"Just Notice" (full of angst!)

[purpleninja]

Hey, guys! I'm back, and this time I will actually FINISH the story once I've started it I always have problems with that, unfortunately. Anyways, I'm well aware that this fandom is not one shared by all, but if you just bear with me, I think you guys might like this one. So, without further ado..

Part 1:

19-year-old Justin Bieber sighed as he stared at the blank page in front of him. He had been practically ordered to write a new song for an album he’d start working on soon, but absolutely no inspiration had struck so far. 2013 hadn’t been the best year for him. With all the rumors going around, many of the facts gnarled beyond recognition, painting him in a horrible light. That’s why he had to get these songs written and start this album. He had to shed a positive light on his image. He knew he wasn’t a bad guy, but that didn’t mean that the rest of the world knew it. He had to show them.

“Justin!!” The slender boy snapped his head up, jerked out of his thoughts by Scooter, his tough-but-caring manager, looking down at him with intense disapproval.

“You haven’t written a word yet! We need that song by tomorrow!!!” the older man yelled, frustrated and stressed with the sudden lack of responsibility Justin’s been showing lately.

“I’m sorry, I’m trying, I just-“

“You’re just gonna write that song. Period.” And with that, the door slammed behind Scooter, making Justin jump a bit. He frowned. Scooter wasn’t usually like that. He shook his head to clear it and focused back on the page.

Hours later, Justin awoke to his page still blank as ever, glaring up at him. He slowly pulled himself off the surface of the small table he’d been using to write on and sat up. He rubbed his eyes, frowning upon the realization that he had no idea what time it was. He got up and trudged up front, finding a clock. 2:00 in the morning.

“Great,” he muttered to himself, then coughed slightly, speaking having tickled his throat a bit. He had a fleeting thought that maybe he should make some tea, but decided against it and went in favor of his fatigue. The small boy, or rather, man, trudged back to his room and laid down on top of the covers, not even bothering with them. He went right back to sleep.

The next morning, Justin was rudely awakened by Allison Kaye, his tour manager, shaking him. She wasn’t being rude or rough at all. If anything, she was calling his name in a soft voice and being especially gentle, which Justin appreciated, but it was just the fact that he couldn’t possibly fathom getting up.

“What do I have t’do today?” Justin murmured, still half asleep.

“Well, you have a morning interview with that radio station first, then rehearsal, a meet ‘n’ greet, another interview, a recording session, then sound check and concert,” she said cheerily. Justin groaned and rubbed at his forehead; upon waking further, he found his head to be aching rather badly.

“For the fans,” Allison reminded him, then she was out of the room in seconds. Justin dragged himself out of bed and into the shower, even more sluggish than usual. He made specific plans to make some tea once he got out of the shower. He took a hot shower, relaxing a bit as it helped somewhat with the pounding in his head and the slightly disoriented, dizzy feeling he possessed. After his shower, he got dressed, only to find that he was late. Really late, and Scooter was beyond pissed.

“Shit,” he murmured to himself, clearing his throat after his voice cracked. He ignored the scratchy feeling he felt whenever he swallowed, grabbed his phone, and ran out the door to meet Scooter.

so, this one was a lot of background plot-y stuff and all that, but the sneezing is sure to come!! Well, sneezing, plus other feverish, sick-y awesomeness. So, like I said, bear with me! TBC, if you want it..

[M_Twi_Love]

Yes, please continue!!

[Ezmac_45]

Ahhh I love stories involving Justin can't wait for the next part!

[ThatSneezyGirl]

Aw yeah you're back!

[Bgrace27]

omg i like it!!

[snuffle-bunny]

Aww, this is great! Please continue!

[Me4ever]

Omg a new story! Yes! pleeeease continue soon! I am also a fan of Justin and you write some of the best Justin stories (And really good Justin stories(aka sick flics) are hard to find)

[v a n i l l a]

I'm not a Justin Bieber fan, but please continue this, I like it. (:

[purpleninja]

hey guys!! thanks so much for the sweet comments! I didn't know so many of you like Bieber fics!! That's awesome!! Why don't y'all write some?? (I crave this junk all the time, so if anyone wants to write a Bieber fic.... *whistles innocently*) (My own don't satisfy my cravings lol )

Part 2:

Sure enough, Scooter was none too happy with Justin, saying nothing as he got into the car and closed the door behind him, breathing heavy from running. The driver started for the radio station, ignoring the tense silence in the back seat. Justin sat and sulked, staring out the window. Sensing his mood, the few other members of his “wolf pack” riding in the car with him left him alone.

Justin sighed heavily as he flopped tiredly onto his bed, triggering a cough, which his muffled into his comforter. It’d been a long, hard day. With Scooter in a bad mood, and the lecture he had to hear about them having to push back the due date for that song, and all the events he had to do and attend that day, he was worn out. Even worse, his headache had not gone away all day, and neither had his scratchy throat. If anything, his throat had taken on more of a sore feeling than a scratchy one, and his voice had sounded off that night.

“I’d better not be getting sick,” Justin mumbled to himself as he got under the covers. He closed his eyes and was asleep in mere seconds.

The next day, the young man was awakened in much the same way as the day before: by a gentle leg-shaking from Allison. This time, though, the wake-up was even tougher. This time, Justin woke up to a pounding headache, a sore throat, and a congested feeling in his sinuses.

“Crap,” he whispered to himself.

“What?” Allison asked, concerned. He shook his head, blowing it off.

“You need to get that song written or Scooter’s gonna bust your ass,” she warned as gently as possible. Justin nodded, rubbing his temples, trying to combat the ache. Allison watched, frowning slightly.

“Huh’PPSHH’iew!!” Justin sneezed suddenly, too fast to cover, his head pitching downwards, the plentiful spray cascading into his lap. Thankfully, though, Allison couldn’t see it in the dark.

“Bless you,” Allison said, expectantly.

“Huh’PPSHH’iew!!” There it was. That other sneeze.

“Bless you,” Allison said again. Then, though, Justin picked his head up again, and Allison could see that tell-tale pre-sneeze expression on his tired face. “That’s weird,” she thought. It wasn’t unusual for Justin to sneeze; after all, he is a pretty sneezy person overall, but it seemed to be a rule, almost a law, that Justin always sneezed twice. Needless to say, this impending third sneeze was out of the ordinary for the slender boy.

“H’PSH!!” The third sneeze was quick, and punctuated by a congested-sounding sniffle that made Allison halt in her tracks.

“You feeling okay?” she asked, cocking an eyebrow. Justin nodded, but his eyes gave him away.

“No. You’re not,” she said, placing her palm flat on his chest to gently push him down. Justin didn’t budge, using his newly-acquired muscle tone to keep her from being able to move him.

“Don’t tell Scooter,” he said. Allison rolled her eyes.

“You are going to run yourself into Hell if you don’t stop and-“

“Allison, please?? He’s already mad at me,” Justin said, and the soft, liquid sniffle at the end of his statement caught her. He won.

“Oh, fine,” she caved.

“But I’m making you tea and you will drink it when you get out of the shower, understand?” she said, still trying to stand her ground.

“Okay,” Justin agreed with a shrug. That didn’t sound bad at all, actually. After she left, he sighed, then got up, stripped his shirt off, then started for the shower.

“Justin! What the f-“ Allison cringed and shut the door before the word could even leave Scooter’s mouth. Scooter’s been harder on Justin lately, for reasons unknown to the tour manager. “I mean, it’s only a song! And he already has so much on his plate,” she thought as she started for the green room. Justin’s about to go do another show. She’d tried to get Scooter not to yell at him before a show, but it didn’t matter. Justin was a natural performer; he could go on that stage and you’d never guess the conversation he’d just had. She’d always admired that about him.

“Gonna have to let him handle it,” she murmured to herself, grabbing a few Sour Patch Kids from the bowl in Justin’s dressing room before sitting down to watch the show from backstage.

“Wait, shh, calm down,” Allison said quickly after Justin stormed into the dressing room, sounding scarily close to tears. She drew his quivering frame into a hug, both hearing and feeling his jagged breath against the side of her neck.

“What is his problem?!” Justin asked, his voice filled with rage and hurt.

“What happened?”

“He just keeps harassing me about this song, and I-“ Justin’s sentence caught off abruptly.

“Justin?” Allison said worriedly.

“I…”Huh’PPSH’iew!!” Thankfully, Justin had pulled away from her and turned to the side before the sneeze burst out of him. She felt his breath hitching sharply in his chest as he geared up for the second.

“Huh’EESH”uh!” Allison cringed. “That did NOT sound good,” she thought. Heck, that didn’t even sound like Justin’s sneeze at all!

“Bless you!” she said, surprised. Justin melted into her embrace with a sigh. She kept hugging him for a few minutes, then backed away, holding him at arm’s length.

“Okay, go cool down with Mama Jan, then I want you showered and in bed pronto, okay?” she said. Justin nodded tiredly, fading fast. It may be only a cold, but it sure was kicking his ass hard. Sometimes Allison did worry about the stress the poor kid puts on his body, but she let it go and watched him leave for where Mama Jan is waiting for him.

sorry is Allison *might* be a *bit* out of character here. I'm usually pretty spot-on at his crew and everything, but Allison doesn't make too many appearances, so it's hard to get her *just* right. And, I needed a caring female and let's be honest, I tend to find Mama Jan very strict and kinda scary. I know they love her, but she just seems like she'd be kinda mean in real life, so I tend to stay away from her. Does anyone else feel that way or is it just me picking up the hostility in that woman?

[Me4ever]

Awesome Purpleninja! Pleeease keep going! and I've thought about writing a Justin story before but im not very good at writing but who knows maybe ill give it a try some time. Oh and i totally get where you coming from about Mama Jan! She does seem kind of strict/scary to me but maybe we just dont know her like they do? idk.

[Sneezypeezy]

Love this!<3 I can barely wait to

See where this goes :3

[purpleninja]

hey, guys! Thanks so much for the support and sorry I'm so slow at these!

also, @Me4ever please do!! Not enough people (and by not enough, I mean barely any) write JB sneezefics anymore So damn depressing...

Part 3:

When she walked into his room to wake him the next morning, Allison found a scene before her completely unlike the one she was used to normally. Justin was sprawled out, huddled under the covers, and the sound of his heavy, congested breathing filled the room. He grunted softly and coughed a few times; thick, chesty coughs that made her cringe. Instead of shaking his leg like she usually does, she walked forward and sat down on the edge of his bed next to him. She shielded his eyes with one hand before turning on the lamp with the other. She frowned sympathetically upon seeing a few crumpled tissues on the nightstand, right on top of a sheet of paper half covered with little scribbles and notes and pieces of lyrics. He hadn’t finished the song. She sighed again, now worried for the boy. “I’m gonna have to talk to Scooter, big time,” she thought to herself. She used the hand shielded Justin’s eyes to carefully palm his forehead, cringing at the heat radiating under her hand. Justin’s eyes fluttered open, from both her touch and the sudden light. The latter provoked a sudden change in his expression, from sleepy and confused to distant and expectant. His red-rimmed, tired eyes squinted, his eyebrows raised and furrowed. His jaw went slack, and Allison could hear his breathing catching in his chest. She reached forward and plucked two tissues out of the box, pressing them into his hand just in time for him to raise his hand to his face, burying his face in the bundle.

“Huh’PPSH’iew!! PPSHH’iew!!” Justin opened his eyes and blinked a few times, then sniffled thickly and removed the tissues.

“Bless you,” Allison said softly.

“Ugh…thadks,” he replied, and Allison bit her lip as he spoke. His voice was…well…

“Shit,” Justin hissed.

“You can’t hide this from Scooter,” she reminded him, keeping her voice soft.

“I didd’t fidish,” he said, gesturing to the sheet of paper, the corners of his mouth twitching downwards as his eyes started to fill up.

“Hey, hey, don’t worry about that. I’m gonna talk to Scooter, okay? Don’t worry,” Allison said, quick to resolve the situation. The last thing she wanted was for him to cry.

“Okay,” Justin murmured, sniffling.

“I’ll go make you some tea. Stay right here; you’re staying in bed today,” she instructed.

“WHAT?!” Justin exclaimed, his voice cracking painfully. He cleared his throat and coughed slightly, cupping a hand to his throat.

“See? Everything on your schedule today involves your voice, and it’s only going to get worse if you don’t rest,” she warned. Justin knew she was right, but gave it another try. Upon being shot down again, he leaned back against the headboard and sulked, and Allison knew she’d won, at least for now. Now, though, came the dreaded talk with Scooter. She walked up front, where Scooter was pouring a cup of coffee, and filled the tea kettle with water, putting it on to boil. She took a few slow, deep breaths, preparing herself. Scooter had been in a mood lately, and nobody really knew why. It probably was a factor in Justin’s illness, though.

“Where’s Justin?” Scooter asked, sounding slightly more agreeable this morning.

“In bed. Sick,” Allison added before Scooter could get riled up. The extra word worked. Scooter’s eyes softened with concern. Though Justin had been slacking on that song lately, he did still love the kid.

“He doing okay?”

“Yup. Not that you’ve been helping much…” she added.

“You’ve been way out of line lately, Scoot,” she said, daring to look him in the eye.

“I know I’ve been hard on him-“

“Hard on him?? You’ve been a complete ass to him!” Allison interjected. Scooter sighed and tried to continue.

“-but I just don’t think he understands the importance of this and the responsibility that has been placed upon him, and-“

“I think he does.”

“Huh?” Scooter asked, caught off guard by her statement.

“I think he does understand the importance. When I went to wake him up this morning, I saw a sheet of paper on his nightstand. It was covered in little scribbles, parts of songs scratched out and everything. He’s trying, Scooter. If he’s blanking, he can’t help it,” she said, pouring some hot water into a mug and steeping a tea bag in the water.

“But I need that song!” Scooter replied.

“I know you do, but it’s not his fault,” she answered, adding lemon and honey to his tea, just like he likes it.

“What do I do, then?”

“How about you sit down with him and try to work it out together??” Allison suggested, getting two Tylenol and a thermometer from the medicine cabinet.

“That could work,” Scooter admitted.

“Well, go, then,” Allison encouraged, smiling. She gathered up the items she’d prepared for Justin.

“And, here, take these to him. Take care of the kid, will ya?”

there'll be a lot more sneezing in the next part, plus sick fluff, caretaking fluff, angst, and Scooter/Justin fluff! YAY! I can't wait to write it lol

[Bgrace27]

awww so cute.

[Sneezypeezy]

Aww, scooter just got old big time please continue, this is adorable

[purpleninja]

hey, people!! Sorry for the lack of update recently; been crazy busy with school. But I'm back noowww!! Sooo...

Part 4:

Scooter slowly walked into Justin’s room, and bit down on the inside of his lip at what he saw. Justin, sniffling and coughing and looking absolutely miserable, sitting up in bed with a pencil in hand, trying to work on the song. He shook his head and furiously scratched out what he’d just written, groaning in frustration. The noise triggered a cough, and he had to lean back to cough violently into his elbow. Scooter went forward and gently placed the mug of tea on the nightstand, finally getting Justin’s attention. He was rather shocked at Justin’s appearance. His eyes were red and watery, his nose raw and chapped, a tiny droplet of clear discharge dribbling down his upper lip. His lips were parted slightly to allow for him to breathe at least a little easier. Scooter could hear, though, that his breathing wasn’t helped much by opening his mouth. Even worse, Justin looked scared. Genuinely scared, like he’d been caught doing something bad and knew he was gonna get it. The two men just stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them sure what to do or say. Justin broke away from Scooter’s gaze to look down at his paper, then back up at Scooter. Then, before Scooter could even open his mouth to reassure him, the tears had gathered in Justin’s eyes and spilled over.

“Woah, hey, it’s alright,” Scooter said softly, setting everything down and sitting next to Justin on the edge of his bed. Justin stiffened, not sure whether or not to trust Scooter with the mood he’d been in the past few days.

“It’s okay,” Scooter repeated, pulling Justin into a hug. A hoarse sob burst out of the smaller boy, and he turned into Scooter’s chest, burying his face in the soft fabric of Scooter’s t-shirt.

“It’s alright,” Scooter soothed as Justin sobbed into his shirt, pausing only to cough. Scooter felt a pang of sharp guilt as Justin let his emotions pour out. 2013 had been such a hard year for him so far, and Scooter suddenly felt sick to his stomach at the thought of what he’d put Justin through lately, on top of all of that. There was no doubt in Scooter’s mind that the stress had caused Justin’s illness, as well as the other medical obstacles the boy had fought just this year.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, and Justin started to calm down, showing Scooter that he was willing to listen. His body jerked with coughs and stubborn sobs, and Scooter was worried when he heard a congested wheeze in between the outbursts. He rubbed Justin’s back soothingly until he quieted. He kept his face buried in Scooter’s shirt, though, and Scooter let him stay there.

“I’m so sorry, buddy,” Scooter repeated. Justin scooted closer to the older man, and Scooter continued, stroking Justin’s hair as he apologized thoroughly.

“Woah, you okay?” Scooter asked, concerned, a rough gasp from Justin bringing the conversation to an abrupt halt. The smaller boy jerked away from Scooter, squeezing his eyes shut and cupping a hand to his nose and mouth.

“BPZSH’uh!! PPSHH!!” Scooter could tell by his reluctance to lower his hand and the thick sniff that followed the sneezes that he needed a tissue…or two.

“Bless you, buddy,” he said softly, plucking a few tissues from the box and handing the bundle to Justin. Justin swiftly replaced his hand with the bundle, so swiftly that Scooter didn’t see a thing, exactly how Justin wanted it. He cleaned himself up and blew his nose, upon Scooter’s instruction, then leaned forward to toss the tissues into the trashcan with a thick sniffle. Even though he’d blown his nose very thoroughly, his nasal passages were still mostly blocked. Justin used his shirt sleeve to wipe his tears, then sat there, taking as deep a breath he could to calm down. Then he picked up the song paper, now dotted with wet spots from his tears, and stared at it, struggling to think.

“No, no, buddy, you’re just gonna rest today, alright?” Scooter said, gently taking the paper from him, as well as the pencil. Justin didn’t answer, a shudder coursing through him instead.

“See? Rest,” Scooter instructed gently. He set the paper and pencil aside and gave Justin the Tylenol and the tea as Allison had directed, then took his temperature. Scooter wasn’t surprised to see the 101.1 reading, especially with that shudder just now. Scooter turned on the TV for Justin to watch, propping him up with pillows so he could rest while he drank his tea.

“You stay here, okay? I’m just gonna go change my shirt,” Scooter said, starting to get up. Justin eyed his shirt, wet from his own tears, and cringed.

“Don’t worry about it, it’s okay. Just relax,” Scooter instructed, then started for his own room.

sorry this is so short, but I felt it was a good place to stop. Also, you'd think for having a sneeze fetish, I'd put more actual sneezing in my fics....gah. So sorry about that!! I promise I'll try harder next post!!

Edited March 23, 2013 by purpleninja

[Me4ever]

I totally know what you mean when you say not even people write JB flics anymore but like i said before im not a very good writer, youre amazing! although i am *trying* to write an original fetish story right now but i dont know it just seems to be getting worse as i write. We'll see. Maybe if that one turns out alright ill attempt a Justin story. But im also really busy with school right now and have no had the chance to even look at my story. I really liked this chapter, with the caring it was cute (Im a total sucker for care taking especially if its done by a M/F couple with a sick boy ) and dont worry about the lack of sneezes lol i get what you mean sometimes when youre just going with the care taking you forget to add the sneezes in between lol. Please continue soon!

[Sneezypeezy]

I love this!<3 Please continue. I love shy Justin

[ThatSneezyGirl]

Seriously, I'm in love! This is so perf ♥

[purpleninja]

Hey, guys! Again, thank you so much for the encouragement and positive comments!! Sorry this took so long; had my computer taken away for a bit, then had to work through some wicked writer's block. So, due to the latter issue, sorry if this is a bit poorly written. (at least I incorporated more sneezing this time I'm trying) Ooh! and this installment also includes some Scooter + Justin caretaking fluff

Part... uh... I don't know; I lost track lol

“You up, buddy?” Scooter asked later on that night as he rapped lightly on Justin’s door.

“Yeah,” Justin replied, then erupted into another coughing fit. Scooter frowned sympathetically as he slowly opened the door to find Justin doubled over in bed, coughing into his fist.

“You okay?” That’s starting to sound bad,” Scooter said. Justin nodded as he finally stopped coughing and caught his breath. Despite the poor lighting in the room, (the only light came from the TV, an old episode of Smallville casting a blue-ish tint over everything), Scooter could see the glassiness of his eyes.

“Got some soup. You hungry?” Scooter asked, and Justin shrugged, pushing himself up. Scooter went to hand him the bowl, but Justin quickly shook his head and held his hand out to stop him.

“PPSH’uh!! Huh’PSH’iew!!” Justin sneezed into his cupped hand.

“Bless you, JB,” Scooter said, handing the smaller man a tissue from the half-empty box on the nightstand.

“Ub…thadks,” Justin replied, taking the tissue from his manager and discreetly cleaning himself up.

“Ugh,” he grunted, wiping his nose and sniffling again before accepting the steaming bowl of soup.

“Thadks,” he whispered, sipping a spoonful of the warm broth.

“Sure, bud. You need anything else?” Justin looked up, his lips parted slightly, too congested to breathe through his nose.

“Doe, thadks,” he said. Scooter nodded awkwardly, watching Justin eat slowly. They both slowly got sucked into what was happening on the episode of Smallville.

“HUH’PSH’iew!!” Scooter jumped.

“Bless you! That was loud,” he said, laughing a bit.

“Dot dode,” Justin gasped, turning into his elbow, his puffy eyelids slowly sliding shut.

“PPPSHH’uh!!”

“Bless you!”

“Shit!”

“What?” Scooter asked. Justin sighed a raspy sigh, and Scooter saw the problem when Justin looked down at his shirt, which was covered in half the bowl of soup.

“What happened?” Scooter asked.

“I sdeezed, add it spilled,” Justin sighed again.

“You wanna change your shirt?” Scooter asked, and the smaller man nodded. Scooter took the bowl from him and set it on the nightstand, then, before Justin could even react, gently stripped his shirt off. Justin just sat there, a bit surprised; he wasn’t quite expecting Scooter to take his shirt off for him. The thought was pushed out of his head, though, when he started to shiver.

“You want a long sleeve one this time?” Scooter asked, going over to Justin’s dresser.

“Sure,” Justin replied, sniffling. The slender boy felt himself getting weak, a result of his fever and the general fatigue caused by whatever cold virus or other illness that was wreaking havoc on his body. He laid back against the pillows that Allison had propped up for him, shocked by how quickly and how hard the weakness had hit him. Scooter was worried, too, upon turning around and seeing his tiny, albeit 19-years-old, protégé shivering madly and barely able to even sit up.

“Well, that hit you quick, huh?” he asked, feeling Justin’s forehead, and Justin nodded, allowing Scooter to put the clean shirt on him. He just let his muscles go limp, too tired to try and help Scooter.

“You want to just warm up the soup later?” Scooter asked, and Justin nodded, suddenly able to think of nothing but sleep.

“Okay. Get some rest, bud,” Scooter said as he pulled the covers higher over Justin’s shivering frame. He palmed the boy’s forehead again, worried at this sudden weakness and lethargy that had swept over him. Justin curled up and closed his eyes, and Scooter shrugged, then quietly snuck out of the room.

enjoy!

[ThatSneezyGirl]

This is amazing! Like seriously, I love this. Moreeeeeee!

[Bgrace27]

awwwwww

[Sneezypeezy]

So cuteeeeeeee :3

[Me4ever]

So cute! Please continue, in waiting!

[SpookyScarySkeleton]

Update now? Mkai ill check soon I just love it<3

[purpleninja]

hey guys!! Again, thank you so much for the comments and support! I *think* this might be the end of this story, but don't worry. I'm just getting started here. I will bring JB back to this forum

Last part?

“Who’s gonna stay with him tonight?” Scooter asked Allison as he left Justin’s room.

“Huh?”

“Well, I mean…I don’t think he should be alone tonight. So I was thinking maybe you or I could stay here with him,” Scooter said, shrugging. Allison nodded with an amused smile at Scooter’s paternal side.

“I’ll stay,” she said, and Scooter nodded.

“Well, uh, I should probably be getting back to my bus. I have a lot of calls to make regarding his schedule,” Scooter said, and Allison nodded. After Scooter had left, she popped a movie in and began to pass the time that way.

Allison awoke to crying. But not just any kind of crying. Hoarse, yet piercing cries, dripping with terror and…pain??? She threw back the sheets and jumped out of bed, blinking as her eyes adjusted. She looked at the clock: almost 2:00 in the morning. She sighed, then was brought right back to attention when Justin screamed, his voice cracking and fading into a hoarse, congested cough. She hurried to his room, puzzled to find him thrashing and kicking…but asleep. His previously-pale face was flushed from crying, and a look of pain was etched in his expression. Her worry only grew when she rushed over to him and found him clammy, the sheets damp with sweat. She didn’t hesitate to grab her phone and call Scooter.

“Hello?” Scooter’s groggy voice answered.

“Scooter? I need some help over here,” she said, her sentence punctuated by another cringe-worthy scream from Justin, then again his cries melted into another coughing fit.

“What happened?? What’s wrong?!” Scooter cried, sounding wide awake now.

“I have no idea. Just come,” Allison replied.

“I’m on my way,” Scooter said, then promptly hung up. Allison tried to wake Justin up, and the situation only escalated, so she backed away and didn’t touch him any more until Scooter came.

“What are you doing? Help him!” Scooter said, sounding worried.

“He won’t let me touch him,” Allison replied.

“Wait, what?” A worried, confused Scooter went and gently shook his tiny protégé.

“Justin…Justin!” he called gently, getting nothing but more hoarse cries in reply. Scooter felt Justin’s forehead, then made a sympathetic clicking noise and stroked his cheek soothingly.

“I think it’s his fever…” Scooter murmured worriedly. He kept stroking Justin’s cheek, and surprisingly, Justin began to calm down.

“Oh, you like that, huh?” Scooter said with a small, amused smile on his face, talking to Justin though very well aware that the small man couldn’t hear him. Scooter tugged Justin’s limp, feverish body onto his lap, being extra gentle with the sick boy. He rubbed Justin’s back and rocked him until his cries quieted.

“Scoo-“ Justin’s voice cracked and went out.

“Hey, buddy, you awake?” Justin nodded, then his breathing suddenly faltered.

“Uh-oh,” Scooter said with a smile, and Allison handed him a tissue.

“Thanks,” Scooter said, foregoing handing it to Justin and just pressing the tissue over his nose himself. Justin gasped, his eyelids fluttering shut. Scooter frowned at the pale lavender tint of his eyelids, the tiny blood vessels clearly visible.

“Huh’PPSH!! PPSH’uhh!!”

“There you go. Bless you,” Scooter encouraged as the boy built up again.

“PSH!! PSSH!! heh’IIshh’oo!!”

“Bless you!!” The first two sneezes were quick, light, and ticklish, but the last was a bit deeper and much wetter, making Scooter glad he had that tissue to save Justin from further embarrassment. It was bad enough that the boy didn’t like crying in front of other people. Justin’s breath was again reduced to a string of short, desperate gasps.

“C’mon, buddy, let it out,” Scooter coaxed, his voice soft.

“PPSHH!! HEH’PPPSH!! HH!! Huh’ESHH’oo!!” Justin sighed and melted into Scooter’s embrace, finally done and thoroughly worn out.

“Bless you!” Scooter said, still keeping his voice very soft and gentle to soothe Justin, and also in case the poor kid had a headache. He gently wiped Justin’s raw nose with the now-soggy tissue, then tossed the used wad into the trash can next to Justin’s bed.

“You want some more soup?” Justin shook his head, burying his face into Scooter’s chest.

“You want something to drink?” Justin replied with another weak shake of his head.

“Alright, but you gotta drink a bit more tomorrow, okay?” That one earned a nod.

“How about we get you back to sleep, hm?” To Justin, nothing had ever sounded better.