Zap! (M. Clifford/5SOS)

Chapter 27: Just Saying

Monica's P.O.V.

"Hey, is everything alright? I heard yelling," Ashton asks from the doorway. I'm still curled up on his couch but I make the effort to sit up, since I will be leaving soon.

"My mum just called. Long story short, she wants me home," I explain, sighing.

"Aw, really?" he pouts. I look over at him and his puppy dog face does not help this situation. Nor does him with a spatula in hand. He's so cute when he cooks.

"Yeah, my dad's coming with the car so at least I don't have to bike back," I inform and stand up, stretching while I do so.

"Well, that's good. But I really wish you could stay," Ashton responds. Suddenly, we hear the oven beep and he rushes into the kitchen. I follow after him and settle on a chair near the table, watching as he puts a pan with frozen food resting on it into the heated oven.

"I know, I wish I could stay, too, but you can't argue with mothers," I remark.

Once he's finished setting the oven, he turns to me with a curious look. "Hey, what are you doing for New Year's?" Oh, great. Now I have more bad news for him.

"If you're wondering if we could spend it together, that's a big no," I reply with a heavy heart. "My mum's birthday is on New Year's Eve and she loves Brisbane, so we visit there every year over New Year's. Don't get me wrong, I love it, but it's usually just me, my mum, and my dad. There's no backing out of it, though, especially when it's just a few days away now."

"Oh, okay," he sadly delivers, focusing on dinner.

"I'm sorry. I would love to be with you, but I..."

"Monica, it's fine. It's your mum's birthday, which I didn't know, so now that I do, you should be spending time with her and your dad," Ashton speaks. He flashes me a smile and I return it, thankful he's so understanding.

Soon, my dad arrives and as he loads my bike into the back of the car, I kiss Ashton goodbye. I slump in the car and I'm not in a good mood on the way home. Unlike my mum, my dad tells me that he would have been alright with me staying there, as long as he talked with Ashton's mum and made sure she was aware of it. That lightens my mood by a sliver, but I know as soon as I walk in the door, I will be furious with my mum. She doesn't say anything when the time comes, but I can feel the awkward tension between us and I find something to eat for myself to calm my hunger, scarfing it down quickly so I can head upstairs and not have to worry about the stiff avoidance we're giving each other.

.

The next day, I take Ashton's and Michael's advices and head over to Tatiana's house before training. I have set an alarm on my phone in case Tatiana and I are alright and we end up hanging out so I won't forget about training again. Hopefully if I'm on time today, Michael will soften up. I'm starting to wonder if I might be unintentionally neglecting him. Am I spending too much time with Ashton that he's purposely ignoring me to tell me that he feels left out? It does seem like a logical answer and knowing Michael, he would do something like that. He's not as straightforward with his feelings as most people are.

Shaking the thought out of my head, I think about how I'm going to approach Tatiana with the apology. Once I've figured it out, I step into the cool air, the white-gray clouds spreading across the sky and not letting a single stream of heat from the sun touch down to Earth. I probably should have taken a sweatshirt, but I can manage getting there and back without one.

It feels a little strange walking up to her doorstep, though, since the tension between us has caused me to not step foot onto her property for a week. Knocking on the door, I wait a few moments until someone finally answers.