walls ✰ m.c.

Chapter 14

"You alright?" 

He met my eyes with his own, dropping the look he had on his face.

"Yeah." He showed a faint smile. "And the bathroom is to the left." He nodded, sticking his hands in his front pockets. 

I got up and headed to the bathroom, locking the door. I dropped my towel and slipped the dry clothing over myself. He was tall, so everything was basically hanging off of me. I ran my fingers through my hair and flipped my head upside down to get the tangled mess into a bun.

I wandered back into Ashton's room to collect my tank top and phone. The sound of the door shutting made me look over my shoulder, to which I found him leaning against the door with his hands behind his back. 

"What's up?" I asked, giving him a perplexed look.

"Nothing." He had a dull smirk on his face, as if he knew something I didn't. I observed him as I stepped towards the door. 

"Comfy?" He asks, gesturing towards his clothes that I now had on. I looked down and I realized that this was the reason I was even in here.

"Yeah." I gave him a thin smile. "Thanks, by the way." I started playing with the ring on my right hand, not knowing what to say next.

"How has the past few weeks been without your mom? Must be fun."

How did he know about my mom going away? I definitely didn't remember telling him.

"Michael told me about it, in case you were wondering."

Question answered.

I shifted to where I was putting some of my weight into the wall behind me. 

"Weird, actually." I glanced up at him. "It's like there's a hole in my life, but not in a bad way. It's just like I'm missing a part of my day." I confessed. 

"I know what you mean, my parents are never around. Usually off doing whatever business related shit." He puffed, obviously bothered by it.

By this point I hadn't realized how close we were. I was pressed up against the wall with my arms folded across my chest. He stood in front of me with his hand supporting him right beside my head. 

I took in the placement that we were in and immediately felt flustered. 

"I'm, um, sorry to hear that." I managed to get out as I noticed him leaning towards me. He came only inches from my face, his head was tilted as he looked down on me. I didn't dare bring me head up any further in fear of being too close for my liking.

Before I could object, he leaned further down, pressing his lips to mine. I didn't kiss back, but I didn't pull away either. He was gentle, barely even putting depth into it. He broke away, rubbing the back of his neck with the hand that wasn't supporting him on the wall.

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"No, it's okay." I cut him off. "Let's just get back downstairs before everyone starts to worry." I said sheepishly. He nodded his head and reopened the door, motioning me out first.

I was actually terrible at these kind of things. I couldn't be mad at him because it was only a kiss and it was just an in the moment type of thing, but it certainly made things different. In all honesty, I didn't mind that it happened. But this bearing weight of guilt was starting to grow on me. 

-

"You alright?" I jumped at the sound of Michael's voice next to me. I was standing in Ashton's kitchen getting a glass of water. 

He pulled up the hem of my baggy shirt and wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me towards him. My shirt fell back over his arm which made the action unnoticeable. 

"I'm fine." I disclosed. I rested my head on his shoulder, closing the space between us. He drew the same patterns on me that he usually does, making my guilt grow more.

"You can tell me you know." He mumbled.

"I know, I'm okay. I promise." I kissed his cheek and wiggled out of his grip before he could say anything.

-

It was 2am and we were just saying our goodbyes. After a series of hugs and thank you's, we headed off into Michael's car.

I buckled my seat belt and shifted awkwardly as he backed out. I stayed quiet, not really knowing what to say.

"Have a good time?" He finally broke the silence, looking in the rear view mirror trying not to hit anything. I cleared my throat and sat up straight.

"Uh, yeah. Did you?" I asked in remorse. He shifted back into drive, heading down the back road to my house. He kept his eyes on the road as he genuinely smiled. 

"I did." His smiled faded as he flicked his sight over to me, noticing that my hands were in my lap and my head hung low.

"Alright, what's going on?" He asked in a worried tone. "You never act like this unless something's wrong."

"Seriously. I'm okay."

"Maddie." He warned. I buried my face into my hands, my guilt practically eating me alive.

I knew I had to tell him whether I wanted to or not, but I couldn't hide it forever. It wasn't even really a big deal, it was a heat in the moment thing. I understood why it happened and knew it wouldn't happen again, but I just didn't know how he's react.

We aren't together. I didn't even think Michael really wanted to be anything "serious". I mean, we haven't even clarified if we liked each other that way, but it was obvious enough so I didn't think it needed to be said.

I took a deep breath, not knowing why I was so nervous to tell him Ashton kissed me. Maybe it was the fear of messing this up. Then again, I've had the same fear since day one of meeting Michael.

"You can't get mad." I exhaled, looking up at his faint scowl that he was making.

"Spit it out for Christ sake!" His tone was loud and grew anxious which was not making this any easier. He glanced over at me once and ran his fingers through his hair. "Sorry." 

"Ashton kissed me." I mumbled. I felt his car come to an immediate stop, which threw me off guard.

"He what?!" He yelled, turning towards me as his hands hit the steering wheel.

His actions made me feel irritated my not only him, but myself. Without a doubt, this is not the reaction I wanted. 

-

A/N:

hiiii, if you've read this far i just wanted to say thank you! also, i've been trying to update everyday, but i'm realizing quality is better than quantity so i think it'll start being every 2 or 3 days, but nothing major!

vote if you want more bc i wanna know!!!!!!

o o o what's gon happen, only i know :~~~)