Long author's note ahead- be prepared.
Hazel eyes- I'll try to incorporate parts of your idea in- but I do have the entire story mapped out, and although Austin and Ally do make up- they don't do it in the most normal circumstances.
Lulupad- there will be a lot of Rydel/Austin brother/sister fluff- but I don't think I can do the crush part, sorry. I'm planning for a lot of fluff between them, so don't worry.
Sorry for the long author's note- I can't reply to guest reviewers through PM. Anyway- thank you for the amazing amount of reviews, I really appreciate them. Trigger warning- self-harm and depression.
Austin groans, and I lift my hand. He's definitely ill I don't know what his fever is, but he's burning up. "Rydel, stop by Panera Bread, we'll get soup for lunch. It'll be good for Austin."
"On it," she replies. "How is he? Asleep?"
"Yeah, his head's in my lap. He's already starting to sweat…"
"Well, here's Panera Bread. Riker, you and Rocky stay with him. Ratliff, come with me," Rydel orders, getting out of the car and slamming her door shut. The noises startles Austin- he whines in protest. His face is flushed with fever, and I sigh, brushing his bangs out of his eyes. Poor thing…being sick on top of all the mental shit is horrid.
Austin coughs in his sleep, and I sigh, lifting him up, and pulling him onto my lap. This way, he can still sleep, but he'll be sitting up, so he won't cough. I rub his back gently, as he lets his head drop into the crook of my neck.
"God…he doesn't fucking deserve this…" Riker sighs. He reaches over to kiss Austin's dampening hair.
"And we're back, no thanks to Ratliff," Rydel grumbles, as she enters the car.
"I like food! It's not my fault!" Ratliff protests, joining her in the passenger's seat- with a full bag on his lap.
"Both of you, quiet," Riker says. "Austin's sleeping."
"Right, sorry. How is he?" Ratliff asks, turning around in his seat to see the ill blonde.
"He's coughing, and his fever is rising. We need to get him home and take his temperature," I sigh, feeling Austin's forehead again. "God, he's burning up…"
A few minutes pass, and Rydel finally pulls into our driveway. She turns off the car, and we all get out- I'm carrying Austin bridal style, and Ratliff is following me, with the large bag of hot food in his hands.
"Lay him on the couch," Rydel orders, when we get into the living room. I comply, wincing when Austin stirs again. Riker slips a pillow under his head, and Austin releases a sigh, his breathing beginning to deepen again.
"Get me the thermometer," I mutter, reaching over and moving his bangs from his eyes.
"Here," Rydel presses the device into my hand, and I slip it under Austin's tongue, praying that he doesn't wake up. Luckily, he stays in a deep sleep- he's completely out, his breathing deep- chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm.
When it beeps, I retract it, and scan the numbers. "Shit…"
"How bad is it?" Riker asks.
"102.8…" I sigh. "Alright, Rydel, go find a washcloth, medicine, and water. Riker, get him a pair of pajamas, and some more pillows. And Ratliff, unload the food, and put his into a bowl- bring it over here."
"You'll feel better soon," I mutter to Austin's sleeping figure. "We'll take care of you."
"So, what'd he say?"
I sigh. "Trish, we're horrible excuses for people. We damaged him…"
"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad! We didn't say anything particularly awful!"
"Yeah, right. Trish, he's suicidal. He's depressed. He attempted suicide. I think it was pretty freakin' bad!"
"Wait," Dez whispers anxiously. "Is he okay? Like, stable? I mean…is he planning to try to kill himself anytime soon?"
"From what Rocky said, no. But he's so fragile…I can't believe we were such assholes to him. He didn't deserve that…" I run a hand through my hair, blinking tears back. "He's my best friend…"
"He ditched us for them," Trish mutters.
My eyes widen. "No, he didn't. And if I were you, I'd give them a lot of credit- they're the reason he's fucking alive!"
Both of them look at me in surprise. I don't curse much- let alone drop the f-bomb, but this calls for it. I think we just lost Austin. Correction- we lost him a long time ago- he's falling apart, and all we did was kick him when he was already down. We're horrible people. He was just trying to be a good best friend- and we treated him like utter shit.
"I think we may've just lost it with Austin, guys. He's broken- it was obvious. He looked scared- terrified of me. He was so close to Rocky- always touching some part of him- it looks like it'll be a really goddamn long time, before we get our old Austin back…if he's in there, that is…"
"Is it going down?"
"No…it's at 103.1 now, dammit…" I sigh, reaching back to pull my long hair into a ponytail. My brothers glance at me worriedly, and I release another deep breath.
"We need to break his fever. This is getting dangerous," I mutter, dipping the washcloth in cold water again. I fold it and lay it on Austin's burning forehead- he immediately whimpers in his sleep, at the coldness, and begins to squirm. I shake my head, kissing his hair, and soothing him back into sleep. He's going to be miserable when he wakes up…
"Rocky, take Riker, and go see if you can get paperwork or shit to ask Austin's parents to give custody to us. This needs to happen now- he's getting sick from exhaustion, he can't function like this anymore," I order. "Ratliff, I'm gonna need your help. We need to break his fever somehow."
Austin whines, and he starts to blink. He's waking up, and I sigh. This may be a good thing. We can try to get some food into him- maybe that'll help with his fever. Rocky and Riker bid us goodbye, and leave, while Ratliff brings the bowl of chicken soup over.
"S'going on?" Austin slurs, blinking up at me. He looks so damn adorable- those puppy-dog eyes, his red, blotchy face, and his tired demeanor give him the cutest appearance.
"You're sick, Aus. You've got a high fever- how do you feel?"
"Like I was run over by a train…" he whispers hoarsely. "Stomach hurts…"
I sigh. "You need to eat something- you haven't eaten since this morning. We've got soup- it'll be light on your stomach." His face pales at this, but he sighs and nods, allowing me to help him sit up.
"There you go," I praise gently. Ratliff sits down next to him, the bowl of warm soup in his lap. He lifts the spoon to Austin's lips, and the ill blond shakes his head.
"Don' havta feed me…"
"Hush, it's alright. You're sick- let me help you," Ratliff chides gently. "Open your mouth."
Austin sighs and parts his lips slightly- barely enough for Ratliff to stick the spoon in. He swallows, and his eyes widen. A hand flies up to cover his mouth, and my heart sinks.
"Ratliff! Trashcan! Now!" I order, my heart racing, as Austin tries to keep himself from vomiting all over the floor.
Ratliff slides the garbage bin under him just in time for vomit to spill from Austin's mouth. All his breakfast comes up, along with stomach acid- leaving him whimpering, in tears, as he throws up. It fucking hurts, especially stomach acid, and my heart wrenches for him.
"You alright?" Ratliff murmurs, when I lift my head.
"Everything hurts…m'sorry…"
"Don't apologize," Rydel says gently, using the washcloth to wipe my mouth. "You're sick. I think it's good that you got it all out- maybe now, your stomach will settle."
"Nooo…it's…I'm nauseous again," I whimper. I lay an arm across my stomach, wincing. "I jus' wanna sleep…"
"Not yet, bro. We're sorry," Ratliff whispers. "You need to take this." He holds out three pills and a bottle of water, and I sigh. I don't think I can hold anything down now, and I don't wanna puke it up…it'll hurt too much.
The pills feel like razors- cutting up my swollen throat, and sending sparks of agony throughout my entire body. "Ow…"
"There, there," Rydel soothes. She and Ratliff help me to lie down again, and I whimper, closing my eyes. A kiss is placed to my forehead, and I sigh softly, as sleep overcomes me once more.
"That was easier than I thought…" I sigh.
Riker nods. "We just need to meet with his parents…I'm worried about that. He needs to be there, and I don't know how well he'll handle it."
"If we can just get him through that, he'll be ours for good. I wonder how he's doing…his fever was rising when we left." I open my car door, and slide in. Riker slides into the passenger's seat, tapping out a message to Rydel.
"Tell me what she says," I instruct, turning on the ignition and pulling out of the legal office.
"He puked up the soup…he's barely managing to hold fever reducer and pain reliever down…" Riker mutters, after a few seconds.
"Dammit…" I sigh.
"We should keep him out of school Monday. Ratliff has to go, though. He's ditched too many times…"
I chuckle. "Yeah. Don't think he'll take too kindly to that idea."
"I think we're doing good, considering this," Riker says. "We've been through hell and back- but we're still managing to live our lives in the present- and I'm glad we are. If I could only stop being so broken…" He trails off, hitting himself on the forehead.
"Riker… You can't just stop being broken. You're recovering- you're working on fixing yourself, but it takes time. It can't happen overnight. You've got me, Rydel, Ratliff, and even Austin. I know he's delirious because he's sick right now, but you said it yourself- you can relate to him the most. He may only be fifteen- but age doesn't define maturity. From how he's been acting, you could definitely talk to him…"
"I just feel like we should be focusing on helping him, not me. I've been at this for two months, and I'm right back where I started…"
"Says who?" I scoff. "Two months ago, you would've damned that promise to hell, and sliced into your wrist anyway. Two months ago, I wouldn't have been able to grab your wrist, without you flinching. Two months ago- there was a possibility that every time you locked yourself in the bathroom- I'd come in there and find yourself surrounded by a pool of your own blood."
Thoughts? Next chapter- Rocky/Ratliff scenes, Austin realizes something shocking, and someone relapses. Not saying who. Tempted? Reviews get you the next chapter tonight :)
-Neha