Fall Away | a.i.

~three~

~Ashton's P.O.V~

I woke up on the floor the next morning, with one arm draped over Lyric. I wasn't sure how it had happened, but I had probably moved around in my sleep or something. I thought about pulling it off of her, but decided to just leave it for a little bit.

That is, until, I looked over to the smaller couch and saw her best friend glaring at me with one eyebrow raised. I slowly took my arm off of her and rolled over so that I wasn't facing her.

I thought that she would leave me alone now, but she came over and sat down in front of me. I closed my eyes and pretended I had fallen back asleep, but she didn't buy it, "Alright. So what's your name again kid?"

I propped myself up on one elbow, "Ashton.. And don't call me kid.. You're River right?"

She nodded, "Yeah. So what exactly are you trying to achieve with Lyric?"

I gulped, this was almost as bad as dealing with a girl's father, "I'm.. I'm not trying to achieve anything?"

She rolled her eyes, she was just like Lyric, "Right. I heard you guys' conversation last night, and you better not be trying to get close to her as some kind of bet."

"No, no.. I would never do that.. I'm not-" I was about to deny trying to get closer to her, but I knew River was smarter than that, "This isn't about a bet or anything."

She raised an eyebrow, still debating whether I was being honest, "Alright.. Good. Just listen to me when I say that Lyric has been through a ton of shit in her life. And trust me, being her best friend, I, more than anyone, want to see her find someone and start a relationship. But not if it's going to be with someone that's going to build her up just to tear her down."

I nodded, "I understand, you just don't want to see her get hurt, but I promise that I would never do that. Besides, I don't think she wants anything to do with me anyway."

"She has trust issues Ashton," She bit her lip, "And she has reasons to. I'm not going to get into them right now because if anyone's going to, it should be her. It's going to take a while, and in the end she might not even end up letting you in. But if you think she's worth it, and I believe that she is, you'll keep trying."

I smiled, glad I had River's blessing, "Thanks, River."

"No problem kid," She stood up, "Oh, and by the way, if you break her heart, I will find a way to destroy you."

I nodded, still smiling. I laid back down and started to drift off again, thinking only of Lyric.

~

Later on that day, the boys and I were sitting around in the basement, doing absolutely nothing.

Michael spoke up from his spot on the couch, "Are we going to that party later?"

Luke nodded, "Yeah, I've been dying to get out and do something."

I groaned, "Do we really have to go? It's not gonna be different from any other stupid party that you guys drag me to."

"God Ashton, you've been acting so lame lately." Calum said, and I could practically hear him rolling his eyes.

"I know, you're almost as bad as Lyric." Luke laughed at the last bit.

Calum snickered as well, "On, no one is that bad. What was up with her and her friend coming down here last night?"

Luke shrugged, "I don't know, I'm just glad they're not bugging us anymore. She's so annoying."

I stood up, not wanting to hear them talking about her anymore, "I'm going to the bathroom."

I went upstairs and heard music coming from outside. I walked over to the window and looked out, seeing Lyric and River dancing around in the backyard. I laughed quietly to myself and then got an idea.