What's My Age Again?

"I'm definitely not going to school today." I mumbled to myself and flushed the toilet.

I woke up an hour earlier than I normal did because I had the urge to throw up again. I had thrown up at random times of the day throughout the rest of my break. I think I was getting a stomach virus. I hadn't told my mom yet because she usually got really annoying and Doctor-like when I was sick. I think I needed to tell her today because I was sick of throwing up at random. I was going to leave out the part about how I've been throwing up for a few days so she wouldn't yell at me for not telling her sooner.

My mom was at work still so I had to call her. Luckily she wasn't with a patient so she answered.

"You're up early, honey." She told me.

"Yeah I don't feel good." I said.

"Oh no! What's wrong?"

"Nothing, I just threw up."

"That's not nothing, Jack." She worried.

"I probably just ate something that upset my stomach, Mom."

"Well I won't be home for another three hours. Do you want to come up here and let me get a doctor to check you out?" She asked.

"No I don't think I'm that sick. Are you near Kellin's mom?"

"She's down the hall, why?"

"Can you ask her if Kellin can skip today and stay home with me?" I begged.

"No I'm not doing that."

"Please Mommy I don't feel good and he can stay here to watch me until you get home." I whined.

"Fine. Hold on." She sighed. I could hear her taking steps then she stopped. I heard her ask if Kellin could stay home with me today, but I didn't hear the answer.

"Okay I'm back." She said.

"Did she say yes?!?"

"Yes, Jack she said yes."

"Yay!" I cheered. "I'm going to call Kellin right now."

"Call me if you need anything or if you start feeling worse." She told me.

"Okay. Bye mom."

"Bye." She said and hung up.

I called Kellin to tell him the good news. He didn't answer the first time I called, but second time he did.

"Do you have any idea what time it is?" He groaned as he answered.

"Yeah, but I got some good news for you. I'm kind of sick and your mom said that you can skip school to come take care of me while my mom is at work." I told him.

"Seriously?!?"

"Yes! Hurry up and come over." I said. I don't know why I was rushing him. We were just going to go back to sleep when he got here.

Twenty minutes later Kellin was here in bed with me. He thanked me about a hundred times for getting sick because we both did not feel like going to school. Since it was the first day after break we weren't going to be doing anything important. We both were back asleep five minutes later.

I woke up three hours later in bed alone. I put my pajama pants on and went to look for Kellin. As soon as I walked out of my room I ran into him.

"Hey I was just about to wake you and tell you that breakfast is ready." He giggled.

"Oh good. What did you make us?" I asked and followed him downstairs.

"Pancakes!" He exclaimed. I wasn't in the mood for syrup and sweetness, but he made it for us. I wasn't going to be rude and not eat it. "Go have a seat. I'll get your for you." He told me and I thanked him.

A minute later he sat the plate down in front of me. They really did look like they would taste good. The smell of the syrup make my stomach churn though. I covered my mouth trying to resist the urge to throw up. The odor only became stronger so I jumped up and went to the trash can. I threw up and Kellin came over to help me.

"Wow you really are sick." He commented.

"I know. I've been throwing up all break." I said and wiped my mouth. I walked to the living room trying to avoid the smell of the pancakes. Kellin followed me to a couch and sat next to me.

"Like every day?" He asked.

"Yeah like once or twice a day." I answered. He was quiet for a moment then he spoke again.

". . . You and Alex have been using protection haven't you?" He asked worriedly. It annoyed me that he automatically thought that I was pregnant.

"Yes, Kellin, we have." I snapped.

"Okay I was just checking. You have to remember that that's a possibility now."

"I know." I huffed. He nodded, not really paying my outburst any attention. He left and went back to the kitchen to start eating. I laid out on the couch and held onto my stomach that started arching.
Seconds later the door was being unlocked and my mom came in. She sat her things down and told Kellin hello before coming over to me.

"How are you feeling?" She asked and placed her hand on my forehead.

"I'm fine. I just have a really bad stomach ache." I complained.

"What does it feel like?"

"Like a tightening-slash-stabbing pain in my stomach." I answered.

"Where exactly do you feel it?" She asked. All these questions were annoying me.

"I don't know. I can't tell. I just feel pain in my stomach." I told her.

"He's really cranky." Kellin told her and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah I can see." She said. "I'm going to get you some medicine and then you need to rest."

I nodded and she left to the medicine cabinet and grabbed two pills for me. She filled a glass up with water and brought it all to me. I took the pills and the water away from her, then I swallowed them down. Hopefully it would help me feel better because I felt like death right now.

I fell back asleep on the couch a few minutes later. I probably wouldn't have made it through school because I was so sleepy. I woke up two hours later. May, my mom, and Kellin and were sitting in the living room, with me, watching TV.

"Finally you're up." May said as she saw me sit up.

"Yeah I was really tired." I nodded and rubbed my eyes.

"How do you feel?" My mom asked.

"Better. I think I got it all out of my system." I told her. The other times I've thrown up during my break I would feel better after a while. Hopefully this time it was over for good.

"Okay. Just tell me if you start to feel sick again. I want to make sure whatever stomach bug you had is gone for good."

"Okay." I said. "I'm going to go take a bath."

I got up and went to my mom's bathroom. I wanted to take a relaxing bath and her bathtub was the biggest. I ran water hot water and added bubbles to it. Then I waited for it to fill up. I turned the water off and got out of all of my clothes. I stepped in, sat back, and closed my eyes.

I heard footsteps minutes later. Kellin had walked in and sat in the chair to my mom's vanity set. I needed to apologize for snapping on him earlier. He was just worried about me, and it was completely understandable why he thought that I might be pregnant. I don't know why I was so irritable earlier.

"Kellin, I'm sorry for being so rude earlier. I know you were just checking on me." I apologized.

"It's alright." He shrugged. "I know you didn't mean it."

"Yeah but still I shouldn't have been so mean."

"Well you were irritable...which could be an early sign of pregnancy." He mumbled.

"Kellin-" I sighed and he cut me off.

"-Just hear me out." He looked out the door to make sure my mom or May weren't near to hear our conversation. "Since you are able to get pregnant I think we should take into account that mistakes do happen and it's possible that you and Alex just weren't careful one time. Like what about his birthday? You said you two didn't use protection, maybe you got pregnant then and now you're finally in the morning sickness stage."

"I feel fine! I don't feel pregnant or anything. I've just threw up a few times and that could mean anything." I defended.

"Yeah but the smell of the pancakes made you sick. Another symptom of morning sickness aversions to smells." He warned.

"Are you a doctor now?" I asked sarcastically and he rolled his eyes at me.

"No smartass I'm not a doctor, but I can use google to figure these things out."

"Okay let's just say by chance I am pregnant. What exactly do you think I should do? Go tell my mom so she can ask who the father is and then tell her about Alex? Because that's going to end with him in handcuffs and me being the most hated person in the world." I said.

"Well no I mean don't do that, but she would find out when your stomach gets twenty times the size it is now. You would have to say you had a one night stand or something."

"I don't want to seem like a whore." I complained.

"Well it's either that or Alex in handcuffs. Take your pick."

"I don't have to pick because I'm not pregnant. That was just a hypothetical."

"Yeah I hope so." He sighed.

"Yep, so I'm going to change the subject. How are things with you and Vic?"

"Good. We're supposed to go to the movies tonight so I need you out of your house later." He told me.

"Okay, I'll go hangout with Alex." I said.

"Thanks."

***

I had left my house to make it look like Kellin and I were together so he could go out with Vic. It kind of worked out because Alex, Rian, and Zack were rehearsing today. Alex had me meet them at the studio they rented out. They were waiting for their techs to set up their instruments and the sounding equipment for them.

I was sitting in a chair watching them try to work around Alex and Zack who were deliberately messing things up. Every time Alan, the guitar tech, would set up Alex's mic stand Alex would knock it down. Every time Zack's bass would get plugged into the sockets he would go behind them to unplug it. The only person not messing anything up was Rian.

"Guys can we get through one rehearsal without you two touching shit?" Matt asked and Alex and Zack chuckled. Everyone seemed like they were used to it.

"I don't know, can we?" Zack asked Alex and he shook his head.

"That seems impossible." Alex joked and Matt sighed.

"Why can't you guys be like Rian? Do you see him messing up anything?" Matt said, sounding like a parent. "Both of you get away from the equipment until everything is finished."

They both laughed as they walked over to where I was sitting. Alex smiled at me as he pulled up a chair next to me and sat.

"Why can't you behave like a good boy?" I asked and he chuckled.

"They make it so easy to mess with them. Plus it's pretty funny when Matt gets annoyed and talk to me like a child." He said.

"That's because you're acting like one."

"Yeah yeah I know." He leaned over and kissed me. "We haven't hung out in a while. What have you been up to?"

"Sorry, I would have stopped by to visit you sometime this week, but I've been sick and I didn't want to get you sick too." I told him.

"You were sick again? Jeez that's like three times within the past two months." He said.

"I know. I don't know what's going on with me. I should probably go to the doctor next week to have a checkup."

"Yeah definitely go." He said and kissed me on the cheek.

"Mhmm. What have you been doing?" I asked.

"Um going over lyrics, drinking with the guys, and sleeping."

"The basic rock star lifestyle." I teased and he laughed.

"Yeah basically. Except for sex but I'm sure you and I will get that checked off the list tonight." He said, making me blush.

"Oh my god, can you not." I giggled.

"Zack, Alex now you two can come back up here." Matt told them. They both got up and went to their spots and grabbed their instruments.

"Alright guys we're starting with Neverland." Matt announced reading the set list. They all tested their instruments then Rian started them off with the drums. It was like a miniature concert for us.

Matt came to down in a chair like I was. We both spoke to each other when I first got to the studio, but it was kind of awkward. I just wasn't as talkative as I could have been with him since he broke my sister’s heart.

I needed to pee so I got up and went in during the second verse of the song. I was peeing more than I normally would, but that’s probably because I was drinking more water. I felt thirsty and hungry every hour of the day, sometimes after I've already eating. Even on my way back from the bathroom I passed a vending machine and I had to stop to buy chips. Kellin would have said it seemed like more pregnancy symptoms, but I think it was just the final steps of puberty for me.

By the time I returned to where everyone was, they were finished with the song. I sat back down and opened my chips. They were beginning the second song, which was Lost in the stereo. They played a few of the first notes of the song but it sounded kind of off. Rian stopped drumming which made Alex and Zack stop playing too.

"Shit I was playing it wrong wasn't I?" Alex asked.

"Yeah that's way too high for this song." Zack agreed.

"Okay start over." Alex laughed and they began playing the song again. This time it sounded correct. They played through that song and Six feet under the stars. Next up was one of my favorite songs of theirs; If These Sheets Were the States. It perfectly described Alex's and my situation about him moving away in a few months.

I was starting to become sleepy in the middle of the rehearsal. I tried forcing myself to pay attention, but I kept dozing off. I moved down to the floor to lay down. I was really tired for me to lay on the floor without complaining about germs. Also the fact that I could sleep through the loud music playing.

"Jack are you okay?" He asked into the microphone. I stuck my thumb up to tell him yes instead of yelling my answer so that he could hear it. He mumbled okay and they finished playing Time Bomb. They took a ten minute break after that song and Alex came over to check on me. I had just fallen asleep when he woke me.

"Hey what's wrong?" He sat down and ran his fingers through my hair.

"Nothing. I'm just really sleepy." I yawned.

"Are we boring you that much?" He chuckled.

"No." I giggled.

"Okay well we're almost done. Then we can go." He told me and I nodded. He stayed with me the rest of his break, just soothing me while I went back to sleep.

It felt like ten minutes later Alex was waking me saying it was time to go. It was actually an hour later. He helped me up and we gathered our things. Since he rode with Rian and Zack he was able to drive my car to his house. I was too disoriented to drive us.

We told everyone by in the parking lot then we went to my car. Alex opened the passenger door for me and closed once I was in. Then he went to the driver’s side in got in. I was kind of worried since I knew how crazy he drove his car.

"No speeding, Lex." I told him and he chuckled.

"I know how to drive." He said and pulled onto the road.

"Yeah I know you do, but I don't think you know how to read speed signs." I joked.

"Fine I'll just go twenty miles per hour to make sure I'm extra careful." He slowed us down to twenty when the speed limit was forty.

"I didn't say you couldn't go the speed limit." I chuckled.

"No no I don't want to accidentally speed." He said and I rolled my eyes at him. He laughed and picked up speed so that we were finally going the speed limit.

"You're so annoying." I told him and he smiled at me.

We made it to his house safely and went up to his bedroom. Zack and Rian were already back there too. I stopped to pee again then I went to lay in Alex's bed.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me.

"Yeah." I answered. I didn't know what I could eat that wouldn't make me sick.

"What are you in the mood for?"

"I don't know. Anything I guess." I told him.

"Taco Bell?" He asked and I shook my head. The thought of tacos was making me sick.

"McDonald's?"

"No."

"You said you wanted anything." He said.

"I know, but I'm not in the mood to eat any of those...I want a grilled cheese." I finally made my mind up.

"Okay I'll be right back." He left to go make it for me.

I had ate a meal with my mom earlier, but I threw up majority of it before I left to meet Alex. My stomach was beginning to ache again probably because I was basically starving. I snuggled up to Alex's pillow trying to ignore the pain.

Alex walked in a few minutes later and I sat up and pretended that I wasn’t in pain so he wouldn’t worry. He handed me the sandwich and I thanked him and began to eat it. I didn't eat the sandwich as quickly as I wanted out of fear of throwing up.

Alex sat next to me, holding my hand while I ate. He kissed the back of my hand and check my forehead again. I stopped eating after the fourth bite and sat the plate in his lap. I was starting to feel sick.

"I can't eat anymore." I told Alex.

"Is it that bad?" He took a bite out of it.

"No no I just can't get it down."

"Okay well just lay down and I'll go see if I have any medicine for you." He began to get up but I jumped up before him and ran to his bathroom. I went straight to the toilet and throw up. This routine was becoming so annoying now.

Alex walked in came to sit next to me. He rubbed my back while I threw everything up. When I finished I flushed the toilet and sat back against his tub. Alex pulled me over so that my body could lean against his.

"I'm so worried about you." He said and kissed me on the forehead.

"Don't. I'm fine." I sighed.

"You can't keep anything and your stomach and you've lost weight. Plus I'm starting to be able to feel your rib cage. You are not fine!" He scolded me. I pulled my shirt up and looked at my stomach. He was right, I had lost a couple of pounds.

I started to feel tears fall from my eyes and I began sniffling. I don't know why hearing him say that hurt my feelings. Alex's eyes grew wide and he held me tighter.

"No, shh baby I'm sorry! I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I was just trying to explain how sick you've become." He explained.

"I know how sick I am." I cried into his chest. "My body looks disgusting."

"No it doesn't! You're just thinner that's all, babe."

"I look like a skeleton."

"I promise it isn't that bad." He wiped a few tears away from my eyes.

"I wanna go lay down." I mumbled and he nodded. He stood up and then helped me up and back to his bed. I wasn't sleepy this time for once. I just wanted to lay down and cuddle with Alex until it was time for me to go home.

Alex laid down with me and wrapped his arms around my waist. I cuddled into his chest and wiped the last few tears away from eyes. I needed to know what was wrong with me. Never in my life have I ever been this sick for this long. I was definitely going to the doctor with my mom tomorrow morning.

Notes

See Jack doesn't think he's pregnant.