xp_logs | [log] Marie checks on Doug after the Notorious Pants Show.

I'm aware that you people will eventually lynch me for refusing to let Marie end up with Doug. *sigh* It's just not IC for her to do it, guys. I'm sorry.

Marie checked her email again around nine in the morning. Still no answer from Doug. That wasn't characteristic, she was pretty sure he was the type to read his email in the morning. She frowned and gave the empty mailbox a glare. He'd been in rough shape last night. Putting her coffee aside, she grabbed a pair of gloves from the desk and headed to his room.

Doug lay face-down on his bed, whimpering inaudibly at the thought of trying to get to class. He had tried to choke down a Pop-Tart upon waking in the morning, but had barely made it to the bathroom in time to vomit it right back up. He was amazed that he'd had the strength to make it back to bed afterwards.

Marie knocked lightly on the door, which wasn't quite closed all the way. "Doug?" Having given some warning, she pushed the door open enough to look into the dimly lit room and saw Doug lying face-down on top of the covers.

Doug winced slightly at the sound of the knocking, and lifted his head slightly off the pillow, eyes bleary. "...Marie?" he rasped from a dry throat.

"Oh, Doug," she said, half-exasperated, half-concerned. She let herself in and came to the side of the bed. "You look like hell."

Doug, still in the same sweatshirt and pants that he had put on when Marie put him to bed the previous night, managed a wry chuckle. "...feel like hell."

"Did you sleep last night?" She pulled his desk chair over and sat down, leaning over to feel his forehead.

Doug nodded weakly. "Pretty much the only thing I did."

"I think you'd better stay in bed today. I'll let the other teachers know." Marie frowned, leaning her elbows on her knees. "Do you need to see Hank?"

Doug blinked slowly. "Dunno. Tried to eat breakfast this morning, but I puked it righ back up."

"Well, we can't have that. Do you want to get your pyjamas on? You can probably sleep this off, but I'll let Hank know you've got a little something. If you want to try and get comfortable, I'll get you some gingerale and something for your stomach." Her expression was all concern and she kept her voice low so as not to bother his head.

Doug closed his eyes and sighed. "...'m sorry about yesterday, Marie. I seem to make a habit of making a fool out of myself."

"Hush that right now," she ordered. "I still don't know what got into you but it's no big deal. Now are you going to get your jammies on or am I tucking you back in like that?"

Doug may not have had a lot of spare energy to move, but he certainly was able to blush. "I guess I can try for my jammies."

"I'll get them for you." She sounded a little placated and got up, putting his chair back by the desk. "And then I'll get you some gingerale. Do you feel sick right now or just when you eat?"

Doug summoned up his strength and managed to roll to a sitting position. "I feel a little nauseous, but I think it's mostly when I eat."

"I'll find something for that then, too. I think you need some serious sleep. Now, point to those pyjamas and I'll get them, and then I'll get out of your hair for a bit, but I'll be back."

Doug pointed unsteadily at the top drawer of his dresser. He blushed at the thought of Marie going through the drawer that contained his underwear and pajamas. There was a strange intimacy to it, but mostly he was spectacularly embarassed.

Marie got out a pair of pyjamas and closed the drawer. "Here you go." She gave them to Doug and smiled down at him. "You'll be fine in no time." She was thinking of her first time being sick and being away from home, only she'd been homeless at the time. No matter where you were, it was no fun when you got sick without someone around to look after you.

Doug blushed and sighed wearily. He stared at the floor. "I..." There were so many things he wanted to say, but he just couldn't seem to get any of it sorted out in his mind, much less to come out of his mouth.

"Don't worry about it, honey." She ran a hand over his hair. "I'll be back in a while. Don't worry, I'll knock." She let herself out and closed the door behind her quietly.

Doug closed his eyes tightly as a couple of tears trickled down his face. Dashing a sleeve angrily across his nose, he began the task of changing into his pajamas. Lifting his arms felt like they had giant barbells tied to the end of them. Bending down to get his jeans off seemed like the hardest thing in the world.

Marie came back with her hands full and, shifting things around, knocked gently on the door. "You decent in there?"

Doug looked up from where he was still sitting on his bed. "Yeah, come on in," he said.

Marie got the door open and closed it behind her with her foot as she came in. "Hey." She put things down on the desk; a glass of ice, a tin of gingerale, soda crackers, and some blister packets of something pink. The extra pillow under her arm, she put at the head of Doug's bed. "I didn't know if you needed more blankets right now. You going to get under the covers or are you too warm?" She turned and gave him a worried look.

As if on cue, Doug began shivering, teeth chattering together. He curled up into a ball, his hands clenching and unclenching involuntarily. He closed his eyes, ashamed of letting Marie see him like this.

"Under the covers," she ordered firmly. He looked so ill, it tugged at her heart. She helped him under the covers and tucked him in again. "We've got to stop meeting like this," she said lightly as she adjusted his pillows.

Doug's hands spasmed as he clutched at the end of his comforter. "W-what, you mean me emb-b-barassing myself in front of y-you and/or half the student b-body?"

"I don't think you did anything embarassing." She grabbed the medicine and sat down beside him on the bed, opening it up.

Doug grimaced. "In the past c-couple of days?" He snorted, and took a moment to try and force down the shakes that were causing him to stutter. "I confessed that I've been secretly in love with you for a while, basically poured out my entire heart to you, and then last night I danced around shirtless, serenaded you in front of half the student body, so my feelings are hardly a secret now, then crashed, had to be put to bed, and now am being taken care of like I'm Miles' age. Oh, and you had to go into my underwear drawer to get my pajamas." He blushed furiously. "Where's the embarassment there?"

"We're friends," she said as though it were the answer to everything. To her, it really was. "You were honest with me, you helped me out a lot, you were kind and patient and chivalric about the whole thing. Then you were unselfconscious and fun, and you sang to me and did a damn good job of it, which is certainly a first for me. And the fact that you wear underwear is no great surprise." She handed him two small pink tablets. "Put those under your tongue, they'll dissolve."

Doug promptly did as he was told and waited for the tablets to dissolve before continuing. "I was trying to be helpful and stay out of your way for a while. I know it was probably a lot to have dropped on you, and I thought I could help best by letting you have some time to sort through things." He made a vague hand motion. "And instead, it's probably the leading topic of conversation between classes. 'Hey, did you see Doug making a fool of himself?'" He laughed bitterly, a couple of stray tears falling from his eyes.

Marie reached out and wiped away the tears, darkening the fingers of her pale blue gloves. "You're so sweet," she said gently. "I don't think it is being discussed, though I'll keep an ear out and let you know if it is."

Doug's fingers clenched involuntarily, oh so tempted to clutch at the hand brushing his cheek. "I just...don't know what came over me. Everything just felt so..._good_. And then all of a sudden it didn't, and I just wanted to puke."

"I noticed. I'm not sure you're the only one who had a sudden mood swing. Do you mind if I talk to someone about that?" She got up and poured some gingerale into the glass of ice.

Doug shrugged. "Who were you going to talk to?"

"Maybe Moira." She brought the glass over and put it where he could reach it, then sat back down beside him. "I'm just worried about you." She reached out and took one of his hands. "I hate to see you looking so rough."

Doug clasped Marie's hand. He tentatively gazed up at her, feeling incredibly fragile and vulnerable. "I...thank you, Marie. As embarassing as it is, I wouldn't want just anyone seeing me like this."

"What are friends for? Someone's got to look after you and, well, I can't imagine not helping if you needed me." Marie squeezed his hand gently. "Thanks for letting me help."

Doug just clutched Marie's hand to his cheek as the shakes came back full force, tears running down his face again.

"Come here." Marie pulled him into her arms, guiding his head to her shoulder and rubbing his back with her free hand. "It's okay." -Life's so much harder for the kids here than it is for others, and it's already hard when you're this age,- she thought. -It's not fair.- She was grateful that Doug was willing to lean on her, knowing her own tendancy to implode without her own outlet for her personal crises.

Doug leaned on Marie, crying himself out. After a little bit, he blinked sleepily as the Gravol hit his empty stomach. "...Em?" he asked, his voice already sleep-fogged.

"Yes?"

Doug's exhaustion loosened his tongue, and he said the words he had promised himself he'd try not to say while he let Marie sort herself out. "...love you," he whispered as his eyes closed all the way and his breath deepened in sleep.

Marie smiled and shook her head a little. "You're impossible," she murmured. "And I mean that in the literal sense." She held him until she was sure he was fully asleep and then settled him back on the pillows, pulling the covers up around him. She left him a note beside the crackers and gingerale: 'Back at noon. Em.'