Pascal's shoulders slumped. Angry tears glittered in the corner of his one visible eye. He reflected the emotions I should've been feeling if I had the energy. Instead I only felt tired. I wanted to lie down and sleep for the next week, sleep right past my birthday and all the consequences that came with it.
My eyelids drooped like lead. Every muscle in my body ached. Something warm pressed into me and I realized Pascal was hugging me as he stifled frustrated tears. I patted his back. He wasn't that much younger than me, but sometimes he reminded me of an overgrown kid, one too passionate and lively for unfortunate circumstances like this. On the other hand, I hadn't felt like a child in a long, long time. I was so used to caring for others that my childhood seemed nonexistent.
But I cared about my friend deeply. We were two young omegas against the world. I continued stroking his back as he cried it out.
"You should be the one crying, not me," Pascal mumbled as he wiped his tears.
"You can cry as much as you need to," I said gently. "We all need to get our feelings out sometimes."
"Yeah, except you, Florian. You always put on a brave face for everyone else. Just like you're doing for me right now."
I didn't feel like I was doing anything differently than I usually did, but maybe that was what Pascal meant.
I shrugged. "I'm upset, but the tears won't come. I'll think of a solution. I always do."
But as I said the words, I wasn't sure they were true this time. How could I fix this? Headmaster wasn't going to change her mind and my mysterious illness wasn't going to magically disappear.
Pascal sat up in bed. "Great, I got my eyepatch all wet..." He carefully removed it and wiped it on his shirt. I made sure to look away. He didn't talk about it and he never asked for privacy when he did so, but I sensed he didn't like anybody seeing what was beneath it.
After he put it back on, he faced me. Now that he'd let out the brunt of his frustration, he was back to problem solving. "Hey, have you ever been to the castle?"
"Where the royals live?"
"Yeah."
"No, never."
He grinned. "I've been once. Did you know there's a fountain that grants wishes?"
Now he was back to being silly. "Of course there is, Pascal."
"No, seriously! It worked for me."
Since he was obviously bursting to tell me, I said, "Go on."
"Okay, well... I remember kids on the street would always spread rumors about it, so it got me all curious. Then one day, I snuck away from the orphanage when Headmaster was busy."
This sounded familiar. "Yes, I remember. She punished you for building a snowman instead of doing chores, and the next day you disappeared. She kept asking me where you'd gone but I didn't know."
He grinned. "That's 'cause I kept it a secret, even from you. I had to know if this fountain was real or not. Turns out it is."
"So? What did you wish for?" I asked, enabling him.
"It's embarrassing now, so don't judge me. Oh, who am I kidding? You're the least judgmental person in the world." Pascal huffed a laugh. "Well... I went to the fountain, threw in a coin—"
"A coin?" I asked.
"Yeah. It only works if you throw in a coin. At least, that's what I've heard."
"Where did you get a coin? Headmaster only gives us just enough money for errands."
He gave me a sheepish look. "Er, I might've picked one from someone's pocket on the way there..."
"Pascal," I admonished.
"Sorry! It was ages ago. I wouldn't do that now. And it was just one little coin from some guy in fancy clothes near the castle. He wouldn't even know it was missing."
I raised a brow and ruffled his hair. "You had money and you threw it into a fountain instead of buying food? You really are silly."
