When Marc had pictured a class trip to a pristine old-style manor house he hadn't pictured himself being sick at the same time. No, believe it or not Marc pictured an interesting day out with an opportunity to take pictures and notes he would later use for writing references.
So when he woke up the morning of the trip and had a splitting headache the internal debate had started up. In the end the side that was pushing him to go won and he dragged himself out of bed and prepared to act his ass off pretending he was as good as ever.
Surviving the coach trip had been easy, he allowed himself to nap and felt a little better by the time the coach pulled up in front of the house. It was once the tour began that he started to regret his decision.
The camera flashes were too bright, the mix of voices too loud, the air just too simultaneously hot and cold. To sum up, Marc was miserable. Even looking at his camera screen was enough to make his head feel like an axe was being thrown at it.
"And here we have the master bedroom-" Marc tuned out again as the tour guide warbled out the well rehearsed script with fake enthusiasm. Marc allowed his eyes to trail around the room in fake interest, intentionally avoiding looking at the window.
Nathaniel was a constant presence beside Marc and Marc could practically feel the redhead's eyes burning holes in his head. Marc thought he had been doing pretty well at acting like he didn't feel awful but the way Nath kept throwing him glances made him think otherwise.
The room suddenly tilted slightly and Marc had to adjust his stance to prevent falling over himself, Nathaniel's hand making contact with Marc's shoulder in the same instant, worried eyes now inches from Marc. Marc quickly glanced around at the rest of the tour group, thankful when he found that no one from either his or Nathaniel's class had noticed Marc's sudden dizzy spell.
"Are you alright?" Nathaniel asked quietly enough to not draw attention, hand remaining on Marc's shoulder to keep him stable.
Marc nodded, flinching slightly as the world tilted again. He quickly straightened his stance so he was no longer leaning on Nathaniel, being sure to flash the other a resasuting smile before pretending to tune back into the tour.
Marc wasn't too keen on the idea of having to follow the tour guide around the remainder of the house, and his head almost exploded when they entered the echoing basement. But somehow he made it to the free time part of the day.
He planned to spend the entirety of the free time on the front steps the the house, waiting for the bus with his sunglasses over his eyes and coat around his shoulders. It was spring so justifying wearing both at the same time would be easy right?
Hi plans were dashed, however, by Nathaniel sitting next to him and fixing him with a concerned stare. Nathaniel remained silent, just keeping his eyes locked on Marc who tried his best to ignore it. Emphasis on tried.
"What?" Marc asked at last, turning to face Nathaniel head on.
"You look really pale." Nathaniel stated simply, tilting his head like a confused puppy.
"I always look pale, I rarely go outside." Marc pointed out quietly, turning his attention to his feet.
Nathaniel seemed to take that as an invitation to put is hand on Marc's forehead and hiss through his teeth as he pulled away "Your forehead is boiling! Marc, you're sick! Why are you here?"
"I've been looking forward to this for ages, I didn't want to miss it." Marc huffed, admitting defeat. Honestly, how could this boy see through an act his own parents fell for?
"Marc, this place is like an hour from Paris," Nathaniel exclaimed "you could so easily come here during the holidays or on a weekend! You shouldn't be here when you're ill, it might make things worse."
"Sorry," Marc whispered.
"Don't apologise, just don't do it again." Nathaniel demanded before taking Marc's hand in his own and standing up.
"What are you doing?" Marc asked, allowing Nathaniel to pull him to his feet.
"Going somewhere better than out here in direct sunlight and view of everyone. Come on." Nathaniel explained before carefully pulling Marc towards the gardens.
Marc put up no fight as Nathaniel lead him towards a long hedge row with a small break in and an open gate. Nathaniel must have scouted the place out before he came to grab Marc because the place was perfect. The tall hedges that surrounded them on all sides provided adequate shadows to effectively lessen Marc's splitting head, and the fountain in the centre providing a white noise that didn't over stimulate his headache. The bench Nathaniel had pulled them over too was in a nice quiet corner by the raised flower bed.
"Here," Nathaniel started, sitting down on the bench and using their entwined hands to pull Marc to sit next to him "We're out of the way here, it should be quiet enough for you to nap before the bus gets here."
"Thanks Nath," Marc smiled, leaning against Nathaniel's shoulder and giving his hand a squeeze before allowing himself to fall asleep.
When Marc woke up a while later he was too out of it to realise Nathaniel's hand was still holding his. He also failed to notice the red flower that had been tucked behind his ear until he got home and saw it in the bathroom mirror.
At least he could blame the heat in his cheeks on the fever.