Nate Archibald refused to believe he was sick.
Really, it was only a slight cold at the worst.
Well, he would have believed that if he hadn't leaned up, when his head begin to feel like it weighed fifty pounds, or the chills and aches that consumed his body, or the violent cough he suddenly let escape.
No, no, he couldn't be sick today.
He had promised her that he would accompany her to some art gallery that she had wanted to attend; then treat her dinner afterwards.
After all, it was her birthday today.
Nate groaned as he felt a wave of nausea overcome him. He quickly lay back down and closed his eyes. He opened them gently as it passed. He groggily felt around the table next to his bed for his cell phone, flipping it open and searching for her number, quickly dialing it.
"Hello?" he heard her voice ask.
"Happy Birthday, hun."
"Oh, thank you! What's up?"
"Babe, I'm sorry but…"
He explained his plight to her; knowing that he would soon hear the disappointment in her voice. Expecting her to be angry, he closed his eyes.
"Well, what do you want me to bring over?"
He was stunned. It was her birthday, and she wanted to come over and see him?
"What?" he asked. "Wouldn't you rather go spend your birthday doing something fun?"
He heard her laugh. "The whole point of this day was spending time with you."
"Well, yeah, but I'm sick." He answered.
"So? I'll come over and be your nurse for the day." She replied.
Nate was flabbergasted. "No, sweetie, I want you to have fun on your birthday, not having to sit around all day with your sick boyfriend."
She chuckled again. "Nate, I could care less what we do today. I just want to be with you. And besides, your mom is out of town so there's no one to take care of you. Now, what kinds of soup do you like better, tomato or chicken noodle?"
Nate just had to smile. Truly, he had the best girlfriend in the world.
"Uh, tomato." He said.
"Okay, good, cause I wanted the chicken noodle for myself." She laughed.
He laughed softly with her. "Um, yeah, there's your birthday present." He said sarcastically.
"Ooh, wow, what a great one." She said with equal sarcasm.
He smiled. "Nah, I got something way better for you when you get here."
She sighed. "Please, Nate, I hope you didn't get something huge. I don't need expensive presents."
He smiled again. "Well, I think you'll like it."
"Being with you is the best present in the world. No money could ever compare." She said. "Okay, well, I'm almost to your place now. I'm just going to stop and rent some movies and then I'll be over."
"Okay, are you sure?" Nate asked.
"I'm positive." She said. "I love you."
"I love you, too." He replied.
They said their goodbyes and Nate just about collapsed on his bed again. He tried to get up and stumbled into the bathroom, splashing cold water on his face. It didn't really help. He felt another wave of nausea coming; stronger than the first. He leaned over the sink and tried to wait for it to pass. Much to his disgust, he vomited into the sink. When it was finished, he just stood there for a moment; completely grossed out. He washed out the sink, feeling sick again at the sight of what was in it. He brushed his teeth to try to get rid of the nasty taste in his mouth. He looked around the bathroom hurriedly for the air freshener. Were had the maid put it yesterday? He searched everywhere.
Great, he thought to himself, now she can see me sick and have to smell it too! And on her friggin birthday of all days!
Moving around so much had caused him to be dizzy; so he lay back down quickly, for he feared he might pass out. He felt like a terrible boyfriend. He had wanted to make their first real special occasion as boyfriend and girlfriend memorable, but so far it was going terribly. He heard a small knock at the door. He nervously got up, and looked at his sweat stained clothes he had worn to bed. Crap, he had forgotten to change his clothes!
Well it was too late now. She was here. He slowly walked to the door and opened it.
"Hey sweetie." She smiled as she walked in. She had stood up to kiss him; but he pulled back. She looked at him confused.
"Hun, I don't want you to get sick." He said.
She rolled her eyes. "I've probably had every illness known to mankind, what do you possibly think could stop me now?"
She pressed her lips against his, and he was thankful that he had managed to brush his teeth at least.
She crinkled up her nose.
"Babe, what's that smell?" she asked.
"Uh, er, nothing." He lied.
She looked at him sympathetically. "Oh, did you get sick?"
"No!" he protested.
She gave him a "yeah, right" look.
"Okay, maybe I did…." He said, looking at his feet.
She put a hand up to his forehead. Her eyes widened.
"Oh, my god, Nate, your burning up!" she said. "Come on, you need to lie down."
She looked at his clothes.
"Er. Maybe a change of clothes will make you feel better." She said.
She led him to his room, ordering him to lie down while she picked out some clothes for him to wear. "Strip." She ordered, and then turned red after hearing the word come out.
Nate laughed. "Hmm, a strip tease for your happy birthday?"
Her face turned an even deeper shade of red. "Just give me your top, smart-ass."
He took it off teasingly (A/N whoo-hoo!) and tossed it to her. She was about to put it in the laundry basket when she caught its stench.
"Um, maybe a shower would do better first." She said.
She walked over to his bed, gently helping him up. He clutched to her dizzily.
"Just yell at me if something happens, okay?" she asked.
He smirked at her. "I would feel so much better if you showered with me."
She grinned at him. "Aw, too bad I took my shower this morning. Now shut up and get it there, stinky."
He laughed and she threw clean clothes at him. He showered quickly, partly due to the fact that she was here and partly because he was so dizzy. He dried off and put on his clothes, when he was grappled with dizziness and dropped to his knees on the bathroom floor. He called her name and she rushed in, helping him up and to the couch.
She wiped some loose strands of his dark blonde hair off his forehead.
"You okay?" she asked eyes full of concern.
He smiled at her warmly. "I'm fine, sweetheart."
She eased off him ever so slightly. "Good." She said, relieved. "Here, I rented some movies, which ones sound good to you?"
He looked at them. "Babe, you pick. It's your birthday."
"Hmm." She said, looking at the choices. "Knocked Up, that's a good one."
Nate smiled. "Ah, love that one."
She smiled and popped it in the DVD player.
"Are you hungry?" she asked, showing him the can of soup.
Nate's stomach felt queasy at the sight of it. "No, thanks, hun, maybe later?"
She looked at him. "You have to get something in your stomach."
He knew that she wasn't the kind to give up a fight so finally he agreed to drink some juice. She curled up next to him on the couch. He stroked her hair and occasionally kissed her head. They laughed the whole way through, Nate repeating almost the whole movie.
"God, you really do love this movie, don't you?" she asked him.
He laughed. "Of course, Seth's the man! Anything he does is so freaking funny!"
She laughed. "Well, I think the message of the story is really cute."
He looked at her questioningly. "The message?"
"Well, yeah." She said. "The movie proves that even if you come from two totally different backgrounds, even if your polar opposites, you can always find true love."
He laughed. "How do you know this really happens in real life?"
She was quiet for a moment. "Well, look at us."
He looked at her. At the girl he was so madly in love with, who everyone in his whole life had pretty much disapproved of him dating her, and realized that she was right
He smiled. "This kind of is like our story, isn't it?"
She snickered. "Yeah, I must say, you and Katherine Heigl have quite the resemblance."
"Yeah, so do you and Seth Rogen." He replied.
She opened her mouth, pretending to be highly offended while he laughed.
"You!" she picked up a pillow and began to smack him lightly with it.
"Hey, sick guy over here!" he said, putting up his hands to defend himself.
"Oh, who cares?" she teased him. "It's my birthday; I'll do as I please!"
When she said those words, suddenly he remembered.
"Wait here, sweetie, I'll get you your present." He said, getting up slowly.
He walked into his bedroom and walked out, hiding something behind his back.
He sat back down next to her. "Well, first of all, I owe you dinner and the art gallery. I had been planning on doing this over dinner, but, I figure I might as well do it now…"
He pulled out a small box from behind his back.
She looked at him wide-eyed as she slowly opened the box.
She gasped. "Nate, it's your mother's ring."
"Yeah." He said softly. "I want you to have it."
She looked at him in shock. "Are you sure? "
"Absolutely." He said
She placed it on her ring finger. It was a perfect fit.
"Oh, Nate…" she said softly.
He hugged her gently and she kissed him on the head.
He went and sat down again. They were quiet for a few moments until she spoke up.
"How are you feeling?" she asked.
"My head still hurts but everything else is feeling a little better…" he said.
"Good…" she said softly.
"I'm still sorry that I got sick on your birthday." He said.
"Its okay, Nate. Today was perfect." She said, looking at the ring.
She kissed him gently. "I love you, Nate."
"I love you, too, Vanessa."
"The only thing we have to decide is if were gonna be crypts or bloods before we get there."
"Well I look good in red."
"I look good in blue! The fighting continues!"
-Knocked Up
A/N
So could you guess who Nate's girlfriend was during the story? I love Nate/Vanessa, so cute; I hope that Catherine lady falls off a cliff lol! Well this is my first Gossip Girl fan fiction, so I know it wasn't really that good. Please review! Constructive criticism is always welcomed and appreciated! Thanks for reading!