It's The End of the World (As We Know It) - Literate

"No, not really." She shook her head weakly, "I haven't found anything that I didn't think would make me sick." she took some pizza off the plate in front of her and ate slowly, careful not to make herself sick on it either. Not much had survived the world ending, and living like Bella did, where everything was provided for you, she barely had any survival skills. If it weren't for her gift, she would have been dead ages ago. She was still a little nervous, and the ribbon around her neck still felt like being strangled by a really weak person, but she didn't complain about it. Pain was still evident in her eyes, if not her words.

Jason looked at her eyes, catching the pain. "if you're hurting why not take that ribon off?" he asked softly. Jason had lived on the streets his whole life. surviving was about all he knew how to do. She was lucky to find him. he had been living similar to this for a long time, so he could help her. He wondered what he could do to help her. "you don't need to keep any secrets from me. I wouldn't tell them to anyone even if there was anyone else to tell it to" he said softly. he had always been rather good at keeping secrets.

Bella nodded warily, then reached behind her head to untie the ribbon. She undid the knot, holding it in place for a second, then holding her breath and taking it off. A scar ran around her throat like it had been sliced open. It was raised and red, like it had only recently formed and didn't like to be hidden. With her unusual thinness and the scar, she looked like she had dressed as a zombie for Halloween. Her eyes met his, searching for a reaction. Would he just look at her funny? Or would he openly stare in shock?

Jason watched the scar. He winced slightly when he saw it. "that looks like it really hurt" he said quietly. "how did it happen?" he asked as he stood and returned with a cool washcloth, gently pressing it at her neck to take down some of the swelling. he was surprizingly gentle for someone of his size. He made it as painless as possible. his mind ran over possible scenarios for how she came about this scar, but he didn't like any of them. He hoped it didn't hurt her much. he didn't have any medicine to help her after all.

Bella stared straight in front of her, "It's a long story." She said softly, but oh well. She hoped he had a long time, "I was sick. I had been for years. I got really thin... and pale... and-" She paused swallowing, "I looked like a zombie. I looked dead. I was weak... I couldn't fend for myself. So, a friend took me in. She watched over me. My mom called me back home, promising that she finally care about me." She was silent for a long moment, "It was a lie." she wiped a tear off her cheek, then continued talking, "She wanted to keep anyone from knowing that they had let me die. They never did anything to help me get better. They told me I only had a day to live, then locked me in my room. I couldn't take the pain of it any longer, so I slit my own throat... then fell eight floors to the street below." She gingerly touched the scar on her neck.

Jason watched her with a calm expression. "well i can assure you now that I will take care of you" he said softly as he cleaned the neck injury. "i presume your power is the reason I have someone to talk to right now?" he asked. he wondered what could have made her so sick. he would have to remember to ask her what her symptoms were to see if he could find some way to fix it. He soon had brought the swelling down in her neck and kissed it gently. he had always seen mothers on tv do such things, so he assumed it was a natural part of the healing process for the injury to be kissed.

Bella bushed when he kissed her neck, her face and neck turning war beneath the touch. She smiled, glad to know that someone was there now. Her parents had never cared for her. "Yes. My gift won't let me kill myself." She gave a light chuckle, "But it took it a while to kick in. I got taken to the emergency room and actually died twice. Once, they revived me, then a second time, they couldn't. I woke up in the morgue, then made my way back to the friend that had taken care of me when I was sick. Almost gave her a heart attack. It had only been a few seconds when the end of the world struck and they all died." She said softly, "At least I think so. I still kind of hold on to this silly hope that they made it out."

Jason shrugged. "it's always good to hope" he said softly. he gently kissed her neck again, wanting to make sure it felt better. "i'm glad you didn't kill yourself. i didn't like being alone" he said softly, his warm breath on her neck still. "does your neck feel a little better?" he asked looking up at her. he hoped it did. he wanted her to be comfortable around him. He didn't know much about how to act around girls, so he wasn't affected by things such as shyness. that was sometimes a good thing. He watched her eyes to see if she was still in pain.

Bella nodded, still smiling and still blushing enough to make her skin warm to the touch.
"Well, I was about to die on my own, and when you were in as much pain as I was, it was kind of hard to not just go ahead and end it." She smiled weakly, her eyes this time showing a clear comfort, like it felt good to finally get to talk to someone. Still, she couldn't help but wonder if her hope that her friends were still alive was in vain, like her hope that her parents would love her. Was she just a sucker for lost causes? It would seem so.

Jason smiled softly at her. "well I'll help you from now on" he said softly. "if the sickness comes along I should be able to stop it for you" he said gently as he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her, enjoying the warmth that her skin gave off. since he knew nothing about personal interaction, he didn't think twice about hugging a girl he just met. he was going off what he always saw on tv, or read in books. which was where hugging and stuff had happened in the first few chapters or the first few minutes of the show.

Name: Kyira Valo
Age: 16
Gender: Female
Height: 5 ft. 7 in.
Weight: 120 lbs.
Bio: Kyira has been a "rebel" her entire life. Ever since she had to kill her own parents to survive, she has had little pity for those around her with these "horrible" lives. Few people know her well, one being her best friend Bella, the other being her first and last boy friend, Zane Stevens. They keep her in line and prevent her from doing anything too wild or crazy.
Power: Kyira has the ability to read minds, which causes her to be able to use telepathy, lifting of objects with the mind. She uses this gift to warn others of when dangerous people approach and to move dangerous obstacles out of the way.
Appearance:

((Accepted))
"How would you be able to do anything about that?" She asked, a look of surprise, disbelief, and hope in her eyes. No one had ever told her anything could be done to help her, and without her gift, she would look a whole lot worse than the thin, frail girl in front of him now. She had literally looked dead before her gift kicked in. If Kyira was there... she would be able to confirm what Bella had told him. She shuddered at the memory of the spells her illness had cast on her. The thrashing, blood dripping from the corners of her mouth, occasionally a concussion from hitting her head when she fell... And Kyira had cared enough about her to go to all the trouble of hiding it from her so she wouldn't be afraid. She had been the only person that cared for her.

Jason smiled softly at her, still hugging her. "well I know a lot about herbal medicine. most of the old doctors called it stupid, but it works better then the pills and junk they try to say works" he told her "do you know what the disease was called? Or can you tell me what the symptoms were?" he asked. if he knew the symptoms he could fix it. He would do anything to help her right now. he didn't want to be alone again. The thought of it scared him worse then anything. while he waited for her to answer he looked through a backpack nearby that was full of different herbs.

Kyira crawled out from under her make shift blanket and sat up. She was in the Hot Topic in the unruined part of the mall. She had been staying there with her friends Zane and Marcello since the world had ended. She was barely able to sleep, especially since she thought Bella had died and was no longer here. Marcello and Zane had helped her get through it, but it still hurt.
Now she sat there, smelling food. Shock crossed her face as she looked over at the two sleeping boys. It couldn't be them cooking, obviously, so who was it. Kyira jumped up and peaked her head out of the store, seeing two people near the outdoor department. She saw a boy and girl, a girl who looked strangely familiar. Kyira stumbled out of the store and walked towards the pair. She stopped dead in her tracks when she realized who the girl was.
"Bella?!"

Bella thought, "I had these weird attacks. It was sort of like seizures, but I would bleed from my mouth. I lost a lot of weight, because eating made me sick, and I looked like a walking zombie. Pale and thin."
She heard her name called from the distance, the voice sweet and familiar. She wanted to cry and laugh and scream all at the same time, but when she turned to face the source of the voice, it was all she could do to breathe. A light smile caught her face as she clutched the ribbon in her hand. It had come out of the hair of the friend who had cared for her when she was ill.
"Kyira..."

"Oh Bella!"
Kyira ran to where she sat and hugged her tightly, crying from the joy she felt.
"Oh Bella I knew you hadn't died, I just knew it! Those idiots were wrong, so wrong!"
Kyira was laughing as she cried, her voice choking everyine once in a while. Her life had gone from hell to heaven all in a matter of seconds and right then in that moment she felt happier than she ever had in her life. She had her best friend back and things were going to get better.

Jason thought for a long time. he couldn't place the name of the disease, but he knew of herbs to deal with all the symptoms she mentioned and rummaged through her bag to find them. he looked up when bella spoke and saw the second girl. he realized this must be the friend she spoke of and smiled to himself, glad her friend had survived. he looked around the department store, which was basically a home now, since the three walls and glass door side were all warmed by the heat lamps. he hoped that the two girls would open the door instead of breaking it down to get to each other. he didn't want the warmth to get out.

Bella held tight to Kyira, her eyes full of tears. She laughed brightly, then her laughter was cut short as a hunting silence came over them all. Bella's body shook, her hands pressed to her chest as she tried to hold herself together, then she passed out, vermilion blood dripping from the corners of her mouth. Her eyes that usually showed so much emotion were blank green marbles, glazed over with a frightening expression of fear. Even though she couldn't die from her illness anymore, the attacks still frightened her.

Kyira's breath caught as a bright flash of memories surged through her after seeing Bella's little attack. She knew full well what Bella could do, as Bella knew about Kyira. She knew she couldn't die, but she was still worried. She waited silently and patiently as Bella began to get up.
"Bella, those attacks of yours still scare the life out of me. If Marcello sees another one, I don't know what it'll do to the poor boy, let alone what it'll do to Zane."

the attack didn't fail to scare the color from jason's face. he quickly gathered up the required herbs. he realized she may have just died right then. he would give her the herbs as soon as she woke up. he got abowel and pounded some of her herbs into a power, chewing on some berry like herbs and spitting the juice into the mixture. he looked almost like an indian medicine man in the way he mixed the herbs. soon it was like a soup. he watched bella and her friend waiting for bella to wake up. when she woke up he walked to them. "this mixture should cure the sickness" he said holding up the bowel. the liquid smelled just plain awful, and would taste worse, but it would work.

Bella woke, wiping her sleeve tenderly across her mouth to remove the blood. She sighed, upset that she had ruined yet another shirt. It always was so difficult to find anything that was small enough for her. She smiled weakly at Kyira, feeling awful for making her, Zane, and Marcello worry. They had been her closest friends and yet she continued to frighten them consistently. She caught the smell of the mixture Jason had made and wrinkled her nose. "You drink that?" She asked nervously. He could very well try to kill her with whatever was in that bowl. As long as what he wanted was her dead, it would do the trick.

Jason smiled sheepishly. "yeah i know it smells horrible. i won't lie, it tastes worse. but i can garuntee it will cure what ails you" he said smiling. he drank a sip of it and swallowed it to prove it wasn't poisoned. he grimaced at how awefull it tasted. "you may want to have something nearby to wash it down with" he said shaking his head at the taste. "herbal medicing isn't known for tasting or smelling good. it's known for working" he reminded her. he quickly ate a slice of pizza and downed a soda to rid himself of the taste.

Kyira eyed the bowl wearily, she didn't trust this kid. Especially with Bella. She was fragile and anything could make her sick, or dead for that matter.
"Bella, you don't have to drink it if you don't want to..."
Kyira had always been like this towards Bella, not forcing her to do what other people wanted her to do. If Kyira had something for Bella to do that would help her, she made Bella oblige obviously, but she knew what was best for Bella and had never been wrong.
Kyira felt two people approaching and turned seeing Zane and Marcello walking towards them, getting wide-eyed when they caught sight of Bella.
"Finally you sleepy heads wake up." Kyira said with a bright grin.

Bella smiled at them, then looked at their faces. She didn't want to worry them with her illness anymore. But, usually if Kyira didn't trust someone, it was for a good reason. However, she had said before she was a sucker for lost causes. And becoming well again seemed to be a lost cause anymore. So, that meant she was willing to try it. She made a face as she took the mixture from him, then quickly swallowed the whole thing. She made a disgusted face, then grabbed the nearest food to get rid of the taste. She made a gagging noise, but forced it the rest of the way down, "You were right." She winced, "It's horrible."

Jason nodded. "yeah I know that much" he said drinking another soda. "but i can promise you'll start feeling better in about five minutes" he said smiling. He shuddered when he burped, which brought the taste back up, resulting in another pizza being devoured. He looked at kyira. "you're welcome to some food as well. if you want to stay in here where the heat lamps keep things warm you are welcome to" he said smiling happily. he looked at bella to be sure she kept the medicine down. she would have to take it again if she failed to keep it down.