Tomlinson- yo, have u heard from Ni?
Payne- yeah, hes sick apparently.
Styles- thats what I heard 2.
Tomlinson- srsly? hes never sick.
Styles- stomach flu he said.
Tomlinson- gross.
Payne- but hes all on his own...
Tomlinson- hes a big boy Li, im pretty sure he can handle it.
Styles- mayb we should go over there, surprise him.
Payne- im in.
Tomlinson- ugh, guys... voluntarily spending time around puke?
Payne- hes our friend dick, and i havent heard anything since yesterday. he could b worse off than we think.
Styles- we should definitely check.
Tomlinson- fine, surprise party at Niall's.
Horan- U guys do realise this is a group chat and im in it right? gonna be a super surprise visit.
Styles- oh.
Tomlinson- awkward. oh well, see ya in half an hour sicko!
Niall tucked his phone back into the side of the couch with a crackly sigh, rubbing his hands over his tired eyes. He hadn't been getting much sleep, despite how much he needed it to fight off the germs in his system.
He wasn't sure how he felt about having the rest of the lads over while he was feeling and most likely looking like absolute crap. As Louis had said, he rarely came down with anything other than a pitiful cold and none of them had seem him anywhere near how he was now. He was lightheaded and weak, shaking relentlessly and heaving over a bucket twice an hour. It was a vulnerability they wouldn't be expecting at all, and he wasn't sure if he wanted to show them.
He knew he was probably being stupid, the other lads had been sick plenty of times since the X factor all those years ago and nothing like he was thinking had happened.
He'd been sick for almost two whole days now, and even if he didn't want to expose his weak side, he definitely wouldn't mind the company.
A low rumble from deep inside Niall's stomach made his grimace and go stiff, waiting for the all too familiar sensation of bile crawling up his throat. Thankfully, it didn't come.
Maybe he would just shower, clean himself up a bit before his friends got there. It might help him feel a bit better too, he reasoned with himself as he forced himself onto his feet.
Once the hot water had filled the room with steam and Niall had managed to get his sweaty clothes off he got into the shower. He made sure to keep a tight of a grip as he could with his shaking hands on the shelves, in case he started feeling faint again.
Last night had not been a good night.
The steaming hot water felt amazing right up until it suddenly didn't anymore and Niall hurriedly switched off the tap, gulping down hard. Sick burned his throat and he coughed, bending over at his hips. The small glass of water he had downed after his last vomiting session poured from his lips along with some of the acid from his stomach, making a gross splashing sound as it hit the bottom of the shower. Niall grunted and shut his eyes tightly as his head instantly swum over, the exertion being too much for his fevered and sleepless body.
Blindly, he switched the shower back on and waited for the water to wash the foul smelling substance down the drain. He rinsed his mouth of and then turned the water back off, shivering.
Niall opened the window to let the steam out and sat down on the edge of the bath while he waited for the dizziness to pass. He knew he needed to be quick if he wanted to look presentable by the time his friends made it to his place, but he also knew that if he stood up right then, he was going to fall straight back down.
After a few minutes he gathered the strength to make the journey to his bedroom and pull on a clean pair of navy blue sweats and a black t-shirt. He'd already made the mistake of wearing white once, and there was no way he was going to do that again.
The band still weren't there so he pulled himself together a little more and hurried about cleaning up the couch where he'd miserably spent the last 48 hours. It was a total mess, with tissues, flannels, cups, and medication everywhere.
By the time he answered the door his body was completely finished. It wasn't until he stopped still that he realised how quickly the world was spinning and how sick his stomach felt. He could hear his blood pumping in his ears.
The dramatic fall his body took then, right in front of his friends, was completely out of his control.
"Whoa, Niall!"
Three sets of hands caught him before he could hit the ground and he ordered his legs to hold him up, listening to the angry voice in the back of his mind telling him not to be such a baby.
"I'm fine, j-just tripped" he took a deep breath, weakly shaking the hands off him, "come on in."
Louis strode in first, confident as ever, and then Liam followed, shooting Niall a sympathetic smile.
"Just tripped my arse" Harry rolled his eyes as he stepped forward and snaked his lanky arm around Niall's waist, "come on, let's go sit down before you 'trip' again."
Niall noticed that his friend's voice sounded a little weird. It was a little raspier than usual.
Niall wanted to wriggle out of his grip again, so that he couldn't feel how hard he was shaking, but he knew that Harry was stronger than him, even on his good days, and he had not chance of getting away.
Niall lowered himself uneasily into his couch, wondering what was going to happen next.
"So, you look awful" Louis smiled, saying it like it was a compliment.
"It's not that bad" Niall replied quietly.
"Stomach flu is horrible Ni, we're all pitying ya right now mate. You don't need to worry about trying to seem okay, you've seen all of us in worse states than this" Liam picked the thermometer up off the coffee table where Niall had neatly placed it on top of the box of stomach relaxers a few minutes earlier.
"When did you last check your fever?"
"This, uh- this morning" Niall swallowed. Sitting down had helped clear his head a bit, but his tummy was still a swirling storm of nausea and he knew that if he didn't find a way to calm it soon he was going to be sick.
"Let's try it again now then" Liam leaned over to insert the thermometer under Niall's arm. A very noticeable grimace took over his features at the movement and even Niall frowned in instant worry.
"You okay Li?" Harry asked.
"I have a headache, it's alrigh-" Liam hissed in pain and jerked back suddenly, both hands clamping down over his skull. The thermometer fell out of his grasp and Harry leaped up, quick to crouch down in front of Liam and feel his forehead for heat while questioning about what was happening.
Before Niall could start to wonder about the doe eyed brunette a sudden heat rushed up his back and spit filled his mouth. He desperately glanced down to the spot where the sick bucket had existed for the past couple of days but he'd stupidly put it away in his mad cleaning frenzy.
He sat very still and took as deep of a breath as he could but nothing he did made the feeling dissipate. Only a few second pass when he cheeks puffed up and he slapped a hand over his mouth, his body heaving forward. Louis had been watching Harry's careful interaction with Liam but at the gagging sound he looked to Niall and cursed. Niall held both hands over his mouth frantically as Louis hauled him upright and dragged him to the bathroom, telling him to hold on for just a few seconds.
Niall didn't want to be sick in front of Louis but he couldn't help it, he couldn't hold it back any longer and the small amount of water that hadn't come up in the shower spilled out of him as he retched violently over the toilet. Louis was a good friend, Niall knew that, but he wasn't the most empathetic person and Niall was worried that he would just tease him in some strange attempt to lighten the situation. It wasn't what he needed right now.
He grew aware of the cool hand rubbing up and down his back as the adrenaline wore off and the heaving slowed down. Louis was humming soothing sounds and sitting right beside him, supporting his body.
"Are you feeling alright Nialler? Not faint or anything?" Louis gently asked, wiping off his mouth with a short piece of toilet paper.
Apparently Niall had been wrong about Louis. It seemed like his personality had totally switched, just like that. He went from sarcastic teenager to nurturing and caring in a matter of seconds.
Niall cleared his throat and shrugged, feeling too numb to really know the answer. All he knew was that he was exhausted and that he really did not want to throw up again any time soon. It hurt enough this time, and now that he knew his stomach was completely empty, the next time was just going to be more painful.
"Do you think you can stand?"
Niall spat into the toilet. Of course he could stand. He wasn't some incapable infant that-
Louis caught him when he stumbled, blackness seeping into the edges of his vision. Niall heard the sound of plastic colliding with plastic and then Louis lowered him down on the toilet cover carefully.
"Apparently not..." Niall groaned in frustration.
"You two almost done in there? I need a piss" Harry knocked on the door. Louis must've heard the sense of urgency in his voice, because next thing Niall knows is he's standing upright, Louis holing up the majority of his weight. Niall staggered against Louis over to the door and blinked to keep himself awake while Louis opened it up.
"Uh, I think Liam's asking for you Lou" Harry waved a hand in the direction of the living room and then slid past Niall and Louis, closing the door as the duo stepped out of the way.
"Let's go see what Payno wants then" Louis panted, straining a little under the amount of extra weight he was carrying. Niall felt bad, but he couldn't force his legs like he had earlier, so he made no comment as Louis dragged him back to the living room.
It was dark, and for a second Niall wondered if he had passed out without realising.
"Liam..." Louis' voice quickly told him otherwise. Liam groaned in response and Louis lowered Niall down onto his couch before going over to check on his other friend.
Niall felt around blindly and tiredly for the duvet he'd left on the couch, wanting more than anything for the harsh trembles and shivers racking through his body to stop. He knew it probably meant that the fever had risen a bit, but he couldn't be sure since Liam gave out before they could get to the thermometer.
He almost fell off the couch while he searched, his eyes not adjusting to the darkness like they usually would. After a few seconds he came to the conclusion that the duvet just wasn't there.
"Lou, my d-duvet" Niall stuttered, the shivering chopping his words up a little.
"What about it Ni?" Louis whispered back.
"It's gone" Niall replied.
A brief scuffle.
Niall couldn't even tell what the sound was.
"I think Harry's given it to Liam. I'll go find you another one Ni."
Footsteps, and then the living room door open and daylight streamed in through the doorway.
"Are you okay Ni?" Liam murmured. Niall looked over., not expecting him to be talking. One side of Liam's face was squished into a cushion and only one eye, the one that was squished, was open and staring at him unsurely.
Niall hummed quietly in reply and nodded, wrapping his arms around his middle when it started cramping tightly.
"Sorry I took your blanket" Liam apologised. Niall shrugged, driving the heels of his hands into his stomach in attempt to find some sort of relief from the continuous whirling and cramping feeling.
Maybe he wasn't as empty as he thought he was.
"S'okay" Niall whimpered. His hand went to his mouth expectantly at the sensation of something rising inside his chest. It was just a hiccup, but it gave Niall a fright and he started choking on the extra air. He coughed roughly and gagged, instinctively leaning over the side of the couch in case something came out.
Liam's voice rang through his ears, screaming out for someone to come with a bucket. Niall felt awful, for making his friend yell like that despite having the headache of the century. Physically, he felt awful too. The coughing had stopped but he still felt like he was going to be sick again, his chest heaving and stomach whirling nauseatingly.
Louis rushed in, eyes glittering in the dull light. He slid the purple bucket he was holding underneath Niall and started asking quickfire questions about whether Niall was hot, or faint, or alright. Niall hardly recognised the voice, all he knew was that he had a bucket now and even though the thought of having it there reassured him that he wasn't about to make a huge mess, the familiar sight of the insides of the bucket made him feel even sicker.
He coughed and vomited up another small mixture of water and stomach acid, breathing heavily.
"Guess you weren't quite done before huh Mate? Better now?" Louis patted Niall's back gently.
Niall nodded somberly. It was a bit better, he supposed, but now he just really wanted to go to sleep.
"I brought you another duvet" Louis leaned Niall back into the couch and put his legs across the cushions, throwing the duvet over top of his shaking form. Niall muttered a quiet thank you and pulled the duvet up over his face. He fell asleep within moments.
***
Harry's POV:
I wiped a bead of sweat from my forehead and groaned to myself, gazing out the window at the setting sun. I needed to leave now, if I wanted to get home before the fever really came back.
Compared to Niall, I definitely had good luck when it came to sickness. While he felt like crap all through the day and the night, burning up and throwing up, I could pass as healthy during the day time. It had been like that ever since I was a kid. High fevers and the worst strain during the night, and feeling okay, if a little tired, in the day time.
I'd only thrown up once today, right after Niall had, but no one had noticed and up until now I'd been feeling pretty normal. This morning, I'd figured that I might as well go around and help out, seeing as I was perfectly fine. My fever had dropped all the way down from 103.8 to 100 and apart from the slight pukey taste in my mouth it felt like any other day.
And then I'd just leave when it started getting late.
It wasn't about hiding it from the boys, hell no, it was more along the lines of just not seeing it as something that needed dealing with like this. I could handle a stomach flu without making it all dramatic and suspenseful.
It was different for Niall, because he doesn't usually get sick like this. And it's different for Liam too, because calming down his nasty headaches is a common thing. And Louis, when he's sick, we all just enjoy taking care of him and he likes being taken care of.
I just didn't need the extra attention.
"Harry..."
I snapped out of my thoughts as a hand darted through the air in front of my face, snapping and clicking.
"What?"
"You were just staring out the window at nothing for like five minutes" Louis explained with a raised eyebrow. I shrugged, "zoned out."
"I was just trying to ask whether or not you're gonna hang around here for the night. I figured I would, seeing as Liam's not going to be going anywhere and neither him or Niall are up to doing much on their own. If I'm here though, means you can leave if you want?"
I pretended to think about it, as if leaving hadn't been my plan all along. I knew that I had to go soon, or I wasn't going to be able to drive home without causing an accident.
"I'm pretty tired Lou, I reckon I'll just head home for the night, come back in the morning?"
Louis nodded, "do you wanna help me with dinner before you go?"
It would look really bad if I refused and then just walked out the door so I nodded in response, despite the fact that I could literally feel my body heat raising.
I spent quarter of an hour in the kitchen with Louis, preparing some light toast with avocado and tomato on top. It really shouldn't have taken that long, but Niall's toaster really struggled to actually toast any bread.
By the time we finished, my appetite had completely vanished and I knew that I was probably beginning to look unwell too. I was definitely beginning to feel it again. I put my jacket on and jiggled my pocket to make sure my keys were still inside.
"You're not going to eat before you go?" Louis questioned curiously, sounding confused. I shook my head, "nah, it'll be dark soon."
"It's six a clock" Louis deadpanned, pointing at the time on the oven. I twiddled my fingers around inside my pocket anxiously. I just wanted to get home, before I dropped.
Louis came over to me, peering up at my face with soft eyes.
"You're kind of pale..." he reached over to touch my forehead and I ducked, going all the way down onto my knees and pretending to fix my laces. Out the corner of my eye I watched Louis pull his hand back in.
"I'm tired Lou" I told him, standing back up.
"Probably because you haven't eaten since you got here. Please just stay and eat, for a little bit?" Louis pleaded, holding out a piece of toast.
"Fine" I mumbled, taking the plate from him. Louis did this thing when someone needed looking after. He turned into what Liam and I liked to call, 'Mama Lou.' When he's Mama Lou he's literally like a mum. Gone is the usual sarcastic nature and all of a sudden he actually cares. Like, a lot.
If I refused to eat he'd know something was up, and Mama Lou would never let me leave if he thought I was ill.
"Great. Grab Li's plate then will you?" Louis grinned, swiping the other two plates off the bench and striding off to the living room. I sighed and picked up the remaining plate before following after him.
The four of us ate in dead silence. Niall was glaring down at the piece of bread in his lap as if it had killed his family. Liam looked unsure about whether or not he should eat, and Louis had dug in pretty quickly, unable to speak past the wad of dough and avocado filling his gob.
Meanwhile, I just struggled to swallow a single mouthful. I'd literally had the same piece in my mouth for the last five minutes and after masking a set of gags with coughing it was just sitting on my tongue while I waited for the inspiration to swallow. My face felt hot, but everything else was starting to fall into the feverish chill I recognised from last night.
"Is it not nice?" Louis asked, glancing around at all our full plates. Even Liam had managed to eat more than me.
"Sorry Lou" Niall apologised weakly, shaking his head, "can't do it."
Liam put his plate on the coffee table and rolled over to go back to sleep soundlessly
"And you Haz?" Louis stared at me questioningly.
I swallowed the mouthful. "I'm just not hungry."
Louis sighed, "well, that was a waste of time then wasn't it?"
Niall apologised again quietly.
"Come on then H, let's go clean up" Louis collected the plates and headed off back to the kitchen. I gathered up my strength and wet after him, knowing full well that this wasn't going to turn out well.
I was scraping the toast into the bin when my stomach lurched and I quickly moved over to the sink, throwing up as if on command. I'd eaten breakfast that morning, so the stuff that came out of me was full and disgusting. Louis was quick to get by my side as I sucked in a deep breath, leaning further over the sink.
"Hazza... Why didn't you say anything earlier?" Louis pulled my hair away from my face as I vomited again, spitting and coughing.
"J-just flu, n-not a b-big d-deal" I croaked out, wiping my hand over my mouth and exhaustedly switching the tap on so that I wouldn't have to look at my breakfast for any longer.
The fever was definitely back, I hadn't felt anywhere near as dizzy and lightheaded as I did now after I'd thrown up earlier.
"You're burning up H, it could very quickly turn into a hella big deal" Louis frowned, taking his cool hand away from my forehead.
"Just need to g-get h-home..." I slurred.
"No way am I letting you drive like this Mate" Louis shook his head stubbornly. I'd waited too long to leave and now I was stuck here, where Louis would make it out to be the biggest deal ever. I didn't want to tell him how I felt every twenty minutes and I didn't want to have my temperature taken in between. I just wanted to be in my own bed, with a bucket beside me.
Before I could try convincing him shadows quickly crawled in from the edges of my vision and I stumbled around the island to where I half-consciously knew where the bar stools were. I plopped down on top of the cushioned seat and closed my eyes, holding on to the bench in case my body shut down.
I could literally feel myself swaying. Louis had a hold on me, and he was talking about something but I couldn't focus anywhere near long enough to make out a word he was saying, never-mind a whole sentence.
Thankfully the feeling that I was about to pass out went away before I actually toppled off my seat. I carefully opened my eyes to see Louis standing right in front of me, frowning in worry.
"You with me Harry?" He jostled my shoulders slightly.
"Yeah" I breathed out.
"Good, you just scared me half to death just then."
I murmured out a soft apology and raised a hand to wipe at my wet eyes, "can I lay down?"
At this point, I didn't care where I was. I might not be able to have my own bed, but I could still lay down with a bucket and sleep until morning.
"Yeah, course. Come on, I'll help ya."
We awkwardly made our way back to the living room. Louis wasn't as tall as I was, and the weight was more than a little unbalanced so it wasn't the easiest trip but we got there in the end.
"What's the matter?" Liam asked as we walked in, my body slung all over Louis. Niall was snoring.
"Our tall, and fucking heavy, friend here is sick too" Louis dumped me onto the couch that hadn't been taken up.
"He looks it" Liam frowned.
"Gee, thanks" I mumbled as I spread out on the material, pressing my face into a cushion and letting my legs hang over the edge of the couch.
"Hm, don't know how we didn't catch on before he threw up and almost passed out on the kitchen floor" Louis flicked my nose, "you can go to sleep right after I check your temp Hazza."
"Only feverish at n-night" I murmured, lifting an arm without opening my eyes.
"You've been sick all day?" Louis exclaimed accusingly as he slid the device into my armpit.
"All night" I corrected, yawning widely. My mouth tasted yuck.
"You're so dumb" Liam said, "coming over when you're sick."
"Hypocrite" I yawned again. Liam went silent.
Louis extracted the beeping thermometer.
"102.4."
"Not bad yet" I shrugged a bit on the couch. It probably looked really strange to Louis, me just squirming slightly.
"Not bad yet? How high did it get last night?" Louis exclaimed, struggling to keep his voice down.
"Almost 104" I replied, "can I please g-get a bucket?"
"I'm telling you right now, if you get to 104 I'm taking you to the hospital" Louis said. I opened one eye, "seriously?"
Here we go, big deal out of nothing. I was fine.
"Seriously."
He stood up.
"Can you come with me to the bathroom Lou? I feel sick" Liam hoisted himself upright.
"Sure Li."
***
Liam's POV:
Louis asked if I was okay standing on my own and I told him I was. He followed just behind me as I made my way to the toilet.
Once there I awkwardly sat down in front of it, staring into the water with a grimace. It was uncomfortably close, and kind of smelled like vomit.
"It's alright Payno, just let it happen..." Louis soothed.
I sat there for a few minutes, making my breathing heavy while Louis rubbed my back softly.
The plan was to just let it go on for a bit before declaring it to be a false alarm.
Before I could say or do anything though there was a load strangled cough and a shout for Louis from down the hall. Then came the sickening splatter of puke and another yell before another splatter.
Louis glanced down at me. I waited for him to get up and help our friends but he didn't, instead he just kept rubbing my back.
"Go Lou" I told him.
"You're sick too Li, I'll go clean up in there after we're done in here" Louis smiled, "it's okay."
Alright, now this was just getting out of hand. Louis was in here trying too take care of me while Harry and Niall puked their brains out on there own. Not to mention, there was only one bucket in there and if I had to draw a picture of how the room looked about now it would be horrendous.
"Go."
"No Liam, it's fine."
I stood up. "It's not fine! I'm not even sick okay, no headache, no nothing! Now fucking go!" I shouted, face going red in embarrassment. Louis's expression changed a few times as he struggled to make sense of what I had just screamed at him but after a while he growled at me and then left, slamming the door shut behind him.
I groaned and leaned back against the wall. Louis was going to be so pissed off.
***
Louis was pissed off at Liam. Super pissed off.
By the time he made it to the living room Niall and Harry were both relentlessly vomiting. Niall had a bucket, but because of Liam Harry had to make do with the carpet. Louis would've made Liam clean it up, if he could face him.
Later on that night when Niall and Harry were both in a restless sleep Louis the front door open and shut, and knew that Liam was sneaking out. He rolled over and closed his eyes with an angry huff.
Louis looked after Niall and Harry all day the next day, but by that evening he found himself over the toilet heaving up whatever his stomach possessed. Niall texted Liam to come back before Louis could stop him and soon enough Liam was back with every type of medicine that could possibly help, along with a stack of movies and an apologetic and very sheepish smile.
Louis tried so hard to remain angry at him but it became increasingly hard to stay mad at the person who was holding his hair back while he was continuously sick. Plus, Louis figured it was enough payback to have to look after three vomiting and feverish guys for three days flat.
Jesus christ this is long. I had written almost two thousand words some other time, and I came back to it like, I'll just write another 500 or so and then I'll be done. Haha, 2500 words later and here we are.
Hope you like it!