Over and Over (Lashton)

On Top of the World

'Cuz I'm on top of the world, eh
I'm on top of the world eh
Been waiting on this for a while now
Paying my dues to the dirt
I've been waiting to smile, eh
Been holding it in for a while eh
Take you with me if I can,
Been dreaming of this since a child
I'm on top of the world.

~Imagine Dragons, "On Top of the World"

Ashton's POV

“I’m so proud of you,” Luke says, hugging me from the back of the couch and kissing the top of my head. I muster up a smile. I may have dredged up a bunch of bad memories that I tried for so long to bury, but at least it’s not a secret anymore. I don’t have to feel like I’m hiding things from the fans. Well, they still don’t know about me and Luke, but this is a start. “You did great, you know that?”

I smile and lean back against the sofa. “We should go get ice cream!” Calum yells from the mini-kitchen eagerly.

“I second the motion!” Michael shouts.

“You up for it?” Luke asks, poking my shoulder.

I know it will be nice to just do something that normal teenagers would do, so I agree. I like ice cream, anyway.

“Let’s get ready and call a cab,” Michael says, peeking around the corner from the bathroom, prodding at his violently pink hair with a brush.

“Okay, let me just grab my shoes,” Luke shouts. He pulls me up and drags me to the suitcases. “Do you know where my Vans are?”

“They’re in mine,” I say, digging through my suitcase and throwing them at him lightly. He misses both of them. “Luke, what am I going to wear?”

“I don’t know, isn’t what you’re wearing fine?”

My Marvel shirt has a hole in it, and the hoodie I’m wearing on top is just black to cover up my scars and stitches. My jeans are old. All my shoes are old. Everything’s black and grey and I’m having second thoughts.

“Is it?” I fret, fussing with the hem.

Luke looks at me oddly. “You don’t even care about clothes, what’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

He (accurately) takes my silence as uncertainty. “Ash, are you worried about what the fans will think?”

I shrug, turning away to rifle through my suitcase.

“It’s going to be fine,” he continues. “They’re going to see what you did just how it was--moving and brave. They’re going to be inspired to be as strong as you. Just wait.”

“I didn’t do anything special,” I say firmly. “I just told the truth.”

Luke smiles gently, comes over and kneels by me, stilling my hands.

“Sometimes, that’s enough.”

---

Luke’s POV

The fans better appreciate Ashton opening up. What he did was amazing, and this needs to be a push in the right direction, not a drag-down into the depths of depression...again.

We pull up at the Baskin Robbin’s and hop out excitedly. It’s been so long since we’ve done something for ourselves to take a load off. Tours are busy enough as it is, but with Ashton’s stay in the hospital, we’ve minimized our free time. We pile through the door and spread out among the glass windows, looking for just the right flavor.

“You guys ready?” Michael asks, digging out his wallet. “You can just pay me back later. ‘Cept Ashton, he gets free ice cream.”

Ashton does a happy dance, hugs Michael, and kisses him on the cheek. I feel a little jealous; they can act as close as they want and it doesn’t matter because they’re not actually dating and there’s no secret to hide. I wish I was in Michael’s position.