Runaway [cake au] ✔

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Luke

I was still peeved from mine and Calum's conversation yesterday. We hadn't really spoken much since, only muttering a few words to each other every now and then to keep some form of conversation between us.

Ashton was supposedly staying at a hotel, but we all knew he'd been at Mikey's when we met up the next day.

They had a weird shimmer in their eyes, after all.

"So Ash, I hear your band is actually massive now," Calum stated as we sat in Mikey's office that morning. Mason's band weren't in the studio so we were pretty much free for the whole day. Of course, there was a bunch of paperwork and composing that had to be done, but one day off wasn't exactly a crime, was it?

"Yeah, well I try to stay humble about these sorts of things... Can't disagree with you though!" Ashton responded, giggling. "We do what we like, and people like what we do. Simple as that."

Mikey nodded. "You're so right it hurts," he added quietly, making me question just what they got up to last night. Not my business... right? I mean... Ashton had kids after all, and I was pretty sure he loved Bryana a lot.

But I also knew he had a special spot for Michael and they had a spark once, many, many years ago. Maybe they'd reignited it or something after seeing each other?

The sky was overcast when we left the building for lunch, and the rain began to fall pretty quickly. With our umbrellas held above our heads, we made our way into a relatively high-class restaurant that Ashton declared he'd pay for. He was wealthier than all of us added together, after all – he had celebrity status and lived in a mansion at the top of a hill in California. That alone was enough to leave the truth unspoken.

"What are you getting, guys?" Michael asked. "I usually cave and go for pizza but I feel like this isn't the place to be licking my lips and fingers."

Ashton chuckled, nudging Mikey. "Do you eat anything other than pizza these days?"

"Nope."

I glanced at Calum. "How about you?"

Calum shrugged. "Might just go for a simple pasta or something, I'm not really that hungry after the huge breakfast we had."

Harper woke up super early that morning with a craving for pastries so she went out at 7am to the local supermarket and literally bought bags worth of bread, croissants, pain au chocolats and more. She made sure to splash out on iced coffees for us all, saying it was good to get a 'morning kick' from both the caffeine and the coldness.

"Yeah, actually that's a good idea. I'll go for a pasta too," I added.

~

After lunch, Ashton and Mikey wanted to go to an arcade to chill out, but Calum wasn't really feeling up to it so I stayed behind with him as he tied his laces back up.

Suddenly, he got a call. He went round the side of the building to take it, but discreetly I followed after him. He sounded really stressed out.

"Yeah, I know there's no time. I'm doing my best to get the money but... when you've been out of the system for so long you're lucky to be getting anything at all. C'mon, we said three months, I can still get – okay, okay. I'll send over what I have later. Okay, bye."

He sighed really deeply and turned, bumping right into me.

"Oh, you were listening?" he asked, somewhat agitated. "Sorry you had to hear that."