good time, all the time // outer banks

catch you // john b

If hell was a feeling, you had it. You hadn't had a break all day, and in fact, even sleeping last night ended up being a battle. The nausea didn't leave after you ate some eggs and drank some water this morning and the foreseeable future didn't look any better. Come to think of it, you hadn't felt good these past few days, but this was definitely the worst.

Reaching for your phone, you winced at the intense pain in your head. You had already taken like six different medicines in hopes that it would help you in the slightest, but nothing seemed to be working. You whined at the amount of light shining in your eyes from the window before putting one of the couch pillows over your head.

Your fingers typed rapidly on the glass screen of your phone as you sent John B a message requesting his help and giving a brief explanation of the situation. When you mean brief, you left it at "just a headache" even though the slightest movement sent your heart racing and standing up was definitely not an option unless you wanted to lose your vision.

If soulmates were real, you were convinced John B was yours. He was the missing piece to your puzzle and in the two years you guys had been together, it had been nothing but happiness and forever memories. You were by his side when his dad disappeared, through all the sleepless nights and the frustration fits. You just held him and promised that it would all be okay, which it would be, after time.

He was out on the boat with the rest of your Pogue friends, no doubt already drunk by two in the afternoon. You had opted to stay back, saying you needed to catch up on some sleep, which really wasn't super believable but thankfully they took it. You loved the small bit of peace and quiet you got for even just a few hours and even though you were enjoying it, you really wanted John B to come back and lay here in silence with you, just so you could have his presence.

You closed your eyes for a brief moment, hoping it would at least help your headache. It didn't in fact, and you were rudely awoken when John B slammed the door to the porch. Your eyes barely opened for you to look at him.

"Baby, what's wrong?" He asked as he came to sit by you. He pressed the back of his hand against your forehead and cheeks. "You're warm. Have you eaten today?"

You nodded slightly, leaning into the cool touch of his hand. He frowned at your response and pulled the blanket off of you. You whined, suddenly feeling cold by the lack of covering. He shook his head at you and reached for your hand. "Come on, let's get you in bed."

John B helped you to your feet, allowing you to lean on his shoulder as he helped you towards his room. You closed your eyes, feeling the bile in your throat threaten to break free but you swallowed it back down with a grimace. You could feel your feet dragging under you as John B continued to lead you along.

The world moved in slow motion for a second, his question to you turning to a blurry background. "I don't. I can't hear and... and I'm really tired. Just wanna sleep."

Despite just wanting to get you to bed, John B recognized the lack of color in your face and quickly changed plans. His hand tapped your cheek gently. "Hey, hey. Sit down." He helped guide you towards the floor, adjusting you so your head was between your legs. He didn't know why that was his instinct but there was a clip of Pope's voice in the back of his head telling him that was right.

John B sat down next to you, using the spare hair tie on his wrist to pull your hair up and off your neck for the time being. His hand rubbed your back gently to offer any comfort. He felt awful that you were so sick, it wasn't something he liked seeing. He was so used to your adventurous, bubbly personality that this made him sad.

You tried to talk to him, to utter anything about how you were feeling. "'M so sleep-" What should have been five minutes passed in a flash as you finally let your body succumb to the sleep that you had been waiting for this entire day.

--

Your eyes felt heavy when you finally woke up a while later. You could feel the familiar sheets of your boyfriend's bed beneath you, telling you that you weren't in the hospital, thankfully. Something cold was dripping down your face, sending chills down your spine. You reached up and pulled a melting ice pack from your head before sitting up slowly.

"Oh, my God you're awake!" John B practically launched himself across the room to hold you. He pressed your head against his chest as he rocked back and forth. "I didn't know what to do. You passed out and I brought you here because I didn't want to call an ambulance or something worse happen and-"

"Hey," You mumbled as you interrupted him with a kiss. "It's okay. Thank you. I'm probably just really dehydrated."

"Dehydrated?" He repeated with wide eyes as he held you in front of him. "All of that from dehydration?"

You laughed and hugged him tightly. "Yes, you big ball of worry. I'll be fine once I drink some water and lay around for a bit."

"Your ass isn't leaving this bed!" He directed as he stood up, pointing at you as he walked out of the room. "I'm getting you like six gallons of water and you're staying right there! You and your unconscious ass worry the shit out of me!"

Laughter echoed through the house as you laid back down, hugging an extra pillow to your stomach as you waited for him to come back. You couldn't even be worried about passing out or how bad you felt earlier. You just knew you had Doctor John B by your side until you felt 100% better and there was no way you were going to escape until then.