𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 || 𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐥𝐞𝐫 ✓

Chapter Fourteen

A/N: holy mother it's been like, 2 months since I last posted. I've been super busy with uni and work so I haven't had time to write. I've been working on this chapter for a little while and finally finished it. It's kind of a filler but this is the second to last chapter and then the epilogue. thanks to everyone who has continued reading and those who have been waiting for an update. I appreciate you all. I hope you enjoy (: <3

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March 2021

Today was the last day of filming Elvis, and it's bittersweet. The entire cast has put in so much hard work, and now it's coming to an end. But we're all proud of what we've put into the movie. We're all a little tired overall from the non-stop energy we've put into Elvis. So for today, we're just going to chill out at Austin and I's condo. Going out to celebrate will come at a later time.

"What was your favorite scene to film?" Dacre asks me, taking a sip of his beer while sitting on the couch in the living room.

Olivia is beside him with Austin on the other side, and I'm sitting on the floor in front of them, nursing a beer of my own. The additional sofa is taken up by Kodi and Xavier, who have joined in on our group shenanigans, and Luke is with them. The chair is taken by Tom, who is happily enjoying the glass of wine that Luke brought. Austin offered for me to sit on his lap, but I decided against it. Besides, everyone needs a little floor time.

"Hmm," I say, picking at the beer label, "That's a hard one. But probably the beginning of the Comeback Special. It was fun seeing Austin on stage," I smile.

"Mine is probably the scene where Steve is just annoyed at the Colonel and keeps running through the sequences with him over his shoulder," Dacre chuckles, and Tom turns the chair around.

"You definitely got Steve down-pat in that one. I personally enjoyed the International Hotel scenes," Tom says.

"Luke did a great job at being Jerry," Austin sips his whiskey, "Whatever I read about him that Luke hadn't seen yet, I would forward to him."

"I'd sometimes get emails and texts at three in the morning," Luke says half-jokingly.

"At least he wasn't sending memes at three in the morning to the group chat like someone I know," Kodi says, eyeballing Xavier next to him.

"At least they were funny," I defend, "Austin would send me Elvis TikToks and YouTube videos in the middle of the night, and I'd wake up to, like, twenty of the weirdest videos."

"Are you saying they weren't funny?" Austin pouts.

"You've sent me some too, and maybe half of them were entertaining," Olivia chimes in.

Austin pretends to be hurt, and Dacre laughs at him. A comfortable silence falls over everyone.

The afternoon turns into evening, and conversation still flows until Austin suddenly bolts from his seat to the powder room. Everyone's voices quiet down in concern. I get up from the floor and follow Austin, knocking on the door gently.

"Aus, you okay in there?"

My ear is pressed against the door, and I can hear him getting physically ill. I pull away from the door and open it before quickly shutting it back behind me. I kneel on the floor next to Austin and rub his back as he continues getting sick. When he's done, he leans against the wall as he catches his breath, wiping his mouth with his wrist.

"All good?" I raise my eyebrows, eyeballing him with concern as he grabs my hand.

Austin nods wordlessly, letting his head loll back for a moment.

"Let's get you some water and then get you to bed, okay? Everyone will understand," I say, standing up and offering my hand to help him off the floor.

But Austin is too weak even to move. He groans, looking at me with glassy eyes. I quickly tell him I'd be right back, and I head to the living room to rally someone to help get him up.

"Is everything alright?" Kodi asks when I walk back into the living room, his brows furrowed in concern.

"I don't think so. I actually need help getting Austin off the floor. He's really sick," I frown, and Steve, Luke, Kodi, and Xavier immediately stand up from their seats.

They all offer to help, and they follow me to the powder room where Austin sits, now barely conscious.

"Oh, mate. I think you need a hospital," Luke grimaces and looks over at me.

"Yeah, he's extremely dehydrated," Steve points out, checking how quickly blood comes to the surface of Austin's skin when he presses on it.

"Whatever we need to do to get him better. I've never seen him like this," I say, my teeth worrying at my bottom lip.

Xavier and Luke help lift Austin up as Kodi and Steve make a clear path to the front door as I follow close behind. The rest of the group decides to leave but asks that I keep them updated. Luke and Xavier stay back to help me get him to the hospital. Luckily, Luke had driven to the condo, so we won't have to walk a nearly passed-out Austin all the way there. I sit with Austin in the backseat, letting his head rest in my lap as I carefully run my fingers through his hair. He eventually does pass out on my legs, but Luke gets us to the emergency room as quickly as possible.

Luke, Xavier, and I anxiously waited for Austin's name to be called out in the waiting room for what seemed like ages. After an hour of waiting, another hour is spent allowing nurses to pump Austin full of fluids in an infirmary room. Only I'm allowed back with him, so Luke and Xavier remain in the waiting area. Austin is still knocked out even when the doctor comes in. The doctor decides to admit him into the hospital due to extreme exhaustion. He suspects the constant work and energy Austin was putting into filming overexerted him, causing him to succumb to exhaustion. I never paid much attention to how little rest Austin was getting because he almost always threw himself into roles full force. But little did I know those times he was pretending to be asleep, his mind was wandering and reciting lines over and over.

I'm curled up in the hospital chair next to Austin's bed when my eyes peel open. I check my phone, and it's two in the morning. I quickly scroll through my notifications, and I'm about to shut my phone back off when I notice Austin move in the corner of my eye. He groans a little, rolling around in the bed as his eyes open.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty," I joke, leaning over to grab his hand.

"Where am I?" Austin asks groggily, looking around the room, confused.

"You passed out after you got sick earlier, and we took you to the hospital," I say, gently running my thumb over his knuckles.

"Is there something wrong?" Austin rubs his eyes, squeezing them shut before focusing them back on me.

"You're exhausted, Aus," I frown, "Why didn't you tell me you were having a hard time?"

"I didn't realize I was," Austin says quietly, looking down at the pulse reader on his finger and the IV in his arm, "Is all of this necessary?"

"Yes, because you're not well. The doctor wants to keep you here for a few days," I bite my lip nervously, hoping Austin doesn't get too upset about it.

He sighs, "Alright. I guess I do need to rest up now that filming is done."

I nod in agreement, sighing in relief. I shoot a text to Luke and Xavier, who have long since left, as they asked me to update them as things happened. I also called the nurse, so she knows Austin is awake and alert. She hurries in and asks Austin some questions as she checks his vitals and fluids.

The next few days are steady as the doctor monitors Austin. Many crime TV shows are watched, and many card games are played over those few days. After the doctor is satisfied Austin has rested enough under his care, he decides we can go home, much to our relief. The shows and games can only do so much for boredom. We also needed to prepare for Cannes once Austin was feeling better.

I, for one, also needed to prepare for Cannes since I'd never done anything like it before. I guess we'll see how that goes.