Only You (Matty Healy/George Daniel)

20: Forever

Matty spends the entire day visibly pouting in the front lounge of the bus with his knees drawn up to his chest and one of his lyric notebooks balanced on top of them.

The rest of the band makes an unspoken agreement to give him a wide berth, resulting in everyone skirting around the area that Matty's in while they try to keep themselves occupied, but Matty still snaps spitefully whenever anyone makes too much noise, and he all but yells at Ross when he tries to get him to eat something.

George is still hungover and grumpy, and he knows his irritable nature won't dissipate until he makes amends with his best mate, but George is also aware that they're both on edge and frustrated, and if he attempts to patch things up now, he could very well end up making it worse.

George waits for a sign that Matty's ready to talk civilly again, keeping his eyes glued on the smaller man whenever he wanders into the kitchen for a fresh cup of coffee or some snacks, but Matty doesn't meet his gaze - not even once.

George knows Matty will probably only shout at him if he did catch his attention, but that almost seems better than the endless silence he's receiving from the other man.

Eventually, George gives up on going near Matty entirely and retreats into his bunk, booting up his laptop in the hopes of distracting himself from anything and everything Matty related.

George pulls up the last track he was working on which is an entirely instrumental piece that's he's extraordinarily proud of although it had originally been Matty's idea like most things are. He's been keeping Matty updated on his progress, and Matty seems to be just excited about it as George is.

George hits play so he can listen to what he has so far, humming under his breath as the soft, ethereal sounds fill his ears. He's almost finished with it, in fact, it probably just needs a few tweaks before it gets Matty's full approval, so George isn't entirely sure what he's planning on doing with it at the moment, but something about it always manages to calm him.

As the song continues to loop, George finds himself thinking about sex - not fucking just to get off, but passionate, intimate, carnal acts. The gentle build-up coupled with the abrupt ending trickling away into soft piano tones just seems to fit with the picture playing in George's head, and even though the scene looks suspiciously similar to his and Matty's private moment in the shower the other day, George doesn't dwell on it.

He wants to name the song something to that effect, not 'sex' obviously - been there, done that. George's knees twitch as a sudden desire to go bounce ideas off of Matty arises in him. He will be able to produce the words that George is struggling with, but George forces himself to stay still, starting the track over again in hopes of finding some inspiration on his own for once.

John comes by not long after that, his footsteps almost soundless as he gives George a small wave. John looks a bit lost as he turns to leave again, so George invites him to sit, making room for him on the bunk as his laptop continues to play quietly.

"That new?" John asks curiously, his eyes lighting up when George nods in affirmation.

"Yeah, been working on it for a bit. Hoping that Matty will like it enough to put in on the next album."

"I'm sure he will," John grins reassuringly, his tense posture unwinding a bit as his eyes slip closed while he listens to the rest of the track. "It's really good."

"Thanks," George all but beams, shutting off the laptop so he can give John his full attention. He's able to sense the nervous energy radiating off of the other man, and especially with this being John's first tour with them, he wants to make sure that he's alright.