Promise » [cashton] √

2.6

[31st of August - Amsterdam]

The past two and a bit weeks had brought a nice sense of routine. Coventry, Edinburgh, Paris and last night, the last of three shows in Amsterdam. Compared to the US where they'd been going through 4 or 5 cities a week, it gave them a chance to look around more, Calum in particular, who had never been in any of the cities this long. Ashton was trying his best to keep his promise of a date in every city, but part of the deal of getting so many 'free' days was that there were interviews and photoshoots that needed to happen as well. Calum also had to get his own work done, Sierra would kill him if he didn't post a few photos from the show before midday the next day. Which is how he had become responsible for a lot of Ashton's Instagram post. No one seemed to find it weird, but Calum felt like it wasn't really something a boyfriend should be doing, at least not this early on.

That's what he was doing, walking and posting, quickly becoming a skill of his. A shot of Ashton staring down his lens, then one of the crowd, then another of Gabby. All captioned, 'Amsterdam Night Three'. The floor of the hotel he striding along was almost entirely rented out for them. The rooms were probably not as nice as Ashton was used to but nicer than what a lot of the crew were, and everyone was able to easily come and go from rooms as they pleased. Calum was on his way back to his and Michael's room, and maybe he was thinking about sticking his head in Ashton's to see if he was back from whatever it was he'd been doing this morning.

"They're everywhere, I don't know who took them, obviously someone who realised who he was dating," he heard Luke say, and Calum's ears perked up.

Took what and who? As he turned the corner toward the long hallway, he saw them standing in the doorway. Luke leaning with his hand holding the top of the doorframe an imposing figure over Ashton, who was watching him closely from where he stood just inside the room, but seemed unbothered by him. And Michael stood just outside, eyes focused intently on Luke as well. The three of them looked to Calum as he rounded the corner, Luke unimpressed, but that was standard with him these days, Michael however looked worried and Ashton was unreadable.

"You wanna explain the photos?" Luke asked coolly.

"The ones I just posted?" Calum asked slowly, his heart starting to race, had he accidentally posted another photo? Maybe something private? He tried to think of any photos he had of Ashton that would be detrimental to post, but nothing was coming to mind. Or.... There were definitely photos of people doing drugs on his phone, not Ashton, but people.

Michael was shaking his head and he shifted, standing between Luke and Calum, whether intentional or not he became a buffer between them. His soft eyes fell on Calum, easier to manage than Luke's sharp stare. "Some photos from the break got sent into The Sun, they're of you and KayKay," Michael explained, bringing his phone up so Calum could see.

What sort of photos of him and KayKay were worth sending to The Sun? The worst he'd done all break was weed. He looked closely, it was from the night out after the show, he had his arm around her waist and hers around his neck, she was talking close into his ear. They'd been talking about Ashton, trying to be quiet and discreet. Michael's finger moved on the screen and another photo came up. He and KayKay, out on the street, her in his long sleeve, they didn't look intimate in any way but it was clear the shirt was his and they were talking animatedly. It was about Ashton too, and then you saw them get into the Uber together in the final photo. His first thought was that whoever took the photos was probably a friend of theirs or someone they at least knew. That made him angry, it was clearly someone who knew that he and KayKay had nothing going on.

"So?" Luke pressed.

"I don't know what you want me to say. It's just KayKay and I hanging out, the Uber dropped her off and then me. I called Ashton right after," there was nothing else he could say in his defence, they were innocent enough photos.