is aged them up just a teeny bit so tyler can drive
Tyler was ready for the school day to be over. It had dragged on long enough, and sitting in eighth period, he was bored out of his mind.
Finally something interesting,
a text from Aiden appeared on the screen.
âhey man can you give me a ride homeâ
Okay, not as exciting as he had hoped, but at least heâd get to spend some time with his friend after school.Â
âyeah sure, whatâs the occasion?â Tyler knows that Aiden and Ben usually walk home, even on days like today, when Ben stays after school for his session with the guidance counselor. Usually Aiden would just venture the almost a mile walk home easy breezy, so something was off about this.
ânothing just donât feel like walking home todayâ
Aiden replied, no punctuation as usual.
âalright. are you feeling okay?â
âokay, meet me by the side door and we can walk out to my car together.â
And with that, it was back to the boringness of eighth period.
Taylor waited for Aiden by the door they planned to meet at, scrolling on instagram.
As Aiden approached, he noticed something was off. Aidenâs skin was pale and clammy, and his smile seemed dull today.
âHey Ty, no Taylor today?â
âNope, sheâs got robotics. You sure youâre okay? You donât look so good, and Iâm not just trying to call you ugly.â
âLetâs just get home.âAiden mumbles through clenched teeth.
When Tyler unlocks the door, Aiden hops into the passenger seat, relaxing into the cushion. Tyler starts the car, turning the vents toward Aiden, who had been fanning himself on the way over.
Before pushing the gas, Tyler reached a hand to Aidenâs forehead.
âFuck dude, I think youâre sick, youâre literally so hot.â
âYou think Iâm hot? Thanks man.â Aiden mumbled sarcastically, as if he didnât already realize he was sick.
âSo thatâs why you wanted a ride?â
Aiden nodded, closing his eyes and listening to the peaceful hum of the a/c, trying to drown out the pounding of his head and rising nausea
Tyler pulled out of his parking spot, typing Aidenâs address into the gps. He was glad he didnât have baseball today, it wouldâve been bad to make the poor fevered boy next to him walk home.
They got about three minutes down the road, before Tyler watched Aidenâs face somehow lose even more of its color.
Aiden cut him off. âPull over.â
âThis is kinda a bad spot for that, assuming your about to puke, thereâs a plastic bag with some of Taylorâs random shit in it, just dump that stuff on the ground and use that.â
Aiden didnât need to be told twice, quickly doing as heâs told and snatching the bag off the ground, with little care for whatever is inside.Â
Tyler focused on the road, trying to ignore the sounds of Aidenâs vomit splashing into the bag. Tyler is what some might call, emetophobic. He doesnât have it bad, but hearing Aiden puking up his guts next to him is making his breaths quick and his hands shake on the steering wheel.
The heaves started to get smaller, although still as gross if not grosser, especially when one wave brought with it a harsh wet cough or burp. But by the time they arrived at Aidenâs, he had finished vomiting, taking shallow breaths and holding the almost full warm bag of puke in his hands. When Tyler pulled up, Aiden was quick to exit the vehicle and rush to the front door, fumbling for his house key. He was ready to dispose of the bag of vomit in his hand. Tyler followed close behind.
âArenât you going home?â Aiden asked, unlocking the door.
âOf course not. I canât just leave you here sick like this.â
âBut clearly you donât handle throwing up very well, and something tells me Iâm going to be doing more of that today.â
âDoesnât matter. Itâs what friends do, right?â
âWhatever you say. Donât feel like you have to stay if me being sick like this freaks you out too much or whatever.â
âItâs okay. Now letâs get you to bed.â
They climbed up the steps, Aiden holding onto Tyler for some support, his legs felt weaker than ever.
Once Tyler was sure Aiden had everything he needed, he stepped out of the room to call Ashlyn.
It rang twice before she answered.
âHey Tyler, whatâs up?â
âHey Ash, would you mind coming over to Aidenâs? Heâs sick and youâre the only other person whoâs not busy right now, I donât think I can handle him by myself.â
âIs he that much of a handful?â
âNot really, Iâm just kinda afraid of vomit. Think you can help?â
âYeah sure. But just fyi, I have no idea how to take care of someone sick.â
âJust leave the rest to me.â
Ten minutes later, the doorbell rings. Ashlyn waits at the door, let in by Tyler and led up to Aidenâs bedroom. The room has a couch, where the two waited for Aiden to wake up. Tyler has had plenty of experience taking care of sick people. He always takes care of Taylor and his mom when they get sick, especially after his dadâs passing. Tyler has already taken Aisenâs temperature (101, which he should keep checking in case it goes up and he needs to take him to the hospital.), one of the first steps when someone gets sick. Now, he just needs to make sure Aiden is hydrated, taking the proper medications, and eaten when he is ready.
Speaking of which, he should probably get to work making Aiden something to eat. He searched the kitchen for ingredients, finding just enough ingredients for a couple servings of noodle soup. Heâs not a great cook, but he can easily follow a recipe on his phone.
Ashlyn sat around, feeling useless. That is, until the sound of frantic footsteps above her, telling her Aiden is awake.
âIâll go check on himâ She told Tyler, who was busy with the soup.Â
She speed walked up the stairs, unsurprised to find that Aiden was getting sick again. Tyler had left a bucket for him on the nightstand, but Aiden seemingly had tried to make it to the bathroom, but obviously didnât get there on time. Aidenâs shirt had vomit down the front, and a puddle was forming on the floor. Ashlyn grabbed the bucket and handed it to Aiden, leading him to sit down in his desk chair. Aiden tried to speak between mostly dry heaves now.
âAsh? When- when did you-â he was cut off by his own gags.
âShh. Just get it up. Tyler called me since heâs not good around vomit.â
Aiden nodded in understanding through the dry heaves.Â
âAiden I donât think you have anything left to bring up. Drink some water, Iâll clean this up.â
Aiden wanted to argue against her cleaning up his mess. But he knew he couldnât do it himself, not without getting sick again. So he trudged back to his bed and let Ashlyn handle it.
Ashlyn cleaned up the mess, which was really gross, but had to be done. It took about ten minutes, in which Aiden had still not fallen back to sleep.
âI canât sleeeep.â he groaned.
âYou have been sleeping for a while already. Maybe come downstairs with me? Tyler is making soup, it should be ready soon.â
Aiden grabbed his blanket off of his bed, wrapping himself up like a cloak over his head, making Ashlyn giggle.Â
They carefully went down the stairs. Greeting Tyler in the kitchen.
âHey germy, you sleep well?â Tyler said, barely looking up from his pot.
âMore or less.â he responded, his voice groggy
âWell, your soup will be ready soon. You like chicken noodle?â
âDefinitely. Iâm starving.â
âThatâs good to hear. Itâll be done in around fifteen minutes. Go get comfortable on the couch and wait.â
Aiden didnât need to be told twice to sit down, his limbs feeling like mush.
âOh and Ashlyn? Take his temperature.â Tyler called from the kitchen.
Ashlyn grabbed the thermometer, feeling the heat radiating off of the boy before the thermometer told her anything.
âItâs about the same.â she said after it beeped.
Aiden nodded, feeling bored out of his mind.
Ashlyn must have sensed this, because she suggested they play a video game, sitting down next to Aiden, who agreed.
They open Super Smash Bros, and picked out their characters Ashlyn as Yoshi and Aiden as Bowser.Â
As soon as the round started, they focused in on smashing the buttons, attacking each other. Aiden seemed to know all of the combos and tricks, while Ashlyn was mindlessly smashing buttons, yet still winning.
Aiden however, did some kind of super move, making a comeback and winning just before the round ended.
âHaha! In your facceeee! Even when Iâm sick I still dominate smash bros!â
âYeah yeah whatever. Round 2?â
They continued to play like this, Aiden winning continuously until his food was ready. Tyler unfolded a couple tv trays, and they all sat on the couch eating their soup. Tyler put on Aidenâs favorite spider-man movie. (The first Andrew Garfield one) And they peacefully watched the movie and slurped their soup. Once he finished his soup, Aiden scooted towards Ashlyn, resting his head on her shoulder, and falling back asleep.