Disclaimer: I don't own the Gorillaz phenomenon. Sorry for using them...Oh, and I also didn't make up Imitrex or Imitrex StatDose Pens, Nintendo 64, Legend of Zelda, Kleenex, or any other brand names mentioned in this story. For more information on Imitrex, check out http://www.migrainehelp.com/home.html
Author's Note: The point of this story? Reference, almost, as to what a migraine feels like...written by someone who knows all too well. Lots of people forget all the yummy things that come along with a migraine besides the throbbing pain in the head. Written from 2D's point of view, follows the migraine from start to...well, sorta half-finished or so. Lovely. *makes a face* The poor, poor thing.
Agony
The light slashed through the high windows of his basement room, hitting the boy full in the face. He winced and pulled his blankets over his head, opening his eyes and peeking out the top of his covers. He wasn't in that bad of a mood today, he guessed, but as soon as he opened his eyes, the good mood left.
2D hadn't been able to see well since the accidents that had destroyed his eyes...in fact, some doctors were stunned that he was able to see at all. 2D had managed to keep some dim vision in both eyes, though, and now what he had was almost totally obscured by migraine manifestations. He groaned and buried his head in the pillow. If it weren't for practice today, he'd consider not even getting up. There was no pain in his head now, but he knew that if he didn't act fast he'd soon have the headache that came hours after the manifestations.
2D forced himself off the bed, mostly blind, and stumbled into the bathroom. He stood leaning on the edge of the sink, still in the wrinkled clothes he'd fallen into bed with the night before, and looked in the mirror. He could vaguely see his face, but it was blurred by the manifestations. They were like looking at everything through a dark cloud...and it fluttered and swirled dizzily, like looking at everything through a heat wave...shimmery and pretty in it's way, but disturbing. He had distinct tunnel vision, the shimmery clouds all around the edge, leaving his vision to two spots about an inch around in the middle. He fumbled in his pocket and pulled out a bottle of Advil, dropping two into his hand and popping them into his mouth, swallowing with practiced ease and no water. Sometimes if he caught it with Advil while he was seeing the manifestations and not feeling the headache, it went away before it started.
He stumbled back into his room and looked at the clock. It was only 8:30 am, and he didn't have to get up for several more hours for practice. Hoping the Advil would do the trick, 2D fell back into bed, pulled the covers over his damaged head, and fell back to sleep.
He woke up at around 10:48 with a pounding headache in his right temple. He moaned as the light hit his face, seeming a million times brighter than it should. It felt like someone was ramming needles into his eyes, and he moaned again, dragging the covers over his face and lying still in his bed for several minutes, able to hear everything going on in the house, even though he usually couldn't. He could hear Noodle's Nintendo 64 in her room, the music to Legend of Zelda playing, and could hear the revving of engines in the car park - he could even hear the thump of the bass in Russell's hip-hop music, playing somewhere upstairs.
2D moaned again as the pounding bass settled into his head, and then sank slowly through him to his stomach. He felt the nausea coming on, quick, hard, and fast, throbbing through his stomach and chest cavity as if he had the stomach flu. His stomach heaved and he felt the violent need to vomit.
Surging out of bed, 2D ran as fast as he could to the bathroom, covering distance easily with his long legs, and barrelled into a stall, crouching over the toilet and retching violently into it. He sat on the floor in the smelly bathroom, by an equally smelly toilet in a stall with his own graffiti in it, and leaned his forehead against the cool ceramic. The smell was getting to him, and the fluorescent lights in the bathroom were making his head pound in syncopated triple-beats. He wanted to die, and put his hands over his face, groaning loudly into them. His stomach heaved and he threw up again into the toilet, only bile coming up this time, as he'd lost everything he had in his stomach before.
2D pushed himself shakily to his feet, legs wobbling as the strength left him, the migraine agitated and pounding due to his quick movement. He could still hear the beat of Russell's music, and it was combining horribly with the pounding heavy metal coming from Murdoc's Winnebago. Why did they have to choose today to listen to their music screamingly loud? Why did these stupid migraines have to ruin his whole life?
The boy stumbled back into his room, and sat on the bed, fumbling in the drawer of his bedside table for his injection pack. He pulled out a small white case with a yellow and blue stamp on the side reading "Imitrex: Sumatriptan Succinate - StatDose Pen", and quickly loaded the injector. He lifted the sleeve of his T-shirt, rubbed off his skin with his thumb by way of cleaning it, and pushed the needle into his arm, biting his lip against the pain. He left the needle in his arm for five seconds, and then pulled it out, quickly wrapping it in a tissue so Noodle wouldn't accidentally hurt herself with it, and burying it under the other garbage in his trash bin to further protect other members of the household. He pulled a Kleenex from the box and wiped away a stray drop of blood from the injection hole. There were dark bruises all over the inside of his arm from similar injections before, and he knew it wasn't healthy to take so much, especially because he smoked, but what else was he supposed to do? Live with it? He couldn't handle that...
He fell back on the bed, staring at the ceiling of his room, and being vaguely fascinated with the way the pain moved from the right side of his head, down to his temple, pierced his right eye, and then swallowed his entire face, ending up making his neck and face ache. He moaned softly at the irony of Murdoc always calling him 'face-ache'...it was so true, although in a different way than Murdoc intended.
2D lay on his bed for a while longer, his limbs and body feeling heavy, and his head feeling like it weighed tons. Finally the drugs kicked in and he stood up slowly, his migraine becoming a weak throbbing in the side of his head, drowsiness clouding his system. He knew he probably looked as blank as he usually did, now, but it was better than the throbbing and retching he knew he'd have to endure as soon as the drug was out of his system. 2D sighed and ran his hands over his face, the coolness feeling good against the warm skin, and carefully opened his door. The music got louder without the barrier, but he was okay now, if still a bit dizzy. He headed to the kitchen and heated some water for chamomile tea to calm his stomach and put something back in it.
As soon as he sat down at the kitchen table with his mug of tea, Noodle came in the room with a bowl of ramen and some chopsticks, sitting down on the chair beside him. She took one look at his face and could tell he had the drugs in his system. She sighed and crawled into his lap, burying her cheek against his chest as she ate, comforting him with her presence. 2D smiled for the first time that day, and drank from his cup in the companionable silence.
Murdoc walked in and laughed loudly at the scene, "Ha! You look stupid as ever, face-ache!" he said loudly, and Noodle put a finger to her lips, blowing around it to signal silence.
"Murdoc quiet. 2D-chan sick!" she said, leaning back against 2D again.
Murdoc walked into the room and gave 2D a quick noogie, which sent him spiralling down into pain again, despite the drugs. He moaned softly and pulled his head away...it still felt like it weighed tons, and the G-forces inside his head affected his stomach again. He sipped at his tea and forced his stomach to calm.
"Dullard's on drugs." Murdoc taunted, "Stupid as ever, face-ache." Then he left the room, "How could a little headache make you that stupid?
"If only you knew, Murdoc, if only you knew." 2D said softly, and closed his eyes against the burning light.