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rickybowensfever · 2 months ago

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borrowed hoodie - sicktember 2024

Hello! I was struck with a sinus infection last week. I get chronic sinus infections and oh my god they are the WORST.

Anyway, I got some inspo last night to write this for the "Borrowed Hoodie" prompt for Sicktember 2024! I'm not going to have too many Sicktember fics left bc I got sick :( but I'm hoping to spark some dopamine and get at least another out for you.

I have been thinking about Susannah's role when her boys get sick and since she has cancer, obviously they'd want her far away from any illnesses. But this is fiction so let's just pretend that she can't get sick from them bc she's a Mom and her immune system isn't as bad as I make Conrad's mwahaha lol I always put Laurel in these situations bc she's more nurturing and has a stronger bond w/ Conrad. But, I'd like to add Beck in and show off her maternal side.

This fic is inspired/set after the episode "Summer Heat" and I took out some scenes that happen in that episode.

LMK what you think & happy reading!

Sicktember 2024 Prompts @sicktember

8. Borrowed Hoodie

Alt.

4. Flushed Cheeks

AO3 Link

BELLY POV

Belly woke up wearing Conrad’s hoodie and she was on cloud nine.

She smiled wide, showing all of her pearly whites. Lying in her warm bed, she hugged herself, sniffing the hoodie that smelled of him; salty and sweet like the ocean. She didn’t want the moment to last, but she had to head over to the country club for dance rehearsal for the Ball.

Last night was The Fourth of July. At the end of the night, she shared a special moment with Conrad as they both watched the fireworks shooting in the night sky over the ocean. It was breezy which made her jump in place as a chill came over her. Conrad stood by her wearing a zip-up hoodie and when he heard her yelp, he didn’t hesitate to offer her his hoodie. He took it off revealing his gray t-shirt. Belly’s stomach fluttered with butterflies as he placed the jacket over her, holding it out for her to put her arms into the sleeves. She couldn’t stop smiling, her teeth began to hurt.

Belly turned over and grabbed her phone, unlocking it and composing a text to Conrad.

Good morning :)

She smiled a big, toothy grin. Nothing could bring her euphoric mood down.

—

After showering and changing into a dress, she headed over to the club. Of course, she wasn’t leaving the house without the hoodie. The light blue zip-up hoodie with white strings was now her security blanket. She left it unzipped as it was baggy on her, making her hands disappear and coming down to her thighs.

Belly walked into the hall where all of the debutante girls mingled waiting for rehearsal to start. Nicole grabbed Belly as soon as she saw her, then looked her up and down. “Is that Conrad’s hoodie?” Nicole asked, furrowing her brows in suspicion.

Belly’s stomach dropped. She was so giddy this morning and her head was in the clouds that she didn’t even think about seeing Nicole. Belly paused, fumbling a response, “Oh my God! Yesterday was so wild, I must’ve taken his by mistake. I didn’t even notice!” her stomach turned with anxiety, she nervously laughed, lying through her teeth. She shrugged her shoulders and took the hoodie off, placing it down off to the side on a couch by the wall.

After rehearsal, Belly ran over to her car with the hoodie lying over her arm. She threw it in the backseat and got into the driver’s seat. She pulled out her phone to view her new messages, hoping to have one from Conrad. Her notification bar didn’t reveal any new messages, only a few notifications from her Instagram followers and of friends going live. Her stomach sank as she re-read her last message to Conrad with the “Delivered” text underneath. She rolled her eyes and turned on the car, hitting play on the radio to shuffle a song on her Spotify playlist. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove home, hoping Conrad would be there.

—

When she got home, the house was quiet. Susannah walked in from the front of the house and greeted her, “Good morning, my love” she said, smiling wide.

Belly returned the smile. “Morning! Hey, Susannah? Have you seen Conrad?” she asked, anxiety fluttered in her stomach as she awaited the answer.

Susannah frowned and her shoulders slumped. “He’s in bed with a nasty headache. Let him sleep” she explained. “I’m painting some portraits if you’d like to join me” the blonde haired woman said with a smirk, glancing toward the back door.

Belly fake smiled at her. At least she knew Conrad wasn’t ignoring her, but she was hoping to spend the day with him. Belly gripped the hoodie in her hands and declined, “I’m okay” she replied laughing.

Suddenly, Jeremiah came in from the back door in his usual chipper mood holding a beach towel over his arm and a backpack on his back. “Hey Bells! I’m going to the beach, want to join?” he asked.

Belly immediately nodded her head, not even thinking twice about it. “Yes! Let me go get changed” she said assessing her outfit that was not suitable for the beach.

Belly walked through the hallway toward her room but stopped once she got to Conrad’s door. One side of her conscience was telling her to open the door and tend to him but the other had Susannah’s voice playing in her head. Let him sleep. Belly hesitated, assessing her options, hoping for a sign that never came.

The hall was quiet. She groaned and marched toward her room.

—-

CONRAD POV

Conrad woke up that morning with a splitting headache and the chills. No matter how much alcohol they had the day before, he knew this was not a hangover. He groaned, pulling his arm out from under the warm covers and placed his palm on his forehead. His hands were cold, preventing him from getting an accurate read on if he was running a fever or not.

He pulled the covers out from under him and looked around the room for his zip-up hoodie. He scanned the room twice, and realized it wasn’t on the chair where he usually put it. He sighed, waiting a couple of seconds, pulling his aching body off of the bed and walked out of the room.

Conrad entered the kitchen in search of some Advil and water. Susannah sat at the dining table typing on her phone, but stopped when she heard footsteps.

She immediately frowned when she saw her oldest son’s pale complexion and rosy cheeks. “Aw, honey. You don’t look too good” she said, placing her phone on the table and getting up.

Conrad put his hand out to stop her, creating distance between them. “I’m fineee” he croaked, opening the cabinet and grabbing a bottle of Advil which he unscrewed and poured out two tablets on the counter.

“It’s just a bad headache, really” he said, composing himself not to worry her, taking a glass of water, chasing it with the medicine.

“Mom, I’m fine. It’s really just a headache” he yawned, “I’m going to sleep it off” he shrugged, putting the medicine back in the cabinet and shutting it.

Susannah sighed, knowing from his rosy cheeks that he wasn’t telling the truth. “Alright, if you say so. I’ll be just by the pool, if you need anything” she replied, giving him a thin-lipped smile before he disappeared up to his room.

—-

Luckily thanks to modern medicine, he was able to get some sleep. But when he woke hours later to the sun shining in through his blinds, Conrad felt 10x worse and the chills from earlier re-emerged for an encore. It was absolutely unbearable. His body was heavy and achy but fortunately, his headache was gone.

After lying in bed awake for what felt like twenty minutes, Conrad mustered up the energy to get out of bed, knowing he needed to take more pain relievers. One thing about Connie is he hated feeling like a burden, so of course he always downplayed his symptoms when he was sick. Therefore, walking back into the kitchen, he silently hoped the coast would be clear.

But his wishes were crushed when he and Susannah walked in at the same time. “Any better?” she said, her voice in a high pitch.

“A little” Conrad muttered, going back to the cabinet where they last ran into each other.

“Honey, why don’t you lie on the couch and I’ll take care of you?” she suggested, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm.

Conrad nodded, declining her request. “I’m okay, really,” he answered in a low voice. He really didn’t need anyone to fuss over him. Let alone, he’d feel guilty if he got his mother sick.

Susannah crossed her arms, putting her foot down. “Con. You’re shivering, I really don’t mind” she said, noticing her son shivering in place, goosebumps forming on his arms.

Conrad silently walked over to the couch in defeat. His brain was foggy and with his lack of energy, he was simply too tired to keep protesting. Susannah smiled, glad that he wouldn’t fight her on this anymore.

Conrad curled up with a blanket on the couch and closed his heavy eyes. Suddenly, he was being woken by a gentle nudge. He opened his glassy blue eyes to see his frail mother sitting by the edge of the couch with a forehead thermometer in her hand. She gently leaned over to feel his forehead, despite feeling the heat radiating off of him from where she sat.

Susannah frowned at her son as she felt his boiling hot forehead, “Oof, you’re burning up, babe” she looked down, turning on the thermometer. She placed the thermometer up to his forehead and waited momentarily for it to beep.

Susannah’s eyebrows raised and her eyes grew big as she read the alarming temperature. “101.4” she recited, in a broken voice, “I don’t know how you got this sick” she declared, slowly getting up from the couch.

Conrad batted his eyelashes. He didn’t even realize he was that sick. He truly had himself convinced that he did just have a headache and mild symptoms that would soon disappear, not persist.

As the chills continued, Conrad felt himself striving to get warm. He pulled the light blanket to the side and got up, walking toward a basket where they stored their blankets.

Susannah immediately nipped that in the bud. “What’re you doing, honey?” she asked, making him freeze in place.

He turned toward her and replied, “Getting a blanket” he answered slowly.

“I’ll get that and I found your hoodie in Belly’s room when I was dropping off her laundry” she said looking over at the piles of laundry on the dining room table that she was folding before he came down, the hoodie lying next to them.

Conrad nodded and slowly walked back to the couch. Susannah put down her supplies; a wet rag, a glass of water, and a dose of pain reliever. She walked over to the basket and grabbed a light blanket. When she closed the wicker basket, she placed the blanket on the arm of the couch. Then, walked to the dining room to grab his zip-up hoodie.

When she got back to the couch, she handed over the hoodie. Conrad sat up and she helped him get each arm through. He zipped it up and lay his head back on the pillow, pulling the blankets up toward his chin.

Susannah frowned at him, turning toward the coffee table and grabbed the medicine. Conrad sighed when he realized he had to sit up again. He complied and took the medicine with the glass of water, then lay his head on the pillow again.

He closed his heavy, tired eyes as he simply felt the fatigue settling in. The cold rag hit his steaming hot forehead and he sighed in relief.

“Get some rest” Susannah whispered, patting the mountain of blankets. Those were the last words he heard before drifting off to sleep.

BELLY POV

When Belly returned from the beach, she was in better spirits. Thanks to Jere, he always knew how to cheer her up. It was like he could sense her sorrow even if she put on a brave face and a fake smile.

The two walked into the house laughing but were soon reprimanded for their volume. “Ssh!” Susannah held up her index finger to her closed lips, looking at the two teens with wide eyes. “Connie’s sleeping on the couch. He’s not feeling too hot” she whispered.

Jeremiah put his hands up in defeat. “Sorry” the two whispered.

When Belly got back to her room to shower from the beach, her heart stopped. She could’ve swore she left the hoodie on her unmade bed. But now her bed was made and there was a pile of clean clothes folded on top of her comforter. She frantically scanned the room looking for the hoodie. She looked under the bed, under the comforter, and in her closet but it was nowhere to be found.

“Hmpf!” she expressed in frustration, whoever came into her room while she was out must’ve taken the hoodie. She left her beach towel and belongings on the floor of her bedroom and stormed down the stairs to find the hoodie.

When she got to the border of the living room and the kitchen, she froze. Out the window, Susannah was lounging by the pool reading a book. Besides Conrad sleeping on the couch, the coast was clear. She walked closer to the couch, slowly trying to be as quiet as she could be so as not to wake him. Her heart melted as she saw him; snoring softly, his cheeks flushed with a light pink tint. Then, her eyes lit up as she saw the light blue and white string of the hoodie peeking out under the blankets.

She smiled, her lips turned up in a crescent moon, glad to know the hoodie was back with its rightful owner, even if it did sting a little to know her time with it was up.

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rickybowensfever · 3 months ago

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Sick on Belly's Birthday

NEW FIC ALERT (The crowd goes wild)

“What a coincidence, you’re sick today” Belly scoffed as Conrad walked into the kitchen in a black robe with rosy cheeks holding a digital thermometer in his hand.

Conrad looked at her giving a side eye, “I can’t just plan to have” he looked down at the thermometer in his hands, “an 102-degree fever” he barked, squinting at the thermometer in disbelief.

Laurel stood by the kitchen island, preparing breakfast. She stopped stirring the pancake batter in a mixing bowl and looked up at him. She frowned then pointed at him, “No way, mister. Back to bed. I’ll have someone bring up some medicine and fluids” then gestured her pointer finger toward the front of the house where the steps to the bedroom were.

Conrad groaned. “But Laurel, I have to help my mom for dinner. She’s making a lobster dinner and needs me to shuck the corn and ---”

Laurel sighed, slumping her shoulders. “Honey, Steven and Jeremiah are more than capable of helping out. You go rest” she commanded.

Conrad sighed in defeat and nodded, obeying Laurel’s orders. He took some medicine from the cabinet and turned, walking out of the kitchen and back to bed.

Conrad knew being sick on Belly’s birthday sounded suspicious given their fight the night before. When she came in from her date, he was in the kitchen taking a pain reliever for the killer headache he was at war with which unfortunately turned into a fever throughout the night. The headache came on when they left Laurel’s book signing and got worse when they got to the drive-in. He stuck it out until the throbbing became constant.

When Conrad got sick, he was usually quiet, stubborn, and irritable. He tried his best to hide it from everyone so as to not bother them and bring attention to himself. After ending the night with Cam, Belly walked into the kitchen smiling as she thought about how great the night was. Those thoughts quickly dissipated when she saw Conrad standing by the kitchen island drinking a glass of water. The mere sight of him made her furious. Her blood boiled as the embarrassing moment replayed in her head like a movie.

After Laurel’s book signing, the boys decided to go to the drive-in to embarrass Belly on her date with Cam. Her first date. She was mortified when they pulled in next to them.

She and Conrad started to argue when he made a sly remark about it. The two exchanged some cruel insults that either could take back now.

“It all makes sense,” Belly said under her breath. Conrad’s irritability should’ve been her first sign that something was off. However, she still held a little belief that he was trying to avoid her at all costs, even if it was her birthday. Of course, if he was *really* ill, that didn’t excuse his choice of words stabbing her in the heart last night. His irritability was all too familiar. She should’ve put the pieces together.

“Bells, relax. I can vouch for him. He really wasn’t feeling great after we drove home from the drive-in. He almost fainted in my car” Jeremiah said, recounting the events of the night before.

The sheer mention caused Belly to shoot him daggers with her eyes, furrowing her brow. Jeremiah put his hands up in defense and muttered a “sorry”.

“Maybe it’s his guilty conscience then,” Belly said, scoffing at Jeremiah. He shrugged his shoulders, not wanting to debate his brother’s health.

FLASHBACK - The Night Before (Int. Jere’s car)

As they made their way back to the house, Conrad leaned his head on the window, sitting in the backseat. The cold window hitting his face felt nice against his pounding head.

Steven turned to face his friend and noticed he was pale as a ghost. "You okay? You look like you're gonna pass out" the rowdy boy shouted from the passenger seat making Conrad groan. Steven laughed loudly over the music playing from the car’s radio. Jeremiah chuckled at Steven. “Don’t worry, we’ll be home soon” he announced, turning into their neighborhood. Conrad groaned, “Can you turn that down?” he said, pointing to the radio.

“Sure thing” his younger brother said, turning down the dial. Jeremiah never knew when he could take Steven seriously as he was always joking around. So once he stopped at a stop sign, he looked into the rearview mirror and to see exactly what Steven was talking about.

His older brother lay his head against the window holding the temples of his head, his complexion pale. It was hard to see through the darkness, the only light they had to rely on was from the street lights. Conrad’s face illuminated from the street light that shined on the car. Jere looked down at his cup holders and saw a plastic water bottle half empty.

He looked down Jeremiah pouted his lip in suspicion and acted quickly. “Yo, pass this back” he commanded Steven.

The boy complied, turning toward the back of the car and tapped Conrad on his knee. Conrad looked up in confusion and grabbed the water from Steven’s hand. He nodded a thank you and began to chug the last of the water.

Once Jeremiah saw his brother was hydrating, he continued driving.

“Where’s Connie?” Susannah immediately asked as she stepped into the kitchen noticing her oldest son was the only one missing from the pack.

Laurel sighed, standing by the stove as she flipped the last birthday pancake. “I sent him back to bed about twenty minutes ago. He’s running a fever of one hundred and two. Poor guy, he looked awful. It must be the flu” she explained, remembering his rosy cheeks and hoarse voice.

Susannah stood quietly before answering, scanning the room. She knew something was up last night when Conrad went to bed early and was quieter than usual after they all came home from Laurel’s book event. He had been acting differently since April, but this was different.

Susannah put a hand on her hip, “That bad? I need him to help me make dinner” she said in a disappointed tone.

Laurel rolled her eyes, turning off the stove and grabbing the plate of pancakes to serve. “Jere and Steven will help you,” she barked, putting her hand on each of their shoulders.

“Let the boy rest, Beck” she began, remembering his blood shot eyes and rosy cheeks from moments ago. “We’d hate for him to get anyone else sick, right?” Laurel added.

“Yeah! We’ll help, Mom” Jeremiah said, smiling a big toothy grin at her from his seat at the breakfast bar where he finished signing Belly’s card. Susannah returned the smile. “Like I told Belly, he wasn’t feeling great in the car on the way home last night” he mentioned, adding to Conrad’s credibility.

“Yeah! He almost passed out in the backseat!” Steven added. [Everyone groaned]

Susannah pouted her lip and sighed, “I’m sorry. You’re right, I thought he was acting a little strange last night. Let’s hope it’s just a 24-hour bug. We can’t have everyone getting sick around here, especially before The Ball” she said as she turned toward Belly with a smile. “Belly! Happy Sweet 16, love!” and started talking about the festivities in store for the day.

Conrad didn’t expect to wake up to his younger brother barging into his room. After barely sleeping the night before, when he got back to his room that morning, he melted into his bed and dozed off. Despite the feverish chills that felt like they were never ending, he was relieved to finally get some rest. Until he was rudely awakened by the sound of his bedroom door flinging wide open.

Conrad jolted out of bed and awoke with anxiety.

“Sorry!” Jere whispered. Now he was quiet.

“What’s up?” Conrad croaked, looking his younger brother directly in the eyes. Conrad’s complexion was pale and flushed, his cheeks were pink, his blue eyes glassy, and the bags under his eyes were dark.

Jeremiah was in his swimsuit, holding a tray of sick supplies. “Mom and Laurel sent me to check on you. Man, you look rough” he said, examining his brother’s complexion. The younger boy placed the tray of supplies on his brother’s bed — a bottle of Cold & Flu medicine, a reusable water bottle filled to the brim with cold water, a box of tissues, some honey-medicated cough drops, and a cold compress.

Conrad rolled his eyes, lying back down and pulling the covers on top of him, covering his head, “I think I have the flu” he muttered.

“Yeah, you’re pretty sick,” Jeremiah added. He frowned as he saw his brother in distress, shivering under the covers. He took the cold compress and leaned over his brother’s body trying to find his forehead under the comforter. Jeremiah grabbed the comforter and attempted to pull them down.

Of course, Conrad fought him. “Dude, c’mon. I’m trying to help you. You’re running a high fever. This will really help” Jeremiah cried, trying to be as patient as he could.

“Fine,” he mumbled. Conrad slightly pulled the covers out from under his head allowing Jeremiah to place the compress onto his brother’s sweltering hot forehead. The heat radiated off of him like a portable heater.

Jeremiah frowned. He felt bad for his older brother that he was this ill and worse, missing out on the fun outside.

“Thank you” Conrad whispered, his teeth chattering.

“Do you need anything else?” Jeremiah asked, smiling softly as he tried to comfort his brother.

“Sleep,” Conrad said and began to yawn. He pulled the covers over top of himself once again.

Before he left, Jeremiah explained, “Sounds good. Rest up! We’ll be in the pool. Call or text me if you need anything,” he said. “I’m leaving everything here if you need it. Hydrate!” he gestured to everything he left on the nightstand.

“Love you, man. Feel better” were his parting words as he silently closed the door.

Finally, Jeremiah met everyone in the backyard at the pool.

Laurel and Susannah sat lounging on chairs wearing their bathing suits, watching the kids laughing and splashing around in the water.

He waved at everyone swimming in the pool as he walked over to his mother and Laurel.

“How is he?” Laurel immediately asked.

Standing in front of them, he shrugged. “Oof. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him that sick” he grimaced, remembering his brother’s feverish condition from minutes ago.

Laurel frowned. “Poor guy. He’ll feel better when the fever breaks,” she said, hoping putting a positive sentiment out into the universe would come true.

Jeremiah ran over to the pool to join Belly, Steven, and Taylor. He ran and held his knees as he hit the water in a cannonball, splashing everyone and making them scream. He and Steven laughed at the girl's misery as a splash fest broke out.

Although they weren’t on good terms, Belly could feel Conrad’s absence. On one hand, she was happy he wasn’t here to dampen the mood on her sixteenth birthday but the other half of her felt sad. Turning sixteen is a special moment, one she envisioned spending with him. She looked up at the house to the window where his bedroom was as if any second he would open the window and see her.

Alas as the sun went down, she realized that fantasy was dead.

###

That night, Susannah and Laurel suggested they all play board games and watch rom-com flicks on Netflix. As Belly defeated Jeremiah in Battleship as Clueless played on the TV, suddenly they heard faint footsteps. Everyone turned to see who it was.

Conrad stood in the kitchen waiting for the toaster to go off.

“Connie,” Laurel said softly, “What’re you doing out of bed?” she asked, getting up from the couch and walking toward the kitchen.

Conrad ran his hand through his hair and looked at Laurel, his eyes glassy. “I took some Tamiflu and it said to eat with it. Plus, I just needed to get out of bed” he said, looking back at the toaster where the waffle he placed was mere seconds away from popping up.

Laurel pouted her lip. She wasn’t thrilled about him getting out of bed since she didn’t want this spreading to the rest of the house. Albeit, it was inevitable as he had been contagious a couple days prior. Laurel pressed her cold palm on his forehead; still warm to the touch. “Have you checked your temp at all? You don’t feel as hot as before, " she mentioned.

Conrad nodded. He hadn’t even thought about checking on his fever, despite realizing the chills had temporarily gone away. He had been in and out of sleep all day, only waking up to blow his nose or drink water.

The waffle was finally ready. Laurel stepped in the way, grabbing a plate from the cabinet. “I’m sorry honey, but I don’t want anyone else to catch this. Please go get back in bed and I’ll bring this up, okay?” she said, feeling bad but knowing her decision had good intentions.

Conrad groaned but he was too achy and tired to put up a fight. So he nodded and did as she said and walked himself back to bed.

Four Days Later

A few days later, Conrad was starting to feel like himself again. His fever had broken that morning and he was in good spirits. But that could just be the medication doing its trick.

He walked into the kitchen where Belly sat eating a caesar salad and scrolling on her phone watching TikTok and giggling to herself. Conrad opened the refrigerator to reheat some leftover chicken noodle soup. He turned and looked at the girl then turned toward the microwave, placing the bowl in, closing the microwave door and setting a 1 minute timer.

Belly avoided eye contact. She was still annoyed with him from their argument after the drive-in ambush. But that didn’t stop her from looking up at him when his back was turned.

Conrad turned away from the microwave and looked at Belly. Her head down looking at her phone. That wasn’t good for her neck, he thought.

“Hey, happy birthday. I was so out of it that day, I realized I never said it” the boy said in a low voice.

Belly looked up at him and gave a thin-lipped smile then looked back at her phone, scrolling to a TikTok of a dog jumping in a pool. She let out a loud laugh, tapping her phone to like the video.

Her mother had told her earlier that Conrad was feeling better, so she shouldn’t be surprised if she finally saw him after days of being cooped up in bed. She hated to admit that she…missed him even if she was still furious at him. She hated seeing him ill.

Conrad looked back at the timer on the microwave. It had about 30 seconds left. He looked around the kitchen, noticing Jeremiah cleaning the pool out the window.

Conrad ran a hand through his hair as the awkward silence lingered. Finally, the microwave dinged and he took the bowl of soup out of the microwave. He opened a drawer to get a spoon and walked over to a seat at the kitchen island away from Belly.

Since his fever broke and he had been taking medicine routinely, he was no longer contagious but he still didn’t want to risk anything. He blew on the soup as steam radiated from it and waited for it to cool down, then took a couple bites.

“That’s it?” Belly finally said, getting angry now. Conrad looked at her, his eyebrow furrowed and puzzled look in his eyes.

“Huh?” he replied, coughing, catching them in his elbow, releasing the phlegm from his chest.

She walked over to him and touched his cool forehead once he stopped coughing and sat up. Conrad raised his eyebrows,

“What are you doing?” he barked.

“Checking to see if you’re delirious! Seriously, not even an apology? Jere apologized! And you can’t?” she shouted, stuffing her phone in the pocket of her sweat shorts.

Conrad shook his head and sniffled. He was feeling better but he was still congested and his throat was sore. He touched his temples as his head ached from the motion.

Even though he started to feel a lot better, Laurel demanded he take it easy in order for his body to fully fight off the virus which meant he had to cancel his sailing lessons with Cleveland for the next week and no surfing. The only surfing he would be doing is channel surfing through various streaming platforms and/or just scrolling on his phone watching IG Reels from his favorite surfers.

“Belly. C’mon. We can talk” he said, getting up from the chair.

Suddenly, he felt hot and his vision got blurry. He looked down and gripped the counter, trying to balance himself. He stood in place looking down at the ground as shadows started to move around his vision. He immediately closed his eyes, trying to stop the sensation.

“Woah” he muttered and sat back down, taking a sip of water from his reusable water bottle.

Belly turned and frowned as she saw the boy struggle.

“Um, are you okay?” she asked, immediately her tone filled with concern.

Belly ran over to him.

Conrad released a train of hacking coughs, catching them in his elbow and took another long sip of water when the coughing fit came to a halt.

“Yeah, I just got a little dizzy,” he said, putting his cold water bottle up to his forehead to dissipate the hotness that overcame him.

Belly ran over to the sink, turned on the cold water and wet a rag.

He groaned. “Ugh, I don’t feel good,” he moaned, mumbling to himself.

“I thought you were feeling better” she mocked, a hand on her hip, smirking at him.

Conrad looked up at her realizing she heard him complaining. “I thought I was” he barked back, “Guess not” he swallowed and winced, the pain panged at his throat.

He groaned as the water barely helped. “I’m feel really hot ” he mentioned just as Belly laid a cold rag on the back of his neck. He sighed in relief.

“This will help. You’re probably dehydrated” she mentioned, speaking the medical language from doctors that come across her TikTok For You Page every so often.

Conrad looked up at her, his eyes still glassy and he drank more water. He set his water down and looked at the soup still steaming. Suddenly, he didn’t have an appetite. It came on all at once, he was fatigued, his body ached, and he felt miserable.

Belly frowned looking at him. The flu took at least a week or two to recover from and he was only on day four. It was inevitable that he would crash and burn.

“I think the medicine’s wearing off” he muttered, yawning.

“Oh, you poor baby. Let’s get you over to the couch” she suggested running a hand through his matted hair. Conrad nodded and followed her, holding his water bottle.

Belly grabbed a blanket as he slowly began to lie down. She laid the blanket over top of him and sat down beside him.

“I thought you were mad,” he said, sniffling.

Belly scoffed. “Conrad, I’m still mad. I’m pissed at you, actually. But I’m not going to make you suffer through the flu. I think that’s punishment enough” she said laughing to herself.

Conrad smiled. “I’m sorry. I deserve it. I was being an asshole. I shouldn’t have said any of those things to you. I didn’t mean them, honest. ” he said in a low voice.

Belly smiled at his sentiments, “Why don’t we talk when you’re feeling better?” she said, patting him on the leg. Conrad yawned and nodded, agreeing to her statement.

“I feel like shit” he said, pulling the blanket up further to his collarbone and coughing into his shoulder.

“I know. The flu really sucks. I’m sorry” she said, frowning again.

“Why don’t you try and get some sleep. It’s quiet” she suggested. The house was empty for the most part. The boys were working at the club while Susannah and Laurel were at the beach. Conrad nodded at her statement and closed his heavy eyes.

Belly smiled. She hated being mad at him but she could give him a break just this once. But once he was feeling better, she wouldn’t let his crabby attitude slide.

#sickfics #the summer i turned pretty #season1 #!sickconrad #tsitp #tsitp conrad #tsitp fanfic #belly mad at conrad

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