Blaine wanted to see Kurt so badly. He wanted to text him and make him bring him some hot chocolate and stay with him. His throat was killing him. Every time he tried to swallow he visibly winced from how much it hurt.
Blaine would've texted Kurt to come see him, it was Saturday after all, but his phone was on his dresser. And that would require standing, which Blaine had no energy to do.
The door to his dorm room finally opened, and his roommate came in. Patrick was rarely around, and Blaine was thankful he left him alone most of the time.
"Dude, you okay?" he asked, sitting on the edge of his bed and putting on his tennis shoes. Patrick usually spent the weekends in the courtyard playing soccer or football with his group of friends.
"I'll be fine," Blaine mumbled. "Can you hand me my phone, please? 's on the dresser." Patrick double knotted his shoelaces and then tossed Blaine his phone. It smacked him painfully in the ear. "Owww," he moaned.
"Sorry, dude," he said. "Feel better." Patrick grabbed his dirty soccer ball from under his desk and left the room again. Blaine unlocked his phone and called Kurt. Thankfully he hadn't gone back home to Lima for the weekend.
"Hello?" he answered.
"Kurt," Blaine whined. If he played it up and acted like he was sicker than he actually was, Kurt would have no choice but to come nurse him back to health.
"Blaine? What's the matter? You sound awful," Kurt commented. "Are you in your dorm? Do you need me to come down there?"
"I don't feel good," Blaine said, and coughed. His throat was raw and painful even when he wasn't trying to swallow. "Yes, I'm in my dorm. Patrick left, so 'm alone." Blaine heard some noise in the background. He had a bad headache and everything seemed ten times louder than it actually was.
"I'll be right there," Kurt told him. "I have some medicine, I'll bring it with me. I'll be there in five minutes, okay?" Blaine pulled up his comforter around his shoulders.
"Yeah. The door's unlocked, just come in," he told him. Blaine told him goodbye and set his phone on his nightstand. He sort of felt like he had the flu, but he wasn't sneezing or congested or anything like that. He was just miserable and exhausted.
Blaine closed his eyes and tried to rest while he waited for Kurt to show up. It seemed like ages, but finally he heard his boyfriend come in. It had only been a month since he and Kurt had first kissed, but they were both so happy with each other.
"Hi," he said softly. Blaine smiled weakly. Since his bed was so small, Kurt pulled up his wooden chair from his desk and sat next to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Like crap," Blaine pouted. "Take care of me." Kurt smiled down at him sweetly. He went home most weekends, so it was rare Blaine got to see him out of his Dalton uniform. He was wearing a Warblers t-shirt with all of their names on the back, and just regular black skinny jeans. It was nice to see him dressed down for once.
"I brought you extra strength Tylenol that I use for my headaches, or I have Benadryl if you're having allergies, or Nyquil or Aleve," he said, showing Blaine all the different medicine bottles.
"You're like a drug dealer," Blaine joked. Kurt didn't seem so amused.
"Come on, just pick one before you start to feel any worse," he told him. Blaine decided to just take Tylenol. Nyquil or Benadryl would make him sleepy, but he didn't want to take a nap. Not when Kurt was there. He told himself he would sleep after he left.
Kurt made him sit up to take the medicine. Blaine could hardly do that. Not even drinking water helped with his horrible throat pain. His headache only got worse when he sat up, and he just wanted to curl up and die.
"Where does it hurt?" Kurt asked him as he made him comfortable and fluffed up his pillow for him. "You might need to see the nurse." Blaine's eyes flew open. He refused to go to the nurse. He couldn't even sit up or walk to the bathroom, there was no way he was going across the campus.
"I don't need her," he told Kurt, and slowly but surely managed to roll onto his stomach. "It's just my throat. And my head, and I'm tired 'nd sore." Blaine closed his eyes, but forced himself to stay awake. He felt Kurt reach down and feel his forehead.
"You have a fever…" he said. Blaine knew what was coming. He was going to try to drag him to the nurse again.
"No, Kurt, I'm not that sick," Blaine insisted, his voice muffled by his pillow. He felt Kurt's hand on his back, and he relaxed into the touch.
"Finn got mono a few weeks ago. You have a lot of the same symptoms as him. What if I went and got the nurse to come here so you didn't have to get up? She could probably check your temperature and see what's wrong with you."
Blaine wanted to feel better, and if the nurse came to see him it wouldn't involve getting up or moving. But he didn't want Kurt to leave him.
"'m tired," he mumbled. "Just wanna sleep." He'd tried to stay awake, but it wasn't working. He was dozing off as he spoke. Kurt kept rubbing his back, and Blaine's mouth fell open as he fell asleep.
"Blaine. Blaine, open your eyes," he heard someone saying. He heard people talking, so Blaine forced himself to wake up so he could see what was going on. Kurt was leaned down close to him, and he looked concerned.
"Wha's wrong?" he asked. Blaine saw someone next to Kurt, and he got worried when he realized it was the nurse.
"You were sweating in your sleep and you felt really hot," Kurt told him. "I went and got the nurse and she said she'd look at you. Can you lay on your back?"
Blaine didn't want to move. His throat and head were killing him, literally. It took everything he had to roll over. The nurse was an older woman, and she'd worked at Dalton for several years, so she knew who Blaine was from the Warblers.
"I'm just going to take a look at you," she said kindly. Before Blaine could protest, she stuck her thermometer in his mouth. He closed his eyes and reached his hand out for Kurt. The thermometer beeped too loudly, and the nurse looked at the reading.
"You have a fever. You're at 101.8," she told him. "Kurt said your throat was bothering you. Can you sit up so I can have a look?" Blaine sighed and coughed. He didn't want to move at all.
Blaine leaned heavily on Kurt as he sat up in his twin-sized bed.
"'m cold," he mumbled. "Kurt, stay."
"I'm not leaving," Kurt promised. "You're cold from your fever. Let the nurse look at your throat." Blaine opened his mouth, and the nurse shined a light down his throat, and then pressed around on his neck. His neck had been sore all day, and it hurt when she touched him.
"Your tonsils and lymph nodes are swollen. When did you start to feel sick?" she asked him. Blaine laid back again, shivering as Kurt covered him up.
"A f-few hours ago," he told her. "I woke up in the middle of the night. Everything hurt. My head still hurts."
The nurse nodded and wrote something down on her notepad.
"Honey, you have all the symptoms of mono. I've seen a few other boys get it this year. I'll call your parents to take you to the doctor so it doesn't spread. Kurt can stay with you until they get here." Blaine moaned. Kurt had been right. Now he had mono. Kurt ran his thumb over his knuckles soothingly.
The nurse left a few minutes later, after she called Blaine's parents. His mom was worried, so Blaine talked to her and assured her he was okay. He already felt a little bit better once the nurse left him and Kurt alone.
"You were right about mono," he told him. "How long did I sleep?"
"Almost an hour," Kurt said. "I didn't want to wake you up, but you felt really hot and you didn't seem really comfortable. Your parents can take you home and let you see a doctor. You'll be okay."
Blaine swallowed and nearly choked from how difficult it was. Kurt gave him some more water to make it easier.
"I just don't see how I got it," he said, lying on his side so he could face his boyfriend. "I never drink after anyone. The only person I kiss is you."
Kurt just sighed and crossed his legs in the chair. "Well, Finn had it a few months ago. It's really not that bad after a week or two."
Two weeks?! Blaine was certain he would be dead by then, based on how awful he felt at the moment. The Tylenol hadn't done anything for him. Blaine looked up at Kurt, desperate for some relief, but he saw his boyfriend's eyes widen in horror.
"What's wrong?" he asked him. Kurt looked like he'd just seen a ghost.
"Finn had mono. He got it from kissing this girl in New Directions. When he got sick I accidentally drank after him. I told my dad and he took me to the doctor, but I had mono when I was twelve so he said I probably had the virus in me, but I wouldn't get sick. I gave it to you when we kissed!"
Blaine had a hard time keeping up with his story. His head hurt too much to concentrate and listen. He couldn't believe Kurt had given him mono. They hadn't kissed in almost a week. It didn't make sense.
"That doesn't… I don't understand," he said.
"It was when we kissed the first time," Kurt told him. "The symptoms of mono take a few weeks to show up. Where else could you have gotten it from?"
It hurt to think, so Blaine just shrugged his shoulders. Kurt started apologizing a million times, but Blaine really didn't care. If he was going to get mono from anyone, he'd rather it be Kurt.
Blaine fell asleep a second time after Kurt made him some soup. When he woke up Kurt was still there, packing his Nike duffel bag full of clothes from his dresser drawers.
"Kurt," he mumbled, and yawned painfully. "What're you doing?"
"You'll probably have to stay at home until you're not contagious anymore," Kurt told him. "Finn missed a week and a half of school. I just got some of your things together for you so you and your parents don't have to do anything. Your laptop's in there, and your phone charger and some pajamas and clothes."
"Thanks," Blaine murmured. "I'm cold. Keep me warm." Kurt smiled sympathetically, and Blaine scooted over to the edge of the bed so Kurt could actually sit up next to him. Blaine laid his head in his lap and realized that Kurt was seeing him for the first time without gel in his hair. Normally he would feel self conscious, but he was too sick to care, and Kurt twirling his hair in his fingers felt kind of nice.
"You owe me," Blaine grumbled. "You have to come visit me next weekend and take care of me."
"I will," Kurt promised. "I'll give you anything you want."
Blaine smiled at the thought of that, and closed his eyes to rest until his parents came for him.
Author's Notes:
Poor Blainey. They never really continued Finn and Quinn's mono story in the show. It was like they were sick one episode and fine the next. But it's Glee, so continuity doesn't exist. Hope you liked this!