Over and Over (Lashton)

Stay Away From My Friends

And you don't know what it's like,

To wake up in the middle of the night

Scaring the thought of kissing razors.

This blood evacuation is telling me to cave in,

Stay away from my friends.

~Pierce the Veil, "Stay Away From My Friends"

Luke's POV

“Luke. Luke, mate, wake up.”

Ugh. Why the hell do I feel like I was hit by a freight train? I don’t open my eyes, they feel like they’re glued shut anyway.

“Luke, you alright, man?”

“Luke?”

Wow. Everything’s so fucking loud. I can feel someone shifting me into an upright position. My eyes open just a crack and my head rolls lazily to the side. I can see feet. I’m sitting on the floor, I can tell that much. Someone’s holding my upper body up. I’m having trouble breathing.

I fight the urge to puke. Goddamn. It’s like my head is being hammered, or something.

“He’s awake,” someone hears. I think it’s Michael. I try to say something but it comes out in a whisper.

To be honest, nobody’s listening anyway. There are a lot of voices and hands all over me, and I wish I had the energy to push them all away, but I feel like I’m on the edge of passing out.

“Fuck him.” That’s definitely Calum. What did I do? What’s even going on?

I don’t remember anything.

“Ease up, Cal, it’s not his fault.” Ashton. I reach for him blindly and try to keep the room from spinning.

“Like hell. He could try not consuming mass amounts of coffee. How about that?”

“He’s studying for HSCs, he has to stay awake somehow.”

“Well, not this way.”

“What do you want him to do? You’re being ridiculous.”

“Nobody else drinks this much coffee. This isn’t safe.”

“You’re being overdramatic.”

“No, I’m fucking not. People have died from caffeine overdose, you know that?”

“Guys,” I try to say, but my mouth is too dry and I can’t form the words. I swallow hard and try again. “Guys. I’m okay.”

Calum shoves his face up in mine, irritated. “No, you’re not okay. You literally passed out twenty minutes ago, just dropped in the kitchen. We have a concert tonight. Stop screwing things up with your stupid caffeine addiction.”

“That’s enough,” Michael says firmly. “Calum, stop. It’s not helping.”

“You okay, buddy?” Ashton asks. “Feeling alright?”

I nod. I feel all limp and boneless.

“I swear to god, I am not taking you to the hospital,” Calum says impatiently. “Luke, are you alright to perform tonight?”

“Yeah,” I mumble, my words slurring a little.

“You don’t look okay,” Michael notes. “I don’t know, you’re kind of...like, feverish.”

It’s true I do feel a bit sweaty, like there’s a cold breeze under my shirt but my hands are still hot.

“What have you eaten all day?” Ashton asks, running his hand over mine to check for temperature. “Besides coffee.”