This Empty Northern Hemisphere (A Mumford and Sons fanfiction)

Chapter VIII: Further Away

Chapter VIII: Further Away

    Winston wakes with a moan, because damn it’s freezing.

    He forces his eyes open, but it's dark in his room, so he can't really see much of anything anyway.

    He shuffles to the light switch on the other side of the room and flicks it on, grumbling all the while.

    Did Ted even come over? He can't remember. Everything feels so fuzzy and disconnected.

    He rubs his eyes and let's out a shaky breath. He still feels unbelievably nauseated. A piece of paper catches his eye, and Win takes it from its spot on the nightstand, unfolding it carefully.

    When you wake up you can have another two ibuprofen if your fever is still bad. I'll be by again before school, but you're staying home tommorow.

   Hope you feel better :) Tbear Xx

    Winnie smiles. Now he remembers. Ted had visited for a while.

   He pales slightly upon remembering pleading for Ted to come lay with him.

    "Great," He grumbles to no one. "Gone and made a fool of yourself, way to go dumbass."  Ted had probably been so freaked out by his request that he left as soon as Win fell asleep. But Winston has to admit, though he was very out of it, Ted's presence had been beyond comforting. It made him feel so safe.

    Well, maybe he could pretend it didn't happen, save them both the embarrassment.

    Winston gags slightly, clapping a hand over his mouth. With that he runs off to the bathroom to throw up.

    After puking maybe twice he has nothing left to expel because of barely eating all day, so he sits on the bathroom floor, his body wracked with painful dry heaves. His throat burns painfully now, like he swallowed fire and drank bleach to wash it down.

     Winnie stays there for maybe a half hour, panting to try and regain some air. He tremors weakly, slumped against the white tiles until he can find the strength to get back to his room.

    When he finally manages to stumble to his room he flops down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. He turns his head so he can see the time.

    Two orange pills sit in front of the glowing display that tell him it's almost one in the morning.

     He takes the medicine and swallows both pills dry, hesitant to drink any water for fear of being sick to his stomach again. He takes a tiny sip, then places the bottle back on the night stand.

    He lay back in bed, still shivering a little, and tries to fall back asleep, unaware that that the rest of the night would be miserable.

*(*)*

    Ted arrives a half hour earlier than usual so he can see if Win is feeling any better today, and much to his surprise, the younger boy is already awake. He's snuggled beneath a mound of blankets with a film playing in the living room

    Ted let's himself in quietly.

    "Do you always watch Tangled at 6 in the morning?" He asks, amused by the fact that his friend was mouthing the words of the current song. Winston jumps, surprised by Ted's sudden appearance.

     "Oh, hey," Winnie greets hoarsely. “and no, this is what was in the thing, I just went with it.”

    Ted takes a seat next Winnie on the couch. "You sound awful," He informs him. "You been coughing?"