-Day One-
Leon sat on the couch in the living room, watching TV. He glanced up at the clock and sighed. Claire should've been up by now, complaining about the dishes piling up and the apartment being a mess, which it wasn't but she was just that picky.
He sighed again and turned off the TV, nearly jumping when the black screen showed the reflection of someone standing behind him. He turned around and saw Claire, seemingly half asleep. "Well, good morning," he said.
Claire stood there staring blankly at him. He noticed her eyes were red with dark circles, and her face looked pale to the point of nearly being grey. She started walking around the couch, dragging her feet and mumbling something.
Leon stood up, watching her. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked. Claire looked up at him and started dragging herself towards him. Leon had seen this before, and instantly knew what was going on. "Okay, just...stay away from me," he said. Claire kept walking towards him. He could hear a scratching noise every time she took a deep breath, and it scared him. "Seriously, Claire, don't come any closer!" he said.
Claire extended her arms and reached for him. Leon blinked and acted quickly, grabbing her arm, turning it behind her back, and pushing her in the direction of her bedroom. He was careful not to knock her off balance as he pulled the door open, pushed her inside, and shut it. He then sat down in front of the door, glad that it opened from the outside for some reason.
Behind him, Claire started pounding on the door. "Leon!" she yelled. "Hey, let me out!"
"No! You're sick and there's no way I'm catching it!" he said.
"It's not that bad, I was just kidding around! Come on, you dick, open the..," she stopped yelling and he could hear her cough.
"Not that bad my ass! Sorry, but you're quarantined until I can figure something out," he said.
Claire kept banging on the door. "Leon, if you don't open the door right now, I'll jump out the damn window then come back in and kick your ass!" she said.
"We're on the fifth floor, dumbass," said Leon. He listened closely and heard her walking around in her room. Perfect, he thought. He got up and ran to the couch, grabbed the side and pulled it towards her room. He pushed it until it was blocking the door completely, and sighed. "Sorry, Claire, but I really don't want your cold," he said. He saw the doorknob turning then heard her pushing on the door.
"You're so dead!" said Claire.
Leon pulled out his cell phone and dialled quickly. After only two rings, Chris picked up.
"What is it?" asked Chris.
He always knew something was wrong if Leon was calling him. "It's Claire...she's sick and I don't know what to do," he said.
Chris gasped. "Sick? How sick? What happened?" he asked, sounding panicked.
"Relax, it's just a cold. I just don't want to catch it, so I thought that maybe you could come pick her up and have her stay at your place for a bit?" asked Leon.
He heard Chris sigh, probably relieved. "I don't think so, Leon...I'd rather you catch it then me, and I'm sure Jill agrees," he said.
"But she looks like a damn zombie!" said Leon. "And if I let her out she'll probably kill me!"
"Let her out? You know, I really don't wanna know what you mean by that..." said Chris. "Just make sure she drinks water, gets meds, and has a lot of rest. I'll stop by tomorrow and see how she's holding up, and if you're still alive then we won't have to worry about anything."
Leon sighed. "Thanks for the help, dude," he said as he hung up. He looked back up to Claire's door, and decided to walk over and sit on the couch. "Still alive in there?" he asked.
"Yeah...I really have to pee, though," she said.
Leon looked around, panicked. He hadn't thought of that, and now there was only one option; he had to let her out. "Okay, I'll let you out, but only if you promise not to come near me...I really don't want your cold," he said.
There was a silence before Claire responded. "Okay, I promise," she said.
Leon sighed. "I'll move the couch and go across the room...don't open the door until I tell you," he said. He grabbed the side of the couch and pulled it away from the door, then ran to the other side of the living room and stood against a wall. "Okay, go!" he yelled. He stared at the door, but it never opened. "Claire? You can go now..." he said, taking a step closer. Still, the door didn't open. He listened carefully but couldn't hear a thing. "Shit," he said as he ran towards the door and pulled it open.
"GOTCHA!" yelled Claire. She jumped into him and kissed him, arms wrapped around his neck so he couldn't move away.
Leon was caught off guard and fell back, pulling her with him. His back hit the floor, and he managed to push her off and roll away. He quickly got up into a crouch and looked at her.
Claire was grinning playfully. "Sorry Leon, but if I'm sick I'm taking you down with me!" she said.
"I hate you," he said as he got up. He walked over and helped her up, then sighed. "Next time, remind me not to let you out," he said.
Claire laughed and headed for the bathroom, coughing. Leon sat on the couch, rubbing his head. Why couldn't she just have killed me? He thought.
-Day Two-
Chris knocked on the door for the third time, sighing. He saw Leon's car parked in the lot, with the Harley right next to it, so unless they went for a walk someone should be there. As much as he hated it, he'd have to use the key Claire had given him when she'd first moved in...
"Just for emergencies, though...like, if I lose mine, or you suspect that I'm dying," Claire had said.
"I know, why else would I use it?" he'd told her.
"Chris, it's not that I don't trust you when it comes to respecting my privacy or anything...I'm just saying, make sure you only use it in case of an emergency," she'd said.
"Well then I hope I never need to use it," Chris had said with a smile...
Chris shook his head, shaking away the memory. This could be considered an emergency, since nobody was answering the door when he'd knocked. It meant either something bad happened, or nobody was home, in which case Claire wouldn't even know he'd gone in.
He took out his key and opened the door, poking his head inside. "Hello?" he called out. There was no response, so he walked in and shut the door behind him. "You guys in here?" he asked. Still, nobody responded. He took off his shoes and noticed two pairs on the rack. This is weird, he thought.
He heard a cough coming from Claire's bedroom, and started towards it slowly. He took the handle and pulled the door opened slowly, peering inside. He saw his sister wrapped up in a duvet blanket with only her face showing. She was staring down at nothing, apparently unaware that the door had opened.
Chris walked into the room and sat on the bed next to her, putting his hand on her back. "Hey, you okay in there?" he asked.
Claire turned her head slowly and looked at him. Her eyes were red with bags under them, like she hadn't slept in days. She had no color and her expression was completely blank.
"I take it you're still sick, then?" asked Chris. Claire went to speak but turned her head and coughed. Chris patted her on the back and sighed. "So where's Leon?" he asked.
"Dunno," said Claire. She toppled over with her head leaning on his chest.
"Did you kill him?" asked Chris, grinning.
"Maybe," she said.
Just then, Claire's door open and Leon stood in the frame, wrapped in his own blanket, with the same blank expression Claire had. "Oh, it's you..." he said to Chris.
"Gee, thanks. Are you sick too?" Chris asked. He grinned when Leon nodded. "Wow, you must have the worst immune system in the world to get sick in so little time," he said.
Leon glared at Claire. "I had help," he said.
Claire mumbled something, and Chris looked at her in confusion, then back to Leon. "What exactly did I miss yesterday?" he asked.
"I told her to stay away from me, but she didn't listen. She purposely got me sick!" whined Leon.
"I'm sure she didn't mean to," said Chris, looking back down to Claire. Her bangs were covering her face, so Chris brushed them out of the way and tucked them behind her ear. He grinned, realizing she'd fallen asleep.
"Yes she did, and if you stay near her you'll probably get sick too," said Leon.
Chris looked back up to him. "Actually, she used to get sick a lot growing up, and I never caught it from her. So, sorry to disappoint you, but it looks like it's just the two of you on this cold," he said.
-Day Three-
Jill knocked on the apartment door impatiently. Chris had been an hour late for brunch, and he wasn't answering his phone calls. She stared at the door, wondering if he was even home. She sighed and checked down the hallway with a grin. Clear, she thought. She reached back into her backpack and pulled out a small pouch, which contained her lock picks. She pulled one out and started on the lock. It was pretty simple, and didn't even take two minutes before she was inside the apartment.
"Chris?" she called out.
"In here," said Chris, his voice coming from the bathroom.
Jill headed over and opened the door slightly, peering inside. Chris was sitting in the bathtub with his legs hanging over the side. There was no water in the bath, and he was wearing boxers and a t-shirt. Jill would've looked away, but this was too funny to miss out. "So, you missed brunch to lounge in your bath, huh?" she said.
Chris looked at her and blinked. "Brunch? Oh shit, that was today..." he said, his voice scratching.
Jill's smile faded. "Are you sick?" she asked.
He shook his head. "Yeah," he said.
"And you're in the bath tub," she said.
Chris shook his head again. "I don't know why, though," he said.
"And you have Hello Kitty boxers," said Jill, her grin reappearing. Chris looked down and Jill swore she saw a bit of red hit his cheeks. "That says a lot about a guy," she added.
"I'm sick, don't make fun of me," said Chris. "Can you stick around today?"
Jill shook her head. "There's no way I'm catching this thing. Take care of that cold, Chris," she said, turning around.
"Wait, where are you going?" he asked.
Jill laughed. "To tell everyone we know about the Hello Kitty," she said. Before Chris could protest, she ran from the bathroom and left the apartment, cell phone in hand. If everyone's getting sick, there's no way I'm going near them, she thought.
