Gloom & sunshine

Chapter 4: Panic

Dawn came, unwelcome to Geoff's tired body as always. He had managed to catch maybe an hour of-can't even justifiably call it sleep- in total, but he was reaching the 90 hour mark of deprivation, why wouldn't his mind just shut the fuck off and let him pass out? He was no longer safe to drive, hell, he was probably no longer safe to hold conversation. He blinked slowly at the brightening sky, wondering vaguely if he'd ever actually be able to genuinely enjoy a morning sunrise. Probably not. He sat up just as he heard someone climbing up the ladder. He looked over to see Awsten making his way up.

"Oh, you're awake, I thought you'd've fallen asleep out here." Awsten saw the red solo cup sitting on it's side next to Geoff, a dim spark of jealousy lit in his stomach as he wondered if Jack was the deliverer of the cup. "Have a party, did ya?"

Geoff's deprived and possibly disintegrating mind didn't pick up on the sarcasm and stiffness of Awsten's voice. "No, Alex brought me a drink and we chatted for a while. I just fell sleep up here listening to music." He was lying, he knew that, but Awsten didn't need to know that. He groaned rubbing the bridge of his nose. The worst part about the combination of drinking and insomnia is that you don't get to sleep it off, you just get to feel the hangover develop and it's the fucking worst.

"What'd you guys talk about?" Awsten asked, sitting next to Geoff, letting his legs dangle over the side.

Geoff chewed on his bottom lip, he felt like shit, he was hungover, exhausted, and now his fucking anxiety was going to boil over, he knew it was, he could feel it. "We talked about our upcoming tour, and just some stupid stuff." He looked at his phone, it was barely still charged, but it was still playing Linkin Park into Geoff's headphones.

"Linkin Park?" Awsten asked, glancing at the screen. "You've been able to listen?"

Geoff slowly nodded, trying to stay focused. His brain was twenty different types of uncooperative right now. "Yeah I uh..." He trailed off, then suddenly looked at Awsten like he had just realized he was there. "Good morning." Geoff smiled a bit of a sloppy smile, Awsten's eyebrows furrowed, but he let out a chuckle.

"Good morning, weirdo. Come on, Otto wants Starbucks." He stood and held out a hand, helping Geoff up. They climbed down the ladder, Awsten catching Geoff's elbow as he missed the last rung and stumbled. "Jesus, are you still drunk?"

Geoff shook his head as they got back in their small excuse of a tour bus. "No, legs'r just asleep." He mumbled. He knew in the back of his mind he'd have to take those shitty sleeping pills soon, he was beginning to lose coordination. He wondered when the hallucinations would start.

"Starbucks!" Otto howled from his place on the little couch as Geoff took the passenger chair, and Awsten took the driver's seat, much to his surprise, as Geoff very rarely let him drive. They left the parking lot following the All Time Low and The Wrecks buses and vans to a nearby 'Bucks, Otto whooping with sheer delight, like he hadn't had coffee in years. As the three bands piled off the buses, Geoff could make out the baristas inside watching with disdain written across all their faces. It was 8am, ass early, and thirteen grown men were taking up their parking lot and making their way inside. Over 70% of them looked to be hungover to hell.

"What the fuck did you spike my drink with?" Geoff asked Jack, who looked more than surprised to hear Geoff swear so aggressively at him. Geoff felt bad, his lack of sleep left him with no filter and always gave his voice an edge that made him sound like an asshole.

"Don' fuckin' know, I drank an entire bottle'f tequila by myself las' night, 'm pretty sure 'm dying." Jesus, Jack was still fucking drunk. "Lexiiiiii." He whined, catching up with Alex, who looked hungover as fuck, taking Jack's sloppy embrace with a bit of stiffness. Geoff mumbled about never trusting Jack's bartending skills as they made their way into the cool air of the coffee shop.