Aftermath // 5SOS Fanfic // Ashton Irwin

Skeletons

Ash's POV: "Hey, nerds. It's Claire. Sorry I can't get to the phone. Here comes the beep- hope you know what to do with it."

Beep.

"Uh hey, Claire. It's me... again. I don't know why I'm leaving another message. If you're listening to this then you probably got my other ones. I guess just call me back and... er... I'm gonna just hang up now." I throw my phone back onto my bed. Since I moved here, literally everything I've done has had to do with Claire. It's 4 pm, and I haven't heard from her all day. Maybe she's tired from the party. Maybe she had to clean. No, she would've at least texted me.

"Ash? I'm coming in." Mike pushes open the door as I collapse back on my bed. "You need to chill, lad. She's just busy-"

"It's not that."

"Then what is it?"

"I don't know. I feel dangerous, but I don't want to back off."

"You aren't dangerou-"

"I'm a murderer, Michael, and you know it."

"Shut up. That was not murder! You just... just... weren't thinking! You panicked! It was self defense!"

I shut my eyes. "The nightmares are back," I say quietly.

In the nightmare, I am forced to witness my actions again and again. I watch myself driving angrily with the gun lying on the front seat. I watch myself pull over and slam the door behind me. I lean against the car. Just then, Peter walks into the scene with a sneer and a big orange envelope in his hand. I hear the sounds his voice is making, but the words don't make it to my head before they make it to my finger which squeezes the trigger.

Then I wake up.

Every night.

"I can't live like this!" I scream, throwing the closest object to me (which happens to be my shoe) against the wall.  The other shoe goes flying after it. Then my phone. Then Michael's phone.

"You done?"

I nod.

"Don't live like this then. Start a new life. A new past. It'll be okay."

"A new past?"

"Yeah. I mean, I bet Claire has some skeletons in her closet too."

"I bet none of them are real skeletons though."

"You know what I meant!"

I stay silent for a moment. Claire is a good distraction. I'd rather think about her whatever petty problems she has rather than my real problems. I grab my phone and dial her number again.

Claire's POV: "Ma'am, explain again how this happened."

"Well, I left my phone on the ladder to the attic while Marie here was mopping then I forgot it was there and tried to climb the ladder. Then me and the phone fell to the ground and it just happened to land in water. See? Totally not my fault. I don't get why my warranty-insurance thing wouldn't cover this."

"We only fix your phone for free if the incident was not caused by you," the Best Buy associate explains looking at my destroyed phone again.

"It was totally her fault!" I protest, pointing at Marie.

She rolls her eyes. "I'm sorry about my friend. How much is it gonna cost to get it fixed?"

3 hours later I leave with a new phone, no money, and a lecture from Marie about responsibility. "All I'm saying is, I know you're clumsy, but at least take better care of-"

"Marie, I love you, but shut up for like 2 seconds."

"Why?"

"Ash apparently left me a bunch of messages."

A grin with a hint of a smirk creeps across Marie's face. "What?"

"Since when do you call him Ash?"

I feel my face get hot and click on a random message, laughing at his adorable accent and hearing him get frustrated at himself for his awkwardness. "I need to call him back."

"Play hard to get!" Marie cries, snatching away my new phone while somehow still managing to keep the car going in a straight line. Why can't I have that kind of talent? "You don't want to come across as desperate!"

"Honestly, at this point it doesn't even matter. We're already dating anyway." I don't know how to word my next question, but I open my mouth anyway. "Do you think it's too soon?"

"What do you mean by 'too soon'? Like too soon since you've met him or too soon after... Lu- uhm... unnamed person left?"

"Both."

"I think it's time to move on and forget about that person, and even though it hasn't been long, I can tell you and Ashton just work. You know?"

I end up forgetting to call Ash at all. After Marie and I get home, we have Netflix Night (We're currently watching a super weird sci-fi show. I have no idea what's going on half the time, but that tends to happen in real life too, so I guess I can't blame the show.) I feel really bad for forgetting, but now it's 1 AM and I don't want to risk waking him up.

I sit on my bed just thinking about him and me and us and Marie and the guy I was in a relationship with before and weird sci-fi shows and pizza and- what the- there's a face in my window!

"Ash! You have to stop doing that!" I laugh, climbing out onto the roof. It's chilly, and I suddenly regret my short sleeved camp shirt and Nike shorts. Why didn't I grab a jacket?

"Sorry! So... um..."

"Sorry I didn't call! I had to get a new phone because Marie was mopping and the ladder is narrow and- anyway, I should've called you back. I'm sorry!"

"It's okay! Don't worry about it! I just missed hanging out with you today."

I smile, and my stupid teeth chatter. Total moment ruiner. "You're cold! Here." He pulls off the sweatshirt he's wearing over this ponies tee shirt that makes me laugh really hard and hands it to me. "I wanted to show off this shirt anyway."

"Are you sure you didn't just want to show off your biceps?"

"Oh, I could do that in the sweatshirt. Didn't you notice?"

We laugh, and I slide down onto my back so I'm staring straight up at the sky. We have a flat roof so I don't have to worry about rolling off the edge. (It sounds like it can't happen, but it can. Don't ask...) Ash lies beside me and slips his hand into mine.

"What is it with you and this roof?"

"It's not just a roof!" he protests. "It's your roof."

"It's not usually that special, but it's pretty special right now." Another perfect, star filled silence. "Tell me about you."

"What about me?"

"Like how you and Mike became friends and who your other friends are and what your favorite food is and... well... everything!"

"Alright! Um... okay well Mike and I have been friends since preschool when I shared my cookies with him at snacktime. I have a couple more friends in my hometown, but we don't keep in touch. My favorite food is... wow... I don't know. I like broccoli and-"

"Are you serious right now?"

"I know it sounds weird, but-"

"I love broccoli too, and everyone calls me a freak!"

I turn my head and see his adorably perfect dimple before he turns his face toward me too.

"You're beautiful. You know that?" he whispers. I just stare at him. How could I possibly reply to that? He tilts his head forward and fits his lips to mine.