I woke up to the sound of Hunter's voice.

"Hey you."

I rolled over and smiled at him, still dazed. He sat down next to me on the bed.

"What time is it?", I asked.

"A little over 3."

I groaned. I didn't realise I had ended up sleeping so much.

I tried to sit up when a pain shot through my body. A sound escaped my lips and my hand went immediately to my stomach.

"Wait, let me help you", he said while putting a pillow behind me and helping me sit up straight.

"Missed you at school today. Are you okay? You look really tired and sick."

I smiled weakly, adjusting my hot water bag. "Yeah, it's just, I got my periods so I'm feeling all weak and drained out."

He looked at me, his expression telling me he was not convinced.

"I don't mean to pry but you've never taken a day off for just being on your periods. Is there something you're not telling me?"

I looked down at my hands, figuring out a way to tell him. "It's nothing serious but-"

"You mean there is something", he said, a sudden look of worry crossing his face. "Mer-"

"Hear me out", I said softly. "A few days before I got my periods, I was feeling really uneasy. My stomach was hurting a lot, so much to the point where I could barely stand. Adding to that, my calves were hurting too. I couldn't understand what was happening, I mean, I used to have a bit of a stomach pain right before my period but it was never like this. This was - the pain was -  excruciating. So I told my mom and we decided to go to a gynaecologist." I took a deep breath before continuing. "The doctor told me I had been diagnosed with PCOS. It all started to make sense; my irregular periods, the constant hair fall, the acne and my inability to lose weight fast."

I looked up at Hunter. His expression was blank.

"I'm sorry, um, PCOS is an acronym for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome. It's even called PCOD, just replacing syndrome with disorder", I said laughing weakly.

Hunter got up and began pacing the room. "Okay, so what does it do, like what is it exactly? I mean how bad is it? Is there a cure for it?"

"Um, its basically a hormonal disorder where we tend to produce higher-than- normal levels of male hormones which in turn leads to a hormonal imbalance in our body. It's not that serious, don't worry. Many girls actually tend to have it, it's just that there's not a lot of awareness about it. As far as a cure is concerned, there's none. But she's put me on medication and told me to have a healthy diet and stuff."

Hunter nodded. "Okay. You need to take care."

"I will", I said smiling. "You don't have to worry about me."

"But I do. It's my job." He paused for a bit, "I'll let you rest then", he said heading for the door. "Um, by the way, I got you your favourite chocolate chip icecream. I didn't know what was wrong then but I figured you wouldn't say no to that", he said chuckling. "I've left it in the freezer."

I grinned. "Maybe you could drop by again later and we could have it together?"

"Only if you don't force me to watch Riverdale."

"Deal", I said laughing.

-----

Hunter's P.O.V

"Hey mom, I'm home!", I said, dropping my bag on the couch and wandering into her study.

She looked up from a bunch of documents she was reading. My mom was a bookkeeper at one of the local finance firms, so she had the flexibility of working from home as well.

"Hi sweetie! How was your day? Aren't you a little late today though?"

"Yeah, I actually dropped by Mer's house. She missed school today."

"Oh", she said, a little surprised. "It's quite unlike her to miss school. Everything okay?"

"Um, yeah I guess so. She told me she's diagnosed with PCOS."

My mom's expression immediately changed into a concerned frown. "Oh dear, that's terrible." She quickly changed the subject, "Are you hungry? I could warm up some pasta from yesterday."

"No, I'm okay. I had grabbed a sandwich on the way. I'll just go freshen up."

I picked up my bag and headed upstairs. I looked out the window; Mer's curtains were still drawn. Good. It meant she was still alseep.

I don't know why but for some reason my gut told me that Mer hadn't quite told me everything about her diagnosis. I wasn't sure what, but I was definitely going to find out. My mom's expressions just proved my point further.

I quickly freshened up and sat in front of my laptop.

Typing 'PCOS' in the Google search engine, I got a list of articles and links.

I went through most of them; Summer had been clearly undermining its seriousness.

First things first, I understood that it's not simply a disease of the ovaries. It is an endocrine and metabolic disorder that unfortunately affects the body well beyond the ovaries.

I was shocked to find out that it affects roughly 1 in 10-12 women and if left undiagnosed or untreated could cause severe complications such as type 2 diabetes, infertility, cardiovascular disease, obesity, sleep apnea (disrupted breathing in sleep), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and depression.

Thankfully, Mer had been diagnosed and had started her treatment. As she had said, there was no cure as such but maintaining a healthy lifestyle and diet could lower the future risks.

Now, I'd probably drag her whiny ass for a run with me every morning. And cut her junk food to a minimum too.

I know she'd hate me if I did either of those, but it was a worth a try. I didn't want her to face any complications in the future. Not under my watch at least.

Damn, I sounded like her babysitter.

By the time I had finished researching online, it was dinner time.

I went downstairs and found my mom in the kitchen.

"Hey", I said hugging her from behind. "What's for dinner?"

"Your favourite spinach and cheese casserole."

"Mmmmmm that sounds delicious. Where's dad?"

"He's still in a meeting. Said he'll be home late", she said pulling out the dish from the oven. It smelled so good.

"Okay. I'll be heading over to Mer's after dinner. Just want to check up on her."

"Alright honey. Make sure you take a bit of the casserole for her too. I'm pretty sure it'll make her feel better."

"Sometimes I wonder whose mom you are", I said chuckling.

After dinner, I wrapped a slice of the casserole in a foil tin, said goodnight to my mom and headed in next door.

I think Mer's parents were already in their bedroom because the living room was dim and empty when I walked in.

I picked up the icecream from the freezer and headed upstairs. Summer was in her bed, snuggled underneath her blanket.

"Have you even moved an inch since I left?"

"Does going to the washroom count? Then yes", she said grinning.

I rolled my eyes. "Mom sent some casserole for you. Eat it fast or the icecream will melt."

"OMG is it the spinach and cheese one?", she asked taking it from my hands. "Yes it is! Wow I feel so pampered today", she said putting a spoonful in her mouth.

I laughed. "So what are we watching?"

"I was thinking a Harry Potter marathon. Plus tomorrow's Saturday, so no rush of sleeping early."

"Yes ma'am", I said scooting in next to her. "Now I know why you don't move from your bed. It is so comfy."

Mer giggled. Putting the icecream tub in between us, we began watching Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

Halfway through the movie, I saw her smiling.

"What?", I asked.

She looked at me, her eyes never leaving mine. "I love Hermione and Harry's friendship. Not Ron obviously, I mean cause they get married. But Hermione and Harry?", she sighed, "They're so pure. Their friendship reminds me of ours."

"Cause they're always looking out for each other?"

"Its more than that. They're each other's support systems", she said leaning her head on my shoulder. "Just like you're mine."

I kissed the top of her head, smiling.

A few minutes after we started the second movie, I could hear her breathing: rhythmic and slow. She had fallen asleep.

So much for a marathon I said to myself, smiling.

Switching off the laptop and adjusting her properly into bed, in that moment, all I knew was that I would do anything to protect her and keep her safe.