The Jerks Next Door || Ashton Irwin [5 Seconds Of Summer]

Chapter 23 | Nervous Flirting

Michael POV ((""omg michael pov aaahh"" -squeals-))

I had been overly stressed during those few weeks. Tour was over but the fans wanted more covers, yet they apparently couldn't understand that we had personal lives that we wanted to enjoy. I loved our fans, but sometimes they could get a bit irritating.

For another thing, I didn't know what to do about Ashton and Calum. They were just being jerks, and to be perfectly honest, I thought that Ashley and the rest of her friends were really nice and I wanted us to be friends. It was hard enough to make real friends now that our fame had gone up so much. You didn't know who was real and who wasn't, and Ashton and Calum weren't helping any. Apparently they didn't understand that you can't make friends by giving them reason to slap you.

To top it off, all of these distractions couldn't allow me to have my own personal life. I wanted a girlfriend. I wanted friends who would stand by me and support me no matter what. I wanted to be able to actually enjoy making music with those friends.

Calum coming out of his room, angrily and sleepily, dragged me out of my thoughts.

"What - where are you going?" I asked, baffled.

He just walked past me and stalked out of the apartment. I soon heard what sounded like someone banging their fist on a door.

Then, Calum's voice came out. "Keep it down in there, you freaking high-pitched banshees! Some of us enjoy sleep!"

"Calum, you idiot, are you admitting to going to bed at eight o'clock at night?" Ashley's smug voice rang out.

Calum groaned. "Just shut the fu-"

My eyes widened at that instant. "Cal!" I was exasperated. "We don't curse around ladies, or have you forgotten?"

He turned back at me, glaring daggers. I wasn't fazed and just rose my eyebrows at him in disappointment.

"Fine!" He threw his hands in the air in defeat. "Just quiet down! No one likes your girly shrieks!"

"Well good riddance!" Al yelled indignantly.

Calum turned to walk back into the apartment when Ashley spoke again, and it wasn't in a voice much like her own. It was incredibly sugary. "Good night, Michael!"

Then Al added, "Yeah, good night, Mikey-Bear!"

Calum groaned and turned to me as if this was my fault. I shrugged with wide eyes, just as confused as he was. "Uh...good night girls." Then I turned and walked into our apartment after Calum, and shut the door behind us.

Girls were confusing.

**********

During the afternoon the next day, I heard voices outside the door. The other boys had gone out to buy some lunch so I knew it couldn't be them. Plus, the voices outside were too high-pitched to be the boys' voices.

My curiosity getting the better of me, I went out of the kitchen and opened the door to see Ashley and Al, but they weren't alone. They were accompanied by a pair of kids who looked like they could be twins - a boy and a girl.

"Al?" the little boy questioned.

Al smiled down at the boy and nodded for him to continue.

"Is this where you live?"

"Yes, Eddie, why do you ask?" Al inquired.

"Well then who's the man with the blue and purple hair?" Eddie pointed at me.

I decided to play innocent and I came out of the apartment with a smile on my face.

Al and Ashley didn't seem fazed. In fact, Ashley smiled at me and told Eddie and the little girl, "Eddie, Hailey, this is one of our neighbors, Michael. He's very nice, why don't you go say hi?"