The Get-Go [Ashton Irwin]

17: Get Down (Under) [Part A]

    "Hey, Mikey," I smile genuinely. It's the day after my grad, and I've just gotten home after sleeping over in Brent's suite with all my friends. Actually, it's kind of amazing, how many people you can fit on a sofa if you don't mind not having any personal space.

    "Hi, Wynter with a snowflake emoji," he grins back. "Or should I say hashtag Ashton's gf?"

    "What?"

    "You're a trending topic on Twitter! How did you not know?"

    My eyes widened, and I started to click on the Google Chrome icon at the bottom of my laptop screen, before I caught myself. "Ashton made me promise to stay away from social media for a bit. Just until... stuff dies down."

    Michael shrugged. "I've read it. Most of it's not bad at all. Just trying to figure out who hashtag Ashton's gf is. Ash never said, remember?"

    "Don't tempt me, Michael. I promised."

    "Okay, fine. I'm just saying. Do any of your friends know? Besides Zoë?" His lips curl into a blissful smile when he mentions my best friend. He's had a crush on her since the one time they met in person, and she kicked his ass in Zelda. I should probably tell him that Zoë and Jesse have kind of been a thing since he asked her to prom, but now doesn't seem like the right time.

    So instead, I tell him about how I told all my friends exactly what was going on last night. Sam and Thalia, who are (surprisingly) big fans of the band were in shock, and Thalia dropped my phone on the floor when I showed her a photo Calum had taken of Ash and I cuddling on the bus one day. If I hadn't had a case on it, I probably would've been pretty pissed. Since I did, though, the only thing I was pissed about was that I hadn't thought to record it – I'm pretty sure Ash would've gotten a kick out of it.

    Michael sure does, giggling childishly and covering his face in his hands. "That's awesome. Too bad she didn't faint though, that would've been really funny."

    That's the difference between Michael and my boyfriend; whilst Ashton would be terribly worried to think that a girl had passed out at the sight of a photo of him, Mikey focuses on the humour of it all instead. Mikey and I are alike in that way.

    "Too bad," I agree. "Anyways, what do you want?"

    "Hold on a sec. CALUM!"

    Moments later, a dark head of hair pokes itself into the room. "You've got her?"

    "She's right here." Michael jerks his head towards the screen. "Did you get rid of Irwie?"

    Calum nodded, walking fully into the room. "Him and Luke are just headed out to get some food or something. Or maybe it was to go clothes shopping. I wasn't paying attention. But yeah, they're out of here. Hi Wyn!" He adds, waving at the laptop screen.

    "Hey, Cal. So, are either of you going to tell me what's going on?" I laugh.

    "We – Lukey, Cal, and I – we want to get Ash something special for his birthday," Michael begins. "Cos, you know, 20's kind of a big deal."

    "Fair enough," I nod in agreement. "So what? You want help figuring out a present for him? I know I'm his girlfriend, but... you guys have known him way longer than I have."

    "We don't want help figuring out a present, exactly," Calum replies. "We want you to be the present. Since we're going to be home for his birthday, we thought we could fly you out for the week to surprise him, and then you guys can both fly back to Canada for your prom?"

    No matter how much I protested, or tried to give excuses, the boys fought back with equal force. Michael lays an extra-intense guilt trip about how they don't have anything else they can think of to give him and how much me coming would mean to Ash, while Calum pouts adorably. Of course I give in in the end, and they promise to fill me in on the details once they've arranged my flight and hotel.