The next morning, I woke up feeling like shit. I was alone; Calum never slept over on school nights. But I didn't feel like I could make it through the day at school, I felt like I was going to die. My nose was runny, so I was sniffling every two seconds, and my entire body felt like I was burning up.
God, I was miserable. I hobbled out of bed and down the stairs, digging through the cabinets to find the thermometer.
"Oh, good morning my beautiful child." my mum swept gracefully through the kitchen, all smiles. I hated to tell her I was sick and ruin her happy mood, but I couldn't exactly keep it a secret.
"Where's the thermometer? I feel like crap." I complained and sniffled again.
"Oh honey, here it is. Let me take your temperature." she frowned. Sticking the thermometer under my tongue, she waited a few minutes, then took it out.
"Am I sick?" I questioned.
"101, dear. Looks like you get the day off of school." she gave me a small smile.
"Great." I sniffled.
"I can stay home with you, Jade-"
"That won't be necessary, mum. I'll probably just spend the day sniffling anyway, I'll be okay on my own. You should probably go to work." I sighed and grabbed the tissue box from the counter.
"You'll call me if you need anything, won't you?" she asked hesitantly, and I nodded.
"I love you mum." I called before she grabbed her purse and started toward the door.
"Love you too, honey! And call Joy, she used to be a nurse!" my mum yelled, then left. I just sighed and rolled my eyes, then carried the tissues and thermometer back up to my bedroom.
>>>>
I woke up from my peaceful slumber to a loud noise coming from downstairs. My legs began pumping with adrenaline, I didn't know who the hell could be in the house. Mum and dad were at work; and I didn't have any siblings.
I carefully got out of bed and grabbed my bat from the corner of my room, curtesy of my many many years of playing softball as a kid. I gently eased my door open and started down the stairs. I knew which stairs would creak, so I knew which to avoid. And to make matters worse, I was sniffling every two seconds.
I finally got down to the main level and first entered the kitchen. I was clutching the bat so tight my knuckles where white, while worst case scenarios ran through my head. Nobody was in the kitchen, though. But before I could turn around and go to another room, I heard a voice.
"Whoa, put that down, baby, you're gonna hurt yourself."
Calum fucking Hood. My best friend and my boyfriend, scared the living hell out of me. I sighed in relief, and maybe frustration, and turned around to face him. He was smirking and biting his lip to hold back a full smile.
"I ought to beat you with it anyway just for scaring the hell out of me!" I whined.
"Aw, babe, do you need a hug?" his smirk grew wider as he took a step toward me, his arms open. I raised the bat higher, and he backed off.
"What the hell are you doing here?" I asked as I removed my tissue from my pocket and blew my nose.
"Your mum called me and told me you were sick. Being the good boyfriend that I am, I picked up some super soft tissues and some medicine for you." he smiled cheekily.
"You don't have to take care of me, Cal." I mumbled, a smile growing on my lips.
"Yes I do. I love you, silly." he chuckled and stepped toward me again. This time, I didn't object when his arms surrounded me, but not before he took the bat from me and gently set it on the floor.
"I'm sick, don't get too close." I said, trying to pull away for Calum's sake.
"Give me a kiss." he pouted, staring down at me.
"I'm sick, Cal." I repeated.
"Just one, I don't care." he whispered and leaned down.
"Well I do. I don't want you to get sick." I mumbled. No matter how much I really wanted a Calum kiss, and no matter how much I knew it would make me feel better, I didn't want him to get sick. His fans would probably kill me.
"Jade." he said, and I turned around to look at him. He cupped my cheeks in his hands and pulled my face up so my eyes were staring at him. "I don't care." he repeated, laying a soft kiss on my lips.
I was right, it totally made me feel better. And I totally would have sat there and made out with him if I wasn't sick.
"I win." he chuckled when he pulled away.
"Well don't come crying to me when you get sick." I pointed out and walked into the living room to lay down. Calum followed me with his specially soft tissues that he bought me.
"But you'll take care of me, won't you baby?" he pouted and handed me a tissue.
"If you go get me some water, then yes." I muttered. He jumped up and walked over to where I was laying on the couch, looking down at me.
"Do I get a kiss if I do?" he smirked.
Screw it, I already kissed him, so the damage is already done. I brought my head up and pecked him quickly on the lips, probably taking him by surprise.
"Didn't expect it to be that easy." he mumbled as he left the living room. I chuckled lightly at him, and dozed off into sleep.
>>>>
"No, mate, Jade isn't here. She's out with her friends." Calum's rather aggressive voice woke me up. I sat up quickly and walked over to the front door, where he was standing.
"I really need to talk to her." a pleading voice said.
"I fucking told you no." Calum snapped.
"Bro, I'll only be a few minutes-"
"Fucking no!" Calum yelled and began to close the door, so I knew I had to act fast.
"Calum?" I called. Calum's shoulders fell when he realized the person who was looking for me had caught him in a lie. I didn't care at the moment; if someone needed me, I wanted him to tell me.
"Oh, babe, hey." Calum mumbled.
"Jade!" the voice called out. I walked over to the door and shoved Calum out of the way, facing Ethan Reed for the first time in about two months. What the hell was he doing here? Now I understood why Calum was being such a dick.
"Ethan." I frowned.
"I really need to talk to you. Alone." he said, rather frantically.
"No way in hell am I leaving you two alone, Reed. I made that mistake once, never again." Calum muttered, gripping my waist tightly. I paused and blew my nose into my tissue, then faced Ethan again.
"Oh shut up, Hood. You fucking left her for two years, you don't know shit." Ethan spat.
"Oh fuck you-" Calum began, stepping toward Ethan.
"Stop!" I shouted, grabbing both of their attention. "Fucking hell, Ethan come inside. It's cold out." I muttered, grabbing Ethan's hand and tugging him inside, ignoring the look Calum was giving me.
"Jade." Calum hissed.
"Fuck off, I'll handle it, yeah?" I mumbled.
"I'm not leaving." he crossed his arms over his chest. I rolled my eyes and laid a quick kiss on his lips.
"I don't expect you to." I whispered, giving him a small smile, then walking off to the living room where Ethan was waiting patiently. And I wasn't even surprised when I felt Calum's hand slap my ass, I just rolled my eyes. He let out a small chuckle, which I ignored.
Damn, that boy.
