"No it's not." Ashton whined.
"You buy the cigarettes!" I countered, trying to get him to see my point.
"You smoke them." Ashton shrugged.
"Only sometimes!" I protested, hiding my face with my one free hand. "You wouldn't get in trouble if you didn't insist on smoking during gym every day."
"But I like smoking." Ashton giggled.
"Irwin." I said sternly, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Murphy..." Ashton said slowly. He stopped walking and turned towards me, placing his hands on my hips. I slowly started walking backwards until my back hit the lockers behind me and Ashton's body was practically pressed against mine.
"What?" I asked innocently, cocking my head to the side. I'd been waiting for a moment like this for a very long time, and I was starting to get pretty anxious.
I loved Ashton and I knew that he loved me too, and while I did want to take things slow for a while part of me was also ready to jump into a relationship with him. It missed it, I really did, and I think I was ready for things to be normal again.
"Do you even know how bad I want to kiss you right now?" Ashton whispered, leaning in just enough so his lips were softly brushing against the skin right below my ear.
"No one's stopping you." I whispered back, running my hands up Ashton's chest and letting them settle on the back of his neck.
There wasn't even anyone in the halls anymore, Ashton and I could potentially do whatever we wanted and no one would even catch us.
"I'm stopping myself." Ashton's hot breath hit my skin as he spoke, giving me goosebumps. This was the closest we'd been in a long time, and I almost felt nervous, like I should be scared about this.
"But why?" I pouted.
"I want to do all of this right, I don't want to rush." Ashton pulled back from me just a little, his nose lightly brushing against my own.
"It's been such a long time..." I said, continuing to pout. I was hoping that Ashton would just give in when he saw me like that, like he used to.
"I know, Murph, I know." Ashton mumbled. He quickly kissed my cheek and grabbed my hands in his own, lacing out fingers together again like they were moments before.
We continued walking down the hallway, taking our time as we made our towards the lunchroom. Ashton pulled me close to him, wrapping an arm around my waist and pressing his lips to my temple every few seconds.
"You know I love you, right?" Ashton whispered in my ear, his grip on my waist tightening.
"I know." I nodded, feeling butterflies in my stomach at Ashton's words.
"I want to love you for a long time." Ashton said quietly. He stopped walking again and wrapped both arms around my waist, holding me close to his chest.
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking up at him.
"I'm in this forever, baby, and I don't want to mess anything up." Ashton whispered. "That's why I'm trying to take things so slow, I want this to be... perfect."
"I know." I repeated. "I love you."
Ashton leaned in and kissed me on the forehead one last time before turning away and taking my hand again, leading me the rest of the way down the hall and finally to the lunchroom.
We made it to the lunchroom shortly after and Ashton quickly found the table where our friends were sitting and waiting for us. Luke and Calum looked up at Ashton and I sat down, finishing up their conversation. Michael was also at our table, but he wasn't speaking at all, as usual. He was just staring down at his phone, and that didn't surprise any of us.
