Greyhound

Twenty-Six

Ashton groans as his alarm sounds through the room, knowing immediately that things are not okay. His ears burn slightly, the sensation of something crawling around his eardrums until he yawns and hears a distinct popping sound. Unfortunately yawning only brings his attention from his ears to his throat which is currently on fire, causing him to immediately start coughing to try and wet up and clear the scratching sensation. His lungs add kindling to the fire as they both tickle and burn.

"Fuck." he croaks out, rolling onto his back. His body convulsing into another fit of coughs. Throwing the blankets off his body he carefully sits up, his body feeling chilled and thoroughly beat down despite the decent night's sleep he had got. Grabbing his phone from the nightstand he ends the alarm's blaring noise, though his head stays caught somewhere between pounding and buzzing as he walks across the room to the ensuite.

Turning the shower water to scalding he roots around in the cabinet to find some cold medicine, popping two Dayquil pills into his mouth before stipping and stepping into the hot water. His muscles seem to instantly relax, and he feels almost as if he could fall back asleep as the warm steam encases his lethargic body, but he reaches for the body wash instead, knowing he is needed in the studio today.

Washing his body and hair takes more time than usual, trying to clear as much of the gunk from his chest as possible before climbing out of the shower, toweling off as he heads for his closet. His body instantly freezes as he steps out of the hot bathroom, searching his closet for the thickest hoodie and a pair of sweats. Pulling a beanie and jacket over the outfit as well, knowing he looks ridiculous but not caring in the least.

"You okay man?" Matt asks as he enters the kitchen, phone shoved deep in his pocket along with his hands.

"No." He curses as his voice cracks, barely more than a whisper.

"You sure you should go to the studio today? You came home soaking wet and woke up with a cold, a six year old could have told you you would be sick from it."

"I have to." He shrugs, grabbing his wallet and keys from the shelf and heading for the garage, knowing a trip to the coffee shop was a must today if he was going to make it through.

Glad to see the morning rush had dispersed for the most part when he arrives at Alfreds he trades his usual iced coffee for a hot one and a Cold Blaster Tea, hoping the tea will be effective in helping clear his system at least somewhat.

He nearly nods off sitting to the side as his order is made, his eyes not cooperating as he tells them to stay open. Everything seems half muted by the congestion in his ears, the sensation not helping in the effort to stay awake as the peacefulness of it seems to be lulling his tired body to sleep. Collecting both his drinks when his name is called and wandering back out to his car.

Sipping slowly at the tea for a minute as he lets the heater run in the parking lot, willing his body to warm up at all he finally slips his seatbelt back on and pulls out of the lot, hoping more than anything that they can get through the studio session quickly and he can go home to sleep off the cold.

"You look like hell." Luke's eyes crease with worry as Ashton finally steps into their studio space, the whole drive over seeming to be a blur. He probably shouldn't have been driving.

"I feel like shit." he whispers out, his voice seeming to have decided to die further rather than gain strength from the tea.

"Feel it, look it, sound it, what happened?" Calum frowns as Ashton falls beside him, resting his head over on Calum's shoulder. "Dude, you are burning up."

"I talked to Amelia." he mumbles.

"And this is what you got in return? Did you at least fix shit with her?" Michael asks, chuckling humorlessly as they all watch Ashton.