𝐄𝐏𝐇𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋 - 𝐆𝐄𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐄 𝐃𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐄𝐋 [✓]

𝟏𝟔. 𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐊𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒

𝙰𝙿𝚁𝙸𝙻 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿 | 𝚂𝙾𝚄𝚃𝙷 𝙳𝙰𝙺𝙾𝚃𝙰

Elizabeth awoke somewhere in the middle of America, excited for a day of looking around the new city before the show tonight. Though she was greeted with a pounding headache, an intense wave of nausea, and an uncomfortable warmth surrounding her. She assumed some paracetamol and whatever medication she could find for an upset stomach would make her feel better; so she trotted out of her bunk and into the living area of the bus, where their tour manager, Wendy, looked very concerned at the sight of her. 

She stood up from her seat and approached Elizabeth, "You know I care about you very much darling, but you look like shit." Elizabeth let out a light chuckle, glimpsing at her messy hair and sweat beaded forehead in the mirror.
"Thank you Wendy, I really appreciate that." Some other people on the sofas laughed at her remarks but she didn't bother to look at who it came from, focusing directly on her tea.

"No seriously Elizabeth, you do look quite ill are you okay?" Kaylee asked, about to come over to where the two stood and put a hand on her forehead. Elizabeth sighed, wanting to get on with the day and not cause a fuss. "I think I'm fine, I had a bit of a rough night and I feel really warm. I just need a paracetamol."
Wendy was not going to accept her answer, so she disappeared for a moment while Elizabeth continued to stir her teabag in the mug; then reappearing with a thermometer and practically shoving it into Elizabeth's mouth.

"Some warning would've been nice." she mumbled through furrowed eyebrows at Wendy, holding the thermometer in her mouth willingly now as it took its reading. They all waited, tapping fingernails on surfaces and huffing slightly until it made a noise that notified them it was done. 

"Fourty. Yeah you're not coming out when you look as pale as a sheet, your eyes are barely open and you're burning up like that. Take some meds and go back to bed darling." Wendy sighed, sad that she'd be missing a photographer for the day but was putting Elizabeth first. 
She saluted Wendy, turning to go back into her bed and fall into a more comfortable sleep aided by the pills she just took and the tea she drank. 

While Elizabeth was being sent back to sleep, Matty and Ross caught a glimpse of her disappearing into her bed as they finally exited theirs. "What up with her?" Matty asked the room they'd walked into, pointing back at Elizabeth who hadn't taken any notice of them. 

Wendy sighed, "High fever, looks really ill to be honest with you but I reckon she'll be fine by tomorrow." 

The both of them pouted, "That's so annoying, we wanted to go to Mount Rushmore and flip off the presidents." Ross sighed, everybody laughing at the absurdity of that statement. Adam made an appearance now, having heard none of the conversation aside from that remark and following up with, "What's wrong with Elizabeth?" 
"She's ill." Wendy repeated herself, George now entering the room. "Who's ill?" 
She huffed at the question, "Elizabeth! God why are you never in the room at the same time so I don't have to repeat myself." she asked nobody in particular, leaving the room with a slight hint of stress. Everybody else exchanged glances as if they were naughty school kids before going about with their day. 

A few hours later Elizabeth remerged from the comforts of her bed, desperate to use the toilet and have a drink to cure the dry mouth she was suffering from. Her symptoms had definitely lessened but she didn't feel back to normal. 
She hadn't bothered to check the time or get dressed, walking into the main area of the bus in just a bralette and shorts as she'd assumed everyone would be out either at the venue or seeing some sights.
She practically made a beeline to the coffee machine, hoping the caffeine would help her feel rejuvenated. Once her cup was placed she scanned the room, almost jumping out of her skin when she saw the sight of George on the sofa. 

Many empty beer bottles littered the table and he held a cigarette between his fingers, looking fairly dishevelled compared to what she was used to seeing.
"You look as rough as I feel." she grumbled, amusing herself with her statement, "What's up with you?"
Her coffee had finished pouring so she approached him, leaning against the counter with her hip popped; awaiting the answer to her query.

"I think I just got dumped." he said in a monotonous voice, flicking his cigarette into the ashtray before taking another drag. Her initial reaction was to let out a chuckle, "Woah, welcome to the club." the tour was a distraction for her aching heart, and she found it amusing that somebody else was in the same situation as her; so she put her hand out for a high five. The look on George's face made it abundantly clear that he didn't find it as amusing as she did, so she swiftly put that hand back down.

The way their eyes met made Elizabeths heart melt, she'd had time to heal even though it hadn't felt like it to her; whereas George's wounds were so fresh. "I'm really sorry that was really insensitive." she moved to sit next to him on the sofa, putting their differences and the awkwardness that constantly loomed over them aside. "Are you okay?" she asked as sincerely as she could. 

The way the coldness hit the backs of her thighs made her aware of the lack of clothing she was wearing. In an attempt to cover up she pulled a blanked from behind George and draped it on her lap. He shrugged her off, not wanting sympathy from anybody and especially not his ex. "I'll be fine, just leave me to mope about for a while." 
She couldn't help but feel sorry for him, "Do you want to talk about it?" 

His head shook as he blew out more smoke, taking a sip from the bottle in his hands almost immediately. "There's not much to talk about, we've been rocky for a while anyway." That omission at least made it known that it wasn't as sudden as her break up, and she felt glad for him. Even if they weren't 'friends' anymore, she knew how bad it felt for somebody to one day up and leave, deciding they didn't love you anymore. 

She pouted, sipping her coffee and recoiling when it burnt her lip. George let out a nose laugh at the clumsiness that she chose to let slide. "That fucking sucks, I'm really sorry."
Although he asked for no sympathy she still gave it to him. Earning herself a scolding, "Stop apologising you idiot it's not your fault is it, how comes you're here anyway?" 

In the midst of their conversation, she'd completely forgotten about her fever. Standing up instantly to distance the two of them. "Oh yeah I shouldn't get too close to you, I've been running a high temperature and felt like shit all day." 
He raised his eyebrows and nodded, "How nice."
"Tell me about it, I wanted to go to Mount Rushmore with Ross to shout obsceneties at the presidents." 

George laughed at her statement, lowering his eyebrows in confusion.
"Don't ask." she decided that was the easier option instead of explaining their reasoning why. "I'm going to go sit and feel sorry for myself in bed if you need me." she confessed and left the room with nothing but a nod from George in acknowledgement, as he went back to wallowing in self-pity before the show in a couple of hours.