Charlie has a bad flu, but insists on filming and working after finishing his classes. His roommates Condi and Grizzlyplays insist he take a sick day and rest, but Charlie argues that he's fine.

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Sick, emetophobia (fear of throwing up), swearing,
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Charlie jolted awake as his alarm clock rang loudly next to his bed. He reached over and turned it off, groaning. His entire body hurt all over. Raising his arm to turn the alarm off took energy he didn't have. As he moved, he could feel that his bed and pajamas were soaked with sweat. He grabbed his glasses from his nightstand and put them on, pushing himself up. His arms nearly gave out as he did this, but he managed to push himself into a sitting position on the side of his bed. The second he was upright, his head swam and the room spun.

"Oh, fuck..." He mumbled as waves of dizziness and nausea hit him one after the other. He grabbed his water bottle from the nightstand and unscrewed the cap. He tipped it towards his mouth, but found it empty. He didn't remember finishing it during the night. He took a deep breath and stood up.

Immediately, the entire room spun sideways and he fell back on the bed. He closed his eyes, rubbing them. He stood again and was able to hold his balance. He ventured out into the living room.

It was 8:00 in the morning. His roommates Condi and Grizzly were both already awake. Condi was sitting at the kitchen table writing something and Grizzly was in the kitchen.

"Hey." Charlie said quietly.

"Hey." Condi said without looking up.

"Yo-Holy fuck are you okay? You look like shit!" Grizzly said as he closed the refrigerator door. Now Condi looked up.

"Whoa Charlie are you okay?" He asked as well.

"I'm fine. Just not feeling great." Charlie trudged into the kitchen and filled up his water bottle, immediately chugging from it and filling it again.

"You look worse than yesterday." Grizzly pointed out.

"Thank you." Charlie said, trying to smile.

"Do you have a fever?" Condi stood from the table.

"I dunno, fuckin' probably." Charlie slurred a little. "I'm fine. I gotta get ready for class." He said.

"I think you should go back to bed, dude. You're sick sick." Condi crossed his arms. Charlie shook his head.

"Nah. I can't. Today's filming day. I have to record some stuff after school, and then I'm streaming at 6:00." Charlie said as he walked back towards his room.

"You can't do that all today. Record tomorrow and go back to bed." Grizzly said.

"I'm fine mom." Charlie joked, closing his bedroom door. He leaned against the wall, coughing into his elbow. His throat felt raw.

He hadn't felt good last night either, but he was far worse today, there was no hiding that.

His first class was at 8:45. He knew he should probably eat something, but his stomach was churning. He sat down at his desk and sighed, which made him cough again.

Instead of making himself breakfast, he decided to spend what little energy he had on getting his school stuff out and ready for his classes. He had two that morning, biology from 8:45-10:45, and English from 11:15-1:00. He stood up from his chair and wandered slowly over to his closet, where he stashed his backpack. He grabbed out his biology textbook, English textbook, and his binders for both classes. He set everything out so he was ready, and then glanced back at his bed. A quick shake of the head made him dizzy as he told himself he couldn't lie down for a minute. He'd most definitely fall back asleep and miss possibly both of his classes. He quickly sat down to dispel the dizziness and opened his phone, choosing to scroll through social media instead.

Around twenty minutes passed and a knock at his door made him jump. He thought about getting up to answer it, but his entire body protested in achy pain.

"Yeah?" He called instead, coughing. Grizzly opened the door and walked inside. He was holding a small plate of plain toast.

"What the fuck? You didn't have to do that." Charlie said as Grizzly set the plate down in front of him. 

"I knew you probably weren't gonna make anything. Someone has to take care of you, you're sure as hell not gonna take care of yourself, you workaholic." Grizzly joked.

"Thank you, Grizz." Charlie said, taking a small bite of one of the slices.

"How are you feeling?" Grizzly asked, looking Charlie over. "You look like shit."

"So I've been told. I feel like shit so I guess it makes sense." Charlie shrugged.

"I think you should go see you doctor. He can give you antibiotics or something. You're really sick, Charlie." Grizzly's eyes were filled with genuine concern.

"I'll be fine, Grizz. I'm gonna take it easy today. I just have these two classes, and then I'm only gonna film two videos instead of three, and then I stream at 6:00." Charlie said. Grizzly rolled his eyes.

"Wow, you really know how to give yourself a break." He said sarcastically. Charlie shrugged.

"Hey, the grind never stops."

"Charlie, I'm serious. You shouldn't be doing all that." Grizzly said.

"I'll pace myself. It'll be fine. I'm a big boy, Grizz. I can handle working and being sick." Charlie assured him, eating more of the toast.

"You don't have to handle it. You should be resting." Grizzly shot back.

"Yeah, well, there are a lot of things I 'should' be doing." Charlie retorted.

"Charlie."

"Nate I'm fine. Thank you for the toast. I have to get my class stuff ready." Charlie said seriously. He used Grizzly's real name to emphasize his seriousness. Grizzly just sighed and rolled his eyes.

"You're welcome. You should be resting." He repeated as he left the room.

"I'm fine!" Charlie said as he walked out.

"Should be resting!" Grizzly said back, closing Charlie's door behind him. Charlie smiled to himself. He started to chuckle, but it morphed into a coughing fit instantly. He tried drinking some water, but it didn't help.

He heard Grizzly's voice yell from the living room.

"You should be resting!!"

Charlie rolled his eyes as he finally stopped coughing. He picked up his phone and texted Grizzly.

I'm fine!

He checked the time quickly. It was 8:34. He still had a bit of free time, so he continued to nibble on his toast and scroll through social media until his class started.

Around halfway through his first class, his head started to pound. His mind went foggy, and he found it more and more difficult to pay attention to his Professor. He tried hard to keep up with notes, but between the pounding headache, the coughing fits (which made his head hurt even worse), and the waves of nausea, it was becoming impossible. On top of that, he was starting to shiver. He actually had to leave his desk for a moment and grab a hoodie because he was so cold.

His biology class ended, and Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as he left the zoom call. He leaned forward in his chair and put his head down on his arms on the desk. His headache was getting worse, and light seemed to be the cause. He forced himself up and turned off his bedroom light. It didn't help much. A knock on his door made him jump. Since he was already standing, he opened the door to see Condi.

"Jesus Christ dude. Why won't you just get back in bed?" Condi asked. Charlie just groaned at him and walked back to his desk and sat down.

"What's up?" He asked.

"You're done with your first class, right?" Condi asked.

"Yeah." Charlie sniffled. His nose was plugged up entirely.

"Can you, like, take a nap or something in between classes?"

"Nope. Next one starts in just 25 minutes. And I'm fine."

"You don't look fine."

"Yeah well...I am." Charlie looked back at his phone.

"Okay. If you say so." Condi gave up. There was no use in arguing with him. He knew how to interact with Charlie when he was like this. When he starts pushing himself past his limit, the best thing to do is be there to comfort him when he inevitably crashes.

It worried them that he pushed himself so hard. But Charlie wasn't one to take breaks, he never had been.

Now, Condi wished him luck in his next class and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"Any luck?" Grizzly asked upon Condi's return to the living room.

"Nope. Of course not."

"Damn. Alright well, we tried. He's an adult. He'll crash eventually." Grizzly shrugged. Condi nodded, sighing.

Back in his bedroom, Charlie was fighting to stay awake at his desk. His whole entire body ached painfully. Anytime he moved, it hurt. His skin felt like fire. Whenever his clothes rubbed against him it stung. He checked his phone. His class started in 10 minutes. He'd finished the toast Grizzly had brought him, and was casually drinking water when he felt it.

His stomach churned, and a bad wave of nausea hit him like a train. He froze, a familiar feeling creeping over him.

"No, no, no, no, no." He said to himself, drinking more water. Here, the water made it worse. The nausea persisted, getting more intense. "Fuck, fuck..."

Ever since Charlie could remember, he'd hated throwing up. It had developed over time into a legit phobia. Emetophobia, he remembered the name when he googled it years ago, wondering if he was just crazy for panicking every time he got sick.

His leg bounced anxiously as he tried to breathe. The feeling persisted, and his heart began to race as the panic set in. He hated everything about getting sick. Charlie was willing his body to cooperate just this once. He took a few deep breaths and drank more water.

Again, the water made it worse. He pushed himself out of his chair and stood. A wave of dizziness hit him hard, and he stumbled. Charlie quickly leaned on his desk until his vision cleared enough for him to walk. He forced himself across his bedroom to the door, which he threw open.

As he stumbled down the hallway and living room to the kitchen, Condi and Grizzly were alerted.

"Hey. Doesn't your class start in like five minutes?" Condi asked. Charlie ignored him. The nausea was at its peak now, and he knew that speaking wouldn't be good. He opened the fridge and grabbed out a can of 7Up. He remembered as a child, his parents would give him and his brother 7Up if they felt nauseous. He tore the can open and took a few sips.

"Charlie? Are you okay? Charlie?"

Grizzly and Condi were both speaking to him, but he couldn't answer. The room was spinning.

"Fuck he looks really pale. Charlie, can you hear me?" Condi said. Charlie tried to focus on his friend but his vision swam.

His stomach flipped. Suddenly, his vision was clear and directed down the hallway to the bathroom. He ran passed his friends and down the hall to the ajar door and ran inside. He fell to his knees at the toilet. His breathing skyrocketed as he dry heaved.

Condi and Grizzly had followed close behind him when he took off, and now they stood in the doorway.

"He's panicking." Grizzly said.

"I know." Condi replied.

"He hates getting sick." Grizzly narrated without realizing that Condi knew this just as much as he did.

"Charlie? Breathe, you're okay." Condi ignored him and took a few steps into the bathroom, turning on the light and fan as he did so. Charlie shook his head as small tears formed in his eyes.

"I don't...Wanna get sick." He said between gasps.

"It's okay. It's your body's way of fighting this off. You'll feel better. It's okay. Breathe." Condi said. "Do you want us to stay with you? Or do you want us to close the door?"

Charlie shook his head again.

"Which one?" Grizzly asked.

"Go." Was all Charlie managed to get out. Condi took a few steps back out of the bathroom. Grizzly leaned in and set the 7Up can, which he'd grabbed for Charlie as they followed him, on the sink and shut the door behind him.

"Why won't he just rest?" Grizzly asked as he and Condi walked back to the living room. Condi just shrugged. They both froze when they heard Charlie retching in the bathroom.

"Aw fuck." Condi sighed.

"He's not gonna be okay."

"Nope. He's not. Let's wait a minute and then we can check on him."

Grizzly nodded, and they both sat down at the table.

After around five minutes, the sounds from the bathroom ceased. Condi looked up from his phone and tapped Grizzly's arm. The other male looked up and nodded. They stood and returned to the bathroom. Condi knocked first.

"Charlie? Are you okay in there?" He asked. They waited.

At first they didn't hear anything over the bathroom fan. After a few moments, however, they heard a very small voice say; "No..."

Condi put his ear to the door.

"He's crying?" Grizzly whispered. Condi nodded.

"Hey, Charlie? We're gonna open the door, okay?" Condi said gently. Slowly, Condi twisted the doorknob and pushed the bathroom door open. Charlie was curled up on the ground leaning against the wall, knees pulled up to his chest, shaking and breathing very fast.

"Aw, Buddy! Hey, it's okay. It's okay. You're okay." Grizzly moved in instantly, him being the more comfortable one with comfort between the two of them. He bent down next to Charlie and put his hand on his back.

"Jesus, you're burning up! Condi should-" Condi put his finger to his lips, silencing Grizzly as he looked up at him from next to Charlie.

"Come on, Charlie. Let's get you into bed, alright?" Condi said.

"I have...Class." Charlie gasped out.

"Not today you don't. Email your teacher. You're sick Charlie." Condi said. He walked forward and held his hand out to help Charlie up. Charlie took it gratefully, and with Condi and Grizzly's help they got him to his feet, where he immediately stumbled. Condi quickly closed the toilet lid and they sat him down.

"Dizzy. Fuck, my head...is killing me..." Charlie covered his face with his hands. "I can sit at the desk". He added, still arguing.

"How productive were you in your first class?" Condi asked. Charlie was quiet. "Let's be pragmatic here, Charl. Come on. You can't focus like this. You're going back to bed."

"I can't. I have to film too." Charlie started to shake his head but immediately stopped, hissing in pain.

"You can't record like this. You can barely move." Grizzly said.

"I have to. Stream too."

"Charlie you're being stupid." Condi said.

"I have to." Charlie repeated.

"No. You really actually don't. I don't know why you're being so stubborn about this, man. You just-" Charlie cut Condi off.

"Don't! Please." He said, his voice going quiet again.

Grizzly and Condi made eye contact briefly.

"I'm sorry. But please, be realistic about this. Videos can wait, streaming can wait, classwork can wait! You aren't well enough to focus on anything anyways." Condi lowered his voice.

"I have to. I haven't streamed in a long time."
Charlie managed a whole sentence. His breathing was beginning to slow a bit as they talked.

"Charlie, you can't stream for hours like this." Condi pushed.

"Stay with him, I'm gonna get him some water." Grizzly pushed past Condi and rushed out of the bathroom.

"Yes I can. I've streamed while sick before." Charlie pushed his hair out of his face. It was clinging to his forehead with sweat.

"Not when you've been this sick!" Condi said. Charlie winced at the volume of his voice. Condi took a breath. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's just...you're being ridiculous right now."

"Maybe I am but I have no choice." Charlie swallowed.

"What do you mean you have no choice? It's your stream." Grizzly returned with a water bottle and some Tums. He handed them to Charlie, who accepted both gratefully. He chewed the Tums quickly.

"I haven't streamed in a few months." Charlie said when he'd finished.

"So?" Condi asked. Charlie glared at him.

"Charlie you can't let this dictate you. You have to take care of yourself." Grizzly said.

"I'll sleep when I'm done streaming." Charlie said.

"Why are you being such a hardass about this?!" Condi asked.

"Because I'm already doing a really shit job at everything else!! I have to do well in a least something! Fuck! My head..." Charlie yelled suddenly. Grizzly and Condi were both taken aback.

"W-What?" Grizzly asked.

"What do you mean? Charlie...You're not doing a shit job at anything." Condi's voice took on a much more gentle tone.

"Forget it." Charlie snapped.

"No. Not happening. What's going on?" Condi asked.

"I said forget it, Condi." Charlie said again.

"Don't put yourself down like that, man." Grizzly said.

"It's fine Grizz. I have to get back to my room. My class is starting." Charlie said. He tried to get up and he wavered a bit, and Condi gently took Charlie by the shoulders and sat him back down.

"Nope. You're either staying here, going to the couch, or getting back in bed. Whichever you choose, you're emailing your teacher that you're missing class. Then, you're gonna message your mods and tell them you can't stream tonight." He said firmly.

"I'm not a fucking kid, dude." Charlie said, but his defensive tone was greatly weakened by the fact that his voice was shaking almost as badly as his body was.

"Charlie, you're burning up. You're shaking, you're coughing, you're sick. Face it. You're not gonna focus in class, and you can't go long enough without coughing while talking to film or stream anything." Grizzly pointed out. Charlie didn't respond.

"Exactly. Take a day or two off, Charlie. It's not the end of the world. Come on. Be smart about this. If you try to push through now you could end up making yourself worse and you could be even more sick tomorrow." Condi said.

Charlie just stared at the floor.

"I haven't done anything in a while. People are gonna start getting mad at me." He said quietly.

"No they aren't, Charlie. It's okay. They'll understand. You're really sick. Please?" Condi lowered his voice and spoke more gently. Charlie coughed. He instantly pinched his eyes shut and one of his hands moved up to the side of his head, pressing down in an attempt to alleviate the pain.

"Charlie you'd be suffering through it." Grizzly said, looking to Condi hopefully.

"I know, I know. Fine." He caved, his whole body feeling heavy.

"Thank you!" Condi and Grizzly echoed at the same time.

"Come on. Do you wanna go to the couch or back to bed?" Condi asked.

"Hang on. Let me email my teacher first." Charlie grabbed his phone out of his pocket.

He quickly drafted up an email, read it out loud to the guys to make sure it sounded cohesive, and sent it.

"If you wanna go to the couch we can watch a movie or something." Grizzly suggested when he put his phone away. Charlie coughed hard, and Condi grabbed the water bottle from the sink and handed it to him. He took it and drank, nodding his thanks to Condi.

"Sure. Let's watch a movie." Charlie said. Condi helped him up, and they moved back into the living room. Before sitting down, Charlie grabbed a Gatorade from the fridge. Condi and Grizzly let Charlie pick the movie, and he chose an action thriller.

The guys got situated on the couch and started the movie. They kept the volume fairly high, as Charlie kept coughing. But it apparently wasn't loud enough to keep Charlie from falling asleep, because he passed out about half an hour into the film. Condi turned the volume down slightly.

A few minutes passed and when Grizzly leaned forward to check on Charlie, he noticed that the latter was shivering.

"He's cold. I'm gonna grab a blanket." Grizzly whispered, standing slowly. Condi nodded. They'd turned down the volume on the tv even more, hoping that Charlie would stay asleep. Grizzly hurried to their blanket and towel storage cabinet and grabbed one out. He returned and carefully draped it over Charlie, pulling it up to his shoulders. Charlie stirred a tiny bit, but didn't wake up. Grizzly let out a sigh of relief as he sat back down next to Condi.

They had finished the movie and had started another by the time Charlie did wake up. He opened his eyes and sat up slowly.

"Morning sleepyhead." Condi joked. Charlie chuckled.

"What did I miss?" He asked, grabbing the Gatorade from the table next to him.

"A lot, actually. Like, most of the movie." Condi laughed.

"Cool, thanks for the details." Charlie said between gulps.

"How are you feeling?" Grizzly asked.

"Like shit." Charlie said honestly.

"Maybe you should go to your doctor?" Grizzly moved to the edge of the couch so he could turns and face Charlie properly.

"Nah, I'll be fine." Charlie shook his head.

"You may need antibiotics." Condi said. Charlie shrugged as he replaced the bottle of Gatorade on the table.

"If I don't feel better by tomorrow I will." He said. Condi and Grizzly looked at each other. "I will! I swear. Don't look at me like that." Charlie said. He settled back into the couch and looked at the tv. "What movie is this?" He asked, trying to divert their attention away from him.

"The San Andreas Fault." Condi told him. Charlie nodded. They all turned back to the movie.

The day passed at an even pace. The roommates spent the entire day watching movies. Charlie napped on and off through all of them. Just before starting their eighth movie, Condi looked at the time and turned to Charlie.

"It's almost one in the morning. You should probably go to bed." He said. Charlie hesitated a moment, wanting to argue that he was fine. However, glancing at his friends, he knew an argument wouldn't get him very far. So instead he nodded. He pushed himself off, and the exhaustion in him made itself apparent instantly. He fell back onto the couch weakly.

"Whoa, Whoa. Are you okay?" Condi asked as he and Grizzly rushed to his side.

"I'm fine. Just really weak." Charlie assured them. He stood up again, managing to stay on his feet his time. The guys walked with Charlie to his room. He reassured them that he was fine once again, and they said their good nights.

Charlie walked over to his desk and opened his computer, which he hadn't shut down properly. He closed out of his school stuff and carried it over to his bed.

He carefully climbed into his bed and situated his laptop on his lap. He opened YouTube and scrolled through his homepage. He finally found a video to watch, and he lied down more and pressed Play.

Charlie only made it through three videos before falling asleep, and surprisingly, he stayed peacefully and soundly asleep throughout the night.

A/N: Thank you guys so much for the support on this one shot book!!!!! It's been amazing seeing everyone's reactions and thoughts on the parts! As always, thank you all so much for reading!! I hope you have a great rest of your day, whatever time it is where you are! Stay safe! 😊♥️✌🏻