Ashton Enchanted » [cashton] √

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Calum gave him an 'I know right' nod and a smile, "you grab her, I'll grab him," Ashton silently cursed him for his phrasing, before his hands snapped up grabbing Crystal's shoulders and tugging her back. A deep blush coated his cheeks, but Calum chuckled, giving him an enrapturing grin before pulling Michael toward himself. Crystal laughed, smacking gently at Ashton's hands, Michael was less impressed.

Ashton and Michael knew each other. Not well and they certainly weren't friends, but they often saw each other in moments like these, and the odd time Crystal invited Ashton to sit with them at lunch. He had the distinct feeling Michael didn't like him all that much, whenever Ashton sat with them, he stuck with his friends and left Crystal and Ashton to talk.

The friends were Calum and another boy, Luke, who was dating a girl called Sierra, who also hung out with them sometimes, but Ashton had never really spoken to her. Calum was the only one without a girlfriend, and he liked to think that was for the same reason Ashton didn't have a girlfriend.

There was more than being gay in the way of Ashton having a girlfriend, his intentional disinterest in relationships romantic or otherwise was the main cause. He did like window shopping all the same though, liked to imagine what it would be like to be able to date without fear of his curse putting him in situations he couldn't say no to (literally). The point was, when Ashton window-shopped, Calum's window was the one he found himself staring into most frequently.

He didn't know much more beyond him being a friend of Michael and Crystals', he was in the same year as Michael and Luke, the one below Crystal and himself, and he was pretty sure he was on the hockey team. That was it, but he did have a big stupid smile and was always friendly, which he guessed was enough when you were just browsing.

Crystal left Ashton's grip, and his thoughts stopped, Michael wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and he imagined this was for his benefit.

"You're in a weird mood today," Crystal chuckled looking at Ashton with soft unoffended eyes.

"Sorry," he mumbled self-consciously, but tried to shrug it off as not caring, "I'm gonna go-"

"Do you have to?" Crystal asked, "sit with us today; I feel like I never see you,"

He felt the familiar pull in his chest and nodded "Uh, sure, yeah I just need to go to the bathroom first," he said, pointing toward the bathrooms, she nodded in response and turned to begin talking to the others.

He walked quickly away, being able to feel what felt like a long piece of string attached between he and Crystal, it would feel like that until he went back and sat with her, and the longer it took him to return the tighter the feeling would get. It's how he always felt when people phrased commands with a non-immediate time frame, the easiest solution was to just do it straight away, but he'd needed the bathroom desperately.

After he'd finished in the bathroom, he hurried back, ready for the nauseating sensation to leave him. Normally nothing could persuade him to draw it out any longer, but as he came toward the corner just before his locker, he heard the voices echoing in the empty hallway.

"He's weird Crystal; I think he has a thing for you. Why else would he be so nervous and jumpy?" Michael declared his tone throw-away.

"I've told you a million times he doesn't," Crystal said adamantly, and Ashton's heart warmed at her apparently repeated defences of him.

She was the first real friend Ashton had, had and their friendship was based entirely on forced proximity, not that she wasn't nice, but Ashton had put a lot of effort into keeping her at arm's length. At the end of the year though he knew she'd be getting ready to leave for university and he'd stay living with his mother, and that would be the end of this. However, fleeting this friendship may have been though, Ashton liked that she seemed to believe him, it was reassuring. 

"He's gay, isn't he? Mike, I think you're getting worried for no reason," Calum said, and Ashton blushed, Calum knew he was gay and was still kind to him. Wow, he really had bare minimum standards for men, he thought sarcastically. Ashton heard silence and imagined Calum putting a hand on Michael's shoulder, imagined because he couldn't see around the corner.

"He is gay, and he only gets like this when you're around Michael, maybe he has a thing for you," Crystal added in a playful tone.

"Hey, Calum's normally with me too! Maybe it's Calum," Michael defended

"Oh, come on he's just shy alright, I was only teasing. Of course, it's more likely it's Calum, he's much cuter than you," Ashton knew for sure Crystal stuck her tongue out at Michael right after she said that. He heard Calum and Crystal laugh and decided he could safely re-join them, without them worrying about what he might have heard.

"Sorry I'd been busting all class," Ashton apologised as he joined them.

"That's all good, lets head out to the oval," Crystal asked as she grabbed Michael's hand.

Ashton nodded, and they all headed in the direction of the oval, Calum and himself trailing behind the couple in front. He was tempted to try and start a conversation but thought it might be pushing his luck; he'd already been commanded half a dozen times that day.

As nice as it was spending time with Crystal it increased his chances of being commanded exponentially, but maybe it was worth it to have friends for a change.