Paint You Wings // Ashton Irwin [au]

Forty-eight

Emilia's POV

Earlier this morning Ashton and I had to wake up to the sound of our phones blowing up with text messages and a few phone calls, all from our poor hung over friends telling us to come home. Apparently, they all crashed at the frat house where the party was and when Luke drove them all home, Michael threw up in the car. While Ashton called Michael to yell at him¸ I spent my time laughing as Ashton began complaining about how it was the "Mexican food incident" all over again.

We ended up having to take the bus back to Ash's house because Julia's car is still parked in his driveway and his is being cleaned and no one wanted to pick us up. When we got to the house, we were immediately rushed to get changed by a not-so-hung-over Calum and Julia. After several attempts to understand why they were being so pushy, Julia finally explained how she forgot that she told her parents that we were going to take the guys over to their house today to meet them.

Not once did she mention this to me, probably because we just recently finished the semester and she was too excited for the party that it just "slipped" her mind. I scolded her briefly for not telling me beforehand and followed Ashton into his room to grab my spare clothes and change. Julia told Ashton to dress up a little, but to still dress casual so he opted for a pair of black skinny jeans with a dark gray, almost black button-up.

I'm excited that Ashton will finally meet Hugh and Candice. Since they were good friends with my parents, I have always been close to them and even though they are my legal guardians, I see them more as my second parents. I was a semi-depressed teenager with four dogs when they signed to be my guardians. They already had a hormonal teenager to deal with of their own at the time and adding another one plus several animals was a Herculean task. I'm still trying to pay them back, but there is literally no amount of money that could satisfy all that they have done for me. I am forever in their debt.

I didn't realize until we got into Calum's truck that Julia also made him dress up a little as well. His jeans matched Ashton's, except his had a hole in the knee, and he wore a white button-up with a black tie. We left the house swiftly and left Luke and Michael there to fight off their hangovers while our boyfriends fought off their nerves to meet the parents.

Now, only ten minutes away from Julia's parents' house, Ashton and Calum are fidgeting as they try to prepare themselves to keep their cool and not screw up this meeting. Calum seems the most nervous out of the two while Ashton only stares out the window and plays with my hand.    

"Is there anything that Ash and I should know about your parents?" Calum asks, loosening his tie with his free hand as he drives.

"My dad is a big football fan," Julia starts, "His favorite team is the Pittsburg Steelers and he absolutely hates the Dallas Cowboys."

I can't tell you how many times I have witnessed Hugh yell at the TV during a football game and I had to seek refuge in Julia's room, but it was Candice who yelled even louder than her husband and the neighbors even complained to her to lower the volume of her voice.

"So basically we need to cheer for the Steelers and loath the Cowboys?" Ashton jokes, and as much as I would like to laugh, this is actually a serious topic. Hugh doesn't play around when it comes to football.

Julia continues to inform the guys of topics to avoid with her parents which include: politics and that animal foundation commercial with the sad music and miserable looking animals that you just want to cuddle and take home or change the channel altogether so that you don't have to sit through the sick form of torture.

As we head into the neighborhood that leads to the house, everyone goes silent. Calum extends his hand over the center console and Julia grips it tightly in hers. They share a quick glance at one another before looking to the road ahead of them. I know Julia is worried about what her parents will think of Calum, but she really has nothing to worry about. Calum is different from the guys that she dated back in high school. He's actually a good person and has a good head on his shoulders and the same can be said for Ashton. I'm more than sure that Candice and Hugh will accept and have a genuine liking towards them.