Roman stared at his hand, feeling his chest hurt. It was pain he'd never experienced before. He stared at the dainty, yet deadly, thing in his hand. The petal of a flower, resting delicately in his palm.

It seemed harmless, and yet, the more Roman looked at it, the more he feared it. The longer he stared at it, the more trouble he had breathing. The longer he thought about it, the more tears pooled up in his eyes.

His chest shuttered painfully with a sob as he fell to his knees. He curled his fingers around the flower petal as he curled in on himself. He wanted everything to stop. He wanted to stop the pain, the feelings, life. He just wanted to escape, but there was nothing he could do.

Roman had Hanahaki Disease.

The worst disease to exist in his opinion. The disease that slowly kills you with love. The disease that makes you cough up flowers when the person you love doesn't love you back.

Roman walked through the school that morning, eyes red and puffy. He was exhausted from crying. He knew people were looking at him; the normally regal looking boy was wearing a massive white hoodie over yoga pants and had dark bags under his eyes. His friend Patton came up to him, a frown on his face.

"Hey Roman, you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder as he looked at him with concern. He looked at him blankly before opening his mouth to speak. He couldn't get the words out as he started coughing; and out of his mouth fell flower petals. Patton looked at them, paling as he recognized it. He met Roman's tearful eyes with glossy ones of his own. "Oh, Roman..."

He pulled him into a tight hug that Roman gladly accepted. "I'm so sorry," Patton said as Logan arrived.

"Salutations, are you feeling unwell, Roman?" he asked as the two of them pulled away from their hug. He looked him up and down. Patton gestured to the flower petals in his hand, earning a confused look from Logan. He thought about it for a moment, piecing together his appearance with the flowers. "Oh... I'm so sorry, Roman..."

They stood in silence for a moment before Patton spoke up. "Who is it..." he asked quietly. Roman opened his mouth to respond but before he could, said person arrived.

"Sup guys," Virgil said. Roman looked away, biting his lip to hold back tears. Patton and Logan looked between them, their blood running cold as they pieced it together. "Uh, you good Roman? You look almost as dead as me!"

"I have to go..." he whispered before rushing off toward the bathroom. Virgil watched him go in confusion. He looked to Patton and Logan for answers as they watched him sadly.

"What's up with him?"

Roman wrapped his arms tighter around himself. "What are you going to do, Roman?" Patton asked, eyes shiny with tears.

It had been a few months since the discovery of Roman's Hanahaki Disease, and he was getting worse. Virgil remained unaware of his condition; he was trying to spare himself the pain of having to be around him.

"He only has two options Patton," Logan said sadly. "Go through the surgery and get the flowers removed-"

"and stop feeling love for Virgil..." Patton reminded him. Logan nodded before continuing.

"-or to let the disease take its course," he finished, looking at the ground. They all knew what he meant. Roman could get the disease removed, or die loving Virgil.

"Isn't there a chance he'll develop feelings back?" Patton suggested hopefully. Roman looked away, coughing up more and more flowers. The other two watched sadly, fear and despair in their eyes as they watched their friend suffer.

"P-Patton that's extremely rare," Roman murmured, voice raspy from crying and coughing. "And if he did, there's no telling he'll do it before this kills me..."

There was a heavy silence. It was almost as suffocating as the flowers growing in Roman's lungs. None of them spoke. They were torn between two losing scenarios. Roman thought about the consequences of each choice. If he went through surgery, he'd live. He'd still get to see Virgil, and live his life; but he'd stop loving him. Could he bare that? Could he bare to lose this beautifully painful feeling for him? He could let the disease kill him, and live every last moment loving Virgil with all his heart. Would he let himself die to this disease over love for him? How long would it take for the disease to kill him? Would he waste his whole life to continue loving him?

Roman took a deep breath. "I've made up my mind."

Six months later, Virgil walked into the school. He was eager to find Patton to tell him something exciting he'd discovered this morning. Upon finding him, he excitedly pulled his arm to get his attention.

"Patton! Guess what!" he exclaimed. His heart was racing in his chest, and a giddy feeling was flowing through his veins. He felt like he'd explode if he didn't tell anyone.

"What?" Patton asked with a wide smile. It was rare to see him so excited.

"I'm in love!"

His friend gasped with a smile. "Oh? With who?" he asked excitedly.

"Roman!"

Patton paled, mouth going dry. He looked over at Roman across the courtyard talking to Logan. He seemed totally normal, but he knew what he was going through. "V-Virgil... you know Roman went through Hanahaki Disease Removal surgery a few months ago, right?" he managed.

"Oh god, no, I had no idea," Virgil said in shock, looking over at Roman. "Who was he in love with?"

Patton winced, looking down sadly. He looked from Roman back to Virgil, finally answering after a moment of painful silence.

"You."

The world around Virgil seemed to shatter as he froze. He was hit with a wave of realization, leaving him gasping for breath. As he did so, he started to cough. When he looked down, his heart stopped. In his hand, so dainty, yet so deadly...

Sat the petal of a flower.