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“I'm not hungover, 'm just sick”
“Uh-huh, and I’m Freddy Mercury,” Alvin said, crossing his arms.
Brittany groaned and tried to shut the door in his face but Alvin stuck his foot in the entryway, stopping her from doing so.
“Alvin please just go home” She pleaded, holding her head with her hand. She’d had a splitting headache all morning and was swaying dangerously on her feet. Before she could tell him off and shove him out of the doorway she felt her stomach lurch violently and Brittany rushed to the downstairs bathroom, where she promptly emptied the contents of her stomach (which wasn't much to begin with).
She was still in the middle of dry-heaving when she felt cool hands brush the side of her neck and face, pulling back her hair.
Alvin stood behind her, wincing slightly at the sight before him. Yeah, he’d been there and done that before. He moved to rub her back, a soothing gesture Theodore had done for him when he was hungover.
He was 99% sure that Brittany was hungover and not sick. When Brittany was sick, she tended to make a big deal of it, getting her sisters to wait on her hand and foot. But today, Alvin knew for a fact that everyone was out at an amusement park today. He would have gone too had he not been grounded last night after Dave caught him sneaking in after curfew. He’d been coming back home from Hunter’s party, a party he was fairly sure Brittany also would have gone to, seeing as most of the cheerleading squad had been in attendance.
Brittany sat back slowly, leaning heavily against Alvin’s chest. “Ok, so maybe I’m a bit hungover” she winced “but it's not my fault, I literally never get this bad” She moaned, not even trying to deny it anymore.
Alvin chuckled a bit and Brittany shot him a weak glare. “Yea well, Hunter’s known for his legendary ability to mix a bunch of liquors without making the drink taste like absolute ass, so most people don't notice how far gone they are until it's too late.”
Brittany winced at his volume, even though she knew he wasn't exactly being loud at that moment, the sound was still loud enough to make her head pound. “Sounds like you’re speaking from experience”
“Oh-ho yea, learned that the hard way. Got shitfaced and poor Theo found me facedown in the yard. He thought I was dead.”
Brittany gave a weak laugh “Poor Theo, he’s probably traumatized.”
“Nah, he’s fine. But Dave grounded me for a month after that. Spent the whole weekend bedridden and unable to function. So if ya think about it, you’re kinda lucky.”
She glared at him, “You call this shit lucky? You’re lucky I'm not feeling good or else I'd have strangled you by now.”
He smirked at her threat, deciding not to point out the fact that she was pretty much putting all her weight against him right now. “Well you’re still better off than I was, so we’ll have you feeling better in no time.”
Alvin shifted his weight, hooking his arms underneath her shoulders, “but first things first, we’ve got to get you cleaned up and fed.” He hoisted her up as gently as he could but she still swayed violently in his arms from the sudden change in position.
“Woah there now, c’mon Britt work with me here”
“ Why didn't I think of that” She seethed. “You don’t fucking think I'm trying ?”
Alvin sighed and adjusted his position so he could better take on most of her body weight.
“Y’know, a little ‘thank you would be nice.” He sassed, leading her to the kitchen.
“Oh, where are my manners? Thank you SO MUCH for barging into my house uninvited and making me physically sick” She shot back.
Alvin rolled his eyes but bit back his retort when he felt her sway against him. He decided to be nice and cut her some slack.
He led her over to the kitchen island and sat her down at one of the bar stools where she promptly put her head in her hands facedown on the countertop.
“Um Britt, you alive over there?”
“Oh my GOD can you please shut the fuck up and quit being so loud ”
‘ Yep definitely alive’ he thought. He sighed and moved to look in the fridge and pantry for the hangover recipe Theo had given him. Alvin winced slightly when he remembered it involved eating raw eggs but his brother had perfected the art of making disgusting foods taste good.
Still, he figured it was better to not take any chances, and just find a way to work around that part.
After going through almost all the cabinets in the Miller’s kitchen Alvin decided his best bet was toast with some electrolyte water mixed with Gatorade (he sent a silent thank you to Eleanor for being such a gym rat that she just had most of this stuff on hand) and 2 Advil.
Brittany felt herself perk up when she heard him start shaking something, a water bottle maybe? She lifted her head when she heard the toaster ping in the corner and watched as Alvin set down this weird pink drink and spread strawberry jam on the bread.
When he finished, he set down the food and drink in front of her, along with the pills. She nearly vomited at the sight.
“I hope you don't expect me to eat this.” She spat.
Alvin felt his eyebrow twitch. ”Listen, I'm not the one who was puking my guts out earlier, if you wanna feel better then you have to eat something and hydrate. And this” he held up the drink bottle “is a special drink designed to specifically hydrate bitchy cheerleaders”
Brittany full-on scowled at him now and crossed her hands over her chest, refusing to eat it.
‘ Ok new tactic’ Alvin thought, mentally switching gears. If she wasn’t gonna listen to logic and reason then he’d play dirty.
He walked around the island to her side and leaned in, close enough that his lips nearly brushed her ear as he whispered “ Please Brittany” in a low voice. It was a well-known fact that Alvin could charm the pants off of just about anyone if he tried hard enough, so he figured there was no harm in using this information to his advantage, especially if it was for a good cause.
She shuddered and he felt some twisted satisfaction as he moved in for the kill.
Alvin brushed her hair away from his shoulder and gently rested his head there, wrapping both of his arms around her midsection and letting his fingers trace small patterns along her arm, relishing the feeling of the goosebumps that seemed to pop up in their wake.
“After you’re done” he began, still speaking in the same tone, “We can spend the day together, watch all of your favorite movies on the couch and I’ll order you whatever food you want later if you’re feeling up for it.”
Brittany hated how appealing that idea sounded to her right now. She knew exactly what he was doing and damn him for using that tone to do it. Not wanting to let him have the satisfaction of winning this little exchange, she shoved him off with as much force as she could muster.
Brittany tried to level her best glare at him (it was hard when the inside of her head felt like it was being used as a snare drum) and said in an accusatory tone “Nice try Seville, but you can't just sweet talk me into eating whatever the fuck that is”
Alvin held up his hands in surrender, “Alright Britt, whatever you say.”
Brittany didn't know why that made her feel so disheartened. He was giving up? He wasn't even going to try? She wanted to argue more but her head was still pounding. She hadn't even noticed that he left the room, but she didn’t particularly care at that moment.
Brittany sighed and put her head down.
*****
Alvin sat on the couch in the other room mindlessly scrolling on his phone. He’d originally pulled it out to text Brittany’s sisters and update them on her condition but he’d gotten distracted scrolling on social media. He’d fallen down a rabbit hole of fans gushing about his promposal that he’d done a week ago.
God, he couldn't believe it had only been a week. And it had been the best week of his life so far. Brittany had let him hold her hand constantly and walk her to every class. He’d hug her all time in the halls and she’d tease him and tell him to go fuck off but he knew she didn’t mean it. Despite her big bravado, she’d still let him hold her every time they hugged. They spent time in her room after school where they would both cuddle on her bed (after he had successfully distracted her) and it was heavenly.
Their relationship hadn’t changed much on a surface level but at the same time, it had. They hadn't always been friends (especially not in the beginning) but they had always understood one another. Now, it was like that understanding had gone even deeper if possible. He’d always found it hard to let people in, but she'd found a way in and he was loathed to let her go anytime soon.
Speaking of which, he checked the time on his phone. Shit . It had been almost an hour since he last seen her. Alvin dashed into the kitchen only to find her asleep on the countertop, half-eaten food in front of her.
Her hair was loose, most of it had fallen from the ponytail it was in, and it half covered her face. Visible under a thin veil of hair was her face, a little ashen but with most of its color returning. Her cheeks still had their rosy hue and her mouth was slightly parted, a small line of drool coming out. He winced a little at the angle her neck was at, it definitely didn't look comfortable.
Part of him just wanted to leave her there as payback for being so fucking difficult earlier that day (and most days if he was being quite honest) but he knew he couldn’t. She was sick after all and she had at least attempted to eat (despite all of her complaining earlier).
Alvin slowly and gently lifted her head, then her chest, before moving to scoop his hands underneath her legs. He had picked her up bridal style and he gently shifted her a bit so that her head was resting more comfortably on him. Alvin slowly made his way to the stairs, trying his best not to jostle her too much.
Halfway through his ascent, Brittany stirred. Alvin paused on the stairs to look down at her. She groaned softly, squinting her eyes a bit before turning and burying her face into his chest. He tried his best to stay calm but he was 99% sure she could hear his heart going fucking berserk in his chest and that his face was bright red.
A month ago, he would have been appalled at the effect she was having on him. He was Alvin Seville and nobody made him this flustered.
But this was Brittany Miller he was talking about, she'd always know how to get under his skin and right past his defenses. “ Stupid good-for-nothing-defenses,” he thought to himself as he made it to her door.
Her fully closed door.
“God damn it, Brittany,”
he thought.
“Nothing is ever easy with you huh?”
He smiled. He wouldn't have it any other way.