Mr. Jackson (Lashton AU)

Chapter 3

You put a sour little flavor in my mouth now. You move in circles hoping no one's gonna find out.

It's Thursday now, and yesterday Luke had asked Ashton to go to the Panera Bread about a half an hour from where Ashton lives. Of course, Ashton blushed and agreed with a smile on his face. Not that Luke could see though because they were texting.

Ashton is waiting outside of his house for Luke to come pick him up since the curly haired boy doesn't have a car yet. The air around him is warm and he lays down on the grass, enjoying the feeling of the sun beaming down on his face.

In Ashton's eyes, being relaxed is the best thing to be. You have no responsibilities in that moment, you're not stressed, you're free.

Ashton's feels so tired from a long day at school, he feels comfortable and closes his eyes. The tiredness overcomes him and he falls asleep peacefully, forgetting about Luke coming to pick him.

--

"Hello? Ashton?" Luke says quietly, leaning over Ashton's face and chuckling a little bit.

Ashton groans and covers his eyes with his arm, looking up at Luke with squinted eyes and getting on his elbows.

"Oh god, sorry, I fell asleep." The hazel-eyed boy sits on his knees and groans, running his hands over his face.

"It's fine," Luke chuckled. "you still wanna go get something to eat?"

"Yeah, 'course." Ashton told the taller boy and stood up, following the him to the car.

Once he steps in the car, Luke started the engine and left the driveway, heading to Panera Bread.

Luke's thoughts were deep in the boy sitting next to him and he laughed at the thought of the cute texts from the day before. The blond boy is falling hard, but he doesn't know it.

"Is this a date?" Ashton randomly asked, looking over at Luke.

Luke's cheeks reddened and he looked over to Ashton for a quick second.

"Do you want it to be?" The blond boy asked quick, hoping Ashton would say yes.

"Ah, yeah." Ashton chuckles and bit his lip, looking at the road that they're diving on.

The rest of the ride is fairly silent along with the quiet music playing on the radio. Luke sings part of one of the song and Ashton admires his singing voice. The blond boy didn't seem the type with a good voice.

"We're here." Luke says as he turns the wheel and pulls into the parking lot of Panera Bread.

They can practically smell the delicious food from Luke's car and Ashton smiles. Panera is definitely his favorite place to eat.

Before Ashton can open the door, Luke hops out of the car and runs over to Ashton's side, opening it for him. The other boy blushes and thanks him for opening the door.

Once they get inside of the restaurant, Ashton inhaled the smell of bread and felt delighted. He's here with a cute boy who is also funny and sweet.

They stepped up to the counter, happy that the place wasn't very busy. The two boys looked at the menu and picked out what they wanted, ordering what they each wanted.

After getting the beeper, they sit down across from each other in front of the fireplace that has a low fire considering it's fairly warm outside.

"I'm glad you came out with me today." Luke said, setting his hand on top of Ashton's and it caused the older boy to blush massively.

"Of course I did." Ashton responds and smiles a bit.

The two boys don't talk much before the buzzer went off and Luke offers to go get the food before Ashton can go get his own food.

While Luke walked away, his date couldn't help but glance over at the tall boy's bottom. Ashton smirked a bit pushed away thoughts that could've caused him a problem.

When Luke got back, Ashton thanked him for getting his food and they both start eating right away.

"God, I was starving." The blue-eyed boy says with his mouth half full. Ashton grimaces at the food in his mouth but giggles a little bit.

"I was hungry too. I don't eat school lunches and I'm way too lazy to pack a lunch." Ashton tells Luke who nods in agreement.

They both ate and talked about themselves and got to know each other until they were done eating. The two boys kept talking and sat there, talking to each other.

"What do you do for fun? Like, I dunno, a hobby?" The curly-haired boy asks Luke who smiles even wider at the adorable boy.

"I like to hang out with people, play guitar, sometimes sing, write... walk round. Oh and I like playing pranks on people. Scaring people is fun." He laughs, pinching his thigh under the table and Ashton laughs along with Luke.

"As long as you don't scare me. I hate getting scared. It's the worst. My heart starts racing and I get nauseous. Hate it, hate it, hate it."

"I promise I won't scare you. Trust me, 'kay?" Luke says with a wink.

"Okay, I trust you." Ashton replies and looks down at his phone checking the time. "I gotta get home so I can do my work and stuff. Can we get going?"

"Yeah, I'll take you home. Let's go." Luke says and waits for Ashton before they head to the blond boys car.

The boys got in the car and buckled their seat belts.

"You know how you said that you write?" Ashton asks. Luke nods in response, backing out of his parking spot. "What do you write about?"

It takes Luke a second, but he then he knows what to say and looks at Ashton once they stop at a red light.

"I like to write music sometimes, like lyrics. Stuff about life, 'ya know? And sometimes I write poetry. It's girly, but yeah." He replies and squints for no particular reason while biting his lip ring.

"It's not girly. I think that's cute. When I was younger I would write poetry for fun or when I felt alone and stuff. It's artistic." The older boy admires how Luke admits his love for writing. He can tell by the sparkle in the other boy's eyes and the little smile on his face. Most guys wouldn't admit that they like to write, especially not guys with an image like Luke.

"Why did you feel alone when you were younger?" The question catches Ashton off guard and he puckers his lips together when he thinks about it.

Ashton explains to Luke that his parents didn't pay much attention to him or care much when he was younger. He was also bullied at school which made him really depressed when he was younger, but he's much better now. He gets upset sometimes but he knows how to handle it.

"I'm always here, you know? Just text me or call me when you're upset. I'll talk to you all day or night just to make sure you're okay."

Ashton doesn't reply, but his heart flutters and he feels warm all over his body.

--

"We should really go on another date soon, I love talking to you." Ashton says once Luke pulls into his driveway.

"You too, maybe next Saturday?" Luke asks, raising an eyebrow in question.

"Sure," Ashton hears his mom calling for him from the porch and he rolls his eyes. "Pick me up at 7."

He goes to open his door but turns around and kisses Luke on the cheek and smiles, stepping out of the car.

Luke smiles ear to ear and pulls out of his driveway, his smile fading a little when he sees Ashton's mother yelling at him.

But nothing can take away the joy the two boys feel after spending a few hours with each other.