"I don't need to see a doctor," I dug my still painful heels into the soil, reluctant to take another step.
"Look, I love you Han, but you look like shit," Will ruffled my hair, blinding me temporarily whilst knocking my feet from under me and tossing me over his shoulder, caveman style.
I ignored the many curious eyes following us and hit at his back, acting ever the childish brat. It was kind of fun to experience these youthful hormones, freely expressing myself.
Mo Zhiyue had been so much more uptight and withdrawn, holding in everything to vent into her creativity. Whereas Hannah was more like a loaded cannon with nowhere to aim.
Both personalities influenced me, and the choices I made; however, this body's hormones were something inescapable. No matter how mature my mind may, or may not, be.
A new wave of nausea attacked me whilst I was distracted by my thoughts. It did not help being tossed about like a rag doll either. Will paid the price when my vomit ran down his back.
"Eew, fuck, Hannah," Will finally set me back on my feet and continued to stroke my back and keep the hair out of my face whilst I wretched the last of the bile in my now sore and empty stomach.
"How can you say you're fine? What if it's your old illness acting up again?" Will asked, the panic obvious in his voice.
"What old illness?" I murmured, rubbing my temples trying to figure out his words, Hannah was very healthy, rarely ill from the memories I knew.
"Did I hit your head?" Will asked, taking off his coat despite the cold weather and shaking the sick onto the grass with a grimace.
Suddenly it dawned on me, the days in bed Hannah would spend recovering from her 'punishments', the excuse the parents would have to keep her brother away. Until eventually he was never there and there was no need to hide her away in her room.
Instead, she'd be forced to attend school suffering. That was when she'd met a fellow outcast smoking weed whilst stealing medical supplies. Everything went downhill from there.
"I was never ill," I stood up straight, looking him in the eye, "I could count the number of times I've ever actually been ill on one hand."
Will dropped his coat to the floor, giving up, and took a step towards me, then looked at me painfully when I took a step back, accidentally knocking into Noah.
"Will, I'll take her to Dr. Harvey, you go get your coat cleaned up yeah?" Noah suggested, now using full sentences. Lucky Will, though I doubt he understood his privileges.
Will took up Noah's suggestion, walking away in a stupor that filled me with unbearable guilt. Didn't Hannah want me to protect this big brother I'd inherited? So why was I lashing out so uncontrollably?
"I-I," I couldn't even get a sentence out before Noah interrupted.
"You're going."
The clinic was on the ground floor, run by Dr. John Harvey who Noah's team had picked up when rescuing Tommy's siblings.
From what Leo and Holly had told me, it seemed that he owed them his life. Tommy's sister had been at the hospital due to the younger brother knocking his head, Dr. Harvey had been the pediatric Dr. seeing him.
When the virus hit, turning patients into zombies, it was thanks to Dr. Harvey's quick reaction to locking down the entire ward that ensured the ward's survival initially. But then supplies waned and the weaker ones succumbed to the fever and turned, then turning on the ones alive. In the end, only the healthiest, and luckiest remained.
"I know I'm eighteen, but do I really need to see a kiddies doctor?" I huffed, crossing my arms at the doorway, facing the bodybuilder-like guy who stood holding the door, looking just as reluctant to have me as his patient.
"In," Noah nudged me in, making the man take a few steps back, then shut the door, leaning against it on guard.
Shit, I'd really have to do this. I was fearful there was something abnormal with me since System did whatever it did with the meteorite.
For some reason, even though I wanted to step forward my body shivered in fear, refusing to budge. Was Hannah this scared of Doctors in real life? I could recall her seeing one all the time for when her father was too rough, he'd come on a house call.
"Honey, am I really that scary?" He laughed nervously scratching the back of his head.
"You have a really nice voice," I blurted out, my ears having felt happily violated. I then paid attention to his pretty face, gentle in comparison to his ridiculously well-built frame.
Yes, let my weakness for pretty faces mastered Hannah's fear of Doctors. He's just a person, he's not even wearing a lab coat, we're in a pharmacy turned into an office. It's fine. What kind of tests can they even do somewhere like here?
"So I'll just keep talking then, come sit here and let's figure out what's troubling you?" He gestured to the seat opposite him, smiling warmly.
I nodded, heart pounding. What had that Dr. done to her to scare her this much? No. I don't really want to know.
"Okay, so I'm Dr. John Harvey, you can call me Dr. John if you like," he smiled, offering his hand to shake.
Before I could reach it Noah outstretched his, "Noah Lee, nice to see you again Dr. John."
After he was done Noah grabbed my hand and sat me down on the chair, sitting on the one beside it.
After going over my basic information I realised just how little I knew about this body and how much Noah, someone who she just met days before I entered her body, knew so much.
"Okay, so here's one I bet you don't know Noah," Dr. John laughed, turning to me who was already zoning out trying to remember things, "when was your last period?"
I blushed, conscious of the fact I was facing two men, with two very pretty faces looking at me with different kinds of curiosity.
"I've been asleep for two months Dr. John, so," I shrugged.
"Before that? And are you usually regular, what about your flow?" Dr. John continued making my face go shades deeper. "Oh come on now, you're a big girl remember, even have yourself a handsome-looking boyfriend too, don't go all shy on me now, periods are perfectly-"
"Shut up." I squeaked, shaking Noah's hand off me.
"Christmas, the last one was Christmas and I'm bad on them, heavy, need iron tablets and tranexamic acid."
"Oh, did you get a diagnosis?" Dr. John sighed, "It's times like this I miss that crappy old system."
You and me both pal.
"No," Hannah's father would not let her see any other Dr than the family doctor, who wasn't qualified to diagnose gynae problems. And Hannah wasn't one to push for it either, very embarrassed. Besides, the meds she stole after self-diagnosing helped, and so did the weed.
"So I'm sorry to ask as I know you're young, but are you guys sexually active?" Dr. John asked, not looking sorry at all.
"He's not my-"
"Yes," Noah interrupted again, my anger was close to erupting at any moment.
"Okay, you been using protection?" He asked.
"No," Noah answered at the same time as I said, "yes."
Noah turned to me, "when?" As if offended. What a jerk.
"P-pills, I took pills," plus System, before it fucked off that is.
"Okay, so either way I'm going to need you to go take a test," Dr. John rummaged in his drawers and then passed me a test and a pot, giving me no choice.
***
"Go away," I sat on the cold tile floor, staring into the abyss.
Both Dr. John and Noah stood on the other side of the stall door. Both men could have easily climbed over or broken in; however, they stood there for the last hour patiently not saying a word.
"You cannot stay in there forever honey," Dr. John eventually spoke up.
I stared at the two lines on the stick again, though faded.
"I-It's negative, I'm just e-embarrassed, can you just go away?" I lied, wishing there was a way I could destroy the test.
"Prove it," Noah's voice seemed slightly rough as if he was in pain at my words. A pain that unwillingly pulled on my own heartstrings.
Shit. The dream was real. I was doomed. The denial that I had so confidently believed in was overcome by these two pink lines.
I racked my brain, wishing System to answer, to help. Still no answer.
If only I could make it disappear. Then it did. Into my space. I let out a heavy sigh of relief, I'd been so wound up I'd forgotten one of my biggest strengths. Why was my mind so muddled compared to my previous life?
After spending ten minutes searching the supermarket supplies I found a similar-looking test. I swirled it in the toilet water and then waited for the one line to dry. Once it had I slid it under the door in his direction.
I heard the snap of plastic before it dropped back to the floor and Noah stormed out.