Up All Night - Sick 1D

[Gingersnaps12941297]

Omg, I need more. When are you writing the next bit?

[Sophie<3]

Oh my gosh. Why have I discovered this thread so late?!?! THIS IS SUCH AN AMAZING FIC. PLEASE OH PLEASE CONTINUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Awww... haha! Thanks sooo much!! HERE COMES THE NEXT PART NOW! ARE YOU EXCITED!

Omg, I need more. When are you writing the next bit?

Wrote it right now! Hope you like it!

Okay, guys, here comes the next part. It's a little short, but I already know how to continue! Have fun! c:

Harry awoke from a knocking sound. He blinked and saw Louis and Zayn walk in.

“Hey boys”, said Zayn with a smile. “How are you doing?”

Harry rubbed his nose and looked around. It was even brighter outside. He cleared his throat and asked: “How long did we sleep?”

Zayn shrugged. “Just an hour or two… Why? Feel hungry?”

Harry nodded. Niall was sitting up now, too. He immediately reached out for a tissue and blew his nose wetly. “Man”, he groaned. “I don’t think I’ve ever been that stuffed-up in all my life…”

Louis made a face, pretending to be grossed out. “Yeah, well, that’s lovely, mate. Besides the ridiculous amount of snot in your nose, though, how are you?”

He stepped closer, but Harry had already put a hand to Niall’s forehead. “He feels normal”, he stated and sniffled.

Louis raised an eyebrow and Zayn chuckled and also stepped closer. “Sorry, Haz, but your opinion doesn’t count! You have a fever, too, so you wouldn’t be able to feel if he’s too warm!”

Zayn then felt Niall’s forehead and sighed. “It’s so hard to tell without a thermometer. I think you might still be a little feverish, Ni. Better stay in bed today.”

“Sure”, Niall shrugged, then coughed. “I don’t feel like going anywhere anyway.”

“How about you, Harry?”, asked Louis in a concerned voice and looked at him like he was going to hug him and get all protective.

“I’m alright”, lied Harry. The truth was that he still felt horrible, but he didn’t want to worry Lou. On top of that, he was getting a little bored of staying in bed and wanted to spend time with his band mates.

“That’s good”, answered Louis, sounding unconvinced and giving Harry a look that said: “I know you’re lying and I’m going to take care of you no matter what you say”.

“What would you like for breakfast?”, asked Zayn now.

Niall had already put his head back down on the pillow and mumbled something about pancakes. Harry shrugged. “Can I get up and make it with you?”

“No!”, said Louis immediately. “You stay in bed, mate!”

“Okay, sure”, said Harry, because he felt too weak to fight right now. “But can I at least join you in the living room later?”

Zayn nodded sympathetically. “Getting bored in here, huh?”

“Yah! Being sick sucks so much! I want some distraction!”

“That’s what we’re here for, Haz.” Lou gave him a smile.

“Can I still have breakfast in bed, though?”, mumbled Niall, pouting like a little kid.

Everybody laughed. “Of course!”, said Zayn then. “We’ll get straight to work on them pancakes and maybe some scrambled eggs and bacon!”

So they left the room, while Harry grabbed a tissue to blow his nose for the millionth time that night. Ni right next to him caught two sneezes in cupped hands. Harry didn’t even bother to say “Bless you”, knowing that the blonde was half-asleep again and even more miserable than him.

About fifteen minutes later, Harry got out of bed, stuffed a few clean tissues into his sleeve and went into the living room. Walking still made him feel dizzy and send a wave of throbbing pain through his head. The congestion was still really bad, too. However, he felt a bit stronger than before his nap and it was fun joining Liam, Lou and Zayn in the living room, where they were sitting at the table with all sorts of food on it, including bacon, scrambled eggs and oatmeal.

“Hey Harry!”, called Liam out with a wide smile. “There you are, back from the dead!”

“Hey, I wasn’t the one that passed out! It was Ni!”

Liam frowned. “Is he any better?”

“Yeah”, said Harry and Zayn added: “We think his temp has gone down, even though there’s no real way of telling. I’m thinking we should probably go and buy a thermometer after breakfast.”

“Good idea”, said Louis. “I’ll come with you. And Liam can stay and watch the sickies.”

Harry didn’t protest. He just sat down and loaded some pieces of bacon on his plate. Zayn poured him a lot of orange juice, claiming that he needed vitamins. Harry took a sip and coughed. The pulp felt horrible in his sore throat and besides, he was too stuffed-up to taste anything! Just as he was nibbling his bacon with growing frustration, because he couldn’t really taste any of the normally delicious flavor, Lou turned away from the table and sneezed a strong double into the air. “He-ishOO! Ha-IT-choo!”

He sniffled, and turned back to the others as if nothing had happened. Liam, Zayn and Harry were staring at him.

“What?”

“Are you okay?”, inquired Liam. “Because if you’re not, say it now!”

Louis sighed. “Guys, calm down. I just sneezed once.”

“Twice”, corrected Harry.

“Yeah, what ever. You’ve been sneezing your head off all night and nobody’s been looking weird at you, Haz!”, said Louis defensively.

“That’s because he openly admits to being sick”, stated Liam dryly. “Which you don’t.”

“Because I’m not sick!”, claimed Louis, just as his breath began to hitch again. He tried to stifle the sneeze into the crook of his elbow, but it was too forceful. “He-ikngh-chOo!”

“Bad timing, mate”, said Zayn.

“Yeah. Now we’re totally not going to be believe you anymore”, added Liam.

Louis rolled his eyes. “Guys, seriously! Something’s bothering my nose, something in the air… Dust or…whatever. I’m okay.” Everybody was still staring at him, so he repeated it, stressing both syllables. “Oh. Kay. Can you just believe me, for gosh’s sake?”

“Do you swear?” Zayn’s eyebrows were raised critically.

Louis nodded without hesitation. “I swear. It’s nothing. I’m all good.” Then he tapped his own chest lightly. “Immune system of steal right here.”

The others chuckled, then Harry was interrupted by a sneeze of his own. He let out a small, wet: “He-chew!”

“Bless you”, said Liam and Zayn in unison, as Harry pulled out one of his tissues and wiped his runny nose gently.

“See?”, said Louis. “It’s no problem when he does it!”

[LiveToBeMe]

That was so cute!! And deniallllll :3 so cute. Love it, can't wait for more

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Denial . Yes deny it boobear until it gets worst <3 Yay for sick boys ! . I love this update , please continue ? Maybe spice it up with a little allergies from one of the healthy boys, leading to denial of beeing sick because they dunnoh its allergies c:

[sneezewuv]

AHHH PERFECTION. Yes. THE DENIAL. *sits and waits for more*

[babygirl45]

Denial isn't only a river in Egypt.

[gummiflummi]

That really cute! Keep going :-)

[Amberlight24]

Loved that ending! So cute! can't wait for more!

[All Time No]

Sneezy BooBear... *sighs happily* please continue

[Sophie<3]

That was so cute!! And deniallllll :3 so cute. Love it, can't wait for more

Thank you so much! I love denial, too! That's why I included it! Here comes more now! ^^

Denial . Yes deny it boobear until it gets worst <3 Yay for sick boys ! . I love this update , please continue ? Maybe spice it up with a little allergies from one of the healthy boys, leading to denial of beeing sick because they dunnoh its allergies c:

Thanks, Deathy! c: Guess what, that's exactly what happened! It got worse/worst! Sorry, I didn't see how to include any allergies... maybe I'll manage in the next part, we'll see... Hope you like the new part anyway! (:

Denial isn't only a river in Egypt.

Um... right. It's also what Louis makes use of when he gets sick.

That really cute! Keep going :-)

Aww... thank you. Enjoy the new part! (:

Loved that ending! So cute! can't wait for more!

Thanks, Amber! (: Here you go... new part! Enjoy!

Sneezy BooBear... *sighs happily* please continue

Haha... don't you wish it was real? I know that I do lol... Have fun with the new part! c:

[Sophie<3]

Okay guys. I was going to finish the story in the next part, but then I decided to write and post this shorter part first, so you can get excited about the last part coming up. So here's a shorter, but hopefully nonetheless enjoyable, new part! Hope you'll like it! <3

After breakfast, Harry was feeling dizzy and tired again, so he went back to bed, where Niall was still asleep. At the same time, Zayn and Louis were preparing to go out and buy a thermometer, leaving Liam to clear the table.

“Do you know where the next pharmacy is?”, asked Zayn and Louis nodded. “I think I saw one on the way here. Just let me drive, I’ll find it.”

He noticed Zayn was looking at him strangely. “Are you sure you can drive, Lou?”

“Zayn, what are you talking about?”

“Nothing…! You just look a little… tired…”

“Oh come on! Give me a break! Is this about the sneezing? I told you I’m fine!”

“Sure. Sorry, mate.” Zayn nodded and Louis sighed. Truly, he was hiding something from Zayn. After Niall had sneezed on him, he had started feeling a little funny. Waves of heat and shivers alternately ran through his body, leaving him feeling uncomfortable. On top of that, he had a headache and his throat felt a little sore. Also, ever since the sneezes at breakfast, his nose had been runny. However, he had just gone to the bathroom to blow it, and when that hadn’t been affective, he had simply hidden a tissue up his sleeve and used to it to wipe his nose repeatedly whenever nobody was looking. Driving was going to be a bit of a challenge, but there was no way he was going to just quit and give up the fight. His immune system was strong, after all, and maybe this would all be over in a few hours. Until then, he had Harry and Niall to take care of.

A few minutes later in the car, however, Louis realized that driving wasn’t the best thing at the moment. Of course, he was being responsible and all that. Zayn and him weren’t in any danger. The main problem was his nose. It was still constantly running and he had to take his hands of the steering wheel to wipe it. Also, with Zayn right next to him, it was getting harder and harder to hide his sniffling. Louis desperately tried to make conversation, about anything really, just to hide his condition. But Zayn was pretty observant and seemed to raise his eyebrows at every sniffle he heard. However, he didn’t say anything, which Louis was thankful for. “It’s right here, on the left, I think”, said Louis and took a turn. There was the pharmacy. He had remembered it correctly.

“Okay”, said Zayn, getting out a wallet. “What do we need again?”

“Um…” Louis turned away to hectically wipe his nose, while Zayn was looking down and counting his money. “A thermometer to take their temperature… Maybe some more cough drops. Cough syrup could help, too, I guess”, suggested Louis vaguely. His own throat felt so sore by now that he really wished he could buy some cough drops for himself, but of course, that would make Zayn even more suspicious.

As he stopped the car and got out, Louis felt a strong tickle in his nose once again. He started to panic a little, knowing that his sneezes were always loud and he wouldn’t be able to hide one from Zayn, who was leaving the car on the other side at the moment. Hectically, he began rubbing his nose to relieve the tickle, but it didn’t help. He felt his breath hitch and sniffled. The tickle stopped, but only for a second. Still determined to trick his own nose into stopping the sneeze, Louis decided to just ignore it and began saying something to Zayn. However, it didn’t work out quite as planned, as he was interrupted mid-sentence and the sneeze in relation to him still speaking made the weirdest noise. Louis blushed and Zayn stopped. “Dude! What the heck was that?”, he asked, sounding both confused and amused.

Louis tried to laugh it off. “I don’t know, man. That was weird. I tripped and kind of…”, he finished lamely, as he realized that his cover-up story didn’t make any sense. Silently, he walked around the car, only to see the black-haired boy staring at him. “Louis, seriously… what’s going on?”

For a second, Louis considered admitting everything. Then he decided that it wasn’t worth it. He hated being fussed over and besides, he wasn’t really sick at all, was he? Harry and Niall were doing much worse! Therefore he said: “I’ll tell you what’s going on! Haz and Ni are sick, as in, really sick! We have to help them. That’s why you have to stop worrying about me. Got it?”

Zayn made a face and sighed. Then he entered the pharmacy without another word. Louis followed him and noticed that he felt dizzy. The lights inside the building were too bright, the air was too cold. He shivered a little and started looking around, while Zayn confidently walked to the counter and started talking to the pharmacist.

Louis found the cough drops and picked up a packet of berry flavored ones. He walked up to Zayn, who was engaged in a discussion with the pharmacist about whether Tylenol or Ibuprofen would work better to reduce Harry and Niall’s fever. Louis just stood there, watching them talk, staring at the cough drops longingly… The sneezes came out of nowhere. His head jerked to the side on the first one, a powerful “Hu-reh-shooo!”, and he raised up his elbow just in time for the second and third one. “Heh-eh-choo! Ha-ESH-ooh!”

He sniffled wetly (his nose felt really blocked all the sudden) and noticed that the pharmacist, a blonde woman in her mid-30s, was smiling at him sympathetically. “You got the flu that’s been going around, huh? I can tell from the way you look that you’re running a fever! Poor thing… I think some ibuprofen and a lot of bed rest would be best for you now… Just let your friend here get you home, darling.” She smiled again and Louis, who was embarrassed, hurried to explain: “No, it’s not me we’re here for!”

The pharmacist raised an eyebrow. “It’s not? What do you-“

“It’s two of our friends! They’re really sick and we need to take care of them!”

She laughed a little. “Then you probably caught it from them.” She turned to Zayn. “Looks like you’re going to have to take care of three sick boys now.”

Zayn shrugged and said: “Looks like it!”, then he turned to Louis with his “I-told-you-so”-face. The older boy mumbled: “That’s not how it is…”, but nobody seemed to hear him. He stood still while Zayn picked out a digital thermometer and paid for everything they needed.

Louis felt increasingly worse. His legs were going wobbly and something was up with his vision. Louis didn’t know what was happening to him. Maybe he was just tired?

As he started walking behind Zayn, the whole room began to spin. Zayn turned to him and asked: “Are you okay?”, but he only heard his voice from what seemed like a long distance away. It was as if the room had gone really cold all the sudden. Louis was shivering underneath his jacket. He had stopped walking and Zayn took a step closer to him.

Louis wanted to get back into the car and drive to Harry’s apartment. He knew that his two younger band mates needed him, but all the sudden he felt like he couldn’t stand upright anymore. Zayn’s eyes grew big with concern. The next thing Louis felt was the other boy’s cool hand on his forehead, then his cheek. He tried to turn his head away, but it was too late. Zayn’s eyes had already widened knowingly.

“Lou”, he said in a calm voice. “You have a fever. But it’s okay. You can lie down in the car and take a nap at Harry’s. Just help me get you back in the car, okay?”

Louis nodded obediently. He heard Zayn say something to the pharmacist as he put his arm around his own, shaking body, but he didn’t hear what Zayn was saying. Leaning on his friend enabled Louis to make it back to the car, where he sat down in the back, and shivered even more violently when his overheated cheek touched the cold window.

“This is exactly why I offered to drive instead of you”, said Zayn, smiling a little at him. Louis could see that he was still concerned and just tried to cover it up, and he was embarrassed, because he hated causing other people worry. In his situation, however, he was too exhausted to keep up the pretence. He didn’t even bother to stifle or cover up his sneezes on the way back to Hazza’s apartment. All he wanted was to rest and let his sore body relax, but at the same time he knew that Harry and Niall needed him.

“Zaydd, I-“, said Louis and noticed how congested he sounded all the sudden.

“Shhh”, said the other boy reassuringly. “It’s okay. It’s all good… Don’t worry, Lou…”

So Louis closed his eyes and sank deeper into his seat.

[sneezewuv]

This is perfect. Ahhhh. SO GOOD. Louis <3 IM READY FOR MORE!

[SpookyBoi]

Cute! Poor Lou!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Awwwwwwwwe boobear is such in denial it's too adorable >--< I love this. Oh my gosh c: just continue pls you can't deny something forever Lou

[All Time No]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! LouBear! Poor baby! If only it were real... id cuddle himz!

[LiveToBeMe]

0.0 YOU EXPECT US TO WAIT!?!? HOLY CRAP! SO GOOD <3 PLEASE CONTINUE SOON

[Amberlight24]

So so very sweet!

[Dutchgirl]

I'm not a one directionlover. But I really love this story.

[Sophie<3]

This is perfect. Ahhhh. SO GOOD. Louis <3 IM READY FOR MORE!

Aww... I'm so glad you still like the story! I'm ready for more too haha... I have it all in my head, I just need to find the time to write it! You're an awesome reader, sneezewuv. c:

Cute! Poor Lou!

Haha... I know, right? I'm really making him suffer! Thanks for reading and replying!

Awwwwwwwwe boobear is such in denial it's too adorable >--< I love this. Oh my gosh c: just continue pls you can't deny something forever Lou

Awww Deathy, thank you, mate! (: Right, he'll have to stop denying it at some point. Maybe when Zaynie takes his temp? Wait for the next part!

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! LouBear! Poor baby! If only it were real... id cuddle himz!

Omg, me too!! I'd love to cuddle Hazza or Ni even more, though! <3 Hehe...! Hope you'll be around when I finally manage to write the final part!

0.0 YOU EXPECT US TO WAIT!?!? HOLY CRAP! SO GOOD <3 PLEASE CONTINUE SOON

Hahaha... yup, unfortunately. Really sorry, honestly. I have the whole next part in my head and I already started writing a little bit. Hope you'll like it once I post it! And thank you so much for the compliment!

So so very sweet!

Aww... thanks so much, Amber! c:

I'm not a one directionlover. But I really love this story.

That's cool! To be honest, I don't *love* their music either. I just think they're kind of cute and they're perfect for sneezefics, don't you think?

@all: Sorry, guys. I'll need a little more time for the next and final part. I'll try to make it good!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

No problem at all c: I will be patient. Also not a fan of their music but man their sneezes are hot. The end no discussion. Hot sneezes <3. Sexy faces. I shall wait the next part c:

[LiveToBeMe]

It's all good Sophie also I feel the same way about the boys. I don't think their music is cool, not do I think that they're very attractive, I just like them in sneeze fics btw you're very welcome

[sneezewuv]

It's all good :3 I'm very patient. hehe.

[All Time No]

I'm such a directioner lol it's crazy! I will be patient for the next part! You're a lovely writer!

[Sophie<3]

Hey guys! Thanks so much for your patience! Conveniently for you all, I'm really sick and since I'm spending the day in bed anyway, I had the time to write the last part. Also, I felt inspired by my own awful cold haha...! There's a lot of sneezing in the beginning, then cough and fever later.

Omg, this is the last part of the story, ARE YOU EXCITED?! Haha... I really hope that you like it! You have been awesome throughout this whole thing and I can't wait for your responses. I present to you... the extra-long last part. (You deserve it. Because you all are awesome readers! :*)

When Harry woke up, he didn’t know what time it was. First of all, he assured himself that Niall was still safe and sound, sleeping all curled up right beside him. The blonde was sniffling in his sleep, but apart from that he seemed alright.

Harry himself felt a little better after his nap. He touched the back of his hand to his forehead in a silly attempt to estimate his own body temperature, and came to the conclusion that he probably didn’t have a fever anymore. Or if he did, then it was only a mild one.

His nose was still incredibly stuffy, though, and itched like he was going to start sneezing any second again. Harry knew this sort of itchiness from his hay fever and it was usually followed by a massive sneezing fit. So far, he had only had minor ones as a result of his cold, but now things felt a little different. Careful not to wake up Ni, he grabbed a few tissues, then walked out of the room and into the bathroom, where he observed his own face closely in the mirror. In his opinion, he looked hideous, with his red, sore nose, glassy eyes and messy hair. However, he didn’t have time to do anything about his appearance, because out of nowhere, the first sneeze got him. It was relatively quiet, but did not lack intensity at all. Harry, who had doubled over, came back up and the image in the mirror revealed to him that just this single sneeze had made his eyes tear up, so that he now looked like he was crying again. Before he had time to blow his nose and wipe the tears out of his eyes, though, sneeze number two and three emerged. “Huh-ESH-oo! Hah-IEESH!!”

The sneezes were so forceful, they hurt Harry’s sore nose and made him lose control over his body. On the next three sneezes that came rapidly and left him no time to breathe, Harry didn’t even have enough control to cover them. He just sneezed openly into the air, while his arms were helplessly jumping up and down on each sneeze, as if he were some kind of doll.

“Hah-CHOO! Ha-RUH-shoo! Hu-tcheww!!”

Two more sneezes followed, that Harry managed to stifle. “Huh-knchhg… Heh-rggkng.”

Then he paused for a moment and realized that his fit and definitely turned on the faucet in his nose. With a sigh, he pressed the tissue to his ridiculously runny nose, only to find out that it was soaked about four seconds later. Harry sniffled, but that was his mistake. Immediately, his nose got itchy again. He could feel his breath hitch and his nostrils flare, then he doubled over again helplessly as a series of massive sneezes took control of his body.

“Hah-ITCH-oo! Ha-eshooo! Heh-ESH-ew!! Ha-ishhh! He-itchh-ee!!”

Harry took a deep breath, and then sneezed another double into his hands with the crumpled tissue. He desperately tried to pinch his nose and keep it shut, but the next sneeze made its way out anyway. “He-itghh.”

Harry gave up, rubbed his nose one last time and just started letting out his sneezes completely uncovered again.

The fit continued for another 10 minutes. Afterwards, Harry felt worn-out and a little disgusted by himself. When it was his hay fever, he at least didn’t have to feel guilty for spreading germs all over the place. He had already got Niall sick and he really didn’t want any of his other mates to catch whatever thing he had. When he left the bathroom, he thought about going back to bed where Niall was, because he felt tired again, but then Liam called out to him: “Jeez, are you okay, Hazz?”

Harry smiled a little and stepped into the living room. Liam was sitting on the couch, his smartphone in his hands. He looked up at Harry sympathetically, so the curly-head grinned a little and said: “Sure. Just a sneezing fit. But you know those from me, don’t you?”

Liam shrugged. “Yah, sure. It’s just, normally it’s your hay fever or some other bizarre allergy. I don’t think a cold has ever gotten you so bad.”

Now Harry shrugged, as he walked over to Liam and sat down on the couch. “True. I can’t recall sneezing this many times from a normal cold. In fact, I don’t recall ever feeling this horrible from being sick.”

Liam’s eyes widened a little. “It’s gotta be the flu then, mate!”

When Harry opened his mouth, Liam said: “Nah, don’t deny it! I’ve never seen Ni look like this, and he’s got what you got! So really, it has to be something worse than a cold to cause a fever like this in Niall and even more sneezes than usually in you!”

Harry said nothing. He felt his cheeks redden and he looked down at his own hands, because for some reason he considered the fact that Liam had apparently heard all of his bathroom sneezes embarrassing.

“Oh, by the way”, said Liam now, interrupting the silence. “The fans say Bless You.”

Harry looked up and frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you know. And Get Well and Feel Better, Hazza!... and stuff.”

“Liam.” Harry frowned. “What are you talking about? The fans don’t know that I’m sick!”

Liam smiled a wide, satisfied smile. “They do now!”

“What do you mean? How?”, asked Harry in an alarmed voice.

Liam chuckled. “Okay, it was like this. I went into your room to check on you and Niall. The way you were sleeping, all curled up, was kind of cute, so I decided to take a picture and post it for the fans! I knew they’d love it, so I just wanted to do them a favor!”

“Oh no, you didn’t!”, said Harry tonelessly. He was shocked.

“Come on”, said Liam and shrugged. “They’re happy and you get all that sympathy now! Win win situation, no?”

“No, definitely not!”, exclaimed Harry, then had to cough. “I look hideous!! You probably took a photo while snot was running out of my nose! I’m stuffed-up and sick and disgusting! Nobody wants to see that!”

As if to prove his point, Harry had to sneeze again right that second. He covered with his hands, then showed Liam the spray on them before wiping it off with a clean tissue. “See? There. That was gross.”

“Not according to the fans!”

“Not even the fans would like that!”

Liam was laughing now. “You’d be surprised, Haz! The girls love it! Don’t ask me why. I don’t get it either, mate! But if they were here, they’d be all over you now! I promise!”

Harry looked at him all skeptical. To him it seemed impossible that anybody would think him attractive right this moment.

“Don’t believe me?”, said Liam and held his phone out to Harry. “Take a look at the comments, my friend!”

Harry sat down next to Liam and they started looking at the comments together. Harry couldn’t believe it. The girls were saying things like:

“Aww, poor Haz! He looks adorable in his sleep! Feel better!”

“My poor baby! I’ll take care of you, Harry!”

“Haha… Niall and Harry look so cute when they’re sick! I <3 them!”

“Wow. Those two are even hot when they have the flu.”

“That’s cute. And sexy. Lolz.”

He stopped reading and looked up at Liam. “Unbelievable! They actually like it!”

“Yah man. Turns out some girls are into sick boys, I guess. Good for you, huh?”

“I still don’t like the fact that you took a picture of me in my sleep”, Harry pouted.

“Oh, get over it. I did you a favor, mate! The fans are really into it!”

Harry, who was still debating whether he should thank Liam or be mad, looked up when Niall stepped into the room. The Irish boy wasn’t as pale as before. His nose was still shiny and red and his hair was all messed up, but he was smiling a little and didn’t look like he was going to pass out again.

“Hey Nialler!”, greeted Liam. “You sure you should be up? Don’t pass out on me! Or else Lou and Zayn will be all over me later, calling me irresponsible for not strapping you to Hazza’s bed.” He laughed and Niall smiled back.

“I’m okay”, he said, but his voice sounded really hoarse. “I mean, I’m good enough to sit on the couch with you guys for a while. Being sick is so boring.”

“Agreed”, stated Harry.

As Niall walked over to them, a rattling cough escaped him. He had to stop and double over until the cough finally subsided.

“Wow”, said Liam. “That sounded horrible, Ni!”

“Yeah”, shrugged Niall. “It pretty much just started and it hurts like a b*tch. I think the dang thing decided to move on to my chest.”

“That sucks”, said Harry sympathetically, thinking that his cough was pretty bad, but Niall’s was definitely worse. “I got some cough medicine over in that drawer, I think.”

“Think I should take it?”, asked Niall.

“Yeah, sure. That’s sort of why I mentioned it.” Harry smiled and Niall smiled back. Then Liam got up and opened the drawer Harry was pointing at. He found the bottle of cough medicine and went back to Niall, who had reached the couch by now.

“He needs, like, ten drops or something”, recalled Harry from when he had used the stuff a while ago.

“Open up wide”, said Liam cheerfully and Niall opened his mouth obediently, then grimacing as the drops hit his tongue. He swallowed with what looked like a lot of effort, then pretended to be throwing up. “Dude, that stuff tastes like all the horrible tastes of the world compressed in one bottle!”, he complained.

Liam laughed and turned to Harry. “You need some too, mate. I heard you cough earlier!”

Harry made a face and put up his hands. “I’ll pass. Ni is right about the taste of that stuff.”

“Ah-ah”, said Liam. “Sorry, but you don’t get to be a baby. You’ll have to take it.”

They argued for a while, but when Harry broke off coughing, he realized that he had just made Liam’s point and finally agreed to take ten drops as well.

Just when the horrible taste in Harry’s mouth had become bearable, the door bell rang, and Liam got up to let Zayn and Louis in.

“Harry”, said Niall, turning to Harry with a suffering look in his puppy eyes. “Why do you even have cough medicine that tastes like that? You know, they have strawberry and orange flavored stuff, so why not get that for a change? Seriously, the second it hit my tongue I thought I was gonna pu-“

He broke off when the other 1D members came back into the living room. Liam and Zayn were basically carrying Louis, who looked delirious and miserable.

“Oh no…”, said Harry and sniffled. He wanted to blow his nose, but he felt like this wasn’t the moment. “What’s wrong with Lou?”

“We don’t know for sure”, said Zayn, who looked really concerned. “But I bet you that he’s got what you two got.”

Harry and Niall quickly made room on the couch, and Zayn and Liam sat Louis down. The older boy immediately leaned against Harry for support, and Harry put his arm around him. Even he could feel the heat that was radiating off Louis’s body.

“Did you get the thermometer?”, asked Liam now. “Might be useful right now.”

Zayn nodded and got it out. He tore off the plastic packaging and turned the digital device right on with a beep. “Lou, open up”, said Niall. The oldest One Direction member responded with a grunt. He seemed far, far away.

“Maybe one of you should be first”, suggested Zayn. “We can see if the thing works at all and we can give Lou a chance to rest a little first.”

“No”, said Liam. “We need to know if he has, like, a dangerous fever. Because if Yes, we need to call somebody. We can’t handle this on our own if it’s higher then, say, 104°.”

“Okay”, agreed Zayn. “Still, can somebody at least get him a glass of water or something? I don’t want him to dehydrate!”

“Sure, I’ll go”, said Liam and left the room quickly.

“Hey, Lou”, said Harry and shook Louis really gently. The other boy blinked sleepily and sniffled. “I know you don’t feel well, I really do, but please just let us take your temperature, okay?”

Lou didn’t respond, only leaned closer to Harry. “Lou, please! Talk to me!”

Now he blinked again and his eyes focused on Harry’s face. “Mh… what? Harry?”

“Yah, it’s me, mate!”, said Harry with relief. “You’re really sick now, too! Can you open your mouth for us and then we make you better?”

“You’re sick”, mumbled Lou. He seemed confused. “You are, not me. I take care of you, Haz.”

“No”, said Harry and felt close to tears for some reason. “Things are a little different now. Liam and Zayn will take care of both of us, plus Niall. Just please open your mouth. Zayn wants to take your temperature.”

Louis finally nodded and opened his mouth really slowly, so Zayn could place the thermometer in it. Liam returned with a glass of water and they waited for the beep in silence. Then, Niall sneezed unexpectedly and everybody jumped a little. “Sorry, that came out of nowhere”, apologized the blonde.

Finally, the device started to emit a high-pitched beeping noise. Zayn had a look at it. “103.8.”

“Hm… that’s pretty bad, huh?”, said Liam. “Let’s get him to bed. Or actually, he should stay on the couch where we can monitor him. Let’s get him something cool for his forehead, too.”

They did as he had suggested. As soon as Louis was resting on the couch with a blanket, eyes closed and a cool wash cloth on his forehead, the attention shifted back to Harry and Niall.

“So, who wants to go first?”, asked Zayn, looking from one sick boy to the other.

Both remained silent. When Niall pointed at Harry, Harry pointed back at him.

“Oh, come on”, said Liam. “Why are you being such babies about this? It won’t even hurt!”

“I don’t like the cool metal in my mouth”, explained Niall and coughed.

“Me neither”, agreed Harry.

“Fine”, said Liam now. “Then there’s only one way we can settle this.”

“Agree that we don’t have fevers anymore?”, asked Harry with hope.

“No. Rock, paper, scissors. One round. Go.”

At first, Harry and Niall stared at Liam, then at each other. They were reluctant at first, but then Niall said: “Might as well”, because he was getting bored again.

His hand remained flat for paper, Harry had his in a fist for rock.

“Ha”, said Niall. “You lose!”

So Harry sighed and opened his mouth, while Zayn wiped the tip of the thermometer on a clean tissue, claiming that it probably didn’t matter because they all had the same germs anyway. While the thing was in his mouth, Harry had to cough really badly, but he held it in until the reading was done. Right when he heard the beep, though, he basically spit it out and started coughing until his throat had stopped itching. “Wow”, he said. “It sucked holding that in.”

“100.6”, said Zayn instead of an answer. “That’s not so bad. Still, you should take it easy and sleep some more.”

Next it was Niall’s turn. After a few seconds, the blonde started rubbing his nose hectically. He pinched it and sniffled wetly. Then, right after the beep, he took out the thermometer and turned his head to sneeze. “Huh-echoo! Ha-eshoo!”

“Bless you”, said the three others.

“Thanks. Trust me, Harry, it sucked holding that in, too. That’s why I hate having my temp taken.”

“102.2, Niall”, said Zayn with a frown.

“Haha. I’m cooler than you”, grinned Harry without thinking.

“That’s only because I’m hotter than you”, responded Niall.

Liam and Zayn where looking at them with raised eyebrows and Harry blushed. “Sorry”, he mumbled and looked down at his hands. “That was a horrible joke.”

“Yeah, mine was too”, admitted Niall, but he was still grinning a little.

“Just get comfortable”, said Zayn with a sigh. “I’ll get you two blankets and tea. You can camp out on the sofa and watch some cartoons or whatever you like. Liam and I will be at your service.”

So Harry and Niall leaned back and enjoyed being taken care of. Louis slept a lot, and once in a while, he sat up for a few minutes, sneezing and coughing, then decided that even watching TV was too exhausting.

The day passed and Zayn and Liam sat down in front of the couch, scrutinizing their patients. “How are you feeling now?”, said Zayn to nobody in particular.

“A little better”, answered Harry and Niall nodded, even though he still had a mild fever.

“Thanks for taking care of us”, he said sweetly and now Harry nodded and added: “We really appreciate it. We’d do the same for you!”

“Oh yah?”, said Liam. “Well, that won’t be necessary. Because I don’t plan on getting sick. You, Zayn?”

“Of course not”, answered the black-haired boy and laughed a little. Then he turned back to Niall and Harry and Lou, who had sat up. He still looked pretty flushed and sick, but he managed to croak a “Thank you”.

“You’re welcome”, said Zayn warmly. “In a few days, we’ll be back to making music and Paul won’t have to be mad at us for getting each other sick. Honestly, in like 2 days this nightmare will be over.”

TWO DAYS LATER

“Huh…. Huh… ACHOO!”, sneezed Zayn.

“Bless you!”, called Harry from the kitchen.

“Thank you!”, called Zayn back and was interrupted by his own hacking cough.

“Man, this sucks!”, said Liam, who was sitting next to him on the couch and sipping his tea. “I didn’t know they were feeling so bad!”

Instead of an answer, Zayn sneezed again. Then, he got out a tissue (which had become rare in Harry’s apartment by now) and blew his nose carefully.

“Bless you”, said Liam and sniffled. “Dude, I really hate this! I don’t think I’ve ever felt so bad in my life! My throat is killing me!”

“Told you it sucks”, said Lou, who was still wearing his PJs, even though it was noon.

“How are you, Lou?”, asked Zayn. Even though he was sick himself now, he still worried about the older boy, who had been so miserable just a few days ago.

“Better than you two!”, said Lou and gave a thumps up to amuse them. When Liam and Zayn weren’t amused, however, he got serious again. “No, honestly, my fever’s gone, unlike yours, and I’m not as stuffed-up anymore. You, on the other hand, should really rest. Trust me, sleeping helps! That goes for you, too, Liam!”

Right that moment, Harry came in with two steaming bowls of soup. “Hey sickies”, he said cheerfully. Now that he was better, he was actually glad to be in the care-taking position instead of the other way around. “Want some soup? It’ll help with your sore throats!”

Both Zayn and Liam nodded and he handed the bowls to them.

“Thanks”, said Liam then.

“For the soup?”

“For everything.”

“Don’t worry, mate!”, said Harry with a smile. “Only returning the favor.”

Then Niall stepped in. He was better, too, even though he still had to sneeze and blow his nose a lot. “Paul called”, he said. “He’s pretty pissed that we got you guys sick. Sorry about that, by the way.”

“It’s okay”, said Zayn warmly and rubbed his itchy nose. “That’s what happens when people take care of each other. We were there for you, now you’re there for us. It’s all good.”

“Stop being so cheesy!”, said Lou and laughed. The others joined in.

Then Liam yawned and Niall said to Harry and Lou: “C’mon guys, let’s leave, so these two can get some sleep.”

As they walked out and turned to Harry and said: “Mate? Do all of us a favor and never sneeze on me again!!”

THE END

[LiveToBeMe]

Ahhhh!! Why!?!? That was such a great story Sophie! Thank you so much for sharing I just love long stories. Sorry to see this one go, but it had. Great ending