outerbanks imagines.

sick days-john b

"hey, you. we're about to leave. you almost here? you're, like, fifteen minutes late."
i held my phone up to my ear as john b laid on the other end to allow me to question his appearance.
i watched from adjacency as the rest of the crowd we roamed with loaded the rented boat up with their goods for the day.
"mm, no. not today. i'm not feeling too good."
when he answered,
i could hear the congestion in his voice.
"awh, love. okay...i'll be there soon."
"no, no, y/n. don't. it's okay, i'm fine. just a little head cold. nothing you need to cancel your plans for."
i looked back at my friends just once more and said,
"if you want me to come, just say the word and i'll be there."
the silent extended between us.
"....will you come and nurse me back to health?"
even sick,
his tone was joking and light.
i laughed softly at this before answering,
"i'll be there soon."
"thank you."
"you got it."
we soon hung up and i trailed back to the group,
where their eyes were narrowed at me in suspicion.
"he's not coming, is he?"
kie asked.
"which means you're staying behind too, doesn't it?"
jj assumed.
pope looked between the two friends then back at
me with a shoulder shrug.
trying to hide my laugh at this,
i answered their questions with a nod.
they groaned in dramatic exasperation.
"he's sick!"
i defended while grabbing my things from the boat.
everyone fell into quiet laughs at this but eventually eased up on john b and i,
no matter how easy it was to poke fun at our devotion to one another.
before i arrived to john b's,
i stopped at the store nearby to grab some sick day necessities.
i wasn't sure what would work,
considering john b always had a habit of downplaying his injuries and sicknesses,
but i made do with the selection provided.
once i walked into the house that had a lingering sense of sickness,
i heard an exclamation of pain from john b extending from his room.
i hurried in to find him wrapped in the covers,
shivering.
i could hear the chattering of his teeth from where i stood,
on the other end of the room,
despite the thin layer of sweat beading at his forehead.
"hey lover,"
i greeted in a faint voice,
careful not to worsen his surely already aching head,
then made way to sit beside him.
i placed the back of my fingers against his sweltering forehead,
confirming what i already knew.
this made me frown solely for the reason that i could not take half of his hurt in situations like these.
"you've got a fever."
"i figured. i feel like shit,"
he groaned.
i grabbed the medicine from the bag in my hands and handed it to him,
the thick liquid sitting in the cap in wait for consumption.
as he took the medicine,
i hurried to open his drink before moans of how gross the taste was would ring out.
i watched as he quickly grabbed it from my grasp and chased the liquid with another.
it made me smile softly at how familiar this all seemed.
how, once upon a time, i'd been the sick one,
bedridden and sipping that very drink to chase away the flu i'd caught.
john b had kept me company the entire time,
somehow avoiding the strain of flu entirely.
though he wasn't so lucky this time.
"can drink liquor all night but not a cup of medicine,"
i teased,
watching his lips spread into the best smile he could muster.
"ugh, don't remind me. everything makes me want to gag."
he laid back down and pulled the covers back over his bare chest,
lying it just beneath his chin to cover every inch of feverish skin.
"you hungry?"
i moved the hair away from his eyes while i asked.
"no, not at all."
"okay, we'll eat later."
john b did his best to move over in the bed to allow room for me.
despite my protests,
all consisting of:
"i'll just make you even warmer."
"you need all the room you can get."
"i don't want to trap you in bed. what if you need to throw up?"
but he countered them with the argument of,
"please? sick guy makes all the rules."
so,
of course,
i climbed into the bed beside him.
"you're lucky you're sick."
"am i?"
he joked while grabbing my leg to throw over top of us as we laid on our backs.
from inches away,
i could feel the heat emitting from his body.
"hopefully the medicine will kick in soon. i hate seeing you like this."
he held the inside of my thigh into his palm,
tracing small circles against the skin there to distract himself.
"i'll be okay as long as you're here."
"oh, is this your way of trapping me?"
"yeah, obviously."
i exhaled a laugh alongside john b,
though his was rather quiet.
"you know, you'd make a pretty good nurse."
i turned over to see his arm draped over his head,
the crook of his elbow shielding his eyes,
but it wasn't enough to hide his flushed cheeks.
"i'll consider it. i do administer medicine pretty well."
"see? practically a natural."
i rolled my eyes with a laugh,
though he was blind to it,
then held his free arm into my hand.
the room fell silent as john b soon eased himself into a state of slumber beneath my caresses and the influences of antihistamines.
***
when i woke up,
the room was darkened and quiet to signal the night that had come upon us.
though when my ears adjusted to my surroundings,
i realized it was too quiet.
i turned my head to see john b lying on his side,
the shine of a cellphone illuminating the room some.
i reached over and laid a gentle hand to his shoulder,
asking,
"how do you feel?"
after sending his update text to jj,
he turned towards me and pressed a kiss to my forehead with cooled lips.
i brought my hand up to his forehead and felt for the fever i knew was once there,
but was glad to see it eased some.
"yeah, a little."
"would you like to eat now?"
"mm...maybe in a minute."
i nodded in understanding while i rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
john b had his hand resting to my chest,
caressing my collarbone in that absentminded way.
i knew he was thinking of certain words to say,
so i allowed him a moment.
"thank you for being here."
"of course. anything you need."
he laid a kiss to my cheek then said,
"you're a peaceful sleeper, did you know that?"
i shook my head with a snicker.
"wish i could say the same. you were snoring so loud, i swear the house shook."
i watched his expression change into a mock hurt.
"uh! i'm sick!"
his laugh seemed to be slowly inching forward to that animated boisterous laugh he owned.
i joined him in it then kissed the skin against his wrist.
"i love you,"
he said in a rushed breath.
my heart stuttered a few beats at this,
considering i'd never heard them said in such a romantic fashion.
it was beautiful,
more so than the books and movies could've ever described.
i flourished in the remnants of his echoing confession.
"i'm-i'm sorry. is that too soon?"
he asked,
taking my silence for judgement.
"the fever must be making my brain say stupid stuff...i'm sorry."
he sighed beneath his breath as he ran his hands over his face in embarrassment.
"no! no,"
i reassured as i grabbed his hands,
intertwining our fingers so that he'd look over at me.
when he did,
i found refuge in those eyes and realized how true these words were.
"i love you, too."
the relief was instant on his face.
his shoulders released the tension,
his face clear of any sheepishness.
he gathered me into his arms and held me tight with laughs echoing in the darkened room.
when he pulled back to gain one more look at me,
i brushed his cheek with my fingers.
"you love me."
"i love you,"
i repeated.
his smile grew until i worried it would hurt his cheeks.
he leaned in to press a kiss to my lips,
but i quickly backed away,
warning,
"germs. you can't kiss me yet."
john b dramatically rolled his eyes at this but soon fell back into that dazed, loving smile.
he laid himself back down on the pillow,
where i turned to extend my leg over his hip.
he grabbed the back of my thigh just to keep me close.
"not even a small kiss?"
"not even a small kiss,"
i confirmed though i laid my lips to his neck.
"i hate being sick."
"you'll be better soon, no worries."
he kissed my temple then let out a yawn.
"i'm tired, love,"
he said in a mere whisper.
i watched as his eyes closed,
eyelashes long enough to brush the structured cheekbones he owns.
"you'll sleep better after you eat,"
i suggested in a singsong voice.
he opened his eyes again to meet mine and blessed me with a gentle smile.
we trailed to the kitchen where i began a pot to bring him soup for the soul.
he soon wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into his chest,
resting his head against my shoulder.
he pressed a kiss against my cheek before saying,
"i think i like you better as my girlfriend than my nurse."
"oh? well, luckily, you get both."
john b laughed and nodded in agreement.
"yeah. real best of both worlds."
i turned to look at john b from behind my shoulder and gave him a teasing smile.
i could see the quirk in his lips that anticipates kissing me,
but it'd have to wait.
a long, painful wait for us both.