When I'm With You I Feel Better

Alex groaned with disappointment when his alarm went off. The loud, shrill beeping hurt his overly sensitive head. He blindly felt around until he found the button to silence the harsh noise. He rubbed his tired eyes and pushed himself up. Alex hadn't slept well as he had been up the majority of the night feeling sick and had just fallen into decent sleep once his stomach had settled slightly about an hour ago. Now he just felt achy, feverish, and fatigued. He wanted nothing more than to lay in bed and sleep all day but given Alex's luck, it was Wednesday morning and he had class. So with much effort, he pulled himself out of bed and set about finding clothes. He found the most comfortable pair of jeans that he owned and Jack's Ravens hoodie, which the younger had left there. Given the fact that Jack was a bit taller than Alex, the hoodie was kind of big. Alex was incredibly thankful fro this because he was freezing. He brushed his hair and slid a beanie on his head. He glanced in the mirror on his way out the door and frowned. He looked awful. He was pale and he had dark circles under his eyes and looked just plain sickly. Whatever, he had to go.

When Alex got to school, he found his boyfriend and cuddled up next to him. Alex pushed his face into the crook of Jack's neck without saying anything to him. Jack frowned because his face felt unusually warm and because Alex usually greeted him with a "good morning" and a kiss.

"You feel a little warm, Lex. Are you okay?" Jack asked while wrapping Alex in a hug.

Alex shook his head, "I don't feel good."

"Awe baby," Jack frowned deeper. "If you're sick, why didn't you just stay home?"

"Have class. And I wanted you." Alex shifted so he could look at Jack.

"You look awful. What's wrong?"

"I don't know. I just feel really tired and achy." Alex complained, moving to rest his head on the table.

"Do you want me to bring you home?"

Alex sighed, "No, I'll be alright."

"Okay. Well, we've ought to get to class then. I'll see you at lunch?"

Alex nodded, "Yeah."

"Alright. I love you."

"I love you too." Alex coughed slightly. With that, Jack pressed a kiss to Alex's feverish forehead. The two parted way and headed to their first hours.

Alex had somehow made it through first hour but had fallen asleep in his second, third, and fourth hours. It was lunch time now and he wasn't entirely sure if he could handle the smell of food right now. Just the thought of it had his stomach flipping uneasily. He made it to the lunchroom and sat down next to Jack. He let his head lay on Jack's shoulder and he closed his eyes. He felt Jack's lips pressed against his forehead.

"You feel warmer than you did earlier." Jack frowned.

"I feel worse than I did earlier," Alex whined.

"I'm sorry, love." It was then that Zack and Rian came and sat down at the table with their lunch. Alex's stomach flipped and he swallowed hard, pressing a hand to his stomach. He should probably get out of there.

"Jack, I feel sick."

Jack frowned and held Alex close, trying to offer some sort of comfort.

"I want to go home," Alex whined.

"Would you like me to bring you home?" Jack watched as Alex nodded.

"Alright. Rian, Zack, I'm gonna bring sicky here home. I'll see you guys later."

"Yeah, we'll see you later. Feel better Alex," Rian said.

"Feel better, Lex," was Zack's response.

Jack led Alex out to his car and pulled his keys out of his pocket. He unlocked the doors, allowing Alex to climb into the passenger seat. Alex let his head rest against the window and he closed his eyes. he heard Jack climb into the driver's seat and start the car. He then felt the car move and his stomach jerked. He moaned and shifted uncomfortably.

"Jack," he said with a bit of urgency. "Jack, m' gonna be sick."

"Shit," Jack cursed. "Like right now?"

"Not sure, I think so."

"Okay, okay. Just sit tight for a second." Jack pulled off into an empty parking lot, the car slowing to a stop.

Alex was quick to get out of the car. He doubled over with a gag. He felt Jack's hand on his back and his hair was moved off of his face. He gagged and heaved. He couldn't suppress the groan as nothing came up. He tried to breathe deeply but was cut off by another gag.

"Fuck," he gagged again. "Jack, help."

"Hey, calm down, Lex. It's okay, you're okay. Just focus on me. Do you want some water?"

Alex nodded.

Jack quickly grabbed his bottle of water from the cup holder. "Here. Small sips."

Alex took a couple of sips. His stomach tightened, forcing up another gag. He crouched so his face was closer to the ground. He heaved, finally bringing something up.

"It's okay, Lex." Jack kept his hair off of his face and continued to rub his back.

Alex closed his eyes, not really wanted to look at the mess he was making.

"You done?" Jack asked.

"I think so, yeah."

Jack helped Alex stand up and led him to the car.

"Let's get you home."

He led Alex back to the car and walked back around to the driver's side. He watched as Alex swallowed thickly.

"Talk to me, Lex. How're you doing?"

"Nauseous, very nauseous."

"Am I good to drive again, or do you think you're gonna get sick again?"

"Gonna be sick again, but I should make it home if you hurry."

Jack nodded as he turned out of the parking lot. "Just let me know if you need me to stop."

It was about five minutes later when Alex started to shift uncomfortably. He shivered miserably and took a deep breath. Another five minutes later they were pulling into Alex's driveway and Alex was jumping out of the car and running inside. He was desperately hoping he'd make it to the bathroom in time. He retched loudly over the toilet bowl. His stomach convulsed painfully, barely allowing him to breathe between heaves. Jack was right there, rubbing his back and holding his hair off of his face. Once Alex's stomach had given all that it could, he resorted to dry heaving.

"Lex, chill out. Breathe, babe. You're okay."

Alex leaned back into Jack and whimpered pitifully.

"Talk to me, Lex. I need you to tell me what's wrong."

"Everything hurts. I'm so cold."

Jack pressed the back of his hand to Alex's forehead. "Fuck you're hot. Where's a thermometer?"

"Cabinet. Can you get me some water too?"

"Of course I can." Jack filled the cup sitting on the counter top with cold water and grabbed the thermometer out of the cabinet. He stuck the thermometer in Alex's mouth and waited for it to beep.

"102.5. Way to be, Champ. Drink some water and let's get you into bed." He pulled Alex to his feet and helped him to bed. He pulled the covers up over him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Jacky?"

"What is it, Love?"

"Will you cuddle with me?"

"Of course, Lex." Jack climbed up into bed and pulled Alex into his chest. He wrapped his arms around the elder boy and pulled the blankets up over them. Jack pressed his face into the top of Alex's head. Alex smiled slightly, feeling better than he had all day. Jack always made him feel better. The rhythmic beating of Jack's heart had begun to lull the sick boy to sleep.

"I love you, Jay. I love you so much. Thank you for everything."

"It's no problem at all, Lex. I love you so much and want to do everything I can for you. Get some sleep now, Babe. You need it."

With that, both boys were sleeping tangled up with one another, both with content smiles on their face.