Gaijin No More

Aiden's POV

I was out of the car faster than a lightning, kneeling beside Cody's crumbled form. I placed my hand on his back, rubbing gently as he retched. My other hand pulled his hair out of his face.

Cody was paler than normally and his whole being was trembling.

“Breathe Cody, breathe,” I advised, concern lacing my voice. How did he get sick so suddenly? Was he having motion sickness?

That still didn't explain why he had started puking so unexpectedly, as he had never before said he could get sick while in a moving vehicle.

Cody retched again but nothing came out anymore. I left his side for a second so I could get a bottle of water and a few napkins from my car.

I handed the bottle to Cody and he rinsed his mouth. I used the napkin to wipe the remaining water drops off from his chin. He was still breathing heavily and sweating. For a moment I thought he might have some temperature, but his forehead wasn't warm.

“Do you think you'll be okay for the rest of the ride?” I asked gently, digging a pack of mint gum from my pocket, giving Cody a piece in order to get rid of the horrible taste.

“Y...Yeah,” he answered, his voice so hoarse it was barely audible.

I stood up, dragging Cody's weakened body with me. His legs shook and I could see it was difficult for him to stay up. I supported him with my body as I slowly helped him back into the car.

I kept glancing at Cody as I drove, worried that he might vomit again. I wouldn't have minded if he had messed my car, no, fuck the car. I just knew that throwing up wasn't the most pleasant thing in the world.

Instead of taking Cody back to his place, I brought him back to mine. I wanted to make sure he was okay and besides, my house was closer.

I parked the car on the drive way, turning off the engine and walking around the car to help Cody out. His breathing had slowed considerably and I thought he was asleep.

Bending over I unbuckled his seat belt and slipped my arms under his knees and around his back. Carefully I lifted him out of the car, pushing the door shut with my leg.

“Aiden...” Cody mumbled weakly, his eyelids half-shut.

“Shh, it's okay,” I soothed him and opened the front door. The house was empty, thank God. Josh was sleeping at his friend's house and the others were at the movies. The clock was now around seven. I didn't want to explain why I was carrying a half-conscious boy back into my room.

I placed Cody on my unmade bed, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes.

“Cody?” I called. “I think you should stay here for the night. Do you think you have enough energy to text your dad?” This wasn't exactly the way I had thought our first sleepover to go, but I wasn't going to complain.

Cody opened his eyes, looking extremely tired. He slowly dragged his phone out of his pocket and wrote a message.

“There. Can I sleep now?” he whispered, closing his eyes again. I smiled slightly, stroking his hair softly.

“Of course. Sweet dreams.” Cody gave a content sigh and snuggled deeper into the mattress.

I removed his shoes, trying not to bother his sleep. Once I got them off, I had to face another problem.

Should I take off his jeans and hoodie too?

Sleeping in jeans was one of the most uncomfortable things I knew and the hoodie could make Cody feel too warm, I reasoned.

I wanted Cody to feel as comfortable as possible, so I slowly undid the button of his jeans and unzipped them.

Trying not to blush, I slowly dragged the jeans down, folding them neatly on my chair. As I turned back, my eyes caught the sight of Cody's boxers.

It took every ounce of my willpower to keep myself from bursting into laughter.

Cody was wearing light blue Care Bears boxers. Seriously, how could he get any cuter than this?

I kept my hand over my mouth as I stifled my laughter and once I felt composed enough, I moved to remove his hoodie.

Cautiously I pulled the zipper down, only to find out that Cody didn't have anything underneath the hoodie.

My face began to feel hot as I tried to stop myself from staring. The horny part of me wanted to watch and touch Cody's skin, but luckily the sane part of me won. I refused to act so disrespectfully towards Cody. Taking off his clothes while he was knocked out was bad enough!

I strode over to my bureau and pulled out one of my old t-shirts. It would be perfect for Cody to sleep in.

I threw Cody's hoodie on the same chair as his jeans and slipped the t-shirt over his head. Apparently Cody was a heavy sleeper since he didn't react to my actions in any way or then he was just too tired to care.

When I was done, I stared at the sleeping figure on my bed for a moment. Sleeping Cody was damn adorable sight. And I was glad I had the privilege to watch him like this.

I pulled the covers over Cody's body, making sure he was properly tucked in. I couldn't help but place a small kiss on his forehead.

I decided to take a shower, as I didn't feel tired enough to go to bed.

In the shower I finally had the time to think the reasons why Cody had gotten sick so abruptly. He had been okay earlier and he hadn't said anything about feeling sick. He hadn't eaten anything weird as far as I knew, nor drunk.

Wait... He did take a sip from that drink Dan offered him at the party. But he spat it out almost immediately so it couldn't have affected him so strongly.

Unless there was something mixed with the alcohol.

I felt like banging my head against the tiled wall of the shower. Why in seven hells had I allowed Cody to take that drink from Dan? Shouldn't I know by now that he disliked Cody strongly? Gosh, I'm such an idiot!

I got out of the shower and dried myself, trying to refrain the anger rising within my gut. It was stupid idea to take Cody to that party. Thanks to my thoughtlessness, my night with Cody was ruined.

I stalked back into my room, pulling on a pair of pajama pants. I never slept with a shirt as it tended to be too warm at nights.

Or maybe the night wasn't completely ruined, I thought as I stood next to my bed. Sure I didn't have my chance to try and seduce Cody, but at least I'd get to sleep next to him. It was better than nothing.

Grinning I slipped under the covers, scooting close enough to Cody's back so I could feel the warmth his body was emitting, but far enough the keep our bodies from touching. I didn't want to over step my boundaries.

After a few minutes of lying in silence, I felt Cody shift around a bit. I opened my eyes, trying to figure out if Cody had woken up.

He made no sound, so I thought he was still asleep. But then I heard him call my name.

“Yeah?” I asked, signaling that I was awake and close to him. I didn't want him to feel frightened of waking up in a strange room.

“Hold me?” his voice was laced with innocence and it sounded so weak and pitiful that it was impossible to say no.

Not that I would've said no in the first place. This was just what I had wanted.

Immediately I moved our bodies so that I was spooning him, draping my arm over his waist.

“Of course,” I whispered against his neck, breathing in his sweet scent. Cody cuddled closer to me, relaxing once again.

I smiled and relaxed too, ready to let sleep take over.