Imprinted → lashton [book one]

1.7

Ashton's P.O.V

I've been having weird dreams. Sad also.

Luke died in all of them. It scared me. Scarred me. I told him about them. He asked my dad to take me to a psychiatrist, obviously creeped out by my dreams.

The psychiatrist told me dreams about death don't predict tragic events. She told me death in dreams is a symbol of transformation, change, or transition.

Change in what? Me? Luke? Our relationship? I didn't want to know.

Carter still made jokes about me to the class. Even the teachers laughed at me. I hated school.

Luke's been locked in his room studying a lot. I missed him. We always scheduled "study dates," where we mostly just talked or kissed.

He's started to fail mathematics, and I'm failing physics. Liz and my dad signed us up for tutoring, which we went to together. Our tutor was probably two years older than us. She was a whole head shorter than Luke and was bright. She had chestnut brown hair, bright blue eyes, and must I say, beautiful. She was kind, and when we didn't understand something, she'd calmly explain it, obviously patient.

Her name was Aleah. She got my grades back up, Luke was still struggling. The school was worried they'd have to move him down to lower classes, which made Luke panic.

Semester exams were coming up, and Luke has been cramming the content into his brain for weeks. He's cancelled all of our plans, has complete cut Calum, Michael, and I out of his existence, and ignores all of my calls. I admire his determination, but damn, kid.

I went to the park with Calum and Michael to play some footie. I eventually gave up, I kept tripping over my own feet or the ball, so I sat in the grass and watched them.

I got a phone call from Luke, which shocked me.

"Hi, babe." I say casually, still watching Michael and Calum. "C-Can you come over?" His words came out as a broken sob, which caused my heart to ache. "What's wrong?" I asked worriedly, already standing up. "I'm such a failure." He sobbed out.

"I'll be there soon." I look at Calum and Michael, who are looking straight back at me. "I'm bringing Calum and Michael, also. I love you."

"I-I love you too." He whispered, his voice cracking.

"Ashton, what's going on?" Michael asked, walking towards me when I took the phone from my ear. "Luke's breaking down. We need to go."

Michael motioned Calum over. He picked up the ball and held it under his arm. The walk to Luke's was silent. I was shaking. Luke was crying. Something's hurting him. He's upset. I wasn't there. All three of us walked up to Luke's door. Michael knocked harshly, causing Calum and I to flinch. Luke answered the door. He looked tired. He still had tears running down his face.

His hair was a mess. He was wearing an old t-shirt and sweatpants. I never thought I'd say this about Luke: He looks like shit. He sighed, stepping back to let us in.

"Where's your mum? Jack? Ben?" Michael asked, obviously worried by this whole situation. "Mum's on a business trip, Jack's taking advantage of drunk girls, most likely, and Ben's out with some friends." His voice was dull. This wasn't him.

This was all awkward. He looked at me before giving me a half-hearted smile. "I know I look like shit." He lets out a weak chuckle.

Yeah, you do.

I give him a small grin. I glanced around, the house looked untouched, so maybe he didn't have a complete breakdown. When Luke led us up to his room, I thanked god everything was like always, except ripped paper than lies everywhere.

I finally hugged Luke. He smelt like him. That mix of cologne and sweat I love. He took a few seconds to wrap his arms around my waist.

It took him a few hours to completely stop the tears. Calum, Michael, and I helped him clean up so we could take him out and cheer him up. Ben got home while I was making him some tea.

"Ashton! You scared me!" He yelped, making me jump. "Oh, hi, Ben! How was your day?"

"Lovely." He replied, looking through the cabinets. "Is Luke alright? I heard him crying when I left but he wouldn't let me in."

I hummed, pouring the tea into a mug before telling him, "He's fine, we're probably going to go out for a bit. Y'know, me, Michael, Calum and him." Ben nodded. "Off you go." He smiled at me.

I walked into the living room to find them sitting on the couch in an in-depth conversation about horses. It confused me, but everything about those three together did. I wonder if this was how it was before I came? I know him and Michael hated each other, but did him and Calum have strange conversations like this all the time last year.

"Ashton, c'mon. You should've heard Calum a few minutes ago." Michael laughed, causing Calum to explain what happened. I sat on Luke's lap, handing him the tea. "Thank you." He smiled, resting his chin on my shoulder. "I'm so lucky."

I grinned. "I know."

A/N: THIS WAS REALLY SHORT SORRY BUT MY WWAT IS IN 3 DAYS FUCK YESSS.