Skybreak [not to be continued]

XXI

I hadn't been sat in the cafe with Calum for long before Luke joined us, Michael and Ashton dragging behind. He smiled at me, and pulled up a chair to our table, before whispering in my ear that he was sorry, and was unaware that Ashton would act like that.

I didn't say anything in response but just allowed the boy's cheerful banter to fill the empty silence. My eyelids drooped from the lack of sleep I had received recently, and I kept trying to keep myself awake at the table. It wasn't long before Cal noticed and excused himself from their conversation.

"Are you okay? You look like you're dying on the table!" Calum exclaimed as I lay with my head in my arms and my eyes closed.

I made an in-human noise before opening my eyes and muttering, "So tired..."

He laughed and by now Luke's attention had also been grasped. "Gray!" he exclaimed. "Are you alright?"

"Just tired, I think, and I can't go home yet. Don't worry about me." I finished my sentence with a yawn as I tried to resist the temptation to sleep in the cafe.

Luke cautiously put his arm around my shoulders and I lay gently back into it. He was warm and I made myself comfortable as he adjusted his chair to be closer to mine. My eyes fluttered open and closed as the temptation of sleep in the warm and cosy environment seemed so appealing right now. Luke and Cal were having a quiet discussion as I tried to prevent sleep.

~

The thought of it sounded so inviting and I felt numb in Luke's eternal grasp; he just felt homely. I was soon interrupted by Cal announcing he would take me back to their flat since I was unable to return to my own.

Michael, surprisingly interacting with me for once, then said he'd call a taxi as I looked ill as well as tired and was in no fit state to take the tube. I smiled as I thanked him and lazily threw a £20 note at him to fund the journey.

Walking slowly with Calum towards to from of the cafe, I felt completely drained of energy. This morning I had felt tired, but not unwell. Now I felt as if my body was shutting itself down and I didn't know why.

After the brief journey, I was now lying sleepily on the sofa next to Calum as he was watching old Batman reruns on the television. My eyelids were heavy and I had been told to sleep by the other guys. Even Ashton admitted sleep was better than dying of tiredness in London, and so it was decided I could temporarily crash on their sofa.

A short wave of faintness blew over me and I gripped the arm of the sofa to stay upright. Cal noticed my sudden discomfort and asked if I was okay.

"I just felt faint, I don't know why. I must be coming down with something." I told him, trying to work out why I was feeling this way. The comfortable silence resumed as the comedy of the Lycra-clad 1960's heroes played in the background as I thanked Cal for the thousandth time for letting me stay here.

Curled up to the arm and using Cal's lap as a living hot-water bottle of my feet, I snuggled under the blanket. I was in an awkward shape as I now felt worse that ever. The accidental lack of sleep was wither taking a fatal toll on my body or something was wrong with me.

I let my mind drift as I stared aimlessly at the wall next to the television. How strange these people were, yet so kind. I needed to do something to repay them, and I tried to think what as I drifted into a comfortable sleep.