Breaking the Barrier

[LimeyBlimey]

So it would seem I'm coming down with a cold. I woke up this morning with a raw, sore throat, a dull headache, and have been sneezing more than usual. Often when I get sick, I tend to want to just relax and rest, write, or draw, or whatever creativity inspires for me. However, I've been inspired this time to delve into the world of sneeze-fic story-writing for the first time. This is the first part of my first fiction, so please let me know what you think!

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As I knelt down to pick up a few stray Lego pieces from the carpet, I took a deep breath. The thing that had still been on my mind all week, despite my twelve 4-year-old students keeping me distracted by their excitement over our butterfly project, was the end of my relationship over the last weekend. Gavin was now my "ex" and I was single after not even a year. Of course, HE was probably fine. HE had probably already even moved on. I, however, was an emotional mess and I hated feeling that way. As I moodily pulled out a bottle of organic cleaning spray and paper towels from the closet next to my classroom, I gritted my teeth and rolled my eyes for probably the twentieth time that day. Why was I even sad about our breakup? It was all because of him, not me. I was better off now because he was the flighty jerk. After all, if a guy couldn't even be honest with me, then he shouldn't be worth my time. I had suspected the end was near when he started to pull away. The excuses to avoid seeing me. The lack of texts or calls. I figured it out pretty quickly that he was trying the "phasing out" tactic because he didn't have the balls to talk about our issues or just break up with me in person. I was sure that the way he wanted things to go was for me to just get the hint so we could end things on an unofficial note. It was only after I had gone to his apartment to confront him about it that he admitted that yes, we needed to "talk". I had seen him eyeing those girls at his work. I had even made a bet at the time that one of them would probably lead to his sudden desire to be detached from the commitment of a girlfriend. As I scrubbed angrily at the circular table in front of me, I knew it was only a matter of minutes before the tears would threaten to come again. I dropped the towel and spray and instead pulled out the vacuum from the closet. Noise always helped, even a little. I hated being alone and quiet with only my thoughts.

After I finished cleaning the classroom, I pulled out the netted cage where we had raised butterflies from caterpillars. As I started to clean it, a light tap sounded on the doorway behind me. It was my coworker, Jen, who taught the class next door to mine. I turned back to the butterfly cage and continued scrubbing it, swallowing the angry hard lump that had begun in my throat.

"Kaylee? You okay?" she asked from the doorway.

I nodded, afraid that if I spoke, my words would just shake and I would break down. After a week of keeping it together for the sake of my students, I didn't know how much longer I could keep it up. Jen came up beside me, silently watching me finish cleaning the butterfly cage for a minute, and then handed me a fresh paper towel. She knew what had happened between me and Gavin.

"We released ours today, too. Did your kids love them as much as mine did?"

I swallowed again, grateful for her distraction. "Yeah, I think so. They named them before saying goodbye. Rainbow, Luna, Blue, Flower, and Arlo. Because he came out last and was smaller than the others, like in that dinosaur movie."

"That's so cute! Ours were Butterfree and Venemoth, which my Pokemon-fanboys named, of course. And Chicken Nugget, Pinkie-Pie, and Tiger."

I couldn't help but smile. "That's your wild class this year for sure."

"Right?" Jen chuckled. "We should trade."

"No thanks. I had my fun with last year's class. Got any plans for tonight or this weekend?" I asked. It was nice to talk to someone about normal stuff. My life just seemed so off now.

"Not really," she said. "Liam is still home sick from work with that really gross cold, so we're just going to take it easy."

"Aww, poor guy," I said. "Hope you don't catch it."

She shrugged. "Who knows. It's going around his middle school cause of this weird wintery-spring weather. And a lot of his students have been sick, so they probably gave it to him."

"I totally get that," I said. "Let me just grab my stuff and we can head out."

As Jen and I walked to our cars together my phone dinged with a text alert. My heart leaped for a second as I wondered if it was Gavin, maybe with an apology text or something. God, I was pathetic. I checked the message, but it was only from my friend, Matt.

"Hey," the text read. I smiled slightly. He was checking up on me while he was at work.

I responded with, "Hi :)". For some reason I didn't want him to know how pathetic I was. And, apparently, "pathetic" was my word of the week. 

A minute later he texted back, "Do you want to join me, Dave, and Ethan tonight for drinks?"

Jen's and my cars were parked next to each other, so by the time we reached them and said goodbye to each other, I had responded to Matt with, "I dunno. Not sure if I'm ready. Everything is still kinda awkward for me."

I climbed into my car and sat there, waiting for his response. Jen had seen the messages while we were walking, and gave me an encouraging smile and a thumbs-up through her car window. I then saw her look down at her phone, which probably meant her husband Liam was texting her. As she pulled away in a hurry, I waved and turned back to my own phone, which had dinged again.

"Please, Kay? It's drinks and games at Dave & Busters..."

I couldn't help but smile again. Matt was a total gaming nerd, and normally I was too, so any excuse to get me to play with him was as much fun for him as it usually was for me. I guess it wouldn't hurt. Dave & Busters was loud, so that could be a nice distraction.

"Fine." I texted back. "You got me. What time?"

"7. Meet in the lobby?"

"Ok. See you soon."

Thankfully, it was already 4 pm. I distracted myself some more by going back to my condo and getting a box together of everything Gavin had left there. Gavin and Matt were friends, kind of. They had grown up in the same church and youth programs together, so he could at least take all of Gavin's things back to him for me. That would work well. I put some loud music on my phone and speakers, packed up Gavin's crap, and got myself ready to go, so by 6:30 I was ready. I took the old box where I had thrown a couple of Gavin's shirts, boxers, some Xbox games, and a few other things, and hauled it out to my car. I threw it casually into my back seat, went back inside, grabbed my purse, and headed out, locking the door behind me. My roommate was away visiting family, or I would probably have invited her to join us. So I drove to Dave & Busters alone, giving myself a little pep talk on the way. I could do this. Matt was my friend and he never judged. Ethan and Dave didn't either. And Matt was just there to stay my friend and help distract me from my pathetic life.

Matt and Ethan were waiting in the main lobby for me when I arrived at the arcade. I always enjoyed seeing them. Matt was a handsome guy of average build, with dark, thick hair, a light beard, and wore "Clark Kent" style glasses. Ethan was very tall, very thin, also very good-looking, and had curly brown hair that came down to his neck and a light curly beard.

"Hey," they both said when I approached. We walked together to the automatic machines to pay for the game cards.

"Hi. Where's Dave?" I asked.

Matt pulled out his wallet. "Didn't want to come after all. He caught that cold that's been going around our work."

"That sucks, "I said. "He's also your roommate though. Are YOU guys both feeling okay?"

Matt shrugged and sniffed once. "I think so. Although my allergies have really been acting up. I hate Spring. Even my Zyrtec hasn't been helping me much."

Ethan laughed, running a hand casually through his long curls. A couple of college-aged girls walked by and watched him and Matt with flirtatious eyes. As they walked away they put their heads together and started giggling. Ethan watched them pass, a slight smirk on his face, then turned back to us. "Yeah, he and Dave have been taking turns at our place with all their sneezing. There's Dave in his room, Matt in his room, and then there's me stuck in the apartment with them. It's been kinda gross for me, actually. Work is the only place I can escape their germs."

"Aww, you poor baby," I laughed sarcastically. Matt had stepped aside from the machine, so it was my turn. As I reached into my purse to pull out my wallet, Matt put out a hand to stop me.

"I got yours already, Kay."

"Seriously?" I said. "Man, you didn't have to do that..."

He smiled at me, and then sniffled again. "No worries. It was my invite, and you need a break tonight."

I gave him a small, awkward smile. "Thanks, Matt."

We walked to the large open dining area, but had to wait for seats at the bar. The arcade was always busy on Friday nights, so it wasn't unusual to have to wait for a table or bar seating. While we waited, Matt and Ethan swapped work stories, and I shared a bit on my students and the butterflies. I knew it wasn't an interesting topic for the guys, but they both listened politely. While I was talking, though, Matt suddenly turned away from us.

"Heh-shchieww! Hah-scheiww!" He sneezed twice away from our little group.

"Bless you," I told him. "You okay?"

Matt sniffled. "Thanks. Yeah." His breath hitched, though, and he turned away to sneeze two more times. That was odd. I was used to him sneezing in sets of two, but a third or more was unheard of. We had known each other for two years and aside from having allergies, he hadn't been sick once yet.

Finally, a group at the bar left, opening up three seats for us. We quickly grabbed them and I placed myself on one end, and Matt sat on my right with Ethan next to him. The bartender greeted us and handed us a drink menu. Ethan ordered himself a Samuel Adams, while Matt and I perused the menu. Matt sniffled a few times, and then grabbed a napkin from the dispenser to wipe his nose.

"You sure you're okay?" I asked him.

He nodded, but then he quickly put his elbow up to his face and sneezed again. "Heh-schiew! Eh-SCHeww! Huh..heh.." A third sneeze started, but he tried to muffle it in his elbow again, so it came out, "Hehpffschoo!"

"Bless you!" I said.

"Thank you," Matt said, "That third one caught me off guard." He grinned and wiped his nose with another napkin while looking back at the menu. I looked over his shoulder and saw Ethan roll his eyes.

Matt was not the type of person to care enough about things to feel a need to order a "manly" drink. He always laughed as he talked about how he liked what he liked and that's what mattered. He casually asked me what I wanted, and it didn't take me long to decide on a Long Island Iced Tea. He ordered one for me and asked for a Strawberry Nirvana for himself. We also ordered a couple of appetizers. After we finished, we paid and decided to head out to the arcade floor and play some games. As I walked along beside Matt and Ethan, I sipped at the last of my iced tea and felt myself start to relax more. Ethan and Matt found a shooting game they both liked, so I watched them play for a bit and then found a game I liked. Tonight was nice, and I was actually glad I decided to go. I hadn't even thought of Gavin once, and that thought was extremely comforting for me.

After an hour or so, Matt offered to buy us all another round of drinks. Ethan passed, deciding that he may have to be the designated driver for Matt. Sure enough, after another Long Island Iced Tea, my brain officially felt fuzzy and it was rather difficult for me to see straight. I excused myself to the bathroom to pee for probably the fourth time that evening, and when I got back I had to look for Ethan and Matt. I found Matt seated nearby and occupying himself with a ticket game, but Ethan had disappeared.

"Where's Ethan?" I asked.

Matt shrugged, his face slightly sullen. "I dunno. We ran into Alyssa and her friends. He's somewhere around here with her, I guess. He said he'll be back in a few minutes."

I cringed. Alyssa was a girl he knew and liked, and whom I had shared a couple of classes with at community college. Matt wouldn't admit his feelings about her to anyone else, and I only knew because I figured it out. Even Ethan and Dave didn't know about Matt's feelings.

"Oh, man. Sorry," I sympathized. "Should we go look for them?"

Matt suddenly turned his head to the side and his breath hitched. "I...guess...Huh-schieww! Heh-scheieww! Heh-SHcheww!...so. We should take off anyway. I guess I'm not feeling so good anymore."

I teasingly made a face at him, trying to lighten his mood. "Bless you. Allergies?"

He made a face right back at me. "Too much to drink."

As we stood up, he handed me his game card and grinned at me. "Here. I randomly just won a few thousand tickets on the card. Want to go pick out some prizes first?"

We headed to the prize room and Matt's attitude seemed to change back to normal as we picked out a couple of things, like a silly stuffed dinosaur for my classroom and a desk game for his office cubicle. He was already smiling again, though he sniffled constantly and wiped his nose with the napkins he still had from the bar. His phone suddenly dinged and he pulled it out of his pocket. As he read the text his face took on a sullen expression again, and he pocketed the phone again.

"It's Ethan wondering where we are. He said Alyssa is with him and she wants to say hi."

"Oh, okay," I said quietly. "Are you going to be okay?"

Matt shrugged. "I don't have any reason not to be." He coughed lightly into his elbow and sniffled again.

We headed out to the main lobby after we finished paying. Ethan was waiting there for us with Alyssa. He had his arm around her shoulder and Alyssa's face looked pleased, albeit slightly drunk. She smiled at us as we approached, and we all greeted each other again. Alyssa blushed, her pretty but pale face giving away her obvious embarrassment about the situation. "Hi, guys. I'm here with my friends but I just wanted to come over and say hi. I haven't seen you in forever, Kaylee."

I smiled politely. "Yeah. I've been crazy busy."

"Yeah, me too," she said. "The NICU babies love me at the hospital. But I love them too, so it's all good. But I'm actually picking up my niece from your school on Monday, so I'll probably see you there?"

"Probably," I said casually, still smiling.

Alyssa smiled a big smile and then turned to Ethan. "Sooo, 8 tomorrow? I'll take the train in so you can pick me up from the hospital?"

He gave her a swift kiss on the cheek near her ear. "Can't wait."

Alyssa blushed again, gave us a quick glance and a wave, and walked back off to the arcade. I casually glanced at Matt, who was looking out the door and purposefully away from the group. I felt such sympathy for him, but then I suddenly felt the effects of the evening's two Long Islands. The room spun in front of me and I had to grab Matt's arm to keep myself from tilting forward with the rest of the room. Ethan ran forward to grab me if I happened to fall, while Matt grabbed my elbow with his other arm and looked at me with concern in his deep brown eyes.

"Are you okay?" they both asked me simultaneously.

I closed my eyes for a bit, feeling a bit nauseous, but I giggled anyway. "Yeah. I think my drinks were a little strong."

"Come on, we'll give you a ride home," Ethan said, grinning and looking at Matt, who seemed to manage to cover his laugh with a cough. "Matt can drive you back to your car in the morning."

"That sounds great!" I said with a little too much enthusiasm for the situation. I grabbed hold of Matt's arm with both of my hands this time, and we walked out to the car. We had just reached the car when I felt Matt's body tense up and heard his breath hitch. He still held onto me with his left arm, but he paused in his steps.

"Huh...Heh-scheww! Huhschewww!" He sneezed twice in the opposite direction of me and Ethan.

"Bless you, man," said Ethan.

"Thanks...heh....heh-huhscheww! Huh-scheww! Hehscheewww!" Matt sneezed three more times.

"Bless you again and again and again," I said, my own voice sounding rather silly to me in its slightly drunken form.

"Thank you," Matt said, sniffling loudly. He coughed a couple of times as he helped me into the front seat of Ethan's car, and I saw him wipe his nose again as he got himself into the back seat. The ride back to my house was rather uneventful. I had to close my eyes because the car lights were rather bright, and I thought I might go to sleep, but every time I dozed off Matt would sneeze again. It was actually a big help, because the last thing I wanted was to pass out in Ethan's car. 

"Kayley, wake up. We're at your place."

I startled awake. I must have fallen asleep anyway in the last few minutes. I guess I was more tired than I thought. As Ethan helped me out of the car I glanced at Matt in the seat behind me. He was out too, his head leaning back against the headrest and his mouth slightly open as he snored lightly. He sounded a bit congested and I hoped he would be okay. I decided I would call or text him in the morning to check on him. It seemed like he was coming down with the same cold Dave had.

"Thanks for the ride, Ethan. I really appreciate it."

"No problem, "Ethan said. "See ya later, Kaylee. I'll stay to make sure you're in okay."

Thankfully my condo was on the first floor. It wasn't too late in the evening, but my roommate was away on vacation, so I approached the door and went to unlock it and let myself in. However, something was odd. The lock was broken. Was I so drunk I was imagining things? I jiggled the door handle, which felt loose, and as I pushed the door it quickly started to slide forward at my touch. My heart skipped with fear, and I looked back at Ethan, whose car was parallel with the curb. He gave me a questioning look and pressed the window button.

"Everything okay?" he asked.

I shook my head. "My front door's been broken open."

Ethan's eyes widened in surprise, and he reached back to nudge Matt awake. "Matt, wake up!"

Matt startled and sat up. He wiped his nose with the back of his jacket sleeve. "What's wrong? Where are we?" His voice sounded hoarse and congested.

"We're at Kaylee's," Ethan said, unbuckling his seat belt in a rush. "Come on, get out."

They both got out of the car and hurried up the walkway. I stepped aside to let them both go ahead of me. They both did what I did and tried the door handle, which was just as loose for them as it was for me. Apparently I wasn't too drunk. Matt opened the door all the way, turned on my hallway light switch, and stepped into the condo.

"Oh, no," I heard him exclaim.

"What?" I said, dread in my heart.

"You've been robbed, Kay."

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[marina<3]

First off, I am sorry you are sick. I hope you start feeling better soon!! 

Second of all, this story is AMAZING!!!! You combined an intriguing plot with sneezing effortlessly, and I am totally hooked! I can’t wait for the next part!!!!! 

[ID2006]

I'm not feeling great either so I'm binging on all the hurt/comfort fluff I can find and this is excellent. 

[beau34]

This is AMAZING!!!

[Feo]

I’m happy you decided to write a sickfic! Looking forward to read more!

[LimeyBlimey]

Okay, call me overly-enthusiastic, but I've been on a total streak and already have a second part! And I'm definitely a little more sick today, so I have to admit it makes for pretty good research. Also, I couldn't just leave the first part hanging like that!

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I pushed past Ethan into the living room to see parts of it in shambles. The entertainment center. My study area. As Ethan and Matt split up to run a check around the rest of the house, I stood there in shock. There were definitely several things missing, but nothing too large. Most of my electronics were gone, except for the wall-mounted tv (too big and obvious, or too much work to remove?) My Xbox One was gone, as well as my Nintendo Switch. My Nvidia streaming device and computer monitor and keyboard were gone. Thankfully I had forgotten my laptop, which was my primary computer, at work, so that was still in my classroom. My roommate Emma had taken her laptop with her to her parents' house, so thankfully that wasn't taken. I sighed. I was going to have to call Emma about this in a few minutes. I heard Matt come out of my bedroom, clearing his throat.

"What's the damage?" I asked.

"They raided your nightstand, probably looking for guns--" His breath suddenly seemed to catch in his throat, and he turned his head to cough a couple of times into his shoulder.

"--and jewelry," he finished, and cleared his throat again. "Most of that's gone. Hope you didn't have anything too expensive or valuable."

I shook my head and walked into my bedroom. I had moved here near Denver only two years ago for better work opportunities, and I had left most of my valuable jewelry and other stuff at my mom's house an hour and a half away in Breckenridge. I was grateful for that, as my mom loved my grandma's old jewelry more than me and would have been devastated if it had been stolen. My bed was still made, but my nightstand and dresser drawers were open with the contents thrown on the floor. The bathroom next to my room showed an open medicine cabinet, which told me the burglars were probably looking for drugs, too, but Emma and I were both healthy and straight in that area of life. Ethan walked in at that moment, his phone out. "The rest of the place is clear, Kaylee."

"I'll go check Emma's room," I said. I heard Ethan connect with the police on his phone, and it sounded like they were able to send someone over right away. Emma's room was always a bit of a mess, so I had to dig around to see if anything major was stolen. She took a lot of her favorite jewelry and clothes with her to her parents' house, but she was going to be pretty upset when she learned that the new T.V. and phone speakers that she only bought a few weeks ago and kept on her dresser were gone. This sucked so much. I felt scared and violated. I couldn't see how I could stay here alone for the next week and a half by myself without getting totally freaked out. I didn't know what I was going to do.

Matt watched me, concern showing on his face. I glanced at him briefly in return. He looked tired, but he gave me an encouraging half-smile. He walked over to Emma's nightstand to grab himself a few tissues that were there. He used one to wipe his nose, then came back to me and placed his arms around me, pulling me into his chest for a hug.

"I'm so sorry, Kay. This must be awful. And I have an idea, but I just need to talk to Ethan first." 

I was feeling emotionally numb at that point, still processing everything, so I didn't really pay attention to his words. I heard a knock near the front door. I left Matt standing in Emma's room and went to talk to the two policemen that had just arrived. As I quietly listed off all the items in the condo that were stolen, the policeman listened and wrote them down, and walked around my condo with Ethan, but after that they were pretty straight-forward with me. Not much could be recovered, unfortunately, but they were grateful for me that nothing of irreplaceable value was taken, as those were always the more unfortunate losses. While I was talking with the police, Matt pulled Ethan outside and I heard their voices speaking quietly together.

After a few minutes Matt came back in and put his hand on my shoulder, squeezing it gently. "Want me to call Emma for you?"

"Huh?" I said, startled. "Oh. No...I'll do it. She knows you well enough, Matt, but it should come from me. Plus, her dad's a retired cop, so even if she's a thousand miles away from us right now, at least he's there to comfort her."

"Okay," Matt said. He sniffled again and wiped his nose with a tissue he still had in his hand. Ethan came back inside the house just then, putting his phone in his pocket.

"We're all set, man. Dave said it's cool."

"What's up?" I asked them both.

"We think you should come stay with us," Matt said. "At least til your roommate gets back. The front door is broken, and it's not really safe here right now for you. Plus, I know you're probably freaked out about sleeping here alone."

I felt so relieved at their offer, I could only nod. My mom lived too far now, as well as my sister, and most of my friends had their own lives I couldn't impose on, either due to children or furry pets I was allergic to. I smiled gratefully at Matt, and he gave me a reassuring smile back.

Both the policemen also nodded in approval. "Seems like you're in good hands, Kaylee. We'll make a report and let you know if anything turns up. In the meantime, my partner will check with your neighbors and see if they heard anything. It's possible we may even get a couple more calls like this if any of the other condominiums here were hit."

"Okay. Thank you so much," I said. The police finished their work and left. While I got a couple of suitcases packed, I called my roommate. Emma actually reacted more calmly than I thought she would. Apparently she was emotionally solid like her dad in emergencies. We discussed what to do about the door and how we would replace our things, but we both agreed it could have been a lot worse. Whoever robbed us didn't destroy the place. They were quick and efficient, to say the least. Experienced. In other words, I wasn't getting my stuff back. I sighed. What a week it had been.

Since my car was still at the arcade, I rode to Matt and Ethan's apartment with them. I sat quietly, still absorbing the events of that evening. I heard Matt sniffle behind me, and reach into his pocket where he had stored the tissues he had grabbed from my place.

"Heh-scheww!" he sneezed. "Heh-hheh-schewww! HUhshcheww!" 

"Bless you," Ethan said. "Getting sick, man?"

"I hope not," Matt said. "Got too much going on to be sick now."

I cringed. "I'm so sorry, guys. But thanks for taking me in like this. And Dave. You guys are so awesome."

Ethan grinned toward me, his eyes still on the road. Matt leaned forward between the two seats. His eyes looked tired, but he seemed somehow a bit happier than usual. "It'll be fine. And so will you."

Matt and Ethan's apartment complex wasn't too far from mine, so it wasn't long before we arrived. They each pulled my bags from the trunk and we headed up to their place on the second floor. We walked in and they took my stuff to Matt's room. He had told me in the car that I could take his bedroom and that he would sleep out on the couch. Their place was one of the bigger units of the complex with three bedrooms, so it was perfect for three roommates who still liked having their own space. Matt was the primary leaseholder and paid a little more in rent, so he had the master bedroom with a walk-in closet and a private bathroom. Matt sniffled while he changed the bed sheets for me, and I went out to the living room and sat down on their couch to talk with Ethan. It was late at this point, after midnight, but I felt wired. There was no way I was going to get to sleep anytime soon. I then heard a ridiculously loud and wet sneeze from the third bedroom. I grinned, knowing that must be Dave.

"Man, he sounds awful," Ethan said. "Sorry if he gets you sick. Sorry if he gets us ALL sick."

I shrugged. "It's going around. And I've been told I'm a great caretaker. At least that's what my mom says. And it's okay, I still like being here...even if someone is sick."

"Who's sick?" asked Dave, appearing in the living room from his bedroom.

"You," Matt said, coming out of his own room while wiping his nose again.

"Aw, man, and here I was thinking it was 'allergies' like Matty," teased Dave. "Welcome back, Kaylee. I've missed you. More than you know..."

He gave me a rather fake-looking seductive expression. Dave was flirty, but corny, so I always knew better than to take him seriously. He sniffled loudly and wiped his red and runny nose. His gray eyes looked exhausted, and he coughed every so often. However, he smiled nonetheless at me, running a hand through his wavy and unkempt hair. His strong jaw was filled with short, unshaven hairs, different from his normal smooth face and proof that he had probably only just gotten out of bed. Suddenly, his face blanked and his breath hitched. 

"HAHHH-SCHHEWWW! HUUHHSCHEEWWW!" His entire body shook with the force of his sneezes, which was fairly typical for Dave even when he wasn't sick. He always loved to make a big deal about his sneezes.

"Oh, man, I am so over this," he said to me. He rubbed his face wearily and sank onto the couch nearby. I wondered if he must have the same cold that Jen's husband had, which was pretty bad.

"Bless you," I said, smiling. "I've missed you guys too. I guess I haven't been here much since...well...Gavin, I guess."

I surprised myself once again. That was the first I'd thought of Gavin in hours, aside from the single thought I had earlier when I had realized I had NOT thought about him. I was making progress, for sure, especially being here with Matt and his roommates. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed their company. They were fun, silly, easy-going, and were just decent guys all around. Despite my circumstances, I had a feeling I was going to have a great time staying with them.

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The rest of the night dragged by. I tossed and turned in Matt's bed, still trying to process what had happened to my condo. I felt warm and safe here, but I was exhausted and stressed out anyway, so my brain was wide awake. I looked at my phone, which read 3:45am. Good thing it was Saturday. I turned over yet again and heard a sound from the living room.

"Heh-schewww! Huh-shchieewww! Hah...HESCHIEWWW!" It was Matt and he sounded awful. I sat up, wondering if I should go check on him.

"Hehhshchewww! Hah-schewww!" He sneezed two more times and then started coughing. I shook my head in wonder. I climbed out of bed, padded across the carpeted floor and quietly opened the door. I headed out to the living room to see Matt sitting up on the couch in the dark and looking absolutely miserable. He had wrapped his orange throw blanket around himself and was sitting with his head in his hands. When I approached, he suddenly looked up at me. His brown eyes were heavy and glazed over, and his nose was red and running slightly. His breath suddenly hitched and he pulled his blanket up to his face and muffled two sneezes into it. In a way, my heart suddenly melted for my friend. For some reason, he looked so sweet all wrapped up like that on the couch.

"Aww, Matt...are you sick?"

"Hey," he greeted me hoarsely. "Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay," I said quietly. I sat down next to Matt on the couch and placed the back of my hand on his forehead. He felt a little warm, but not hot, which meant it was just a cold and not the flu. That was good at least. Matt pulled the blanket back up to his face again and stifled two more sneezes.

"Hhmfchoo! Hhmmfchoo! Ughhh. I don't feel good, Kay. My head hurts and my throat is sore and I'm coughing and even my nose hurts now and I can't sleep."

I gave him a sympathetic smile and turned toward him.

"Come here," I practically whispered. I slowly pulled him up from the couch and led him into his bedroom with me. He immediately shuffled over to his bed, laid himself down, and closed his eyes. I took his blanket and covered him up with it. I felt his forehead again, which was still a bit warm, and when I pulled my hand away he sniffled loudly. I went to the main bathroom where I figured Dave might still have some cold medicine left. Sure enough, I found a box of pills and pulled one out. I also grabbed a bottled water from the fridge in the kitchen and brought them back to Matt's bedroom.

"Here, Matt," I said quietly, and he opened his eyes and reached for the pill and the water.

"Thagks," he said, his voice congested and hoarse. He sat up and took the medicine with a long drink of water, finishing two-thirds of it in one go. He handed me the bottle and then laid back down and closed his eyes.

"Any better?" I asked, keeping my voice down low.

"Yeah, a bit," Matt said, also quietly. We didn't want to wake up Ethan or Dave. Matt's breath suddenly hitched again and he pulled the blanket up. 

"Hmffchoo! Hhmmpfchoo! Hhmfchooo!"

"Bless you," I said.

"Thagks," he said again. "Those kind of hurt. Man. I haven't been sick in forever, I forgot how much it sucks."

"Yep," I agreed. "Well, just take it easy. It's the weekend, so everyone can relax now."

Matt nodded, his eyes still closed. I sat on the bed next to him and we talked together in low voices for awhile about nothing in particular. After a few minutes Matt was quiet. I looked at him and saw that he had fallen asleep. I suddenly realized how exhausted I was as well, and I debated whether or not I should make my way out to the couch. I sighed and pulled out my phone, but I quickly fell asleep too.

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"Knock, knock," a voice said.

I startled awake to see Dave standing in the doorway, smirking in my direction. My eyes widened in surprise and I looked next to me at Matt, who was laying flat on his back and snoring lightly. His blanket stretched across us both, and I immediately blushed when I realized how this must look to Dave. I quickly threw Matt's blanket away from me, letting Dave see that I was, of course, still in my pajama shirt and pants. I practically jumped out of the bed and grabbed my phone to check the time. It was 9:45am. Apparently we had all slept in. I walked out of the room past Dave, refusing to meet his eyes, and closed Matt's bedroom door behind me.

"Matt's sick," I said quickly, and went to the kitchen to start working on breakfast for everyone. I enjoyed cooking and I knew that Matt and Dave didn't really cook. Ethan did most of the cooking for them whenever they didn't order out. Dave followed me, still eyeing my face carefully, the slight smirk still etched on his face. I searched the fridge and found a carton of eggs and half a package of bacon. I also saw a bag of bagels on the counter. Dave reached across me for the coffee pot to start filling it up with water from the fridge dispenser.

"So, how are YOU feeling?" I asked him casually.

"A bit better," Dave said. He still sniffled a lot, but he did sound better than he had last night. "Are you going to get the lock fixed on your door?"

I nodded, and then paused when I realized something. "Oh, damn. My car is still at the arcade. And Matt is sick now, so he probably shouldn't go out today. I read it's actually supposed to snow later."

Dave shrugged. "No worries. Ethan or I can give you a ride to your car to pick it up."

"Thanks," I said. "I would really appreciate that. I have a ton of errands to do about the condo now, and the lock is the first thing. Emma also said her dad wants us to install a security system. My mom agreed when I called her last night before I went to bed."

"Makes sense..." Dave said. He turned his head away from the coffee pot and his body tensed up.

"HHAHHHSCHOOOO!" He sneezed loudly, his head whipping forward. Water splashed out of the pot and onto the floor.

"Holy crap. Bless you," I said, laughing and grabbing a paper towel from the dispenser.

Dave grinned sheepishly at me. "Thanks. Sorry about that."

I pointed him in the direction of the living room. "Out. Please go sit on the couch and stop sneezing your germs all over the kitchen and contaminating everything."

Dave held his hands up in a mock surrender and backed away slowly. "Okay, okay. Guilty. I'll go quietly."

"Thank you," I said, rolling my eyes.

Soon, the smell of hot coffee, eggs and bacon worked their way through the kitchen and to the rest of the apartment. Ethan emerged from his bedroom then, still stretching and running a hand through his disheveled, curly hair. He plopped himself down on the armchair next to the couch where Dave already sat, turned on the TV to the Xbox input and grabbed a nearby controller. I heard the introductory music start for Overwatch.

"Morning, sunshine," Dave said, putting down his phone and grabbing another controller to join Ethan.

"Mm," Ethan mumbled grumpily. "Is there coffee yet?"

"Yep!" I called from the kitchen. "Just finished brewing. And breakfast is up, too, guys. Come and grab a plate."

After a minute, Ethan and Dave both stood up and headed into the kitchen. As Ethan passed me I saw him rub his face and head, and he reached for a coffee cup. I pulled creamer out of the fridge and set it on the counter for him if he wanted.

"Thanks," Ethan mumbled.

"Not a morning person?" I asked him.

He shook his head. "Not normally. But I have a headache, too."

"Oh, sorry," I sympathized. "Want me to find the Tylenol for you?"

He shook his head. "I just need coffee."

I then heard Matt's bedroom door open, and for some reason I got a feeling in my stomach like butterflies. Ethan handed me a coffee mug and the creamer when he was done, so I poured a cup for Matt. Matt shuffled out of his room, wrapped up once more in his throw blanket. His eyes glanced around as if they were looking for me. He suddenly brought the blanket up to his face and sneezed wetly into it four times.

Dave's head appeared over the kitchen island. "Wow, man. You sound like me."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Not really. At least I don't bring the house down around me when I sneeze."

"I can't hold it back, my dude," Dave said. "And it's better to let it out!"

I walked up to Matt, and as he saw me approach him he half-smiled. I silently handed him the cup of coffee, which he took carefully and gratefully from my hands. I looked closely at his tired face and reached my hand up to feel his forehead. He closed his eyes at my light touch, and I again felt like I had butterflies in my stomach. His head felt normal again, though, which was good.

"Any fever?" he asked me quietly.

"No," I answered, keeping my voice at the same volume as his. "It's just a cold."

"Good," Matt said. He sipped his coffee, shifted his blanket about his shoulders, and headed into the living room. He sat down on the couch and set his mug in front of him on the coffee table.

"Want some breakfast?" I asked him. "There's eggs, bacon, and bagels."

He nodded, sniffling and wiping his nose on his orange blanket. "Sure. I can still eat."

I went into the kitchen and made him and myself plates, which I took out to the living room with everyone else. Ethan offered me the couch next to Matt, seating himself on the floor next to us, and Dave took the armchair. We found a show on Netflix to watch and enjoyed our breakfast together. Afterwards, Matt started Overwatch, and Dave cleaned up the food and dishes while Ethan and I got ourselves ready to go. He was going to drop me off at my car and then take the box of Gavin's stuff to him for me. It would work out well, because he didn't know Gavin as well as Matt did and wouldn't care enough to answer if Gavin asked questions. Which, I assured Ethan, he probably wouldn't.

"I'll be back later," I told Matt, and placed a box of tissues from the bathroom on the coffee table for him. Matt was preoccupied with the match on his game but managed to give me a reassuring glance and a wave goodbye.

"Let me know how--" His breath hitched once.

"Heh-Hehhscheww! --how things go," he finished breathily, and grabbed from the box of tissues.

"Bless you," I said, and headed out the door with Ethan.

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(More to come soon!!)

[ID2006]

This is awesome. It made me think of a sappy comfort fic I wrote forever ago (It's horrendously written compared to yours but it sounds like we are into similar things when not feeling well.)

 

[RipleyToo]

Ooooo! Please! We need more! Love the story so far, keep it up! 😁

[LimeyBlimey]

Thank you so much for the positive feedback, everyone! It makes me so happy that you're enjoying the story! I've been wanting to keep writing, but my schedule is about to get a little busier! However, I'll see what I can manage. In response to ickydog2006, that's awesome that we have that in common, because yes this is a total comfort/caretaking/romance fic!! 😄

I've been thinking about what I'm going to do with these characters over their next few days. As we already know, Dave is still sick, and Matt is now down...so what about Ethan?? He's a little stronger than the rest, but that headache he woke up with isn't a very good sign that he's going to avoid getting sick....I've been really trying to connect with what kind of character he is and what his personality type is to be able to handle something like a cold. We all know this cold starts off pretty bad, which means it's also super contagious. Will Kaylee succumb to it as well? And from what we know about Kaylee, she seems to be realizing some new feelings about Matt. They had been friends since shortly after she moved to the Denver area, where Matt was born and raised, and she is an easy-going and nerdy gamer like the rest of them. She actually used to hang out frequently with Matt and his roommates, at least until she started dating Gavin. Her return to their little group yesterday was met with a forgiving and warm welcome, because they all really care about her, and she cares about them. They hated to see her so miserable with Gavin, especially Matt.

But anyways, let's get going on part three...

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As we drove back to Dave & Buster's to pick up my car, I couldn't help but notice that Ethan was staying fairly quiet. He wasn't normally as introverted a person as Matt, but he was less outgoing than Dave. That wasn't hard to be. Dave's outrageous and silly charm was also matched with an ability to make friends and keep them. Matt had a calm, shy, and slightly quirky demeanor, but was responsible and hard-driven. Ethan was flirty and attractive, but was also the type of person to not let things or other people bother him, and was usually able to keep going through any struggle and let things slide off his shoulder. I really admired all their positive traits.

"You okay?" I asked, my voice breaking the silence. "You've been so quiet."

Ethan nodded. "Yeah. I just have a bit of a headache still. Maybe we can stop at Starbucks on the way? I can treat, and I'll bring a tea back for Matt. He loves that stuff."

I smiled. Ethan and Matt had been roommates together in their last two years at the University of Colorado, Denver, and had decided after graduation to room together as well. Ethan knew Matt pretty well by now, so I wondered if he was a bit worried about him.

"Sounds good. What about Dave? Maybe I can get him something like a cake pop."

"Sure," Ethan agreed. "Bet he'd like that. He's such a kid sometimes." He held up the back of his wrist to his mouth and stifled a small cough, which I noticed, but he didn't seem to.

After our stop at a nearby Starbucks we drove to Dave & Buster's, where my car was still parked safely. Ethan grabbed the box out of the back seat for me and headed to Gavin's, and I headed back to my condo to check things out. I texted Emma that everything there still seemed okay, and she told me she was able to use our internet service provider to get a home security system installed next week. We each had to leave a voicemail with our insurance companies, but I found an available contractor that could come fix the door and install a new lock for us soon. While I waited for him I went upstairs to chat with my neighbor who lived above me and Emma. She and her husband had spoken with the police and had been keeping an eye on things for us while I stayed at Matt's. They were actually planning on leaving in a few days to visit his parents in Arizona, so she said they would look into a security system, too.

After the contractor was done, I drove to the grocery store, deciding that homemade chicken soup and bakery bread would be a great dinner for my sick friends as well as the rest of us. I felt stressed but content with the way things were going at the condo. Plus, I felt kind of anxious to get back to Matt. As I drove, a few snowflakes flecked my windshield, and then it started to flurry. There was the snow my weather app had predicted. It had said a spring blizzard was on its way with a frost and ice advisory that could impact the commute all day tomorrow. I had noticed this morning that the refrigerator looked a little empty, and I wanted to make sure we were well-stocked. I bought the groceries as well as a few snacks and desserts as a way to thank Matt and his roommates for taking me in. I realized that I was turning myself into an old-fashioned little housewife, taking care of Matt and his friends like they were "my boys", but the thought only made me smile.

I managed to find a great open parking spot near Matt's apartment. The flurry was getting a little thicker and I didn't want him or Dave going outside in this weather, so I texted Ethan to come help me bring in the groceries. After a couple of minutes in my car, I saw Ethan come out and look for me, so I waved at him. He was only wearing a t-shirt, Under Armour brand sweat pants, and sandals.

"You're gonna get pneumonia!" I said as I stepped out of my car. He shrugged and opened my trunk for me. I watched him pull his hand up to his mouth to stifle a small cough like before.

"It's not even that cold," he said offhandedly. "By the way, your ex really is kind of a dick."

My eyes widened. "Did everything go okay? He didn't give you a hard time, did he?"

Ethan rolled his eyes. "No. He just answered the door in his boxers, gave me a dick-ish look, and then while I was handing him the box some girl bounced up to him and practically attached herself to his hip."

I gritted my teeth. Somehow that didn't surprise me, but I asked anyway, "What did she look like?"

He shrugged. "Tall. Long, blonde hair."

I turned away and grabbed a bag of groceries as I realized who Ethan was talking about. Most likely it was Hannah, one of the girls who had started a few weeks ago at the grocery store chain that Gavin managed. She was pretty enough, but she had a body that immediately enticed most of the single, male employees who worked there, and even some of the non-single ones, such as Gavin at the time. It was in that moment, however, that I realized I was totally over Gavin. I was better than him, to say the least. I deserved better, and that thought really comforted me.

Ethan and I brought the groceries up to their apartment. It was almost 5pm by that time, so I was in a hurry to start the soup, and within a minute of me opening the door, there was an erupting noise.

"HUHHH-SCHOOOO!" It was Dave, of course, in the living room.

"Aw, come on, man, that was on the controller and everything." Matt's voice sounded nasally and congested, and he coughed a couple of times into the blanket he had placed across his lap.

"Sorry," Dave said, laughing, and gave a loud, wet sniffle.

"Hey, guys," I greeted them as I walked in, and set the grocery bags on the counter. I pulled one of the boxes of tissues I had bought at the store and brought it over to the coffee table. The half-filled box from earlier was empty, and there was a small pile of used tissues on the floor by Matt's feet. I glanced down at the tissues, then at him, and he returned my gaze with a sheepish expression. Wordlessly, I went to the kitchen, pulled the trash can out from under the sink and took it to the living room. I set it down next to the couch. 

"Thank you," Matt said. He picked up his tissue pile and disposed of it into the trash can. He opened the new tissue box and grabbed one from it just in time to muffle a wet sneeze into it. "Hhh-mfchooo!"

"Bless you," Dave said casually, his eyes focused on the TV in front of him. "Aaaand, got him!"

"Deathmatch?" I asked them both, and Matt nodded. "King's Row."

"I'll take your word for it," I said, heading back to the kitchen to join Ethan in putting the groceries away and pulling out the rotisserie chicken for the soup. I didn't know too much about Overwatch. I was more of the Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, Zelda, etc. type of gamer, even though Matt had asked me a couple of times to play Overwatch with him so we could team up and play together in the evenings when we were at our own places. Dave handed Matt the controller, but Matt shook his head.

"Even my brain feels stuffed up. I can't focus," he said, and breath suddenly hitched.

"Hhehhchiewww! Heh-schoooo!" He sneezed forward in the direction of the floor. "Hahh-schooo!"

"Bless you," I called from the kitchen area. While dinner finished cooking on the stove I went to the bathroom, grabbed a couple of cold pills from the medicine cabinet and headed back into the living room where Dave had switched the TV input to Netflix and had put on "The Office". Ethan had gone to his own room, and when Matt saw me coming he instantly scooted over on the couch to make room for me. As I handed first him and then Matt a pill each, they took them with a simultaneous "thanks" and I sat down. Matt offered me part of his blanket, but I smiled and shook my head, noticing Dave eyeing us with half a smirk already on his face. He managed to cover it up with a cough and a sniffle, then stood up and went to the bathroom, leaving us alone in the living room.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Matt, putting the back of my hand on his forehead, then his cheek. Both felt warm, but not feverish.

Matt gave a loud, wet sniffle. "Not too bad. I kinda missed you today, though. I...actually really like having you here taking care of me."

I blushed and looked down at my legs. "It's no big deal. I kinda like it too."

Suddenly I felt the inside of my nose tickle, but I tried to hold it back. I hated sneezing. It felt so awkward and weird to me and I usually tried to stifle them. I couldn't help it this time, though, and I knew it was going to happen. I kept my face down, but brought the back of my wrist up to my nose. "Hckk-cheww!"

Matt looked at me, his deep brown eyes wide and concerned. "Bless you!"

I blushed again. "Thank you."

"Are you getting sick, too, already?"

I shook my head and sniffed once. "I feel okay. Must have been some dust, or spices from the soup or something."

Matt tentatively reached his arm around my shoulders and gave me a quick hug. All of a sudden the timer went off in the kitchen, so I quickly stood up and went back in to check on dinner.

In a little over an hour I had a pot of creamy chicken noodle soup ready, and Ethan sliced up some bread for us. I looked out the window to see snow falling in thick, heavy patches. The snow wasn't supposed to let up until tomorrow evening, but I didn't mind. I was content and comfortable here. I handed Matt his bowl of soup and took a seat next to him on the couch. Dave grabbed the armchair again before Ethan could sit down. Ethan didn't seem to mind and instead squeezed himself in on my left, coughing lightly. There was room, after all.

"Still going out with Alyssa tonight?" I asked Ethan casually, and he nodded. I saw Matt's eyes shift slightly, but he didn't seem to be as bothered this time as he was at the arcade last night.

"Yeah, but not til 8. I still got time."

Dave took a sip of his soup. "Tastes great, Kaylee."

I grinned. "Thanks! With you and Matt sick, I figured it would be good on your throats."

"Definitely good," Matt said, sipping from his own bowl. He sniffled and grabbed a tissue from the coffee table to wipe his nose.

"Are you sure you should go out in this weather, Ethan?" I asked.

He shrugged and put his hand up to stifle a quick cough. "My car is all-wheel drive and I'm from Montana. It'll be okay."

I frowned. "That's not what I meant, though. I've noticed you've been coughing today, and don't forget Alyssa said she works in the NICU...with babies. What if you're getting sick?"

"I'm fine," Ethan said. "I've had asthma since I was a kid, so it kicks in once in awhile during dry, snowy weather."

"And when you get sick," Matt added, sniffling again. "Remember that one time in our junior year? It was right after Christmas break and I had to drive you to the ER because you caught a cold from the plane and had left your inhaler at your parents' house."

"Alright, already," Ethan said. "But I'm fine, and I have an inhaler in my car. I'll use it if I need it."

Dave laughed. "My God, you guys sound like an old married couple."

I was still concerned, though. With Dave and then Matt getting sick with the same cold, it wouldn't surprise me if Ethan was already coming down with it, too.

"Is your throat sore at all?" I asked him. "That's how my colds always start."

He swallowed. "Yeah, it feels a little dry, but that's normal for me in snowy weather as well."

We all took a break from conversation after that to finish our dinner and laugh together over "The Office". About 7:30, Ethan stood up, put his dinner dishes in the sink, and put on his shoes. He grabbed a light jacket and said a quick goodbye to everyone as he headed out the door. Matt had fallen asleep on the couch and was snoring lightly, his nose looking red and chapped from all the tissues he had been using that day. Dave took everyone else's dishes to the kitchen, and Matt suddenly woke and sat up, his breath hitching.

"Hehhh-scheww! Hehh-SCHIEWW! Heh-schhooo! Huh-hEHH-SHCHOOO!!" The fourth sneeze came with a blast of spray towards the floor, and I handed him a tissue from the coffee table. 

"Thagks," Matt mumbled, and took it. He blew his nose wetly, coughed several times, and then collapsed back onto the couch, sinking down to where his head practically fell against me. "Ugh. I hate this so much."

"Aww. Sorry, sweetie," I said sympathetically. "Here, try laying down for a bit and just relax." I folded Matt's orange blanket into a pillow and positioned myself to where I could place his head on top of it. I then placed the folded blanket on top of my legs. He gratefully moved with my guidance to where his head was in my lap and closed his eyes. I noticed Dave had finished cleaning up and had gone to his own bedroom, leaving me and Matt alone once again. I ran my fingers through Matt's thick, dark hair, and rested my head against the back of the couch. We watched Dwight attempt to argue with Jim on the TV in silence for awhile, choosing to just enjoy our slightly awkward but peaceful moment.

"Any better?" I finally asked.

"Yeah," Matt said sleepily. "I don't hate it so much anymore..." Within a few minutes he was asleep again.

Apparently I fell asleep, too, because I woke up sometime later to the sound of the front door opening and Ethan walking in. I picked up my phone from between the cushions where it had fallen from the arm of the couch and checked the time. It was only a little after 10pm, which surprised me because we all pretty much expected him to be out all night.

"Hey," he said in a slightly hoarse, tired voice. I nudged Matt, who woke and sat up, looking towards Ethan as he hung up his jacket in the closet near the front door.

"Everything okay, man?" Matt asked, glancing once at me.

"Yeah," Ethan said. "Went fine. Had a couple drinks at this place she loves."

"Sounds fun," I said politely.

"Yeah, it wasn't bad, " Ethan agreed with a half-smile. He ran a hand through his curly brown frizz and looked at the floor. "Apparently she got worried I was getting sick too, though, cause the air around us was making me cough. So, she ended things early. Made up some excuse about the weather and traffic and how she couldn't let herself get sick cause she could infect the babies and staff at the hospital."

"She's considerate, then," I said encouragingly. "It's good she's so dedicated to her job and the babies' health."

"Yeah, I guess..." Ethan said. He turned away from us, bringing his elbow up to cover his face.

"HhHeAHHshoo!!" He sneezed once, the sound of it short and sudden. He wiped his nose with the back of his wrist and sniffled once.

"Oh, no, Ethan," I said with concern.

"I'm fine," he said shortly, and then walked past us and towards his bedroom. "See you guys in the morning, okay?"

Matt and I watched him go, then looked at each other and cringed at the same time. I didn't know what to make of what was happening to us in this apartment together. Apparently I was about to have three sick guys to take care of and I'd been here less than twenty-four hours. What was I going to do?

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(More to come later!!)

[beau34]

Ahhhhh!! This is my favorite story that I’ve come across on here in so long!!! Keep up the amazing work!!!! 😁

[castiel_angel]

I am so happy I found this 😆😄💗 everything about your story is so adorable and I really reallyyyyy NEED more 😍

keep up the awesome work! <3

[Feo]

This story is just what I need! I LOVE that you have included so many questions about their colds and all the conversations they have about beiing sick. I just melt in to a pundle everytime someone makes a comment about the guys colds or asks «are you getting sick?» etc.

🤩

[LimeyBlimey]

Awww, you guuuuys 🤗☺️... You seriously make me sooo happy with your enjoyment of the series! Thank you for all the love, I love it so much and am so happy to keep this series going for everyone.

I had actually managed to start early this morning on the next part, but my computer got turned off so it all got deleted!!! Grrr. But I managed to re-write most of it and found myself still going! I am so in love with these characters now, and have a few ideas for them. So stay tuned! 

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That evening, Matt insisted that he take the couch again and that I should still take the bed (and all night this time). I was still a little concerned about him, so I made sure there were tissues, more cold medicine, some cough drops, and a bottle of Gatorade on the coffee table for him before we went to bed. I slept a little better than I had the night before. I kept getting startled awake by the sound of a cough from the living room or one of the other bedrooms, so I turned on the fan that Matt kept in the corner of his bedroom. It helped a lot, as I was used to having white noise in my own room at home. The next morning, I woke up and checked my phone, which told me it was just after 10 am. Apparently I'd slept close to eleven hours. I sat up, stretching, and went to the window. A couple inches of snow had settled on the ground but it was still snowing. The weather said to expect a blizzard to start sometime soon, I wondered if we would have a snow day tomorrow. Even now at the end of April, it could happen. I was used to Colorado's unpredictable seasons. I found myself secretly hoping for a snow day tomorrow just so I could stay here and take care of Matt and the others. I especially didn't want Matt going into work if he was still sick.

I went to Matt's bathroom to pee and clean up a little bit, and then went to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water. As I swallowed a few gulps I noticed my throat felt a little dry and irritated. I grimaced. That's usually how a cold started for me, and I hoped I wasn't getting sick too. I found the bag of cough drops I'd bought at the grocery store yesterday and popped one in my mouth.

I headed into the living room to check on Matt and found him still fast asleep on the couch. He lay stretched out on his side with his big throw blanket over his back and legs. His head rested on the very corner of his pillow. His mouth was slightly open and his breathing sounded a little congested, but was still slow and peaceful. His thick hair was facing every direction and his glasses lay upside down on the coffee table. I felt butterflies flutter throughout my stomach when I realized how cute and attractive he actually looked. I carefully sat on the arm of the couch and put the back of my hand on his forehead. It felt normal, so that was good. Matt stirred then, however, so I quickly got up from the couch and backed away. He turned his face into his pillow and muffled several coughs, then lifted his face back up and opened his eyes in my direction.

"Hey," he said groggily, and sniffled.

" 'Morning," I said. He picked up his phone from the coffee table and held it close to his eyes. "Yeah, I guess it is."

"Want some hot tea?" I asked him, and he nodded. As I headed into the kitchen I heard him sit up and start sniffling loudly. He sneezed once.

"Bless you," I said, glancing at him over the kitchen island as I pulled out a tea box from a drawer. He reached for a couple of tissues and blew his nose noisily and wetly.

"Huhhschieww! Huh-schooo!" He sneezed again. He threw the tissues into the small trash can next to the couch and reached for two more.

"Bless you again," I said.

"Thanks," he said, and blew his nose some more.

"How are you feeling?" I asked. Matt put his glasses on, then slowly stood up and came into the kitchen with me. I handed him a small tea kettle from a lower cabinet and he went to the fridge dispenser to fill it up.

"My nose feels gross and stuffy, but that nighttime cold stuff you bought really knocked me out last night."

We chatted quietly for a bit about the weather and other light topics while the water heated, then we sat at the small dining table to enjoy our tea together. I was reassured by how nice the tea felt on my throat, so I hoped that it was just the weather outside that was making it sore. Matt told me about a new game called "Rust" that he'd bought recently for his Steam account, and how he was glad he could just stay home and play it today. He casually mentioned wanting to jump on his computer that he kept in his bedroom, as if needing my permission to go in there now.

"That's okay," I said, smiling down at my tea. "It is your room, after all."

"Yeah, but I don't want to be rude or invade your privacy and stuff," he said, also looking down at his half-empty tea cup.

Dave's bedroom door opened then and Dave walked out. Ever the obnoxiously cheerful morning person, he greeted us with a, "What's up, my dudes?"

"Hey," Matt and I both said quietly.

"How are you feeling?" I asked Dave.

"Not too bad, actually," he said, although he still sounded pretty nasally, and he coughed a couple of times. "I think I've returned to 'mostly-functioning' mode again."

I smiled. "That's great! Is Ethan okay?"

Dave shrugged. "He might be up in a couple hours. He tends to sleep til noon or later on the weekends."

With the entire Sunday in front of us and the snow starting to pick up again, it was a good day for gaming. After we all had cereal for breakfast, Dave went to the TV and pulled out "Call of Duty" for the Xbox. Matt wanted me to check out his new computer game, so we went to his bedroom, bringing an extra chair for me from the dining room. I sat down and he logged into his Steam account. Within a minute of me sitting down, however, I felt the tickle of a sneeze start in my nose, and as my breath hitched I turned my head away from Matt.

"Hnck-chew!" I managed to keep it quiet, as I always tried to.

"Bless you," said Matt, looking at me in surprise.

"Thanks," I said. Suddenly, his breath hitched, too, and he turned his head away from me.

"Oh damn," he said breathily. "Hehh-m-my turn...HEHhshcheww!!"

We both looked at each other and started laughing, for one thing because the odds of us sneezing back-to-back was just ridiculous, and the other just from hearing Matt try to talk through a sneeze like that.

"Bless you, too." I said, standing up to grab a box of tissues from Matt's nightstand. "I think you guys need to clean more."

"Probably," he agreed, still grinning as he took the tissue I handed him. I sat down, and he started up his "Rust" game.

"Um...why is everyone naked?" I asked after a few minutes, staring at an opponent on the screen approach Matt's player.

"It's more realistic," he said, sniffling again. "That's how everyone starts off. See, that guy over there's already found boots, and he just grabbed the axe I was trying to get and aww crap now he's coming after me with it."

Matt's player went running off in the opposite direction toward a dry grassy hill with some trees. We played together for over an hour, Matt sniffling constantly and reaching for a new tissue every few minutes. I felt another tickle start inside my nose.

"Hckk-cheww!" I stifled a sneeze, and sniffled. My throat was hurting a bit more now, which didn't help.

"Bless you," Matt said casually. I stood up.

"I'm going to get us some water. Maybe a snack too?" I offered. 

"Sure. Thanks," Matt said, his eyes still on the computer screen. I headed to the kitchen and pulled out another cough drop for myself from the bag on the counter. I made some more hot water for tea, and as I pulled out a tea bag I felt yet another slight tickle in my nose start. My breath hitched slightly, and I thought it was going to happen, but then I lost it. Good, but also annoying. I swallowed as I sucked on the cough drop, and suddenly the tickle came back.

"Hck-chew! Hckk-chew!" I sneezed twice into my elbow, while trying to hold the cough drop in my mouth.

"Bless you, Kaylee," Dave called out from the living room. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I said, pretending to laugh it off. "Matt's room is dusty."

"We can't all be neat freaks in life," Dave said lightheartedly, and I blushed.

It was a little after twelve when Matt suggested Jimmy John's sandwiches for lunch. No one wanted to go out, so we decided to order delivery. Jimmy's employees were quick and could make it through any weather. While Matt pulled up the menu on his computer to place our orders online, Dave went to Ethan's bedroom door and knocked.

"Food, bro," he called. "Come out and tell Matt what you want."

After a few minutes, Ethan emerged from his room, wearing a t-shirt and baggy sweat pants. His face still looked tired, and his frizzy brown hair was very sleep-tousled. Apart from looking like he had just awoken from the sleep of the dead, he seemed otherwise okay. However, he sniffled a couple of times as he walked into Matt's room. While lunch was on its way we pulled up some good videos using the Youtube app on the tv, and sat in the living room for awhile watching and talking together. I noticed that while Ethan had joined us, he still hadn't said a word, choosing instead to sit on the armchair and look down at his cell phone. When he coughed dryly into his covered mouth and sniffled again, I looked at him with concern.

"Hey, Ethan...are you okay?" I asked, and he looked up at me and seemed to hesitate.

"Yeah," he said in a quiet voice that didn't sound like him. "Sorry, I just...can't talk today."

As soon as Ethan had started talking, Matt and Dave also looked at him with their eyes wide, and I immediately understood why. Ethan's poor voice was hoarse. I'd never heard it sound like that in the years I'd known him and Matt. Dave suppressed a laugh with a cough.

"Oh, man, Ethan. You sound like shit."

Ethan rolled his eyes and sniffled. "Thanks a lot."

I went to him and put the back of my hand across his forehead like I had with Matt's. Ethan looked down at his phone again, but didn't object.

"You do feel a little bit warm," I said, sympathetically. "But it's not bad."

Ethan said nothing. He shrugged, stood up, and walked into the kitchen. He pulled out the coffee pot and started to fill it up with water.

"He hates getting sick," Matt whispered to me. "When he was a kid he had really bad asthma, so his parents, especially his mom, babied him a lot and didn't let him do much. He always wanted to play basketball, and was actually really good at it, but they never let him pursue it. He's got his asthma under control now, and it's not as bad as it was when he was a kid, but it's still hard for him whenever he gets sick."

I realized that must be why he would get so stubborn whenever anyone, especially me, asked him about him being sick, or showed concern for him. It must remind him too much of the way his mom had fussed over him and had held him back from any activities he was interested in. He didn't want anyone's sympathy because he had grown up always trying to be himself, to be independent, but always had to fight for it. I watched Ethan working in the kitchen as he stifled another cough and wiped his nose on the back of his shirt sleeve. I felt like I was able to understand him better, now, and was grateful for that. I turned back to Matt and Dave, who had already changed the subject to the current YouTube video, and it was then that the doorbell rang with our lunch delivery.

"I'll get it," I said, standing up, but Ethan was already halfway to the door. I went to help him with it anyway. The delivery guy gave us our order and a thanks for the nice tip, and Ethan shut the door. He handed me one of the bags as he suddenly turned his head to the side.

"HhAHHschooo!" He sneezed in the direction of the floor, his voice still hoarse and slightly weak.

"Bless you," I couldn't help but say, though I did purposefully try to be casual about it. I took the bag of sandwiches in my hands into the living room where Matt and Dave sat. Ethan watched me, a very faint but grateful look on his face.

A little after lunch, Matt wanted to get back to his game, and I was feeling tired again, so we both headed into his bedroom. Ethan and Dave started up a co-op game on the Xbox. Matt logged back onto Rust, and I relaxed on his bed, which faced his computer desk. It was still snowing outside and the apartment felt really peaceful. My throat had started to hurt more during lunch, so I laid down for a while to watch Matt play. Matt sniffled a few times, and of course right as I was about to fall asleep, he sneezed three times.

"Bless you," I said sleepily.

Matt sniffled loudly from the computer desk and reached for the tissue box. "Thank you."

I guess I fell asleep anyway, because I woke up later from Matt's bed when my nose started to tickle a lot.

"Hck-chew! Hckchew! Hckk-chew!" I grimaced. Those sneezes had actually kind of hurt.

"Bless you," said a quiet voice next to me, and a hand gently touched my forehead. I opened my eyes to see Matt sitting down on the edge of the bed next to me, his dark eyes looking at me with concern.

"No fever," he said softly, and pulled his hand away awkwardly. "Sorry...I just wanted to check. You'd been out for awhile and I've noticed you've also been sneezing a bit today, so I was kinda worried you're getting sick."

I sat up and hugged my knees, looking at Matt and smiling. "...It's okay. Sorry I fell asleep while you were playing."

He shook his head and smiled. "I got killed several times, so it probably got kinda boring."

"What time is it?" I asked, looking for my phone.

Matt glanced at his computer. "Almost six."

"Oh man, I need to start dinner!" I said, quickly getting up from the bed. I must have stood up too fast, because suddenly the room spun around me. Matt quickly grabbed my arm to keep me from falling forward.

"Careful!" he said, easing me back onto the bed. "Take it easy. Ethan actually said he wants to cook tonight, so it's okay. He's already started, actually."

I paused to listen, and heard Ethan clattering around in the kitchen. The apartment smelled good, like spaghetti sauce.

"Oh," I said sheepishly. Matt watched me with concern, and helped me stand up from the bed again.

"Thanks. I think I'm okay now," I said, and he nodded. I noticed that he kept watching me, though, a peculiarly soft expression on his handsome face. We headed out to the living room together and I went to the kitchen to see if Ethan wanted any help. He only shook his head, and I wondered if his throat was hurting like mine was. I guess I had been exposed to Matt's impending cold the other day in the same way he had already been exposed to Dave's. With my luck, I would wake up tomorrow with a full-blown cold, the guys would all be fine, and I would still have to go to work and try to avoid spreading my germs to my students.

It was as if my phone savior had heard my silent plea, because all of a sudden it rang. I answered it to hear a pause, followed by an automated voicemail from the school district letting us know that all schools would be cancelled tomorrow due to hazardous road and weather conditions. I was so relieved to hear that glorious message that when it ended I did a "happy dance" into the living room where Matt and Dave had turned on a classic episode of "Seinfeld". To prove my glee, I decided to dance like Elaine did in season four when she reunited with Jerry and George after getting back from holiday.

"What's up, sunshine?" Dave asked me, eyes wide, while Dave stared at me, obviously wondering if I had lost my mind.

"Snow day, snow day, snow day for meeeee!" I half-sang, still doing my "happy dance". Matt smiled in understanding, and I went and plopped down next to him on the couch. That little "dance" might have been too much in that moment and tired me out. Matt suddenly brought his elbow up to his face and turned his head away from me.

"Hehh-scheww!!"

"Bless you, man," Dave said.

"Dinner's ready," called Ethan from the kitchen. Matt sniffled and stood up, and when I went to get up he held me back.

"Let me make you a plate, Kay," he offered. "In celebration of your no-work day, tomorrow, I guess."

While the guys were getting dinner, my phone dinged with a text from Jen.

"NO SCHOOL TOMORROW! "

I answered back, "I KNOW! I'm so relieved, lol."

"ME TOO. Liam got me SICK, ugh :P."

Poor Jen. That was a bummer, although I smiled when I realized I could actually relate in that moment. But I answered back: "Oh no! So sorry! But I have SO much to tell you when we get back to work. It's been a CRAZY weekend. Feel better!!!"

Her response back was quick. "Wait, what?? Don't keep me hanging. Is it about Matt? ;)"

Apparently she knew me way too well now. I answered, "A bit, and some other stuff too. It's too much to explain in text. I'll call you tomorrow."

Matt walked in then and carefully handed me a plate of spaghetti, with a slice of leftover bread from last night. He left again, but then came back with a fresh cup of hot tea, which I also accepted gratefully from him. Dave and Ethan joined and we watched a few episodes of Seinfeld for a bit. During dinner, a few rather amusing things happened. First Matt sneezed twice, then a few minutes later Dave shook the apartment with one of his loudest sneezes yet. But then at the end of dinner Ethan stood up, excused himself to the bathroom, and within a few seconds we heard him let out a very hoarse but somehow still wracking, wet sneeze. Matt, Dave, and I all started laughing because of how awful it sounded, and of course in that moment I suddenly felt my own nose tickle. Because Matt and Dave were still laughing, I wondered if I would be able to hide my impending sneeze, but it felt like it was going to be too strong, and those always came in multiples if I tried to stifle them.

"Hck-choo!" I stifled the first one. "Hckk-cheww!" And the second one. "Hck-chew!!" I hoped I was done, but I knew there was one more, so I would have to just let it out. "Hehkk-CHIEWW!"

Matt and Dave heard me that time and looked in my direction. Then they both started laughing again, only because Ethan happened to sneeze a second time from the bathroom in that exact same moment. It was all so ridiculous, so much that when Ethan emerged from the bathroom a moment later he didn't realize Matt and Dave were laughing at both him and me. Matt put his arm around my shoulders and hugged me, and I casually rested my head on his shoulder and blushed. He silently handed me a tissue from the coffee table, which I accepted.

"Bless you," Dave said to me, a wide grin still etched on his face.

"Thanks," said Ethan, walking out of the bathroom.

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(More to come later! 💗)

[beau34]

Yayyyyy!!!! So freaking good!!!!! 😁

[M214186]

Loving this 

[Feo]

I’m definately checking in on the forum more than normally.... hoping for more of this story! 

Edited May 25, 2019 by Feo

[ID2006]

Want more... need more

[castiel_angel]

I need more of this 😍

[LimeyBlimey]

Here's the next part!!!

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Despite that I didn't have to go to work the next day, I slept miserably. The room felt cold and dry, my head and throat both hurt, and my nose was becoming steadily stuffier by the hour. Very early the next morning I woke up, sniffling through the congestion in my nasal passages, and looked at my phone to check the time. It was only 5:45am. I groaned. My body had apparently decided to wake me up at the time I would usually wake up on a school day. I sat up, rubbing my face and eyes. Even my head felt stuffy. 

"Htch-chew! Htch-chew!" I sneezed wetly toward the bed, and stood up to go use the bathroom. I knew there was no way I was getting back to sleep now, even though I still felt exhausted. After peeing and washing my hands, I splashed some cold water on my face to try and clear my foggy head. I looked at myself in the mirror. Yeah, I was sick, just as I'd predicted. Colds were always the same for me, and this one was no different. My eyes looked shadowy, my light brown hair was messy and tangled from tossing and turning in bed all night, and my nose and lips were already looking a bit chapped from the dryness. I went out to the window in Matt's bedroom and looked outside. Snow covered every inch of the streets. The sky was still gray, but it was quiet all around. I had always loved that silent calm after a heavy snow when all sound seemed to become absorbed. That was the first thing even my younger self had noticed after my mom, sister, and I moved from California after inheriting my grandparent's old cabin in Breckenridge. However, I wondered what the plan was for today for my other working friends. Dave seemed to getting better already, but Matt was probably still sick, and I wasn't sure about Ethan, either. Matt and Dave both worked for the same technology corporation, and they were occasionally allowed to work from home, but Matt had recently been promoted to an assistant supervisor for some incoming employees, so I wasn't sure if he'd still have to go in. Ethan worked in advertisement productions, so I figured he would probably still have to go into his office.

Since I was already awake and the day was going to be a lazy one for me, I went quietly to the kitchen to get a pot of coffee started.

"Hck-cheww!" I tried to stifle a sneeze so I wouldn't wake up Matt, who was still asleep on the couch. I sneezed two more times into my elbow, and sniffled. I felt a tickle in the back of my throat like I needed to cough, so I quickly grabbed a cough drop from the bag on the counter. I also grabbed a paper towel from the dispenser and wiped my nose. While the coffee was brewing I went to the main bathroom to take some cold medicine. I sneezed again and groaned when it hurt my throat. There was a sudden hard knock at the door, and I opened it to see Ethan standing in front of me wearing only a t-shirt, boxers, and an impatient expression. His face softened when he realized it was me.

"Oh. Sorry, Kaylee. I thought you were Dave. I was gonna make him get out cause I need to get ready for work."

"No worries," I said, sniffling as I walked past him. He watched me go, pausing as if he wanted to say something, but then seemed to change his mind. He went into the bathroom and shut the door, and I headed back into Matt's bedroom.

I climbed back into bed and pulled out my phone for an hour or so, sniffling constantly while I caught up on my social media and browsed Pinterest for some weather-friendly teaching activities. I heard a soft knock on the bedroom door.

"C-come in," I said, coughing slightly.

It was Matt, holding two steaming cups of coffee. "Hey."

" 'Morning," I said quietly, and I sneezed into the blanket across my lap.

"Bless you," Matt said, and came in and handed me one of the cups. I accepted it with a quiet "thanks" and took a sip, feeling the hot liquid soothe my sore throat. Matt took a seat at his desk chair and looked at me. I realized I must look and sound awful.

"You're sick," he said, concern showing in his dark and tired-looking eyes. I nodded, managing an awkward smile.

"You got me."

He smiled once at my double entendre and then set his coffee down on his desk and came to sit on the bed next to me. He still sniffled constantly as well, but he ignored it. He looked at me tentatively, hesitated once, but then reached out and placed the back of his hand on my forehead. His soft, cool hand felt nice to me, even though I knew I didn't have a fever. He lifted his hand slowly down and touched it to my cheek. I blushed and looked down at my blanket.

"Are you going to work today?" I asked him softly.

He nodded, but then turned his head to the side to cough a bit. "Yeah, but Ken gave us the okay to work from home for a couple of hours. Our corporate manager, Sylvia, is supposed to fly in today to meet with him and the broker and finalize the paperwork for our move. She'll be stopping in the office later. But I just checked Twitter for traffic reports and the plows are already out."

"That's good," I said, and I held up my blanket and sneezed.

"Bless you," Matt said. I had noticed his voice still sounded nasally and stuffed up. "Soooo, I know you're sick and everything, but I gotta log into work for a bit on my computer. Is that okay? I'll also have to take some calls if we get any cases. You can stay in here, though, if you want."

"No worries," I said, sniffling again while already throwing the blanket aside. "I'll go out to the living room and put on Netflix."

He gave me an appreciative, yet sympathetic look. "Thanks. Sorry, Kay..."

Ethan had already left for work by the time I fixed myself a bowl of cereal and took it to the living room. I could hear Dave clicking and typing away at his computer in his bedroom. I also heard his muffled voice, which probably meant he was on the phone with a customer. Mondays must be busy days for them.

So went most of the morning. I sneezed every few minutes while I lay on the couch and felt my nasal passages become completely full and congested. I pulled out a tissue from the box on the coffee table, groaning as I blew my nose with little relief. As I tried to relax, I managed to find a couple of sappy romantic films on Netflix. The first one wasn't so bad, but the second one was awful. About thirty minutes into it I must have fallen asleep, because I woke up to the sound of Matt and Dave in the hallway area outside their bedrooms discussing a case Dave apparently had to escalate over to Matt's team. Dave mentioned something about it becoming a "Severity-1", and they both sounded stressed. Dave already had his shoes and jacket on, and Matt was holding his. Matt noticed me sit up, and came into the living room. He sat down on the couch next to me and started to put his shoes on, though he was still sniffling every few seconds.

"Sorry to abandon you like this, Kay," he apologized. "But we both gotta go in. The roads are clear enough and there's a Sev-1 from Ebay waiting for me and my team. Ken said he just got to the office and that he and Sylvia both want me to come to the new building, since I'll be the new Assistant Supervisor after the new hires start. Dave and Ethan should be back in a few hours, though. I'll try to make it back home soon after that, okay?"

While he was talking, I sneezed again and my horribly stuffy nose suddenly decided to drip like a leaky faucet. I quickly grabbed another tissue from the coffee table. "I'll be fide. Hck-chieww! Go fix that Sev-thigky."

"Aww, bless you. Are you sick too, now, Kaylee?" Dave asked me, his face suddenly concerned. I nodded, starting to cough, and he put his lower lip out to make a pretend sad-face, which succeeded in making me giggle through the cough. I did sound pretty awful in that moment.

"Sorry," Dave said, cringing.

"All thanks to you, man," Matt said lightly, but then coughed as well. "And me, I guess, for that matter."

"Let's go," Dave said, and they both left for work. I chose a more classic romance movie on Netflix, pulled Matt's orange throw blanket over myself on the couch, and settled myself in. Aside from a nasally voice and occasional phlegmy-sounding cough, Dave definitely seemed better, and I was glad for him. I hoped Matt wouldn't push himself too much that day, though. He was still sick, but I knew he loved his job a little too much. He was so happy and proud about the recent promotion they had given him. He also told me that the company branch's move to a bigger building and the recent hire of the additional employees was a great sign, but would mean more work for him. However, they were all expecting a large bonus sometime in May because of how well the branch's quarterlies had been. While I watched the movie, I thought about ways I could surprise Matt with some kind of congratulatory celebration later. He was not a real party-lover, so I thought of other things. Maybe he would enjoy a nice dinner out with me, or with his family, close friends, and me. I wondered, however, if those ideas sounded silly and too forward. Organizing even a small but fancy celebration seemed too "girlfriendish" from someone who was just Matt's friend. But why did that bother me? My stomach then made an unexpected little flip. I realized that I actually wanted to be a big part of his life. I wanted to share in his successes and to enjoy special moments with him, because I was so proud of him as well. I swallowed, despite the soreness in my throat that came with it, as I realized I might be developing romantic feelings for Matt.

.

After my movie was done, I decided to take a long, hot shower to clear my head and hopefully clear some of my congestion as well. It may have helped, because I sneezed several times under the hot water and then found I could breathe a bit better through my nose again. After I got out and finished cleaning up, I made myself some ramen soup for lunch. I added a scrambled egg and some cooked peas and carrots, and took it back to the living room. It was just before 1pm when I heard the front door start to unlock. I turned, and the same sense of fear and alert I had the other night when discovering my condo had been broken into came rushing back into my heart. I grabbed my phone from the coffee table, my eyes still on the door, and froze. The door opened.

It was Ethan. He looked at me sitting there on the couch and his face became confused and surprised. I realized I must have looked absolutely terrified.

"Oh my god, Ethan," I said, breathing a huge sigh of relief and then coughing from the effort. "You scared the shit out of me. I thought you were a burglar."

Ethan instantly dropped his keys onto the small table they kept by the door and rushed over to me. He put his arm around me and squeezed tightly.

"God, Kaylee, I'm so sorry," he said in a very hoarse voice, rubbing my arm with the hand that was around my shoulders. "I should have texted you or Matt or Dave that I was coming home early. I didn't think about the possibility that the condo break-in might leave you a little freaked out."

"I-It's okay," I coughed out, but it caught in my throat, making my eyes water. Ethan looked at me in surprise again, and suddenly hugged me even tighter around the shoulders. I wondered, did he think I was crying because I was scared? I shook my head.

"I'm okay, really," I assured him, trying to smile through my teary eyes. "I just need a cough drop, please. If you don't mind..."

"Oh. Sure." Ethan let his arm drop and stood up. In that moment I felt like I was about to sneeze, so I turned my head away and brought my elbow up to my face.

"Hckk-chew! Hetschoo! Hck-cchoo!"

Ethan reached down, picked up the tissue box from the coffee table, and handed it to me. "Bless you."

"Thank you," I said. Ethan went to the kitchen and returned with the entire bag of cough drops, which he handed me silently and turned to leave the room.

"Wait a sec," I said, and he paused, turning back to look at me with a slightly guilty look, almost as if he knew what I was going to ask him.

"Why are you home so early?" I asked.

He looked down at the floor, running a hand through his hair, and sniffled. "They sent me home sick."

"I kinda thought so," I said. "Sorry, but your voice does sound pretty awful."

He smiled slightly, then came back to the living room and sat down on the armchair this time. He ran a hand through his hair again and I wondered now if that was a habit of his. "Yeah, it does. But you don't sound so great either."

"I guess I don't," I said, wiping my nose with another tissue. "If I had had to work today, my boss probably would have sent me home, too."

"At least you didn't have to work then," he said, and then coughed several times. I nodded in agreement. He looked at the TV then, where it was idling on the Netflix browser. He coughed more again, the sound of it slightly wheezy and irritated. I pretended to be looking for the remote, although I watched him through my peripheral vision. He pulled a blue inhaler out of his pocket and held it to his mouth, then a few seconds later had to stifle a cough before it could escape his lungs with the medicine he had just taken.

"Sometimes I really hated my parents," he said quietly, and I couldn't help but look at him then.

"Because of this damn asthma. They always held me back from sports, or anything fun, really."

"I know," I admitted. "Matt told me. I'm sorry they did that to you."

He suddenly shook his head in irritation and reached across to the coffee table and grabbed a tissue, which happened to be the last one from the box. He picked up the empty box, aimed it behind me toward a small recycle bin near the front door, and tossed it. I watched as the tissue box sailed over my head, across the room, and landed neatly in the bin.

I grinned. "Nice shot."

"Thanks."

"Hey...if you want to play basketball, then just do it," I said, and he looked at me.

"Pursue it," I continued encouragingly. "You're only twenty-five and I bet lots of professional athletes have asthma and manage it the same way you do. Matt said you're actually really good. I bet you could find a local adult team or something out here. Even if you don't play for the pros, it doesn't mean you aren't still good. Do you still know how to play for real?"

He scoffed. "Of course. I still played whenever I was with my friends and wasn't around my parents, even in high school and college. I never joined the college team, though. I felt like my chances weren't great, because I guess I had already let my parents get to me."

"You can totally still do it, " I said. "Just go for it."

He paused then, seeming to think about what I said, and probably also because his voice might be hurting after our conversation. I let him process things while I got up to go start a new pot of coffee for us. As I cleaned the pot from this morning and refilled it with water, I heard Ethan sneeze twice in the living room and then blow his nose with the tissue he still had. I smiled sympathetically to myself, because the poor guy sounded so hoarse even when he sneezed. While the coffee was brewing I went to the bathroom, stifling three sneezes of my own while sitting on the toilet. When I was done washing my hands, I remembered to pull out yet another new box of tissues from under the sink. With the four of us taking turns being sick like this, we were going through them pretty quickly. I brought it to the living room and set it down on the coffee table.

"HhuAHHshoo!" Ethan sneezed once again down at the floor.

"Bless you," I said, sitting back on the couch and pulling Matt's blanket over my lap again.

He sniffled loudly. "Thanks."

Ethan found a show for us to watch on Hulu. During the first set of mini-commercials, he stood up and went to the kitchen. He brought back two hot cups of coffee and handed me one of them. He sat down on the armchair again and took a sip from his cup.

"You make good coffee, Kaylee," he said quietly.

"Thank you," I said.

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A little after 6pm Ethan and I decided to order dinner from a Chinese food restaurant nearby that was pretty good. Neither of us felt really well enough to want to cook, especially because we both seemed to be taking turns sneezing or coughing. While we were waiting for the food, Dave walked in. Matt had just texted me that he would be home in another hour or so and to not worry about dinner. He, his boss Ken, and the corporate boss Sylvia had gone out to celebrate after finishing the closing paperwork for the new building. Even in his text Matt sounded excited, so I was happy for him. Sometime after dinner, I heard the sound of rain outside the apartment, and I checked the weather app on my phone. 

"Are you kidding me?" I said in disbelief to Dave and Ethan. "On top of the snow we just had? This sucks! It's going to be nothing but gross, wet slush tomorrow at my school."

"Probably," Dave said, making a face. "It started up as I was leaving work. It won't be a good thing if it keeps up, either. My uncle is in construction and told me he always gets more work after weather like this. I think he said that rain on top of snow weighs about five extra pounds for every inch."

The rain didn't sound too heavy, but I checked my phone again, which showed it was almost 9pm. I wondered when Matt was due to get home, and I was worried about him. A short while later, I heard the front door unlock, and I practically ran to the door to let Matt in.

Matt walked in the doorway, and he was soaking wet. He had put his jacket hoodie up, but it hadn't helped much. Water dripped down from his face and hair, which lay flat on his head underneath the hood. His jeans were damp, his shoes soggy, and he was also shivering from head to toe. Even his teeth chattered. I looked into his face and immediately noticed that his eyes looked glazed and he had dark shadows underneath them. He stood staring at me, his nose running freely, and I pulled him into the living room.

"Whoa," Dave said from the couch, and Ethan went to grab a towel.

Matt smiled despite that he was shivering. "Yeah. It's a freezing rain out there on top of the snow, for sure."

I looked more carefully at him, then, and he looked pitifully back at me. I instantly put the back of my hand on his forehead.

"Oh, crap," I said. "I think you have a bit of a fever."

"I kinda wondered," Matt said quietly, and turned his head to the side. He sneezed forcefully, a blast of spray hitting the floor next to us along with droplets of rain from his hair. He pulled his jacket sleeve up to his face to wipe his nose with it. Ethan handed him a hand towel.

"Come on," I said, pulling him from the living room towards his bedroom to get him changed out of the wet clothes. Dave and Ethan both watched us pass, a hint of a smile on both their faces. I ignored them. They turned back to the TV as I shut Matt's bedroom door behind us.

In the bedroom and now alone, I carefully helped Matt out of his wet jacket and work shirt, and then went to his bathroom to start a hot shower for him while he pulled off his damp jeans. I pulled his towel from the rack and tossed it to him in the bedroom for him to put on after he finished undressing. I also grabbed some Tylenol from the medicine cabinet.

"Are you decent?" I asked from the bathroom after a few seconds, and I heard him cough a couple of times.

"Yeah."

I walked back into the bedroom to see him waiting awkwardly in front of his bed, wearing nothing but his towel around his waist. My heart did several flips as I realized how attractive he was. I had never seen him this exposed before, and I found myself secretly wanting him to just pull me against that strong chest, to hold me, and to put his soft lips on my own. My face grew warm and I realized I had started blushing. I quickly looked away, trying to push my feelings aside. Matt watched me, however, his face looking curious and speculative. It suddenly became blank, though, and his breath hitched. He sneezed another forceful and wet sneeze toward the bedroom floor, and the sound of it brought me out of my embarrassingly romantic stupor.

"Come on, you need to get in the shower," I said then, and I took his arm to lead him into the bathroom.

I relaxed on the bed and waited for him while he took a shower. I heard him sneeze several times, but I hoped the hot water was helping to clear his congestion and warm his body up after that chill. After a few minutes I heard the water turn off and the shower door open. Matt coughed a few times, sniffling loudly, then sneezed again. He sounded so sick, about as sick as I realized I also felt. I was exhausted, too. Apparently I had pushed myself a bit stressing over Matt, so I closed my eyes. The door opened, and Matt stepped out of the bathroom, wrapped in his bath towel and holding the hand towel Ethan had given him earlier.

"Hey," I said, opening my eyes and sitting up. "Are you feeling any better? Did the shower help warm you up?"

"Yeah," he said, though he still sniffled. He wiped his nose and his face on the hand towel. "It helped a lot. Thanks."

I went to his dresser and found some dry, comfortable clothes for him to put on. I handed them to him and he looked at me, smiling awkwardly a bit. I put my hand on his forehead again to check his temperature. He felt a little warm, but that may have only been because of the shower and not a fever. His eyes still looked tired, but he did seem a little better now. As I put my hand down, he reached out and took it in his own, while still looking into my eyes. I felt his thumb rub against my hand a few times, and when I blushed he let go. I quickly went into the bathroom so he could finish drying off and get dressed. Steam still covered the walls and air, so it felt misty and warm. I rubbed a circle in the mirror with my shirt sleeve so I could see how I looked. Not bad, but not great. I brushed and re-tied my messy bun, rinsed my mouth out, and then wiped my nose and face. I heard Matt's voice call out that he was decent, so I opened the door and went back into the bedroom. Matt was sitting on his desk chair in a t-shirt and loose sweat pants, staring at me with an intense expression.

I looked at him. "What's up? You okay?"

Matt took a deep breath, which turned into a cough. He cleared his throat, sniffled, and then looked at me once again. I stared back at him, my heart pounding inside my chest, when of course my nose suddenly decided to try to ruin the moment. I waved my hand up to my face against the burning tickle, to no avail.

"Hck-chew!!" I stifled the sneeze, trying to stop it, but I knew I wasn't done. Damn this nose of mine. "Huh-hittchiew! Htch-chew! Htchhscheww!"

"...Bless you," Matt said quietly. He picked up a tissue from the desk and held it out to me. I took it gratefully and wiped my nose. 

"Kaylee...?"

I tossed the tissue onto the bed and looked at him. "Yeah...?"

Matt paused, looked down at the floor, and then back up at me, and his face suddenly held the same expression it had before. My heart started pounding again.

"I just...I have to tell you, Kaylee. I think I'm in love with you."

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(More to come soon!!! <3)

[beau34]

YES YES YES!!!!! 

[LimeyBlimey]

Here's the final (for now) conclusion!!

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"What?" I asked, staring at Matt.

"I'm in love with you," Matt repeated, more firmly this time.

"I...I thought you liked Alyssa," I said weakly. He shook his head and looked down at the floor for a moment. He sniffled several times, and I wasn't sure if it was from his cold or some kind of emotion.

"She was just a distraction for me, a distraction from you," Matt said, meeting my eyes again. "I realized a year ago that I was in your 'friend zone' when you started dating Gavin. I hated how he treated you and took you for granted all the time. And it really kinda sucked for me those few times when you both came to hang out. When you texted me that he had dumped you, I didn't know how to proceed, and I figured you would need some time. But...I was actually also really glad. And then you came to stay with us on Friday and I got sick and you took care of me. And all my feelings from before came rushing back. The way this whole weekend has been...it's been nice. And it's kinda made me wonder if you...had feelings for me, too."

Matt sighed then and coughed into the front of his shirt. I looked down at the bed, unsure of what to think. My heart pounded within my chest, in a happy way, but in surprise all the same. I felt tears already start to work their way forward, and I took a deep breath to try to push them aside. Matt was in love with me? I had realized by now that I had also developed romantic feelings for him, but love? I sat hard down on the bed, and Matt stood up from his desk chair to come sit carefully beside me. I smiled weakly at him and we both said nothing for a minute or so. Matt was patient as always and allowed me my moment to think.

"It's funny," I said, finally breaking the silence. He stared at me, so I continued. "What I mean is...because I had actually only realized it today. This morning after you left for work, I realized how happy I've been here. You were all so kind and helpful after my condo got broken into, and then you offered me a place to stay. Then being around you, and worrying about you cause you've been sick, and then taking care of you just added to everything. And also how proud I've been of you and your job and stuff. And I found myself thinking...that I want to be with you. So....yeah. I do have feelings for you, Matt..."

The excited and yet slightly sheepish expression on Matt's face after I said those words made my stomach flip again. He carefully took one of my hands in his own.

"I love taking care of you, too, Kaylee," he said, squeezing my hand gently. "This morning when you woke up sick with the cold I gave you, I almost couldn't handle it. You looked so cute and adorable and gorgeous, even all messy and sick like that, but I didn't care. You are just so beautiful, inside and out, and I love who you are as a person and who you are to me. Please be my girlfriend. I don't want to let you go. I want to be with you, too."

Suddenly he leaned forward and his soft lips were on my own, almost exactly as I had imagined it less than an hour ago, which felt like it could have been hours or even days. It was as if time stood still for us in that moment. I leaned in, kissing him back, feeling the soft tickle of his slight facial hair against my chin. He pulled me closer, one hand on my back, and the other hand gently holding the back of my neck. I placed one of my hands on his chest and the other on his leg, which was pressed lightly against my knee. I had to admit that it felt a bit ungraceful, as I knew Matt had only kissed a couple of girls in his lifetime, but it felt so tender as well. It felt right. Finally he released me and we both looked down at our laps, both smiling in embarrassment. Then we both happened to cough at the same time, which made us start laughing awkwardly as well.

I knew Matt well enough by now that he would want me to say it, so I looked back up at him, blushing. "I would love to be your girlfriend."

He grinned then and kissed me again before suddenly breaking away and turning his head to the side. He held a closed fist up to his mouth and his breath hitched.

"HhuhhEHH-CHIEWWW! HEHH-SCHIEWWW!"

"Bless you," I said, giggling, and he looked back at me in embarrassment, sniffling loudly.

"Thank you."

Matt and I both knew things might feel a bit awkward for the next few days, since I was still staying with him and the others, so we decided to turn in for the night. Despite that I still didn't feel that well I knew I should try to go to work tomorrow, and Matt also had to be at his work because the corporate manager was going to be there. Matt gave me a swift kiss on the cheek as we quietly said goodnight to each other, and he left the bedroom. I wondered if Ethan or Dave were still up. If they were, I was curious if Matt was going to share the very recent change in our relationship status. I laughed to myself when I had a fleeting image in my head of the three of them in a manga-style animation, giggling together like a bunch of middle-school girls. I listened at the door but heard nothing, while also feeling the day's exhaustion catch up to me. I got dressed for bed, took some cold medicine, then laid down on Matt's bed and was out in seconds.

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My alarm went off way too early for my preference at 5:45 the next morning. I groaned, my nose stuffy to the core and my head groggy from the after-effects of the medicine. Physically I felt about the same as I had yesterday morning, but emotionally I was elated from the events of the previous night. My stomach danced with happy little butterflies as I thought about Matt in the other room. I also hoped he was feeling better. Why were mornings always the worst with colds? I got up, feeling a slight ache in my muscles from the hard night's sleep. I immediately took some daytime cold medicine Matt had put in his bathroom cabinet for me. It was my third day of being sick, if I counted Sunday when I had the sore throat. I sighed and hoped I could make it through my school day. My director at the preschool where I worked seemed to have a knack for recognizing whenever another teacher was sick, and she would usually send them home immediately if she feared it could be contagious. She was a great director and I really appreciated the efforts she put in for all the teachers and the students. I sniffled, sneezed once, and got ready for work.

After I finished getting ready, choosing a floral top with jeans and ankle boots to wear, I went to the kitchen to get myself some coffee and a lunch for work. Ethan had apparently already left and I heard Dave in the main bathroom shower. Matt was still asleep on the couch in the living room. He lay on his back, his head resting on the couch cushion because his pillow had fallen to the floor. His blanket rested partially on his legs but looked like it was about to fall off the couch as well. I looked at my phone and realized it was almost 6:30am. Matt worked at 7 and usually left at about 6:40, which meant he was going to be late if he didn't get ready now! I shook him.

"Matt, wake up!" He groaned, his eyes still closed.

"Matt!" I said louder. His eyes flew open and he looked up at me.

"Hey, beautiful," he said groggily, and I couldn't help but smile. But I showed him my phone screen.

"It's almost 6:30. You're going to be late!"

"Shit!" he exclaimed, and tried to get up. His blanket became entangled in his legs and he fell to the floor in front of the couch.

"Are you okay?" I asked him, and he pulled himself up in a rush.

"Ouch. Yeah. But, shit, I gotta get ready to go!" He ran into the bedroom and slammed it shut. I smiled. He was just so cute. I didn't have to leave yet for school, so I decided to help him out a little. I pulled an apple from the fridge and a Quest Bar from the cabinet, and fixed him a commuter cup of coffee with lots of creamer. Dave then came out of the bathroom and into the kitchen, dressed for work and looking better than I'd seen him in days. He had finally managed to shave, so his face looked smooth again, and his short blonde hair was in its' usual textured style. I handed him the coffee pot and he pulled a mug for himself from the cabinet.

"Congrats," he said, a smirk creeping onto his face while he poured himself coffee. I blushed.

"So he did tell you," I said.

Dave shrugged. "Of course. Last night."

I had that same fleeting image in my head again of the three giggling manga-girls, and I smiled. Dave took a sip of coffee, then pulled a commuter cup from the cabinet and poured his coffee into it before sealing the lid on top. He went to the front door to put his shoes on, then came back and grabbed his coffee cup as well as a Quest Bar from the cabinet.

"Welp. See you tonight, Kaylee," Dave said cheerfully, and headed out the door.

"See ya," I said.

Sniffling heavily against a burning tickle in my nose, I found my school bag in the front closet and pulled it out. I also grabbed my own jacket and a clean one for Matt, and then closed the closet door.

"Htch-chew!" I finally sneezed, and sniffled again. "Hck-cheww! HHtt-htchcchieww!"

"Bless you," said Matt, emerging from the bedroom. His hair was still slightly damp and his work polo-shirt was still unbuttoned at the bottom, but otherwise he looked ready. He was wearing a nicer pair of shoes and black slacks with a belt, and looked professional and very attractive. I handed him his jacket, and he put it on while I fixed his polo for him. In that moment I suddenly sneezed again, trying to aim it away from him and into my shoulder instead. He smiled down at me, then leaned down and softly kissed my lips.

"Bless you again," he said quietly, and my stomach butterflies started dancing happily again.

Matt locked the front door behind us as we left for our jobs, and we walked out to our cars together. As we walked I interrogated him about Dave and Ethan. Apparently the previous night, they were curious about what was going on between us in the bedroom, but apparently I had fallen asleep too quickly to hear them all talk about it. Matt assured me that he had stayed casual and only told them that he kissed me, that I had kissed him back, and that we were together now. They had both teased him lightly, of course, but they were also both genuinely happy for us. I found myself blushing when Matt told me they had both always cared about me and that they appreciated my friendship. They had apparently always been rooting for me and Matt, too, and that sweet knowledge almost made me want to cry. I remembered what the policeman had told me the other day. "You're in good hands, Kaylee,". He had been right.

Matt helped me into my car, which was still parked right near the complex where it had been since Saturday. He kissed me again through my window and then walked towards his own car, a sheepish grin plastered on his face. Even though I sniffled and sneezed all the way to school, knowing my director would probably just turn me around and send me right back home, I felt giddy and happy. I also couldn't wait to tell Jen about this whole amazing and crazy weekend.

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That's it for this part!!! Let me know if you have any ideas or future requests for these characters, or would like more to the story. I think I'll move it ahead a bit in time if I do keep it going! I'm so glad you've enjoyed this story, and I appreciate all your positive comments and encouragement! ❤️

[Privatedancer]

Adorable!

[beau34]

So good! I would love to see more from these characters down the line!!!

[ID2006]

This was excellent. Of course I'd love to read more with them.

[Feo]

What a sweet couple 🤩 I wonder what the corporate manager will say about Matt's bad cold