shadows - lashton

Chapter 9

*Ashton's P.O.V*

It took me a moment or two to fully process the words that had just slipped from Luke's mouth. Never in my life I had I been told there was condition to me needing to use the bathroom, and I was genuinely shocked. However this eventually turned to amusement, as I attempted to figure out exactly what he had meant.

Luke immediately became nervous. He seemed on edge by the fact that I was staring at him, prompting him to explain his statement. "I, uh, I need to go with you?"

"Well that wasn't what I expected to hear," I smiled lightheartedly at him, but it resulted in a slightly unimpressed glare being sent in my direction.

"I'm sorry?"

Slightly impatient now, I decided to push the conversation along. "That was funny and all, but can I go now?"

"Look, Ashton," he spoke this time in a much more serious tone and my heart sped up. "I don't mean to sound rude, but there are things in this house that you, like anyone else, can't see. They're too personal I suppose, and I barely know you. It would be irrational to trust you with any of my secrets just yet."

"It's okay I get it, you can come with me."

Luke led me up the stairs and signalled to a door at the end of the corridor, whilst I tried to figure out why I had agreed to the circumstances in the first place. But I was far more curious having heard his confession, what could possibly be in this house that he was so desperate to hide from me? He was right about me not knowing him, although I still struggled to imagine what was so important he needed to follow me to the toilet for.

I tried my best to be quick and quiet, conscious that only a thin sheet of wood stood between me and Luke. Once finished, I ran downstairs with little recognition of him and thankfully the situation was not mentioned again.

"Back to work," I sighed, my voice lacking enthusiasm and as suggested by Luke's facial expression, exactly how he felt about this project also. Pulling a pen out from my backpack, I began to fill the page with sketches and diagrams, determined to complete it to a high standard despite my reluctance to complete it at all. As expected, Luke watched with little to no interest as I did the work, but the fact he even invited me to his house was an improvement on the last group project I had to do.

I grew suddenly frustrated as the pen I was using began to run out of ink, me scribbling on the back of the paper in an attempt to get it working again. Realising this was unlikely, I grabbed my spare pen from my pencil case but as it touched the sheet, the plastic snapped and sliced the skin on my finger. "Dammit."

The pain was virtually nonexistent, however it was the moments that followed that I found most fascinating. Luke took a sharp breath behind me, but when I turned around to check up on him, no one else was in the room.

I used the unexpected opportunity to wash away the blood in the sink, and then proceeded to raid the cupboards for a plaster. As Luke had not made a reappearance, I went off in search of him.

"Luke?" I called out, wandering around the house. Honestly, I had no idea where he could have gone since I never heard the front door being opened. That confirmed he was still inside but was still of little use to me in finding him. Had I been in his very position, I would have instinctively run to and locked myself in my bedroom, so I decided that was a logical place to look.

I made my way slowly up the stairs, my sight fixed on the numerous doors that lined the corridor and attempting to deliberate which one could possibly be Luke's. A sudden whimper from the room to my right forced me to grip the banister and calm myself down. Whatever he was upset about, it certainly wouldn't improve the situation if I was upset too.

Holding my breath once I reached the top of the stairs, I placed a trembling hand on the correct doorknob and winced at the icy metal against my clammy palm. At first I applied only a small amount of pressure, preparing myself for whatever I might find inside. The whole situation felt wrong. This time I pushed harder and the door swung open with a creak, revealing Luke sobbing in the corner, cradling his own trembling body.

Before I could run to his assistance and discover what had caused this, something else caught my eye.

Luke having been the first thing that I noticed, I originally failed to realise that the interior was far from that of a normal teenagers room. The walls were black and the floor space was unoccupied by any form of furniture.

But most oddly, what appeared to be written in red paint, was a word.

'SHADOWS'

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A/n: So I updated yay

The mood changed so much in this so sorry that it's a little strange, but thanks and bye xx