FEVER

It was an all around normal day at the studio. The four men were in their places, practicing for the thousandth time a new song they had only come up with the day before.

Then, quite abruptly, Chris stopped playing.

“Jonny, are you OK?” he asked. Will and Guy both looked over to where Jonny was playing. He looked a little pale, and his eyes were drooping.

“Um... I... I don't... feel so good.” He blinked rapidly for a few seconds, as if he were trying to correct his blurry vision. Within seconds Chris was hovering around him, placing a hand to his forehead.

“You feel kinda feverish,” he established, and he put one arm around Jonny's shoulders and started to lead him to the small sofa on the other side of the room. “Wait here,” he said when Jonny had sat down. “I'm gonna get you an ice pack or something.”

Jonny weakly nodded, and Chris left the room in search of an ice pack. A few minutes later he returned, carrying in his hands a cold, blue bag. He placed it on Jonny's forehead and instructed Jonny to lay down. Once he had done so, Chris sat on the tiny space left on the cushions and sort of leaned over Jonny.

“Do you feel... dizzy or anything?” Chris asked him. Jonny shook his head, or he tried to.

“Kinda nauseous,” he slurred.

“Do you want some crackers?” Jonny shook his head. “Well, I could make you some toast.” Jonny shook his head again. Will and Guy look at each other knowingly. “Ginger ale? Tea? Something?”

Tired of responding physically, Jonny answered, “No, thanks.”

“You don't want anything?” Chris asked, feeling helpless. “At least let me get you some medicine.”

“Fine,” Jonny said. Chris, finally useful, smiled then stood up.

“I'll be as quick as I can,” he said, heading for the door. Before he exited completely, Guy asked where he was going. “Well, it's not like we have medicine around here. I'm surprised I even found the ice pack.”

And with that, Chris was gone. Guy and Will looked at each other again, but waited to speak until they heard the door open and close, a car engine rev, then die down as it disappeared into the distance.

“Oh geez, could he be more obvious?” Guy scoffed. Will, who was now standing beside him, grunted and nodded his head.

“I know, right?” Will replied. “Is there even a point in him pretending?”

“What are you two on about over there?” Jonny tried to shout, his voice still weak and his speech still garbled. He meagerly lifted his hand to his forehead and moved the ice pack a bit.

“Oh, nothing,” Guy nonchalantly said, “just that Chris is clearly in love with you.”

“No, he's not,” Jonny immediately replied with a bit of force. “That's ridiculous. Why would you even think that?”

The ceiling tiles set in his field of view were soon obstructed by Guy and Will's looming appearance. Guy was standing on the side of the armrest closest to Jonny's head, and Will was standing around where Chris had been sitting before.

“It's not ridiculous, it's true. Well, I guess it could still be ridiculous, but it's also still true.” Guy raised his eyebrows as he finished making his point. Will nodded along.

“Guy's right. I mean, did you see how Chris was acting, like he was your mum or something?”

“That's kinda creepy,” Jonny said. “Just because he acts like my mum means he's in love with me? What kind of logic is that- and what is that supposed to mean for my mum?”

“Just the way he keeps trying to take care of you,” Guy clarified. “I mean, he didn't seem to care earlier when I said I wasn't exactly doing so well today.”

“But he did ask you if it was bad, and you said it wasn't really. Besides, you're clearly just hung over,” Will reasoned, and Guy quickly shot him an evil look. “Jonny, all we're saying is that Chris obviously favors you out of everyone else in the world. As far as I'm concerned, that constitutes love.”

Jonny took a rather deep breath, his already ill self not recovering much at all. He tried to sit up, but the action failed before he even started moving. “Listen, I just don't think you guys know what you're talking about,” he calmly replied, and for the next fifteen minutes the three were locked in a conversation regarding only the question of Chris's feelings for Jonny.

“Like the time last summer when we all went swimming, and Chris sat out with you 'cause you hurt your foot on those rocks, even though he was really looking forward to swimming,” Guy said. The ice pack had helped somewhat, and Jonny was able to at least sit up, though he was very heavily relying on the back of the couch to support him. “He just does a lot of things like that, and it makes it seem pretty obvious that he-”

“He doesn't love me!!!” Jonny insistently yelled, but this time he was much louder than he had been before, so much that it actually frightened Guy and Will. Guy just looked at him in shock, but Will decided to speak.

“Why are you so against this?” he quietly and sincerely asked. “It's not like we're suggesting that you're in love with him.”

Jonny went pale at Will's words, and his voice had completely lost its strength. In a very husky voice, he said, “Because if he does love me, then he lied to me.”

Will furrowed his eyebrows as a confused expression spread across his face. “I don't understand.” Jonny stared at him for a while with sad eyes.

“I can explain,” an apologetic voice spoke from the doorway. Jonny had yelled so loudly earlier that none of the men had heard the door opening, and after hearing Jonny, Chris had made sure to not make much noise closing the door behind him. He took a few steps into the room, extremely hesitant. He took a deep breath and prepared himself. “Jonny... you'd put me on the spot, what was I supposed to say to you?”

“So, you did lie?” Jonny lamely asked. Chris solemnly nodded his head.

“Yes. I'm sorry, but I didn't think you would like it, and I didn't want you to think that I was some sort of creep or something for...” Chris trailed off, stared at the floor and ran a hand across his forehead.

“I don't think you're a creep,” Jonny quietly replied, and suddenly there was a loud gasp that came from Guy's direction.

“Oh my God.” Everyone in the room turned to see Guy, his hand over his chest and his jaw dropped. “Are we all retarded or something?”

“What?” Will incredulously asked him.

Guy seemed to ignore Will, merely asking Jonny, “You did it for the same reason, didn't you?”

“Did what?”

“You lied to us, too,” Guy said. “You don't care that Chris li- well, OK, maybe you do care, but there's more to it than just that.” Jonny stared at him blankly, though he really did know what Guy was talking about. He just hoped that Guy didn't. “You are in love with him, too... Why do you guys keep trying to pretend? No one's going to think you're weird or anything, certainly not us.”

“You won't?” Chris asked in a small voice.

“Hell no. You guys have known each other for ages, it's not a surprise.” Guy walked around the corner of the couch, around Will, and stood in between Chris and Jonny. He looked at both of them, separately, then raised his arms in the air. “Please, stop hiding it. Especially from each other.”

Having gotten Guy's approval, Chris and Jonny waited for Will to speak. “Guy's right. And I think you two together are... really sweet.”

Chris stared at the other three men for a little while, then he finally walked over and sat down next to Jonny. “Are you feeling any better?” he softly asked.

“A little, yeah,” Jonny replied.

“Good.” Chris smiled and picked up a bag that he had set down beside him. From inside it he pulled out a small bottle, which he then handed to Jonny, taking in return the ice pack. “This was all I could find at the store. I'm not sure it'll help all that much, but it's worth a try, right?”

Jonny nodded and said, “Thank you.”

Chris smiled again and absentmindedly smoothed down some of Jonny's hair. “Any time, Jonny.”