Monday morning and Kendall was among the minority of the population who actually looked forward to said time of the week. Most people despised this particular morning since it was the start of a brand new week but more importantly the end of the weekend. For Kendall, it was just that but a whole lot more. The end of the weekend, the first day back to school meant that he would get to see James again. After a whole day apart (James' mom insisting they spend Sundays together as a family), Kendall was looking forward to seeing, holding and kissing his boyfriend again. A day was far too long to spend away from each other.
Even though, he rolled out of bed far too early that morning and yet, he still felt refreshed and awake. Just the thought of seeing James put him in a great mood. After a quick shower, he returned to his room and threw on some skinny jeans and a flannel button up. He dabbed on some of James' favorite cologne and headed downstairs to get his shoes and backpack. Grabbing his keys, he yelled his departure to his mom in the kitchen then headed out the door.
After plugging in his iPod and setting it to a playlist of his favorite bands (most Taking Back Sunday and Incubus), he made his way towards James' house, a smile on his face the entire way there. Shutting off his car, he pocketed his keys and jogged up to James' front door, knocking firmly on it. He tried to hide the shudder that racked his body when James' mom opened the door. The woman was a little more than intimidating and even after two years of dating and almost a lifetime of friendship, he was still slightly frightened by the other woman.
"Hey Ms. Diamond," he greeted cheerfully anyways. "Is James ready yet?"
"I don't think he's going to make it today Kendall," the woman replied, her arms crossed over her chest. "He's been in the bathroom all morning puking his guts up. My poor baby."
"Can I go check on him?" Kendall asked, concern clearly written all over his face.
James' mom nodded and stepped aside, allowing her son's boyfriend to step inside. Kendall made his way upstairs to James' bathroom, softly rapping his knuckles against the door. He pushed it open after his only answer was a muffled moan, quietly stepping into the bathroom. His heart ached when he saw James kneeling in front of the toilet, looking absolutely miserable. His heart was pushed back, glasses resting on the bridge of his nose. His forearm was resting against the far edge of the toilet bowl, his head resting down on that. Kendall cringed as his boyfriend's body lurched forward, emptying whatever was left in his stomach.
"How're you feelin' babe?" he said softly, crouching down beside the other boy, rubbing his hand up and down his back in a hopefully soothing manner.
James' head rolled to the side on his arm so that he was looking up at his boyfriend. His eyes were half-lidded, struggling to remain open. A miserable moan was the only sound of response he got from the other boy.
"I'm guessing you're staying home today then," Kendall assumed gently, continuing to run his hand along James' back, slipping it underneath his shirt, stroking the warm skin underneath.
James whimpered, making the slightest effort to shake his head. "I can't," he murmured, confliction evident in his voice. "I have a test today in history and hockey practice after school."
"Jamesy," the blond chuckled, "I'm sure you can make up the test and it's okay if you miss one hockey practice."
"No, I can't," the brunette almost whined, breathing rushed and ragged. "You know Mr. Wilson, no make ups and we have that game against Duluth that we need to train for."
"You're in no condition," Kendall sighed, pushing James' hair back, combing his fingers through it.
"I'm fine," James whispered, slowly pushing himself away from the toilet and shakily pushing himself onto his feet. Kendall was right beside him to catch him as he swayed, head pounding as the world spun beneath his feet.
"James," Kendall tried to persist but James immediately cut him off.
"I'm fine," he insisted weakly, taking a careful step towards his room. With Kendall's help, he made his way towards his bedroom and picked out some clothes for the day. Leaning against his dresser, he brought his hand to cover his mouth, biting back onto wave of nausea.
Kendall absolutely hated seeing his boyfriend like this but there was nothing he could do to change his mind. James was strong-headed and determined. Much like his mother, he'd get anything he wanted one way or another so Kendall figured it was pointless to argue any further. Instead, he decided to just help the other boy however he could. He especially didn't mind helping James get dressed that morning. And as he helped James tug on his long sleeve shirt, he couldn't help but brush his lips against James' forehead, noticing how warm his skin felt.
Once they were finally ready, Kendall resisted the strong urge to pick James up and carry him out to the car. Instead, he wrapped his arm around James' waist, letting the other boy lean against him as they slowly made their way down to his car. Kendall could tel already that it was going to be one of those days.
Luckily, by the time lunch rolled around, James' nausea seemed to just disappear. He wasn't dizzy anymore and he no longer felt the need to puke his guts out. The rest of the day seemed to fly by after that and before they knew it, they were both at hockey practice. Kendall was a little worried that James' illness would come back but he tried to just focus on the scrimmage game they were playing.
James had no clue what had caused his violent illness that morning but he was feeling much now and was extremely happy with the fact. He was so glad that he was feeling better, feeling less stressed and worried about his hectic day. Now all he had to do was get through hockey practice and he could rest at home with his boyfriend. He had never been more relieved to hear their coach announce their last scrimmage round before practice was over.
From across the ice, he smiled over at Kendall, as if silently communicating their plans after practice. Kendall winked at his boyfriend, as if agreeing with James' silent suggestions. Before this moment could go any further though, it was abruptly and harshly interrupted as a teammate tackled James to the side, slamming him against the boards with a hard thud. It wasn't as if this was the first time this had happened, it wasn't as if it was the hundredth time it had happened. This was almost a daily occurrence in hockey and James had gotten use to the pain that accompanied it.
But as James slid to the ground, he couldn't help but note that the stabbing pain in his stomach was not normal. He clenched his teeth, face contorted in pain as he tried his hardest to breathe through it. Mere seconds later, he could hear Kendall yelling his name and rushing over to his side. With shaky hands, the blond boy removed his helmet, brushing back his sweaty bangs. Their whole team was crowding around him now, questioning, worried stares cast down at him.
"Kendy," James practically sobbed, arms clutching his stomach, lips quivering with a pained whimper. "Fuck, it hurts."
And the last thing James remembered was hearing Kendall screaming for someone to call 911 and his shaky fingers brushing over his forehead. "Everything's gonna be okay baby."
Right before his eyes slipped shut, he could only hope that was true.
A/N: I swear that was the most cliched cliff-hanger but oh well. I was totally going to divide the chapters differently but I figured this was a good stopping point and I didn't want to divulge too much of the story too early. Next chapter is when things start getting really fun.
Such speedy updates are rare but I was just blown away at the response to this so it kinda got my pumped to write another chapter. Hint hint. Just sayin'.