Dirty Little Secret [5SOS]

9: Sweater Shopping!

"What was that about," I say, angrily.

"What was what? Taking a shower," he questions, his head cocking to the side a bit. I actually find it cute, but I keep my face straight.

"You ignored me when you walked in," I explain, sounding a bit whiney, but I don't care if I get an answer.

"Oh, sorry. I get angry when I take a run. It's how I keep motivated. Yeah, everyone kind of hates it."

"Really," I say flatly, kind of embarrassed. "Well you should really find some other motivation."

"Yeah, I should but I need some motivation to do that," he laughs and pokes my nose. "You look cute in glasses." I blush and reflexively push my glasses up a bit.

"You ready to go shopping, missy?"

"Sure. Let me just get dressed." I get up and go to the bathroom to change. I come out in a Nirvana T-shirt and some black shorts with my black Converse. I pinned up half my hair in a small bun, letting the rest fall free. I decided to wear my glasses and I grab my purse off a small chair by the bathroom door as I catch Ashton staring at me with some toy in his hand.

"You ready," I ask, cheerfully and started for downstairs, almost stumbling on my crutches. Ashton is so mesmerized by something that I had to yell his name twice in order for him to blindly follow me. Ashton finally comes out of his reverie and helps me into the passenger side, throwing the crutches in the back, almost whacking my head. He starts the car and turns on the radio. "Sail" by AWOLNATION comes on and I start singing along. Ashton drives me out to downtown LA, slowly turning up the music every time I shied away from singing. I know I’m not the best singer, but Ashton didn’t seem to mind and he even started to sing along with me. By the time we made it to the shopping centre, we were both really getting into "I'll be" by Edwin McCain.

"I'll beeee!!!!" We shout and then Ashton stops singing, concentrating on parking. Ashton gets out of the car quickly and helps me out, getting my crutches from the back. We go into one store and immediately go to the sweaters on clearance. I pick out a few, handing them to Ashton. I sometimes consult him and he nods his head yes or no. After a while, I end up with seven in the first store and I go try them on. I sit on the little stool and slip on the first, a grey sweater with a small tan dog and bowtie on it. Ashton shakes his head no and I go back in the small room to try a few more. He approves of the one with an undone bow tie and collar printed on it, but I decide it just isn't perfect and we move on to the next store. Then, the next store, and the next, and when we almost give up, I find a turquoise one with yellow happy faces all over it. We both agree it is perfect and go to buy it.

"I got it," Ashton smiles, holding me back from taking out my wallet. "And this too." He smiles and adds a small leather bracelet set: one that says "love", another that says "tough", and the last with an infinity sign on it. He smiles and pays for it. He grabs the bag and we walk out.

"Thanks," I blush. "How about I get you lunch?"

"I was going to get you lunch," he explains.

"No, I insist. This isn’t a date," I smile, but Ashton smiles back. Although he may look happy, I can tell a fake smile when I see one. We make our way to a small café, order, and take a seat.

"Here. Let me get you the bracelets," he says, rummaging in the bag and pulling out the items. He rips off the tags and helps me slip them on with the other bracelets I usually have on.

"I like yours. It's cool," I say pointing to the blue one that says DRUMMER in big bold letters.

"Thanks. My mum got it for me," he smiles.