Teach Me How to Dougie

I lay in bed, exhausted and ready for the day to be over. Even though I had only had two classes today, I felt like I had run a marathon.

It was starting to turn bitterly cold, each day in November reminding me that I could have chosen to go to school somewhere warm and that, sadly, it would only get colder. My cheeks still stung from the cold, as I had missed the bus and had been forced to walk from the doctor's office to my apartment.

I had started feeling a little off when I first woke up, noticing that I had a slight headache and felt a scratch in my throat. That only worsened throughout the day, so I had walked over to my school's health center after my last class to see what was up. Being sick in college was never fun, and this didn't feel like a normal cold.

The doctor had said that I had a virus, which was of course super helpful. He said that I wasn't contagious, but that I should still take it easy the next few days. I, of course, took that as "do everything I normally would and choke down the pills he gives you", not taking time to care for myself. I didn't have time to be sick!

So I lay in my bed, still in my clothes from the day. I pulled myself off of my bed and threw on a pair of sweatpants and Dougie's t-shirt. I was so tired, and although it was only 7:00PM, I decided to take a quick nap.
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I sat up, too quickly I soon realized, looking around my room. My head was throbbing and my cheeks felt burning hot. I was somehow also freezing, even in pants and a long-sleeved shirt, buried in my blanket. I picked up my phone and nearly jumped when I saw that it was 10:00... the next morning. I had slept for FIFTEEN HOURS! I looked into my messages, the faint light of my phone burning my eyes and causing me to squint. I saw that Holly had texted me and opened her message.

*Holly: Bb I shut off your alarm so you could sleep. I know you had class today but you need to NOT go, for sure. Call me so I know you're not dead. <3*

I called Holly, my head still throbbing as the phone rang in my ear.

"Chloe! You're alive!"

I went to speak but noticed my voice wasn't coming out as well as usual.

"Um, yeah. I guess."

"How are you? Sorry I shut your alarm off. You were out cold when I got home last night and then you kept moving around and mumbling in your sleep."

I guess that explained why I was still so tired. My throat still hurt, but not in the scratchy way it had yesterday. Instead, it felt swollen and uncomfortable.

"I don't know. I- Everything hurts."

"Awww, I'm sorry! I would come home and hang out but I have a packed day today. I feel bad leaving you all alone, though. Do you want me to call Dougie?"

I thought about it for a minute, instantly worrying that I would get him sick. But, the doctor had said that I wasn't contagious. Plus, Holly was extremely persistent and would probably drag someone to our apartment if I didn't say yes.

"Yeah, okay. You still have his number?"

"Yep! I'll let him know to use our spare key, too, so you don't have to get up."

I rolled my eyes. I hated being babied but, again, I knew that Holly wouldn't let me protest. I cracked a slight smile, not feeling as peppy as usual.

"Thanks mom."

I hung up the phone and put it down, laying back down and shutting my eyes for a few seconds, hoping the throbbing in my head would stop.
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*DOUGIE'S POV*

Holly had texted me right as I was walking into my apartment after practice.

*Holly: Hi Dougie! Chlo is super sick and I can't be home to take care of her. You should go see her (don't worry, she's not contagious).*

I felt my heart drop. I hated the thought of Chloe being alone and sick. She hadn't mentioned anything to me about not being her normal self, but now that I thought about it, the last time she had texted me was yesterday morning.

*Dougie: Yeah, I'll go right over! Thanks for telling me.*

*Holly: No prob! Just use our spare key, it's under the floor mat.*

I picked up my things from where I had just dropped them and headed over.
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I opened the door to Chloe's place, careful to not make too much noise. All of the lights were off and it seemed like the place was empty. I heard the sound of Chloe's breathing and walked quietly over to her bed, kneeling down on the floor next to her head.

She was hidden under her comforter, her head turned to the side and her hair all around her. She looked like an angel, even in her sleep. Even so, I could tell something was off. I noticed that her cheeks were a little red and, when I brushed her hair out of her face, I felt that her skin was burning hot. She stirred slightly as I moved her hair out of her face, eyes blinking slowly as she woke up.

"Hi Dougie."

Chloe's voice was hushed and her eyes looked glassy. I helped her slowly sit up and urged her to move over slightly so that I could sit next to her. She moved over just enough for me to fit into her bed and I reclined, pulling her to my chest. Her body was like a ball of fire against mine. I pulled her blanket over the two of us, and looked back into her eyes.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry you are sick."

She nodded her head, but I saw a tear sneak out of her eye and roll down her cheek. I brushed it away and hugged her closer. She was breaking my heart.

"I'm sorry. You don't have to worry about me."

"Chlo, of course I do. You mean so much to me and I hate to see you like this. Please, don't be sorry, babe."

I began to run my fingers through her hair, which I knew would instantly put her to sleep. It always did. Her breath slowed as each minute passed. I heard her mumble something after a few minutes.

"Huh?"

"I love you."

I could tell by the steady and slow rhythm of her breathing that she had fallen asleep, but a smile still came to my face.

"I love you, too."
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*CHLOE'S POV*

I rubbed my eyes and sat up, still sore and tired. My headache had calmed to a dull pain, so my thoughts weren't as interrupted as they had been this morning. It was 1:00PM, so I guess I had slept for another three hours, but I still didn't feel completely rested. I noticed that the TV was on and saw Dougie sitting on the couch, which was comically small as his 6'5" body lounged across it. He must have heard me wake up, as he turned around at the sound of my siting up in bed.

"Hey babe. How are you feeling?"

I pushed my blanket off and shivered, somehow still cold in my outfit and burning body heat. Swinging my legs off of my bed and to the floor, I stood up. I instantly felt my head start spinning and my vision blurring. I felt me legs weaken and collapsed to the ground, vision clouded and face hot.

"Oh my god! Chloe!"

Dougie jumped off of the couch and raced over to me, as I lie on the ground, still dizzy. I felt his arms encircle me and pull me into his lap, holding me close and stroking my hair.

I nodded my head, my vision slowly clearing. I had no idea what had happened but I was definitely freaked out.

Dougie held me tight against him. I looked up into his eyes, which looked bloodshot and worried. He looked to be on the brink of tears as he waited to make sure I was okay.

"I'm just super dizzy. And cold." My stomach growled. "And hungry, I guess."

"Have you had anything to eat today?"

I thought about the last time I had eaten. I realized that it had been almost two days ago. Shit. I had felt so off yesterday that I hadn't eaten anything. And today, well, I had slept away.

"No. I haven't eaten in a while."

Dougie slowly helped me up and helped me back onto my bed. He walked to my closet and then to my kitchen, opening my drawers and cupboards in an attempt to find food. He came back over to me holding a sweatshirt and a box of crackers, along with a bottle of water.

"Thank you Nurse Dougie."

I giggled as I put my sweatshirt on, feeling slightly warmer and slightly less like a zombie. I took a few gulps of water and sat cross-legged, the box of crackers in my lap. Dougie sat next to me on my bed, reaching into the box and grabbing a few crackers for himself.

"You've been a pretty good patient."

"Sorry for sleeping so long. You've probably been bored out of your mind."

Dougie shrugged.

"You needed to sleep. I thought I would wake you up when I moved, but you didn't move."

"Yeah, I'm usually a pretty sound sleeper. I don't move around a lot or talk in my sleep or anything."

Dougie tried to hide a smile that slowly spread across his face. He looked a little suspicious of what I was saying.

"You don't talk in your sleep. Huh."

Oh no. Sometimes I spoke in my sleep when I was sick. I must have said something super embarrassing.

"Oh god, what did I say? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. Ugh"

I buried my face in my hands, peeking out from behind my fingers.

"I hope you did. I mean, uh, it was nothing bad. I-"

Dougie stumbled over his words, looking like the nervous guy I had met a few months ago. He averted his gaze and started fidgeting with the cracker he was holding.

"You said that you loved me."

I gulped, suddenly feeling super self-conscious and embarrassed. It's not that I didn't mean it. I really did! I loved Dougie, truly. I had been debating telling him for a little bit, but was too nervous. What if he didn't feel the same way? What if it was too soon?

"Well, uh, I do. I mean, I do love you."

Dougie looked up putting his hand over mine, where it rest on my knee.

"I love you."

Those three words sounded great coming out of his mouth. I would have kissed him right then and there if I wasn't still so sick. Instead I reached out to him, pulling him to me in a warm hug.

I guess having a big hockey player for myself meant I also had a personal body heater at my disposal.

Notes

Decided to switch up the POV's a bit. Not sure how I feel about it. Thanks for reading!