“Hello?”
Nolan looks around the room, walls painted a creamy white.
“Yeah, he’s been sorta out of it…”
The color reminds him of eggshells.
“-fever too, maybe.”
He hasn’t had boiled eggs in a while. Maybe he should try making them on his own?
“-lan.”
Did he have anything for breakfast today?
“Nolan.”
Maybe a piece of toast?
“Nolan, she needs to take your temperature. Nolan.” His head snaps away from the wall, aching at the movement.
“Huh?”
Alexander sighs, running a hand down his face. “Your temperature, Nolan. Were you listening at all?”
“Oh,” Nolan starts. “No?”
“Open your mouth,” the nurse says before the argument can escalate. Nolan does, and the stick she holds is shoved mercilessly under his tongue. After a moment, she pulls it out of his mouth, ignoring his confused expression. She frowns, looking at the numbers.
“You have a fever of 99.7 degrees. I’d recommend you take it easy for the rest of the day. Rest up, and make sure to drink lots of fluids. It’s probably just a common cold.”
“We’ll make sure he gets better,” Logan answers. “Is there anything he shouldn’t eat? Anything he should?”
Nolan tunes the two out and as he turns his head to look at the wall again, the golden hair to his left catches his attention. He instead eyes it with suspicion, lowering his gaze to the tall person it belongs to.
Alexander is intently staring at the nurse, listening to her every word. Nolan notices with a start that he’s still pressed against Alexander. Their bodies slot together nicely, Nolan’s shorter stature resting with his head just above Alexander’s shoulder. Unthinkingly, he drops his head just to test if it really would fit.
Alexander jumps at the contact, wide eyes glancing down at Nolan. His head is bent, resting on Alexander. He stiffens at the show of vulnerability from the sick boy.
“Nolan, what’re you doing?” Alexander hisses.
Nolan groans, before pulling his head out of its resting position. “Nothing,” he murmurs. “Can I leave yet?”
“Absolutely not,” the nurse says, whipping her head around to glare at Nolan. “If you’re going anywhere, it’ll be with these two. You are absolutely not allowed to go off on your own.”
“We’d be happy to go with him!” Logan says. “Right, Alexander?”
“Sure.”