Apologize

Poorly

"I'm so sorry for getting you sick!" Paige wailed, draping herself over me. Yes, now I was sick with the flu. I'm feeling like absolute shit, but I guess the silver lining is that I'll get out of our benchmark test in math. At least, until I return. Then I'll have to make it up. So maybe that's not a silver lining. More like a false hope.

"Paige , you're being hysterical. Gather your senses and get off of me," I groaned. I was laying in bed, covered in blankets and pillows. Paige was getting better, enough to go to school again, but my persistence to visit and take care of her got me sick. Yippee. Kyle picked Paige up off of me and managed to drag her out. I turned over onto my side to try and get some sleep when I got a knock on the door. I groaned and beckoned them in.

"Oh, wow, you do look really poorly," Ash joked. Not even caring anymore, I flipped him off clearly, shoving my head into the pillow. My body was burning, but if I took off the blankets then I'd freeze. And I'm extremely sore as well. I hate being sick.

"Get out," I grumbled, not even bothering to look at him.

"Okay, miss Grumps. Just thought you might want to see your boyfriend before you go to bed," he said cheekily. I rolled my eyes, but that only brought more pain to my terrible headache.

"Out." I don't really want him to leave. I want him to stay and cuddle me and tell me stories and make me soups like I do for Paige . But, of course, I'm way too stubborn to admit that. Ever. Instead, I avoided eye contact with him, a large pout on my face that seemed glued in place.

"Oh, come on. I really don't want to leave. Mum is waiting for me to do the dishes." I sighed and looked at him. He was leaning against my créme white door frame, a smug look worn on his face. I groaned, giving in, and patted my bed.

"Not my fault if you get sick," I croak. Ash shrugged and took a seat at the foot of my bed. I sneezed and curled up on my side, still not wanting to look at him.

"I see you like the colour blue," Ash commented, to which I nodded slightly. Pain shot through my head and stayed there, making me wince. Ash seemed to notice, because he moved to rub my back in a calming manner. I relaxed and let out a small breath of relief.

Feeling safe to complain with him, I managed to whine, "Can Paige come back? I want cuddles..." My eyelids started to gain weight, and I had to stifle a yawn. I don't want to fall asleep with him watching.

"Well, I'm no Paige, but I sure am someone with a great immune system." He shuffled slowly until he was sitting next to me, then gingerly lifted me so I was curled up against him. I wanted to revolt, to jump out of his arms, but the fatigue hit me strong enough to make me press closer to him. He was warm and his steady heartbeat was soothing. I listened to his heartbeat pick up slightly when I pulled a blanket over myself and moved into a more comfortable position: my legs tucked into my stomach, my head pressed against his chest, and my arms wrapped around one of his.

Then he wrapped his arms around me protectively, and suddenly it was my turn to have a palpitation, my heart desperately trying to break out of my chest. I allowed my eyes to flutter before closing them. They shot right back open as I sneezed again, making Ash laugh. Another high pitched sneeze made me throw my head forward. I wiped my nose with the back of my wrist and whined.

"You sound like a kitten with that sneeze!" He joked. I huffed and hit his arm, which probably hurt me more than it did him. "I guess someone is mad that their nap time was interrupted." I only replied another painful, not very effective, weak slap.

"Alright, alright. No need to get your feathers in a ruffle." He pulled the blanket that was currently slipping off of my shoulders back up, covering up to my neck in it's fluffy warmth. I curled back into him, hugging his arm again, and closed my eyes. His heartbeat returned to it's normal pace, the pace that easily made me drift off. Ash kept holding me until I finally fell asleep.

Then I left with my dreams, the warm, fluttering feeling in my stomach disappearing when I opened my eyes.

I was seated in the classroom again, we were in the middle of an English test. I looked down at my paper and saw only skillful, detailed doodles of me and Ash. I certainly didn't draw them. My face burned and I saw the teacher looking at it over my shoulder, then stamping it with approval. Why would he approve something without any actual work on it?

Next thing I know, I'm in the park, on a picnic with Paige and Kyle and Ash. Tris walks past and gives me two thumbs up, then mouths, "Go get him." I look over to the laughing Ash and accepted my random urge--it sounded almost like a voice booming in my head--to kiss him.

After the short moment of our lips locking, I was standing in front of a mirror dressed in an elegant white wedding dress with a long vail that covered my face. Wedding music played in the background. The large cathedral doors opened, and an adorable flower girl pranced down the aisle, leaving a path of red rose petals that led to the groom.

My eyes opened, for real this time, before I could see the face of my benedict. I looked up and noticed that now Ash was asleep, still holding me gingerly. My window showed a late sunset, the sky fading into different hues of blues, purples, pinks, and oranges. I curled back into the safety of Ash and closed my eyes again.

Just a few more minutes

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And for those of you who didn't know, poorly is kind of another way to say ill, unwell, or sick.