echo // hemmings [completed]

four | talk to me

—August 20th—

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Every word escaped from Calum's lips like a growl. Michael sat in the front with his eyes locked on the scenery outside the window, he didn't exactly find the dry leaves or thin tree trunks appealing but if he had to choose between a barren wasteland and Calum's rage it would take less than a heartbeat for him to decide. "Talk to me," Calum seethed.

Michael's face looked blank like he had temporarily shut down. His eyes seemed dull in the afternoon sunlight and his pale complexion almost ashen. Calum had been droning on about what Michael had done at the hospital for almost four hours now, and frankly, the pasteled-hair boy couldn't differentiate Calum's voice from the constant Sydney winds.

Calum's lips continued to move, but Michael had found a way to mute him out of his perspective. His green eyes drifted towards the back seat, where Ashton lay sprawled out with a bottle of whiskey near his hands.

No matter what anyone said to Ashton, he always went back to drinking. He used to be the older brother to them all, the one who always kept his composure, the one who gave them encouragement in everything they did, the person they depended on to make sense. But all of a sudden, all of that had gone down the drain. Ashton Irwin was no longer Ashton Irwin, and the worst part is that he wasn't the only person who's changed.

After Riley's death and Luke's current state, none of them could look at each other and see a friend. Calum's patience was gone, and his sweet looks and sarcasm were now replaced with frustration and a certain fire in his eyes. He was quick to lash out and even quicker to be defensive. He could never keep his calm except for when Luke was there because no matter how much everyone else could hate him, Luke was the one who saved him from insanity the first time and he wasn't going to just jump off the edge in front of him.

Then there was Michael, who's playful voice had turned to stone. If he was a recluse before, it was even more true now. He spent every day in his room staring out the window like he did now. His fingers hadn't dared to touch the guitar Riley and Luke bought him on his birthday. And nothing he did had the same joy to it as it did before.

They never realized how much a boy and a girl could change their lives so abruptly. On some days Calum would still call Riley asking for help in his classes, and when Riley never picked up he relived the whole scene all over again. Their old habits weren't the same without the same people. So for what reason would these three boys be in Ashton's car heading for one destination?

The car stopped and Calum and Michael stepped out first. They opened up the back door and noticed that Ashton was now awake. His face seemed to be frozen in a look of both horror and shame.

"If I had just stopped Luke from leaving at the same time, if I just said one word to him," Ashton covered his mouth with one hand to muffle his own sobs. "Then we wouldn't have to be here, she wouldn't be there, and Luke would be okay, maybe." Michael turned away from the dark blonde and tried to act as strong as he could, but he couldn't do anything as Calum tried to soothe Ashton into leaving the car.

"C'mon Ashton, you know we have to do this," Calum said sadly. Just that one phrase was enough to convince Ashton, and he began to clamber out of the dark red vehicle. Even though they couldn't stand each other, they came for the same reason. 

The three of them walked at the same speed down the cobble stone road of their location. The trees here were fuller and flowers burst with vibrant colors, but nothing could match how the three of them felt right now.

After a few more minutes of silent walking, they were there. Calum kneeled down beside the rounded stone, the back of his hand gently touching it.

"Hey Riley," he began. "How are you? Are you doing okay up there? Or down there?" Calum laughed. "You always said you'd go straight to hell and not for one moment did I doubt you. You were charming, you were witty, and you were probably the best thing that happened to four Aussie boys with too much time, but at the same time your smirk raised devils." Calum smiled at the thought. "We miss you okay? We just really miss you." And right then Calum lost it, he broke down into tears and Michael could only stand beside him with an arm around his shoulder.

"Riley Arthen, you were a curse and a blessing and everything in between. But not once could any of us hate you, because not once could we find a reason to. You were a fantastic friend, and I wish I could see you in front of me again. I don't know what else to say to you. I want to scream at you for being gone, but I also want to hold you one last time." Michael swallowed hard.

"Ashton, get your ass over here, I can't think of anything to say." Ashton shook his head with a small smile.

"Um, it's Ashton here. Riley, we really love you, no matter what you did to deserve this, we love you so much. I don't know how this dead thing works. Are you a ghost now? Standing right next to us laughing at our pathetic states? I know we're a mess right now, and that things don't look too good, but we're going to be okay. Well at least I hope so," Ashton chuckled as he looked at the other two. "Don't worry where you are, we're going to be okay even if that doesn't mean what we thought it would."

-

a/n: sorry for the lack of updates, I've been busy with school and things, but I hope you enjoyed this and thanks x

guys, ashton is like super cute

-

a/n (5 years later): me reading my old author's notes 🤢