"...Hello?"
"Liam? I'm sorry, c-could you come over?"
"Niall?"
"Li, I think I n-need you to come over."
Liam sat up and rubbed his eyes. He peered over at the clock, it was 5:23 in the morning.
"Hey, hey, breathe. What's going on? Are you okay?"
Liam could hear ragged breathing from the other end of the line.
"Niall? What's going on?"
Liam was already getting up and looking for clothing in the dim light.
"I'm sick," Niall said, sounding far away, "I feel really really sick."
Liam didn't like the way Niall sounded.
"I'm on my way, love. Want me to stay on the line? I'm worried about you."
Liam could hear Niall coughing, the phone obviously pulled away from his face.
"No, no. Think I'm gonna- um, yeah, I'm gonna throw up. Just get here soon, please. I'm...just get here soon," Niall said. His voice was shaky. Liam sighed, worried about how sick Niall seemed.
"I'm on my way, just sit tight."
Liam hung up and, in his sleepy state- got ready as quickly as he could before hopping in the car. When he got to Niall's, he found the door locked and himself without a key. He felt bad forcing Niall to come to the door, but there was nothing else Liam could do.
He gave the door a knock, and then another when nobody answered, before finally pulling out his phone. He was relieved when Niall answered.
"Niall, mate, can you make it down stairs to let me in? The door's locked," Liam explained.
"I t-think so," Niall answered. Liam groaned internally, Niall didn't sound too confident on his abilities to tackle the stairs.
"Take your time, okay? I don't want you getting hurt," Liam said seriously.
"Okay, Li. I have to hang up. I'll be d-down in a minute."
Liam anxiously waited by the door, every few seconds leaning forward to make sure he couldn't hear anything coming from the other side. When the door latch unlocked, Liam momentarily relaxed a little. The fear came back, though, when he saw Niall's condition.
"Jesus, Niall, what happened to you?"
Liam walked into the house and pulled Niall back in with him before letting Niall lean against a wall.
Niall's face was sweat glistened and pale. His eyes were glassy and rimmed red, and his hair was soaked with sweat. Liam decided that a shower was of high priority.
Niall had a feeble arm around his middle and Liam could see his legs straining to hold his weight.
"I don't know. I've j-just been ill all night," Niall said.
"What time did it start? How many times have you gotten sick?" Liam asked further. He wanted to know what'd gotten Niall into this stage.
"I w-was jus' watching TV down here and then at like, I dunno, 12:30? I just started feeling really sick and I threw up and I didn't feel any better after. Probably thrown up 5 or 6 times maybe, I haven't been k-keeping track."
Liam took in Niall's appearance, wondering where to start.
"You threw up again after you called me?"
Niall nodded. He was obviously exhausted.
"Do you feel up to a bath?" Liam asked, realizing Niall probably wouldn't last through a shower.
Niall looked at Liam like a kid being asked to do chores.
"I really just want to sleep, if I'm honest," Niall said, letting himself slide slowly onto his bum on the floor.
Liam sighed.
"You've sweat through your clothes mate. You have to at least change before bed, alright? You've got to be uncomfortable in those," Liam reasoned.
Niall again seemed inconvenienced, pushing his head back with a groan.
Liam sighed and squatted down to Niall's level, hand resting on the ill boy's forehead.
"I already know I have a fever," Niall mumbled, eyes closed.
"Feels high," Liam said.
"I'm cold," admitted Niall, voice quiet.
Liam was worried about how high Niall's temperature felt.
"Maybe you should sleep without your clothes, mate. I'm guessing you can't hold down any fever reducers?" Liam assumed.
Niall groaned and shook his head.
"Bet I c-couldn't even hold down a mint," Niall breathed.
Liam didn't say anything for a while, worry clouding his mind. Would he need to take Niall to the hospital? He would be dehydrated soon if he wasn't already, right?"
Niall opened an eye and sighed when he saw Liam's stressed features.
"Don' look at me like that, Li. I drank a bottle of water when it first started, alright?"
Liam nodded a little.
"You think it's still helping?"
Niall shrugged. "M'not empty yet. Getting woozy, though. I had a really rough bout 'n got scared, felt like I was gonna pass out. S'why I called."
Niall pulled his head up from against the wall and dropped it into his hands.
"Thanks for coming."
Liam smiled a little and put a hand on the back of Niall's neck.
"Of course, I'm glad you called me. Let's get you back upstairs, love. Have you got a bin up there?"
Niall nodded. He was ready to fall asleep, Liam could tell.
"Alright, I'll help you. Common, bud, up, up."
Liam pulled Niall to his feet from his hold under the ill boy's arms. Niall had to take a second to catch his bearings once he was standing again before being able to start the steps.
"I can carry you," Liam said, hating to watch Niall spend up what little energy he had left for a short flight of stairs.
Niall paused to take a deep breath before shaking his head, instead throwing an arm around Liam's shoulder and letting Liam take a bit of his weight.
"Jus' help me a bit, yeah? I'm really wiped out," Niall confessed. Liam did as he was asked and helped Niall the best he could without actually picking him up. Liam was convinced that by the time they got to the top step, Niall's face had actually gotten paler.
"Almost there," Liam said quietly, feeling how Niall was getting less and less able to support himself.
Niall didn't answer. Liam knew he was feeling miserable.
When Liam finally got Niall bed, the boy immediately shrunk into tight ball.
"You can't sleep like that," Liam said softly, sitting on the end of the mattress. Niall was sitting at the foot of the bed, curled up without a pillow or blanket. Even when Liam placed a hand on Niall's back, the boy didn't respond.
"Niall, mate. Common now, should I help you get undressed or can you manage on your own? You're not sleeping with those heavy layers on, your fever's high enough as it is," Liam continued.
Niall moaned.
"I think they're alright," he tried.
Liam sighed and pulled himself into a kneeling position beside Niall.
"Onto your back, Niall, common. I'll do the work," Liam sighed, coaxing the ill boy out of his ball.
Niall complied, but Liam could see the genuine pain that all the previous moving had caused. Liam wished that he'd have just carried Niall up the stairs.
Liam frowned.
"I'm sorry, love. I know you're sleepy," Liam said, starting to pull Niall's arms free from their sleeves, "But I really am just worried about you, okay? If I didn't think this could help I wouldn't bother."
Niall nodded a little, even giving a reassuring smile to Liam.
Liam smiled back, feeling a little better. He kept undressing Niall, getting his shirt off and tapping Niall's hip when he needed him to lift his bum from the bed.
When Liam finished, he helped Niall get further up on the bed until he was up against his pillows and under his blankets.
The position on lasted minutes though, as soon Niall was hurrying out of bed and to the bathroom. Liam, a bit taken aback, followed behind.
Niall brought himself over the toilet, his stomach already bringing itself up. His eyes were closed tight and one hand was pressed into his belly while the other held his head upright.
"Alright, love, just breathe when you can," Liam comforted.
Niall wheezed half a breath before heaving again, making a stressed whimpering sound.
"Aw, Niall," Liam murmured.
Niall coughed several times and rocked forward as another hard wave hit him. Somehow, his stomach still had more to bring up.
When it stopped, Niall was panting. He was shaken and dizzy and still so nauseous.
Niall hiccuped and sat back, seeming almost stunned.
"Just catch your breath," Liam said, rubbing Niall's bare back.
Niall turned around and lowered himself to the floor until his head rested in Liam's lap. He had tears in his eyes.
"Still f-feel it," Niall croaked.
"Yeah? Think something's still got to come up?" Liam asked, messing with Niall's bangs.
Niall nodded slowly.
"And my head hurts," He pouted.
Liam sighed, hating seeing how miserable Niall was.
"Oh, love. You're just a mess," he mumbled.
Niall had only just calmed his breathing down before he was curling back around the toilet bowl.
The boy kept getting caught in heavy bouts of illness where he was so violently sick that he could barely suck in a breath before collapsing back into Liam's lap. It went on and off for almost an hour. After his roughest bout, though, Niall still found comfort in laying back down and having Liam's finger's twist through his hair. Liam realized after minutes of silence that Niall had actually fallen asleep.
As much as Liam wanted to let Niall rest, he couldn't let him sleep on the cold bathroom floor. Instead, Liam coaxed him into an upright position before pulling him into his arms and carrying him to bed.
"Mmph, Li, what if I still need to throw up," Niall murmured, mostly asleep.
"You're beyond empty, blondie," Liam reasoned, tucking Niall in.
He slid into bed beside the burning boy and took a deep breath, realizing how tired he actually was.
"Lets just get some rest, love."

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Didn't go to school today, just watched Quantico and laid in bed 🎉. Hope this is alright, I don't have any requests rn I don't think(??). Gotta go back through my comments and check but please request if you've got anything. Hope you're all well(((((: 💖