Town Square

"Because you didnt tell me. There's a reason it's called a surprise."

"I don't care about damn surprises. I want to know why you were going to put something inside my bag," she growled.

"Tell me what it's for and I will."

She snarled, eye sharpening. "I don't have to tell you shit." Something twisted inside and she closed her eyes and stepped back, jaw ticked as she tried to steady herself. She couldn't get too worked up. "Tch. Why the hell does it matter?" she said through clenched teeth. "It's not like it affects you anyway."

"And the wallflower came out of it's comfort zone. That depends. Now onto the real issue. Tell me what's wrong."

Dresden's face hardened as he moved forward, head inclined to look at him due to the several inch difference. Her hands stayed at her side, though they were balled. "It's none of your business."

"Wrong. It wasn't-no. But I'm making it my business. Now tell me or you never get this back."

At the threat, she bristled with static, and the words come out in a rush. "Why the hell does it matter? In the end one of us will leave, and either way I'd just end up alone again. I'm not in the best of shape, but so what? It's not like there's someone out there who's gonna miss me anyway. They're all dead."

Her voice shook and she stepped back with her arms crossing loosely as she hugged herself, the true wallflower side showing as she grew uncomfortable and unable to stop the dam, him being the only other person she's let things out to aside from her brother and Andrea. And for the first time, her fears were showing through as her eyes wavered and watered. "And for all I know, you'll be next, just another person added to the list, and I'll move on my merry way. So why does it matter if you know what the fuck is wrong with me or not? I could be dead today, tomorrow, two months from now, two years. And so could you." She hastily wiped the moisture that started down her cheeks away, catching her breath. "So why the fuck does it matter anymore..."

"Your not dead now so stop your crying."

She jolted to her senses with a grimace, snapping her gaze away as she took a breath. Though when he pulled her hand forward, her struggled a moment and moved to pull away, but stopped with her gaze straight forward, locked on her hand.

"I'm not dead, not yet. Maybe we'll both die tomorrow-who knows. But I'm not going anywhere apart from here and my tracks!"

For a long moment Dresden stared, eyes studying and unguarded, though she looked down and squeezed them shut, shaking a little as her hand balled in his shirt, more to hold herself up than anything. Her jaw clenched together as she focused on controlling herself again, but she wasn't getting far. "I don't want to be alone anymore," she said quietly, contradicting her earlier actions to push him away. "I don't want to be afraid, to be tapped in this viscous cycle of losing everything." She hesitated, a moment longer, determining the best way to tell him about the medicine, and her. There wasn't any point to hiding it anymore.

"I'm sick," she said quietly. "Or have been, I don't know. Since the plague took my family while we were traveling and took her, I've always been sick. First it was the fever, then the fever, and somehow I fought it off. At least everything but the effect it took on the rest of my body. I have episodes," she stumbled over the word, "where I can't breathe, like I'm suffocating. People say it's asthma, but I don't know. It feels worse than that, like something trying to crawl out of my chest and suffocate me. And if I ever get sick, it's worse, and it's hell. The tube in your hand is the only thing I've been able to find that even helps." Her voice trailed and shook, and she raised her other hand to wipe her cheeks. "God, this is stupid," she laughed harshly. "I can't believe this...."

At the hug Dres stiffened, but she leaned her forehead against him, fighting the emotions away as she's reminded of Memphis.

"Its not stupid and your not alone. Thats why you sleep a lot. "

She reached up and wiped her face dry with her free hand. "I can never seem to recover enough or have the energy, so I have to sleep to keep going. I hate it."

"Hey sleeping through everything isn't a bad thing. Its probably better than being awake."

"I rather be awake before someone tries sneaking up on me," she murmured, pulling back and running a hand through her hair, pulled the other from his chest and held out her hand. "Can I have my stuff back?..." She avoided his gaze, looking away with her mouth twisted into a slight frown, upset at herself for making a fool of herself and letting it all out.