𝚠𝚑𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚎 | 𝚋𝚡𝚋 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚜𝚑𝚘𝚝𝚜

cover up but it shows | jachary

jachary

warnings;
- none

~

zach glares at his toast.

he made it not even a few minutes ago, but he can't face the thought of eating it. his stomach hurts. but they have a busy day today, and he didn't sleep great. his stomachache kept him up most of the night and he was tossing and turning instead of sleeping, trying to get comfortable. so he needs the energy the toast might give him.

but his stomach just rolls as the smell of it hits his nose. he knows if he tries to eat it, he won't be able to keep it down.

"you alright?" a voice sounds.

zach glances up. jack is walking into the kitchen, headed for the fridge. zach tries to straighten himself up a little, aware that he's sat with his head in his hands.

"yeah," he mumbles.

jack watches him for a second, before moving to grab milk from the fridge and cereal from the cupboard. he doesn't say anything more, instead just quietly sits down next to zach at the island with his bowl of cereal in front of him.

they get all of a minute of silence before jonah is walking in. "we leave in fifteen," jonah tells them.

zach frowns. he doesn't want to move, but he knows he's not going to eat any of his toast and he's wasting time down here when he still has to finish getting ready.

so he stands. except that sends a shooting pain through his abdomen and he doubles over, letting out a harsh groan before he can stop it. his vision swims, just for a second, and he leans his weight on the edge of the island.

both jack and jonah call out his name, moving towards him the moment they see what happens but zach just waves his free hand out in front of himself, stopping them.

"i'm fine," he says through gritted teeth. but it's okay. the pain is fading. he's fine. "just dizzy."

jack frowns at him, tilting his head. "z-"

"i'm fine, babe," zach assures.

he flashes jack a smile and a wink, then disappears upstairs before jack can try to push him for a different answer. he doesn't need jack trying to mother him. it's a stomach bug,

he'll be fine.

~

they're in the car, and zach does not feel fine.

he feels like he's going to throw up, but he absolutely refuses. he won't do this today. not when they have so much to do. he'll suck it up. he'll force himself to keep anything and everything down until today is over and then maybe, maybe he can be sick.

so he bounces his leg up and down, up and down, up and down in an attempt to distract himself, to take his mind off of his rolling stomach and the stabbing pain in his abdomen. the pain that he's sure is getting worse. it's like it's coming in waves. but each wave is more intense and longer than the last, and he hates it.

he feels a gentle hand on his knee. jack. zach tries to stop his leg from bouncing, because he's not doing a very good job at coming across as 'fine'. he also has his arms wrapped tightly, almost protectively, around his stomach, while he rests his forehead against the cool, somewhat soothing glass of the window. jack is going to figure out there's something up.

the car pulls up and the others climb out. zach moves to follow them, but jack grabs his arm to halt him and glares at him sternly.

"are you sick?" he demands.