Sick Leave

Jack slipped out of bed, just waking up. It was freezing. The previous weather had been cold, but he never expected snow. Wrapping one of Carly's blankets around him, he entered Carly's kitchen. She was fully dressed and was microwaving two ramen cups.

"Ramen for breakfast?" Jack asked, walking closer to Carly. She turned to him and he raised his eyebrows. Her face was sweaty and pale, her nose was red and runny, and her big, bare eyes were lacking a little of their usual shine. "I don't want to eat that. Who eats ramen for breakfast?"

"I'm late for work. I'm in a hurry," she explained hurriedly. "I-"

Suddenly, her cheeks bulged and she turned to the kitchen sink. Leaning over it, she began retching horribly. Jack covered his nose and mouth with the blanket, shielding himself from any smells. It was obvious to Jack that Carly was ill - probably some stomach flu. Carly's body looked limp and weak. Her face radiated nausea as she began to fall. Jack caught her just as the microwave dinged.

"Ugh, I've got to get to work," Carly groaned, feebly holding onto Jack. He shook his head firmly.

"Don't be stupid. You're sick!" Carly shook her own head just as firmly as he had.

"I can't just skip out! I need money! Plus I've used up all of my vacation days. I can't just..." Carly rambled on, listing many reasons why she couldn't stay at home. Jack stared at her.

This was one of the few times he had ever felt bad for another person. Sitting in front of him was an ill, blameless, responsibility burdened young women who had to make herself go to work when she was obviously in no state to. Looking into Carly's eyes, he became aware that he couldn't leave Carly to be in charge of herself in this situation because she'd surely make a wrong decision.

"Shut up," he silenced, wriggling out of his blanket and draping it around Carly's shoulders. She stopped talking and looked up at Jack. "Can you stand?" She tried, failed, then gasped when she was unexpectedly swept up into Jack's arms. He carried her back to her room and carefully placed her on her bed.

"My boss is going to kill me," she sighed, accepting that she was staying home. Jack brought out several other blankets from her closet.

"Forget him. If he does anything, I'll call him up personally." Carly flashed a small smile as Jack layered the blankets on top of her.

"Jack," she said when he had finished. He turned to her, his concentrated eyes softening when they met hers. "Thank you." He nodded curtly before exiting the room to get their breakfast.

Carly was left alone with her thoughts. For such a long time, she had obsessed over Jack Atlas - the celebrity - because of his stunning looks, witty comebacks, and snappy attitude. His looks hadn't changed at all - nor the witty comebacks - but his attitude had completely flipped. Jack Atlas - now the commoner - was more mundane, empathetic, and sympathetic. That right there was why Carly liked him. The time they were spending together was teaching him how to be kinder, and she appreciated it so much.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by a strange feeling in her stomach. "Jack!" she called, throwing the blankets off her. She ran out of her room, heading for the bathroom, but ran into something hard. Without warning, she vomited.

"Ah, Carly!" Jack's voice yelled. Carly opened her closed eyes, and saw Jack with vomit covering his sweatshirt and the upper portion of his sweatpants. "Could you just keep that stuff down for a second?"

"I'm sorry, I-"

"You what, Carly?" he interrupted. "Just go lie down!"

Carly didn't mean to start crying, but she did. Jack exhaled - realizing what he'd done - and apologized, but she held up a hand. "No. It's okay. You're just being you, that's it."

She grabbed the bathroom trashcan before entering her room again - this time, closing the door behind her. Jack sighed, slipping out of his sweatshirt and pants. He opened Carly's door slowly and stepped inside. Carly was under all the blankets, covered from view. Jack quickly got some new clothes and left the room.

When the door closed, Carly sat up. She wiped her eyes. She hated being fooled or tricked. Whenever she'd find out one of her Fortune Cards didn't work, she'd flush them down the toilet. If only she could do the same with Jack. He hadn't changed at all! If anything, he was even uglier than before, his witty comebacks were stupid, and his attitude was the exact same. Shaking her head, Carly collapsed into her pillow - feeling sicker than before.