I'm Fine (An Arrow Fanfiction)

Chapter Seventeen

Once he got there, he locked the door and coughed until he cleared his throat enough to speak again. Oliver felt like shit. Not only was his throat sore and itchy, he had a constant headache. Although the NyQuil helped a bit, he still didn't feel well at all. 

Oliver glanced at his reflection in the mirror and cringed. He looked absolutely terrible, worse than he had the last few days, but he had to continue to go out and pretend that he felt fine. Oliver took a deep breath which resulted in a few quick sneezes. It seemed like he could never sneeze just once. He sighed. It was a cold. Yeah, he felt bad, but he had felt much worse before.

For the first couple months on the island, he felt like he was always sick. Every part of him had ached and his head was always pounding. He was always hurting, either physically or emotionally. A cold shouldn't bother him so much.

But there wasn't much he could do about it. When he finally decided he was feeling alright enough to talk to people, he left the bathroom and headed back to the small event. As he opened the door, he almost ran into Moira.

"Oh, there you are, Oliver. I was just coming to look for you, Tommy and Laurel said you were feeling unwell."

"No, I'm alright. Sorry I was late."

"Oh, it's alright, honey." She raised the back of her hand against his forehead. Why did his family automatically assume he was running a temperature?

"Mom, I am fine! We had this discussion a few days ago. I am perfectly fine!"

"Are you sure?"

Oliver nodded his head, then immediately wished he hadn't. His headache pierced the space behind his eyes and he winced, closing his eyelids. When he opened his eyes, he saw his mother's concerned face.

"I'm fine, mom," he said and walked back inside, leaving Moira standing worried in the doorway. Putting on his fake expression, Oliver re-entered the room.