The Risk of Falling in Love: A Jonah vs. Daniel Fanfiction

Chapter 10

The next morning, I wake to the sound of a quiet knock on the door. I search the room for Daniel and Jack, to find their beds empty. I yell, "It's open!" Expecting Daniel to walk in. Instead, I'm surprised by Jonah's face peeking around my door.
"Can I come in?" He asks softly.
"Um... okay..." Jonah enters my room and takes a seat on Daniels bed, the one across from mine.
He doesn't say anything, he just stares at the floor quietly, so I say, "Can I help you, or?"
"Oh. Right." Jonah says blushing slightly.
"I just... I wanted to... I guess apologize?" He sounds unsure of himself so I say, "And why is that?"
Jonah sighs. "For bringi... for acting like an ass lately," he says changing his words.
"Um okay," I reply. "Is that all?"
"No," Jonah admits. "I've been trying to work up the courage to ask you this for a few days, but... do you want to come with me to this party tomorrow night? It's supposed to be pretty fun, and I don't really have anyone to go with..." Wow. I'm his last choice. I sigh. I guess it would be kind of nice to hang out with Jonah like we used to before things got more complicated.
"Sure," I reply. "None of the boys are going?" I ask surprised.
"Well, Daniel and Jack are going too but i'd rather hang out with you."
"I'm so honored," I say with a laugh.
As he grabs the door to leave, Jonah sticks his head back into my room and says, "Anytime, Em," with a a sneaky wink.

~
The next day comes fast. I wake up and throw on some clothes, so I can spend the day shopping for a new outfit for the party, at the mall. Zach offers to come with me to show me where the stores I want are, so we end up spending the day together. When we arrive back at the Why Don't We house, I find Corbyn and Jack on the couch.
"Where Daniel?" I ask Jack.
"He's in our room," Jack says with his eyes still trained on the game of Fortnite that him and Corbyn are playing. I thank him and run up the stairs to drop off my bags and say hello to Daniel. When I get to our door, I open it and step into the dark room. The curtains are drawn, so I flip on the light switch to find Daniel sprawled on his bed asleep.
I walk over to him and tap his arm to wake him up.
"Huh?" Daniel says in a congested voice.
"Are you okay?" I ask concerned.
"I feel terrible," he replies softly rubbing his head.
"What are your symptoms?" I ask so I know what medicine to grab.
Daniel coughs and says, "I feel weird telling you this."
"Just tells me so I can help you," I say softly.
He sighs and says, "I have a stuffy nose, I keep coughing, my throat hurts, and I have a terrible headache." I feel Daniels forehead, and am surprised by how hot he feels.
"You're burning up," I say. "I'm going to bring you some medicine."
I go into the hallway, where I meet Jonah.
"Hey," he says in a similarly congested voice.
"Jonah, are you sick too?"
"No," Jonah says. "It's just allergies."
I nod and say, "Okay well, i'll see you later," heading back into Daniels room with the medicine.
I have him take some Tylenol and a decongestant and I have him go back to bed.
I grab my clothes for the party and I head into the bathroom to shower for the party, carful to not wake Daniel up.

~
Around six o'clock I'm finished getting ready, and I head to Jonahs room. I knock on the door, and enter to find him in a tank top and shorts.
"You're wearing that to the party?" I ask surprised.
"Yeah," He says softly. "It's so hot in here."
"J, are you sure you're okay? You don't sound very good."
"It's just allergies, Em," he says heading towards the door.
I grab his arm and sit him down on his bed.
"Jonah, you look terrible. Daniels sick, and I think you are too."
"I'm fine," he says in a thick congested voice.
I place my hand on his forehead. I'm surprised when Jonah's head feels even hotter than Daniels did.
"I'll be right back," I say as I leave to find the thermometer.
I re-enter the room to where Jonah is sitting on his bed.
"J, lay down for me," I say. I place the thermometer across his forehead and wait for the beep. The red numbers at the top pop onto the screen and read, 103.1.
"Jonah," I say. "You're burning up! I think you're really sick."
"I'll be fine," he says trying to stand up. "Let's go to the party."
"J I think the party is a bad idea," I say trying to sit him back down on his bed.
"Em," Jonah says looking into my eyes, "I'm fine, seriously."
"Okay but..." I stop and watch as he slowly carries himself to the door. I sigh and follow his stubborn ass down the stairs.
Once we get into the yard, the cool air hits Jonah's skin and he visibly shivers.
I frown at him. He's obviously miserable.
"J, please come back inside," I say coming up to him, slowly resting my hand on his cheek.
Jonah looks down at me softly, and rests his warm head on my hand.
I slowly lead him back inside and up to his room here he finally stops resisting and lays back on his pillows. He coughs, and says, "Fine. I feel horrible, but I didn't want to ruin tonight for you."
"I care way more about whether you are taking care of yourself than a party, Jonah."
He smiles at me slightly and shuts his eyes.
I run my hand over his soft hair and I say, "I'll be right back, okay?"
"Okay," Jonah agrees.
I head into the hallway where I pass Corbyn.
"I see you're playing nurse today," he says with a small laugh.
"I guess so," I say laughing with a shrug.
"Good luck," he says disappearing back down the stairs.
I grab the things that I need and I head back into Jonah's room. I have him take a decongestant and some Tylenol to help his headache, and then I turn off the lights in the room so he can sleep.
When I think he's asleep, I open the door to leave. That's when I hear, "Em?" coming softly from underneath the covers.
I turn around slowly to say, "Yes, J?"
"Can you sit with me?"
My heart breaks a little bit in my chest, but I reply, "of course Jonah."
I take a seat next to him, playing with his hair like I know he likes.
I rub his forehead softly until I see him starting to drift off into sleep.
I'm standing to go when I hear Jonah whisper something from behind me.
I turn back around. "What?"
"I really love you, you know that right?" he asks.
"I do," I say trying to stay calm. "Go to bed now. You need the rest."He is quiet again, when he quietly whispers, "You don't understand."
I watch confusedly as he pulls the covers up and drifts off to sleep.
What don't I understand?