Hello! I was struck with a sinus infection last week. I get chronic sinus infections and oh my god they are the WORST.

Anyway, I got some inspo last night to write this for the "Borrowed Hoodie" prompt for Sicktember 2024! I'm not going to have too many Sicktember fics left bc I got sick :( but I'm hoping to spark some dopamine and get at least another out for you.

I have been thinking about Susannah's role when her boys get sick and since she has cancer, obviously they'd want her far away from any illnesses. But this is fiction so let's just pretend that she can't get sick from them bc she's a Mom and her immune system isn't as bad as I make Conrad's mwahaha lol I always put Laurel in these situations bc she's more nurturing and has a stronger bond w/ Conrad. But, I'd like to add Beck in and show off her maternal side.

This fic is inspired/set after the episode "Summer Heat" and I took out some scenes that happen in that episode.

LMK what you think & happy reading!

Sicktember 2024 Prompts @sicktember

8. Borrowed Hoodie  

Alt. 

4. Flushed Cheeks

AO3 Link

BELLY POV

Belly woke up wearing Conrad’s hoodie and she was on cloud nine. 

She smiled wide, showing all of her pearly whites. Lying in her warm bed, she hugged herself, sniffing the hoodie that smelled of him; salty and sweet like the ocean. She didn’t want the moment to last, but she had to head over to the country club for dance rehearsal for the Ball. 

Last night was The Fourth of July. At the end of the night, she shared a special moment with Conrad as they both watched the fireworks shooting in the night sky over the ocean. It was breezy which made her jump in place as a chill came over her. Conrad stood by her wearing a zip-up hoodie and when he heard her yelp, he didn’t hesitate to offer her his hoodie. He took it off revealing his gray t-shirt. Belly’s stomach fluttered with butterflies as he placed the jacket over her, holding it out for her to put her arms into the sleeves. She couldn’t stop smiling, her teeth began to hurt. 

Belly turned over and grabbed her phone, unlocking it and composing a text to Conrad. 

Good morning :) 

She smiled a big, toothy grin. Nothing could bring her euphoric mood down. 

— 

After showering and changing into a dress, she headed over to the club. Of course, she wasn’t leaving the house without the hoodie. The light blue zip-up hoodie with white strings was now her security blanket. She left it unzipped as it was baggy on her, making her hands disappear and coming down to her thighs. 

Belly walked into the hall where all of the debutante girls mingled waiting for rehearsal to start. Nicole grabbed Belly as soon as she saw her, then looked her up and down. “Is that Conrad’s hoodie?” Nicole asked, furrowing her brows in suspicion. 

Belly’s stomach dropped. She was so giddy this morning and her head was in the clouds that she didn’t even think about seeing Nicole. Belly paused, fumbling a response, “Oh my God! Yesterday was so wild, I must’ve taken his by mistake. I didn’t even notice!” her stomach turned with anxiety, she nervously laughed, lying through her teeth. She shrugged her shoulders and took the hoodie off, placing it down off to the side on a couch by the wall.  

After rehearsal, Belly ran over to her car with the hoodie lying over her arm. She threw it in the backseat and got into the driver’s seat. She pulled out her phone to view her new messages, hoping to have one from Conrad. Her notification bar didn’t reveal any new messages, only a few notifications from her Instagram followers and of friends going live. Her stomach sank as she re-read her last message to Conrad with the “Delivered” text underneath. She rolled her eyes and turned on the car, hitting play on the radio to shuffle a song on her Spotify playlist. She pulled out of the parking lot and drove home, hoping Conrad would be there. 

— 

When she got home, the house was quiet. Susannah walked in from the front of the house and greeted her, “Good morning, my love” she said, smiling wide. 

Belly returned the smile. “Morning! Hey, Susannah? Have you seen Conrad?” she asked, anxiety fluttered in her stomach as she awaited the answer. 

Susannah frowned and her shoulders slumped. “He’s in bed with a nasty headache. Let him sleep” she explained. “I’m painting some portraits if you’d like to join me” the blonde haired woman said with a smirk, glancing toward the back door. 

Belly fake smiled at her. At least she knew Conrad wasn’t ignoring her, but she was hoping to spend the day with him. Belly gripped the hoodie in her hands and declined, “I’m okay” she replied laughing. 

Suddenly, Jeremiah came in from the back door in his usual chipper mood holding a beach towel over his arm and a backpack on his back. “Hey Bells! I’m going to the beach, want to join?” he asked. 

Belly immediately nodded her head, not even thinking twice about it. “Yes! Let me go get changed” she said assessing her outfit that was not suitable for the beach. 

Belly walked through the hallway toward her room but stopped once she got to Conrad’s door. One side of her conscience was telling her to open the door and tend to him but the other had Susannah’s voice playing in her head. Let him sleep. Belly hesitated, assessing her options, hoping for a sign that never came. 

The hall was quiet. She groaned and marched toward her room. 

—- 

CONRAD POV

Conrad woke up that morning with a splitting headache and the chills. No matter how much alcohol they had the day before, he knew this was not a hangover. He groaned, pulling his arm out from under the warm covers and placed his palm on his forehead. His hands were cold, preventing him from getting an accurate read on if he was running a fever or not. 

He pulled the covers out from under him and looked around the room for his zip-up hoodie. He scanned the room twice, and realized it wasn’t on the chair where he usually put it. He sighed, waiting a couple of seconds, pulling his aching body off of the bed and walked out of the room. 

Conrad entered the kitchen in search of some Advil and water. Susannah sat at the dining table typing on her phone, but stopped when she heard footsteps. 

She immediately frowned when she saw her oldest son’s pale complexion and rosy cheeks. “Aw, honey. You don’t look too good” she said, placing her phone on the table and getting up. 

Conrad put his hand out to stop her, creating distance between them. “I’m fineee” he croaked, opening the cabinet and grabbing a bottle of Advil which he unscrewed and poured out two tablets on the counter. 

“It’s just a bad headache, really” he said, composing himself not to worry her, taking a glass of water, chasing it with the medicine. 

“Mom, I’m fine. It’s really just a headache” he yawned, “I’m going to sleep it off” he shrugged, putting the medicine back in the cabinet and shutting it. 

Susannah sighed, knowing from his rosy cheeks that he wasn’t telling the truth. “Alright, if you say so. I’ll be just by the pool, if you need anything” she replied, giving him a thin-lipped smile before he disappeared up to his room. 

—- 

Luckily thanks to modern medicine, he was able to get some sleep. But when he woke hours later to the sun shining in through his blinds, Conrad felt 10x worse and the chills from earlier re-emerged for an encore. It was absolutely unbearable. His body was heavy and achy but fortunately, his headache was gone. 

After lying in bed awake for what felt like twenty minutes, Conrad mustered up the energy to get out of bed, knowing he needed to take more pain relievers. One thing about Connie is he hated feeling like a burden, so of course he always downplayed his symptoms when he was sick. Therefore, walking back into the kitchen, he silently hoped the coast would be clear. 

But his wishes were crushed when he and Susannah walked in at the same time. “Any better?” she said, her voice in a high pitch. 

“A little” Conrad muttered, going back to the cabinet where they last ran into each other. 

“Honey, why don’t you lie on the couch and I’ll take care of you?” she suggested, her eyes lighting up with enthusiasm. 

Conrad nodded, declining her request. “I’m okay, really,” he answered in a low voice. He really didn’t need anyone to fuss over him. Let alone, he’d feel guilty if he got his mother sick. 

Susannah crossed her arms, putting her foot down. “Con. You’re shivering, I really don’t mind” she said, noticing her son shivering in place, goosebumps forming on his arms. 

Conrad silently walked over to the couch in defeat. His brain was foggy and with his lack of energy, he was simply too tired to keep protesting. Susannah smiled, glad that he wouldn’t fight her on this anymore. 

Conrad curled up with a blanket on the couch and closed his heavy eyes. Suddenly, he was being woken by a gentle nudge. He opened his glassy blue eyes to see his frail mother sitting by the edge of the couch with a forehead thermometer in her hand. She gently leaned over to feel his forehead, despite feeling the heat radiating off of him from where she sat.

Susannah frowned at her son as she felt his boiling hot forehead, “Oof, you’re burning up, babe” she looked down, turning on the thermometer. She placed the thermometer up to his forehead and waited momentarily for it to beep. 

Susannah’s eyebrows raised and her eyes grew big as she read the alarming temperature. “101.4” she recited, in a broken voice, “I don’t know how you got this sick” she declared, slowly getting up from the couch. 

Conrad batted his eyelashes. He didn’t even realize he was that sick. He truly had himself convinced that he did just have a headache and mild symptoms that would soon disappear, not persist. 

As the chills continued, Conrad felt himself striving to get warm. He pulled the light blanket to the side and got up, walking toward a basket where they stored their blankets. 

Susannah immediately nipped that in the bud. “What’re you doing, honey?” she asked, making him freeze in place. 

He turned toward her and replied, “Getting a blanket” he answered slowly. 

“I’ll get that and I found your hoodie in Belly’s room when I was dropping off her laundry” she said looking over at the piles of laundry on the dining room table that she was folding before he came down, the hoodie lying next to them. 

Conrad nodded and slowly walked back to the couch. Susannah put down her supplies; a wet rag, a glass of water, and a dose of pain reliever. She walked over to the basket and grabbed a light blanket. When she closed the wicker basket, she placed the blanket on the arm of the couch. Then, walked to the dining room to grab his zip-up hoodie. 

When she got back to the couch, she handed over the hoodie. Conrad sat up and she helped him get each arm through. He zipped it up and lay his head back on the pillow, pulling the blankets up toward his chin. 

Susannah frowned at him, turning toward the coffee table and grabbed the medicine. Conrad sighed when he realized he had to sit up again. He complied and took the medicine with the glass of water, then lay his head on the pillow again.

He closed his heavy, tired eyes as he simply felt the fatigue settling in. The cold rag hit his steaming hot forehead and he sighed in relief. 

“Get some rest” Susannah whispered, patting the mountain of blankets. Those were the last words he heard before drifting off to sleep. 

BELLY POV

When Belly returned from the beach, she was in better spirits. Thanks to Jere, he always knew how to cheer her up. It was like he could sense her sorrow even if she put on a brave face and a fake smile. 

The two walked into the house laughing but were soon reprimanded for their volume. “Ssh!” Susannah held up her index finger to her closed lips, looking at the two teens with wide eyes. “Connie’s sleeping on the couch. He’s not feeling too hot” she whispered. 

Jeremiah put his hands up in defeat. “Sorry” the two whispered. 

When Belly got back to her room to shower from the beach, her heart stopped. She could’ve swore she left the hoodie on her unmade bed. But now her bed was made and there was a pile of clean clothes folded on top of her comforter. She frantically scanned the room looking for the hoodie. She looked under the bed, under the comforter, and in her closet but it was nowhere to be found. 

“Hmpf!” she expressed in frustration, whoever came into her room while she was out must’ve taken the hoodie. She left her beach towel and belongings on the floor of her bedroom and stormed down the stairs to find the hoodie. 

When she got to the border of the living room and the kitchen, she froze. Out the window, Susannah was lounging by the pool reading a book. Besides Conrad sleeping on the couch, the coast was clear.  She walked closer to the couch, slowly trying to be as quiet as she could be so as not to wake him. Her heart melted as she saw him; snoring softly, his cheeks flushed with a light pink tint. Then, her eyes lit up as she saw the light blue and white string of the hoodie peeking out under the blankets. 

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am I procrastinating finishing my Jeremiah fic for Sicktember? Yes.

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If you missed it, I uploaded a Ricky Bowen fic yesterday for Sicktember. Read it here!

IT'S HERE!!!! And it's over 2k words. So for my fellow Ricky lovers...you're welcome.

Here is sweet, sneezy Ricky on his birthday. Poor Ricky! Also sorry E.J. but you *can* be a gullible. We still love you. 😍

Sicktember 2024

"Great. I Got a Cold for My Birthday"

The Sniffles

AO3 LINK @sicktember

*SET AT CAMP SHALLOW LAKE*

“LET IT GO” S3, EP8 of HSMTMTS (REIMAGINED)

Ricky Bowen woke up on his 18th birthday feeling congested as hell but he was not going to let a little cold stop him.

 He sat up in bed, his nose tickled and he let out a wet sneeze. “Aah-tschieww!!”

“Gesundheit” Carlos said, looking up at his sneezy friend.  Ricky muttered a thank you, pulling the covers off of him and swung his legs over his bunk to face his friend. 

“Great. I got a cold for my birthday” Ricky announced with disappointment in his hoarse and nasally voice.

Carlos scrunched his face at him, “Maybe you should go to the nurse,” he suggested. Ricky’s eyes bulged, jumping down from the bunk. He sniffled, “No way, dude! It’s opening night. E.J. will kill me if I’m–” Ricky paused, unable to say the word. 

“Sick” Carlos added, finishing his friend's sentence. “No, no, no. It’s just a cold. I’m perfectly fine” he said feeling another tickle in his nose, “Aah-tschieww!!” he leaned into his elbow, catching the sneeze.