Only You (Matty Healy/George Daniel)

4: Never Again

Matty simply shrugs in response, not trusting his voice to emit clearly in his current state. The nip in the air incites him to huddle in on himself in an effort to conserve his body heat, his fingers tugging at George's jacket weakly.

"'m fine," Matty finally spits out when George won't stop fixing him with that stupidly inquisitive gaze that makes Matty feel like he has to say something to placate the younger man. "I'm drunk at least."

"Want to head inside for a bit?" George offers when he spies a shiver wrack Matty's limbs, but before Matty has a chance to answer, Harry Styles and Nick Grimshaw are walking their way, their hands discretely entwined where they hang by their sides.

"There you are Matty," Grimmy exclaims, the slight slur in his words proclaiming his inebriated state to the point that he might as well be carrying around a banner stating 'I'm pissed'. "Where'd you go earlier - it's like you vanished?"

"I've been here," Matty dials back the bite in his tone with a supreme effort of will, not wanting to take out his misery on someone he considers a friend. "Lovely party by the way, thanks for the invite."

That is as far as Matty can extend his social graces, but the comment makes Nick smile at least, so apparently Matty is better at faking cheerfulness than he thought.

"Thanks," Grimmy beams, his eyes sparkling briefly when Harry presses closer to his side to avoid someone walking past. "Had to celebrate this lad's homecoming somehow."

"Of course," Matty nods, turning his attention to the so far silent Harry, "how was the tour mate?"

"Wonderful as always, but I'm glad to be back," Harry replies, his fingers visibly tightening around Nick's as he speaks. "You blokes are heading out on the road soon too right?" Harry waits for Matty's confirming nod before continuing. "You excited for that?"

"Yeah," Matty sighs, because he is - he loves performing, but at the same time, it only serves to remind him of why Gemma left him in the first place, producing a bittersweet cocktail that has Matty's stomach aching, "it can't come soon enough."

Matty convinces his lips to turn upward at the corners, trying to find a way to end this exchange soon without being unnecessarily rude, but luckily, Nick does it for him seconds later.

"Well I need to top off my drink," Grimmy announces, holding up his glass to prove his point, "but remember to say goodbye before you take off, and if you think I'm too drunk to remember, I'm not."

Nick fails at convincing Matty of his sobriety, but Matty decides to humor him, and it's not like he's going to sneak out without saying his farewells to the host, he's not that ill-mannered.

"Of course mate," Matty assures him, the happy expression on his face feeling fake and plastered on, leaving him hoping that neither Harry or Nick notice how it's more of a grimace than anything else.

Nick makes as if to leave before turning back around suddenly, almost stumbling over his boots in the process. "By the way, you two should come back on the show before you leave. You know my door is always open."

"We'll keep that in mind," George answers for Matty, placing his feet on the edge of Matty's chair lazily.

Nick seems to recognize the protective gesture for what it is, quickly spitting out the rest of what he wants to say in a loud tone, the volume necessary to be heard over the incessant chatter of the other guests which is suddenly heightened when someone opens the door leading inside.

"I'll let you know when I have an open booking if you want later on," Nick grins, constantly glancing back at Harry who is now talking to someone else that has approached him from behind. "Oh - and Matty..." Matty hums noncommittally, his thoughts already drifting toward the joint he hasn't had a chance to light yet instead of what Grimmy is telling him, "'m sorry to hear about you and Gemma, you made an adorable couple."

"Oh..." Matty gasps softly, his insides twisting painfully as George shoots Nick a stern look, one of his hands coming up to clutch Matty's shoulder gently. "Guess it wasn't meant to be," Matty manages to choke out, but Nick is already heading in the other direction, another guest pulling him away from Matty's stationary position much to his relief.

"I'm sorry mate," George murmurs as soon as Nick is out of earshot. "I warned him not to say anything, but I guess he forgot."

"Can we go home now?" Matty pleads, tiny sniffles breaking up his sentence as George shoves the lawn furniture closer together, allowing him to place his arm around Matty without straining himself.

Matty leans into the touch, needing the physical comfort more than he realized. The simple weight of George's forearm pressing against his neck is doing wonders to calm his racing heart, sapping away the internal agony that Matty had almost managed to escape until Nick had thrust it back in his face.

"Not just yet love - chin up okay? You haven't even spoken with Adam and Ross."

"Don't want to...I'll be living with them on a bus soon enough anyway," Matty huffs, although he knows that he should at least acknowledge his bandmates presence so they don't wrongly assume that Matty is miffed with them or something like that, not that the boys aren't used to Matty's frequent mood swings, but still, better safe than sorry.

"Well how about this, I'll get you some more wine, and we can stay out here until you are feeling better. Sound good?"

It doesn't, not really, but Matty can never say no to George when he is set on something. Before he has the chance to formulate a coherent argument highlighting the beneficial points of leaving as soon as possible, he finds himself nodding slowly, some of the ever constant pressure constricting his ribcage lessening slightly when George smiles like Matty has just given him the world.

I got the inspiration for the whole party scene from the fic Accidentally on Purpose by Syntheticpalindromes on AO3, which is one of my favorite Matty/George stories that you should totally check out.

I needed some help with this part, mostly because I had no idea who would be a good gay couple to have talking with Matty and George (you will see why I needed them soon) since I am out of my realm writing a story that doesn't involve the emo trinity, so they gave me the idea of including Harry Styles and Nick Grimshaw in it.

The next part of this is already getting close to being done, but I might break it up one more time depending on how long it takes me to knock out the rest of this, we shall see, but there is most likely another update coming on this soon.

But for now, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, votes and comments always make my day.

Everything is Matty's fault

<3 starr