Ashton Enchanted » [cashton] √

0.2

"Calum has such a lovely, strong jaw and arms, and when he smiles, it's like a soft knowing smile. He's always so polite and funny- "

This went on and on, Ashton began to repeat some of the sentences, starting to sound like a broken record. The compulsion was so strong that he was speaking without even thinking, giving him time to think of all the better ways Crystal could have phrased her sentence. 'list all the things you like about Calum' would have been infinitely better, he would have at least been finished by now. As he began his list for the fifth (or was it sixth?) time, he realised there was a pretty good chance that Michael was going to hear him. He knew that the only way he'd stop was if he was interrupted and there was a 50/50 chance that it would be Crystal, Ashton didn't like those odds. He believed God had created his life as an irreverent comedy of errors and Crystal catching him was far less entertaining than if it were Michael.

It had been about forty-five minutes before he heard the door upstairs open and footsteps on the stairs, "Ashton? Are you talking to yourself down there?" and he stopped just like that, sighing in relief.

Maybe God was feeling merciful today.

He laughed somewhat unconvincingly, "Yeah, I was just trying to remember a Tiktok," he lied, that wasn't a bad lie, he thought to himself.

She laughed as well, not seeming to pick up on anything odd, "you're so weird, we want McDonald's, you in?" She asked, hand trailing down the staircase railing as she came closer.

He noted she was wearing the same jeans but a different top and wondered quietly and sarcastically whatever could be the reasoning behind that.

He groaned happily, "Yes, of course, I'm starving,"

"Why didn't you say something earlier?" She chuckled, holding her hand out behind her for Michael, who was clomping down the stairs.

"I was not walking in on that," Ashton stated disgust evident in his tone.

Michael chuckled, "Wise choice."

After that, they all climbed into Crystal's car, she was the only one with her licence, and they were lucky for it. She'd given him a few lifts home in the past and had even started offering to drive him to school; he didn't take her up on it often because she normally had a full car. After school, she, Michael, Calum, Luke and sometimes Sierra could be seen piling in and driving off, music blaring. That all seemed a bit much for Ashton just yet. He did, however, intend to start getting rides in the morning more often when things were a little tamer. 

He had to catch a train and bus at the moment and other than getting a ride with Crystal there wasn't much he could do to change it; his mother had decided many years ago that he wouldn't be getting his licence and Ashton wholeheartedly agreed. They both knew it would only be an opportunity for trouble. 

Other people, however, often felt the need to lecture him on how important a skill it was to have and give him a hard time for not just getting it. So, he'd told a little white lie. He told people he'd had a few seizures as a kid, and that because of it he didn't feel comfortable getting his licence in case they started again. The thought of if he were given a joking command behind the wheel that put other people's lives in danger was the only thing that could quell the guilt of lying about something like that.

"So, when did you start at our school Ashton?" Michael asked, Ashton hadn't been paying attention, but he imagined the polite conversation had been Crystal's idea.

"Ah in grade 7, it's the only secondary school I've ever been to," Ashton said trying to sound casual, he wanted to come across just right, Michael might warm up to him one of these days if he could just chill out.

"Oh, wow, really? I've never noticed you," he said, the surprise clear in his voice, "I mean no offence, I guess I just wasn't really paying attention,"

"Yeah, I'm uh- I try to keep to myself, but Crystal wouldn't' t let me be this year," Ashton chuckled a little uncomfortably, but Crystal grinned widely at him through the rear-view mirror. Michael's brows furrowed and he looked between them both, unsure what was so funny.

"We have a few classes together, and he always sat alone, so I might have teased him a little bit. I caught him after class one day and told him to stop checking my boyfriend out. He was a complete mess," she chuckled, "'oh no, I wasn't- I would never'" she mocked, "I eventually told him the guy wasn't my boyfriend and he just about collapsed with relief, and I haven't left him alone since," Crystal explained, still laughing to herself.

"That sounds about right," Michael chuckled, wiping a non-existent tear from under his eye in mock pride.

Ashton grinned, laughing lightly, surely knowing she had approached him would help with winning Michael over. Not that it mattered he imagined just like with everyone else he would always feel he was on tenterhooks with both Michael and Crystal. There was something about knowing people could change your life in an instant, with just one sentence that made it hard to feel at ease around them, despite his best attempts.