Tell Me Why You Love Me (TMWYLM) Read online

  I shrugged at him. "Well, it was my own fault in the first place. I should have changed before, but I didn't. Besides, I can handle a cold." I laughed slightly, giving him a gentle smile.

  My eyes widened and my body jolted a little when I felt his icy hand touch my forehead. He really was cold. "You're getting a fever." He stated, slipping his hand off my head.

  I reassured his answer by checking myself. My forehead was burning hot. I lowered my hand and gave him a quizzical look. "What about the others? Are they alright?" I asked him.

  He chuckled a little and rubbed my hair. "Look at you, putting others before yourself again! But, yeah they're fine. They weren't running around in wet clothes for as long as you and me." He replied, showing me his emerald eyes.

  A sudden sneeze attacked me and my head flew forward again, making me head butt my knee. "Ah, shit!" I yelled in protest, holding my forehead, with Jordan next to me bursting into laughter. I turned to him. "Hey! It's not funny!" I defended, still rubbing my head where my knee had connected.

  "I'm sorry, but it was!" He spoke between laughter. "Are all your sneezes as dramatic?" He asked me, half-jokingly.

  I pouted and looked away. "Stop laughing. I can't help having such dangerous snee-achoo!" I sneezed again and hit my head with my other knee. "Dammit!" I yelled, rubbing my head in the same place and Jordan now on his back laughing so much he had to hold his chest.

  He was pissing me off. I leaned over him and placed my hand on the bed near his head. "If you don't stop, I'll sneeze in your face!" I stated with a smirk on my face.

  "You wouldn't dare." He said looking at me, ceasing his laughter.

  "Oh, I dare." I spoke and just as I did, my head automatically pulled back.

  I ended up sneezing once more, but my head stopped in its forward motion by Jordan's hand. I opened my eyes and Jordan's eyes widened, pulling his hand away and shaking it. "Oh god! You got snot on my hand!" He yelled, trying to shake it off.

  I couldn't help but laugh, but it was thrown back in my face, literally. Jordan had slapped his boogered hand on my face and wiped it on me. "Ew! You're disgusting!" I protested, pulling back and wiping my face with my hoodie sleeve. My eyes widened and I stood up, shaking my sleeve frantically. "Oh, god! No!" I yelled, trying to put my sleeve as far away from me as possible.

  Jordan sat up, still laughing. "Hey, they're YOUR germs!" He stated.

  "Yeah, but it's still gross!" I told him, throwing the sleeve to my side in a childish tantrum way and then regretting it after, realising I had hit my trousers with it. "Aw, man! Seriously!?" I looked at my leg and groaned. "Sure, just make me into a germinator, why don't you." I spoke to myself, receiving a laugh from Jordan.

  "You only have yourself to blame for your stupidity!" He stated, taking himself back to reality and giving me that smug look on his face.

  I rolled my eyes and sat back in my previous seat next to Jordan and gave him a grimacing stare. But it suddenly faded, when I heard Jordan start to cough. I quickly placed my hand on his forehead. He was as hot as me!... Temperature-wise.

  "Dear god, Jordan. You're overheating!" I stated to him, worry filling my eyes.

  His emerald eyes had a slight haze to them than usual and he gave me a weak grin. "I'm fine. Didn't I tell you that you worry too much?" He whispered to me.

  "I worry too much for a reason, y'know." I gave him a stern look, my hand still resting on his forehead. "Look, I'll go ask Mi-your mom-"

  "You can call her by her name if you want." Jordan interrupted me. "Whatever you're comfortable with." He added.

  I smiled to him a little. "I'll go ask Miriam to get us some blankets and I'll make us some hot drinks, okay?" I told him with tenderness in my voice. I stood up and made my way to my door, turning back to him as I turned the handle. "Stay here and don't move. Or touch any of my stuff!" I added, before leaving, running down the stairs.

  As I reached half-way down, a sneeze decided to attack me and I fell down the rest of the stairs. "Dammit!" I yelled in protest, getting myself up.

  "Oh, my god!"

  "Freesia!"

  I heard the twins call as they ran to me, helping myself to my feet. "Thanks, guys." I gave them each a smile.

  "Geez, Free. We heard you sneezing upstairs all the way down here!" I heard Joe explain, worry on his face.

  "Yeah, and I heard Jordan's laughter, too." Josh added, looking at his twin with a smirk.

  I pouted and looked away. "Yeah, that's ‘cos he thinks my sneezes are funny especially when I hit my head..." I mumbled to the boys, who both started giggling.

  "Freesia?" I heard Miriam from the kitchen. She spent a lot of her time in there. I walked into the kitchen, ignoring the twins in their laughter. She gave me a gentle smile when I came into view. "Hey, sweetie. Are you okay?" She asked.

  I shrugged at her. "Hm, could be better. Hey, is it alright for me and Jordan to get some extra blankets for tonight? It seems we spent too much time in wet clothes. So now we're-achoo!" I sneezed suddenly again, flying my head forward, hitting the support pillar in front of me with force. "Argh! Dammit!" I protested, holding the front of my head.

  "Oh, sweetie! Are you okay!" I heard Miriam's frightened voice and she ran towards me, holding my shoulders. "Let me see..." She said gently.

  I removed my hands from my head and she cupped it in her hands. Her eyes were soft with worry. They remind me a lot of-

  "You look okay. Just a red mark." She cut me from my thoughts, just in time or I would have thought something I shouldn't have. "So, what were you saying?" She asked me, taking her hands from my face.

  "Umm... Wait, where'd I get to?" I asked, trying to think of what I had told her. "Oh! Yeah, so now we're coming down with a slight fever..." I answered her, avoiding my gaze.

  "What, the both of you?" She asked. I nodded a little and gave her an honest smile.

  "We're okay, though! I'm going to make us some hot cocoa to warm us up. Extra blankets are okay, right?" I asked her as I walked to the cupboard and set out the dried cocoa powder and two cups.

  A hand stopped me. "Sweetie, I'll make the drinks. You can get the thick blanket from the storage cupboard beneath the stairs. It's the thickest we've got and it's large enough for the both of you to huddle in."

  "Wait, what?" I looked at her, feeling my cheeks flush. Well, I still felt cold, but the tingling sensation was still there.

  Miriam giggled and placed a gentle hand on my forehead. "You really are burning up. Hurry, go get that blanket and the both of you wrap yourselves in it. Body temperature is a good heat source, so the two of you will get warmer by sharing the blanket." She gave me a smile and took her hand off my forehead. "Go on, I'll get the twins to take your drinks up to you. Or... Would you rather have me do it, in case of a misunderstanding?" She asked.

  I nodded shyly. "The latter." I replied and she gave me a gentle smile, patting my head and making us some cocoa.

  I made my way to the cupboard beneath the stairs and took out the thick blanket. It was a white eiderdown quilt. Very thick and very comfy. I gathered it up and threw it over my shoulder, to make sure I wouldn't trip over it as I made my way up the stairs.

  When I reached my door, I opened it slowly. "Got the blanket." I spoke.

  I was expecting a reply of some sort, but nothing came. I looked over to my bed and saw Jordan laying there with his eyes closed.

  I made my way to my bed and watched as Jordan's chest raised then lowered with each breath. Setting the quilt carefully on one side of the bed, I decided to wake Jordan up by tapping his shoulder gently and he stirred, before slowly opening one of his emerald green eyes. "What, you're back?" He asked me gruffly.

  I nodded and raised the quilt to show him. "Yeah, I got the blanket. Miriam is making us some cocoa." I spoke gently and I sat beside Jordan as he pushed himself upright. I couldn't help but place my hand on his forehead again, making him jolt slightly. "You're still hot." I stated to him.

  "You're not bad, yourself." Jordan
replied, a smug smile on his face. I slapped his arm, not being arsed to retort, and then grabbed the quilt.

  I threw it over both of us and sighed. "Miriam only gave me one quilt, so don't protest about us having to share-hey!" I was interrupted by Jordan's head leaning against my shoulder.

  "It's fine." He mumbled, with his eyes closed once again. He had wrapped the quilt around his left shoulder and shuffled his body as close to mine as possible.

  He really was cold. I couldn't imagine how cold I was... I mirrored Jordan, throwing the quilt over my right shoulder, and looked at his head resting on my left shoulder. He looked kinda cute...

  "Knock, knock!" A voice delicately sang from behind my door and Jordan took his head off my shoulder, shuffling away so there was some distance between us.

  "Come in!" I yelled and I saw Miriam enter the room with a tray with two cups of hot chocolate, her motherly smile set on her lips.

  "Hey, you two." She stated, walking to us and handing each of us a cup. "Y’know, the two of you should know better than to run around for so long in wet clothes." She stated. Both Jordan and myself looked away. I wasn't sure about him, but I blushed a little out of embarrassment. I heard Miriam giggle a little. "Geez, you two are so cute!" She stated.

  "Hey, I'm not cu-cough!" Jordan was interrupted by a series of coughing and Miriam and I looked at him with worried expressions.

  I saw Miriam frown a little. "You two better stay together under that quilt tonight. I'll turn up the heating for you, as well." She told us in a sweet voice. She nodded to the cocoa in our hands. "Drink that up, too. It'll help warm you up." She spoke before leaving my room. "Oh, and no funny business, you two!" She added, as she closed the door behind her.

  "Get the fuck!" Jordan yelled after her, sending me a jolt, almost making me spill my cocoa. He gave me an apologetic look. "Sorry." he mumbled.

  I gave him a weak smile. "Don't worry about it. You just caught me by surprise, that's all." I reassured him. I took a sip of my cocoa and my eyes widened when I felt Jordan take his hands around my waist. "Wha-hey!" I tried to protest, but before I could, he lifted my body and sat it in front of him between his legs. A blush spread across my face. This time, it was so flushed I felt the heat. "What are you doing!?"

  I then felt the quilt wrap around me as well as Jordan's hands. "Shut up. This way, the quilt covers all of us." I heard him mutter.

  He lowered himself so that his head was on my shoulder as he picked up his drink off the floor. He must have set it there before he moved me. I couldn't help but allow my heart to pulse through every pore of my body. I could hear it so loud it was pounding in my head. It didn't help that I could hear Jordan's from my back, either.

  I expected him to move his head off my shoulder, but he didn't. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me, holding on to his cup in front of me and moving his head so that his forehead was resting on my shoulder.

  "You smell like freesias..." I heard him whisper in that low gruff voice. He sounded tired.

  I gave him a quick glance and chuckled. "That's my name." I stated, putting the cup to my lips and taking a gentle sip.

  When I did, I nearly choked, feeling a sensation on my shoulder. I quickly turned to face Jordan. "Did you just-" I stopped my sentence when I saw his wry smile on his face.

  "You taste like one, too." He teased, showing me his alluring green eyes. I couldn't help but blush extensively.

  This was going to be one hell of a night...

  Chapter 11

  It was past midnight and there was no way in hell I was going to sleep. Jordan still had me seated between his legs and, now that he had finished his cocoa, had his arms around my waist, his head still resting on my shoulder and his heart beat resonating to my back. His steady breathing was there, too. I glanced at his head. "Feeling warmer?" I asked him quietly, in case he had fallen asleep.

  He groaned and shook his head a little as an answer. "You?" He asked in his low, gruff voice.

  Why yes, Jordan, I am blazing hot right now! The fact you are so close to me, making me extremely uncomfortable and embarrassed, making my entire body vibrate, therefore producing heat! "Not really..." I mumbled.

  I suddenly felt Jordan's arms tighten and pull my body closer to his, making me release a small gasp. "Sorry." I heard him mumble, nestling his head into the nape of my neck.

  "No, i-it just caught me by surprise..." I looked away, feeling my heart try and push through my every vein.

  What the hell was happening!? I mean, the guy’s 18!, I thought to myself. I'm still a kid compared to him! Why was I reacting like that? Wait, do normal brother-sister relationships involve this...? I was always an only child, so I'd never know about sibling relationships... But, even so, he isn't related to me by blood and he knows that so... Why-

  "Achoo!" I sneezed again, this time making Jordan jolt his head off me. I hadn't hit anything on the way forward this time, but on the rebound, I head butted Jordan.

  "Dammit, you little brat! Can't you at least try and control those sneezes of yours!?" I felt one of his arms release me and he rubbed his nose.

  "Sorry..." I turned to face him and my eyes widened. "Oh my god, you're bleeding!" I announced.

  He gave me a blank face, pinching his nose. "No shit." He spoke nasally.

  I had to force back my laughter. His voice was just too funny! I shook out of my thoughts and got out from underneath the quilt. "Hold on, I'll get some tissue."

  I made my way to my door, but was jerked back by my wrist. "Oh no, you don't!" I heard Jordan's nasal voice scold me, as he pulled me back and wrapped me back into the quilt. "You're not going anywhere." he stated, his nose still bleeding.

  "Oh, come on, Jordan. You can't have that nose of yours bleeding all over the quilt, my bed and, more importantly, me!" I pushed my hands on his legs. "I'm getting you some tissue whether you like it or not." I stated.

  He reluctantly let go of me and cursed under his breath. "Fine. Just hurry back before you get cold." He mumbled as I opened my door.

  What? Was he worried about me?

  I shook the thoughts out my head and made my way to the bathroom at the end of the corridor and took a few tissues, running back to my room with a handful of them. When I opened my door, I saw Jordan sitting there, waiting, pinching his nose.

  "Here." I was about to hand him the tissues, but before I could, he took my hand and set me in front of him, facing him. He wrapped the quilt around me and we were barely an inch apart. I could feel his breath and smell the blood.

  "Well?" He snapped me out of my thoughts. "Aren't you going to help?" He asked me, blood dripping from his nose and running to his mouth.

  "Oh god." I started to panic and wiped away the blood from his lips and dabbed a couple of clean sheets on his upper lip, then taking a few more and holding them there. I was too preoccupied with the concentration of wiping away the blood to realise how close I was to his face, and the fact I had repositioned myself so I was knelt between his legs.

  "I'm surprised a little." I heard him speak to me. I removed the tissue from his nose and looked at his eyes. "I thought you would have a slight fear of blood." He added.

  I narrowed my eyes and continued dabbing. "No, it isn't blood that I'm afraid of..." I whispered.

  "Then, what is it?" He asked me, his eyes gentle and alluring.

  For some reason, I felt a lump in my throat. I swallowed it down and tried to not choke on my words. "Um... I can't really..." I wanted to tell him, but something was stopping me. I was afraid of the word, too, it seemed.

  "It's alright. Forget I asked. I'm not forcing you to talk if you don't want to." He reassured me with a gentle smile.

  I lowered my hand from his nose and looked down, avoiding his gaze. "It's not that I don't want to... It's just, more like, I can't." I whispered to him. "Every time I hear the word or see it, I just-" I was cut off when Jordan placed his lips on my forehead. He drew them away slowly and gave me a sincere gaze.

  He didn't have
to say anything for me to understand his words. I just knew. I glanced at his face to see his nose had stopped bleeding and I smiled. "Try not to breathe through your nose for a while." I told him and he replied with a smile in his eyes.

  "And you try not to sneeze!" He gave me a teasing look, leaning in to me, his face not even an inch away. I had to quickly turn my head to the side in order to stop myself from turning a deep shade of red. "Y'know-" Jordan started. I didn't turn to face him, but managed to glance at him. "I never realised how deep blue your eyes are." With that comment, even looking away couldn't stop me from blushing. I heard him chuckle. "What, you're not used to compliments?" He asked me.

  No, it's the fact you are so bloody close to my face and that you're holding me and we're sharing a quilt and because it's you who's complimenting me, jerk! "It's not that. I just never heard any, other than from my mo-" Before I made a big mistake, I felt a sensation on my neck and I jolted.

  "Just forget what I said." I heard him whisper as he drew his lips away from my skin. "We better get some sleep." He stated, quickly changing the subject.

  "Y-yeah..." I narrowed my eyes and faced him, keeping my eyes off his face. There was a moment of silence, until I heard him sigh and I suddenly felt myself being pulled forward. "Hey! What the hell!?" I yelled at Jordan, who was now under me.

  "Shut up and sleep." He muttered, grabbing the back of my head and pulling it to his chest. He then took the quilt and wrapped it over the two of us so our bodies were covered and he twisted his body towards me, wrapping his left hand around my waist and pulling me closer.

  I didn't want to say anything. In fact, I was too surprised to even find my voice. So I lay there, my head against his chest, listening to his beating heart. I closed my eyes and set myself in a comfortable position, shuffling a little closer to Jordan.

  It wasn't long until I fell asleep, listening to the soothing sound of his beating heart...

  "Freesia..." I heard a male voice. "Freesia..." It called again in a gentle voice. "Freesia." On the third call, I slowly opened my eyes to be greeted by two emerald green eyes. "Hey, sleepy-head." Jordan smirked. I replied with a smirk of my own and then rolled to face the other side. I groaned in protest and snuggled myself into the quilt. "Oh, come now. You've had sleep, now you get up!"