CHOOSE (5sos)

Chapter 27: Ashton is No Longer Ashton

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"Oh my god oh my god!" I was having a mental breakdown outside of Ms. Scarlett's office. I looked down at my outfit again. I had no clue what to wear, and the boys weren't any help. They said to wear something that showcased my individual style, but I had no clue what that was. Did I need to dress up for the meeting? Should I just wear jeans and a nice top? Finally, I had decided on wearing faded jeans, cute brown boots, and a tribal printed top with a light cream colored sweater over it. It was trendy, with an edgier vibe because of the boots. 

The boys- not including Ashton- all rolled their eyes at me. I guess to them, recording a song was nothing. They had already recording two complete albums and EPs. 

"Calm down Alex," Michael said, placing a hand on my shoulder. 

"Alex?" I scrunched my nose at him. 

He laughed. "Yeah, Alex. If this meeting fails then you can always become the fifth dude in 5sos." 

Luke and Calum both snickered at that. I rolled my eyes. "Why are you called 5 Seconds of Summer? And not 4 Seconds of Summer?" 

Luke and Calum turned to Michael, laughing. Michael looked annoyed. 

"What?" I asked. 

"You don't ask that. Michael gets really defensive because he's the one that came up with it. He's really smart, isn't he? Can you tell he's a drop out?" Calum exclaimed, grinning. 

I laughed, but because of the look on Michael's face. 

"Fuck you!" He said, and walked down the hall. Woah. I stopped laughing right away. I hoped he wasn't actually mad at us. 

"Hey! You can't just leave!" Calum exclaimed. 

"And watch your profanity!" Luke chimed in. 

"I'll do whatever the fuck I fucking want, I'm punk rock!" Michael exclaimed. "And Luke, shut up, no one cares."

"I care." Luke mumbled. 

I sighed and chased after Michael. "Okay, what just happened?" I asked. 

Michael let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry. I just can't deal with Calum right now.  He annoys me so much sometimes." 

"Are you mad at him for what he said just now? Or did something else happen in the past few days?" I asked. 

"The other day when he wasn't sober he told me that he kissed my ex while we were dating. Ever since he told me, everything he says annoys me. I don't know why. I know I shouldn't care, but... I don't know. Everyone thinks that I'm the "dirty, depressed, emo" guy in the band and Calum is "innocent, and fun-loving" but I would never do that to him." Michael sighed.

"Aw Michael, I'm so sorry. Just know that your true fans appreciate you so much, and Calum depends on you a lot, even though he doesn't admit it. It's kinda like when guys have a crush on a girl so they annoy the girl to get attention." I said. 

I pulled him into a hug. 

"Let's get back to the others." I pulled back. 

"Yeah. And thank you." He replied. I followed him back down the hall to where Calum and Luke where waiting for us. 

"Sorry guys." Michael muttered. 

"It's cool." Calum said, giving him a lopsided half-smile. 

We chatted amongst ourselves for a few minutes, until Ms. Scarlett's secretary called me in. 

"Good luck! We'll be waiting outside!" Luke exclaimed. I gave him a nervous smile and walked into the office where Ms. Scarlett was waiting. 

Diana Scarlett was a young manager of many celebrities... and now me. I loved that despite the crazy world of publicity, paparazzi, schemes, and more, she was a genuine and caring person. She didn't let anything change her. 

As soon as she saw me, her face broke into a huge grin. "Alexia! You got the performance, live television will be hearing you sing tomorrow night!" 

"Yes!" I cheered, dancing around the office. She laughed at me, before joining in. 

"And there's more!" Luke exclaimed from behind me, with Cal and Michael behind him.  "Sorry, we had to keep it a secret until now. But guess what?" 

Before I could say anything, Calum yelled, "When we go back on the road in a month, you're coming with us!!!" 

I gaped at them. "No way!"

"Yes way. We wouldn't prank you this bad." Michael said. "Well, probably not, but anyway... are you excited or what?!" 

"Are you kidding me? This is insane!" I pulled all of the boys in for a group hug. Suddenly, I realized I was crying. I pulled back and wiped my eyes. "Woah. Sorry guys. I don't know why I'm so emotional." 

"Don't worry about it." Luke grinned. "Does anyone want to go out and get lunch?" 

"Yes!" Cal, Michael, and I all cheered. 

"Don't forget to come back in a few hours and go over the plan for tomorrow night!" Diana called over her shoulder as we left her office. I had already begun to think about it. I was planning on dedicating my performance of 'Wish You Were Here' to Ashton, in the hope that he would somehow make up... I missed his dimpled smile and goofiness already.  

"Believe me, I won't!" 

Grace's POV:

"She got the performance, Grace. It's all over the media." Ashton informed me. 

I sighed. Taking her down was going to be harder than I had anticipated. "Don't worry, I have a plan. And remember, she was just using you for money. I'm sure her song is all about how victorious she feels because you fell for her."

Ashton nodded. "I know." Anyone with eyes could see how heartbroken he was. "But hey, at least I have you now." 

I plastered a fake smile on my face. "Of course! And as they say, to heal and move on you have to get revenge, and settle your mind." Who was I kidding? No one said that. 

Ashton nodded again. "You're right. The only way that I can move on is to get even with what she did to me, so I can stop thinking about it." However, I knew that in the back of his mind he knew that getting revenge was the last thing he needed, and every day that he spent with me he was getting further and further away from his true self. 

Poor Ashton. If only I cared. 

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