Idiots to Lovers (bxb)

42 | This is why you should never preheat the oven

Everett

"Hey Jamie." I pulled on the cords of my puffer jacket.

"Oh good, you're here." She looked relieved as she ushered me in. "I hate to leave but I really can't miss another exam."

"No, don't worry about it. Erm...might have been partly my fault, to be honest."

"Help yourself to any food, okay? I won't be back till night," she said before leaving.

I threw my coat and scarf on the rack before pulling off my boots. Taking the stairs two at a time, my fuzzy socks padded across the carpet to Clementine's room. I paused outside the door, tapping softly with the tip of my finger before I creaked it open.

Clementine was slumped sideways on the bed, his head hanging off the edge. The dustbin beneath him was a volcano of balled up tissues, spilling over the floor like it had erupted. The tissue box was balanced on his chest, both hands yanking out all its contents.

I walked into his eyeline, leaning over his shoulder. "Hey."

Clementine squinted and then blinked. The dark shadows under his eyes just as purple as his irises. "Am I dead?"

"It's just a cold, cutie." I honked his nose to prove I wasn't a hallucination. It was a little leakier than I thought.

"Ew, why did you touch that. It's gross." He wrinkled his nose in distaste. It was even redder than the rest of his face, the skin around it rough and peeling from being rubbed too much.

"It's just snot, it's not—"

It did feel a little slimy actually, slippery between my fingers as they rubbed together. I stole a tissue and wiped it off, tossing it in the already overflowing bin. "Maybe a little," I corrected, smirking at him. "But I've touched worse...bodily fl—"

"Okay, okay," he cut me off, face turning even redder if that were possible. "I just don't want you to get sick."

I shrugged, perching at the edge of his bed. I pushed back the slick hair sticking to his forehead, resting the back of my hand near his temple. "You're a bit warm."

Clementine struggled into a sitting positon. "What are you doing here anyway?" He frowned. "You should leave, you'll catch these," he waved an arm around, "germs. They're everywhere."

"But I'm here for the germs," I protested. "I mean, because of them. I came to look after you."

A flicker of panic shot across Clementine's face. So fast that I wondered if I had imagined it.

"You don't need to look after me."

I pouted. "I'm just trying to be a good boyfriend."

"I'm fine." He coughed.

"You look like crap."

His lips twisted into a smile. "Is that you being a good boyfriend?"

"Yes!" I glared at him. "I'm going to cook you food and administer medicine and everything."

"I already took medicine," he squeaked out, not even trying to hide his fear now. "There's nothing to administer!"

I couldn't think of a witty response to that, my mind still stuck on his earlier words. "Did you just call me your boyfriend?"

Clementine opened and closed his mouth. "I think you said it first."