#cadeverse
Febuwhump Leftover - No Anesthesia
Context: Cadeverse, continuation of the morning after he tried to treat a panic attack with alcohol.
~~~
“So what have we learned from this little experiment?” Donnie said with a lifted eyebrow.
“Beer is not my friend,” Cade said. “Maybe I should have gone straight for the Jack Daniels.” At Donnie’s sharp look, he tiredly waved a hand. “Kidding.”
“Dude, don’t even joke about that. Just don’t.”
“Kidding,” Cade repeated. “You know me, I don’t get shitfaced on a regular basis.”
“I’ve seen people try to use alcohol to run away from their problems,” Donnie said. “It never ends well.”
“Is that what you think I was doing? Running away from my problems?”
“More like staggering away, last night. But yeah. You didn’t want to deal with your brain, so you tried to drug it into submission.”
“But it wouldn’t fucking cooperate, of course.” Cade winced and pressed a knuckle between his eyes. “And now it’s taking revenge.”
Donnie sat down on the chair next to the couch. “You can’t run away from what hurts if it’s inside you, dude. You have to deal with it.”
“That’s what I was trying to do. Like taking ibuprofen for a headache. Speaking of which, do you happen to have—”
“But that’s not dealing with it. That’s trying to anesthetize your brain so you don’thave to deal with it.”
“Then why is ibuprofen OK? That’s what I took for my shoulder. And I could really use some—"
“Did you go to the gym and lift right after that?”
“I’m not a complete idiot,” Cade said.
“Of course not; you knew it wasn’t a magic pill. Pain is how your body tells you to be careful until it’s had time to heal.”
“My stupid brain’s had as much time to heal as my shoulder.”
“Maybe it was hurt more. Look, dude, all I’m trying to say is, there’s a reason for pain, whether it’s in your head or your shoulder. If you want to get better, you have to pay attention to what it’s telling you.”
“So what am I supposed to do, wallow in my feelings?”
“You can face them without wallowing. If you hear a tornado siren in the middle of the night, what do you do? You could put in earplugs and go back to sleep. You could bitch about being woken up. Or you could get your ass out of bed and check the radar to see what’s going on. Listen to the goddamn message.”
“I’mlistening.” Cade said. “I’m listening to my brain right now.”
“And what’s it telling you?”
“It’s telling me that I want to think about what you’re saying, but I can’t concentrate on a goddamn thing until the elephants stop tap-dancing on my skull,” he said plaintively.
Donnie leaned back in the chair with a hint of a wicked grin. “Oh. Do you want some ibuprofen? You should have said something earlier.”
Febuwhump #7: Used as an experiment
Context: Cadeverse, the morning after Cade tried to treat a panic attack with copious amounts of alcohol
~~~
Cade blinked open bleary eyes, flinched away from the sun shining in through Donnie’s living room window, and shrank back into the couch, pulling the thin blanket over his head. “Ow.”
“I’d say good morning, but it doesn’t look like one for you,” Donnie said genially from the doorway. “How do you feel?”
A pained, profane grumble came from under the blanket.
“About what I expected. Be right back.”
Donnie rummaged around in his kitchen for a few moments and then returned. “Disentangle yourself, dude, I have breakfast.”
The blanket cringed. “Eurgh. That’s the absolute last thing I want right now.”
“That’s why today’s breakfast is water. You won’t feel any better until you rehydrate. Up and at ‘em, sport.”
Reluctantly, the blanket folded back. Cade sat up and put his head in his hands, pressing his thumbs into his temples. “Ow. Ow ow ow.”
Donnie proffered a filled glass. “Come on, drink up, whiny-ass.”
“No sympathy, huh?” Cade eyed the cloudy liquid doubtfully as he took it. “What’s in this?”
“Electrolytes. And no, no sympathy,” Donnie grinned. “You completely did this to yourself with your so-called science.”
Cade took a sip of the fortified water. “I should’ve remembered…I never got good grades in science.”
“Obviously, since you didn’t learn Rule #1: don’t use yourself as a test subject, dumbass.”
“Nobody else volunteered.” Cade stared at the glass for another moment, then raised bloodshot eyes to meet Donnie’s. “Thank you.”
“For calling you a dumbass? Happy to do that anytime you need it, bud.”
A tired smile crossed Cade’s face. “Pretty much constantly. But I meant for the water.”
Donnie shrugged amiably. “Anytime.”
Febuwhump #1: Head Wound
Context: Cadeverse, after the lights went out at the Orpheum
~~~
Getting hit in the head by a baseball bat wasn’t even the worst thing about that night. It hurt, and it pissed me off, but I didn’t get knocked out. It definitely rang my bell, though, so between that and the darkness, it took me a minute to catch up with what was going on, with all the shouting and thumps and flashlights waving in crazy arcs. My flashlight had rolled under a table, so I dived after it. When I shone it at the loudest noise, Hank had Ben on the ground, mostly pinned, although Ben was thrashing like a bronco. I scrambled over and tackled Ben’s legs, and Ronald jumped into the mix, so between the three of us, we got Ben into a hogtie with zip cuffs.
Ronald hurried off to find the switch for the backstage lights while we caught our breath, and Hank used his flashlight to check my skull for damage.
“I heard that hit,” he said. “Are you sure you didn’t lose consciousness?”
“Positive. I saw it coming, so I ducked just enough.”
“We’ll get you checked out at the hospital just in case. You’ve had a concussion before, and these things add up.”
“Aw, Hank…”
“Don’tAw Hank me. I know you hate it, but—”
The lights came on. I looked at him, and I don’t even remember what I said; something like “Jesus CHRIST Hank what the FUCK sit down!”
He gave me an odd look, touched the side of his head, and looked surprised when his fingers came away covered in blood.
