Maddie stumbled on her way to her locker.

To have students crowding around the hallway only made it worse in her condition. Her head was spinning dizzily, and not in the good way either. She didn't remember drinking any alcoholic beverage last Friday. She didn't even come close to touching one. Her headaches were unexplainable. And if things couldn't get any better, she erupted in a sneeze ever five freaking minutes. Before leaving her dorm, she grabbed a handful of tissues, hoping it would last for the day. Seeing as she went through those tissues in only a short matter of time, she had to come back to take the whole entire box.

After she retrieved her books for her first class, she slammed her locker half-heartedly, completely under a dizzy spell that was beyond her control. She eyed the row of lockers in front of her with interest, considering the idea of maybe leaning against them for a little while, only so that she could take a nice nap. She sighed, turning her head, only to yelp in surprise.

"Jesus!" she gasped, clutching her books for dear life as Reid smirked at her. "Give me a heart attack why don't you?" she grumbled sarcastically.

"Someone's in a bad mood." The smirk widened.

"I'm tired," was a curt response. Considering that they weren't exactly on speaking terms a week before was a huge contrast to the way they were talking to each other now.

Reid chuckled. "I figured," he added, not attempting to hide his newfound glee at the glare she shot him. As sick as she was, she was still pretty adorable. "You don't look so good."

"Thank you, Reid," she would have sounded much better if it hadn't been for a sneeze getting in the way. She sniffed, covering her nose with a white tissue. "I bet that's what every girl wants to hear," her voice was muffled because of her stuffy nose.

He bit back another laugh but it came out as a snort.

Maddie shot him another look. "Shut up, Garwin."

"Back to the surnames, huh?" he looked at her inquiringly. "Kinky."

"We didn't actually speak at all before, Reid."

"You don't have to remind me, Madeline."

She made a small, infuriated noise within it, something between a growl and a snarl. A gnarl. She sniffed again, before turning on her heel, walking away. Almost instantly, she could hear his footsteps behind her, and all of the sudden, he was besides her, matching her pace.

"Did I scare you?"

Maddie's head snapped up to his, meeting his gaze. She slumped at his grin. "Very smart, Reid. Using my own words against me—good tactic."

He shrugged carelessly. "I try."

She opened her book, reading the text she was supposed to have read over the weekend. All her homework would have been done ages ago, if she didn't spend all her time passed out on her bed. She's been to parties before, and she didn't know why she reacted the way she did. She barely acknowledged the way Katherine tried to feed her the daily meals, since she slept for the better part of the day. She didn't realize she was sick.

Stupid flu season.

Just then, she shivered, the feeling coming from out of nowhere. All this feeling was new to her. She had never been sick before, nor did she ever try to do so. She now understood why people were always so moody when they were sick. She hoped Reid wouldn't notice.

He did anyway. "You cold?" he asked with mild concern. It sounded genuine, even to her sick ears and her sick form, his voice caused a new sensation to rile up inside her.

"No."

"I could make you warm," he whispered, leaning in close, his lips barely brushing past the shell of her ear.

Maddie jolted slightly at the feeling, causing the paper from the book beneath her grasp to slice a deep cut along her index finger. She winced at the prickling pain, staring at the thin line of blood that came oozing from the wound.

He frowned in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," she replied, her voice stubborn.

"Bullshit. Let me see it."

Her mouth snapped shut when he pried her hand away from her form. Reid's fingers brushed over her palm, wrapping around her hand gently. She felt the pull as he lifted her hand to eye level, inspecting the dark blood closer. His head tipped to the side as he looked at her index finger. Then his eyes met hers and they turned strikingly different in an instant; something she couldn't quite make out of.

After staring, she found her voice again. "It's just a paper cut."

She was reduced to speechlessness when his tongue sneaked out and licked gently over the wound. He took the opportunity, no—the advantage to take the fingertip in his mouth, causing him glee and mortification for her. The warmth of the inside of his mouth against her index finger sent shivers, and not because she was cold. His teeth grazed gently over it, causing her to jerk in place. She grew in tension as his lips curved up into a smile, all the while analyzing her in the process.

Maddie snapped out of her trance and pulled herself away, her face already feeling flushed. She walked down the hall, attempting to keep calm and looking for a way out, only to realize it was blocked. Reid was covering her only exit, the way into her first period classroom.

"Why so flustered, Maddie?"

His face was expressionless, his eyes a darker blue, and his pupils wide. She couldn't help but look at his lips as he pursed them slightly by biting at his bottom lip. Those lips were alluring.

"I'm not flustered," she argued, taking a deep breath. "Any reason on why you're showing your true colors now?"

He tilted his head to the side as he regarded her. "There doesn't always have to be a reason." Why the hell was he so calm about this? "You did say so yourself not to be scared of you, remember?"

"Oh, and by the way, don't be afraid to talk to me, all right?"

"I didn't think you'd do this."

"You're just going to have to deal with it then," he murmured, leaning down to place a kiss right at the base of her pale throat. He felt her swallow hardly as his lips ran over her skin teasingly, causing him to smile into her neck.

When she felt his tongue dart out to lick against her neck, Maddie felt her eyes close unconsciously at the touch, relishing in the feeling of heat and warmth after Reid's lips brushed past the spots on her skin. She silently thanked God that no one was there to witness the scene. Just like that and the rumors would already be spreading around like wildfire. She didn't realize it, but against her will, her head had tilted to the side, almost arching up to Reid. Her lips parted when his teeth grazed her skin gently.

And then, the nice feeling was gone.

Her eyes popped open, mourning for the loss of the soft touch, and she was met with his blue-eyed gazing, full on smirking face.

"Tease," she mumbled under her breath.

"And you know it," he said, cockiness laced in his voice.

With a wink, he briskly turned from her and walked in the other direction, hiding his smug face.

Maddie sneezed. With a heavy sigh, she grabbed a new tissue from the box she would have to carry on all day, and silently pressed the fabric to her nose. This sick feeling was disgusting. She didn't know whether she preferred this over the way Reid had made her feel earlier. Both sensations were equally unnerving.

"Hey," Katherine looked up when Maddie loudly slid in next to her. They had Calculus together every first period. "You still feeling sick?"

"Upmhf," she heard Maddie respond, or what sounded like a response. The pale girl dropped her books on her desk carelessly and folded her arms on the table, burrowing her head deeply into them.

Katherine frowned, reaching over to feel her friend's forehead. "I don't think you should have gotten up today. Maybe you should go back to the dorm and rest," she paused when Maddie shook her head sluggishly. "I can get your assignments for all the classes you missed."

"I'll be okay," Maddie answered blearily. "Don't worry about me."

"Too late about that."

Stubborn as she was, Maddie desperately tried with all the strength she had left to keep her head up in the class. She found it funny when all the numbers her Calculus professor was writing on the board kept leaping off of it. Maybe she was also insane. Her chin was supported by her open palm and she kept her elbow propped at the edge of the desk. She jerked when Mr. Magruder called her up to the board to demonstrate a problem.

"What are we doing?" she asked as quietly as she could, nudging Katherine weakly.

Her hazel-eyed friend glanced at her critically. "Problem number five."

Katherine watched as Maddie slowly made her way up to the board in front of the classroom. Only looking at the problem once, Maddie took the chalk and immediately started writing the whole process how to solve the problem. Katherine almost snorted; her friend was too smart sometimes. It was no wonder why she received an automatic scholarship to Spenser Academy. If Maddie was sick, she gave no indication that she was.

That was until after she answered the problem quickly. After circling the right answer, Maddie started doodling on the board, drawing a large dinosaur next to the math equation.

"Miss Bennett?" came Mr. Magruder's surprised inquiry. "What in heaven's name are you doing?"

"Drawing," Maddie responded as though it was the most obvious answer in the world. She was completely leaned against the board, depending on it as her support system to keep her upright.

The moment Maddie started sketching on the board, Katherine was already gathering her friend's things together and making her way down to the front of the room. She didn't care if anyone was looking or not, because quite honestly, they were all too busy in seeing what Maddie was supposed to be drawing.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Magruder," Katherine apologized on Maddie's behalf. "She's sick," she looked back at Maddie, who was giggling at the piece of chalk in her hands, "and delirious."

Mr. Magruder didn't know whether to be concerned or amused. "All right. Take her to the infirmary."

She nodded, grabbing hold of Maddie's elbow. "Come on, Maddie. We're going to the nurse, so put the chalk down."

"Mmm, 'kay," Maddie put the chalk down and stood up from her position. In an instant, things were swirling around her mind, and dizziness began to shake her core while tiny beads of color began to cloud her vision.

Katherine put her arm around Maddie's waist, supporting her the best way she could as her other hand was preoccupied with holding Maddie's bag and books. She felt Maddie lean on her heavily on the way out of the classroom. She towed the sick girl slowly across campus, and Katherine was cursing in her mind why their dorms had to be this far. Not that Maddie was heavy, which she certainly was not, her books were the main weight.

"Can we stop for a minute?" Maddie pleaded when she spotted a nearby bench. She sneezed, almost slumping on the spot when Katherine helped her sit on it.

"You look paler than you already were," Katherine said wryly, placing her hand on Maddie's forehead again. She immediately yanked it back, staring at Maddie incredulously. "Your forehead's burning!"

Maddie laughed, swaying on her seat. "Really?"

"Being sick is not funny," Katherine sighed.

"Maddie?" a different voice called from the distance.

Oh no, Maddie thought in her mind, though it hurt her head terribly for doing so. Please let me be imagining that horribly familiar voice.

"What's wrong? Is she hurt?" that voice was close now, telling her it wasn't her imagination.

Katherine seemed stressed. "I think she's got the flu. She's already sneezing all over the place and she suddenly had a high fever."

"Maddie," Reid leaned in, peering at her closely. "Can you hear me?"

"No," Maddie groaned. "Go away."

She felt like vomiting when the bench beneath her disappeared.

Reid swept her into his arms, holding her as if she was a child. She was little more than a skeleton in her arms, making the feat of carrying her impossibly easy. He bent to pick up her bag, throwing it over his shoulder. The damn bag actually weighed more than she did. Holding her in his arms—it felt more natural than anything he's ever done before. It was as if his arms were made specifically to carry her only.

Maddie made a choking, strangled noise. "Put me down," she begged in a mortified whisper. She prayed that she wouldn't hurl on him.

"I'll take her back," Reid offered, staring down at Maddie. If she looked pale before, now she looked a bit green.

"Thanks," Katherine gave a small smile. "I'll come by at lunch and bring her some soup."

He nodded, beginning to walk off in the way leading to the dorms. Maddie couldn't help but groan again. The movement of his walking was not helping at all. Despite it all, Reid held her gingerly, supporting all her weight with just his arms, as if it didn't seem to bother him.

Maddie let her head gently fall to his shoulder, resting it there. She could smell him, a strange, masculine scent that she'd caught in brief waves during class or in the hall. He also smelled like clean laundry as she continued to sniff him. It overwhelmed her now. Closing her eyes, she breathed it in, letting it make her even more lightheaded.

The weight of her head against his shoulder, the exhaustion that it signified from her presence, made him ache with tenderness. Her soft strands ticked his neck, and their warm scent floated up into his nostrils. Her hand was resting against his heart, and he fought to keep his pulse under control. It was harder to pull off than it had ever been before.

It was even harder when Reid began to go through her bag with only one hand, while the other arm still cradled her bundled form. When his fingers found the key, he gripped it and placed it in the keyhole, letting both of them in. After laying her on her bed (or what he guessed was her bed because he couldn't tell which one was hers), he watched as she curled herself into it.

"Thank you," her sleepy voice said, though it was quiet and it had light tune to it.

"You're welcome," he replied, unmoving until she closed her eyes. He wondered what he would do next. Going back to class held no point because he had to stay here if Maddie needed anything. He could do homework, though he snorted at the idea.

Just as he settled himself on the chair that was next to the computer, Maddie jerked awake, her form coming into a straight sitting position. Instantly, Reid's attention was on her. "What's wrong, Maddie?" he asked with concern.

"You look tired, Reid."

Reid blinked in response. She was the one that was sick and she was worried about him? Maybe she really was delirious.

Maddie cocked her head to the side. "Wanna sleep next to me?" she asked, sleepy-hooded eyelids that partially covered the butterscotch color underneath.

The way she asked him—it wasn't seductive or it wasn't meant to lure him in. If anything, the question contained pure innocence. Still, with the way she had asked, he thought it was incredibly sexy.

He couldn't deny her.

"Already enthusiastic about getting me into bed with you," he mused as he made his way over to her. If Maddie was fully conscious and wasn't sick at all, she would have slapped the hell out of him for saying a comment like that.

Maddie felt a gush of cold air as he crawled in beside her. Only then was he settled in did she feel comforted, her shoulders slackening with ease as she laid down next to him. Her back cuddled his chest and a calm silence overtook the two teens.

"Reid?" he heard her groggily ask. "Are you still there?"

"I'm here." His arms encircled her waist, pulling them closer to his body. His chin dropped to her shoulder, pressing soothing kisses over the blade. "Just relax," he whispered.

On his quiet command, Maddie did relax. It felt very nice having him behind her, holding her that way, giving her small kisses over the skin of her shoulder. She remembered feeling warm before she drifted off into sleep.

Reid's blue eyes opened in awake when he heard the distant knock on the door. He sneaked a glance at Maddie, who was still asleep. Careful not to wake her, he removed his arms from her waist and crawled over her, trying not to make any noises. He walked over and opened the door.

Katherine bustled in, one hand steadying a bowl of steaming soup while the other held a large glass of orange juice. She set the items down on the bedside stand. "Sorry about the noise. I would have opened the door with my key but I didn't have enough hands," she told him.

"It's okay," he murmured sleepily.

The girl looked at Maddie's sleeping form, and then looked at Reid's sleep-deprived face. "You—you didn't sleep with her did you?" she stuttered in shock.

"I slept in the same bed as her."

"But did you sleep with her?" Katherine's hands made it to her hips.

Reid stared at her impassively. "She's sick. Why would I sleep with her?" he was shocked that Katherine would even think of such a thing.

Well, maybe she had her reasons.

"Anyway, make sure she drinks all the soup and all the orange juice right after she wakes up," she ordered, satisfied when Reid nodded. She glanced at her watch, practically running towards the door. "I'm going to be late…" She waved bye before disappearing though the door and closing it with a small click.

Golden eyes opened from their slumber right when the door clicked. Maddie sat up, rubbing her eyes carefully from her sleep. Her headache was gone, thanks to that nice slumber, but her head still felt strangely warm, and her nose was still feeling stuffy. She turned her head to the side, noticing the bowl of soup and the glass of orange juice. Where did all this come from?

"Katherine came by," Reid answered for her.

Maddie stared closely at the steam that evaporated from the soup, staring as though it was a tiny insect. "Do I have to drink all of it?"

"You don't have a choice," Reid grinned, coming forward to sit on the edge of the bed. "Katherine would kill us both if you didn't drink it all."

"Fine," she conceded, carefully bringing the bowl over to her lap. She grabbed the spoon, hesitating as she lifted it up to her mouth.

Reid arched an eyebrow, his voice coming out in a tease. "Do you need me to feed you?"

Her eyes narrowed at him. "Quiet," she snapped, bringing the spoon to her mouth. The warm liquid did do her a whole lot better by clearing her throat, so that she didn't sound so scratchy. As she took another sip, her eyes drifted to the large glass of orange juice. "Why orange juice? Why not water?"

"Because orange juice has multivitamins in it. Those vitamins can help your immune system and cure your illness faster."

"Aren't you a smartie," her tone wasn't mocking, but rather surprising.

Reid leaned forward, his chin held in his hand. "Did you move here alone?"

Maddie was also surprised by that question. "Yes."

"Where are your parents?"

"They're traveling around the world," she smiled at the mentioning of her parents. A day hasn't gone by when she doesn't miss her crazy parents. She wasn't used to being all alone, in a different state. "They work as zoologists. Right now, they're in Africa, studying the animals that inhabit around there."

"And you didn't go with them?" he asked, tilting his head.

"No. I love them, but I wouldn't miss my education to go around, staring at a bunch of animals. I was working hard on a scholarship so that I could get out of that town and luckily, I received a scholarship to go here," she paused, contemplating if she should tell him more. She decided she wanted to. "I used to live in Dillon, and I could honestly say that I didn't like that place at all. Everything there was football this, football that. The town was football crazy. You couldn't go anywhere without having someone talking about football."

"That sounds…nice."

"Yeah," she frowned. "Dillon always rooted for the team at my old high school, the Panthers. The team was treated like royalty wherever they went, and they acted like it too," she continually sipped her soup until the last remnants of the hot fluid was gone. "Good soup."

Reid snorted. "And you didn't want to drink all of it."

"That was before. You know, it does kinda make me feel a bit—" Maddie was cut off when she lurched in her bed, a hand cradling her abdomen as she hastily dropped the empty bowl nosily on the bedside stand.

"Does something hurt?" Reid asked, placing his hands on her shoulders to steady her. Worry tugged inside as he watched her face grow that familiar shade of green he saw earlier.

Maddie didn't answer. Instead, she jumped from his touch and sprinted to the bathroom.

The blonde Son of Ipswich instantly followed the quick girl, his foot caught between the door and the frame before the door had a chance to slam shut. Maddie was knelt on the ground near the toilet, her black hair covering her face like dark curtains as she retched into the toilet. In this case, Reid felt helpless as he watched her relieve herself. It reminded him of that one time how his mother was vomiting in the toilet because of recent food poisoning, and the only thing he could do was hold his mother's hair back.

Reid pulled a nearby stool right behind her and sat down, gathering her long, soft hair together with his fingers, and holding it with one hand. His other hand was preoccupied by being placed against her back, rubbing soothing circles against it with his thumb.

When the last of it flowed out of her mouth, her arm raised weakly to pull at the trigger that flushed the toilet. She didn't even have the stomach to look at what she had created, considering that would be disgusting. As it flushed, she made a tired noise, feeling her stomach churning inside. Her forehead met the cool porcelain of the marble.

"Here," she heard Reid call to her. Wasn't he behind her earlier? How'd he get over there? The large glass of orange juice waved in front of her face. "Drink it."

"Uh…in case you haven't noticed, I'm in the middle of vomiting my heart out here."

His blue eyes rolled at her overly-dramatic cause. "It'll help," he told her. "Unless you want to stay there and keep retching into the toilet. It's up to you."

Maddie didn't have the heart, or the strength for that matter, to glare back or give a smart retort. She sat up, wincing as her stomach muscles clenched uncomfortably, and took the cool glass in her hands. The thing was so heavy. It was like holding an anvil. Her hands fumbled as she tried to hold the glass in her two hands.

Just when the glass was tipping forward, only mere seconds away from spilling everywhere, Reid reached over and took hold of the cup. "Hey, what are you doing?" she asked, her voice becoming breathless.

Reid held up the glass as his answer, and before she could find it in her voice to refuse, he was gently cupping her head and carefully holding the glass to her lips. She had no choice but to sip, letting the cool liquid clear some of that burning feeling at her throat. They watched each other over the rim, her eyes tired, and his eyes wary.

"You really are sick," he noted, taking the glass away when it was just about half empty.

"First time too," she added a bit cheerfully. He wondered how in the world she could be so cheerful in a sickly state like hers. Maybe being sick for the first time was causing her to get all excited.

"I don't think that's something you should be happy about."

"I always wanted to know how it would feel to be sick. I take it back though."

Reid chuckled. He helped her up when he saw her struggling against the sink counter. The notion caused Maddie to grin widely. "Reid Garwin is actually taking care of me. I feel so lucky."

"When you're done being sick, maybe I could take care of your other needs as well," he winked, sending her a devilish smile.

Maddie squirted toothpaste onto her toothbrush. "I'm too sick to think about sex, Garwin," she retorted, placing the brush into her mouth and started to carefully brush her teeth. Vomiting really left a horrible aftertaste and she couldn't stand the taste of it being in her mouth too long.

"I wasn't talking about sex. Don't be thinking dirty."

She didn't respond, though she smiled at what Reid had said. She wondered if she was ever going to win an argument against him in the future. Probably. After brushing her teeth, she grabbed the bottle of mouthwash and started to rinse her mouth. She needed it to be super clean before she did anything else. Maddie should have been apprehensive about the way Reid just sat back comfortably and watched her. Instead, for some reason, she felt at ease. It surprised her how much him being there didn't really bother her all that much.

He was such a good caretaker.

Of her.

Maddie pressed the heel of her hand against her mouth, hiding her amused smile. What his face would be if she had told him how good of a caretaker he really was, she would give to see.

"Can I borrow your cell phone?" she suddenly asked.

"Where's yours?"

"I…" she scratched the back of her neck. "I don't have one."

"You don't have a phone? What kind of teenager are you?" his eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you have an mp3 player?"

"What's that?"

Reid stared at her in shock. She didn't know what that was? "Did you live in a cave, Maddie?"

Maddie glared at him. "I don't have a phone because I didn't really need one where I used to live. As for the np3 player, or whatever it's called, I'm sure I don't have that either. What's an np3 player do?"

"An mp3 player," Reid corrected, "stores your music. It could do other things like record videos and file documents and pictures, but it's mainly produced for music."

"Like an iPod?" she grinned at the look he gave her. "Katherine has one," she explained. A pale hand stretched out towards him, her palm open and her fingers spread apart. "Can I borrow your phone now?"

Reid dug his hand into his pocked and took out his phone, placing it in her hand. "Go crazy with it," he told her with a grin of his own.

She childishly stuck her tongue out before dialing. It was hard at first, since the numbers were so damn small, much to the blonde boy's amusement. She gritted her teeth when he laughed at her. Her fingers slowly pressed the buttons, holding the device up to her ear when she was finished dialing.

"Hello?" the voice on the other line said.

"Hey, Katherine."

"Maddie! How are you feeling? Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah," her voice sounded odd when she lied. Maddie refused to tell Katherine she had vomited. That would only make her friend worry more. "Thanks for the soup and the juice. Did you by any chance get all my homework?"

An exasperated sigh. "Yes. I got it all for you. Don't worry."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Go back to sleep."

"Did you get the all my French notes? If you didn't, you should ask Anna. She always takes good notes."

"I already did, Maddie. You really should—"

"You took down all the notes for History, didn't you? Cause I need to borrow them later on."

"I know—"

"And for my Music Theory class—well, you can't really get notes on that. We were just practicing for the week, so—"

"Maddie!"

"What?"

"Go. To. Sleep." With that said, she hung up.

Maddie glanced at the phone, the line coming to a dead end. "How rude," she murmured, giving the phone back to Reid.

"You annoyed her."

"How do you know that?" she asked accusingly, her gold eyes glinting against his smirking face.

Reid stood, walking past her. "You annoyed me, and you weren't even talking to me in the first place."

He crossed the room and collapsed gracefully onto her bed. Well, to Maddie, she thought that he did that gracefully. He lied on his stomach with his face pressed against her pillow, his blonde hair spreading out on the white sheet. Maddie closed the bathroom door and stride along the room, creeping up to the bed, lying next to him except in a different position than he was. Her arms were folded across her stomach as she lied on her back, her face staring up at the ceiling above her. Her eyes became droopy as she covered her mouth from yawning.

"At least cover yourself." Reid's voice was close to her, and she felt the blanket beneath her slide out until it was softly tucked on top of her. Feeling that warmth again, she felt her mind go hazy.

When her eyes were starting to close, she heard him say, "I'm getting you a cell phone."

She smiled, welcoming the darkness that sleep provided her with.

A/N: Dillion. Panthers. Football. Brownie points for anyone who can figure it out!

And thanks for the reviews!