Keanu felt isolated for once in his life. It's been a few weeks since his conversation with Ren, and it felt so excruciating. It wasn't his fault for once either, and it felt as if the damn tables have turned. Now, it was Ren who was too busy for him, no mattered how much tried calling or coming over.

"Sorry, sweetheart, she isn't here today. She's on a date with River." Mrs. Fujioka revealed, giving a small smile to the tall boy the stood at her front door. Keanu smiled back, but it seemed faux, and it felt like it too.

"I'll see you around, Mrs. Fujioka." Keanu simply replied, feeling his chest constrict painfully as walked down the porch steps, and it felt incredibly painful.

He paused his steps for a moment, his right hand against his chest as he leaned against the white picket fence. The sensation lasted a moment longer, and then the pain was gone. At first, the pain concerned him, but he shrugged it off.

He was okay, he had to be okay.

It was noon by the time he met up with Jennifer in a local diner, and she kept fidgeting with the paper wrapper of the straw. He stared at her, taking in her beauty, and sighed to himself. It was disappointing to say his infatuation for Jennifer Way died as fast as it came to life.

"I can't do this anymore." Jennifer blurted out, looking anywhere at the diner but at him. He understood and he wasn't angry.

"I'm not angry, Jen." Keanu reassured, even giving out a grin to further prove his point.

Jennifer let out a huge sigh of relief, grinning back, "I'm glad you understand. I know how you feel about her...and it's okay. It turns out I love my best friend too."

"Neve Campbell?" Keanu inquired, poking his lunch with his fork.

"Yeah." Jennifer said, a smiling grow on her face at the mention of Neve, and Keanu saw it. He saw how much Jennifer adored Neve, and it made him feel less disappointed about the ending of their relationship.

"We're still friends, right?" Jennifer asked a moment later, placing her fork down next to her empty plate. She was concern, while her love for Keanu wasn't what she thought it was, she still cared for him.

"We're still friends. It's all good." He answered, feeling a temporary relief fill him. At least this part was over, and it was on with the harder parts.

The rest of his noon was spent with distractions, different topics between the two exes, making Keanu feel some relief of his newfound pain.

It was odd going back to school, well, it had been for weeks now. It hurt too much being around River and Ren, and his chest felt like it was constricting tightly again every time he saw time together.

Sometimes he'd third wheel with Jennifer and Neve before it became too awkward. Since then, he's been stuck with Alex, and he never felt more appreciation towards anyone than he did for Alex.

"It'll get better." Alex tells him in-between bites of his sandwich, but Keanu can't see himself believing that statement.

It's almost as if he didn't even exist to the couple that sat across from him in the loud and bustling cafeteria room. Alex didn't even notice intense staring, he was too busy sketching out comic book characters and eating.

But the moment Keanu saw River's lips met Ren's is when the tightness in his chest return, but it felt amplified. Suddenly, there was a strong itch down his throat and he felt like puking. A sickening feeling spread throughout his body, and his head was pounding.

"I-I'll be back." He quickly stutters out to Alex, who looks startled, seeing his friend bolt out the cafeteria and down the halls.

Keanu rushed into the boy's bathroom, feeling sweat pour down his brow, and nearly ripped the hinges off the stall as he collapsed down on his knees. He barely made it, but something was off.

There was no acidic taste of stomach acids, no sensation of his esophagus or tongue burning, but instead it tasted like dirt. It was as if someone shoved soil into his mouth, before another taste reached his taste buds, and it tasted it like a vibrant color.

What the fuck?

Instead of the normal vomit, Keanu was greeted with a bizarre sight of batches of flowers, specifically red carnations. They came in strings, medium-sized, and fell into the toilet, floating there. He continued puking out a few more carnations, feeling glad the bathroom was desolated. His throat ached at the sensation of his rough coughs, and he felt pain and waves of confusion rush through him.

This wasn't normal, who pukes flowers? Was it even possible?

"What can I do?" Keanu let out a raspy whisper to himself, feeling so disconsolate and alarmed.

No one would believe him, and he wasn't too sure where it came from. So, he stood up, his legs feeling shaky, and flushed the toilet.

For the rest of that day, Keanu acted as if nothing happened in that bathroom, but it still hurt seeing that kiss. He was too late.

Keanu tried hiding it, but it became increasingly hard to, but he wouldn't give up. But he wanted answers, why was he hurling up carnations and roses?

"Excuse me..." Keanu spoke softly, but loud enough to catch the librarian's attention. She was an older lady, around her early sixties.

"Yes dear?" She questioned, glancing up from her computer.

"I'm looking for a medical book. I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous, but I just wanted to know about people...coughing up flowers." Keanu rambled out, feeling his face flush in embarrassment. The lady probably thought he was nuts.

"Oh dear, well, what's your name?" She inquired, her attention ripped away from the computer. She appeared in heavy thought and seemed a bit concerned.

"Um, Keanu Reeves..." He mumbled, finding her stare unnerving, and he felt queasy again.

"Dear, my name is Suzie Hinata, but it's Mrs. Hinata to you. Now, what I'm going to tell you is startling, but I know what you have and there might be one book that can help you." Mrs. Hinata explained carefully, and suddenly Keanu felt dread.

"What do you mean, Mrs. Hinata?" Keanu queried, feeling apprehensive.

"The coughing up of the flowers, well, it's known as the Hanahaki disease. Some people believe it's a complete joke or myth, but it's not, it's rare for it to occur though. Those who experience unrequited love will start to cough up petals or flowers. If the love remains unrequited...well, it isn't easy to say, but the flowers will slowly choke the person to death." Mrs. Hinata clarified, feeling sorrow for the teenage boy the stood before her. She knew why he was curious, even he he didn't mentioned it.

It took a few moment for Keanu to register the new information, and thoughts were swarming around his brain. It was too much to take in and he felt that itch again, but he tried hard to hold back the tears and the petals.

"H-How can you stop it?" He asked, stuttering out the words, and the older woman frowned.

"Well, there's three options. First option is to get the flowers surgically removed and fall out of love with the person, but you'll lose your memories of them. Or you can either have them fall in love with you back, and that solves the issue. The last option isn't the one I'd urge you not to do, mostly because if you don't do anything, you will die." Mrs. Hinata revealed the forbidding and bleak news, standing up from her chair.

"Oh," Keanu simply muttered, feeling more isolated than ever. Then the itch came back, stronger than ever, and he started coughing up more flowers. Mrs. Hinata looked alarmed, rushing to pat the boy on the back, making sure he didn't choke.

Keanu gasped, feeling miserable, as hot tears brimmed from his brown eyes.

"I don't want this!" He cried, and Mrs. Hinata couldn't feel more pity than she did now.

"No one, does." She simply replied, before disappearing off leaving Keanu to collect himself. He used the tissues on the counter to pick up the flowers—daffodils and calendulas.

Mrs. Hinata appears once again, passing through the massive oak bookshelves the library with a book in her hand. Keanu throws the flowers out in the trash bin, wishing to not be reminded of this curse.

"Take this, keep it as long as you like. You'll need it." Mrs. Hinata states, giving the boy a book.

It was called The Petals of Daffodils by Nagito Tanaka and Lucille Parker, two professors and medical professionals. Normally, Keanu won't be caught with a book titled like this, but with the daffodils and calendulas still mocking him from the trash bin, he figured he didn't care anymore.

He walked out the library, feeling emotionally drained from the unbelievable news. His unrequited love for Ren Fujioka turned him into some weird medical nutcase.

Being in love sucks, especially if it means you might choke on some pretty little flowers and die.

Author's Note:

You're probably wondering, 'what the hell is this bullshit?' Well, the Hanahaki disease was already explained in the chapter, and it's most definitely fictional. It's an odd turn of events, but I felt it was needed. I hadn't updated mostly because I didn't know where else to go with this story. But after reading a fanfic and discovering the Hanahaki disease trope, this was born! I hope you guys enjoyed it. I apologize for any grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. Also, what's up with River and Ren? They don't sound too fake anymore. ;-)