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

Chapter 29 | Memories

mild offensive language in this chapter, but pls read the bottom ok

Ashley POV

"Ashton, please slow down." I glanced over to the steering wheel and my eyes widened as I saw that he was going 45 mph in a 30 mph zone. We were by the coast by now, and as much as I would have loved to enjoy the view, Ashton was scaring me. "Ashton, babe. You need to slow down." His knuckles had turned white because of his strong grip on the wheel.

He wasn't getting the message, though. I had to jostle his arm, otherwise he wouldn't realize what he was doing. "Ashton!" He finally jumped a little, and his foot relaxed on the pedal. I sighed in relief. We had lost the paparazzi about two minutes ago, although they had put up quite a fight. I didn't understand why they were so keen on us today.

We finally stopped by the beach, and we just took out a ratty old blanket that I had in the trunk of my car and our McDonald's food. I led him over to a nice place in the sand and we sat down. I didn't bother to take out our food yet. I just stared at him, and he stared at the blanket. I didn't understand why he was so mad. I mean, I was pretty angry too, but I wasn't about to go on a suicide mission in the car.

I didn't want to be the first to speak; I wanted him to be brave enough to talk to me. After a few long minutes, though, I couldn't take it anymore. "Ashton." That was all I had to say. He put his face in his hands and started rubbing his eyes with his palms. I had known Ashton long enough to know that this was what he did when he didn't want to cry but he felt like he had to. He was the type of guy to think that it was weak to cry in front of a girl. It was one of the many things about him that I didn't like. I thought it was okay to cry sometimes. He apparently disagreed.

"What's wrong?" I soothed.

"I just...everything at once. It's too much for me. I've never had to carry such a burden." Ashton could be dramatic sometimes. But this was the wrong time to be roll-eyes-Ashley. I had to be understanding-Ashley right now, but it seemed that I was always understanding-Ashley these days. It wasn't easy.

"What's wrong?" I repeated. "It's okay, Ashton, tell me." It was kind of an empty offer. I mean, it's not like I exactly wanted Ashton to drop all of his burdens on me. Apparently he didn't understand that.

"It's just that...my friends are mad at me, and your friends are mad at you, and -"

I knew that wasn't what he was going to say, but I let it go. I changed the subject. "It was Al who called the paparazzi." I meant it to be a question but somehow it came out as a statement. I guess deep down I knew that it was her. I didn't want to believe it. I looked up at Ashton and his red-rimmed eyes. He just nodded. My gut dropped. I couldn't believe she would do that. After I had told her that I didn't want to throw away our friendship over this? She had the nerve to call the paparazzi and feed them rumors about me breaking up the band, then tell them exactly which McDonald's we were at?

"We have to go back to the apartment right after this, you know that Ashton?"

He nodded in a resigned manner. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Why can't we just stay here forever?" There goes his knack for being dramatic again. "I mean, there will always be paparazzi wherever we go, and more drama." You don't say. 

"But Ashton, you have to remember that this was what you signed up for when you joined the band. You wanted the fame and you were lucky enough to get it so early in your career," I reasoned.

He got angry again. "But why can't I have just a little bit of privacy? Why does my life have to be publicized?"

I kept my voice level, even though I actually wanted to slap and yell at the idiot. "Why does a bee pollinate? It has to be done by someone, doesn't it?"