Only You (Matty Healy/George Daniel)

19: Rage

George wakes up with a blinding headache in a bed that's not at all familiar to him. He thinks it might be Ross's, he remembers retreating to his and Adam's room last night after drinking so much he could barely stand without help, but maybe they put him back in his room after he passed out.

"You alive over there George?" Adam's voice resounds far too loudly for George's liking, causing his temples to throb and his stomach to clench with pain, but his presence does confirm his earlier hypothesis at least.

"Barely," George manages to rasp out, "you?" George asks, remembering how Adam had been matching him shot for shot most of the evening, but Adam's always been remarkably skilled at dealing with hangovers.

"Better than you lot," Adam chuckles, his torso appearing in George's vision when he forces his eyes to crack open, even though he instantly wants to shut them again when the light from the overhead lamp floods through his brain. "There's meds on the side table if you want."

"Thanks Hann," George grunts weakly, taking far too long to maneuver himself into a sitting position so he can reach the small pills next to the glass of water Adam has so thoughtfully laid out for him. "I don't understand how you aren't dying right now," George mutters once he's drained half the cup, the cottony taste in his mouth slowly fading away now that it has some moisture in it.

"Because I know how to handle my liquor," Adam smirks, throwing himself across the end of the bed George is in lazily, "although you did drink loads." He pauses for a moment, looking George up and down out of the corner of his eye before speaking again. "Everything alright?"

"Yeah, 'course," George answers instantly, even though he's not sure that it is.

Some events of last night might be a bit fuzzy, but George knows that Matty never showed up to the small afterparty they were at, and he also didn't call or text George in an attempt to find out where they were, which had caused George to continue drinking long after he should have called it quits.

"You sure?" Adam presses, his eyebrows pulling down as he shoots George a quizzical look. "You just seemed a bit...off I guess."

"I -"

Whatever excuse George was about to fabricated together is interrupted by a sharp knock on their door, followed by Matty calling out loudly for them to let him the fuck in, which Adam does a few moments later.

"Hey mate," Adam greets Matty cheerfully, but Matty barely seems to notice him, he's too busy sending George a venomous glare that has George instantly on the defensive as he juts his chin out stubbornly. "I'm going to go check on Ross and John," Adam mumbles quietly before slowly backing out of the room as if any sudden movements will transfer Matty's wrath onto him.

"Where were you last night?" Matty snaps as soon as the door shuts behind Adam's retreating figure, crossing his arms over his stomach in what is probably supposed to be an intimidating gesture, but George thinks it looks more like Matty's trying to protect himself from an invisible blow instead.

"Right here," George shrugs tiredly, not understanding why Matty seems so bothered by this fact. He has no right to be upset if George needed some time to himself, especially not since he's the reason George is in this miserable state in the first place. "Went out with Adam and Ross, you could have joined you know?" George adds on when Matty stays silent, his jaw clenching so tightly that George wonders if his teeth would shatter with a bit more pressure on them.

"You never came to bed," Matty spits out like George has committed one of the seven deadly sins, his eyes literally sparking when George huffs under his breath.

It's true that they usually sleep in the same room, it's a habit for them, especially on tour, but there has always been evenings when one or the other of them has stayed out, and it's never irritated Matty before now, so George isn't going to allow the older man to guilt-trip him.

"No, I didn't," George retorts coldly, his spine stiffening up when Matty tugs his fingers through his hair in frustration.

"You could have a least told me," Matty hisses, his tone dripping with so much spite that George actually flinches slightly. "I was worried sick about you."

"I was right down the bloody hall," George groans loudly. He's not in the mood for this, his head hurts and he's only just woken up. Matty's being downright unreasonable, and George isn't willing to placate him this time. "You're the one who disappeared after the show, not to mention you could have called me if you were so damn curious about what I'm up to when I'm not with you. You're not my keeper you know?" George retaliates, failing to mention that he followed Matty when he tried to slip off and also eavesdropped on a bit of his conversation with Gemma.

Matty doesn't respond with words, he just stares at George, his pupils wide and his lashes fluttering slightly as George waits for some form of verbal response. George's gaze stubbornly meets his, and he realizes that Matty looks distraught, truly, visibly upset, and it is only then that George comes to the conclusion that he may have fucked up.

Something must have happened last night after Gemma's call, and George wasn't there for Matty. Matty could have searched him out of course, but still - George has been doing everything in his power to keep Matty safe and protected lately, to be that pillar of support that Matty so desperately needs, but he failed him this time. Even if he doesn't think he technically did anything wrong - in fact, he was hurting as well because of Matty's actions, the older man doesn't know that, so from his point of view, it seems like George had abandoned him.

George is about to apologize, to tell Matty that he didn't mean to snap and that he will make sure to let him know the next time he's going to stay out all night, but Matty doesn't give him the chance.

Before George can open his mouth, Matty's spinning on his heel and stalking out of the room, slamming the door behind him so loudly that the reverberations echo throughout the room long after Matty's footsteps have faded away.