Act 13, Euphoria.

**content warning: emetophobia in this chapter, a brief will be given at the start of the next chapter if you'd like to skip.**

Kacper woke sweaty all over, it felt as if his breaths were cushioned - unable to fill his lungs to their full capacity and his head light with disorientation. He knew he was sick, though he wasn't happy about it.. today felt important. Did he have to study.?

He had school.

He pushed himself up, only to crumple back into bed when his stomach disagreed, he heaved, but managed to swallow down the bile that came up, causing his eyes to water.

Curling in on himself now, he tried to string his thoughts together coherently, though they felt foggy due to his - what he could only assume was - fever.

He took a deep breath, trying to call out "Mama! Papa!" but the call echoed through the empty house leaving him with the true feeling of loneliness. He let out a shaky breath, screwing his eyes closed to concentrate. Usually when he got sick, his older sister recommended a hot bath to steam out the sickness, with herbs in the water like lavender, thyme, eucalyptus, ginger and finally elderflower.

He would mirror that, once he could get up.. that is.

Scanning his room, he found his half-full water bottle beside his bed, no doubt the water in it had gone warm but still he snagged it like a man starved.

He drank a few mouthfuls before spooning some of the water in his palm, wiping his across his sweat-damp forehead. It supplied minimal relief.

With herculean effort, he managed to clumsily tug his tank top off - which he had been sleeping in and was now saturated with sweat. His limbs felt weak, every movement felt he had been bound to a weight. When he tossed his top to the floor, that's when he realized his phone was on the carpet beside where he had dispensed it. He pushed himself slowly to the edge of the bed - not daring to sit up - and snatched it, sending a text to his 'ma and 'pa, as well as his older sister, detailing his sickness.

He hoped they'd come home.. soon...

Before Kacper had realized he had fallen asleep once more, phone clattering onto the bedside table.

He was in and out of sleep for God-knows how long.. waking once more to the sun being higher in the sky, he winced at this.

He felt acutely better, however, straining as he pushed himself up.. but his stomach wasn't lurching like it had previously, thankfully.

Finally managing to situate himself upright and think.. somewhat clearly is when he planned out his day. He'd have to bath, no doubt, then maybe he could make some tea to help with his fever and hopefully by then someone would be home to help.

The pre-bath routine wasn't as sophisticated as it usually was for Kacper, this time he just filled his arms with herbs from the closet before bathroom them onto the bathroom floor, pinching a fresh bath satchel from a shelf and filling it with the herbs before tossing it into the tub. Even this made him exhausted, he had to press his cheek against the cool rim of the bath as it filled in an effort to cool himself down and to not fall back asleep.

He watched in his half-awake daze as the bath filled, in this state this was the most entertaining thing he had ever seen, the way the bubbles faded off into the tub and the herbs lightly stained the water left him mesmerized - this was enough to keep him conscious until the bath was full.

He stripped, turning off the tap and tossing his clothes to the floor and climbing in - though, the way the water rocked back and forth as he slowly settled into the water was enough to make his nausea come back with revenge, forcing him to tilt his head back down to the rim of the tub and screw his eyes closed.

The water eventually stopped lapping up against his skin, and his mind finally settled like debris settling in a container after having shaken it. His mind felt like it was swimming, still, however. Though the sound of sloshing water brought about a sense of calm, even though all of his senses were mismatched (things were muffled, things were also overstimulating and too much).

The back of Kacper's head felt like it was throbbing, pulsating a dull ache that cradled his scalp.

His eyes sluggishly fixated on the satchel in the water, observing it as if he was watching a video play out rather than being in a situation where he could interact with the world around him. Then there was a sharp drop in his stomach, his innards clenching violently, he shakily - desperately - lurched forward, towards the lip of the tub - bile ripping its way up his throat, burning - he felt like he was asphyxiating on it until he managed to cough over the side of the tub, the vile liquid spewing from his mouth, onto the bathroom floor and, unfortunately, on the lip of the bath.

He cried out, rasping and coughing before taking ragged breaths - dumbly noting how he felt better.

The air was quick to turn sour, the bathroom was small, after all, there was not much room to aerate the smell unless he cracked open the window..

His thoughts felt like puzzle pieces waiting to be snapped together.. he closed his eyes, just for a short period. The mess he had made was a worry that floated aimlessly to the back of his mind, his breaths slowed as he relaxed against the tub - narrowly avoiding the vomit.

Blinking for consciousness, he didn't know how much time had passed but the bath looked darker than earlier and his skin looked akin to raisins. But that wasn't to say he felt worse than he had earlier, in fact, he felt able enough to move about now - and maybe he could call the school now he was conscious enough to do so-

This thought process was interrupted by three dull raps - the front door, the sound having carried its way all throughout the house into the bathroom.