Jay wakes again a few hours later; it's now late and I'm starting to feel the tug of my own exhaustion. I watch him carefully.
"Hey there, feeling any better?" I ask. "Tired." He mumbles.
"I'd better check your fever again. You got quite delirious." "Oh god." He groans, burying his face in the pillow. "I'm sorry." I make out from his muffled voice.
"You have nothing to apologize for." I tell him.
He flops over onto his back and covers his face with his hands. "Even if I did, I don't remember." He utters.
"You were quite interesting." I smirk amusedly. "Now sit up so I can take your temperature."
He sits up slowly, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?" He asks, voice still laced with sleep.
I glance at my phone. "Almost 1." I look down at the thermometer. "You've still got a fever but it's not horrible." I remark.
He blinks at me for a few moments. "Why aren't you asleep yet?"
"Oh, uh, I had things to work on. Plus I'm not really tired." I lie. He watches me and I avoid his gaze, pulling my computer back onto my lap. I start working again even though I can feel him burning holes in the side of my head with his stare.
He closes the lid of my laptop and I'm forced to meet his gaze. "Ben, I know you're lying." I open my mouth to protest but he cuts me off. "I already know that you have insomnia. Will you at least turn off the lights and lay with me? I'm cold."
I open and close my mouth a few times, and finally manage to speak. "Y-yeah. I can do that." My mind is still racing with the shock of finding out the degree of his knowledge.
I look him over again and realize he really must be quite cold; he's curled up in about three blankets. I flip off the lamp on the bedside table.
I stare into the darkness for a while, lost in thought. "Ben?" Comes a whisper. I hum in response.
"Scootch closer. I need more body heat but it'll jostle my head if I move." I wiggle over next to him so we're shoulder to shoulder and he lets out a sigh of contentment.
"Thanks." "Of course. How bad is your headache? Do you want more medicine?"
"As long as I can get to sleep I'll be fine." He comments. "Okay. If you need anything let me know, just wake me if I do fall asleep." "Kay."
He snuggles deeper into my side and I can't help but smile. He's quite tough and stubborn, but I enjoy the soft side of him too.
----------------------------------------------
I open my eyes blearily and stumble out of bed awkwardly to go to the bathroom. Me being me, I forget about my sprained ankle and grunt in pain, toppling to the floor.
I hear rustling of sheets and then Jay's sleepy voice. "Ben?" I grunt again and I hear him shifting around.
I blink when a lamp turns on and my eyes slowly readjust to find Jay peering over the side of the bed at me with a yawn.
"What are you doing? Why are you on the floor?" He asks with a confused expression.
"Got up to go to the bathroom and forgot about my stupid ankle." I grit my teeth and reach for my crutches as I try to ignore the pain.
Jay blinks at me a few times as he wakes up and things register in his mind. "Are you okay?" He asks, eyebrows furrowed.
I manage to rise off the floor with another grunt. "I'll be fine, just go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you, you need your rest if you're going to get better."
He shakes his head. "It's not a big deal." He pauses. "I'll just wait for you to come back."
I smile softly with a shake of my head and hesitantly agree.
I disappear down the hall and come back to find Jay waiting with his head propped up by an elbow.
"Hey." I greet, going around to the other side of the bed.
I get into bed and grimace as I realize my ankle is throbbing. I run a hand exhaustedly down my face.
"Can you hand me my meds? I'm going to put them on this side." He nods and hands me bottle after bottle. He opens his mouth to say something but closes it again as if changing his mind.
I hesitantly speak. "You're probably wondering why I've got so many." I lace my fingers together and sneak a glance at him. He nods cautiously.
I run my fingers through my hair and bite my lip, wondering how much to tell him.
"As you know, I have insomnia. Most of those are ones that I've tried that work moderately, enough to get me a few hours of sleep."
I shake my head. "My dad has been searching, but we haven't really found anything that works great." I grimace.
"That's usually why I end up drinking so much coffee..." I trail off and glance at him again. I can tell exhaustion is beginning to take over him by the way his eyes keep drooping closed, only to flicker open again quickly.
"But you need your sleep, we can talk about this more another time." I wave a hand and dismiss the subject, then grab the painkillers to numb the throbbing of my ankle.
Jay nods and scoots into my side, falling asleep within minutes though I end up staring into the dark for the rest of the night.
Jay's P. O. V.
I open my eyes groggily to find the other side of the bed empty again, just like last time.
It's not until I sit up that I realize just how horrible I'm still feeling. My head has begun its never ending ache, although at least now it's toned down to a less noticeable pain.
I shuffle to the edge of the bed, dragging a blanket with me to ward off the chill that's in the air. Even as I shuffle down the hall to the kitchen my limbs feel heavy and tired. I want nothing more to snuggle up and fall asleep again, but I have to find Ben first.
Frankly, I've never been a morning person, but my body has hit a whole new level of exhaustion.
I find Ben sitting on the couch with his legs curled up near him, watching TV and drinking coffee as usual.
"Hey." He greets with a gentle smile as he sets his cup on a side table. I grunt and flop onto the couch next to him.
"Feeling any better today?" He asks, running his fingers through my messy hair in an attempt to fix it. "Not really." Comes the muffled sound of my voice from where I've shoved my face into a pillow.
"Before I forget, your sister called." I immediately tense up and the room seems deafeningly silent.
"Your phone kept ringing so I answered in case it was an emergency. I hope that's all right." He tells me. "Yeah." I whisper weakly.
"I talked with her about some things, but she wants you to call her back. I think... you'll be pleasantly surprised."
I let out a shaky breath and he rubs my back. "It can wait until a bit later if you want." He says gently.
I pull my face out of the pillow and smile appreciatively before leaning against his side.
"Feel like food?" He asks. "Not now." I shake my head slowly and close my eyes.
"Still nauseous?" He asks. "Kinda." I whisper. "I can grab a bucket-" He starts, but I cut him off. "I'm fine for now. Watch a movie?" I suggest.
He hums in agreement and turns something on.
He must notice when my eyes start to droop only a half hour later, because he whispers in my ear, "Just get some sleep. I'll stay here and if you need anything I've got it."
I must doze off after that, because when I open my eyes due to my churning stomach, the end credits are rolling.
I sit up with a groan, wrapping my arms around my stomach. Ben is quick to lean forward and watch me carefully.
"Stomach bothering you?" He questions. "Yeah." I whisper, fearful that if I say any more the contents of my stomach will end up on the floor.
"Let's go to the bathroom, yeah? I'll help you." He assists me in standing up slowly, and I hesitate as my vision spins.
"Hold on." I mutter. He grips me a bit more securely. "Dizzy?" He asks cautiously. "Little bit." I wait for my vision to clear then whisper an okay.
We slowly make our way to the bathroom and I eventually end up over the toilet again. He rubs my back and I lean back against him, panting after another round.
"Sorry." I croak, my throat feeling raw. "It's not like you can help it." He smiles, meeting my eyes. I'm once again enthralled by his bright green irises and I can't help but get lost in them again.
My admiring is quickly interrupted by another gag, and I barely enough time to mutter another "shit" before I'm at it again.
I lean back against him again after as I pant exhaustedly. Tears are pricking at my eyes from the force of being thrown forward repeatedly.
At this point my body is in complete shutdown mode and I barely have the energy to sit up.
He rubs my back again as I catch my breath and I breathe a sigh of relief for just having someone as caring as him next to me throughout this.
"You doing okay?" Ben asks. I nod slightly, too exhausted to speak.
"Do you want to go to the living room or the bedroom?" He asks. "Bedroom." I utter.
"Okay. I'd carry you but I can't exactly do that with these stupid crutches. Are you okay to walk? I don't want you fainting."
"Just give me a minute." I whisper weakly. He watches me worriedly. "I'm going to grab you some water so you don't get dehydrated."
He disappears for a moment, returning with a water bottle. He uncaps it and I go to take it from him, only to realize that my hands are shaking violently.
He notices and his expression softens. Ben sits next to me on the floor and helps me drink.
I lean my head back against the wall behind me and relax, trying to regain enough energy to make it down the hall.
Eventually I lean forward slowly and rise off the floor, immediately gripping the counter when my vision spins.
I let the feeling pass as Ben watches me carefully. "If you feel like you're gonna pass out at any point just sit on the floor and we can take a break, okay?"
He bites his lip and I have to rip my gaze away when I realize I've fallen into a trance.
I keep a hand on the wall and slowly shuffle down the hall with Ben just behind me.
I slow as my vision goes spotty and I blink in an attempt to refocus.
Ben's soft voice is in my ear, calmly saying, "Let's sit down for a second, alright?"
I'm lowered gently to the floor and he sits next to me. I don't even realize my breathing has sped up until he says, "Deep breaths. Give me your hand."
His fingers close around mine and he pulls my hand to his chest. "Match my breathing."
I focus in on the rising and falling of his chest and my own air intake steadies.
It's then that I realize how close we're sitting. I look up into his eyes of brilliant green, and with the hand still on his chest I feel his heart rate speeding up. Our gazes are locked on each other's.
A/N
Sorry this is a bit late! Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll actually be taking a break for at least a few weeks and returning when I have more free time on my hands. As always, thanks for reading! Much love, C