R E J E C T S

CH.42: NIGHT CHANGES

Right after the match, I opted to go home with Luke instead of celebrating with Robbie and the others.

My body was just too tired is all.

I didn't really feel like celebrating my victory especially after what Rob said about Louis letting me win on purpose for whatever reason.

It got me into deep thinking and then that's when the headache started.

"Luke, my head's about to crack open!" I hollered at him while he was taking a shower.

"I'm coming!" He then got out of the bathroom with only a towel covering his lower body.

"You should probably change first..." I sunk deeper into the bed.

"Oh God, your sizzling hot!" He quickly retreated his hand away after feeling my forehead.

"I'm calling 911!" He panicked.

"Don't! It's just a fever... no need to overreact." I managed to say.

"But I don't know how to take care of a sick person! This is clearly an emergency." He started dialing on his phone.

"You better put your phone down if you don't want me to smack you in the head..." I blurted out.

"Don't worry, I'm not calling 911." He assured me.

"It's probably from having no rest on practicing real hard which paid off by the way." I mumbled about my abrupt fever.

"Uh, do you have any pain relievers or something?" Luke asked as I closed my eyes.

"No, I ran out of medications." I felt the urge to doze off.

"Okay, um, I should probably tell them to buy some medicine along the way here." He said more to himself.

Who is he referring to by 'them'?

I felt my system slowly shutting down...

And the next thing I know, I was off to nightmare land.

******

"Thank God you're finally awake! I thought I lost you." Luke sighed in relief once my eyes fluttered open.

"I'm pretty sure a fever won't kill me, Luke. What time is it?" I asked.

"10:30 PM. You haven't had dinner yet, are you hungry?" He asked back.

"I don't really have any appetite." I said.

"Well, you have to eat something... I mean, we don't want the porridge that we made go to waste now, do we?" A stranger with a red bandana chimed in.

"Feed her, Luke." He handed the porridge to Luke then he flashes a smile my way.

"Who the hell are you people?" I just realized now that there were a total of three strangers who were chilling in my apartment.

"Now, now, Cher. Don't be rude to the ones who just cooked your porridge." Luke said.

"I believe that we haven't officially been introduced yet, I'm Ashton."

"Calum."

"Michael."

The three guys introduced themselves rather briefly.

"I called my band over because Ashton's an expert at taking care of a sick person for some reason." Luke explained.

"And what about those two?" I eyed the green-haired lad and the one with a dark hair.

"Oh, we just tagged along." Michael smiled.

"If Luke calls for Ashton, he gets the two of us for free automatically." Calum laughed at his own joke.

"Now eat." Ashton pushed Luke towards me so that he could feed me like a big baby that I am.

"Say ahh..." Luke nudged the spoon to my mouth which I remained tightly shut.

Apparently, it was weird having four pairs of eyes staring down at me while I was about to eat so I decided against it.

"I'll only eat if you three get lost." I stated stubbornly.

"Someone's being shy..." Michael sang.

"We can't leave just yet though because I still have to give you your medicine, bathe you using a wet towel, and tuck you properly into bed." Ashton enumerated using his fingers.

"Uh, I don't think so." Like I'd let someone that I just met touch my body!

"I can do it myself." I added.

"Your fever's still high." Ashton placed a hand over my forehead.

"Plus we can sing you a lullaby once you're tucked in and ready to sleep." Calum said.

"We're really good at lullabies..." Michael chuckled.

Lullabies? I thought they're a rock band or something...

"Cher, they're only trying to help. They're basically harmless." Luke said.

"But I barely know them---"

"I know them so trust me on this, alright? Ashton knows what he's doing. I should know because he's the one who takes care of us when we're sick." Luke tried to convince me.

"Oh, alright! Just feed me already." I demanded.

So after Luke fed me, Ashton gave me some meds, wiped my arms and face with a warm, wet towel and then tucked me into bed with Luke.

"You'd make a great mum." I complimented Ashton.

"Aww! Rest up, darling and you'll feel better tomorrow." He gave me a smooch on the forehead.

"I never said you could kiss me though..." I clicked my tongue.

"You too, Luke." He also planted a kiss on Luke's forehead.

Okay... this feels like we're Ashton's kids.

It's weird but I feel the warmth of my mother in him...

Meanwhile, Michael and Calum have been completely useless.

They just played their Nintendo all night long.

"It's time for the lullaby." Ashton called the two other guys over.

"What if daddy was right?
What if there's no forever?"

They began singing like a choir just when I thought that this night could not get any weirder...

******

It was around 2 AM when I awoken to get a glass of water.

I don't know when Luke's friends left but they did a pretty good job at cleaning my kitchen and everything else, apparently.

I decided to open the window for some fresh air while I drank some water.

The headache's completely gone but I still have a slight fever.

Right outside my window, I saw Zayn right across by the lamp post who was lighting up a cigarette before he looks up to meet my eyes.

He flashed me a genuine smile before he went on his way. That kind of smile which meant that he still cares about me no matter what.

It made me wonder if I was just seeing things or maybe I'm still having a dream?

But then I heard someone knocking on my door which interrupted my hazy thoughts.

"Robbie?" I saw him once I answered my door.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me that you got sick!" He hugged me right away with a hint of concern clear in his voice.

"Well, I didn't want you to worry over nothing. How'd you find out by the way?" I asked in a daze, still uncertain if he's really here or maybe this is still part of my dream.

"It doesn't matter. I'm taking care of you as of right now..." Then with one swoop, he carried me out the door in bridal style.

"What the? You really don't have to! I'm starting to feel better, I swear!" I reasoned out but he wouldn't put me down.