home town • ashton irwin ((currently on hold))

6. is there somebody

"sof." ashton breathed out, saying her name for a second time as if he were making sure it really was her standing in front of him.

she swallowed, nodding shakily; internally screaming as she searched for the words she'd spent so long composing and had lost in the space of a second when she saw ashton's eyes again.

"h-hello." god sofia hated herself for stuttering, she'd already made it weird - "i'm really sorry if this is a bad time."

"it's not a bad time." ashton said softly, his knuckles going white as he gripped the door tightly. "do you want to come in?"

sofia could only nod, following him into the quiet house and feeling half like she was going to forget how to walk and collapse on the spot.

everything still looked the same.

they stayed standing in the living room, strangely afraid of sitting down together - it felt intimate even though it wasn't.

pretty much everything felt intimate now it was their first time seeing each other in three years.

sensing that sofia had a purpose for being there, ashton took a deep breath and tried to relax his hands, which only resulted in them starting to shake slightly.

"do you want to sit down?"

"yes please."

ashton's offer had come at just the right time, as sofia's legs had reduced to jelly and she practically fell into the couch, with ashton sitting beside her, but not close enough to touch.

for a few seconds that felt like hours, they sat in silence, ashton watching as sofia cracked each knuckle, her shoulders giving away how deeply she was breathing. his eyebrows knitted together in concern at the same anxious habit she had when they were together, and his hand twitched with the urge to reach out and take hers in hopes it would calm her down.

but ashton knew it probably wouldn't have the same effect anymore.

"i listened to your songs."

sofia's voice cut through the quietness despite how softly she spoke, and it made ashton's entire body tense up all over again because now she knew exactly how much he'd missed her for three years and he'd really never felt so vulnerable before.

sofia looked up at him, both of their eyes slightly shining in the twilight blue that lit the room.

"i'm-i'm sorry i said what i said." her voice shook almost as much as ashton's hands and it broke his heart to hear her sounding so small.

he opened his mouth to speak, but sofia continued, knowing she wouldn't be able to finish her apology because she'd burst into tears if he told her it was okay.

"i don't know why i said it." she carried on, her voice shaking more with every word. "it wasn't even how i felt, it was so stupid and i upset you and i'm so sorry-"

"sofie it's okay?"

at the reassuring tone she had missed so desperately, sofia squeezed her eyes closed to try and stop the sudden stream of tears that built. they began to trickle down her cheeks and onto her lap, and she bowed her head a little to try and hide it from ashton - but the soft sniffles gave it away and his heart broke along with hers.

"it's not." she cried, bringing her hands up to her face as if trying to block the tears that only succeeded in slipping through the gaps between her fingers.

the sight was too much for ashton to bear and he moved slightly closer, reaching out and tentatively wrapping his arm around her shoulders and drawing her into the side of his body until she was leaning against him.