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.
"Everything good with you?" George asks when John starts twiddling his thumbs, making sure to keep his tone light so John will know that he doesn't have to answer if he doesn't want to.
"Yeah - I mean, it's a bit weird right now you know?" John shrugs. "Just trying to stay out of everyone's way."
John doesn't have to clarify that by everyone he means Matty, George isn't an idiot, and he sort of expected John's response. John's known Matty for long enough now that he's getting accustomed to his quirks, but John's never seen Matty on the road, which means he's not used to the little fits he throws when things become too much for him.
"Don't worry about Matty mate. He gets like this sometimes - hell, we all do. We are still getting used to this lifestyle too, so don't be afraid of him. He's just being a twat because something's gotten under his skin and he doesn't know how to deal with it yet, but he'll go back to normal in a day or two."
"Is he okay though? I mean, maybe you should try to cheer him up or something. He always seems happier when you're around."
George knows that John's statement was casual in nature, but it seems to strike somewhere deep in his chest in a manner that's borderline painful. George smiles weakly when John sends him a questioning look, his mouth hanging open as he fumbles around for a suitable response.
"Maybe later yeah? I think I'm half of the reason he's so stroppy right now," George admits sheepishly, not wanting to delve into their ridiculous fight from this morning any time soon, and John seems to catch the hint.
"'Course, it was just a suggestion."
John changes the subject then, moving on to their next show and something about the new mouthpiece he's thinking of trying out, but George's brain is foggy with thoughts of Matty and he can only manage a polite nod every now and then.
The thing is, George wants to go to Matty. It's barely been a day since they have apparently decided to stop talking to each other, but George misses him already. He still has some pride though, and as long as Matty is acting like a petulant child, George is going to continue giving him the cold shoulder.
~~~
George hears a soft thump coming from the direction of Matty's bunk a little after midnight. He has been trying to sleep with terrible results, it is too hard to drift off when his worries for Matty are weighing down his heart and leaving his chest feeling tight and uncomfortable.
They still haven't said a word to each other, even when they all stopped to eat at a small dinner. Matty actually hadn't really spoken to anyone, and he had headed to bed early claiming that he was exhausted.
George had hoped that whatever was irking the other man so much would work itself out within a few hours. Even if Matty is still upset with George, he can't be the root of his foul mood, but it seems that George will have to wait a bit longer before attempting to reconcile with his best friend.
George peeks his head out when the sound is repeated, curious to see if Matty's getting up, or maybe he just dropped his phone. George curses himself when his eyes lock with Matty's as the other man's feet hit the floor, because George doesn't want to appear like he's keeping tabs on him, even if that's exactly what he's doing.
"You awake?" Matty utters his first sentence to George since this morning, his thin fingers twisting in the loose singlet he wore to bed nervously.
"Yeah," George states the obvious, pulling back the curtain on his bunk a bit more so Matty can see all of him. "You alright love?" The pet name slips out before George can stop it, and Matty visibly shivers in response. "Come here Matty," George gestures to the small spot next to him when Matty continues to stand there as small tremors make their way down his spine, and much to his surprise, Matty all but sprints over to his bed before climbing in next to George.
It's like whatever tether keeping them apart visibly snapped from one moment to the next, and even though George was quite miffed with Matty only minutes before, now all of those negative emotions have drained out of him so quickly that George has almost forgotten they were there in the first place.
"'m sorry," Matty mumbles hoarsely, his voice sounding like he's been crying for hours on end even though George hasn't heard so much as a sniffle coming from the direction of his bunk.
"I'm sorry too," George apologizes for whatever it is he's done without really knowing what the true source of Matty's fit was, but it doesn't matter anymore as long as Matty's okay now.
"I wasn't mad - not at you, I just worked myself into a fit," Matty tries to explain, but George can tell that talking about it is making him agitated again, so he shushes him gently, brushing his fingers down Matty's spine like he always does when Matty's distraught.
"It's fine love, we're fine."
Matty exhales heavily in relief, and although George sort of expects Matty to crawl back into his own bunk now that whatever happened between them is resolved, his snuggles into George's side instead, filling the small amount of space George has made for him by scooting all the way over to the wall.
"Can I stay here?" Matty asks after a bit, his lashes brushing against George's collarbone when he opens his eyes so he can peer up at George's shadow covered features with a ridiculous pout pulling down at his lips.
George's heart shouldn't beat faster because of Matty's query, in fact, it's already pretty sodding uncomfortable having two bodies squeezed onto a mattress that's barely big enough for George's frame, but George doesn't care if he wakes up with a crick in his neck and stiff muscles as long as Matty's there with him.
"Course, just don't fall out yeah?" George chuckles, wrapping his arms securely around Matty's torso to make sure that he won't be able to roll away in the middle of the night.
"I'll try not to," Matty grins, "but you'll catch me if I do right?" Matty's tone is light and teasing, but George senses a hidden meaning behind the question that he can't quite understand - still, he somehow knows his answer means more to Matty than it should.
"Always."
I actually love this chapter so much like I don't even know how to explain it. I stan this fic so hard even though I'm the author which is odd since I'm usually very critical of my own works but this story just makes me so happy to write. I'm having a very enjoyable time with this.
I just wanted to say thank you to everyone who voted for this book in The PotatoYoghurt Fanfic Awards. It won in its category and that means the world to me. You are all amazing and I've gained a lot of new readers from that as well, which I'm very excited to see. (This is so old but I still remember being so proud of this.)
When I first wrote this it had been right after I saw The 1975 live for the first time and I remember how amazing it was and I'm soft.
How are all of you lovely people?
I'm a pain in women's clothes
<3 starr