Niall, answer the door please

Delirious Dreams

Niall was tossing and turning in his sleep. His temperature was rising and his subconscious mind was searching for a cool part of the bed. He'd already kicked off all the covers in his attempt to cool down and he still was overheating. He woke up, sitting up with a groan ,and peered at the clock on his bedside table.....2:25am. Niall groaned again and slumped back down on his back staring at the ceiling. His entire body ached as if he'd just finished a workout session with Mark and he felt like he was burning up. Sitting up again, Niall grabbed his water bottle and drank deeply. He still had a raging thirst but the bottle was now drained and he didn't have the energy to go downstairs to the kitchen to get more. Sighing gently to himself, Niall lay down again and closed his eyes willing himself to fall back to sleep. He felt like shit and was hoping that he'd feel better in the morning though it seemed a rather forlorn hope.

Niall didn't know how long he'd been asleep but it was still very dark. He was now freezing cold and reached down to drag the covers back over himself. He curled up in a ball trying to warm up but he felt he was locked into an ice box. Shivering and shaking, Niall fell back into a restless sleep. Even though Niall thought he was very cold, his temperature had continued to rise even higher and he was becoming delirious as he slept , thrashing about and mumbling incoherently.

Niall strummed his guitar, looking out over the stadium filled with screaming fans. He turned to grin at Harry but something was dreadfully wrong. Harry's face began to melt, his features blurring like the wax of a melted candle. Louis started to walk towards Niall, his face skeletal, arms outstretched, reaching to grasp Niall's throat. Liam just sat there laughing maniacally as Niall turned to run to a shadowy figure standing at the side of the stage..

"Zayn, Help me. Zayn please...." Niall struggled to free himself from Louis' grasp to get to Zayn and safety. Zayn was laughing as he set fire to Niall and Niall's body flared up into flames. The heat was so intense that Niall knew he was going to melt like Harry. He screamed.

Niall woke up panting and shaking, with his sheets tangled about his chest and neck. He took deep, shuddering breaths as he tried to calm down. It was a dream, only a dream. After extricating himself from the strangulating hold of his sheets, Niall wiped his hand across his face as he tried to banish the scary images from his mind. Only a dream. Niall's breathing began to slow down and the shuddering decreased. He looked at his clock.......3:10am.

It was no use, Niall knew he was going to have to get some water and maybe some tylenol. Pushing the bedding aside Niall swung his legs out of bed and grabbed the crutch he'd had the sense to leave next to the bed. He couldn't walk without the protective boot on his fractured foot and he wasn't in the mood to struggle with putting it on. Niall hobbled into the bathroom and grabbed the thermometer out of the medicine cabinet above the sink. He sat down on the edge of the bathtub and put it into his ear waiting for the beep. 103.4. Yep, tylenol was a definite need. Pushing himself back onto his feet, Niall left the bathroom and headed for the stairs. He was burning hot yet shivery, exhausted, nauseous and stressed. He wished now he'd told Liam just how bad he felt instead of brushing him off with the " I'm fine" comment. Liam would not be able to resist saying " I told you so!" His head started to swim and black dots were crowding his vision. Niall tried to take steading breaths and shook his head to see if it would dispel the wavy lines and spots he was seeing. Not a good idea, he thought, as bile rose up in his throat and he felt like his head would explode in pain at any moment. Reaching the top of the stairs, Niall stretched out with his free to grasp the bannister and...........................