Chapter 2! Lemme just say, I wanna explain what's happening in this chapter but I don't wanna give everything away at once either. It might not make sense but it will! Just, bare with me people. :3 Have a little faith, I got a plan.
Also, my other fanfic might be late... I sat around didn't work on it til last minute. I'm bad, I know... School and my role play life got the better of me. I already had this one done by the Grace of God, Hah... but I did say I would try. There will be times I might not be able to update regularly because I choose something else to spend my time on instead. For that, I'am sorry! I will get it out ASAP. :) I appreciate you guys staying patient and staying with me!
'It's been four days now and I haven't felt or seen any effects of that creature's bite... He said it could take a week but I suspected I would've felt something by now... Maybe this was all for a lost cause...'
Arthur sighed as he made his way through the camp, a couple of coughs coming from him as he done so. Even that didn't feel any different.
"Arthur!" The voice called out and it made his jaw clench tight in aggravation. "Arthur... can we please talk now?"
Arthur stopped, feeling the hand on his shoulder. He glared up at John Marston from under the rim of his hat. "You're not gonna leave me alone till we do... are ya?"
John just merely looked at him with that puppy dog expression that he damn well knew Arthur couldn't resist. "No..."
Arthur let out a deep breath as he took hold of John by the shirt. "Follow me." He growled, dragging John off along with him to a more secluded area a little ways from the camp and away from the others.
"What the hell is going on?" Arthur snapped, releasing his hold on John with a shove to the other man.
John stumbled backwards but kept his balance as he scowled back at Arthur. "Me? What the hell is going on with you? Why did you leave for days on end? You didn't tell any of us where you were going, what you were doing..."
"Don't give me this hypocritical bullshit John Marston... ain't none of your business, 'cause you didn't make it ours when you left all of us for a whole goddamn year..."
"This ain't about me!" John protested.
"The hell it ain't. It's all about you! It's always about you... insecure, jealous, doesn't know what the hell he wants but yet wants everything at the same damn time." Arthur retorted with seething anger coming through. "Ya left us both and you came back like nothing happened... I'm tired of it. I'm tired of this wishy washy attitude... I-"
Suddenly Arthur felt a wave of dizziness begin to wash over him. He closed his eyes in an attempt to rid himself of the blackness that clouded his vision. "I..."
"Arthur, are you okay?" John asked with a sudden worry in his tone.
"Just a... just a minute..." Arthur muttered but it wasn't long after that he blacked out and fell back onto the ground.
"Arthur!" John exclaimed as he ran over to him and kneeled down at his side. John leaned in and to his relief Arthur was still breathing through ragged breaths. "Arthur!... Arthur, wake up!" John nudged him several times but to no avail. "Goddamnit Arthur..." John grumbled under his breath as he threw Arthur's arm over his shoulder, picking him up. He brought Arthur back into the camp.
"Arthur, my boy! What happened?!" Dutch exclaimed as he ran up to John as the man carried Arthur back to his tent.
"He fainted..." John muttered, laying him down on his cot. "He's still breathing though."
"John!" Abigail called out, making her way to the tent in haste. Dutch grabbed hold of her before she could come any closer. "Give them space..." He spoke to her, yet proceeded to ask "What happened exactly, John?"
John didn't turn back to look at either of them, swallowing hard. "N-nothing... We were just talking and he blacked out..." His words trailed off as he finally gave a slight glance over his shoulder at Dutch.
"Well, come on son, let him rest." Dutch instructed. John could only nod to this, making one final check just to be sure Arthur was as comfortable as he could possibly be in this state before he exited the tent with reluctance.
Later that night
"John... John!" Abigail called out, opening up the flaps of Arthur's tent to look inside. "Aren't you coming to bed, John?" She asked.
John barely shot her a glance from where he sat. "No, think I'll stay here for the night…" He muttered. He had returned earlier that evening to check in on Arthur and hadn't left since.
"You sure? Jack will be awfully disappointed." Her persistence didn't come without its annoyance, a never ending thing between the two of them it seemed.
"I said I'm not coming, Abigail!" John snapped, throwing a scowl her way, with some kind of regret he knew would follow but at the moment, there wasn't any time for that… It would have to wait, they would have to wait. This was more important.
"Well, you don't have to be so hateful about it! Stay here for all I care... You always do what you want anyways." She retorted as she turned to storm off.
John just drew in a deep breath, his mind a thousand other places than her in this moment. It killed him inside to think that his and Arthur's argument that morning may have been a trigger to this sudden episode but that was a lingering thought nagging at the back of his mind.
"J-J-John...?" Arthur's voice faintly called out.
John's attention snapped back to him in haste. "Arthur! Are you okay, can I get you anything? He asked.
"Where are we? I..." Arthur's words were cut off by a shiver and the chatter of his teeth. "I'm freezing..."
"Beaver Hollow, Arthur..." John answered as he leaned in to place a hand to Arthur's forehead, only to frown with concern. "You're ice cold..." He reached down for Arthur's hand and to no surprise that too was freezing. "Jesus..." He muttered as he began to rub Arthur's hand in a means to see if he could provide some warmth.
"Stop!" Arthur exclaimed suddenly. "Feels like you're breaking it!"
John immediately let go of Arthur's hand, causing a sharp hiss to come from the other man as it fell to the ground.
"Goddamnit, John Marston!"
"I... I'm sorry... what can I do to help you?" John asked, brows furrowing in concern. He felt worse than he had before. Whether it be guilt or genuine concern, John wanted to make up for all of this, to help Arthur in whatever way he could, to provide some sort of comfort.
"Don't touch me for one thing..." Arthur grumbled between his chattering teeth again. "It's so cold... aren't you cold?"
"No..." John trailed off as he stared down at Arthur, swallowing hard. "Do you want me to go get another blanket?" He asked.
"S-sure"
John reached out to him but had to resist the urge to touch him again. "Okay, I'll be right back."
Arthur only gave the faintest of nods before John left. He looked around, vision a little blurry still. What was this? A new symptom of his illness perhaps? He felt as if he was on death's door and for all he knew, maybe he was. His body ached like it hadn't before, each bone stiff and feeling as if it were breaking to the touch and if he looked at something too fast, his world spun and his stomach churned.
"Just what do you think you're doing John Marston?!" Arthur heard Abigail's voice explode in the distance.
"I'm taking this blanket... you're not using it."
"For what?!" Abigail had persisted.
"...Arthur."
A quietness seemed to settle over the bickering couple for a moment but then some more words were exchanged between them. Arthur couldn't even find it in himself to feel bad for either or to feel guilty in the situation for being the topic to cause the rift.
"Just drop it Abigail... He's sick for Christ's sake."
"You won't come sleep with us and now you're taken our blankets to him... you're an odd little man Marston!" Abigail shouted.
John came back to Arthur's tent in a huff. "That woman will drive a man mad..." he grumbled as he carefully placed the blanket over Arthur, careful to mind his earlier complaints as he tucked the sides in.
Arthur quietly scoffed. "Ya love her though..." his words were nearly a whisper.
John stared down at him, eyes narrowing to a scowl. "Do I? Or am I just..." he sighed then, shaking his head. "Never mind it... Maybe this'll help to get you warm." Once he was finished tucking in the edges of the blanket, he gently brushed lose strands of hair away from Arthur's face and settled in a spot at Arthur's bedside.
Everything was quiet between the two of them, John thinking about how everything seemed to be going to shit in his personal circle and Arthur perhaps wondering if this was the night he was going to die and if his efforts to prevent it were in vain.
"I'm sorry" John spoke up again. "I'm sorry about arguing with you... I guess you're right, I don't know what I want but do I really want it all, Arthur?" He glanced over at his friend. "What if I'm just scared of letting go?"
Arthur cast a glance his way but nothing more, his own struggle being too taxing for him to even want to speak. The blanket did nothing to curb the freezing temperature coursing through his body, shivers overcoming him now and then.
"I know I've kinda been a hardass, guess I still got some stuff to sort out but just know it isn't you Arthur... it never was." John sighed deeply. When he looked back to Arthur, he noticed the shivering and he felt his heart ache. "I wish I could do something else for you."
"Y-you're f-fine..." Arthur muttered.
"You're not..." John shook his head, reaching to retrieve a cloth which he used to gently wipe away the cold sweat that started to build on Arthur's forehead.
"I' am" Arthur responded lowly even though he knew that was a bold face lie. "But I'm tired, I'm just gonna... Close my eyes for a bit, again..."
"Sure Arthur, get some rest... I'll be here if you need anything."
Arthur wanted to protest that but he just didn't have the energy to say anything. Instead he found himself slipping back into his unconscious state.
That was the most sleepless night that John had in years, with him waking up every half hour it seemed just to check in Arthur was still breathing. To his relief, Arthur maintained his breathing through the night, though shallow and wheezy.
As always, leave a review and follow if you wanna read more! I always appreciate the feedback.