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Michael sat at the counter in the kitchen, tapping his fingers. He looked at his phone. Jeremy was supposed to be there half an hour ago and had showed no signs that he was going to show up any time soon, even after Michael texted him. Part of him wanted to be angry with Jeremy, for potentially blowing him off, but the better part of him said that there was something wrong. With a quiet sigh, he grabbed his keys and walked out the door to get into his cruiser. He drive was quick; about five minutes. Upon pulling into Jeremy’s driveway, Michael noticed that the Mr. Heere’s car was missing. Michael thought that Jeremy might’ve gotten a ride or had walked, but the then noticed the light in Jeremy’s bedroom was on, and there was movement in the window. He was home. Michael climbed ot of his car and walked towards the front door, walking in, not bothering to knock. As he made his way towards the staircase, he heard a soft thud from upstairs.
“Jeremy?” He called softly. No reply. He climbed the stairs and as he made his way down the hall, he noticed hat Jeremy’s bedroom door was wide open. Michael walked towards the door and saw Jeremy sitting on his bed looking, to put it simply, disheveled. He was attempting to shove one leg into a pair of jeans while he other pant leg sat idle on the bed. He had one sock on, had obviously not combed his hair, and wasn’t even wearing a shirt. “Jeremy?” Michael asked again. Jeremy let out a startled shriek.
“Oh! Hey, Michael!” Jeremy said, a smile spreading across his lips. “I’m so sorry,” Jeremy said, pausing briefly to clear his throat. “I slept in and as soon as I woke up I started getting ready and I’m just kind of a mess right now.” His voice sounded strained and tired.
“Don’t worry about it, Jer. We’re not on any sort of time table,” Michael said with a kind smile. With Michael’s reassurance, Jeremy seemed to relax and he was able to pull his jeans on. Jeremy stood up off his bed and walked towards his dresser and past Michael to find a shirt. However, on his way there he tripped, and Michael ran up and caught him.
“Thanks, Micah,” Jeremy said laughing lightly. Michael smiled, then blushed slightly as he suddenly realized Jeremy was shirtless in his arms. Michael put his hands against Jeremy’s warm chest and helped him stand up. But he couldn’t help but notice a slight rattling in his chest, and how warm he felt. Jeremy pushed away from Michael, his cheeks red, as if he were holding his breath. He buried his face in his arm and started coughing. It sounded extremely congested and painful. Jeremy walked over to his dresser, pulled out a shirt and his favorite cardigan and put them on.
“God, Jeremy. That sounds like hell,” Michael said, a strong frown forming on his face. Jeremy shrugged. Michael walked over to him to try to get a better look at his face. Michael moved to take a hold of Jeremy’s arm
“Hhold on- hih!” Jeremy hitched. “I’m hh- gonna- sn- hh-“ Jeremy’s breath continued to hitch. Then his face scrunched up and he sneezed quietly three times into his sleeve. Jeremy looked up at Michael and sniffled. Upon closer examination, Michael saw how Jeremy’s usually bright blue eyes were glossed over and dull. His cheek bones and the bridge of his nose were dusted with red and his nose was dripping and raw.
“Bless you,” Michael said, gently pressing a hand to Jeremy’s cheek. “You feel warm to me. Do you feel okay?” Jeremy nodded. “Jeremy...” Michael said in a warning tone. Jeremy wiped his nose and blinked at Michael. The poor kid was showing all the signs of a miserable fever, yet didn’t want to admit it. “You look awful. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Come on. We have a date today,” Jeremy said trying to walk around Michael. However in his tired and feverish state, all Michael had to do was lightly grab his arm and Jeremy came to a screeching stop. Michael pulled Jeremy to Jeremy’s bed and pushed him down.
“Stay there. I’ll be right back.” Michael walked out of the room and came back a minute later with a few things in his hands. He sat next to Jeremy and gently pushed a thermometer into his mouth. When the thermometer beeped, Michael took it from Jeremy and looked at the numbers. “102.3. You definitely have a fever,” Michael said. Jeremy frowned.
“C’mon, Micah,” Jeremy muttered. “Let’s just go out. I’ll take it easy, I promise.” Michael shook his head.
“Not with a fever like that. And that congestion sounds painful. You’ll just feel awful” Michael said softly. Jeremy groaned.
“Mikey,” Jeremy groaned. “You’ve wanted to see this movie forever, and there’s a ton of new games in the arcade, and that diner we wanted to try just opened up. We have to go.” Michael smiled at Jeremy’s perseverance.
“I know, love. But you’re miserable. That fever is way too high for you to do anything and you sound terrible. We’ll go out as soon as you shake this bug.” Michael reasoned. Jeremy, who was too tired to argue anymore gave in and nodded.
“Can you stay? I don’t wanna be alone.”
“I would never think about leaving.”
“I really wish we could go out though,” Jeremy said sniffling pitifully.
“I know. But how about, in the meantime, I make you some tea and then we’ll cuddle and watch some Buzzfeed Unsolved?” Michael suggested. Jeremy nodded, eyes brightening at the promise of cuddles with his favorite person. Michael picked Jeremy up bridal style to carry him downstairs and plopping him on the couch. He steeped a tea bag and added way too much sugar, knowing that was the only way to get Jeremy to drink it. “True Crime, or Supernatural?” Michael asked as he brought YouTube up on the TV.
“True Crime. The Supernatural ones scare the fuck out of me,” Jeremy said taking a sip of his tea, while Michael pulled a huge blanket on top of them.
“The True Crime ones are just as scary! They’re about murder and disappearances!” Michael said, even though he clicked on one anyway. Jeremy curled his body into Michael’s form and buried his head into Michael’s neck. Needless to say the two didn’t move from their spot for hours.