Liam didn't feel like getting out of bed.
His older brother had been in to wake him up ten minutes ago, he'd switched on the light and ripped Liam's duvets off as per usual, all too cherry and enthusiastic for 7:00 in the morning.
Normally the bright light bursting from the ceiling was enough to wake Liam up so he could get to getting ready for school but this morning it wasn't doing it's job quite as well.
"You still lying there dude? You've gotta get a move on or I'm gonna have to leave ya here" Niall peeked his head into the room with an amused smirk. He was all dressed, shoes on and hair full of gel. Liam groaned and rolled out of bed, hitting the floor with a thud.
Niall laughed out loud, snorting and chortling. Liam didn't care. If he hadn't done something he probably would never have gotten up. He sniffled and wiped at the base of his nostrils as he tiredly got to his feet.
"That's it Li, up and at 'em" Niall chuckled, "you always look so good in the mornings little bro" he added sarcastically. Liam rolled his eyes and coughed into his sleeve to clear the thick feeling in his throat. Something in his chest twanged and he winced, stopping still until the pain slowly faded. It wasn't that bad really, it was just early and it had given him a fright.
He'd started feeling kind of ill the day before, struggling to stay awake in class and sniffling every now and then. There had been a bit of sneezing and his throat had been hurting too. He'd pretty much been expecting to wake up not feeling his best.
"I'll see you in the car in quarter of an hour" Niall nodded and headed off.
Liam sighed and began changing into his uniform. It was a big bulky set of trousers and shirt, his dads had said that he'd grow into them but he'd yet to hit that main growth spurt. He put his socks on wearily and then laced up his shoes.
"Morning Li, feeling okay today?"
He glanced up to see his Dad in the door frame. Liam had told his parents yesterday that he thought he might be coming down with something.
"Hm, bit stuffy" Liam replied. The sound of his own voice made him wince a little. It crackled and broke like an old record. "I'm fine though."
"Okay bud. You better get your wheels on, Niall's itching to get out the door this morning" his dad chuckled.
"Oi Harry! Come back to bed!" Liam's other dad yelled from the bedroom.
"One sec Lou! I'll see you this afternoon Li, have a good day" Liam's Dad grinned once more before running off back to his room.
Liam fixed his tie in the mirror, grimacing at the state his floppy hair was in. A couple of runs through it with his fingers made it appear semi presentable and he decided that it would do, he couldn't be bothered. He packed up his bag and put on his shoes before grabbing and quick bite to eat from the kitchen. He brushed his teeth, sitting on the side of the bath to make the slight shaking in his legs stop. On his way out to the garage where the little car was parked Niall ran up to him and clapped him on the back, "bit slow today huh Li? Come on, we've gotta get out of here or we'll be late" he grinned, leading Liam briskly the rest of the way to the garage.
Niall frowned a little when Liam started coughing suddenly, elbow held to his mouth. His kid brother didn't get sick very often but when he did it tended to hit him pretty hard. Liam had been drowsier than normal that morning and the coughing fit he was in the middle of sounded reasonably harsh.
"Are you okay?" Niall asked, whacking Liam's back a few times. Liam nodded as the coughs died out, "got a cold."
"Is it bad? I can check in with Dads and see if they'll let ya stay home if you want?" Niall offered.
Liam shook his head but the next next of coughs that followed made Niall turn on his heel and race back down the hall to their parents room. He really couldn't afford to be late.
"Hey, Liam's got a cold, can he hang around here with you guys today?" Niall asked as he opened the door.
Thankfully his parents were doing nothing but laying in each others arms. He'd walked in at far worse times.
"Does he want to stay home?" Louis asked, opening his eyes.
"He told me he was fine" Harry frowned.
Niall remembered that Liam had shaken his head and sighed. "No, he didn't say anything, but he's cough-"
"He'll be okay for today I think Ni. If anything happens we can always call in and pick him up" Louis nodded affirmatively.
Niall bit his lip, "okay, I'll keep an eye out for him then I guess."
"Good man. Now go, or you'll miss the first bell" Harry grinned sleepily.
"Right, okay. See you later" Niall waved.
Liam stayed mostly quiet on the way to the school. He couldn't resist humming along to the radio despite the rawness of his throat but apart from that he didn't make a sound. When Niall parked the car he got out and they both headed inside, knowing that they'd have to be quick to get to their lockers before class.
"Text me if you're not feeling well okay? I'll come find you" Niall ordered Liam as they split off in their different directions.
Liam nodded with a sniffle. Just from the walk in the cold from the car to the school had made his nose run and the congestion set in even further. His head was beginning to hurt.
Liam managed to collect his maths books from his locker and get to class on time thankfully. He took his usual seat beside his best mate Nick and uttered a quiet greeting, dumping his heavy bag onto the floor beside him.
"Hey" Nick nodded.
The teacher talked for the majority of the lesson as per usual and she was very strict about people talking when she was so even though Nock was dying to ask his best friend why he looked like he hadn't slept in a week he had to wait until Mrs Feather shut her trap.
He blurted as soon as she sat down, "what's with you today?"
Liam sighed and dropped his pencil. His notes looked pretty horrendous. His fingers and hands felt weird, as if they didn't know how to write, and they were shaking a bit. He realised then how cold he was.
"I'm kinda sick" he replied with a shrug.
"You're shivering. Why didn't you stay home?" Nick asked as he peeled his top layer off and draped it over his shaking friend.
"It's just a cold Nick, I'm fine" Liam chuckled a bit at how worried his friend seemed. He fisted the new coat in his hands and drew it tight around himself.
"If you say so..." Nick exhaled wearily.
They worked together on the exercise Mrs Feather had left for them to complete. Liam sneezed and coughed a bit. He apologised over and over to Nick, the coat was his top layer which meant that it was that material that was being repetitively covered in his germs.
Nick promised him that he didn't care, but Liam still felt bad.
After maths Liam had English, with Nick thankfully. If Nick hadn't been in his class he would've been alone in handling Aaron, the boy who sat on his other side and talked and talked and talked continuously. Liam wasn't sure he had the energy to deal with Aaron's undeniable chairs as and chatterbox trait today.
Ten minutes in and Aaron's voice had already made him feel ten times worse. He had a headache, whether it be from Aaron or because of how stuffy his nose was, his throat was aching and he was coughing a fair amount, red faced as he tried to stifle it. He was never one of those kids who was alright with a room full of people staring at him.
"Aaron, you're great, we really do love hearing about your goldfish, but I don't think Liam's feeling very well so if you can please just be quiet for ten minutes it would be hugely appreciated" Nick leaned over Liam's desk to stare at Aaron.
Liam smiled a little despite it all. The way Nick managed to tell somebody to shut the fuck up without looking like an arsehole was something that he'd always found amusing.
Aaron nodded. Just when Liam though he might get a break though Aaron's ten minutes of apparent silence came to an end about nine minutes too early.
"Are you sick? Are you contagious? Are you gonna puke? This one time, my sister Elizabeth, she hurled all over our dog! It was seriously the funniest thing you'll ever-"
"Can I go to the bathroom please sir?" Liam blurted raspily, unable to listen to Aaron for another second. If he didn't leave he was going to strangle the guy.
"Be back in five minutes Liam, you know the drill" Mr Sail nodded.
Liam pushed himself up out of his seat and stumbled out the door, shutting it behind him.
Silence.
Liam sighed in relief and headed for the bathroom.
Morning tea. French. Business.
It all went by incredibly slowly. Liam felt like crap. He wished he'd asked to stay home. If he was at home right now he'd be in bed drinking tea and watching movies, not hardly surviving through the easiest hour of the day, lunch.
"Are you hungry?" Nick asked. They were in line because he wanted to buy himself a drink but he'd happily buy something for Liam too if he wanted. He owed him for the chips from last week anyway.
"I've got a sandwich" Liam murmured quietly. Even under his shirt, his jersey and Nick's jacket he was still shaking.
"I can buy you something warm to eat instead Li, it'll help you heat up" Nick offered as they got closer to the front.
Liam supposed that hot food might be less painful to swallow, especially if it was a drink. "Hot chocolate?" He asked Nick. He didn't have any money.
"They're still selling those?" Nick questioned.
Liam nodded. In the winter the cafeteria did not drinks, coffees and hot chocolates and even though winter had come to an end a couple of weeks ago it was still quite cold.
Nick got his drink and Liam got his, thanking his friend gratefully. Even holding the warm cup in his hands made him smile.
They sat down in their usual seats. Liam took a weary sip of his drink and hummed at the pleasantness in his mouth. Swallowing wasn't so bad either.
Soon enough Niall appeared and plopped down beside Liam. Immediately he knew that Liam wasn't feeling well. His brother seemed to have dropped considerably since that morning, eyes extremely exhausted looking and nose bright red.
"How's it going?" Niall asked, even if he already knew damn well.
He pulled the coat tighter on Liam and mouthed a quick thank you to Nick, knowing that it wasn't Liam's.
"S'okay" Liam croaked. He moaned quietly and closed his eyes as his throat tickled again. Niall patted his back as he coughed while Nick watched with worry.
"I think we should take you to the nurse kiddo" Niall said.
Liam nodded after a long second, "can I finish this first?" He weakly gestured to his cup.
"Course you can" Niall smiled, "drink up."
Nick and Niall made light conversation while Liam slowly sipped at his drink until it was all gone. It had warmed him up like Nick had promised, and his throat felt a bit numbed from the warmth.
Maybe he could last the day now.
Nope, never mind, back to coughing now and it hurt this time. In his throat, his chest and just about everything else.
"Come on then little bro, let's go" Niall stood up from his seat, gesturing for Liam to follow. He watched as Liam took a deep shuddery breath and stood up on trembling legs, rubbing at his nose with his fist.
"You wanna come Nick? I've got a test next period but I'm sure he'll want someone to wait with him while someone's on their way to get him" Niall suggested, knowing how close Liam and Nick were.
Nick nodded and picked up Liam's bag.
Hardly two steps out of the cafeteria the bell went and Niall groaned. Great, just what they needed. Everybody swarmed, rushing about in one big cloud. The halls quickly turned into a whirlpool. Niall herded the two shorter lads to the side so that they wouldn't get sucked into the crowd. Liam was coughing again and it didn't sound good at all.
He felt like he was going to cough up his insides, or at the very least fall over.
As the crowd dissipated Nick noticed a change in the sound of Liam's coughing and glanced down to see Liam doubled over, every second bark sounding eerily similar to a gag.
"Uh, Niall, I think he going to be sick" he alerted Liam's older brother.
Niall swore, "you're okay Liam, come on."
He lead him off to the closest bathroom. They went through the door just in time to Liam to heave and spill the contents of his stomach all over the tiles.
"Okay buddy, shhh, that's it..." Niall rubbed his back, trying to stay calm for Liam's sake. He'd stopped coughing, thankfully, that had scared the shit out of both Niall and Nick, but now he was sobbing and Niall realised that that might be even harder to watch.
He gagged again and Nick instinctively shoved his friend into the nearest cubicle. Liam stumbled and fell over the toilet, salty tears streaming down his face as he cried.
"I w-wanna go home" he whimpered in a practically non existent voice after he'd thrown up again.
"I know Li, that's exactly where you're going" Niall replied, "are you ready to stand?"
Liam nodded tiredly. He didn't want to sit in the bathroom for any longer than necessary.
"Come on then big guy" Niall breathed as he hoisted Liam onto his feet.
Once Nick and Niall got Lima to the nurses office Niall ran off, apologising and saying that he had to get to his test. Liam knew that it was important to his brother, he wouldn't leave otherwise, so he didn't mind. Nick stayed anyway while he waited for Dads to come pick him up.
The nurse was nice, she gave him a heat pack for his aching tummy and let him lay down while he waited.
Harry and Louis were straight out the door when they got the call from the nurse. By the time they hung up the phone they were already half way to the school. They pretty much ran inside, making quite an entrance into the nurses office.
"Liam darling" Harry cooed sympathetically, "feeling sick are you?"
Liam nodded, leaning into his Dad's warm hug.
"Let's get you home bud" Louis ruffled his hair.
Bit of a cut off ending, sorry loves! It's getting late!