The Pack and Sidemen Oneshots

Merome- Bug

Jerome's P.O.V.

Mitch sleeping in for an extra few hours wasn't unusual, he had a screwed up sleep schedule to say the least and not seeing him until well past noon had become the norm. Not seeing him by 6 o'clock, however, wasn't usual and it clued me in that something was up.

The more that I thought about it the more I realised something wasn't quite right, because he had actually gone to bed early the night before as well. He had told me he was tired at around 3 in the afternoon and had quickly disappeared up to bed, not a peep from him, and I knew that he had gone right to bed. If he wasn't up at 6, that meant he had slept well over 24 hours.

There was no signs of life upstairs, the light were still off in the hall, his bedroom door was shut tightly and when I pushed it open, creaking, it was dark in his room as well. It took another few seconds from my eyes to adjust to the darkness but when they did I could see the lump in the bed that was Mitch, still fast asleep.

Quiet snores echoed throughout the otherwise silent space, the blankets rising and falling softly as he breathed, exaggerated with sleep. I paused for a second to watch, there weren't many times I had seen him so still and peaceful and it was nice. No stress, no anger.

The room was stuffy and warm and deciding that he had slept long enough, he had things to do, videos to make, record and edit, I drew the curtains. There wasn't a movement in the room even as the light streamed in, Mitch simply didn't stir, and then I really knew something was up.

I sat on the edge of his bed and pulled the bedclothes down, grimacing a little. He was still fully clothed, in a hoodie, jeans and socks and it was clear he had slept in them for those 24 hours because of his face, flushed bright red with heat.

"Mitch? Come on you, you've been asleep an entire day now." The only reaction that got from him was the wrinkling of his nose and he tried to roll over to get away from me. He whined quietly when I kept up my efforts to wake him up. "Hey, come on Mitch."

He seemed sluggish and exhausted, barely able to wake up despite sleeping a minimum of 24 hours. Finally he opened his eyes, which flickered to me after a few seconds of adjusting.

I saw him open his mouth but nothing seemed to come out, so he tried again. Again, nothing, and I saw the panic in his eyes when he realised that he wasn't able to speak. His eyes met mine and this time I saw genuine terror in them, his hands reaching out to grab me.

I held him close, trying to keep any uncertainty out of my voice that would panic him more. He was already scared, he rarely lost his voice and for him it clearly meant that he was sick and he was probably feeling pretty ill as well.

"Come 'ere." I whispered, tugging him into my lap. "You're pretty sick, aren't you."

He nodded miserably, holding him arms out for me to hug him. That was odd because he wasn't normally clingy but then again it wasn't going to be a normal day because of how ill he was.

"You gonna be my little snuggle bug today?" Another nod. "Alright then." I whispered, pausing for a second to help him out of his sweaty jeans and hoodie, before crawling into bed beside him. "Snuggles it is."

-----------------------------------------------------

Mitch slept another solid 12 hours without stirring but I managed to wrestle myself out of the bed without waking him so I could be productive. I checked in on him every hour or so just to make sure that he was alright but he just continued to sleep soundly, not a care in the world.

I managed to be a little productive, recording a few videos that were quieter than normal and then editing them, going back to Mitch's room in between sessions to check that he was still sleeping. He was, peacefully, and I just had a normal evening and night because I didn't want to sleep while I was ill.

It was about 5am when I went back into Mitch's bedroom and that was when I finally saw him awake, sitting on the edge of the bed. He seemed to be in a bit of pain and was sitting there, willing himself to have the strength to stand up and walk.

"Whoa, whoa! Easy Mitch, stay there!" I panicked, knowing that there was no way in hell he had the strength to stand up.

He held his arms up for me and pouted, gently tapping on his throat to tell me exactly what I needed to know. He had probably woken up and noticed I was gone, wanted me and had been trying to get up to try and find where I was.

I helped him back into bed and then tried to get out of his arms so I could get a drink of water for him and maybe some throat lollies, but he clung to me and let out a low whine in the back of his throat.

"Please Mitch? I just wanna get you some water and something for your throat." He shook his head desperately and clung to me like a toddler, latching his arms around me refusing to let go, even when I tried to tug myself away. He was acting irrationally and scared, probably because he was feeling so ill, and I was worried because this wasn't normal.

When I tried to get up again because I was worried that he was dehydrated after so long sleeping, but he actually cried out this time. He wasn't able to make much sound, there was only a strangled gasp that made it to the surface, but his point was clear enough; I couldn't go.

"Shhhh, shhhh, alright, I won't go Mitch, I'll stay." He crawled onto me and lay down on my chest, closing his eyes. "I promise."

---------------------------------------------------------

I was surprised that Mitch was able to sleep any longer after sleeping literally 2 days straight but somehow he managed to pass out on my chest for another 6 hours. He physically wouldn't let me move either because any time I tried to shift him off me he stirred and whined.

Eventually I just gave up trying to get away and settled down to rest, Mitch curled up close. Even though I knew he wasn't able to hear me I whispered gently in his ear, comfort more for myself than him.

"You're my little bug." I smiled to myself, latching my fingers between his, his hands so much smaller than mine. "And I love you so much."