Chapter 4 A Cold?
Carlos tosses and turns in his bed, long after everyone else has fallen asleep. The temperature keeps changing and his head is starting to hurt. He wants to sleep so badly, but opens his eyes with a sigh. He slowly sits up and tries not to groan out loud at his pounding head. He holds it in his hands for a moment and throws off the covers.
The moment he does, he puts his arms around his body, feeling it shiver all over at the sudden cold. He grabs his sheets and wraps them around himself as he slowly stands up and shuffles to the kitchen.
He makes a movement towards the light switch, but then remembers the light will probably wake up the rest of the apartment. He shuffles on in the dark, trying to not to bump into anything as he grabs a glass of water and searches for some Tylenol. He moves his hands through the cabinets, feeling for the small rectangular box.
He sighs when he still can't find it and turns around.
"Watcha looking for?" A female voice suddenly whispers right in front of him, making him jump and hit his head on a still opened cabinet door with a thud. He winces, as does the other person. "Sorry…" Katie whispers as he tries to see her in the dark.
"What are you doing up?" Carlos whispers to her as he rubs the sore spot on his head. He closes his eyes when it starts to pound even worse.
"I was up playing Castle Smashers 2, but I got thirsty." She tells him with a shrug. "Why are you up?"
"Headache…" He tells her with a sigh.
"Oh." She responds. "Sorry…" She mentions again.
"'S okay… Do you know where your mom hid the Tylenol?" He asks her as he starts to go through the cabinets again.
"Not sure, I think one of the top shelves." She informs him. Great… He sighs.
"Alright, help me grab a chair." He says as he feels his way around the kitchen counter.
"Uh, are you sure that's such a good idea? Maybe we should just turn on the light." She offers.
"No, I don't want to wake anyone up." He explains.
"Well, then help me get up here. If you stand on a chair, there's a good chance an even worse headache will be the result." He sends her a glare, even though he's fully aware she can't see it.
He helps her on the counter and makes sure to stand behind her in case she falls.
"Found it!" She whispers after a while. He grabs her around the waist and helps her down. He quickly grabs the box from her and downs a pill with some water. She stands near him in the dark, slightly concerned at how content he sounds as he gulps down the water.
"Carlos?" She whispers to him a little quieter.
"Hm?"
"Are you getting sick?" She asks him, sounding worried and a little childlike. He frowns at her tone of voice.
"No, why would you think that?" He asks her, chuckling a little.
"Well, you've been sleeping a lot and you got sick last night and now you're up in the middle of the night with sheets wrapped around your shoulders, looking for Tylenol." She tells him.
"I just ate something bad last night and Gustavo is making us work really hard lately, so of course I'm tired." He tries to explain. She doesn't respond. "I'm fine, Katie. You don't need to worry about me." He tells her. "Just go to bed and I will too and you'll see, everything will be fine tomorrow." He says as he grabs her shoulders in the dark and shoves her towards the stairs. She lingers for another moment, but then hugs his waist to his surprise.
He smiles and hugs her back slightly.
"You better be fine tomorrow." She warns him slightly.
"I will be, don't worry. Goodnight, Katie." He lovingly tells her, kissing the top of her head.
"Night, Carlitos." She returns and lets go of him. They both shuffle back to their bedrooms, where everyone is still sleeping soundly. As Carlos lies in bed, he can feel the Tylenol kicking in as his headache ebbs away and he finally falls into a deep sleep.
The next morning, Carlos awakes to the sounds of his family walking around and getting up. He tries to open his eyes, but finds it a lot more difficult than usual. He tries to blink, but nearly falls asleep again. Maybe that Tylenol wasn't a good idea after all.
His body feels like it weighs a ton and he can hardly move. He notices his breathing is also a little faster than usual. He tries to open his eyes again and attempts to lift his head. But the moment he does, the room spins and his head feels so heavy, it falls down like a sack of potatoes on the pillow again.
He groans when a pillow suddenly hits him in the head, but can't find the strength to remove it.
"Come on, Carlitos, get up! It is a beautiful day today and we have to be at the studio in one hour!" James tells him in a singsong voice.
Carlos grumbles in annoyance at his friend's sudden happiness.
"Leave him alone, James, he hardly slept last night!" Logan calls out in the distance, making Carlos frown. How would he know that?
Katie…
"Carlos?" Logan quietly asks as he pokes his head into the bedroom. Carlos sleepily blinks at him. "How does your head feel? Does it still hurt?" He asks. Carlos tries to shake his head, but can't quite manage.
"No…" He is surprised to hear his scratchy voice. He tries to clear it and swallows and winces when he feels the pain accompanying it. "I'm good." He says with a smile. Logan doesn't look convinced.
"Mrs. Knight said that maybe you should stay home today. You know, just to make sure you don't get sick again. I uh, I agree with her." The brunette mentions as he walks closer.
"I'm fine, Logan. And besides, we have a concert in three days. I'm sure Gustavo won't be happy if anyone of us misses practice for feeling a little tired." He mentions. Logan frowns.
"So you are still tired?" He asks. Carlos sighs at his own stupidity.
"I'm fine, Logan. Just go, alright? I'll be up and dressed in five minutes." He tells Logan with a challenging look. Logan stares at him for another moment and lets out a long sigh and nods, before leaving the room.
Carlos swallows hard and winces at the pain it causes again. Another symptom? At least his voice still sounds okay. He tries once again to lift his head, putting in all the strength he can to sit up. When he finally manages, he is slightly out of breath. He ignores it though, waving it off to go with his exhaustion.
He moves slow as he gets out of bed and dresses himself. By the time he is done, he doesn't feel anymore awake or energetic than when he woke up. But he needs to shake it off. The concert is so soon now and they can't afford to miss any more rehearsals. He knows they're already really well prepared, but he's nervous. This needs to go well. He's not sick or tired. As long as he keeps on believing that, he will be fine.
He puts on a smile and heads out into the living room, where everyone is waiting for him. Mrs. Knight shoots him a concerned and disappointed look.
"I still don't think this is a good idea." She says as she watches Carlos and his slightly flushed cheeks.
"I'm fine, mama Knight." He assures her and tries to get away from everyone's scrutinizing looks. He grabs some orange juice and tries desperately to hide a wince when the liquid makes his throat hurt even worse.
"We'll keep an eye on him, mom." Kendall says as he puts an arm around his smaller friend's shoulders. Carlos playfully pushes him away. The guys grab their bags and Carlos quickly follows.
"Wait, what about breakfast?" Mrs. Knight calls out when he follows them out the door. He turns around again.
"Oh, right. Nearly forgot about that." He says with a sheepish smile and grabs a piece of toast. He puts it in his mouth and grabs another piece to go. He mumbles something with a full mouth and waves goodbye, closing the door behind him.
The moment they are in the car he tries to eat the toast, but quickly finds he is really not hungry. He nibbles the toast slightly and stares out the window, while his friends talk animatedly. He doesn't notice how they occasionally glance at him with concerned faces. He also doesn't notice that they do it, because he's starting to sniffle a little now and then and rubbing his nose.
He doesn't notice up until he suddenly sneezes loudly, twice in a row and his nose is running. He looks surprised and tries to find a tissue, when suddenly, Logan hands him one. He takes it with a grateful smile and blows his nose, sniffling slightly when he's done.
At the studio, he pulls out all the energy he can, ignoring his friend's worried stares as much as he can. Mr. X is happy with him during their dance practice and Carlos feels exhilarated. Even the other guys seem less concerned now. He's proud of himself. Proud that he is able to dance so well today and proud that he's able to act like he's feeling perfectly fine.
He doesn't show how exhausted his body is feeling and how he is out of breath a lot faster than usual. Because he's can't give up. The concert is on his mind. He needs to do this. Mr. X was given clear instructions to pull out all the stops, because their concert will last almost 1,5 hours. They need to figure out where the guys are lacking. So even when they start to ask for breaks, Gustavo makes sure they can't.
Carlos keeps on giving it his all, not complaining once, everyone watching him in awe. His facial expression is hard, determined as he keeps up his speed with Mr. X, the other guys can't even keep up. That's when he notices his body starting to really warn him to stop. It feels very warm inside the studio suddenly and his limbs are feeling heavier by the second.
He is feeling more and more out of breath, but doesn't slow down. He knows that was a bad idea when he suddenly starts to see spots dancing in front of his eyes. But he just shakes his head. Everyone around him is trying to keep going, trying to keep up with his speed, they don't even notice how he is slowing down involuntarily.
When his vision goes completely black for a moment, he decides he can't keep going. He breathes heavily with wide eyes.
"M-Mr X…" He breathes out.
"Keep it up, come on, keep going!" Mr. X tells the guys.
"C-Can we p-please have a br-break?" He stutters, while wheezing slightly.
Mr. X frowns and walks over to him.
"Are you saying you're giving up?" He asks the Latino in his face.
Carlos tries to keep the dancing spots away as well as he can, while nodding fast.
"No. Keep going." Mr. X says as he turns his back to him and walks away. Carlos tries to keep going, but his vision is starting to swim and he is breathing faster.
"I-I can't…" He says. Mr. X turns around in disbelief and even the guys look at him in shock. "Please, can we have a break?" He asks again as he tries hard to keep his breathing under control.
"Do you think you can get a break when you're in the middle of a concert?" Mr. X asks. Carlos sighs in frustration.
"We're not in a concert right now, this is rehea-rehearsal…" He gets out, while still dancing. "And even dur-during a concert we won't be dancing… for four hours…" He mentions, getting slightly angry.
"Carlos is right, this is too much. I get you want to test our stamina, but you're killing us here…" Kendall mentions in agreement, while wiping his face with his shirt.
Mr. X rolls his eyes. "Ugh, fine. Have a break then. You danced well anyway." He says and the guys all collapse to the floor right away, catching their breath and groaning at their strained muscles.
Carlos closes his eyes as he lies on the floor, hoping the guys don't hear his wheezing.
"Dude, awesome call about that break. I was a little surprised it was coming from you though, since you were so on your game with the dancing. Seriously, did not know you had that in you." James tells him from the other side of the floor.
"Yeah, man, where have you been hiding all of that?" Kendall asks him.
Carlos wants to answer, but is still breathing heavily and is trying to clear his vision, willing for the world to stop spinning so fast.
"Carlos?" He hears in the far background. He opens his eyes and looks into the concerned brown orbs of Logan suddenly. "want semehhajdj?" He frowns at the jumbled mess of Logan's words. "Are you?" He frowns harder in confusion.
"What?" He whispers. Logan frowns as well and turns his head. After a moment, two more faces pop up next to him.
"Carlos?" He can hear in the background still. Then, a sudden SLAP brings him back. He can feel his cheek stinging, but the world stops turning and he looks up in a slight daze.
"Dude…" Logan says as he punches James in the shoulder. James rubs it with a wince.
"What? We were trying to wake him up, weren't we?" James argues.
"Are you okay, buddy?" Kendall asks him with worried eyes.
"Here, have some water." Logan offers as he opens a bottle of water. Carlos shakes his head.
"No, is fine… We should get back to dance rehearsal…" he struggles to get out. The guys exchange looks. He goes to get up, when a coughing fit attacks him. The guys help him sit up and rub his back. He tries not to let any tears come out for the excruciating pain he feels in his throat with every cough.
"Again, have some water." Logan says as the coughing fit dies down. Carlos slowly sips a little of the offered water, before coughing again a few times. He still breathes heavily and looks at his friends through tired eyes. "Better?" Logan asks him. Carlos nods.
"I'll go tell Mr. X we're done with dance rehearsal." Kendall says before standing up.
Carlos wants to protest, but the moment he opens his mouth, he coughs again. He sniffles as his nose starts to run again as well. Logan hands him another tissue. But before he goes to blow his nose, he coughs. He sighs in frustration when he's done.
"Dude, I'm not a doctor, but that cough really doesn't sound healthy." James tells him. Carlos glares at him.
"I'm fine…" He says, groaning at how nasal he suddenly sounds. Logan watches him with worry. What is going on? How does he go from being a little tired to coughing up a storm, nose being stuffy and looking pale again?
"We better get you home." Logan tells him.
"What, no?" Carlos protests and pushes Logan away when he grabs hold of his arm to pull him up.
"Carlos…"
"No, Logan. I already said I'm fine. We don't have to…" He is interrupted by a loud cough. "We don't have to go home. In case you forgot, we have a concert in three days. We have to…" He sneezes. "We ha…" he sneezes again. "We need to practice." He says, sniffling and coughing again.
Logan raises an eyebrow at him.
"So you'd rather collapse on stage on Saturday in front of all our fans?" Logan questions him. Carlos opens his mouth to say something, but doesn't know what to say to that. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Come on, let's go." Carlos rolls his eyes, but lets Logan and James help him stand up.
Kendall comes back into the studio, looking angry.
"What's with you?" James asks him, but Kendall turns and looks at the doorway, where Gustavo appears.
"Dogs, let me remind you of something; you do not decide when rehearsals are over. I decide that. I decide when you're ready, because I can decide whether or not you perform on Saturday." He explains, Kelly standing next to him, rolling her eyes.
"Gustavo, Carlos is sick. He needs to rest or he can't perform on Saturday at all." Kendall argues. Kelly shoots a worried look towards the Latino, who can't fully catch his breath still and coughs now and then.
"Really? Well, how about this; I am sick of all this whining. Carlos looks fine to me and since we only have THREE days left, we will continue rehearsal!" Gustavo booms.
"Gustavo, if Carlos is really sick…" Kelly starts.
"No, rehearsal is not cancelled. Just get him some Tylenol and finish up! Two more hours of dance rehearsal and then I expect you in the vocal booth for another four hours." He orders, before turning around and leaving before anyone can protest.
"I'm sorry, guys." Kelly tells them as she looks at the already exhausted looking foursome with apologetic eyes. "Griffin has been on our case about this concert. A lot of important sponsors are going to be there and he wants it to go as smoothly as possible." The guys sigh. "Look, just go through this rehearsal, but take it easy and if you feel the need to stop, just do. Mr. X isn't heartless and I will make sure he looks after you." She tells them with a warm smile, before following Gustavo.
"Well, this is just great." Kendall complains angrily.
"Guys, will you just relax?" Carlos says, before coughing. "I am fine." All three guys look at him in disbelief. "Seriously, I can handle it. This is our concert, too and I don't want to screw it up by missing rehearsal. So…" he coughs. "Let's do this." He says, determined once again to keep going.
Everyone keeps an eye on him and while Mr. X does notice how slow he is and how much he is stumbling and screwing up the steps, he doesn't say anything. One look at Carlos' face would tell anyone that he's not going to take no for an answer right now.
But after another hour, even Mr. X has had enough and has to boys stop dancing. He tells them to head for the break room to rest up, while he goes to let Gustavo know they're done for the day.
Carlos feels angry. He knows Mr. X only stopped rehearsal because of him. It's so stupid. He feels fine. So he's suddenly dead tired and out of breath. And so what if his nose suddenly feels stuffy and he's coughing? He can still dance.
He sits on the white couch in the break room with his arms crossed over his chest, a scowl on his face and ignoring his friends.
"Dude, seriously. You can deny it all you want, but you are sick." Kendall tells him. Carlos huffs in response and coughs loudly.
"That cough really doesn't sound good, Carlos. We should take you to see a doctor." Logan tells his friend.
"Yeah, good luck getting me there." Carlos mumbles stubbornly.
Logan glares at him and shakes his head. "Hey, I am just looking out for you. What if it's something bad, huh? Wouldn't you want to know so you can get better?"
"Logan, it is just a stupid cold, alright? Besides the coughing, I am fine." Carlos states. Logan opens his mouth to say something, when Gustavo stalks in.
"Dogs, now that dance rehearsal is done one hour early, it means we have an extra hour to practice harmonies." The guys look up in disbelief. "Let's go, NOW!" He hollers at them. They glare at him, but follow anyway.
An hour later, the guys hurry out of the studio as fast as they can, slightly relieved to be allowed to leave early, but a little scared at the furious Gustavo who yells at them in the background.
"Just get him to see a doctor right now to stop that constant coughing! Don't com back until he is fixed!" Gustavo yells and the guys grin. Carlos stalks past his friends, looking even angrier than before.
"Well, at least now we finally get to take him to a doctor." Kendall says with a shrug.
"What do you mean, finally? He hasn't even been sick for like three days now." James reminds him.
Logan just watches Carlos as they head for the limo, with Kelly following closely behind. They know he would have never gone with just them. So she's there for reinforcement.
The ride to Doc Hollywood is quiet. Tension hangs in the air, with Carlos angrily staring out the window and purposely not acknowledging his friend's presence. He doesn't say a word, not even when they sit in the waiting room for their turn.
"Carlos Garcia?" A young man in a white coat asks as he walks into the waiting room. The guys frown.
"Uh, yeah." Logan answers as he motions for Carlos to get up. The Latino rolls his eyes, but gets up anyway. Everyone goes to follow, when the young man turns to them in disbelief.
"You're all coming in with him?" He asks with raised eyebrows. The guys exchange glances.
"Uh, no." Kendall says, shooting James a look when he opens his mouth to protest. "Just Logan and Kelly." He says, pulling James with him. "We'll wait out here."
Logan and Kelly follow the man with Carlos. They grow even more confused when they see no one else in the doctor's office.
"Uh, so where's Doctor Hollywood?" Logan asks as the young man motions for Carlos to sit on the table, while he pulls up a stool.
"Oh, he's on vacation. I'm filling in for him. My name is Dr. Lemmingway." The man says swiftly, before directing his attention to a notebook of some kind.
"Aren't you a little young to be a doctor?" Kelly asks him. The man has blond hair and looks to be about 21.
"I finished medical school early." The man says, not even looking up at them. Logan and Kelly exchange glances. "So, Mr. Garcia, what can I do for you?"
As if on cue, Carlos coughs loudly.
"That." Logan simply says as he motions to Carlos, who rolls his eyes again.
"And is this the only problem?" The man asks, a look of disinterest on his face.
"Uh, no. He also has a stuffy nose, a light fever and he's tired all the time. He threw up a couple of days ago and he had a headache last night." Logan lists, while Kelly's eyes grow wide.
"Hm, hm." The doctor responds. He grabs a thermometer and puts it in Carlos' ear without warning, making him yelp slightly. When he hears the beep, the doctor takes it out and looks at it, writing something down.
"So…" Logan starts. The doctor takes a stethoscope.
"Could you take off our shirt?" He asks Carlos. He frowns and looks at Logan questioningly.
"He wants to listen to your chest. It's easier without your shirt on." Logan explains. Carlos looks a little weary still, but removes his shirt slowly anyway. He avoids looking at the other two in the room, looking a little embarrassed as he tries to hide his chest.
Without warning, the doctor puts the cold device on his chest.
"Now, take a deep breath." The doctor orders. Carlos does it, but the minute the air arrives at his throat, he coughs immediately. "Again." The doctor asks. Carlos tries to take another deep breath, but once again, he violently starts to cough in the end.
The doctor moves the stethoscope to his back and goes to listen again. But Carlos can't breathe in and out without starting to cough right away.
After trying two more times, the doctor pulls away.
"You can get dressed now." He tells Carlos, who quickly puts his shirt back on.
Dr. Lemmingway moves to his desk and Logan looks at him expectantly.
"So, did you hear something?" He asks and Carlos frowns. "Any rattling or clotting or something?" Logan adds, making Carlos understand better.
"Well, he only has a slight temperature, but I didn't hear anything wrong with his chest. So, I think it's just a cold, combined with the flu." The doctor tells them.
"But what about all the other symptoms? I mean, they keep disappearing." Logan says, sounding a little aggravated.
"That is strange, but his body might just fight the virus very quickly. So, I think this might be over in a few days. Just rest and drink plenty of fluids." The doctor says. Logan stands up, his mouth open to protest, when Kelly drags him away.
"Thank you doctor." Kelly tells him with a smile. The man briefly returns one and then looks at his notebook again. Carlos shuffles after the two quietly. The minute they close the door behind them, Logan explodes.
"Unbelievable! How did he even become a doctor? He hardly even talked to Carlos, didn't even look him in the eye!" He exasperatedly calls out.
"Logan, I'm sure he knows what he's doing." Kelly assures him, but doesn't sound very convinced herself. "Maybe it is just a cold with the flu."
"So, what did he say?" James and Kendall immediately ask when they come back.
"He said it's just a cold." Logan angrily tells them. The other two guys are taken aback by his reaction. "The guy was like 21, he didn't even look at Carlos. He just… There is no way this is just a cold combined with the flu. He said Carlos just needs to rest and drink plenty of fluids and it should be over in a few days. Yeah, right…" He grumbles. Carlos just lags behind him a little, all quiet except for some coughing now and then.
"I say we get a second opinion." Logan announces when they get back in the limo.
"What? Visit another doctor?" Carlos suddenly pipes up.
"Yeah, because this can't be it." Logan explains.
"God, Logan, you're just jealous that wasn't you in there." Carlos suddenly says, making everyone look at him in shock. "Oh come on, how do you know it's not a cold and the flu? You may be really smart, Logan, but you're not a doctor and he is. So maybe we should just take his word for it, since he studied for it and all." Carlos says, before crossing his arms and staring out the window again.
The others aren't sure what to say. They can see the hurt look on Logan's face. That had to sting. It had always been his dream to become a doctor. So yeah, maybe he is a little jealous. But that doesn't mean he can't tell when someone isn't good at their job.
Kendall and James shoot him sympathetic looks, as does Kelly. But Logan just sends them a small smile and also starts to stare out the window without another word.
The guys are surprised when Kelly has them dropped off at The Palm Woods instead of the studio. She assures them she will deal with Gustavo. They should just get Carlos to bed.
When they head inside, everyone notices the tension right away. Carlos heads for his bedroom right away, slamming the door behind him in anger. Logan also heads towards his bedroom, but looks a lot more dejected.
"So, uh, should I even ask?" Mrs. Knight asks when the apartment is hulled in silence. The other two just exchange a glance.
The only thing heard the rest of the day is coughing from Carlos' room, which seems to sound worse every hour. Logan hears it and winces, before pulling out his laptop and frantically starting to search for all the symptoms, with his medical books beside him.
A/N Ok, don't know if this chapter is very good, but I need some in-between chapters for the real angst to start ;)
Thanks again for all the support! I loved the Big Time Movie last night, hoping to watch it again tomorrow!
Meanwhile, my own throat is hurting really bad, so probably spending a day in bed tomorrow. I am trying to edit some BTR videos in the meantime though. I want to make at least one Cargan one and a Kenlos one, but it's going to take a while. There is so much footage to go through, especially Cargan :P Logan just can't stop staring and licking his lips :P
Anyway, until next time, I'll try to update again soon. Let me know what you think and if you have any requests for angsty Carlos one shots, I'm always up for those, so let me know ;)
Love, Baxxie