rainfall | ashton irwin au | completed

twenty

I had never really seen people as beautiful before. The only thing that had even come close was the forest, but when Ashton chuckled with glistening eyes, illuminated by a pink sky, my whole mentality seemed to change.

It wasn't just his appearance that I adored, but his mind too. The way he made stupid jokes to try and make me feel better, and then giggled to himself afterwards despite how awful they were. The way he hummed along to crappy music that seemed a lot less crappy when it was accompanied by his voice. The way he still had not left me, despite how difficult I was.

I was falling in love with him. I was completely baffled at how the universe had ever managed to produce something as wonderful as Ashton, and how I had managed to become a part of his life.

"Stop staring at me," he smirked, his fists gripping the steering wheel and his eyes never leaving the road. He had offered to take me home once I had talked to him about my mother and Josh. He agreed to stay with me, though. I didn't think I could face that house without him.

"I'm not," I lied, blushing. I leaned my head against the cold window in an attempt to cool my face down, watching as the rain slid down the window so effortlessly. It hadn't stopped raining since I had gotten my powers back, and I had a feeling that it wouldn't for a while.

He opened his mouth to reply, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. Something was wrong. I could feel it in the pit of my stomach.

"Ash-"

It was too late. The car was zig-zagging across the road, and when it finally stopped, it was headed straight for a giant tree. Ashton was desperately trying to steer us away, but it didn't affect the car in the slightest.

Everything was too loud. He was shouting, and I was screaming, and the car was crashing. And then there was silence.

My breathing was coming out in gasps, tears sliding down my cheeks as we finally came to a halt.

"Are you okay?!" Ashton asked, clicking his seatbelt off immediately.

I nodded, unable to disguise my panic. I wasn't hurt, but I was terrified. "Are you?"

He exhaled heavily, squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds. "I think so."

"What just happened?"

He shook his head with wide eyes, trying to open the car door. After a few pushes, it fell open, and Ashton crawled out, instantly running to my side. I unbuckled my own seat belt with trembling fingers and clutched him as he opened my door and pulled me out as gently as he could in his frantic state.

"Are you hurt?" He asked again, his eyes glancing up and down my body.

"No," I confirmed again. "What happened?"

Ashton's eyes danced around his surroundings hesitantly. "I think somebody else was controlling the car."

It didn't take long for it to click. "You mean Josh?"

He nodded, running a shaky hand through his waves. "I couldn't control it at all, and cars don't just start going in a completely different direction. Maybe he knows that you got your power back."

"Maybe," I agreed. "We should go back to Anna's. Hopefully he's had his fun for today. We'll call the breakdown company when we get back."

As if in reply, Ashton laced his fingers through mine, looking around once more to make sure that he couldn't see anybody and slamming the doors shut without a second glance. A wave of terror engulfed me as I realised that it still wasn't over. Josh was still playing games with us, and we were still letting him. I wondered if he would ever stop.