Erik Gets Sick.

Erik tossed and turned. Finally, he woke up. A sickening feeling hit him hard.
Don't do it. Don't get up. Don't move. He thought to himself. If you don't move, the feeling will go away.  Then he betrayed himself by coughing fitfully. He felt like his throat was closing up. Immediately, he forced himself to stop coughing. Alright. This isn't going to work out nicely. Just…just run. Erik swallowed hard, clearing his throat. Then he forced himself to sit up. His head instantly became a thousand pounds heavier. He closed his eyes and stood up. Then he ran to the door and bolted to the bathroom. His throat burned as he threw up everything he'd eaten earlier that day. After a few minutes, the sickening feeling seemed to reside, and he rested himself against the side of the bathtub. He sighed and put his hands on the sides of his face. He could feel the heat on his cheeks.
"Oh…." he groaned. It wasn't long before he felt his stomach turn inside out again and he lunged for the toilet. Luckily, it was nothing more then a dry heave. He sighed, and rested his cheek against the cold seat of the toilet, too exhausted to do anything else.
~
Curtis sat up and rubbed his eyes.
"'M hungry" He mumbled to himself. He flung his long legs over the side of the bed and stood up. He yawned. Then he proceeded to the door and walked into the hallway, unnoticing of Erik in the bathroom. He walked into the kitchen and over to the refrigerator. He took out an armful of items and made himself a sandwich. He hummed to himself as he put the sandwich together.
"Ounce for ounce…blood for blood. You get the taste and it's never enough.." He sang quietly. He laughed at himself a bit at the fact he was up in the middle of the night, not only making a sandwich, but singing a song about cannibalism as he was making said sandwich. Once he was done, he put all the items back in the fridge and jumped onto the counter. He eyed his sandwich and picked up. "It's time you learn how to serve man." he laughed quietly as he took a bite.
Once he was finished he looked at the clock. It was nearly 3AM. He figured he'd better check on Erik, since he usually woke up around 3 for a bit. He climbed off the counter and headed for the hallway. As he got to the hall, he noticed Erik's door was open. He walked over to it and looked inside, but Erik wasn't there. He thought for a moment and shrugged. Then he began to walk toward his room.
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Erik dazedly opened his eyes. He thought he heard footsteps.
"C-Curtis?" he forced out before he found himself coughing once more. He saw Curtis pass by the bathroom door. "Curtis" he coughed. Curtis stopped in his tracks. He walked backwards toward the bathroom door. He saw Erik sitting on the floor. His feet were curled up under his legs, and his face was against the toilet seat, his left arm dangled at his side while his right was behind his head. Curtis walked into the doorway, catching the distinct scent of death in his nose. He looked at Erik, who looked cold, flushed, and tired.
"Hey buddy" he said in an almost whisper. "Whatcha doing?" he asked kindly, unsure of what to ask.
"Dying" Erik said shakily. Curtis couldn't help but laugh a bit.
"Nah, your not dying. You look like you've already died" Curtis responded.
"Curt-" Erik began. His head disappeared into the porcelain bowl once more. Curtis rushed over to his side. He rubbed Erik's back gently. A few minutes later, Erik was reaching for the flusher again.
"Done?" Curtis asked. Erik wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt.
"For now" He replied weakly. He rested his head down again.
"Was is something you ate?…" Curtis trailed off, trying to pinpoint what made his friend so ill.
"….sick…" Erik mumbled, drifting back into a dazed half-sleep. Curtis sighed. He put a hand to Erik's forehead. He was burning up. Erik inhaled sharply at Curtis's touch.
"You okay?" Curtis asked worried.
"Cuh-cold…" Erik stuttered sleepily. Curtis ran his fingers through Erik's messy black hair. Erik opened his eyes a bit, he looked around, but didn't move his head. "Where…am…I?…" he asked quietly.
"Your in the bathroom. Dying, apparently." Curtis whispered. Erik just shrugged and closed his eyes.
"….That's….nuh-nice…" He trailed off. Curtis rolled his eyes. Erik began to cough yet again. Curtis crawled over to him and helped him sit up. Erik vomited one last time, bringing up bile. Once he was done, he closed the toilet's lid and rested his head on it. His head throbbed dully. He could barely hear Curtis talking. He opened his eyes drearily.
"Going to get you a new shirt….thermometer…. Don't try to get up….take care of you…" Curtis's words were unclear to him. Everything was muffled. Almost like he was underwater. He felt a hand rub his forehead lightly. "Be back….promise…" He heard Curtis say. Then a few minutes later He thought he heard the bathroom door shut, but he couldn't tell. He closed his eyes and let what sleep he could get consume him.
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Curtis looked at the clock on his way into the hall. It was nearing 4:30 A.M. He walked into Erik's room and got a flannel shirt from his drawer. Then he kicked the dresser shut and made his way to the bathroom. He opened the door quietly. When he got in, he saw Erik curled up by the toilet. He was sleeping. Curtis put most of his arm load of items on the sink. Then he walked over to Erik's sleeping form and sat down beside him. He set the spare shirt down on the floor next to him and pulled the thermometer out of his pajama pants pocket. It was an ear thermometer. He turned it on and gently placed the tip in Erik's ear. He didn't wake. A few seconds later the thermometer beeped and Curtis checked it. 103.6. it read. Curtis cursed silently under his breath and set the thermometer aside. He scooted closer to Erik and wrapped his arms around his sick friend. Gently, he lifted Erik into a sitting position. Then he patted Erik's cheek softly with his hand.
"Come on buddy, You gotta wake up for a minute." He cooed softly. Erik stirred a bit. "That's right Erik. Come on." He encouraged. Erik mumbled something incoherent, and fell back to sleep. Curtis did his best trying to change Erik's shirt. He took Erik's right arm and pulled at the sleeve of his shirt. Then he did the same with Erik's left. He patted Erik's cheek again. "Come on Erik, wake up" He pleaded. Erik moaned, but didn't speak, He unconsciously tilted his head. Curtis sighed and took the bottom edges of Erik's shirt in his hands. Then he lifted it over Erik's head. Erik didn't seem to notice. Curtis picked up the spare shirt off the floor and put it on Erik. After he did that, he collected the rest of the items he'd grabbed and took them to his room, tossing Erik's former shirt in his laundry hamper. He put the bucket he was carrying down on the ground, opposite of the side of the bed he usually slept on. Then he walked back to the bathroom, not shutting his door. Once he got there, he noticed Erik, now lay curled up on the floor, rather then using the Toilet as a pillow. He chuckled silently. He walked over to Erik, bent down, and picked him up off the ground. Erik stirred slightly as Curtis cradled him in his arms. "You'll be okay.." He whispered softly. Then, with Erik in his arms like a child. He carried him to his room. Erik woke dazedly. He barely opened his eyes. His brain slightly registered he wasn't in his own room.
"…'urtis…oom..…" He mumbled drowsily. Curtis nodded at him.
"Yes. Your going to stay in my room tonight" Curtis replied. "Is that alright?" He asked.
"Mmm….Curt…oom…" Erik muddled. Curtis kicked the door shut and set Erik down on his bed. He brought the blankets up around Erik. Then, he climbed onto the bed himself. He brought the remainder of the blankets around himself. After he was sure Erik would be alright, he rested his head on his pillow and began to sleep. Curtis could feel himself drift off. He heard a small whimper. Sleepily, he tried to listen for it again. Nothing. He let himself fall back into sleep. Then, there was a whimper again. Louder. This time, almost like crying. He woke up. He turned around in his bed, Erik was facing him, crying in his sleep. Curtis put a hand on Erik's shoulder.
"Whatsa matter buddy?" He asked softly.
"..Cold.." Erik cried. Curtis laid back down.
"Come here" he said, pulling Erik closer to him. Curtis wrapped Erik's arm's around his own waist and rested Erik's head in the crook of his neck. He wrapped his own arms around Erik and brought him into a tight, but comforting, embrace.
"Sleep now" he cooed to Erik. Erik's cries subsided and he was back into a deep sleep. It wasn't long before Curtis was sleeping himself.
~