rainfall | ashton irwin au | completed

five

I figured that the best way to avoid Ashton Irwin would be to just not attend school at all. So here I was in the woods on a Friday, my feet crunching through the fallen branches caused by the storm last night, and the smell of rain heavy in the air. It excited me that in a few short months, autumn would be here, and the trees would be covered in every shade of orange and red. Autumn was my favourite season purely because it brings colour, and as much as I loved green, I loved red more. I loved the different shades; the way the wind would release the leaves from their trees and allow them to merge together on the floor, the many different oranges and reds resembling fire. I longed for autumn.

Of course, now it was supposedly summer, but the clouds would not even let a ray of sunshine through to the little town of Heatherly. I didn't mind, though. I would pick rain over sun any day.

I couldn't recognise my surroundings after almost an hour of trekking and realised that I had never ventured to these parts of the forest before. However, I didn't panic. I had gotten lost in the woods plenty of times and somehow I always managed to find my way back. Even if I didn't, would it be so bad? I would probably enjoy living here more than in an oversized house with only a vacant mother to keep me company.

I knew that I should turn around and try and find my bearings again, and I was about to, but the sound of footsteps caused me to halt in my path. Who else would possibly be this far into the woods on a weekday?

I realised that there were two people coming closer, though I could not yet see them, and decided to hide behind a large boulder next to a small stream. I couldn't help but feel interested in whoever had decided to come here. Maybe I even felt possessive of my forest, because it was mine, really. Nobody else came here for enjoyment. Nobody appreciated it in the way that I did.

I couldn't believe the sight in front of me as they came into view. I instantly recognised Ashton, the person who I was here to avoid, along with a boy named Matt who was only a year older than me, which I knew as I had seen him around school last year.

I could not piece together why these two people would be here, in the woods, together, but I wanted to find out.

"So tell me what happened," Matt ordered, coming to a standstill just a few metres away from me.

"Nothing happened, she just- wait, Lilah? Is that you?"

Of course my body had chosen this precise moment to give me an awful case of cramp in my foot, causing me to shuffle as quietly as possible, but not quietly enough.

Ashton was stood parallel to me now, frowning in shock and confusion. "What are you doing here?" He questioned, giving Matt a strange look. If I had not have been paying attention, I wouldn't have seen it, but fortunately nothing went unnoticed with me. I wondered how Ashton knew Matt, seeing as Matt had left school last year and now worked in the local bookshop.

"I was just walking and I got lost, so I thought I'd sit down a minute. Then you came," I said, trying my best to sound convincing. It wasn't a complete lie, I suppose. "What are you doing here?" I stood up, trying my best to discretely shake out the cramp in my foot.

"Matt and I were, er," he hesitated and my suspicion grew. "We were just discussing my maths class. Matt is my tutor."

Matt nodded and smiled, clearly proud of the lie that Ashton had obviously only just conjured up.

I raised one eyebrow. "Sure he is," I smirked slightly, showing I didn't believe them. "Well this was nice, but I have to go."

I began walking back in the direction I had come, not even bothering to overthink what I had just seen. Whatever secrets Ashton was trying to keep, I was not interested. I couldn't ignore the bad feeling in my gut though, telling me not to trust either of them. I just hoped whatever it was didn't involve the coven or myself.