She Used to Be a Pearl

I woke up with a shiver and cuddled further into the body heat that was coming from next to me. I buried my face into the heat source and snuggled into the warmth. A deep chuckle awoke me from my half-asleep, half-awake state.

"Mmm," I groaned.

"Shh, go back to sleep baby. You were up coughing all night." The voice I recognized as my boyfriends told me.

I didn't argue and let myself fall into a deep sleep once again.

The next time I woke up, however, I heard loud laughter and talking. I pulled myself out of the bunk and walked into the living room with my sweatshirt and flannel pajama pants still on.

"Hey guys," I greeted.

"Hey Caty! It's about time you woke up!" Garrett said.

"What time is it?" I croaked.

"It's a little after 2:30." Jared answered.

"Holy crap! I don't think I've ever slept that long in my life!" I marveled.

"Well John said you were up all night with a cold. Feeling any better, by the way?" Kennedy asked.

"Not really," I sniffed. "Speaking of John, where is he?"

"He went to the store." He answered.

I nodded.

"So Caty, I know it's not the best time to bring this up but... We're gonna be in Philly next week!" Jared grinned. "Are we still on for sight seeing?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Jared." I smiled.

"Yes! I'm so excited! I'm gonna buy one of those colonial hats and-"

"Nobody cares." Pat interrupted.

"Aw, that's not nice." I told him.

"Life isn't nice." Pat replied.

I just laughed and sat back as the boys carried on.

"I'm back!" A voice said walking through the door.

I smiled when I saw the lanky figure carrying grocery bags.

"Johno! What'd you bring me?" Jared asked.

"Nothing." He stated bluntly as he took a seat next to me on the couch. "But I did get some stuff for you."

"What did you get?" I asked curiously. He opened the bag and pulled out various items.

"I got you some daytime and nighttime cold medicine, cough drops, popsicles, ice cream, movies, soup, and plenty of tissues." He said proudly.

"Thank you so much, John." I said giving him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek. He smiled and blushed like he always did when I showed him affection in front of his friends.

"Wha-chh!" Garrett said making a hand motion. "John Ohh is whipped!"

I rolled my eyes as the other boys joined in laughing.

"I'm not whipped, I'm in love." He said, wrapping an arm around my waist. "Besides, at least I have a girlfriend."

"Ooooooh!" They said in unison.

"Fine, fine. Go back to being disgustingly adorable." Garrett said putting his hands up in defeat and walking away.

I chuckled and then let out a hacking cough.

"Damn girl! Don't get us all sick!" Pat exclaimed.

"I'm sor-"

"Hey Pat shut the fuck up. She already doesn't feel good, she doesn't need you making it worse." John defended.

"It's okay, John." I said with a small smile, a little amused that he got mad at Pat.

"No it's not. You wouldn't say that to him if he was sick." John stated.

"Okay, I'm sorry Cat." Pat apologized.

"I forgive you." I smiled.

Pat looked pleased and walked into the back room.

"So you seriously went to the store just to get stuff for Caty because she's sick?" Jared asked.

"Yep. I've gotta take care of my girl." John said wrapping both of his arms around me.

"Aww, you guys are so cute." Kennedy smiled.

I let out another hacking cough and the guys looked concerned.

"Could I have some of that medicine?" I asked John.

"Yeah, of course." He said rustling through the bag to find the bottle of Thermaflu. "Here you go. I'm going to go make you some soup."

I poured some of the orange liquid into the little red cup and took it as if it were a shot of alcohol. I gagged a little bit and stuck my tongue out. "Yuck!"

"What?" Garrett asked as he came back into the room.

"She just saw your face." Jared answered.

They laughed.

John came back with a bowl of soup in his hand and a grin on his face. He handed me the soup and a spoon then sat down next to me.

"Thank you, sweetheart."

"You're welcome, love." He said giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh my god. I want to say that you guys are gross, but you're actually adorable." Garrett groaned.

"She is." John said pressing his lips to my forehead as I brought the steaming soup to my lips.

I smiled at John and then blew on the soup. Once I was out of breath I opened my mouth and felt the warm chicken broth soothe my extremely sore throat.

I sat back and ate my soup while John unwrapped his arms from me and put in a movie.

"What are we watching?" I asked.

"Marley And Me." John answered.

"I love this movie!" I squealed.

"Me too!" Said Jared.

"Me three!" Garrett added.

I took bite after bite of my soup while the movie played.

I put my bowl in the sink and took my seat next to John. I leaned my head on his shoulder and kept my eyes on the screen. Eventually the boys got up one by one and left the room or the bus all together. John wrapped his arm around my shoulder and rested his head on top of mine.

"I love you." John said.

"I love you too." I said through a scratchy voice.

"Do you feel okay?" He asked thoughtfully.

"No, but being with you makes it better. You're good at taking care of people."

He smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"I like taking care of you."

"Why's that?" I asked.

"Because you're pretty and I love you." He answered simply.

"Thank you, honey." I said giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I would kiss you but I might sneeze in your mouth."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take." John said before leaning down and planting a sweet kiss on my lips.

"John! It's time for- oh sorry!" Kennedy said.

We pulled away and laughed.

"I'd better go. Call me if you need anything." He said.

"Okay, bye." I said giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll miss you." He joked before leaving the bus.

I sighed and got my phone out to call Amanda.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hey it's me. How's it going?" I asked.

"Pretty good. I heard you're sick?"

"Yeah. But I'm a little better. John got me some medicine."

"Aww! I wish I was there to see what a cute couple you guys are! Kenny keeps telling me how John never shuts up about you. I'm so happy for you." She told me.

"Thanks Amanda. I'm so happy with him. He just makes me feel so loved and everything he does gives me butterflies. I don't think I could be any happier. I really do love him."

"Aww, I knew you would! I see the way he looked at you before you were dating. I knew you guys would end up together. He might write a song for you, just like he did for Daisy."

Daisy? He told me he never had a girlfriend before me.