I Know That I'll Lose

Chapter Twelve - For Cryin' Out Loud

The next morning she awoke with a splitting headache. As her vision refocused, she noticed the glass of water and painkillers sitting on the bedside table. She didn't think she'd ever been so happy to see water before. After gratefully washing away the sour taste in her mouth she eyed the meds. Nope. She would almost definitely throw up if she tried to ingest those right now. As her head hit the pillow again, she tried to piece together last night. Her memories were a bit patchy but she definitely remembered the main events. She knew that she finally gave Matty the satisfaction of knowing that she was into him. She knew that she tried to kiss him – and didn't. She knew that he didn't seem to react badly to either of those things. The rest was sort of up to speculation as to if she was remembering them correctly or if her mind was piecing things together how she wanted it to be. After a few minutes of trying to feel a bit less nauseous, she eventually heard Allen make his way into her room. It was sort of hard to stay in bed when you had a large bullmastiff on the bed next to you trying to sniff every inch of your face. So, she begrudgingly got up and made her way downstairs. Upon stepping into the kitchen, the hushed conversation that had been occurring between Matty and George came to an abrupt halt when she made eye contact with the drummer. She frowned at the two of them, waiting for one to let her in on the secret.

"How's the hangover?" George asked to break the silence.

"Awful." She mumbled; voice still hoarse from sleep. "You guys?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes to try and get the sleep out of them.

He shrugged, "All right."

"The key to binge drinking is practice." Matty added with a sarcastic grin, eyeing the familiar hoodie that she was wearing. It still set his brain on edge to see her wearing something that used to be his.

"Probably not healthy." She huffed as she stepped around them to refill her glass of water.

"You up for breakfast?" He continued. She considered the offer briefly before her stomach growled loudly, answering for her. "I'll get some stuff ready." He laughed with a nod as he started pulling ingredients from the fridge. Food would probably help her overcome this faster.

"I'll grab the rest of the guys." George said as he walked off in the direction of the lounge.

Matty had spent the night mostly sleepless, racking his brain for answers about how to make it work between them. She wanted him to come to a decision – so, he would. He'd find the solution, the perfect answer that made all the pieces fit together. She was worried about him being busy and travelling all the time? Well, he just needed to find a way for her to travel with him. If distance wasn't so much of an issue, he could easily make time during his hectic life around other things. He was well aware that for this to work, she had to be around more permanently. In the past it had been made incredibly apparent that as soon as you lose that proximity with people, it becomes increasingly difficult to maintain the relationship you have with them. But how was he meant to make that a permanent thing without just paying for her to come along with him all the time? He knew that she hated feeling useless, and being his plus one in life would drive her insane. He'd need a better idea than that if she was going to actually agree to it. And that was where George came in. George always knew what to do. And, true to form, George had an amazing idea like he always did. Once the wheels were in motion, Matty knew his game plan. He knew what to do. He finally knew what step ten was, as well as steps one through nine. And now that he knew the direction that he wanted them to be heading in, well... there was no harm in just a little bit more teasing before sealing the deal, right? Just for old times' sake.

"So... how's your memory of last night?" He asked nonchalantly as she took a seat at the dining table.