when in rome ⇒c.h

three: "eros"

"nobody waits, nobody calls anymore. talking is dead; these fake conversations, tired nations. nobody cares, too many thoughts at the door. it's all in your head." —eros by young the giant

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calum groaned and threw his arm over his face, trying to block out the sunlight that had been shining in his eyes. of course, his eyes were still closed as he was still sleepy. his head began to pound in a steady rhythm. in all his years of drinking (both legal and illegal), he had never managed to sleep off an oncoming hangover.

next to calum, michael grunted in his sleep. he rolled over, presumably to avoid the sun. calum sat up queasily, his stomach churning. he couldn't tell if he was on the verge of throwing up or just really hungry. he'd slept in his clothes from the night before, and seeing as ashton was curled up in a chair, luke was in a bed, and michael was lying next to calum in another bed, he'd never made it back to his own room. he looked at the clock on the wall and momentarily freaked out at the time. it was almost two thirty! they needed to get to soundcheck and prepare for tonight's show!

realizing what day it was, calum sighed. they were done with shows for now; they were on their break. that was why he'd drank himself to a hangover; he didn't need to be presentable today.

calum checked his pocket, looking for his room key. he found it and slipped out of bed. he grabbed his shoes and quietly left michael and luke's room, crossing the hallway to his own room. once there, he took a brief hot shower and changed his clothes. his head continued throbbing painfully and he was hungry, so he took a look at the room service menu, ordering everything that sounded good. maybe he'd have enough to share with the others once they woke up.

once the food arrived, however, calum knew that the others would have to fend for themselves. his stomach growled as if it were a miniature monster growing bigger by the second. he dug into the food, eating the dishes one by one. finally, with a full tummy, he settled back onto bed with a glass of water.

his head still ached, but his heart ached more when he checked his phone. emily hadn't replied to his text, but it no doubt hurt her feelings. what he'd said was the truth, and lately, the truth had become a lot more painful to hear.

hands shaking lightly, calum called her. it rang and rang. he imagined her looking at the phone and deciding whether or not to answer it. she didn't pick up, and as calum put his phone away, he realized that she'd probably be asleep or at work. he mentally cursed himself for forgetting about time zones and getting his hopes up.

a few minutes later, the hotel room door opened, and ashton staggered into the room. his eyes were wild, and his hair was looking more like a bird's nest than usual.

"thought you'd died!" he rasped.

calum looked ashton up and down, trying to wipe the judgmental look off his face. after all, he himself had probably looked like that before he took his shower. "i didn't die. i had breakfast though, and got a shower. both of which you should probably do."

ashton stuck his tongue out. "well, michael and luke are both still passed out in bed, but luke was stirring when i left. they'll need breakfast soon," he said rather paternally."

"let them order it themselves," calum mumbled to himself as he perused the menu once again. "so, first breakfast for you, second breakfast for me. what do you want to order?"

"everything," ashton called from the bathroom. seconds later, the shower started to run.

calum got up off the bed and went to the bathroom to continue his conversation with ashton. "i had everything this morning, it was good. i'm fully willing to order everything again for me and again for you. your treat," he quipped.

ashton rolled his eyes and dropped his pants, stepping into the shower. "hey, where's my shampoo?"

"dunno," calum said, sauntering out of the bathroom. "i'm going to order whatever i feel like for both of us, okay?" he was yelling now in an attempt to be heard over the running water. "you better finish your shower quick, though. the waiter's gonna be confused if i answer the door and hand him a different card than i used before. also, he'll probably think i'm a fatass."

ashton shouted a few words back, probably something along the lines of "don't use my credit card."

calum ignored him and went back to the bathroom, rifling through ashton's pants until he found his wallet. he extracted ashton's credit card, said a loud, "thank you!" and left the bathroom, calling up room service once more.

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lol