Drabble Challenge - Oliver/Avery

[Arty]

*Paws at you like an excited puppy*

Awwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!! Now all he needs is tea, bed, comfy blankets, and forehead Kisses! 

[darkness-is-the-light]

The little babies are back together...   They're so adorable together. I know this particular thing was a while ago, but I definitely wouldn't mind Oliver hearing what Avery's unstifled sneeze sounds like. Avery is vulnerable enough, but I feel like he needs another reason to be embarrassed so he can be cuddled. 

[Sneezy123]

These babies are so precious. Keep writing please, I can't handle the adorableness 

[AdrianMarx]

@Artygirl22 He does. But the time when he'll get them doesn't seem to be quite yet!

@Sophie83540 That will definitely be happening in future drabbles. Vulnerable!Avery is my favourite to write because he needs to be fussed over so badly!

@Sneezy123 Aw, thank you! I shall ^-^

-

Calculating

Unfortunately, all good things must eventually end and Avery found himself back in the alleyway that night, pressed up against some bins in a vain attempt to keep the worst of the wind off him.

“Ish! hh..Ishhh!”

Avery sniffled, wiping his nose on his blanket. The medicine may have helped his other symptoms but, if anything, it had made his nose itchier than ever. Or perhaps it was wearing off. He wasn’t sure. Either way, he was starting to feel particularly awful.

“Ishhoo! Hell,” he muttered, sniffling but quickly descending into a pained cough. Running this morning had not agreed with him. His chest still felt tight. His heart sank when he remembered he had gym again tomorrow. He hoped his teacher would accept his illness as an excuse.

He coughed again into his blanket and returned his attention to the papers in front of him. He frowned. He didn’t bloody well know how to find the limit of the equation because he’d been too busy in class trying not to cough his lungs up. Avery let his head fall back against the wall, relishing in the pain it brought. He couldn’t help but feel he deserved this - deserved to feel miserable, deserved to be lonely, deserved the pain. After all, his own parents didn’t want him. That really should say it all.

“Heh’nXGt!”

Avery rubbed his nose in frustration, sniffling thickly. The congestion was starting to return and his head was practically swimming in it.

“Hell above,” he murmured to himself, shoving his maths papers back into his bag and drawing his legs up to his chest. The puppy seemed to have abandoned him now too. Though hurt, he couldn’t say he was surprised. Nobody should be forced to stick around him for very long. He just brought everybody down with his constant misery and pathetic excuse for an immune system.

In a sudden burst of anger, he smashed his fist into the bin as hard as he could, feeling his eyes well up in response to the pain. If anything, the pain only made him angrier and he found himself with a building ball of emotion which was desperately seeking a release. He understood why small children had tantrums. He was quite in the mood for one himself if just to let it all out.

It was a sneeze that did it in the end. He pitched forward, stifling just one sneeze into cupped hands, and it was the last toll on his patience. He moved like a madman, smacking balled fists against his legs, his stomach, his shoulders - everywhere he could reach. He pinched the skin on his arms mercilessly between his fingers, squeezing until he was sure he could be covered in minute bruises come the morning. And then, just as suddenly as it had come, the anger dissipated, leaving him with an overwhelming sadness which ached right in his chest.

So he cried. He cried until he thought his lungs would burst, until his sore throat felt torn from the sobs and muffled screams. And when he’d finished crying, he sat there feeling empty and lonely and wondering why he even bothered anymore.

[Coffee Chicken Barista]

Adrian, this was gorgeous! And so sad! The poor thing...

[Kaze Wo Hiku]

Avery!!!! oh the poor dear

[Artemis]

awe, the poor dear. He needs to be wrapped up in a blanket with some nice warm chicken soup and sweet tea. That is so sad and beautiful. It was amazing! ANd I'm glad you let me beat up the bullies!! Can't wait to see the next part!!

[Juto]

 

I don't even know what to do now. I devoured it, totally and completely three times despite the heart wrenching pain because it was so well written and seemed so painfully real. 

How dare you? 

But well done!  

[SpamKey]

Welp looks like we only got a short, fluffy reprieve from the angst-fest  Averyyyyyyyy, just ask for hellllllllp!!!! *gross sobbing*

[Arty]

......

...........................

[this_is_not_me]

Gah, poor bb. *cuddles him* Please just spend the night with Oli, sweetheart.

[AdrianMarx]

@Coffee Chicken Barista Aw  Thank you so much!

@Kaze wo Hiku I do feel slightly bad for putting him through this...only slightly mind...

@Artemis I'm sure Oliver can see to that. And I think you did an admirable job beating up those bullies. They deserved it!

@Juto Thank you, dear. I'm so in awe of you <3

@SpamKey Ah, yes. You have to admit, though, it's not exactly a situation which lends itself to fluff.

@Artygirl22 

@this_is_not_me Maybe if he'd listen to you, everything would be okay :/ 

~

Mask

Just keep walking. You’re almost there. One foot after the other. That’s it. Good.

Avery paid little attention to the people around him, concentrating solely on staying upright. This fever was wreaking havoc with him though at least it was fairly mild today thanks to the medicine. Oliver probably wouldn’t even be able to tell which was, of course, the whole point.

Don’t look up. Just keep walking. Keep breathing.

“Hngcht!”

Stop sneezing.

Avery sniffled, rubbing hard at his nose with the back of his hand. As he did so, he noticed a small, deep purple bruise in his wrist and quickly lowered his hand again, shaking his sleeve over it. His arms were littered with similar bruises from last night’s pinching episode and, though he disliked the bruises, he couldn’t say he regretted it.

He saw Oliver up ahead and took a deep breath.

Smile. Make him think you’re okay.

Oliver spotted him and smiled back, linking Avery’s arm with his own. “Feeling better?”

Lie.

“Yeah, actually,” Avery said. “Still a bit stuffy but mostly okay.”

Oliver’s smile was worth the lie. “Good.”

Make conversation. Be normal.

“You wanna grab lunch?” Avery asked, trying his best to sound casual. Oliver threw him a strange look.

“It’s 10am,” he said, looking both amused and dangerously close to checking Avery’s forehead.

Shit.

Avery tried to laugh it off but it turned into a harsh cough. He waved away Oliver’s attempts to help, getting it under control after a moment though the need was still there.

He’s worrying. Say something!

“How did you do with the maths homework?”

Oliver gave him one final concerned look before saying, “Pretty good. You?”

Avery shook his head with a sigh. “Not sure I’m gonna pass this year.”

“Sure you will,” Oliver said, bumping their shoulders together playfully. “We can study together after Christmas, yeah?”

Avery smiled. “Well, you’re the maths whizz.”

“I am not,” Oliver chuckled.

Keep teasing him.

“Oh, you so are,” Avery grinned, straightening Oliver’s tie for him because he knew it would make him look away, embarrassed. “My little maths genius.”

“Shut up.”

[Kaze Wo Hiku]

Good god Avery stop channeling Liam and be truthful!!!

[Artemis]

The lies! All the lies! Let Oliver help you he loves you! Ad the math all the talk about the math!!

[Arty]

Avery....hon...but why you lying tho? 

[SpamKey]

*sharpens pitchfork again*

[Juto]

Awww Avery's internal monologue and his "keep teasing him" just to make a (hopefully) unsuspecting Oliver smile. 

My. Heart. Can't. Handle. It. Anymore. 

ow  

[missfemmefatale]

On 5/15/2016 at 6:33 PM, Artygirl22 said:

Avery....hon...but why you lying tho? 

Haha that's hilarious!  

[Arty]

1 hour ago, YunoGasai said:

Haha that's hilarious!  

One must be a beacon of comedy in these darken times of sick boys who need to stop lyin' about their symptoms.

[this_is_not_me]

Noooooo, just let him take care of you!!! (I know, I know. He's not gonna listen.)

[AdrianMarx]

@Kaze wo Hiku He is channelling your Liam a little, isn't he?

@Artemis Lies, lies, and more lies to come. But not long now. Not long at all.

@Artygirl22 Arty, I'm giggling omg.

@SpamKey Be careful with that thing!

@Juto Hopefully your heart will feel a tiny bit better after this?

@this_is_not_me Eventually, he will.

-

Suspicion

Oliver suspected that Avery was not being completely truthful with him when he’d claimed to be feeling better. Though it was very subtle, Avery showed all the signs of being sick and hiding it. Oliver couldn’t help but wonder about his motivations. He thought they were past this. Sure, Avery was notorious for downplaying illnesses to a certain extent but he’d more often than not let Oliver offer what little comfort he could while at school. But Avery tensed at every touch, pulled out of every hug. It wasn’t exactly out of character but it made Oliver feel uncomfortable all the same.

Did Avery, perhaps, not like him the same way anymore? Was he trying to subtly hint that he wanted to end their relationship and perhaps go back to being friends? Or maybe he didn’t want to see Oliver at all anymore.

Avery was a notorious liar but this concealment was beyond what he’d displayed even when they’d first met. Oliver hoped that it was indeed just a side effect of school stress. After all, he hadn’t really known Avery this time last year and it did make sense that Avery would try to push away from everyone if he was feeling particularly worried.

But Oliver couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that.

All through maths, Oliver watched Avery from across the classroom. Though infrequent, Avery’s shoulders did occasionally shake with a sudden bout of shivers despite the stifling heat of the room. Oliver had so much of his attention focused on his boyfriend that he barely completed the second question before it was time to pack up and he was weaving his way down to the front to link arms with Avery.

Avery smiled. “Miss me?” He said, chuckling softly. Oliver kissed his temple, noting to himself that Avery did indeed have something of a fever. And yet he was lying.

“Desperately,” he replied with a smile of his own, walking with Avery for as long as he could before they were forced to go their separate ways to get to class on time.
 

Cough

Of all the people Oliver expected to be knocking on his door at 9pm - the police, a burglar, a TV show host telling him he’d won the lottery - Avery was last on his list. For a moment, he was frozen by the shock of Avery’s haggard appearance. He looked fevered and exhausted, a crease between his eyebrows betraying a pounding headache. A bright red bulb sat at the end of his nose and, to top it off, he couldn’t seem to stop coughing.

It was an awful, chesty sound which tugged at Oliver’s heart and suddenly it didn’t matter that Avery had been lying to him yesterday. Nothing mattered but-

“Avery,” he breathed when his voice returned to him. Without wasting another second, he guided the smaller boy over the threshold and sat him down on the couch, returning from the kitchen with a glass of water. Avery drank it slowly between coughs, Oliver rubbing his back worriedly.

When the coughs had finally subsided, Oliver pulled his boyfriend into his arms and gave him a quick squeeze, afraid to hold tight for any longer in case he restricted the poor kid’s airways even more.

“Avery?” He asked, voice soft. “What happened?”

Avery sniffled, tears welling in his eyes. “I-” he looked frightened and confused. “I- I had a fight with my parents,” he said eventually though Oliver got the feeling he’d left out a great deal. Still, now wasn’t the time to push the subject. His poor boy needed rest.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” he whispered. “Do they know you’re here?”

Avery nodded, burying his face in Oliver’s shoulder, coughing lightly. Oliver rubbed his back again thoughtfully.

“If you’re going to stay the night, I should call them and-”

“No!”

Oliver almost jumped in surprise as Avery sat up suddenly, expression filled with panic. But before he could say anything, Avery doubled over, chest pressed against his lap, coughing painfully against his arm.

“Shh, here we go,” Oliver murmured, sitting him up and holding the water to his lips, encouraging him to take small sips. “Alright, I won’t call. That bad, huh?”

Avery looked like he might cry again so Oliver let the matter drop and instead watched his boyfriend rub circles his chest to ease the congestion. Poor thing. He quickly pressed his lips against Avery’s, flashing him a soothing smile. If anything, Avery only looked more distressed. At a loss for what else to do, Oliver settled for taking care of the problems he could see.

Soon, Avery was wrapped in a blanket with a cup of tea, Oliver’s arms around him. Avery had point blank refused to have his temperature checked and Oliver had decided that he’d let Avery do what he liked tonight, within reason. He’d obviously had a rough night with his family. The last thing he needed was Oliver pestering him and making it worse.

They watched A Cinderella Story after which Oliver tucked his sleepy boyfriend into bed and settled down next to him, quite pleased with himself for managing to look after Avery without his mother’s help.

That being said, he was looking forward to her return. Cooking was not his strong suit.

[Kaze Wo Hiku]

.... I need Spam's "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" recording to start playing.  At least Avery had the good sense to go to Oliver's.

[SpamKey]

55 minutes ago, Kaze wo Hiku said:

.... I need Spam's "Quit Playing Games With My Heart" recording to start playing.  At least Avery had the good sense to go to Oliver's.

You wanna borrow my boombox?

Finally, he went to Oliver!!!!  He still hasn't come completely clean, but I'll take it!!!!

[this_is_not_me]

Yaaaaaaaay, Avery's gonna spend the night with Oliver, finally!! Poor bbs. *cuddles them both*

[AdrianMarx]

@Kaze wo Hiku But I so enjoy playing games with your heart...

@SpamKey Small victories!

@this_is_not_me They need all the cuddles they can get.

-

(okay, this first one is set between Cough and Suspicion and the second one follows on from Cough)

Squint

Something was wrong with Avery Henderson; Charlie Lester was sure of it.

His star pupil had been miserable for weeks. His work had been slipping, his homework undone. He seemed not to care anymore about his History grade. For a boy who had been so passionate about the subject just a couple of months ago, Mr Lester found this undeniably worrying.

He remembered his worries from before; he remembered thinking he should speak to Avery after class. He couldn’t remember, however, why he hadn’t followed through with that plan.

Avery took his usual seat as the other students filed in. Mr Lester noticed how exhausted he looked and once, when they were discussing the rates of homelessness during the Great Depression, he saw Avery’s green eyes fill with tears which he tried discreetly to wipe away. Respecting his wishes, Mr Lester did not press the matter. When he held Avery back after class, he was reassured that the boy was merely sensitive and perhaps a little under the weather. Though he couldn’t help but think a little under the weather was perhaps a bit of an understatement, he could feel Avery clamming up. And so he let the boy go.

A double period of history came the following day but Avery paid little attention throughout the lesson. Not wanting to embarrass him, Mr Lester let it slide. However, when he failed to hand in his homework again, he had no choice but to issue a detention - well, not if he wanted a chance to talk to the boy alone.

~

Avery arrived in Mr Lester’s classroom after school that day looking all the worse for wear, dragging his feet as he presented himself at the desk looking ashamed. Mr Lester sighed and clasped his hands together, leaning on the desk to examine his pupil more closely.

“You’ve been very distracted lately,” he began, keeping all accusation out of his voice. “Has something happened?”

Avery was silent but Mr Lester saw him starting to shake and quickly told him to take a seat, cursing himself for forgetting that the boy was ill.

“Can I get you a drink of water?” He asked, receiving a shake of the head in return. At a loss, the teacher sighed to himself and sat back in his chair, thinking. He didn’t get a chance to say anything, however, before Avery took a deep breath and disappeared behind cupped hands.

“Heh-INGch!”

Avery sniffed wetly, blushing.

“Bless you,” Mr Lester said gently, offering the box of tissues on his desk to Avery who flushed even deeper, one hand still covering his nose as he plucked a tissue from the box and started to clean himself up.

“Avery? Is something wrong?” Nothing. “Is someone giving you a hard time?” Again, there was no answer but a faint sniffle. Mr Lester frowned in concern. “I know you’ve had trouble with bullies in the past. You know the school policy. If you tell me I can-”

“It’s not-” Avery cleared his throat. “It’s nothing, sir. Nobody’s picking on me.”

Mr Lester wasn’t quite sure he believed him but didn’t press the matter.

“Has something happened at home?” He asked and, though he almost had to squint to see it, Avery tensed almost imperceptibly. So there was something. “I’d like to be able to tell you that whatever you say remains confidential but I can’t make that promise. If I think you’re in danger-”

“I’m not!” Avery exclaimed, panic and congestion lacing his tone.

Mr Lester tried for a calm smile though it went against everything he was feeling. “Alright. But you are ill.”

Avery shrugged. “Always am,” he said, eyes meeting his teacher’s as though in challenge. There was a hardness there that Mr Lester had never seen from quiet, hard-working Avery Henderson before. It unnerved him.

He sighed. “Just know I’m here should you need someone to talk to.”

With that, he set Avery lines - only twenty because the poor thing needed to be resting but he had to keep up the appearance of having summoned him purely for detention - and sent him on his way, thoughts whirring in his mind as he replayed their short conversation.

Something was wrong with Avery Henderson; Charlie Lester just didn’t know what.

 

Mistake

Avery jerked awake early the following morning, feeling Oliver shift beside him. As carefully as he could, he slipped out of Oliver’s arms and bolted downstairs, coughing harshly until tears blurred his eyes. Everything hurt and he wanted to cry as he locked himself in the downstairs bathroom, muffling his coughs into a towel. His chest felt like it was on fire but before he had a chance to process it, he felt a tickle build in his nose and pitched forward with the towel pressed to his face.

“Ehh’ISHoo! Hnxgt! NXgt! hh...hh’hh-eh...come...on...heh’ISHoo!”

Feeling a little light-headed, Avery sniffled and grabbed some toilet paper to blow his nose. He felt bad about using the towel but was frankly too exhausted to figure out what to do about it so he just put it back on the rack. His legs started to shake in protest and Avery sat down rather ungracefully, knees curled into his chest and back pressed against the wall. The sneezing had triggered another tickle in his chest and he could feel a cough building but hadn’t the energy to fight it.

By the end of the fit, the tears weren’t only due to his coughing. He tucked his head into his knees and cried but before long he felt an unpleasant churning in his stomach and practically threw himself across the room.

~

Oliver woke to find himself alone which wasn’t exactly unusual and he thought little of it until he remembered the events of the night before. Instantly awake, he sat up and spotted Avery’s bag still lying beneath the window which made him breathe a sigh of relief. Avery was still here and while Oliver would definitely rather he was in bed, he remembered the state of his poor boyfriend’s emotions last night and decided to give him ten minutes to himself.

In the quiet of the morning, Oliver took a moment to appreciate the weekend. He really needed a break and so did Avery. School was wearing them both down though Avery certainly seemed to be suffering the effects of stress much worse than Oliver would have expected. He wondered if Avery had any tissues on him. Oliver didn’t have any in his room and Avery certainly needed them. So he pulled Avery’s bag into his lap and was both surprised and confused by what he found there.

Why had Avery brought a blanket? And was that his school uniform? Oliver frowned. Had Avery been planning to spend the entire weekend with him? Somehow, Oliver didn’t think he’d have had the foresight to pack his uniform given the state he was in last night. That fight with his parents had really shaken him up. He kept looking and found a bottle of cold medicine - almost empty - and sighed. One of these days, Avery would stop trying to keep his health a secret and Oliver looked forward to it.

One day, Avery would believe him when he said that he just wanted to help because he loved him.

~

Feeling shaky, Avery struggled to his feet and quickly searched the medicine cabinet until he found some fever reducing pills which he downed with water from the tap. Even after his stomach heaving, he hadn’t thrown up and now felt the same if not worse than before. He took a seat on the floor again and found his breathing so difficult he was practically wheezing. He wanted to cry. Instead, he shut his eyes and counted to ten.

He made his way to the living room and sank down on the couch, wiping the sweat from his forehead with the back of his wrist.

Get a hold of yourself, snapped a voice in his head - a voice which sounded suspiciously like his father. He grimaced. Get a hold of yourself.

~

Oliver found no tissues but did find Avery’s phone at the bottom of his bag. The screen was cracked in the corner and it looked like it hadn’t been touched in weeks. It certainly wasn’t holding any charge. Repacking Avery’s bag again, he glanced at the clock and started downstairs to find his boyfriend.

He found him in the living room, sitting rigidly on the couch, looking flushed and tired but he seemed to have an air of quiet determination about him.

“Feeling any better?” Oliver asked, sitting down next to Avery and leaning in to kiss his cheek. He was surprised when Avery tensed but he let Oliver kiss him all the same. Oliver frowned. “Okay?”

Avery smiled but it seemed forced. “Yeah. Thanks for- y’know.”

Oliver smiled back, bumping his shoulder against Avery’s affectionately. “That’s what boyfriends are for.”

At this, Avery sighed and looked away and Oliver was reminded of his fears about Avery not wanting to maintain their relationship anymore but he didn’t get a chance to even consider voicing them before Avery spoke, hoarseness evident in his voice.

“Called my parents,” he said. “We worked it out. I- I should go home. Apologise.”

Oliver felt his insides freezing over. Avery’s phone was in his bag upstairs and he must have known that Oliver’s mother had gotten rid of the house phone after they got so many pre-recorded calls that it became ridiculous. Or maybe in the stress of the moment what with school and everything Oliver had forgot to mention it.

Avery was lying to him and this time Oliver knew it.

“Oh,” he said because he couldn’t think of anything else. “Okay.”

The look on Avery’s face was unreadable. “Thank you,” he said, sounding painfully sincere. “I love you.”

It had been a long time since Avery had initiated a kiss and Oliver was caught off guard but soon he was kissing back, hands resting against Avery’s sides as he pulled him closer. He didn’t ever want to let go.

But all too soon Avery was gone. Oliver sat in a daze, listening to Avery’s footsteps heading upstairs and then back down, disappearing out the door. And for a moment he forgot that anything was wrong, still elated from kissing the boy he loved more than anything. He couldn’t help it. He giggled. And once he started, it was hard to stop.

Avery still loved him.

~

Backpack slung over his shoulder, Avery was grateful for the relative warmth of the morning as he trudged back to town. Instead of heading back to his alley hideaway, he went to the train station and sat on the bridge over the tracks, watching trains passing every fifteen minutes or so and counting the people getting on and off. In the time between trains, he thought about Oliver. He thought about how much he loved him. And how much he’d miss him.

Moving robotically, he made his way back to the platform and walked right to the end, glad there was nobody to man the ticket desk this early on a Saturday morning. He sat on the edge, letting his legs dangle. And he thought about Oliver and how much he loved him. And how much he’d miss him.

Oliver.

Avery got back to his feet and stumbled back to the alley, curling up atop the flattened cardboard boxes without bothering to fetch his blanket. Using his bag as a pillow, he made himself small so he couldn’t be seen from the street. And he thought about Oliver and how much he loved him. And how much he missed him.