Comfort

You're burning up!

Gray didn't go to school. That alone was odd, but considering be was still in middle school, still obsessive over his grades, it was even worse. His mother hadn't come home last night, probably worked all night or slept in her office, so there was no one to tell him he couldn't. There was also no one to take care of him considering he was sick. Well, he wasn't sick, so he claimed, but he wasn't feeling well. So, he stayed in bed when his alarm went off, practically drenched in sweat, and deemed that today was a stay at home day.

He hadn't thought to text anyone to let them know considering he didnt really have any friends and he was far too drained to be bothered to pick up his phone. It wasn't until around 9 o'clock did he force himself out of bed only to stumble to the bathroom followed by the kitchen. Pouring himself a glass of water, he walked back to his room and sat down on his bed. Looking around at his plain room made him sad, plain white walls lacking posters, black sheets and comforter, and matching shelves and a desk for his many books and study guides made since the beginning of school for his languages, piano and violin lessons, and school classes since he was 7 (or maybe it was 8), so he chose to look at his Stephen shelf. All of the lovely gifts, knick-knacks, and notes Stephen had given him. Among the notes was his confession, him admitting his feelings for Gray. Stephen held onto Gray's response, only his brown eyes could see his adoration held for the brunet.

Gray sighed as an alarm rang on his phone. Medication time. Usually Gray took it early, not wanting to bother with taking it later, but considering he woke up and immediate decided he wasn't hauling his ass out of bed he had to take it at the expected time. He sighed, ripping open his draw on his bed-side table, which was a lovely mahogany piece that matched his bed frame, dresser, and wall length book shelf, and pulled out a small pill box. The tag had been removed and instead a cat spilling out of a smaller pill bottle was painted on it, the smaller pill bottle holding the label to make sure he didn't mix it up with any of his other expected medications. Anti-depressants.

He hated taking them. He felt dependent on them dispite the fact they didn't really do much to curve the empty feeling or the random negative mood swings that lasted for days. Stephen helped Gray's serotonin deficiency much more than those stupid pills. Maybe he should've pained Stephen on the pill bottle, but, then again, Gray truly did have a great connection with cats considering he was told he acted like one. He smiled at that, looking at the small plush his lover had given him (a small cat with silver fur), and popped open the bottle and took the recommended dosage. He quickly discarded the evidence of his less than stellar mental health, and he curled himself into a ball on his bed. Just as he was about to fall asleep, yet again, his phone alarm rang. Gray groaned, not remembering if he had set any alarms, and grabbed his phone blindly which he failed at for a few moments before gazing at the dull screen.

'Stephen is calling'

Gray stared at his phone, enjoying the picture of his boyfriend and his bright smile and kind eyes, until it went to voice-mail. He sighed, pulling his phone towards him instead of holding it over his nightstand, and called Stephen back. Placing his phone on his chest, he lay on his back, moving from his left side, and putting it on speaker. He listened to it ring for a moment, only twice, before he heard a click.

"Hello?"

"You called me."

"Your," Stephen laughed, "your obviously not here."

Gray smiled. "What do you mean, I was obviously in our last class."

Stephen laughed again, bubbly and happy. Gray loved Stephen's laugh, loved his smile just as much, and tried his hardest to continuously bring it out. "Obviously. How could I miss you?"

The two chuckled, finding their silly little conversation funny until Gray felt a wave of nausea crash over his head, the first of the day. His laughing cut off immediately.