Just A Little Different

Chapter 7

I woke up from a light sleep to hear coughing from the kitchen. I looked at my alarm. 11:00? Why is it still so early in the night? I feel like I've been asleep for ages!

I walked downstairs, my head foggy from sleep. Ian was sitting in the kitchen, coughing like he'd inhaled a ton of fire smoke. He seemed to be sweating and he looked like a total wreck. My mom was awake too, making some tea. It had been a week since he moved in and everything was going smoothly.

"What's going on?" I yawned, rubbing my eyes.

Ian simply rested his head in his arms on the table. "He has a fever," mom explained. "I gave him some medicine and I'm making him tea."

"I see that." I looked at Ian, then walked over to him and rubbed his back. He felt very warm, but he was shivering. "Will he be okay for school tomorrow?"

"He's going to stay home so I can keep an eye on his temperature."

Ian's head shot up. "But I'm not a little kid! I can go!"

Mom shook her head. "Afraid not."

I smiled as Ian crossed his arms and made a pouty face. "Not a little kid, huh?"

"Shut up!" He kicked my leg lightly. I suppressed my laughter as he put his head back down on the table.

"You should get back to bed. You have to start preparing for finals this week, right?"

"But, mom..."

"Who's whining now?" came Ian's muffled voice. Mom grinned. I gave up and went back to bed.

~~~~~~~~

The next day was weird for me. I very rarely got sick and when I did, half of my day was spent sleeping. Ben and his mom insisted I stayed home and rested for the day. I had many coughing fits that ranged from horribly hurting my chest and throat to just really gross.

Around 1:00, I was awake, eating some soup and watching T.V. I was excited because I knew Ben would be home soon and I could force him to sit and watch with me, or play some games. Unfortunately, I fell back to sleep around 1:30.

--------------------

When I woke up, someone's hand was on my forehead, and I heard a high pitched voice. "He's burning up. When was he last given anything for his fever?"

"This morning, but we're all out," said another voice. "I called the doctor about twenty minutes ago. He said to go to the pharmacy and just get something to help with the fever and we could set up an appointment if he's no better the next day. I'm gonna head there now."

"While you're out, could you get me some chips? I'm all out."

"I can do that." Footsteps were heard and then the room was silent. I could feel my hair being brushed off my forehead and I blinked open my eyes. Ben was sitting on a chair next to my bed, but before I could start speaking, I had a coughing fit.

"How was school?" I managed to choke out after I was done dying.

"Don't worry about that." He smiled down at me. "I have a surprise for you." I looked at him as he picked up his backpack off the ground and pulled out a stack of papers. "HOMEWORK!"

I laughed. He always tried to make work I didn't want to do seem interesting. "Woah, woah, woah. Don't get me too excited, now. I don't deserve any special treatment."

"I don't deserve the sarcasm," he retorted. "But here we are." His green eyes were dancing with happiness. Then he looked down. "Hey, Ian?"

"Hmm?"

"There's something I want to tell you. I-" he was cut off by a knock on the door. His eyes flashed with annoyance. "Excuse me." He got up and left the room. I was alone once more, and I was ready for another nap. It wasn't long before I was out like a light.

~~~~~~~~

When I got back to Ian's room, he was asleep once more. Stupid neighbors and their constant complaining over nothing. Why couldn't I get the words out? What was holding me back? Fear of rejection? Maybe. Whatever the case, I was determined to tell him at some point.

I sat in the room for about a half hour when my mom got home, right on time for Ian to be woken up by another coughing fit. "Come on, Ian. Let's go get you a drink." I helped him sit up and we walked to the kitchen together. My mom gave him some medicine and made him more tea.

As the evening went on, the light started to come back to his vibrant blue eyes and his temperature went from constant to on and off, which was a good sign. My mom said he must've just had a bug, but kept an eye on him just in case.

My mom went to bed early after playing mother to a second child that day, one that was sick to make it worse, and Ian and I were left alone. We sat on his bed and watched a few movies together, one of which had a dog death at the end, and Ian said, "Well, that was a giant 'screw you' from the directors," through tears. I thought it was cute how he cried over the ending. During the last movie we watched, which I wasn't paying much attention to because I was getting annoyed at a group text that i was added to, I felt him lean into me. I put my arm around him and rested my head on his. He didn't complain.

We finished watching the movie, my phone turned off, and then I decided to tell him. But what if he thinks I'm weird? What if he doesn't want to be my friend anymore? What if he's not even interested in me? A bunch of doubts came to my mind and my stomach clenched.

"You okay, dude? You look like you're going to be sick," Ian commented, his eyes glowing with concern.

"I'm fine. Just...thinking."

"Do you want to talk about it?" He shifted, turning on his side and leaning his head on my arm for support.

"I...I don't know." I glanced around the room uneasily.

"Oh come on, you can tell me anything." I looked back at him. He made a puppy face at me, and I couldn't take it.

"Ian...I tried telling you this earlier...and a few days ago...and...well...all week to be honest."

"Get to the point!" he joked, although he seemed to be growing restless.

"Well...I, um..."

After a few long moments of hesitation, he huffed and sat up, his legs criss crossed, his entire body turned towards me. "Fine. If you won't do it, I will." Before I had a chance to react, he leaned in and our lips met. I stiffened, not expecting it, and when he pulled away, I found myself smiling like an idiot.