Work Text:
Aiden coughs into his elbow.
“Are you alright?” Ashlyn asks, looking up from her homework.
“Yeah, I think I might just be dealing with some allergies. I haven’t felt great for a few days. I know that I’ve been coughing all day,” he says, clearing his throat.
Logan looks up from where he’s sitting in the tire on the other side of the bus.
“If you’re not feeling good, you should try to get some extra rest tonight.”
“Thanks, guys. I’ll be alright though.”
“Ok, just don’t cough on me,” Tyler mutters.
Taylor elbows him.
“Ow, don’t do that.”
“What he means is that he hopes you feel better soon, and your allergies stop bothering you.”
“Yeah, that’s what I meant,” Tyler mutters, looking down at his phone.
Aiden smirks.
“Yeah, of course you did. Anyway, I think I’m actually going to head home. I’m gonna try to take a nap before dinner.”
He stands up, slipping past Ashlyn.
“I’ll see you in a little bit?” he asks Ben as he’s walking past.
Ben just nods, giving him permission to keep going. He heads out of the graveyard, forgoing the house all together. It’s be weird if he went in there by himself, even if it was just to get his water bottle.
I can get it later, or I can text Ben to grab it when they’re invited back in before they leave.
He walks home, feeling heavier than he has in a long time. He’s wheezing by the time he gets home, something that’s definitely not normal with how much he averagely walks. Aiden barely ends up texting Ben before passing out on his bed. He wakes up a few hours later, the sun having already gone down, coughing harshly. His chest feels tight, and he’s shaking.
“Damn, I must have actually caught something,” Aiden mutters before getting out of bed.
He’s out of breath by the time he gets to the kitchen. His water bottle is sitting on the counter. He dumps it out, takes it apart, and puts it in the dishwasher.
I should get a new cup if I’m sick. Wouldn’t want to reinfect myself over and over again.
He ends up getting a cup of water, and heading back up the stairs. That’s when he realizes that it’s ten thirty already.
“Damn, I am not looking forward to tonight. I wonder if this is going to affect me over there. I hope not, cause I am not ready to deal with Tyler and Ben.”
He drops back down, his eyes closing even though he was hoping to stay awake for at least a little while. He wakes up a few times, but feels too hot and out of it to actually do anything. Eventually he hears someone calling his name. He pulls his eyes open, but can immediately tell that something is really not right. He feels hot and cold at the same time. He’s shaking, and he can’t seem to draw in quite enough air.
“Aiden.”
Wait, someone’s shaking me? Why does that voice sound familiar?
Ashlyn and Ben come into view above him along with a ridiculously bright light.
“What?” he rasps, squinting his eyes again.
That makes him start coughing, and his arms feel too heavy to even shield his cough. Luckily Ashlyn and Ben move backward.
“Ben, call 911,” Ashlyn says as she’s swimming in and out of view.
Then she kneels by the bed, laying a hand on Aiden’s forehead.
“Can you tell me how you’re feeling? Can you breathe alright?”
Aiden shakes his head, still gasping from his coughing fit.
“Ben, he can’t breathe properly!” she shouts.
Aiden turns his head, but he can’t see Ben, so he must have left the room. Aiden lets his head drop back down, darkness encroaching his vision. Ashlyn taps his cheek.
“Can you stay awake?”
Ben walks back in, giving Ashlyn a thumbs up.
“Did you text his parents to let them know what’s going on?”
Another nod, then he kneels beside Aiden too. He grabs Aiden’s face, making him look at them.
“Wake up,” Ashlyn says forcefully.
Aiden blinks, but dutifully keeps his eyes open. Ben puts his hand on Aiden’s arm, causing Aiden’s eyes to drift down to his hand. He coughs pitifully, unable to do anything, but cough and lie as still as possible. Eventually, despite his best efforts, he ends up passing out again.
He feels better, but still not great when he fully wakes up again. His head feels a little less cloudy and stuffy, and breathing is easier, though there does seem to be something on his face. His curls are sticky and plastered to his face. Someone is breathing heavily next to him, a hand lying gently on his arm.
He turns, still feeling sore and achy. Ben is asleep in the chair next to him, his face squished against his arm. Aiden taps the hand on his arm, immediately waking Ben up. Ben grabs his phone.
“Hey, how are you feeling?”
“Better. What happened?”
“Apparently you had a cold and ended up catching pneumonia. It was really bad, Aiden. The others are out in the waiting room. Your parents are still trying to catch a flight, but they’re stranded somewhere.”
“They didn’t call CPS did they?”
“No, my parents came down before they could do that. Can I go get the others?”
Aiden nods, sighing. He’s already starting to feel sleepy again so he probably won’t be awake if they put it off any longer. Aiden runs his fingers along the scratchy blanket that’s over his legs right now to keep himself awake and grounded. Taylor, Ashlyn, and Logan all follow Ben into the room a few minutes later. Tyler stays in the doorway, his arms folded.
“Hey, guys.”
“Are you alright? We were all so worried when you wouldn’t wake up,” Taylor says, wringing her hands.
“You all went to my house?” Aiden asks, scrunching his face up in confusion.
“No, when we went over there, you wouldn’t wake up. We didn’t know what was wrong with you so Ben went to your room to check on you. Ashlyn went over from her house, and they ended up getting you to the hospital,” Logan explains.
Aiden nods, his head still throbbing slightly.
“That makes more sense. I’m sorry for worrying you guys, but I feel a lot better now.”
He locks eyes with Ashlyn, who gives him a small smile.
“You have nothing to be sorry for, Aiden. Though I am confused on how it took you so long to realize that you were actually sick,” she says.
“I have really bad allergies around this time of year. Taking the meds was helping, so I thought that I would just have to ignore it until it went away. I guess I should have paid more attention.”
Ashlyn laughs.
“You scared us, and that’s all you have to say?”
“Yeah, I guess.”
Logan straightens up.
“Well, I’m really glad that you’re alright. I have to head home now.”
“Ok, bye,” Taylor says, hugging him.
“I’ll walk you down,” Tyler says, pushing off of the doorway.
Once they’re gone, Aiden has a hard time keeping his eyes open.
“You can go back to sleep,” Ashlyn says, brushing his bangs out of his face.
“Thanks, Ash. I’m really sorry for worrying you guys.”
“Calm down. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
He nods, already drifting off again. The next time he wakes up, his aunt and uncle are in the room.
“Hey,” his Aunt Naomi says, smiling softly at him when she sees his eyes open.
“Hey. Where’s Ben?”
“Taking Lily to get food.”
“Ok, thanks for coming.”
“Yeah, your parents are held up, but they’ll be here as soon as possible.”
“I know they will. I wasn’t worried. I’m just glad that you’re here.”
“Me too.”
He’s already asleep again by the time Ben and Lily come back. His parents show up the next day, and he goes home a few days after that. Ashlyn comes by the house the day after they get home.
“Hey, my mom and dad made you some soup,” she says as Aiden stares at her.
“Oh, thanks. Do you want to come in?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Soon they’re seated on the couch a few cushions between them just in case Aiden’s still contagious.
“So, you’re feeling better?”
“Yeah, a lot better. Thank you for the soup, and for coming by.”
“Where are your parents?”
“One is at the store, and one is upstairs with Ben.”
“Ok, well, I’m glad you’re being taken care of, and that you’re feeling better. If you need anything, you can text me. I’m sure between me and my parents we can figure something out.”
“Yeah, I appreciate it. Do you wanna watch something till my dad gets back from the store?”
“Yeah, sure.”
Aiden hands her the TV remote, just watching as she picks a show. Both of them are asleep on the couch before his dad gets home.