Larry One Shots

Louis: Laryngitis (2)

Louis POV

The next morning I was the only one still sleeping as I turned and looked at all the other bunks. The bus wasn't moving anymore, meaning we must have arrived. I was expecting to feel a little better but I felt worse. I had another coughing fit as I tried to drink the glass of water that was left for me. After a few minutes, I went to the bathroom to relieve myself and coughed some more. I seemed to get no relief. It seemed like I was coughing stuff up, and when I took a tissue and couched into it, my suspicions were confirmed.

"Har-" I was about to call for Harry, but my voice was strained and I just couldn't get the words out. My throat was kind of sore, but swallowing hurt a lot. As I sat down on the bed again, Harry came into the room.

"Hey Lou." He said sitting next to me. I coughed some more, but away from him as I didn't want to get him sick. "Not feeling any better?"

I shook my head no and tried to speak, but nothing came out. I definitely lost my voice, so I wouldn't be able to do the concert. I gestured that I wanted something to write down so I could talk to him. He gave me his phone and opened the notes app.

I feel worse and my throat hurts a little. I can't stop coughing and I think there was a little blood coming up when I coughed.

I handed him the phone and watched as he read it over. He looked at me and gave me a sad smile. There were also looks of concern.

"Lou that's not good. We need to take you to see a doctor. I think there is a walk-in nearby, so we can just go there. I'll grab Paul and he can take us." I just nodded because I just wanted it to go away. He called Paul and he said that it was fine and to meet him there in about 10 minutes. In the meantime we sat with the other boys.

"Damn Louis that sucks. Can you talk at all?" Niall asked. I shook my head no and just looked at the floor, as I was slightly embarrassed. Harry put his hand on my shoulder for reassurance as he took over for me.

"No he can't talk. It might be like strep throat or so-" They were cut off by a loud cough from me who then mouthed sorry and they all just smiled. Niall handed him a cough drop from his pocket and then I mouthed thanks. Harry continued. "Yea so it's probably strep or like laryngitis or something like that. If we can get him on antibiotics then hopefully he'll feel better in a few days right?" The other boys nodded and there was a knock on the tour bus door. Liam got up and opened it and it was Paul. I went to grab his shoes and we were on our way to the doctor.

We arrived at the walk-in and we were taken back to a room straight away which was nice. We had to wait for about 30 minutes and it was in silence since I couldn't talk. Soon a nurse and a doctor came in.

"Hi! I'm doctor Alejandra and this is Nurse Andy. We are going to be taking care of you today. Can you tell me what's going on?" I froze and looked at Harry. He smiled and nodded as the nurse began to take my vitals.

"I'll tell you as he lost his voice. Basically he has been congested and everything and we just assumed it was allergies. But then he woke up in the middle of the night coughing a lot. He said his throat hurt a little and the coughing is almost nonstop." The doctor nodded, writing things down on the clipboard as Harry talked. I coughed in between but it didn't seem to bother the doctor. She's definitely seen this before.

"Okay it's probably strep or laryngitis. Louis can you write some stuff down for me?" He asked. I nodded and she handed me a notebook and a pen. "I'm gonna ask a few questions. Scale of 1-10, how bad does your throat hurt right now?" I wrote something down and handed it to the doctor.

Probably around a 6, but it hurts to swallow and to talk.

He nodded, jotting something down and sending the nurse, Andy, off to get something. "Okay very good. We are going to do a strep test and also draw some blood work to make sure nothing else is going on. The nurse will be back in a minute, so let me take a look at your throat." She stood up and grabbed a tool with a light on the end. She gestured for me to open my mouth and she looked inside. "So your throat is a little red, but there aren't signs of strep, but we are going to do the strep test just in case."

I nodded and got a little nervous. I hated the strep test with passion. They basically stuck this big q-tip down the back of my throat and I always gagged. It was awful. I waited anxiously for the nurse to return. Harry noticed my anxiety and put a hand on my thigh.

"Hey it's okay. I know you hate it but just hold my hand." I nodded and the nurse knocked and came back in. He handed the doctor the long q-tip and came over to me.

"Okay Louis so if you just relax and let me do it, then I won't need to use the tongue depressor. Look up for me and open. I'll try to be quick." I did as I was told and as soon as she put the thing in my mouth I grabbed her hand, which made her stop. I didn't mean to grab her hand but it was just a reflex. Harry was quick to take my hand, but the doctor was reassuring. "Don't worry. That happens a lot more than you think. And I've had worse. Andy can you grab a glass of water?" He nodded and grabbed a cup of water.

"Louis just try to relax" I looked at Harry, giving him a glare and mouthed I can't. "I know but you have to try." I rolled my eyes, causing the doctor to chuckle a little.

"Ready to try again?" I nodded. "Okay good. Harry take both of his hands for me so I can just get it done." Harry stood up and took both of my hands. I put my head back and opened again. The doctor was able to complete the test and I gagged slightly and started coughing. The nurse handed me the water which was useful. "Good job Louis. Now Andy will draw some blood and we will be back in about 20 minutes with the results."

The nurse took some blood, which wasn't bad at all, and then left me and Harry alone. He came to sit next to me and held my waist.

"Do you need anything? You did good with that!" He tried to sound cheery, but honestly I wasn't feelin it. I shook my head no and just leaned on his shoulder. I took my phone and wrote:

That was awful.

Harry laughed and I pouted, but then laughed a little too. I finished my cup of water and then we scrolled through twitter waiting for the doctor to return.

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About 20 minutes later the doctor came back and she had a smile, which must mean it was good news.

"Louis you have laryngitis. Andy is putting your prescription in and you can get it at the pharmacy down the street. Any questions?" Harry shook his head no, but I put my hand up. The doctor handed me her notepad and pen and I wrote:

When will I get my voice back? And when can I sing again?

"That's a good question Louis. With the antibiotics, it'll probably be a few days before your voice comes back and when it does, it'll still be quite strained, so I would wait on singing for at least a week. And when you start to sing again, ease back into it so you don't strain your voice further. The antibiotics are for 2 weeks and if there is no improvement, don't hesitate to call me and I can transfer you to a nearby doctor, since I know you guys are on the road. Okay?" Me and Harry both nodded and we left, meeting Paul in the waiting room. We went back to the tour bus, but not before grabbing my medication at the pharmacy just a short walk from the doctors.