Niall adjusted his grip on Louis' waist while he stumbled forward, eyes barely open, "shit okay, hey, lean on me more, mate, it's fine."
The guy had not had a good couple of days.
What had started off as what was thought to be a little bit of mild food poisoning had turned out to be some kind of nasty stomach flu that had him utterly miserable and totally leaked of energy. Doing the concert the night before hadn't helped matters at all but management had claimed that if he took enough medication he would be back to his usual perky self.
The medicines lasted about an hour in his system before he brought the lot of it back up and still had to perform. He did just about as well as you'd expect him to considering that he'd been hovering over a toilet all day.
When the concert was finally over he was even worse, sobbing about a migraine and vomiting every half hour. It was getting hard to handle on a tour bus but still management wasn't willing to let up and they had denied the boys request of stopping at a hotel for a couple of days rest.
Then, during the night the problem doubled in size and all of a sudden the curly haired lad was throwing up left right and center as well. Liam and Niall were run down and caring for the on the claustrophobic bus wasn't an easy job. The whole thing was just a mess.
Soon the bus driver decided he'd had enough of it and pulled into a hotel, whether it be because he genuinely wanted to help them or he was just sick of the smell of puke, the boys were grateful. Management didn't seem overly impresses but so far they were getting away with it.
So now they were moving everything and everyone into the room they'd just booked. Niall was pretty much carrying Louis and Liam was leading a pale Harry with a hand on his shoulder.
When they finally made it to room 19, Liam shoved the key in the lock and pushed the door open to reveal a quaint room with an small, old-school blue kitchen and two double beds. The white sheets made Liam cringe a little but there was nothing he could do about it.
"Alright, home sweet home then, in we go."
Liam gently pushed Harry through the doorway and Niall followed, staggering a little under the weight of Louis in his arms. He'd fallen asleep at some point and his head was lolling over the Irish man's shoulder as quiet snores echoed from his lips.
Niall tried to put him down on the closest bed ans gently as he could but his grip slipped at the last second and Louis hit the mattress with a thud, his eyes shooting open in surprise. He swallowed audibly and Niall grimaced, knowing that he'd just triggered something that wasn't going to be exactly pleasant to sit through for the either of them.
Louis' hand went to his mouth and Niall searched the room desperately, his gaze finally landing on a waste bin in the corner.He grabbed it and rushed back over to the bed to hold it underneath Louis' chin.
Louis' lips and eyes remained zipped shut but his shoulders were lurching ever couple of seconds as he held the heaves back.
"Lou, what are you doing? It's alright, mate you've gotta get it out of you or you'll make yourself feel worse" Niall said, one hand rubbing up and down Louis' alarmingly sweaty back.
On the other side of the room Harry had a pillow clutched over his head, trying to block out the sounds he knew were coming in the near future.
The bus driver appeared at the door with the bags and upon seeing the scene that was going on he quickly put them down and scurried away.
Louis gagged and Niall's hand tightened on his T-shirt in fright. He quickly loosened his hold and soothed Louis while he threw up stomach acid and water into the bin, agonising gasps escaping from his mouth as he tried to breathe.
"Bet you're feeling better after getting that out yeah?"
Niall continued to rub his back while he got his breath back.
"Just wanna sleep," Louis slurred, slouching until he was laying flat on his back, "he bed's so nice. . ."
"Okay then Lou, go to sleep," Niall murmured softly, exhaustion taking over the few seconds of adrenaline he'd endured. He knew exactly how Louis felt. Being on tour was tiring in general, but he hadn't gotten much sleep during the night either and he was really feeling it.
Harry let out a long groan and took the pillow off of his head.
"I'm gonna grab a shower," he uttered, his voice sounding raw.
"You alright on your own?" Liam asked.
Harry moaned as he sat up, rubbing at his stomach, "think so."
After seeing how lethargic and shaky Louis had gotten, Liam had his arms out at the ready in case Harry passed out or something as he stood up on trembling legs and shuffled over to the bathroom.
Liam let out a puff of air as the door shut and the water switched on.
He blinked slowly, running a hand through his hair, "I feel like I'm half asleep."
Niall nodded in agreement, biting back a yawn, "I know how you feel, this is all pretty damn exhausting."
"Sorry. . ."
Niall turned to see that Louis hadn't fallen asleep like he'd thought that he had.
"No Lou, it's not your fault. Don't worry about it," Niall hurried. Louis was having a rough enough time already, making him feel any worse would just be cruel. And it was true, it wasn't as if Louis had any control over this bug.
"He's right Tommo, we just want to get you back on your feet," Liam agreed.
There was no response from Louis, meaning that he'd probably fallen asleep.
Soon the shower stopped running and everything fell into a comfortable silence. It was probably the quietest it had been in the last couple of days. Niall was nearly falling asleep in his spot on the couch.
"Li. . ." a choked voice came from behind the closed bathroom door and Liam scrambled up onto his feet, quickly snapping himself out of his daydream.
He paused just outside the door, hand lingering on the doorknob.
"You alright, H? Do you want me to come in?" he asked.
"P-please," Harry whimpered.
Liam looked over at Niall, expecting to have to calm him down at the sound of Harry's voice. The blond had fallen asleep though, body curled into the couch.
Liam opened the door, not quite sure what to expect.
Harry had a fluffy white towel tucked around his waist and his hair was still wet, dripping down the side of his face. He was clinging onto the edge of the shower, knuckles white and his breath was coming in short pants.
The walls whipping past sickeningly. He felt far too hot after showering but he couldn't stop trembling.
He had been fine when he first got under the water but the steam started messing with him after a few minutes. He hadn't been able to bring himself to get out though, the water felt so good on his feverish skin.
Apparently his judgement had been a little off because now he felt ready to pass out.
Liam hoisted Harry upright from his doubled over position and tried to catch his gaze. Harry's eyes were darting all over the place.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
"I'm so d-dizzy. . ." Harry stuttered, tripping over his own feet.
Luckily Liam managed to grab him again before he fell on his face.
"Do you think you might throw up? Or should we just go back to bed?" Liam asked, trying to keep his panic at bay. That wouldn't help Harry.
Harry was so focused on staying upright that he hadn't heard Liam. He felt so odd. Maybe he just needed to sit down. . .
His stomach suddenly lurched into his throat and he pounced in the direction of the sink, a wet burp slipping through his lips as he gagged once and then expelled a stream of sick.
Liam held him up, unsure of what else to do. He felt awful for Harry but apart from patting his back and making sure he felt somewhat safe, there wasn't anything else he could do.
Harry seemed to regain control of himself pretty quickly though and he peered at himself in the mirror while he blinked tears away and tried to wash away the vomit in the sink.
"Huh, I look h-horrible," he muttered, putting his shaking hands under the tap.
"Yeah, you're not really looking terrific right about now, Styles," Liam said, chuckling.
"S-shut up."
Harry hiccuped and looked back down at the sink, eyes wide. Within moments he was back to throwing up and Liam had to look away for just a moment to pull himself back together. He was generally alright with the whole sick but it could get a bit overwhelming sometimes.
"That's it. Are you done? Still dizzy?" Liam asked.
Harry coughed, "all o-out. L'il bit d-dizzy."
Without too much of a thought, Liam scooped his friend up and carried him out of the pungent smelling bathroom.
Niall and Louis were still asleep and Liam put Harry down on the bed carefully. He noticed the waste bin Niall had put below Louis and realised that it was probably a good idea.
"Just take a nap Ha,z" he told the green-eyed lad as he stood up to find another bin.
Unfortunately Louis had the only one so he had to rummage through the cupboards for a bowl.
He put it on the ground close to Harry's bed and moved to sit on the couch when a dry croak stopped him. He raised an eyebrow and behind him Harry blushed.
"That was attractive Mate." Liam smirked, "what do you need?"
"It's cold," Harry moaned. He was cold, but it wasn't a cold that could be warmed with more blankets. He wanted body heat.
"I'll go grab another duvet yeah? Just hang t-"
"No. . ."
It came out like a strangled whimper thanks to a cramp that hit him right in that moment.
Liam looked worried and confused.
"What am I supposed to do then?"
Harry looked at him, "come lay w-with me"
"Oh, right. Well, move over then, gonna need more room than that for this fat ass," Liam said, grinning as he wandered back over.
Harry was glad that he hadn't made it weird.
He shifted a little to the right, his stomach churning with even that small movement. He didn't know how Louis had dealt with this for almost three days, he hadn't even gone one yet and he was already miserable.
Liam got under the duvet behind him and instantly Harry felt the warmth. He snuggled backwards into Liam's curved body like a little kid, curled into the gap between his knees and his abdomen as if sitting on his lap. He knew he was all hot and sweaty and it probably wasn't all that pleasant for Liam but he didn't really care, he just wanted to sleep and get this thing out of his system.
So that's what he did.
Liam drew circles and triangles on Harry's warm back with the tip of his finger while he slept , struggling to keep his eyes open.
He didn't want to fall asleep knowing that Niall was already out cold. There were two chances something would happen while the both of them were asleep and he didn't really feel comfortable taking the risk.
He knew it was all a little strange how they were all being. Louis and Harry had tummy bugs and he knew it had to be bad but he and Niall were being beyond motherly at this point. He supposed it had to do with the type of relationship they had. They were well past just 'friends' now, these lads were his family.
His eyes drooped and he couldn't cling on to consciousness any longer
It was silent in room 19 for about an hour before a loud yell made everyone jump awake. By the time everyone had located the source of the noise Louis already had a lap full of puke and it looked like he was about to add to it.
A nightmare had wrenched him out of sleep and the irrational fear and twisting in his stomach was way too much for him too handle, resulting in the puddle of puke he was left gasping over.
Liam and Harry were a mess of tangled limbs moving a little too slow and Niall realised it was up to him to deal with this.
"You're okay Lou, shhh," he soothed as he grabbed the bin. He barely got it under the poorly lad before he retched again, fingers digging into his gut in an attempt to stop it from whirling around.
Niall winced when he realised that Harry had joined the party and was dry heaving just metres away in the other bed.
It was chaos.
"Louis, breathe man, everything's fine," Niall whispered.
"M-my stomach h-hurts!" Louis cried. It was odd to see the usually fiercely independent and sarcastic oldest of the group in such a bad way. Niall almost couldn't believe it was Louis sobbing and clawing at the sheets.
Liam nodded his head in the direction of his bag, "there's some stomach relaxers in my bag Ni, and maybe grab out the thermometer too."
Niall patted Louis' hand and moved to get the medicine and thermometer. By the time he had retrieved the both of them Louis had stopped crying thankfully. His eyes were awfully glassy and his hands were shaking like crazy.
It was better than watching him heave though, that's for sure.
"Alright, arm up while I go fill up a glass."
Niall smiled a little in assurance as Louis lifted one elbow up. (Everyone always writes temperature taken by the mouth but I've never even had my temperature taken like that or even seen it done haha so I just go with this, sorry!)
He winced at the coolness of the instrument trapped in his armpit.
Niall filled up two glasses of water and popped a couple of pills out for each of the lads.
Liam took them out of his hands with a thankful smile.
Harry wasn't too keen on the thought of putting anything else in his stomach and he stared at the glass for a while before reluctantly taking it. He swallowed down the pills with the smallest sip he could and gave the glass back to Liam.
"You sure you don't wanna drink anymore? You'll be less dizzy."
Harry nodded and slithered back down under the duvet.
The thermometer beeped and Niall extracted it from under Louis' arm. It was a bit awkward thanks to the massive hoodie Louis was wearing but he got there in the end.
"He's at 39 and a half, Li."
Niall cast Liam a hidden look as to not scare Louis. He knew that Louis' fever was really creeping up there and that there wasn't much room for it to increase before a trip to the hospital trip would be in order.
"It's alright Ni, grab him a cold towel or something," Liam suggested.
He went to ask for the thermometer to check on Harry but he'd fallen back asleep.. He didn't want to wake him up, so he figured he would just do it when he woke up. He felt warm, but nothing horrendous so far.
Niall came back with two wet towels, flinging one over at Liam as well.
"Thanks."
Liam pressed it against Harry's warm forehead and relaxed back into the mattress.
***
24 Hours later Niall was beginning to realise that getting so close to Louis and Harry probably wasn't one of his brightest decisions.
He kept telling himself that it was just the smell and the sounds that were making him nauseous but it was starting to become hard to believe. His stomach wasn't particularly sore, just queasy, but it was the headache throbbing behind his eyes that really warned him. It felt like someone was smacking him over and over with a hammer, right in the middle of his forehead and it was getting harder to hide.
Liam had asked him a few times if he was alright, catching him mid wince or rubbing at his stomach but he denied everything, saying that he was absolutely fine.
Compared to Louis and Harry he was, so he didn't feel the need to make any fuss. If he gave into the stupid flu now Liam would be on his own and then he would get sick too so Niall figured if he could just hold as as long as he could then one of the others would get better before he really crashed.
Liam caught him when he came out of the bathroom, "hey, I made you a sandwich."
Niall jumped a little at the loud voice but hid it behind a yawn. He forced a grin and took the plate from his friend. Eating was the last thing he felt like doing but saying no would just make Liam more suspicious.
"No worries, figured we should probably try grab a snack while there isn't a puke-fest happening" Liam said, taking a bite out of his own sandwich.
"Makes sense."
Niall nodded and nibbled a bit of the crust. It made his mouth water and he quickly swallowed it, recognising the sensation. He glared at the sandwich distastefully and Liam laughed at him.
"What did it ever do to you?"
"Huh?"
Niall shook himself back to reality.
Before Liam had the chance to repeat himself there was a chesty cough and Liam turned around slowly to see Louis sitting up. Everything stopped, and then after a couple of seconds he staggered out of bed and into the bathroom.
Niall was pretty much frozen in place and upon noticing it, Liam went after Louis.
He was a mess still, gasping over the toilet with saliva dribbling off his lips.
"Li, I'm s-sick of this," Louis muttered, the words all stringing together.
Liam smiled with tight lips as he crouched down next to him, "I know mate, it'll be over soon though I promise."
Louis gagged, "fuck."
Out in the kitchen Niall was staring at the sandwich in his hand with the sounds of Louis' heaving echoing through his pounding head. It wasn't exactly making him feel better. He gulped and put the plate on the bench, squeezing his eyes shut to try block out the noise and clear his head.
"You alright, Ni?"
He opened his eyes to see Harry leaning on an elbow and watching him worriedly.
Niall made a sound and nodded his head once slightly.
Harry didn't look convinced.
In the other room Louis threw up loudly and Niall stood still as his stomach rolled. He glanced at the sink to his left, hoping to god that he wouldn't be needing it any time soon.
"I need air," Niall blurted and hurried out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Harry stared after him.
He really wanted to follow him but he wasn't too confident in his ability to stand up without assistance. He knew he was dehydrated. It probably wasn't a good idea to get up
However, a couple of minutes passed and Niall still hadn't come back.
Ah, fuck me.
Harry coughed once and carefully got out of bed, not wanting to have to make a trip to the bathroom.
His feet hit the ground and his toes screwed up at the cold but he ignored it and got to his feet, one hand on the wall just in case. He got dizzy for a moment but thankfully it cleared and although he was a bit shaky on his feet he was definitely better than he thought he'd be.
He took a breath and walked over to the door, feeling like there was a fifty fifty chance he might keel over before he got there. He didn't though, and even managed to get through the door without face-planting.
Niall was just outside, sat against the wall with his head in his hands.
"You've caught it haven't ya?" Harry rasped.
Niall peered at him through his splayed fingers.
"No," Niall murmured, "I'm fine."
Harry leaned on the wall, glad to not have to hold up all of his weight.
"You can't lie to me mate, d-doesn't work."
"Go get some more sleep Haz, I'm fine," Niall told him. He didn't need any help. As he'd said, he was fine. The air outside of the room had lessened the nauseous feeling slightly.
"Niall."
The blond sighed and let out a groan. Harry wasn't going to let him be. The stupid kid was as sick as hell and still on his case. "You can't tell Liam."
Harry frowned, "why?"
"Because it's not that bad. He needs my help with the two of you," Niall explained.
"I'm feeling a bit better, so you don't need to worry about me."
Niall rolled his eyes tiredly, "you look like you're about to fall into a coma."
Harry paused, unsure of what to do. If he kept it to himself Niall might get worse, as bad as Louis, but if he told Liam, Niall would be pissed as hell at him.
"Fine, I won't say anything."
He slid down the wall next to Niall, feeling his legs ready to give out beneath him. He shuffled closer to Niall, trying to see if the blond felt warm until the realisation hit him that he was warm too and a pretty useless judge.
The door opened and Liam stepped out, looking at the two of them on the floor in confusion.
"What the hell are you two doing out here? Especially you Harry, you shouldn't be up and about just yet," he said, frowning down at the two of them
"He needed to get out of the room while Louis was throwing up so I helped him out here," Niall said
Harry closed his eyes so that Liam wouldn't see his shock. Niall had lied right through his teeth without any hesitation at all. And it had been believable too.
"Oh. You right now, H?"
Harry hummed in response.
Liam gestured inside, "well, Lou's stopped now so you're fine to come back in now if you'd like."
"Okay, come on then Hazza, let's getcha back to bed."
Niall smiled sweetly but Harry didn't miss the clenching of his jaw as he gently helped him onto his feet.
Harry's knees were quaking more than they had been at first and he went back to leaning against the wall, not wanting to put any extra weight on Niall. The other boy snaked an arm around his waist though and helped him back through the door.
Harry was a bit annoyed, one because Niall was pushing himself way too hard and two because he was feeling like he might fall over when he'd been feeling reasonably stronger only minutes before.
Halfway to the bed Niall gagged and Harry stopped still.
Liam was behind them so he couldn't see which one of them it was but Harry figured he would assume it was him so he went with it, feeling more than a little guilty for lying to Liam.
He bent over and coughed, tugging on Niall's arm.
Niall caught on with the act after a second, muttering a thick, "okay then," before quickly rushing into the bathroom. Harry closed the door behind them and plopped onto the ground, unable to hold himself up any longer while Niall got into position over the loo, his entire body heaving.
"Not so bad, huh? Can I get Liam now?" Harry asked a little shakily, blinking the dots out of his vision. Fuck he was tired.
Niall shook his head with a groan and spat into the toilet.
"Come on, don't be stu-"
Harry was cut of by the wet burp that came from Niall before he threw up, clinging onto the bowl for dear life by the looks of it.
Harry swallowed hard and took a deep breath. He had to do what Niall would have done for him.
He shuffled over to Niall on his knees and then crouched behind him, bracketing Niall's body with his legs. He ran a soothing hand up and down the blond's back murmured sweet things in his ear until it was over and Niall was just breathing heavily over the loo.
Harry was holding his breath, only taking in a single shuddery breath of the foul-smelling air when he was absolutely desperate.
"Y-you sure you're f-feeling b-better?" Niall questioned tiredly, his breath coming out in short wheezes.
"Much," Harry grinned. He'd been surprised with Niall's lying earlier, but it seemed he did an alright job at it too.
"Get Liam."
Harry swallowed, "you sure?"
The smell of sick was making his stomach turn but he had to make sure Niall fully believed him or the guy was going to end up in the hospital because of his stubbornness.
Niall moaned and nodded, squeezing his eyes shut as he had earlier.
"I'll be right back, hold tight for a minute."
Harry patted his shoulder and slid out from behind him slowly, allowing another breath of thick, vomit-smelling air into his lungs. He got up a little too quickly, needing to get out of the room, and hurried out the door, inhaling a mighty breath if the fresher air outside when he was sure Niall couldn't see him anymore.
"Haz, what are you doing? Sit down, you look like you're about to pass out!"
Liam gently directed him over a chair and he plopped down, promptly leaning over onto his elbows in case his stomach decided to betray him. He made sure that the reasoning behind it wasn't obvious and tried to appear calm and collected.
Harry knew that he couldn't tell him about Niall and then let him know that he was still feeling about as great as a pile of steamy turd, it would overwhelm him completely. Niall was right about that part, they couldn't leave Liam on his own to deal with all three of them.
"Are you feeling okay! Do you need anything? Let me feel your-
"I'm feeling fine, way better." Harry dodged his hand, "Niall's in the bathroom."
"What? Taking a shit or something?"
Liam took a sharp intake of air when he saw the look on Harry's face.
"He told me to tell you."
Liam rubbed at his eyes tiredly, "does he want me in there now?"
"I think so."
"Well then, you grab another nap, you still look terrible mate even if you are feeling better. I'll go sit with Niall. Do reckon you can stomach it if something happens with Lou?" Liam asked, sounding doubtful.
Louis grumbled and rolled over, arching his back slightly in pain.
"I have a feeling we'll know soon enough. Go to Ni."
Harry shot gave Liam a tight lipped smile as he disappeared into the bathroom.
He closed his eyes and took a few seconds to try and calm down the hurricane in his gut and quell the feeling of lightheadedness before standing back up and going over to Louis.
"Lou? Can ya hear me?" Harry murmured, sitting on the edge of the bed.
"Harry?"
Louis opened one eye in confusion and a low moan drifted through his lips, "w-what are you doing?"
Harry took a shuddery breath, the air stalling several times in his chest, "Liam's in the bathroom with Niall and you were whimpering so I'm checking on you."
"But you're sick too Haz." Louis opened his other eye, "Niall?"
"He got sick before," Harry explained with a slight shrug. His muscles were aching horrendously but he refused to show it. "And I haven't thrown up in ages, I'm much better."
Louis frowned, not completely convinced. He'd known the guy in front of him long enough to know when he was lying but he was too foggy to think up a motivation. It was probably just his fever making him paranoid.
"So, what's up? Why were you moaning?"
"I can't sleep," Louis replied, hardly noticing the change in conversation.
Harry remembered how nice it was having Liam tucked up in bed next to him and gestured for Louis to move over a bit. He complied and soon the two of them were pressed against each other under the duvet. Harry could feel how hot Louis was even against his own feverish skin. It didn't take long for both of them to fall asleep.
Harry woke up not much longer and promptly puked into the bin. Liam and Niall were still in the bathroom and Louis didn't even twitch his sleep luckily.
After throwing up though he actually felt decently better. His stomach felt far less icky and for the first time in the last couple of days he felt like sleeping had actually given him some energy back. His head had also cleared up a bit.
It was some kind of miracle.
He got up and washed the bin out before snuggling back under the duvet, feeling a lot more comfortable than earlier.
He was still awake when Liam came out of the bathroom carrying Niall like a koala bear. The blond was asleep and snoring like a garbage truck.
"You alright out here Haz?" Liam whispered into the darkness, seeing the whites of Harry's eyes glistening in the shard of moonlight coming in through the curtains that hadn't been opened since they got there.
It had gotten dark at some point, and Liam had no idea what the time was.
"Yeah, no problems," Harry murmured back.
"Alright, see you in the morning then Mate, g'night."
"Good night."
***
Louis woke with a start and looked around, feeling a little disorientated. He could barely see anything in the darkness so he figured that it was reasonably early in the morning. He had the time sussed out but he didn't know why the hell he was awake.
For the first time in the last few nights he'd actually managed to get a decent few hours sleep so it was a little annoying to wake up for no good reason.
He didn't think he needed to be sick again, and everything was dead silent in the room. He squirmed slightly against Harry and realised how hot and sticky it was. His bare skin against Harry's was literally wet.
At first Louis thought maybe he was getting warmer.
But he didn't feel any worse than he had been any other time, he might've even been doing slightly better.
Which meant Harry was burning up again.
Louis sighed and gently unstuck himself from Harry.
On the other side of the room Niall was awake too. His head was pulsing in different shades of black behind his closed lids and he was starting to get a bit flustered and twitchy. He was tossing about three options, get up and find some pills he could take, wake up Liam and ask him to do it, or just suffer in silence.
He figured he was probably just dramatising it anyway.
But his head was hurting like hell and the longer he laid there the more his stomach tightened.
"Liam. . ." he whispered before he could talk himself out of it.
"Li, wake up" he muttered slightly louder. "Please?" he added as an after thought.
Louis could hear his pleas from his side of the room and just as he was wondering whether or not he should try getting up, Liam's sleepy voice cut through the silence.
"Hmmm? What is it, Ni?"
"Can I please have something for my head?" Niall whispered.
"Right now?"
Liam sounded as if he was falling asleep between syllables and Niall couldn't help the guilty feeling that washed over him like a tidal wave.
"I mean, uh, if it's a-alright," he stuttered, wishing he could just take his words back.
"Course it's alright," Liam murmured and Niall heard the sound of blankets rustling as Liam climbed up off the couch. There was a brief scuffle and then a pause.
"Can I turn the lights on?"
Niall nodded once before realising that Liam couldn't see him. He pulled his duvet over his head, "yeah."
Liam shuffled as quietly as he could over to the kitchen, rubbing tiredly at his eyes. He yawned widely, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he popped a couple of pills out of the sheet and filled up a glass of water.
He felt like he was on the top of a cliff, just teetering on the edge. He wasn't sure what would happen if he fell but he sure as hell didn't want to find out.
He gently laid a hand on top of Niall to let him know that he was back and slowly a tuft of blond hair emerged from the top of the blanket and then came a flushed face, eyes squinted.
"T-thanks," Niall whispered shakily as he pushed himself up against the wall.
Liam sat down on the edge of the bed with another yawn, "no worries mate, are you doing okay?"
Niall just shrugged as he swallowed the pills with a couple of gulps of water. Sitting up had jumbled up his insides and he found that he was trying not to throw up.
"Gonna be sick?" Liam questioned gently.
Niall shrugged again.
Liam took the glass of water from him and his hands immediately went to his rolling stomach.
"Yeah okay, try hold on for a second." Liam held up a single finger and looked around for something. The bowl Harry had used was beside the other bed and Liam scooped it up in barely three steps, putting it onto Niall's lap.
"Li, I d-don't want to," Niall stammered.
Liam tried to hold back his frustration. He didn't want to make his friend feel worse but the obvious logic for the situation was, the quicker he got this over with the sooner the both of them could just go back to sleep.
Liam ran a hand down his friends back as it shuddered, "just let it happen Ni, you'll feel better"
Niall hiccuped and one of his hands shot up and tightened around Liam's sleeve as he curled fearfully over the bow
He shook his head fervently, "nuh uh."
It made his head scream but he didn't care, he just didn't want to puke.
"Come on Horan, you can do this" Liam soothed, silently hating himself for even getting annoyed in the first place. Niall couldn't help it, getting ill or his reaction to it, and the least he could do for him was be a decent friend.
He cringed a little when Niall's back finally arched underneath his hand and he vomited but continued to try keep him calm through it.
The poor guy couldn't seem to catch a break and every time Liam thought that he was finished he would wrench the bowl back close and gag, releasing another round.
By the time he finally let Liam take the bowl a good quarter of an hour had passed. The roots of his hair were wet and his breath was coming out in short rapid gasps. His heart was racing in his chest and his head was still throbbing like it had been run over.
"Shhh, hey, it's okay, you're done, it's over Ni. . ."
Liam wrapped him up in a hug, desperately just wanting to calm him down before he blacked out.
The two of them just sat there for a few minutes, Niall sniffing on Liam's shoulder. Liam could feel him nuzzling on the fabric and knew that his shirt must be covered in snot and puke but he was past caring.
He'd barely slept six hours in three nights, he didn't really care about anything by this point.
Louis was watching them with one eye open when Harry's scorching body collided with his again, the boy had cuddled into his turned back and by god he was absolutely cooking.
Louis tried to roll onto his stomach but unfortunately there was no bed left to roll onto and he fell straight to the floor, dragging down the blanket but thankfully not Harry down with him.
He moaned as his sore muscles made contact with the ground and again when he realised that he was probably going to get shit about this from Liam.
"Lou? You right there?"
Liam raised a brow in amusement. Even Niall let out a quiet chuckle.
"I thought the floor might be more comfortable," Louis groaned sarcastically as he started to untangle himself. His stomach still felt dodgy so he tried to keep to slow movement. He felt about as energetic as a sloth.
Liam came to his rescue thankfully and after freeing him of the blanket he helped him onto his feet. Louis found himself a bit light-headed and clung onto Liam a bit as he sat him on the bed.
Liam pursed his lips together, trying not to laugh, "so, you just fell off?"
"Harry was sweating like a pig on me and I tried to roll away," Louis replied. He realised that he'd probably said more in the last couple of minutes than he had for days. Maybe this thing was finally wearing off.
Liam frowned in confusion, "he was doing fine earlier, getting better."
"Told me the same thing," Louis said. He remembered his suspicions about it though, how the words hadn't sounded quite right coming out of Harry's mouth.
He looked at him, sleeping with his hair all over the place and his face smashed into the pillows. What reason did he have to lie?
"His fever must've gone down for a couple of hours," Louis said, it was the only conclusion that made sense.
Liam had a hand halfway to Harry's forehead before Niall coughed and vomited harshly on the bed, Liam having moved the bowl back to the kitchen a little too early apparently.
And then the poor guy was back to crying.
"We'll check it again in the morning, I don't want to wake him."
Liam pulled away hurriedly to help Niall again and Louis nodded, looking at Harry worriedly. He knew he himself was still feverish, the fact that Harry felt so hot against his skin was more than a little stressful.
He got back under the covers and relaxed into the mattress. He was feeling better, so maybe after some more sleep he'd be back to normal and could help Liam.
Liam moved Niall into his own bed as Louis fell back asleep. He bundled up the smelly sheets and tossed them into the washing machine in the small laundry room next to the kitchen before remaking the bed with clean ones out of the cupboard. Once the bed was clean he got in next to Niall and fell asleep in a blink.
***
"Boys! Come on, we've gotta get back on the road!"
Liam blinked himself awake and peered around to see the bus driver standing in the middle of the room awkwardly. He was an oldish guy, with greying hair and wrinkled cheeks and he didn't look comfortable in the room with them.
From what Liam remembered his name was Tom and he wasn't all that social.
"What are you doing in here?" Liam croaked sleepily.
Tom, or whatever his name was shrugged apologetically, "look, I'm sorry kid, but there's a concert the night after tomorrow and we're going to have to drive non stop to make it to the venue on time."
"We're doing the concert? I thought it'd been postponed," Liam said
"They're not allowing it." Tom glanced around the room, "do you need help with anything? We need to get moving as fast as we can."
Liam groaned and hit the mattress with a closed fist. That first night on the bus with Harry and Louis so sick had been total hell. Now with Niall sick too it was going to be even worse.
"You wouldn't mind packing up the bags? It would be a great help."
"Yeah, I'll get to that while you get everyone up. There's no one out there so you don't have to bother with dressing up or anything" Tom said.
Liam thanked him and sighed deeply, peering around at his sleeping band members.
He was just going to have to find a way to make it work. He could do it, there wasn't really another option anyway.
He stood up and shook Niall lightly, not wanting to have to clean vomit out of the carpet before leaving.
"Hey bud, wake up, come on," he said softly.
Niall's eyes cracked open after a moment and he winced in the daylight.
He made a strangled sound and ducked under the duvet.
Liam tugged it back down, "Sorry, Ni, but we've gotta get up now."
"Why?" Niall rasped.
"We've got to get back on the bus," Liam blurted, getting it out fast. Like ripping off a plaster.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Niall moaned, rolling onto his stomach.
"I know. Just try, please."
Liam rubbed his shoulder and crossed the room to where Louis and Harry were.
Louis was awake and just staring at the ceiling with an unhappy look on his face. Liam was glad to see that his eyes had gotten less foggy and although he was still deathly pale he looked better than he had in days.
"I take it you heard?"
"I did," Louis said emotionlessly, "and I think it's the fucking stupidest idea I've heard in my fucking life."
"I was thinking the same thing but there's nothing we can do about it, we're lucky we even got to stop in the first place," Liam said.
Louis grumbled a little, knowing that he was right but hating it all the same.
"Can you try get Harry up for me?" Liam asked.
Louis bit his lip and placed a shaky hand on Harry's flushed cheek, "he's absolutely burning still Liam, he's gonna be feeling like total shit when he wakes up."
Liam looked at Harry, stretched out on the bed.
"Okay, just leave him for now, I'll carry him when we're ready," he decided.
"Okay, do I have time to shower?"
"You can do it on the bus," Tom interrupted.
"Thanks," Louis muttered sourly.
The only good thing about the morning was that he was feeling better. Although slowly, he managed to get out of bed and gain his bearings without too much trouble.
Niall wasn't finding it as easy.
He'd heard Liam saying that he'd carry Harry and felt like he may need to be carried himself.
Liam noticed his struggle luckily and helped him upright.
By then Tom had already moved all the bags to the bus and was back to help with the people.
"Alright, we're parked barely three meters from the door of this place. It's not a long walk." He glanced at Niall sitting on the bed looking like he might throw up any second, "but by the looks of it we might have a bit of trouble."
Liam looked the other man up and down. He was reasonably tall, and not too wiry, he'd probably be able to help with Niall.
"Can you lift him, Tom?"
"Should be able to," came the reply.
"Okay, just get him there then, I'll worry about these two." Liam smiled, "thank you."
"It's alright, just doing my job."
Tom slowly hoisted up Niall and the sick boy let out a moan. Tom froze, his face scrunched up.
"He won't barf on me, will he?"
Liam shrugged, "not if you're gentle."
"Then relax kid because this is gonna be the smoothest ride you've ever been on," Tom said to Niall and then slowly went out the door.
Louis let go of the wall he was latched on to and very carefully walked a few steps. Apart from some minor dizziness nothing really changed. He slumped slightly in relief and arms were instantly under his armpits.
He laughed out loud, sounding more than a little croaky. He really need a drink.
He shrugged out of Liam's grip with a smile, "I'm fine, Payno."
"You sure?"
"Think so," Louis replied, shrugging.
"God, I should've asked Tom to come back." Liam muttered under his breath. He didn't feel comfortable letting Louis walk down a flight of stairs after the last few days but he didn't know what else he could do.
He huffed and gently slid his arms under Harry. His skin was literally on fire.
Harry didn't wake as Liam ever so slowly stood upright with him in his arms. It was only after he took a step that Harry's eyes flickered open and he realised that he wasn't in bed anymore. And that he felt sick.
Worse even than when it first started.
He couldn't let Liam know though. He remembered his lie even through the hot fog in his head.
"What're you doing?" he slurred, "put me down, I'm fine."
"Haz, you're not fine. You feel like you've been spinning around in a microwave all night," Liam stated as they made their way to the door.
Harry noticed a pale looking Louis trembling as he shuffled just behind him and Liam. Louis was sick and he needed to be looked after.
The thoughts running through Harry's head were barely making sense.
"I can walk Liam, put me down!"
He tried to squirm out of his grip. He just wanted to help.
Liam tried to shut him up as he adjusted his grip, "If I put you down there's at least and eighty percent chance you'll faint Harry, please sit still before you make yourself sick."
Harry kept fighting against Liam's hold, "I'm fine, you've got to carry Louis."
"I'm f-feeling a bit better today H, I can walk on my own."
The stammer in Louis' voice did nothing to assure Harry and he kicked out, finally getting his feet on the ground. His knees pretty much buckled straight away but Liam still had him around the waist so he didn't fall over completely.
"See? Let me help you Mate, come on," Liam encouraged.
Harry was more than confused. He had been feeling better last night and now he was pretty sure he was dying.
"I'm fine," Harry repeated for the third time, extending an arm and grabbing onto the rail for the stair case.
Liam had no idea what to do. He was panicking like crazy. Harry wouldn't make it down three steps and Louis' shaky knees weren't very reassuring either.
"You know what? Just wait up here please Lou, I'll come help you down after I've managed to help this idiot get down without killing himself."
He raised an eyebrow at Louis, checking to see if it was alright. He was half expecting Louis to fight him on it, protest that he was perfectly capable to walk down a flight of stairs but the look on Louis' face was that of reluctance. He still didn't have too much trust in himself.
Harry tripped and Liam snatch him back off the ground quickly before he could plummet all the way down the stairs.
"Liam, I can do it!" Harry whined.
"Shut up," Liam grunted as he made his way to the bottom with an arm tightly wound around Harry's waist to keep him at his side.
He quickly got Harry to the bus, which smelt very strongly of toilet spray, and then went back for Louis. He jogged up the stairs and tucked his arm around the other guy.
"Thanks, I should be okay I think but I'd rather be careful."
Louis stepped down the first couple and stopped, taking a deep breath.
"Are you okay?" Liam questioned.
"Yeah, I think I'm just tired to be honest. My guts completely calmed down but I keep getting dizzy," Louis admitted.
"You want me to carry you?"
"Nah, it'll pass, hang on."
Louis took another breath and blinked before carrying on down the stairs.
The finally made it to the bus three minutes and a couple of quick stops later.
Niall was already back asleep in his bunk and Harry was clinging to the toilet, harshly throwing up everything he had.
Liam went straight for the thermometer as the bus roared to life beneath him. He clutched the device in his hand and approached Harry as he fell backward from his crouched position. Liam caught him with one hand and leaned him against the wall.
"Why?" Harry breathed.
"What do you mean why? Arm up," Liam ordered and slipped the instrument under his arm.
"I was better," Harry cried.
"Sometimes shit happens but don't worry, you'll be better again soon," Liam assured him.
"Is Niall a-alright? And L-Lou?"
"Niall's sleeping, and Lou's getting back on his feet Haz, he's okay."
Liam smiled, realising what he'd said. It was finally passing over, and then things could go back to normal. Things had been hectic lately and all he wanted was normal.
The thermometer beeped and Harry shakily pulled it out. To his dismay he couldn't even read the numbers.
"What is it?" Liam asked him as he flushed the toilet.
"I don't know," Harry choked.
Liam gently took it from him, "here."
His eyes widened as he read the number, "you're running at forty degrees Celsius right now mate and that is not good."
He quickly wet a small towel, and then a couple more as an after thought, and laid them over Harry, one on his forehead, one on the back of his neck and the other one he just gave to Harry to do what he wanted with.
"I'm just gonna go see if we have any icepacks." he told Harry. Both of them were shitting themselves.
Harry knew that he was nearing dangerous. And he was freaking the fuck out.
Liam came back with a couple of icepack and wrapped them in the towels before putting them back into place.
"We'll just wait here for a bit I think, check up on you in half an hour or so and if it hasn't gone down you're gonna have to have a cold shower," Liam explained, hoping that he was doing the right thing. He wasn't a doctor, he didn't really know what the hell he was doing.
Harry had fallen asleep though somehow so he was left to worry on his own.
***
The concert definitely wasn't one of their best ones.
Louis was almost all new apart from the tiredness but unfortunately he was the only one. Niall was still a bit shaky and had thrown up the morning of the show and Harry was just dizzy and sick to his stomach still. Thankfully the worst of the fever was gone though, after a cold shower that he hated.
Then Liam.
The poor guy's body finally shut down on the day of the concert and he found himself in the bathroom throwing up with a very considerate Louis helping all day.
Up on the stage with the lights shining down on the four of them they all looked sickly and their performance was full of incorrect lyrics and cracking voices, not to mention the crazy number of three minutes breaks where Liam and Harry just expelled anything they'd held back backstage while Niall tried not to let it get to him and Louis tried to help in any way he could.
Everyone was supportive though, the crowd and the crew knew what was going on which made it way easier.
It was a massive relief when it was over and they were finally allowed to go to sleep. They skipped out on dinner and just went straight to bed, every single one of them falling asleep just like that.
First off, you guys rule. Seriously. This part of this has more votes than any other part as far as I know and almost each and every person who voted commented about seeing a part two with some incredibly wonderful things to say that I absolutely loved reading. You're fantastic.
I said first off but I don't have anything else to say. How smart of me.
So this is really fucking long but I'm not going to apologise haha because whenever I do people always say that they like the long ones :)
Oh and one more thing real quick, somehow you guys have managed to hit TWENTY THOUSAND READS AND ONE THOUSAND VOTES. Honestly you all are superheroes :)