Begin Again - A.I

eighteen.

Luke runs his hands through his hair in aggravation. "Fuck. Fuck!"

"Why does he always do this?" Michael cries, shaking his head. "That boy has anger issues, man. I swear it."

Luke paces around the stage. "We're on in fifteen minutes. Ella, go talk to him."

I almost fall off my amp. "What? Why me?"

The boys just look at me with a collective 'duh' expression. "Because you're the girl?" Luke says.

"Plus he's so into you he'd do anything for you," Michael adds.

I'm so baffled I can't even move, yet I blush. "Really?" I grin goofily.

"Just go! Fucking hell, if he ruins this for us I swear to god ..."

I jump off the amp, sighing, and head in the direction Ashton ran off in. I'm feeling both flattered and annoyed that I'm the chosen one to 'calm Ashton down'. I'm kind of scared to find him. He's a very angry boy. I can't fight him. My arms are too small.

I find him sitting on a bench a few metres from the stage. Students pass him, blocking my view, but through the gaps of legs and bodies I can see him sitting with his head in his hands. I take a deep breath and move and sit beside him.

"So, that was a bit of a laugh," I say about two minutes into the silence. He doesn't look up, just sits there. I sigh. "Ashton, like, uh, are you okay?"

I hear him laugh and he finally looks up at me. "El, you are the shittiest person at comforting others."

I'm slightly offended. "I am not! I just ... what do you want me to say?"

He sighs, looking ahead at all the crowds of people. "This is all I have, you know? Like, this is my only thing. This band ... I don't know, it's saved me."

I look at him, slightly confused. "Saved you from what?"

He hesitates and then shakes his head. "Never mind, it's whatever." He turns to me and stares for a while. I start to get paranoid that's something on my face. "What would you rather; dying from cancer or dying in a car accident?"

I just stare at him, blinking. I laugh nervously. "What?"

"Would you rather die a knowing death or an unknowing one?"

"I don't know, I'd rather not die at all-"

"That's stupid, that's not an answer. You have to die, so how would you rather die?"

I just stare at him in utter disbelief. He's so ... fascinating. Every time I think I'm close to figuring him out I realise I'm not at all. "Uh, I don't know? I guess knowingly, so I'd have time to prepare and all."

He just looks at me and then nods. "Thought you'd say that. Come on." He grabs my hand and stands up, pulling me back to the stage. The boys look grateful to see us.

"Finally. Are you ready now, Princess?" Luke scoffs.

Ashton just flips him off and takes a seat behind his drums. 

"We've changed the songs," Luke announces. "We're doing 'Green Light' and '18'."

Ashton puts down his drumsticks. "What happened to 'End Up Here'?"

"We've done it too much."

"Yeah, because we've been practising it. I don't know '18' well enough, we've played it once."

"It's not like you've never heard the song, Ashton."

"Why did you change it?"

"Because. 'End Up Here' is boring."