cynosure ; until dawn

eight•irl

(a/n: y'all are finally gonna see what everyone is up to in their alone time also not proofread stab me)

ashley slid around the kitchen floor on her socks whilst making a batch of cookies. it was two a.m., but chris and josh were out at a party with sam. ashley chose not to come because huge crowds racked up her anxiety, but she was living the life right here in her kitchen.

"they call me homewrecker!" ashley sang as she mixed the cookie dough and spun around on her heel. "i'm only happy when i'm the run. homewrecker! i broke a million hearts just for fun!" ashley was about to start the next line when she saw chris and josh standing at the door. josh was laughing hysterically.

"i don't deserve such a cute girlfriend," josh said through fits of laughter. ashley was blushing profusely.

"you were not meant to see that," she mumbled. chris laughed and hugged her.

"that was cute," he argued. ashley giggled. josh didn't say anything for he was too busy stealing a spoonful of the cookie dough.

"josh!" ashley exclaimed, "stop stealing my cookie dough! i need that!" chris rolled his eyes and laughed at the two.

"you guys are ridiculous," he mumbled, grabbing ashley and kissing her temple.

"you love us," josh retorted, smirking. chris rolled his eyes.

"sometimes."

"always!" ashley butted in, glaring at chris.

"it's two a.m.," josh pointed out, looking at the clock on the oven.

"i'm tired and slightly drunk," chris added, "so i'm gonna get some sleep." ashley nodded.

"same," josh added. ashley giggled.

"alright. don't forget to take your meds, baby," ashley said, giving josh a serious look. josh had adopted a habit of skipping taking his meds, which wasn't helping him in any way.

"i'll make sure he takes them," chris whispered in ashley's ear. ashley smiled.

"goodnight. i love you," ashley said, smiling. chis and josh said it back before going upstairs. ashley continued with her cookies.

-

ashley had managed to bake cookies, clean the entire downstairs, and watch a couple episodes of doctor who by six a.m. she still didn't feel tired.

she lied on the couch as she scrolled through tumblr. she had nothing to do anymore, so she resorted to boring time-wasters.

"why are you up so early?" ashley heard chris ask groggily. she sat up on the couch to see chris leaning over her.

"i never fell asleep." chris frowned.

"that doesn't sound healthy," chris mumbled skeptically. ashley yawned.

"i'm not tired," she replied, shrugging. chris frowned.

"come upstairs and snuggle with me and josh," chris insisted. ashley turned serious.

"speaking of josh," ashley started, but chris knew exactly what she was going to say.

"yes, he took his meds. he refused at first, but i got him to do it," chris explained. ashley nodded.

"now go back up with josh. you know how he gets when he doesn't have anyone to snuggle with," ashley said, giggling. chris rolled his eyes, pecked ashley's cheek, and walked back upstairs.

ashley yawned and walked out to the kitchen. she grabbed a bottle of water and brought it back to her nest of blankets in the living room.

-

"sam!" beth called out from downstairs, "hannah needs you for something!" sam walked down the stairs quickly.

"what's up?" she asked, glancing around to find hannah.

"she's on the couch," beth said, pointing towards where hannah was cooped up in a blanket. sam walked to where hannah was and leaned over hannah.

"what'd you need help with?"

"can you get me the aspirin? beth doesn't know where it is," hannah asked, coughing. sam frowned.

"did you get sick?"

"she's got a fever," beth said from the other room. sam pouted.

"aw, poor baby." she kissed hannah's cheek. "i'll go get the aspirin and some water. do you want anything else?"

"uh, could you bring me a pillow please?" sam nodded and padded away to grab the items hannah needed.

beth wandered into the living room and sat on the chair next to hannah.

"are we gonna have to put you down?" beth asked teasingly. hannah rolled her eyes.

"oh, obviously," she replied sarcastically. sam soon returned with a pillow, a glass of water, and a bottle of aspirin.

-

"mike, i will throw my orange juice at you," matt threatened. mike laughed.

"fight me, matt."

"square up," matt replied, smirking and narrowing his eyes. emily and jessica walked into the room. the four all lived in the same apartment complex, just in different apartments. but em and jess frequently came over when they had nothing else to do.

"what are you fighting over this time?" jessica asked, quirking an eyebrow at matt.

"matt wants to watch bill nye the science guy and i wanna watch mean girls," mike explained.

"so we're fighting to the death," matt added. emily laughed.

"you two are ridiculous!" she exclaimed, stealing a chip from mike's bag of doritos.

"stop stealing my chips, goddammit," mike mumbled through a mouthful of chips. jessica laughed.

"so i heard hannah got the flu and ashley pulled an all-nighter," matt said, changing the subject. emily raised her eyebrows.

"hannah never gets sick!" she exclaimed. jessica quirked an eyebrow.

"since when does ashley stay up later than ten p.m?"

"no idea," matt replied, "but chris and ashley keep blowing up the group chat."

emily looked at her phone and rolled her eyes, "they're ridiculous."