I rubbed my temples and winced as the headache I had been nursing all day finally reached its peak. Sniffing and grumbling, I buried my pounding head in my hands for a short minute, hoping that by some stroke of luck the pain would just miraculously disappear.
The lads and I had been at the studio the entire day, struggling to get through recording. It was currently two pm and we were all completely sick of it by now, the fun having vanished after the first three hours. I had rolled out of bed that morning freezing cold and full of a headache and a sore throat. That in itself should've made me stay home. I sure as hell wanted to, but I couldn't let down everyone else, we needed to get this recording out of the way so we could finally get the break we'd all been praying for. It had been nearly two months without so much as two consecutive days off now and we were all reaching the end of our tethers.
Since arriving at the studio that morning the burning pain in my throat had only escalated and my head had begun throbbing every time I so much as breathed past my aching chest and cough. I knew I was being over dramatic, it was just a cold but it was annoying and gross and the last thing I felt like doing was recording.
Harry came out of the booth and plopped down onto the couch next to me with a weary smile. Everyone had noticed that something was up with me, I was sure of it, but no one had said anything yet and for that I was glad. I didn't feel like answering pointless questions and being babied over a little cold.
Niall's name was called out by the producers and he got up out of his seat with a tired sigh. Liam chuckled at his lack of enthusiasm, bringing a small smile to Niall's face. The Irishman then went into the booth without any verbal complaints.
I leaned back into the pillows with a quiet moan as the back of my pained throat tickled and I had to fight the urge to cough. I squirmed uncomfortably as the feeling grew stronger and stronger and after trying every trick in the book, water, holding my breath, forgetting about it, realised that it was going to happen whatever I did.
The force of the coughing had my head almost between my knees and tears sprung to my eyes involuntarily. It made my head scream and my throat feel as if it was on fire. Fortunately, it did relieve some of the tension in my chest though.
It fell quiet after a few minutes and when I finally mustered the courage to look up from the floor, both Liam's and Harry's eyes were centered on me accusingly.
"Are you alright?" Liam asked carefully, staring me down like I was five years old.
"Fine, choked on my own spit," I lied, my voice sounding slightly congested now. I curled up into the couch and tried to get warm as another cold rush rattled through me.There was already another round of coughs settled down in my chest.
"Bullshit," Harry murmured under his breath and I pretended not to hear him. The game was nearly up, the questions would start soon.
It was completely silent apart from the quiet buzzing from the TV and the odd sneeze or cough out of me as we waited for Niall to finish up. Soon he came out, his eyes going straight to me. "Your turn Lou." He gestured to the booth behind him and I couldn't help the sneeze that slipped out as a reply.
I reluctantly got to my feet and shuffled into the booth, positioning myself in front of the mic and slipping on the headphones. I felt likes I could fall asleep on my feet right then, easy peasy.
A voice told me that we would be beginning for what felt like the hundredth time today and the music began in my ears, causing my head to rattle painfully. I just had to get through this recording and then I could go home and sleep.
I croaked through my part, my strained voice continuously cracking and cutting off completely. After the first three lines I was pretty much hacking up a lung, my hands on my knees to hold myself up as the coughs racked through my tired body. Just let this be over.
"We can tell you're not well, Louis. Take your time. Try once more, and we'll let you out," a lady's voice came from the speaker behind me up in the corner of the booth.I straightened up as the music started from the top. This time I lasted through the first chorus before stumbling awkwardly to the side as a harsh sneeze shot from my nose. Thankfully that was the end of that. I was sent back to the couch where I buried my face into the cushions to block out the light as Liam took my place in the booth. Soon I was back to coughing so hard that my whole body shook, and not just a little tremble, I mean shook to the point where I was almost falling off the couch.
"Lou, I hate to say it but no one chokes on spit this many times in one day," Harry pointed out, finally over pretending I wasn't sick. I didn't react; I just stayed within the cushions as I struggled to calm myself. The couch dipped next to me and suddenly there was a warm hand on my back.
"We're not blind Lou, we know you're sick."
I lifted my head and scoffed, "you deserve a medal for that observance."
Niall gently pulled me out of the couch and offered me a water bottle. I slouched against him pitifully and shook my head, barely able to support my own weight anymore. I was just so tired and sick of feeling sick.
"How long have you been feeling ill?" Niall asked, a concerned look that I'd barely seen before taking over his soft features.
"Since I got up," I admitted with what must've been the three hundredth sneeze of the day.
"Yet you still came in?" Harry asked.
"We need to finish recording so that we can get a break," I told them sheepishly, knowing that I was about to be yelled at.
"Your health is more important than a break Lou!" Harry exclaimed loudly and I winced as the sound shook my skull.
"Headache?" Niall guessed.
I groaned just as Liam came back out.
"I take it he's finally admitted he's sick?" Liam raised an eyebrow at my sickly figure and I stuck my tongue out at him, triggering another coughing fit. Niall rubbed my back soothingly as it passed. They were beginning to sound even worse than they had before, more chestier and painful sounding.
Liam sighed and crouched down on the floor in front of me. "So what's up?"
"Headache, sore throat, chest, everything else and this stupid cough," I listed off, my words barely even recognizable anymore because of how congested I was. A shower sounded perfect right then.
"Okay, so it's probably just a bad cold. We're still taking you home now." He wiggled a finger in my face and I shook my head with a slight whimper.
"No, we need to finish this." Talking was beginning to become more trouble than it was worth.
"We can finish it when you're feeling better," Liam said, and I knew I wasn't getting out of it. I was going to ruin our chance at a holiday. "I'll go talk to the producers now." Liam stood up and sauntered away, one hand in his pocket casually.
I reached for the drink bottle on the table and gulped it all down, hoping to relieve some of the burning. It worked for a couple of minutes and then I started coughing again. It was like a never ending cycle, cough, recuperate and then back to coughing. I groaned at the intense pain in my head and sagged in my seat.
Liam came back a few minutes later with an upset expression on his face. "They won't let us leave, they want you to try again in the booth soon. We're on a time schedule apparently," he said, sounding more than a little peeved.
"It's alright Liam, I'm okay." I shot him a tight-lipped grin to prove my point. The triple sneeze that followed didn't help.
The group went slowly through the booth again and then it was my turn. I practically dragged myself into the room. And I thought I was tired before. It was something else entirely now.
My voice was basically just a whisper by this point and the raspiness was similar to that of an eighty year old man who'd been smoking his whole life. I sounded like shit. Not to mention the headache that almost had me on my knees wishing it would all just end. Then the coughing started and I couldn't stop.
Red-faced and strained, I struggled to continue. It was awful. Even after I'd lowered myself and the mic down to the floor I couldn't hold the cough back longer than twenty seconds. The lads stood behind the glass door, watching me worriedly. They were itching to bust in, I could see it on their faces. The producers waved an apologetic hand at me, wordlessly saying that it was okay for me to go. "Sorry, Louis. We had to give it a go. You should go home," came the voice from the speakers.
I closed my eyes in relief and hoisted myself onto my feet, still uttering coughs into the back of my hand. I gave a weak thumbs up and began slowly over to the door. The lads ushered me out.
I was just so totally done with the. I didn't stop walking until I was outside the damn studio and away from it all. The lads all followed me out and soon we were all in the van. I had been given blankets and cold and flu medication from the glove box before even the first ten minutes had passed.
I couldn't believe that I had just completely destroyed our chance at a break. I snuggled into Harry as he was the one sitting next to me and closed my eyes.
"Next time you feel unwell please tell us? That was dumb. We could've gotten you out way earlier than this." Niall looked back at me as I nodded tiredly in response, barely awake.
I vaguely felt the van moving underneath me and then that was it, I was fast asleep surrounded by my best mates who were worried out of their minds about my health like a group of old mums.
It was two weeks before we were able to get back to the studio and finish the recording. The coughing took a good few days to finally quit and then the rest thankfully disappeared. However, Harry also came down with the horrid cold, hence the second week. It was alright though. I supposed it was the break we'd all been wanting.