Niall, answer the door please

Half Way up the Stairs

God, I can't do this, Niall thought as his hand curled around the cool bannister. He slowly sank down onto the top step of the stairs  , his crutch clattered down at his side , his body slumped against the wall as he buried his head in his hands.  His stomach twisted and turned as he fought down the nausea that threatened to engulf him. His head pounded in rhythm with his rapidly increasing heart rate. He didn't recall ever having felt so sick in his entire life. Maybe he should go back to the bedroom and grab his phone to ring Liam. He knew Daddy Direction would come to look after him if he just made that call.  In a minute, I'll move in a minute Niall thought. I just need to rest a little first.

Niall sat there, unable to move as he shuddered and shook. So cold, he thought, so cold. He wrapped his arms around his body in an attempt to warm himself up. Niall lost all sense of time and his mind wandered into some weird dreamlike state as  half memories and bad dreams melded together to become  confused thoughts. Niall's eyes blinked open suddenly. Wasn't he meant to be going on stage? What time was it? He needed to do something but what was it? Niall began to panic in his confusion and his breathing became very laboured. He struggled to breath and suddenly he was far too hot. He was burning, he was on fire. Niall's fevered mind retreated once more into that dreamlike state, half awake, half asleep. His temperature continued to slowly rise.

Niall slowly resurfaced to find himself sitting on the stairs. Why was he on the stairs?  He giggled. In his delirium he thought he was Kermit the frogs' little  cousin Robin and started to sing the silly Muppet nursery song .

"Half way up the stairs is the place where I sit

There isn't any other place quite like it.

It's not at the bottom

And it's not at the top.

Half way up the stairs is the place 

Where I  always stop"

Niall started to giggle again. But I'm at the top of the stairs he thought, I should be in the middle.

"Up you get, Nialler me ol son. Get to the middle" Niall said as he grabbed the bannister and tried to haul himself up. He swayed dangerously as he stood. His broken foot reacting badly to the weight he was putting on it. Niall yelled in pain but his confused mind didn't really register the cause of his pain. In his delirium,  Niall momentarily forgot he was on the top of a flight of stairs and started to take  a step forward.