I sighed as I got into bed. I'd gotten the day off for myself and the lads which I was more than ecstatic about, but there were plenty of things to do with my method to make me feel incredibly guilty.

For starters, we were supposed to have rehearsals all afternoon. We'd already practiced a lot, but the rehearsals were there for a reason. We wouldn't to make a perfect show for the crowd. Without the rehearsals we could just be a waste of money. The last thing I wanted was to disappoint anyone.

Then there was the whole argument going on in my head about whether or not I should just tell the lads what I was up to. The idea had fallen into my head just that morning and straight off the mark I didn't event think once about letting them in on the plan. I liked the idea of a bit of attention too much. As the youngest, I used to be more of a magnet for attention but now we were too old for the year between us to make much difference. It was too hard to persuade myself to just tell them.

It was a bit of a dick move, really. I swallowed sheepishly and shook my head. At least now they had a day off. That would have to be payment enough.

"Hey Hazza, how're ya feeling...?" Louis smiled sympathetically in the dull lighting as he stepped quietly into the room.

"Sick" I muttered in response, glad that it was dark enough to mask the red blush scorching across my cheeks. I hid my face in my pillow anyway, just to be sure.

I could hear Louis' socks on the carpet as he padded closer, "I brought a bowl from the kitchen just in case you get to that point. I'll just put it down just here, is that okay?"

I looked up, squinting and holding my stomach to keep the act consistent, "yeah, it's fine."

"Aw buddy..." Louis cooed, "look at you. Poor guy. Do you still feel like throwing up?"

"Kind of" I replied in a whisper.

Liam poked his head into the room, "oh, I was wondering where you'd gotten to Lou. I was gonna put a movie in, have some snacks. Niall's already all melted into the couch out there."

My lip twitched. I didn't want to spend the day in the room on my own while the others hung out in front of the TV. I wanted to watch movies too. It wouldn't seem weird would it? They wouldn't catch me out?

"Can I come?" I blurted, hiding myself nervously under the duvet. I was holding it, my covered hands masking half my face.

"You just got back to bed Haz, you should get some rest" Louis looked at me unsurely. The expression on his face almost made me go into panic, I needed a lie, and fast.

"Too nauseous" I whimpered pathetically, "and it's so cold in here."

That part was true. I'd accidentally left the window open last night and I swear it had almost frosted over. My entire body was numb when I woke up.

Liam made an understanding noise and gestured towards the bowl on the bedside table, "okay then Mate. Bring that with you though, just in case."

I nodded tiredly and got out of bed, dragging my duvet with me. It was a colossal thing, I was almost lost in it. It was heavy too and I'm generally a clumsy person, I was going to have to be very careful to not trip or stumble over the extra material.

I rubbed my tummy and my eyes and took off down the hall after Louis and Liam. With my hand on my mid-section, I could literally feel the hunger. The growls were going to be audible soon. The lads would probably think my stomach was just upset, but I wasn't going to last all day without eating. I'd probably end up passing out.

I tripped and crashed into Louis' back when we were only a few steps away from the lounge suite Niall was lounging on already. He gasped in shock and almost fell, only catching his balance when Liam reached out to steady both of us, worriedly tugging me towards him.

"You should've said you were unsteady on your feet Harry, we wouldn't have let you walk on your own" he frowned, holding my shoulders as I sat in a lazy boy chair and cocooned myself back up in the duvet. I shrugged as Louis handed over the bowl, rubbing his shoulder where I'd awkwardly nosedived into his shoulder blade. I apologised quietly, but he just said that it wasn't a big deal.

"You okay with watching a movie Ni? Pretty boring day, I know, but there's not really much else we can do." Liam glanced over at me, "unless Harry here miraculously recovers and decides he's up for a visit to the park or something."
Louis replied before I could, "I doubt it, you're a proper sick sloth today aren't ya mate?" He patted my tucked up knee before sitting down as well.
Oh god, they were all being so nice...which was so nice...but at the same time it made me a thousand times more guilty.

Niall sighed, "a movie's fine. I'm not feeling too hot either."

I swear I almost bit my tongue off my teeth locked together so quickly. I peeked over at him spread out across the couch.

"Seriously? Or are you just trying to draw attention to yourself?" Liam said with a raised brow. My whole body just flinched at how close his words hit to home. Thankfully nobody noticed the little jump. I swallowed and unclenched my jaw upon noticing that it was beginning to hurt.

Niall rolled his eyes, the whites glowing in the dull lighting. The curtains were closed still for some reason, "whatever you say Liam."

"It's a fair question Ni." Louis shrugged uncomfortably.

Niall bit down on his lip to keep from responding. He shook his head, "just put a movie on."

I cast another look over at him. I couldn't imagine him even pretending to be sick, not for any reason. He hated feeling ill with a passion and I was hugely doubtful that he'd even think to fake. He loved everything too much to try avoiding it.

Unless he had.

Ugh, I didn't know what to think. It sat better with me if I just told myself he was doing the same as I was, but that felt kind of unrealistic.

Liam put Daddy's Home on for a laugh and although the first fifteen minutes were a bit tense due to the small argument it loosened up a bit and we were all chuckling along with the movie. I kept reminding myself to stay quiet and meek , the whole time keeping tabs on Niall too. He was pretty quiet and it was starting to worry me.

Half way through the movie he stood up and quickly ducked out of the room, not saying a word.

"Bring another packet of chips back with you Ni!" Louis called out.

I watched after him with a sinking feeling in my stomach. It was really beginning to feel sick now due to all the nerves and guilt. He couldn't be faking. No way. Niall was actually sick, and I was being a dickhead.

It was worse because Liam and Louis were both on my side, the undeserving side.

I traced a finger over my stomach and sighed to myself, I needed to make Louis and Liam see that Niall wasn't kidding around. I should've felt bad enough to reveal my own lies but I still couldn't do it.

"I need the bathroom..." I murmured, untangling myself slowly from the duvet. Liam jumped up to help me up, grabbing onto my upper arms gently.

"You need a piss or something?"

Louis paused the TV.

I nodded wearily and snuggled into Liam's side so that he'd walk me. I figured Niall was probably in the bathroom already, either that or he'd simply retreated to his bedroom for a break from the rest of us.

"You're feeling a little warm Mate..."Liam frowned as he rubbed his hand down my arm a few times. I wasn't surprised, that thick duvet was more than enough to roast my skin slightly.

I took a step forwards, leading Liam alongside with me. He took the hint and carried on out of the lounge and down the hall to where the bathroom was. The door was pulled but not closed and Liam just barged right in.

A shocked sound left his lips when he saw Niall sat on the edge of the bath, holding on to the porcelain white-knuckled. He looked up and I knew I was right, he was definitely sick. Red eyed, pale, and trembling, he looked like he was about to keel over.

"Whoa Ni, you don't look so-"

Liam didn't have time to finish before Niall was pouncing for the toilet, only just making it in enough time to retch and bring up the contents of his stomach. I winced and swallowed. I'd never been very good with vomit, or watching people vomit, it tended to make me feel sick to my own stomach. I supposed it would help with my case, but I didn't actually want to be sick.

Liam was quick to try comfort Niall, but he turned back to see me frozen in place.

"Fuck, Harry you've gone totally white! Go to the sink if you're going to be sick too" he directed as he rubbed Niall's back while he continued to heave, everything flooding from his system.

I gulped and shook my head before fleeing the room, closing the door behind me. I'd done what I'd wanted to do, Liam had no choice but to believe Niall was sick now.

I sagged against the wall and tried to fill my lungs with the fresh air. Louis must've heard something because when I opened my eyes he was right there in front of me, frowning worriedly.

"Mate, are you okay? Why did Liam just leave you here?" he questioned in confusion, scanning around for our doe-eyed friend.

I couldn't tell him that I was faking sick. He'd hate me, everyone would. And although Niall was sick, there was still Louis and Liam. One of them could help him out and he'd be okay, and then someone could accompany me too. It still worked out just fine.

If everything got any more stressful though I would have no choice but to just give up, or 'miraculously recover' like Liam had said. But for now, I'd just carry on as I was.

"Niall's throwin' up" I said to him slowly, "I couldn't stay in there."

I took a deep breath and shakily straightened up as the nauseous feeling fell away.

Louis flinched, "damn it, and I accused him of faking. I'll have to apologise later on. For now how about we just go lay down for a bit, you look really peaky."

I nodded wearily and let him lead me to my room. He ran off to retrieve the bowl and my duvet from the lounge and then got into bed beside me after forcing half a bottle of water down my throat. Now I really did need to pee, but there was no way I was going back into that bathroom.

I really hoped Niall was okay, but I couldn't watch him vomit.

I hugged a pillow close to my chest and attempted to drift off.

Liam's POV:

When Niall had finished barfing his brains out he was pretty much just a limp doll. He was practically immobile. Shaking hard like a wind up toy and almost dozing off with his back against the wall he didn't even look like he'd be able to stand on his own.

I felt awful about ever thinking he was kidding. I don't know what the hell I was thinking in the first place, Niall would never fake sick. There was just a weird feeling about the day, I couldn't put my finger on it. Something was definitely off.

"Here Ni, just take a few sips..." I directed, trying to hand him a half full glass of water. He opened his eyes and groaned, tucking his head in and away from the water.

"You need something in your stomach, come on, try?" I prompted desperately. I knew how these stomach bugs worked, once you got dehydrated it was total hell.

"Don' wan' it Li..." He muttered croakily, his throat most likely torn up from puking. He pushed his hands against the ground and with a pained grunt lifted himself onto his feet, leaning the majority of his weight on the wall behind him. If I didn't know better I would think he was a seventy year old man by the way he was moving, and the grey complexion to his skin.

I took a firm hold of his shoulder and held the water out to him once again. He rolled his glossy eyes but took it this time. With shaking hands he tipped a few mouthfuls back, spitting the first into the sink and then drinking a couple more. I smiled at him, earning a dull look.

He put the glass down on the vanity and literally dragged himself out into the hall, pulling and leaning on all the edges and surfaces he could get his hands on. I grabbed the thermometer out of the cupboard and followed after him. He'd paused out in the hall, buckled against the wall and groaning about his stomach.

"I think I pulled every muscle in my stomach..." he complained in a thick voice, "and I threw up everything, but I still feel like I'm going to be sick again."

He held a hand against his middle hard and straightened up with a whoosh of air. His face screwed up in pain and he latched on to my shoulder helplessly, "damn it! Why does it hurt so bad?"

I poked his side where his appendix was. He just gave me a weird look. I shrugged, "well, it's not appendicitis."

He rolled his eyes, "good to kn- Ugh-." He gulped and gagged once dryly, a hand moving to cover his mouth just in case.  I paused, cursing myself for not getting a bowl or something.

Thankfully he recollected himself and we carried down the hallway.

"Hey, do you wanna go lay with Harry? You're both sick anyway, you can keep each other company" I suggested.

Niall nodded tiredly and slurred, "his bed's so comfy..."

I chuckled and took him off in that direction. When we got in there it quickly became clear that Harry wasn't alone. Louis was beside him on the bed, scrolling on his phone. He looked up at us at the sound of the door opening.

"Damn Ni, you look awful. I'm so sorry for questioning you earlier" Louis whispered as he sat up, peeling the blankets back. "I take it you want my space?"

"His legs are going to give out in a few moments," I nodded, "move it."

Louis smiled shortly and jumped off the bed, leaving a perfect, warm, spot for me to slide into. I crawled onto the mattress, sighing in pleasure at how soft and squishy it was. I cuddled into Harry's back, not expecting him to jolt awake with a grunt.

"What?" he slurred, half asleep.

"I just swapped out with Ni Haz, nothing wrong, you can go back to sleep" Louis explained, pressing a hand gently into Harry's chest as he tried to sit up. Harry met Niall's eyes for a brief second and then after a moment of hesitation he stiffly laid back down. Niall's stomach must've chosen that exact moment to twist nauseatingly, making an uncontrollable whimper slip from between his lips. It was mostly muffled it into Harry's shirt.

"Oh, I brought the thermometer! Don't go back to sleep yet!" I whisper yelled, remembering the little device I'd grabbed from the bathroom. Niall groaned in annoyance and rolled over onto his back, "hurry up then..."

He cleared my throat as I put the thermometer into his mouth. I think he held his breath while the thermometer was in his mouth. When I pulled it out he lunged for the bowl. I  quickly handed the thermometer over to Louis to figure out while I held the bowl under Niall's chin in anticipation. He coughed and vomited up the water he'd just had.

Harry had shifted all the way to the other side of the bed, holding his pillow over his head. He sucked with sick on a good day, I was surprised he'd managed to keep his cool for so long.

I took the bowl over to his side but Harry just cringed away from the sight inside, making me realise that seeing it probably wasn't much help. I apologised a little frantically and got rid of the bowl.

"38.9" Louis read from the thermometer. Niall shut my eyes with a quiet moan while I took the thermometer off Louis to see for myself. 38.9. No wonder he was so shaky.

"Alright Harry, your turn..." I replaced the end of the thermometer and shook it a couple of times.

"I think he's asleep again" Louis frowned, getting up on his tip-toes to peer over at our friend while Niall got comfortable again.

"Harry, are you still awake?" I questioned airily. There was no response so I shrugged, "I guess so."

"Just leave the thermometer, we'll check next time he's awake" Louis said. I nodded and put the device down on the bedside table quietly.

"Just call out if something happens okay Ni?" I whispered.

Niall grunted and shooed us away with his hand.

Louis snorted and took my arm, "we'll leave you to it then."

He pulled me out of the room and closed the door behind us.

"Wanna go finish the movie?" He suggested.

"Yeah, sure."

***

When I first opened my eyes I didn't even have time to wonder why the hell I'd woken before the thick stench of vomit slapped me in the face, flew right into my nose, made me choke, and then throw up all down my front as my body shot upright. I panted heavily, staring down at the mess I'd made in shock.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and tried to block out everything puke related, although now that I was fully awake I realised there wasn't just a smell but obvious puke sounds coming from the room too. Niall was at it again, hanging over the side of the bed limply and just letting the bowl underneath him have it.

My cheeks puffed out again but thankfully this time I was able to catch it and swallow before more of my insides came barrelling up my throat. I hurriedly peeled my ruined shirt off and flicked it away on to the floor, unable to handle the sight of the thing. Sadly, I'd managed to spew on the duvet too so that needed to go as well. I kicked it off and tucked my legs up, shivering slightly in the fresh morning cold.

The door opened and Louis came in, instantly gravitating to help Niall finish up and get comfortable in bed again.
"Nice start to the day huh?" Louis grimaced, running a hand through his hair as he looked over Niall and me, "I could hear you from my room Ni."

"Wasn't just me..." Niall rasped, his cheek smooshed into the pillow.

Louis' gaze flickered up to me questioningly, "shit Haz, you look freezing! Where's your shirt? Did you get sick?"
I went to speak but my voice was hardly a squeak due to the thickness in my throat from being sick. The taste was absolutely foul when I cleared my throat, "shirt's over there, got sick on it. And the duvet."

Louis clicked his tongue worriedly and dug a clean shirt out of my draws, flinging it my way. He picked up the yuck one and with a disgusted look chucked it over into the doorway. Then he got to work separating the duvet cover from the actual duvet itself.
"Do either of you still feel like you might be sick?" He asked, glancing up at us.
Niall shook his head and groaned when Louis pulled the duvet off him.
I agreed with a parroted shake of my head too. Although I had been sick and it was a whole lot less than nice it made my cover a lot more realistic. I had been planning on one of those miraculous recoveries today, but I guess I'm going to have to carry on for a few more hours at least.
I'd definitely gotten all the attention I'd been craving yesterday. Niall was in the bathroom a lot, like a lot a lot, and although they were keen to help both Liam and Louis didn't want to be on puke duty. They were literally arguing about who got to stick with me because it meant they wouldn't have to deal with vomit. Or fever. The thermometer said I was normal every time they checked. It was phenomenal that they'd believed me in the first place, now that I think abut it.

The smell of puke wafting around was probably the only downside of the day, a few times it had made me so nauseous I had to linger over the bowl for a few minutes. This morning was the first time I had actually lost it. I put it down to being so unaware, thrown straight into the situation without time to even wake up properly.

I unenthusiastically out the new shirt on and reached for the water bottle on the bedside table. I needed to wash the taste from my mouth before it made me sick again. I drunk half of the bottle and then put it back. My legs were aching, I really needed to get up for a walk about or they were going to start cramping.

"I need a piss" I yawned as I stood up, making sure to keep a hold on my stomach. I took a step and there was a weird pang of pain behind my eyes before a dull, hardly noticeable, ache set in right in the centre of my head.
"Need any help?" Louis asked.
"Nah..." I made my way over to the door, carefully avoiding my shirt.
I walked all the way to the bathroom and did my business before brushing my teeth to really get rid of the vomit taste. After throwing up I was pretty hungry, my stomach kept growling at me like some kind of pet I was supposed to feed.
I screwed my face up my reflection, I really needed a wash. Should I just get in the shower?

I huffed and turned on the water, deciding that it wouldn't cause any suspicions. Hopefully the steam would clear the random headache too.
I stripped off and got into the shower, humming as the hot water poured all over me. I shut my eyes and just stood there.

By the time I finally opened my eyes again my entire body was red like I'd been sunburned. I loved hot showers and I had a tendency to make it a little too hot and make myself look like a lobster. I washed my body and my hair super quick and then tumbled out of the shower, heavy from the heat. I turned the water off and dried off before getting back into my clothes.

After drying my hair as best I could I headed back for the bedroom only to find it empty. With a confused face I went searching, walking slow and pathetic in case anyone caught a glimpse of me. In the end I found everyone huddled in the kitchen. Niall was sitting on the floor against the counter with an old blanket over his shoulders while Louis buttered some toast and Liam poured four cups of juice.

"Morning, I heard you got a bit sick this earlier. Did the shower do you any good Haz?" Liam looked up, patting my shoulder as I plopped down beside Niall. He leaned his head onto my shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm feeling better" I smiled a little. I supposed it was time to start letting the 'sickness' go. Better late than never.

Louis sighed in relief, "thank god! After you threw up I was thinking today would be even more pukey than yesterday!"

My head twanged at the volume in his voice. It wasn't bad enough to warrant any change in facial expression, but I was still wary. If I had to make a guess on what the reason behind it was I would say karma.

"Maybe you should try showering too Ni, it might make your tummy less tight" Liam suggested with a caring look.
Niall shrugged, "I can try. Help me up..."
Liam tugged him onto his feet and he let the blanket fall on me. "You're gonna have to help out a bit Li, I don't think I can st-stand for long" he said, already swaying as he spoke. Liam chuckled, "course, come on."

"So..." Louis said, "you hungry?"

I shrugged, "a little."
I was starving really.

"Alright, how about we go sit on the couch to eat then? I'm sure it's a lot more comfortable than the floor you're on right now" Louis smiled and held out a hand to pull me up. My poor head, it had already gotten worse and I'd only been up an hour.

This time the jolting made me wince and Louis stopped still, "are you okay? The sink's just th-"
"No, I'm good. I have a headache" I admitted, rubbing at my forehead. At least I didn't have to feel bad for lying now. If I'd just waited one more day without faking then I wouldn't've had to do it at all, it seemed like I would've gotten a headache the next day anyway.
Typical karma.
Louis shoulders dropped in relief, "okay, let's go sit then. I'll find something to help after you're off your feet."
True to his word, he brought a few pain killers with breakfast when he returned. I gratefully downed them and thanked him accordingly before snuggling on the couch and munching on the dry toast. Although my throat was a little sore from throwing up it felt great to have something back in my stomach right up until I finished the first piece. Then it became all of a sudden very hard to make myself chew. It must've been the vomit smell, putting me off.
I distastefully it the plate on the coffee table and took the pills, relaxing back into the couch afterwards. Louis asked if I thought I could finish the other piece but I just shook my head, I wasn't hungry anymore anyway.

After half an hour I heard Niall and Liam in the kitchen and then a few minutes later they came into the lounge balancing a plate of toast each. Niall was in fresh clothes but even though he looked clean he didn't look refreshed. The poor guy was proper unwell, and here I was, suctioning attention from my friends like a leech.

Niall didn't seem very impressed with the toast, but he still managed to get down more than I did. Liam and Louis were pretty happy with him, even though he threw it all back up within the hour.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed when I caught myself completely zoned out, staring at a lone piece of fluff on the ground. I blinked and looked up to see credits rolling across the screen. Jesus, I guess I can sleep with my eyes open. Creepy.
I turned my head to see what else was going on and winced at the strengthened pain throbbing in my head. So much for pain killers then. I groaned and lowered my head down into my hands.

"How's the head Harry?" Louis asked, patting my back lightly.
"Worse..." I mumbled.

Louis pressed his hand against my forehead with a frown, humming to himself. "You might be warm... I can't really tell. I'm gonna go grab the thermometer."

Was I actually sick now? Because that would be the worst luck in the world.

"Lay down mate, it might help" Liam suggested, tucking a cushion behind my back. I sighed and awkwardly shuffled down into a horizontal position. The TV flickered and a new flash of pain bounced around in my skull, making me moan, "turn it off, please."

Liam nodded and obediently shut the TV off, turning a lamp on to light up the room dimly. I glanced over to Niall, noticing that I hadn't heard anything from him. He looked to be sound asleep.

Louis came back with the thermometer pretty quickly and after a a minute we had a reading that apparently was higher than normal.

I moaned and mentally slapped myself. It was just so typical and cliche, fake sick and then get sick. What goes around fucking comes around.

I covered my eyes with an arm to block out all the light behind my lids as I tried to just fall asleep. My head hurting way too bad to think or bother trying to stay awake.

A blanket was thrown over me and the quiet apology I muttered out was the last thing I remembered.

I woke for the second time today to the sound of Niall getting sick. This time I managed to slap a hand over my mouth before I could explode all over the lounge. I threw the blanket off and stood up to make a mad dash to the bathroom. I grunted in shock as the room tilted around me, making me feel like I was falling backwards. I blinked dizzily and stumbled forward. A gag made my mouth full up and my instincts switch into gear, propelling me all the way to the bathroom before the pain in my head and the dizziness could force me to my knees.

I closed my eyes and let loose. My headache was bad enough to almost distract me from the vomiting entirely. Every time I heaved or coughed the pain would shoot up and make my whole body spark.

"Harry, are you okay in there man?" Liam knocked on the door. Him and Louis mustn't've been in the lounge before.

I gritted my teeth and wiped my mouth with my sleeve. black and white pounded behind my eyes as I slipped down onto the floor, just wanting to get closer to the ground. It was nice and cool anyway.

"Hazza? What's going on?" Liam thumped on the door with his fist. The motion made the floor vibrate, and then in turn my head, making me feel like my brain was being tossed around. Not pleasant.

The door opened. "Oh my god, are you okay? Why are you on the ground?" Liam blurted worriedly, crouching down beside me. Straight away he was trying to peel me up off the ground and even though I definitely did not want to get up I didn't have it in me to fight him off.

Sitting up against the wall I knotted my shaking hands together and whimpered as Liam struggled to put me back together. Tugging my shirt over my head, cleaning my face with a cold cloth. I tried fruitlessly to whack his hands away.

"Let me help ya, idiot" Liam rolled his eyes. I groaned and dropped my head into my hands again. It was as if I could feel it thumping through my hands.

Next thing I know the bathroom door is flying open and slamming back against the wall. The sound echoed in my head and made my skin crawl as Niall staggered into the room. I held my hands over my ears as Niall threw up into the sink, gagging and coughing like crazy.

"Sorry, he wouldn't use the bowl!" Louis exclaimed loudly when he chased Niall into the bathroom. I flinched and Liam's hands covered mine protectively, "it's fine, just quieten or something? He's not handling sound too well."

"Oh, right. Sorry" Louis whispered sheepishly. I opened my eyes to shoot him a thankful smile.

Now if only someone would turn the damn light off.

Meanwhile Niall had managed to quit heaving and was instead beginning to undress, as if the three of us weren't even there. Louis was definitely weirded out as he grabbed onto Niall's pants, holding them up so that the blond couldn't pull them down.

"Mmmm, Louis...Stop..." Niall tried to pry Louis' hands away. He moved onto his top instead and Louis' hands changed positions to try and keep him clothed. Liam snorted, "Ni, what the fuck are you doing?"

Louis held Niall's top and sweats in one hand and Niall's wrists with other.

"Gettin' naked" Niall croaked casually, "if Louis will just let go..."

He squirmed and wriggled, almost falling flat on his face while the three of us tried to figure out what the hell was wrong with him. Louis touched his head and let out a sigh, "he's burning up."

Niall slapped his hand away, "geez, I just wanna show-shower" he hiccuped, making Louis quickly spin him back around to face the sink. Thankfully nothing came out, I had a feeling it would've tipped me over the edge again.

Louis groaned in frustration, "you only had to say that dumbass, maybe let us know before you start stripping next time?"

Niall nodded numbly and went back to wriggling out of his pants when Louis released his grip.

"Dude, wait til we leave!" Liam exclaimed, making me wince. He apologised and grabbed onto my arms before helping me up.

"Ugh, so dizzy..." I slurred, unsure if I was even getting the right words out. Liam forced a few mouthfuls of water down my throat before pretty much carrying me out of the bathroom while I swayed and tripped over mid-air like a drunk person. Louis followed, telling Niall he'd be waiting just behind the door and to call out if he needed anything.

Liam took me back to the bedroom where I just passed out as if I'd been switched off. My head hit the pillow and just like that, lights out. Although it went for hours on end, my sleep was anything but peaceful. Sick as a dog, squirming in pain and nausea while the bug streamed through my body, I had no choice but to just lay there even when I couldn't sleep any more.

Niall was practically one hundred percent by the next morning, the lucky arsehole. He was back to running around and being the excitable four year old he always was while I was left feeling awful for the next four days.

I didn't want to admit it, but I could see the fairness in it. I'd faked, and now I was paying for it. The attention and the time off wasn't even worth it.