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Pomni couldn’t get any sleep. Her head was aching, light hurt her eyes, and she felt sick. Even in the dark, the bright colors in her room made her head spin. She already disliked how much the colors were clashing together, but this just added to her disdain.
She felt fine during today’s adventure. It was after dinner that the migraine started showing up. It was light at first, a small headache that she brushed off as nothing important. And then it got worse, and worse. It felt like her head was getting squeezed from all sides, and any sudden movement made it worse.
She tossed and turned in her bed, hoping, waiting for it to pass. Pomni doesn’t even know how long she stayed like this. Ten minutes? An hour? Two hours? She realized that no matter how much she waited, it would not pass. She slowly sat up in her bed, head in her hands. It hurt too much to think clearly. She needed someone, anyone, to help.
She took a deep breath before stumbling to her feet. She walked through her dark room, careful not to trip on any of the scattered objects on the floor.
Pomni managed to make her out of the room, the corridor's lights straining her eyes. Many doors lined the bright two toned walls.
She looked at all the doors, weighing her options. The most sensible option would be to seek out Ragatha, she would help Pomni right away. The only problem was the distance separating their rooms. It was already a struggle to walk out of her room, there was no way she would make it to Ragatha’s without feeling like her head was gonna explode.
She then glanced at the room across from hers. One would think asking Jax for help really didn’t seem like the brightest idea. He’s mean, and annoying, and doesn’t take anything seriously. That’s what Pomni thought at first, too. But over the past few months, the two of them started forming a friendship. Even she couldn’t believe it at first, but they grew to be genuinely close friends, much to the other circus member’s dismay.
Pomni was one of the only people who saw past his jerk persona. Or, maybe she was the only one who gave him a second chance to be less of an asshole.
She made her way to Jax’s door, stumbling. She fought the increasing feeling of nausea that was building up the longer she walked. The lights were so bright, it felt like they were burning her eyes.
Pomni rested her head on the door, before knocking.
She could hear Jax shuffling with his blanket. He groaned and made his way to the door.
“Who’s bothering me this time?” He swung the door open, annoyed. His expression softened when he saw Pomni. “Oh, Pomni. You okay?”
The poor girl was leaning on the doorframe. She looked like a zombie, hair disheveled, eyes barely open, and skin paler than usual. Jax would almost find it fun except for the fact that Pomni looked really sick.
She slowly shook her head.
He opened the door wider, gesturing for her to come in. The inside of his room was still bright, but way less in contrast to the corridor.
She walked up to his bed before laying on it, legs dangling off the edge. Jax sat next to her.
“You good?” He looked concerned. Quite unusual for him, she thought.
“Migraine.”
“We can have migraines here?”
“Seems like it.” She sighed.
She closed her eyes, the light of the ceiling lamp way too intense.
Jax stood back up and made his way to the lightswitch, before turning off the lights. The room was suddenly plunged into darkness, except for little stars on the ceiling casting a faint glow.
Pomni faintly opened her eyes, catching a glimpse of the stars, before turning to look at Jax. It was already a bit better.
“Thank you.” She said quietly.
Jax sat back down and laid next to her.
“You know you could’ve knocked on any other door.”
“You’re the only one awake at that time. I didn’t want to wake the others up.”
Pomni closed her eyes. It was mostly true, she didn’t want to bother someone who was sleeping, and his room was the closest. On the other hand, she did enjoy being around Jax.
“And… I think I would rather spend time with you.”
The words left her mouth before she even realised. Thankfully the lights were off, and the creeping blush on her cheeks couldn’t be seen. She could feel her heartbeat pounding in her head, adding on to her migraine.
Jax stood still, not knowing how to react. His pupils widened and a light blush appeared on his cheeks as he looked away.
The silence between them stretched for a while.
Jax sat back up and looked at Pomni. She kept her eyes closed, even in the dark.
“How are you feeling?”
“My head hurts, my eyes hurt, and I feel like I’m gonna puke.”
“You better not do that, I don’t want vomit covered sheets.” He said in an attempt to joke. But, his heart wasn’t in it.
“I don’t want that either…”
Pomni suddenly felt the pain getting worse, like her head was splitting in half. She sat up, held her head in her hands at the sudden pain. Her breath quickened as it intensified.
Jax wasn’t sure what to do. He never had, or had anyone around him experience migraines. He knew about the basics of what it was or what you’re supposed to do, but he was never confronted with it. He did know he hated it. He would never admit it out aloud of course, but he hated seeing Pomni like that. Seeing her in pain and not being able to do anything was terrible.
He hesitantly placed his hand on hers, to signal that he was here for her. Pomni fully leaned on Jax, arms wrapping around him. He carefully placed his arms around her in an embrace, like she was the most fragile person in the world.
Jax was caught off guard for sure. Pomni usually hated physical touches, and did not tolerate them, at all. And yet, here she was, seeking comfort in his arms as the migraine continued drilling through her skull.
She held onto his shirt tighter and tighter as the pain intensified. He was like her lifeline. The only person able to help. Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, slowly falling down her face and staining Jax’s shirt. It might be the worst pain she ever felt, but she felt safe in his arm. Almost like his presence alone was enough to handle the pain.
He doesn’t know how long he held her. A few minutes? Ten? Thirty? Only after her breathing evened, she hesitantly pulled back to look at his face, still in an embrace.
“Feelin’ better?”
She nodded against his torso.
“I’m gonna grab you some water, I’ll be back in a second.” He looked at her before making his way out of the bed. “Stay here, okay?”
She pulled out of the hug and nodded.
Jax stepped out of the room and quickly closed the door.
The room fell quiet, Pomni’s breath being the only sound echoing off the walls. The feeling of nausea was starting to die down, but her head still felt awful.
She opened her eyes again, staring at the ceiling. Her eyes lazily wandered from star to star. The longer she stared, the more peripheral vision got covered by visual noise. It was a small amount at first, but it slowly took over half of her vision. The glow of the stars faded and disappeared almost completely.
As the minutes passed, Pomni started to feel cold, really cold. Her entire body was almost shivering as her body temperature dropped.
She slowly crawled further up the bed before tugging Jax’s blanket on top of her, burying her face underneath. She slowly warmed up. The blanket almost felt like Jax himself was hugging him. It was warm and soft and smelled vaguely sweet.
The door creaked open. Jax emerged with a water bottle in hand.
He squinted his eyes in the dark before making out Pomni’s silhouette under his blanket.
“You stole my bed.” He said, less in an accusatory way and more in a matter of fact way.
Pomni poked her head out from under the blanket.
“Sorry, I got cold.” She wasn’t, in fact, sorry at all.
Jax smiled before walking to the bed and sitting next to Pomni. He handed her the water bottle. She quickly untwisted the cap and drank half of it in one go.
“Thanks.” She smiled weakly at him. He returned her smile.
“How’s your head?”
“Still hurts.”
“Is there something you usually do to feel better?”
“I used to take some medication and sleep through the day. It usually worked back in the real world.”
Jax looked away for a second, his expression unreadable. The Digital Circus didn’t have any medications, since they weren't supposed to get sick. And Caine wasn’t available until morning. His gaze shifted back to her.
“Guess we’ll have to wait until morning to ask for meds.”
Pomni sighed and leaned on Jax once more. He looked at her. He noticed the bags under her half open eye, the messy hair framing her face, and the small smile she gave him as she felt his gaze on her. But he also noticed how the faint glow of the stars hit her face, and reflected beautifully in her big eyes.
She felt her migraine calm down. It was a much more tolerable pain, something similar to what she felt back in the real world.
After a moment of silence, of staring, Pomni spoke up.
“Can I stay here tonight?” She looked at him, hesitant.
“I’d say you already made yourself at home.” Jax chuckled. “You can stay, but no snoring or I’m pushing you off the bed.”
“I can’t promise anything”
Pomni snuggled back under the blanket, warmth surrounding her again. Jax shifted beside her, before settling down, not under the blanket.
“What are you doing?”
“Sleeping?”
Pomni sighed before turning to face Jax. She then threw the blanket on top of both of them.
“Come here, idiot.”
Pomni wrapped her arms around Jax in an embrace. Their bodies were so close, they could feel each other's heartbeat. Digital heartbeat?
The steady beat of his heart lulled her to sleep.