purity ring / lashton

03 / holy boy

"your loss," this stranger said, placing the little white joint between his lips and inhaling. "you don't smoke?"

luke shook his head, turning around and opening an overhead cabinet. the bowls he needed were up high, too high. he could hardly reach them. the boy behind him was obviously watching him, and it made him uncomfortable. he stood on his tippie toes, reaching for the bowls until he felt a warm presence behind him, the smell of weed intoxicating his nose as the boy grabbed the bowls with ease. luke turned around, astounded by the lack of space between them. he took the bowls from the boys hands.

the boy backed up half a step. "nice ring," he said, and luke slid past him to the counter where he'd placed the chips and pretzels.

"thank you," he said. as he ripped open the bags, he noticed the boy follow him to this counter and lean against the oven. "it's a promise ring."

the boy's smirk faltered. "to your girlfriend?" he asked curiously, and luke blushed. the blonde shook his head and assured him the promise was between him and god. "god? so you're saving your virginity for some dude in the sky until, what, marriage?"

luke became angry. dropping the bag on the counter and turning to this . . . stupid boy, who he didn't know the name of, with a red face. "yes. i am saving my virginity until marriage. it's a sign of commitment to god," his voice shook. "i'm sure you haven't an idea of what i'm talking about."

"i like you," the boy said.

luke's chest heaved, his heart pounding. "what?" he mumbled, backing up a step. "you don't even know me."

"i'm ashton, you're luke. i know you. i think you're adorable," this boy, ashton, said. he stepped forward again, reaching up to run the back of his fingers along luke's jawline, but the younger boy wasn't having it.

he jumped back. "what, are you gay or something?" luke all but yelled. ashton raised his eyebrows.

"i wouldn't raise your voice like that to me, if i was you," he tutted. "but who i like in bed doesn't matter to you, luke. if you think gays are an abomination, then you and your ideals are a piece of shit."

luke was steaming, but he was also intrigued. of course, he never thought anything against being gay considering he was still open to the fact that he might be. he didn't, however, like that ashton assumed he was like the type of religious advocates that thinks god hates gays. he could never really hate anyone, especially not an entire population of people.

"when you're done putting words in my mouth, i'll tell you all about how politically incorrect you're acting towards me," luke grumbled.

ashton scoffed. "we're not talking about politics, we're talking about religion. but if i had to guess, your mummy and daddy fed you all their conservative bullshit, too, right?"

luke had to stop himself from slamming his head on the fridge by how stupid this boy was.

it was quiet for a moment while luke slowed his breathing and ashton collected himself. the older boy settled with smirking at the blonde boy, grabbing a crisp and popping it in his mouth. luke yanked the bowls away and trotted into the living room, where he found the twins sitting with their eyes closed. apparently, someone asked if twin telepathy was real and they were demonstrating. truth or dare was abandoned.

"'bout fuckin' time," the guy who was originally sitting between the twins sighed.

this time, when luke sat on the couch, ashton sat next to him. not close, really on separate sides. this made luke nervous, not understanding this punk boy's sudden interest in him. he glanced at him to find him already staring.

"what?" luke whispered harshly.

"just looking at a pretty face."

though he'd said it quiet enough for only luke to hear, this caused red to splatter his cheeks, making him feel like a little kid about the situation. he brought his knees to his chest, picking up his gross mixed drink and bringing it to his lips. ashton watched luke take a swig, then the most adorable grimace cover his expression. this caused a small smile to form on ashton's lips, though luke paid him no mind.

by the end of the night, everyone had left except calum and ashton.

luke assumed it was because calum seemed to take a liking for michael. not romantically, just very friendly. they found that they had a very similar sense of humor and apparently shared an interest in marijuana, currently smoking their second blunt together. ashton just kept quiet, scrolling through his phone and sneaking secret glances at luke.

"is it cool if ashton and i just crash here? it's a little late for us to go back to mine," calum said, and luke furrowed his eyebrows. why on earth would they stay out then? michael agreed, though, insisting they order a pizza if they were going to have a, quote unquote, slumber party.

with a smirk, ashton said, "i'll pay on one condition."

calum grinned, apparently knowing the mischievous look in his eye better than anything, glancing at luke. michael asked what it was. luke hardly paid any mind to the three and was more focused on tugging at a loose string on the couch. he pursed his lips in concentration.

"i want luke to get really drunk," ashton said, and luke turned red. "i want to see the kid plastered."

"i -" luke began, but didn't know what to say.

michael caught on. "i don't think he's comfortable with that," he said, but the way he said it made luke feel incredibly pathetic. it made him feel like a little kid, one who wasn't capable of taking care of himself.

luke furrowed his eyebrows and grabbed the drink that was sat in ashton's hand, and, with regrettably no hesitation, chugged it. it tasted like ass, very thick and made his throat slick with heat. he coughed and stuck out his tongue in disgust. ashton watched the action, amused and intrigued by the small boy.

"i'll call the pizza place, then."