Aubrey frowned at her phone.

[Stacie 11:41]: Can't go to rehearsal. Sick.

Her first reaction was worry. She really hoped Stacie was okay, and she appreciated her skipping rehearsal if she was contagious. She preferred she missed one or two rehearsals, over all of them ending up catching whatever she had. But when she got to rehearsal she started to get suspicious.

She was getting ready to start when Cynthia Rose asked, "Where's Stacie?"

"She's sick, she sent me a text."

Fat Amy snorted. "Did she say sick or bedridden? Because she's in bed a lot."

"She said sick. And I want to believe none of you would lie to me just to skip rehearsal." She gave them a pointed look and everyone nodded. "Now, if you're done, I would like to start on time for once."

Everyone acquiesced and rehearsal went on as normal as it could without one of them, but the rest of the girls kept making jokes about Stacie faking being sick to skip rehearsal, which only fed Aubrey's suspicions.

She kept thinking about it on the walk back to her apartment with Chloe. She really wanted to believe Stacie hadn't lied to her. It wasn't like they were friends or anything, but they were friendly. She stopped at the steps that led up to their building, making Chloe turn back and arch an eyebrow at her.

"I'm gonna go check on Stacie in case she needs something, maybe get her some chicken soup."

Chloe's other eyebrow raised in surprise. "Are you really concerned or do you want to make sure she didn't lie?"

Aubrey smiled sheepishly. "Both?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Fine, but if you get sick too, you can't come back to the apartment."

Stacie whimpered softly. She felt terrible; her nose was stuffy, her head was throbbing, her throat was sore and scratchy, and she was sure she had a fever. She was perfectly fine the previous day, she didn't get how she'd gotten this sick this fast.

She had thought about going to the student clinic but the thought of leaving her room made her want to cry. She was tangled in her favorite, softest blanket, curled up in the middle of her bed with the tissue overflowed trash can next to it.

She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around herself. She hated feeling this way.

There was a knock on her door and she scowled. She wasn't going to get up for whoever that was, they could write a note on her board if they needed anything.

They knocked again and Stacie pulled a pillow over her head to drown them out.

"Stacie, open the door!" Aubrey's voice pierced through the pillow muffler.

Stacie lifted her head, knowing Aubrey wouldn't just leave a note, and, with great effort, scooted to the edge of the bed. She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and stood up a little bit shakily, making her way to the door.

Aubrey knocked again.

"I'm coming." She knew Aubrey probably hadn't heard her but she couldn't raise her voice too much. She opened the door and leaned on it. "What?"

Aubrey bit her lip trying to not laugh at Stacie's disheveled state. She was relieved Stacie hadn't lied but, "You look terrible."

Stacie scoffed. "Thanks. Is that all?"

Aubrey seemed to remember the container in her hand and lifted it with a sympathetic smile. "I brought you soup."

Stacie hesitated before smiling at her. She reached out shakily. "Thanks, Bree. You didn't have to."

Aubrey thought about just giving her the soup and leaving but she really didn't look well, so instead she took her hand and led her inside. "Come on, get back in bed."

Stacie didn't have the energy to fight Aubrey so she let herself be led back to bed. Stacie's hand felt clammy in Aubrey's.

Aubrey sat her down on the bed and put the soup on the nightstand. Stacie lay down immediately, pulling the blanket around herself and Aubrey chuckled.

She brushed back Stacie's hair away from her forehead and frowned. "You're burning up." Stacie nodded and Aubrey rolled her eyes. "It's not going to get better with that blanket."

Aubrey pulled the blanket away from Stacie and she whimpered. "But I'm cold."

"I know, but you need to take it off for a while." Aubrey folded the blanket and went into the bathroom, damping a hand towel and returning to the bed. She sat down next to Stacie and pressed the towel to her forehead. "How's that?"

"Cold."

"It's just until your fever goes down. Have you taken anything?"

Stacie pointed at a bottle of Tylenol on her nightstand. "I took that a bit ago."

"It should start working soon." She cupped Stacie's cheek and brushed her thumb soothingly over her jaw. "Is your shirt too warm?"

Stacie opened one eye and looked up at Aubrey. "Are you trying to get me out of my shirt?"

Aubrey rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to get you to feel better." She leaned forward and lifted the side of Stacie's shirt, pressing her hand to her skin. "You're not that hot."

"I'm smoking hot." Stacie mumbled. "And at least buy me dinner first."

"I did bring you soup."

Stacie smiled. "You did."

Aubrey looked at the state of Stacie's bed for the first time. The sheets were all tangled and there was a mountain of pillows and cushions spilling over the side of the bed. "Why do you have so many pillows?"

Stacie moved closer and rested her head on Aubrey's thigh. "It's my hospital."

Aubrey wiped her forehead with the towel and flipped it over. "Your what?"

"When I got sick and skipped school, my mom used to make a pillow fort hospital, she said it would help me get better faster." Stacie shrugged. "I tried to make one but it collapsed."

Aubrey smiled down at her, brushing her fingers down her hair. "Are you still cold?"

Stacie nodded. "A little bit."

Aubrey adjusted the towel again, her fingers combing through Stacie's hair steadily. "Sleep."

Stacie woke up an hour later feeling a lot better. Her head didn't hurt as much anymore, and while she still couldn't breathe normally, and her throat was still sore, the general feeling of discomfort was gone. She blinked her eyes open, frowning when she noticed the room was darker than before, and the ceiling looked closer.

She felt the bed shift and Aubrey's face appeared in front of her. "Are you feeling better?"

Stacie frowned. For a second she had thought Aubrey had been a fever induced dream, but she was there. "Yeah."

Aubrey smiled widely. "That's great!" Aubrey dropped down next to Stacie and reached up to touch her forehead. "Your fever's gone."

Stacie rolled over to face her. "You didn't have to stay."

Aubrey shrugged. She had felt guilty for thinking Stacie had been lying so she had stayed. "I wanted to make sure you were okay." She turned to her back and pointed up. "Look."

Stacie turned her head and noticed they were inside what looked like a small, soft igloo. Stacie grinned. "You made a pillow fort!"

"It's not very stable so try not to move too much, but it should hold until you're feeling better."

Stacie looked at her and her smile softened. "You're the best."

"I know." Aubrey winked at her and looked back up.

Stacie reached for her hand and they lay in silence next to each other for a while, neither of them feeling like they needed to say anything.

After a while, Aubrey turned to look at Stacie. "I put the soup in your fridge, you just have to heat it up when you get hungry." Stacie nodded. "I should go."

"Thank you. For everything."

Aubrey shook her head. "It was nothing."

Stacie tightened her grip on Aubrey's hand for a second. "It meant a lot to me."

Aubrey looked at Stacie and smiled. "You're welcome."

Aubrey kissed her cheek and crawled out of the pillow fort, careful not to bump into anything or shake the bed too much.

"Call me if you need anything."

Stacie sat up. "I'll be fine."

Aubrey returned with Stacie's blanket and threw it on top of her. "Call me."

"I'll call you to ask you out." Stacie mumbled.

"What?" Aubrey's voice was still sounded close to the bed but Stacie's voice hadn't been too loud.

"Nothing, Bree. Thanks, bye."

She heard Aubrey's footsteps get further away and stop at the door. "And don't wait too long to ask me out."

The door closed behind Aubrey. Stacie bit her lip, smiling widely. She couldn't believe Aubrey had just told her to ask her out. She squealed and pumped her fist, hitting the pillow fort and making it collapse on top of her. "Ouch."