the hating game ; lrh

thirty

THE FOLLOWING MORNING BRINGS a headache and a painfully nauseous stomach, though no more vomit presumably for lack of having anything of substance to throw up.

I roll out of bed and somehow manage to make my way down the stairs and into the kitchen in one piece. Perched at the kitchen counter are Luke and Calum, sipping on what I can only assume are coffees and scrolling mindlessly through their phones. My bare feet slap softly against the cold kitchen tiles, causing Luke to look up at me first. His face breaks into a smile at the sight of me, though I can't even bring myself to feel happy at his reaction due to my sickness.

"Look who's up," Luke comments snidely, nodding toward me when Calum looks up at him.

My brother spins around to face me, his expression brightening as well. "Hey! How—" he begins, but I quickly cut him off with a shake of my head.

"Don't want to hear it," I tell him, earning a chuckle from Luke. I turn to him, sending a deathly glare in his direction. "From either of you."

Luke's laughter instantly ceases and his eyes go wide. He shakes his head, indicating that for once he will not be seeking to stir me up. I nod in satisfaction and turn to open the pantry, scanning its contents for something that doesn't make me feel ill from looking at it.

"How are you feeling?" Calum asks nervously, his voice soft and shy so as not to provoke me.

I settle on a packet of plain crackers, hoping that they'll help soak up whatever alcohol is left over, and shut the pantry doors. I let out a sigh, taking a seat beside Luke and ripping open the packet.

"Like I've been hit by a bus," I admit grimly, shoving a cracker in my mouth. An odd taste still sits on my tongue, presumably from the re-appearance of last night's dinner, but I force myself to keep eating.

"Look like it too," Luke mumbles, though not as quietly as he probably hoped. I use my full force to smack him on the side of the arm much harder than I had the previous night. "Ow!"

"Asshole," I grumble, shaking my head at him.

"You coming to band practice later?" Calum changes the subject, looking at me expectantly.

I shake my head. "Netflix is calling my name today," I tell him. The crackers begin sitting strangely in my stomach, so I place the packet back on the counter and roll it up to close it. "Besides, I've got some Spanish work to catch up on."

Calum's shoulders drop and he lets out a disappointed sigh. He picks up his coffee mug and walks over to the sink, rinsing the dish out and dropping it in.

Luke turns to me. "Have you finished those worksheets?"

I let out a light groan and let my head fall into my hands. Luke hadn't stopped nagging me about completing the million worksheets he had given me during our last lesson despite the fact that I had told him that the amount of work he expected was impossible to complete in one week.

"No," I admit softly, feeling my annoyance with him already begin to build. I had endured enough trouble with Luke last night and I don't want to make it a running theme today either.

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't," is all I respond with, not wanting to explain the situation to him again.