The Dairy Trap

[muffinstud]

Indeed, it seems that without anything rubbing against his chest, James is quite able to ignore it. By the time he puts the food away, his chest starts itching. It's a rather odd sensation, since the itching seems to be under his skin. The itching is strongest just behind his nipples, which kind of figures since that is the most sensitive part of the... whatever this is.

[Knight Errant]

James looks down again... great... it had to be something... maybe he was allergic to something he ate? But... why his chest and not his throat would be acting up... who knows. He frowns... and goes to scratch his chest a bit... going over to sit down on the couch.

[muffinstud]

Scratching gives James an odd, tingling sensation. While it's relieving to scratch the itch, it's also unpleasant to disturb the angry, sensitive skin. And that skin looks a little more puffy, if a little less red. The itching continues, and seems to burrow deeper into each side of his chest. The more he scratches, the more his skin seems to move along with his fingers. Is he gaining weight?

[Knight Errant]

James frowns... he gets up... heading for the bathroom to get some aloe lotion usually saved for sunburns... he heads back to the couch... and tries rubbing it over the sensitive, red skin.

[muffinstud]

The aloe does wonders! The soothing coolness of the lotion relieves the angry skin, and the moisturizers in the lotion even seem to help with the itching a bit. Strange how it could absorb itself so quickly to stop the itching that seemed to reach all the way into his muscle. Still, James has the relief he seeks. And none too soon, since the time on the clock shows his roommate should be due to come back from class soon.

[Knight Errant]

James sighs with relief... thank goodness... he puts the bottle on the table next to the TV and glances to the clock... crap! He goes up... going to get his shirt and put it on. Being shirtless was just kind of... awkward.

[muffinstud]

Not having a shirt would be awkward, true. Wearing a shirt feels just as much, since the cool cream doesn't prevent the shirt from scratching his chest completely. As if the strange rash wasn't enough, James can see two tiny dots where his nipples are trying to poke through his shirt.

[Knight Errant]

James... winces at that... maybe he can find a baggier shirt... that would probably be the best idea... That in mind he turns to head for his room!

[muffinstud]

Right as James gets up, the front door to the apartment opens up! It's Robert, his roommate. Slightly above average height, lanky, with disheveled light brown hair, he has the appearance of the cross country runner that he is. He wears a ragged pair of blue jeans and a faded T-shirt. He tosses his ragged book bag onto the floor next to the couch and gives James a small wave out of courtesy. "Hey, what's up?" He seems to be completely oblivious of the worries James is going through at the moment.

[Knight Errant]

James... represses an urge to facepalm... and waves back. "Hey Rob... nothing much... I got all that stuff from the market earlier..." Smalltalk... then to his room... for a sweater... or something.

[muffinstud]

As he waves, James can feel his shirt rubbing against his chest again. At least now he has the lotion to act as a buffer, but it still doesn't feel quite right. Rob returns the smalltalk in kind as he turns on the TV and starts rotting his brain. James finds himself in the privacy of his room easily enough. Now, how to justify a sweater on such a warm day?

[Knight Errant]

James frowns... and first tries on the softest undershirt he has... maybe a few of those instead of a sweater?

Meanwhile... the Rob has entered the building! Nothing prevents him from some wholesome TV watching... though he may wonder why the bottle of Aloe is on the table next to the TV.

[muffinstud]

The undershirt is soft, and it scratches a lot less than the shirt he had on before. It's probably the most comfortable he's going to get. Even with the soft material, it feels like his chest is constantly moving against the shirt. Perhaps it has to do with how thin the undershirt is, but it also seems like those two little dots are bigger too.

Rob nearly bumps his elbow on the bottle of lotion and grumbles at it. The TV can wait, he figures, and picks it up to knock on James' door. "Hey, you dropped your... lotion?"

[Knight Errant]

James... blinks... sweatdropping... before going to put on his other shirt over top the first one... then heads to the door, opening. "Err... thanks. I think I got an allergy to something while out today..."

[muffinstud]

Rob blinks a couple times. "Sure, no problem. I hope it gets better." He turns and immediately heads to the bathroom to wash his hands, just in case. "What did you get for dinner, by the way," he shouts as he heads off.

Meanwhile, Jake's soft undershirt seems to be doing the trick even with his other shirt over top of it. Looking down, the two bumps where his nipples are seem less pronounced, but they don't seem to be going away any time soon. He'll definitely need more layers or something thicker to cover it up.