Warbler Infections

Chapter 13: "Love is a landslide"

Jeff's POV:

Where the hell am I?

This was most definitely not my dorm, unless somebody snuck in and added posters of AC/DC and The Cure. Na ah, no way. I only know one person who would have those on their wall. Either I'm in an alternate dimension or,

Nick.

  The slight snoring and shifting of sheets beside me proved it was the latter. His perfect pink lips were curved into a smile, cheeks dusted with a rosy hue from the bitter autumn chill this morning.

  My head was pounding and eyes were still unfocused. The events from last night flooded through my mind like a bursting dam. How much did I drink? Normally I had a high alcohol tolerance, but clearly I did some damage.

   Nick groaned, his eyelashes fluttering and a yawn escaping. He checked his alarm clock and turned on the bedside lamp before he was even aware he had a guest. I didn't blame him for jumping away and pulling the comforter over his exposed chest. "What the hell Jeff! You scared the crap outta me!"

  "Sorry, I just woke up like a minute ago. I wasn't exactly fear free waking up in a different room." Nick was now frantically brushing his bed head while pacing the floor. I probably looked like shit but this wasn't the moment to tell him I needed to use the bathroom. "You let me sleep here, remember?"

   "I did? Why would I do that? You need ibuprofen, not my company. You're ridiculously hungover. Should I get help? Do you need water or"-

   "Nick! Just be quiet. I'll be fine for the rest of the day. Let me go back to my dorm, take some medicine, and I'll be out of your hair."

  "And what if I don't want you to be?!"

  He immediately clasped his palm to his mouth and cursed under his breath. I couldn't imagine how someone would want to spend their Saturday babysitting a whiny and sick teenager. That's Nick for you. "There's no reason you should."

   "Well you're my best friend and when you're not feeling right it makes me upset. So let me take care of you, not because you need it, but because I want to." He was blushing now, moving the stray hairs from my bangs out of my eyes.

   "If you insist."
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  "No, like you seriously did a line of shots off of Blaine's back last night! I'm sure one of the guys has a video of it." Nick told me through mouthfuls of Chinese take out.

  We had been up for an hour, getting over the initial tension from the morning. He gave me medicine for my migraine and made sure I was comfortable on the couch. Though I hated feeling like a burden, I couldn't resist having Nick aid me. It scratched that burning desire in my heart to be loved and taken care of, even if it was all pretend.

  "So then Nicki Minaj started playing and you began"- I gave him my best bitch glare, attempting to send him the message.

  "As much as I'd love to hear about my intoxicated escapades, I'd rather not learn who or what I grinded." I remarked dryly, finishing my mandarin chicken.

  "Fine whatever. But if you don't want to talk, there's nothing else for me to do. If you're feeling up to it you can take a shower or we could watch a movie. Unless you just need a nap."

  My body was still far too sore to stand in hot water for that long. Nick and I had already watched every movie in his DVD collection twice. A nap however, now that was tempting.

  "Some rest sounds great. I take a while to fall asleep though, especially without my white noise machine." He took a second to think before grabbing his acoustic guitar, dimming the lights.

   "How about a song?" The thought of falling asleep to Nick's angelic voice filled me with warmth. I know he was doing it to be a good friend, but I wanted to believer he was serenading me. The strumming of a Fleetwood Mac song came from the instrument.

"I took my love, I took it down
Climbed a mountain and I turned around
And I saw my reflection in the snow covered hills
'Til the landslide brought me down"

   Even after hearing it a million times over the years, his voice never ceased to make me feel an indescribable emotion.

"Oh, mirror on the sky, what is love?
Can the child within my heart rise above?
Can I sail through the changin' ocean tides?
Can I handle the seasons of my life?
Mmm

Well, I've been 'fraid of changin'
'Cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm gettin' older, too"

  He made the song his own, as he always did. Singing it an octave down and belting on some of the notes. His voice broke on some words intentionally, making it seem real and intimate. I hated missing a second of it, but my eyes were desperately fighting to close. So I let them.

"Well, I've been 'fraid of changin'
'Cause I built my life around you
But time makes you bolder
Even children get older
And I'm gettin' older, too
I'm gettin' older, too

Ah, take my love, take it down
Oh, climb a mountain and turn around
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
And if you see my reflection in the snow covered hills
Well, the landslide will bring it down
Oh, the landslide will bring it down"

  Nick grinned, pulling the blanket over me and turning off the lights. He set down his guitar and lay a kiss to my forehead. It was so gentle I'm not even sure of his lips grazed my skin.
"Good night Jeff, have sweet dreams."

  After that performance, how could I not?

  Hey guys! I'm really proud of this chapter and I think looking back on my other chapters I've made a lot of progress as a writer. Wednesday's update has already been completed so be on the lookout for that. We're almost at 400 reads which seems insane considering I put out his story only a little over a month ago! Thanks for voting and adding it to your reading lists. But could I please get some comments. I don't care if there thoughts, suggestions, just saying "wanky", idk. But either way know that it's appreciated. Have a great morning, afternoon, or night. You are so unique!

You're fellow gleek,
   - Lindsay 💕