfast, or if she had simply changed after everyone else had gone. Fabian really needed to have a talking with her about going on missions alone. If she kept this up—

"Fabian, I'm coming back!" Amber's voice popped the bubble of his thoughts. He'd been so lost in Nina; he'd almost forgotten she was on the floor with him. Amber poked her head stiffly into the bathroom, her hair following. "I found Jerome."

"What?" Fabian's mouth hung slightly agape after he spoke. Jerome's smirk slipped into a frown.

"Amber. I thought you were joking." Jerome pulled at the hem of his pants and crouched beside Nina, his hands hovering around her.

"Why did you bring him?" Fabian asked.

"I couldn't find anyone else!"

"Fabian, what happened?" Jerome felt Nina's forehead with the back of his hand.

"We just found her—stop touching her, Jerome!"

Nina POV

It was hot where Nina was, although she didn't quite know where 'where' was. It was the strangest thing. Her skin seemed to be vibrating around her, like she had been born a snake and had yet to forget how to slither. There were noises too. Angry noises. Gargled noises. Inside her ears, it sounded like a record playing skipping every other beat. It was dark and light behind her eyes, shapes dancing with orange outlines. Her heartbeat was there, in her ears and behind her eyes. It was doing a dance of its own, fluttering in an unkind way. She felt funny. And sick. Mostly sick. Sick. She was going to be sick.

All POV

Jerome was hunched on only one knee now, his thin hands outstretched. "Do you want my help or not?"

Fabian had been barricading Nina's body with his own, clutching her to his chest so Jerome could not touch her. She squiggled under him like water released from a cup.

"Nina, it's okay." Fabian spoke. Nina wriggled again, her throat clenching and unclenching, the moles on her skin pirouetting with sweat.

"Fabian move." Jerome placed his hand on the boy's back.

"What?"

"Move!" Jerome gripped Fabian by the jacket and hulled him backwards. Nina's head would have plopped onto the bathroom floor if she hadn't gone stiff. Her body was holding itself up to the point of expulsion. Bile dripped from her mouth, a moist gurgling sound in her throat. Jerome pushed Nina onto her side – the recovery position, naturally – and pushed his fingers inside. They met her tongue and the heat of stomach acid. He forced his way down her throat and poked around inside her mouth in ways that made him feel unclean. She coughed and sputtered in response; her lashes wet with hurt.

"Alright. You're alright! Hey, Nina. Shh. Alright. Shh."

Nina whimpered under Jerome's touch. Fabian and Amber had taken the position of holding the bathroom walls up. Their cheeks were flushed with fear. The space between the pair, and Nina seemed like miles. The grout between the tiles on the floor was evident under the stark white light. Fabian didn't want to think about the color the tiles would turn if Nina continued to vomit. He glared as Jerome spoke softly to her, whispering comforts that Fabian wouldn't comprehend.