march 2015
houston tx
Ashley directs Awsten the best she can as he drives; he keeps glancing towards her, unable to help the concerned frown on his face.
He helps her out of the car when they get there, and he's determined to stick close by her, no matter what.
Awsten finds it painfully obvious the way Ashley winces whenever she opens the front door, the music blaring far too loudly, and she grips his arm a little tighter.
Thankfully, she doesn't have to look very far for her purse, since someone must've found it laying around, and placed it on the coat hanger in the hall.
"I've got it," Awsten tells her, taking the purse for her.
She offers him a small, gracious smile in return, before taking a look down the hall, where the party is still as lively as ever.
Her eyes linger for a moment, and she feels like her heart stops when she finds herself staring.
Awsten can barely keep up with what's happening before Ashley is trudging down the hall, towards two specific people amongst a crowd.
It takes him a second to realise who it is, and his eyes widen when he finally recognises Jake, kissing another girl, with his hands all over her.
"What the fuck?" Ashley shouts over the music, having stomped towards them.
Jake pulls away from the girl, in surprise, enabling Ashley to finally get a good look at her.
"Aimee?" Her eyes widen, only earning a smirk in return.
"Aw, hey, Ashley," she greets innocently. "Oh, is this your boyfriend?" Aimee asks, gesturing to Jake. "If only I had known...Oops," she feigns innocence, barely able to suppress a laugh.
Ashley diverts her attention from Aimee quickly, shifting it to who she's actually angry with; she has her own problems with Aimee already, but that's far too much to unpack right now.
"Jake, what the fuck is going on?"
By this point, the commotion has gained the attention of a fair few people around them, but Ashley is too angry to even notice.
"I think it's kind of obvious," Jake scoffs. "What did you expect me to do?" He stares down at her. "Did you really think I'd spend this long with you without getting laid? It's not like it's the first time," he snares. "Not my fault you're fucking oblivious."
Ashley's mouth gapes, suddenly feeling like she wants the ground to swallow her up.
His words hurt more than she wants them to, and she tries to rid of the hollow feeling in her chest, as she takes a moment to compose herself.
She stands up straighter, finally breaking eye contact with Jake, to look briefly at the people stood around them.
In one swift motion, Ashley takes a full cup from someone stood next to her, and throws its contents all over Jake.
At this point, Awsten's brain has caught up to what's happening in front of him, and he grabs Ashley's arm protectively, pulling her back when Jake takes a step towards her.
"Touch her and I'll fucking end you," he threatens; his tone is stone cold, but with a burning fire behind it, as he stands half-in front of Ashley, defensively.
Jake doesn't seem to have a response, clearly caught up in the shock that Awsten is stood in front of him in the first place, let alone the harsh warning he's just given him.
After a short moment, Jake backs away, and Awsten prepares to walk out with Ashley, but she turns back, briefly.
"Fuck you," she shouts, pointing a finger at Jake accusingly, before joining Awsten and exiting promptly.
The two of them walk swiftly out to Awsten's car, and Ashley lets out a shaky breath once they're inside.
"Are you okay?" He asks her quickly, turning to fully face her.
"Yeah, I think so," she nods.
A quiet hangs over them for a few minutes, with Ashley taking a few long, deep breaths; she finds it much easier to calm herself in Awsten's comforting presence.
"Hey, look, I know you've probably had a long night and stuff," he begins, breaking the silence, "but, I really hate the idea of just taking you home right now and leaving you there."
Ashley looks at him, a little surprised.
"So, if you don't mind, do you wanna come stay over?" Awsten offers. "You can stay in Gracie's room, if you want, since she's not here, and—"
"Awsten, slow down," she cuts off his rushed ramble, softly.
"Sorry," he mumbles, sheepishly.
"No, no, it's just—" Ashley pauses, letting out a short sigh. "I didn't think you'd be staying at home tonight. You know, with you leaving tomorrow I thought you'd want to be with Grace," she explains.
"Oh, uh, no, I'm staying at home tonight because..." Awsten trails off, momentarily, finding it more difficult than anticipated to muster up an answer. "Well, it was easier for packing and it's closer to everyone so we can get to the airport quicker tomorrow, and stuff," he elaborates, before shrugging it off.
After that, it doesn't take much convincing for Ashley to agree to staying over.
"What time is it?" She rubs her eyes, talking quietly as they enter the house.
"Uh, around midnight," Awsten answers, hanging his keys up carefully.
"Fucking hell," Ashley grumbles, frowning, "it feels later than that."
Awsten offers her a sympathetic smile, as she leans into his side, tiredly.
By this time, they both assume that Mr and Mrs Knight are sleeping, so they creep upstairs quietly, heading straight to Awsten's bedroom.
"I feel bad," Ashley admits, once he's close the door behind them. "I don't want to keep making noise, in case we wake them up."
"Well, you can just stay in here," Awsten suggests, casually. "Uh, I'm sure of got the t-shirt you wore last time, too," he mutters to himself, rummaging through his clothes; once he finds it, he tosses it over to her, and she catches it easily. "Uhm, d'you want me to step out for a second, so you can—"
"Oh, I wouldn't want to— I don't know, the noise..And like, it's your room so—" Ashley stammers through a sentence.
"No, you're fine, I'll just, uhm," Awsten sputters, similarly, before the two of them come to a mutual decision to just change with their backs facing each other.
It's a little tense, but not necessarily awkward; each of them are trying to be respectful of the other, and Awsten is treading cautiously, knowing that Ashley is likely still feeling fragile after the events of tonight.
"D'you wanna watch a movie, or some TV?" Awsten inquires, knowing it'll probably be a good distraction for her, meaning she'll be able to fall asleep more easily.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Ashley nods, "pick anything," she adds, allowing him to choose whatever he wants, since she doesn't think she quite has the brain power to make many decisions right now.
She zones out as she climbs onto Awsten's bed, being warned to duck to avoid hitting her head again, and pulls the covers into her lap, as she finds herself distracted by Awsten's scent lingering on the tshirt she's wearing— and all around her, really.
A faint scratching is heard from the outside of Awsten's door, which causes the two of them to jump momentarily, before they realise it's only Jet wanting to come in.
Awsten opens the door to let her in, and she instinctively strolls towards his bed, hopping up to climb into Ashley's lap.
He can't help watching the faint smile that appears on her face when Jet ticks her head under Ashley's chin.
Eventually, Awsten scoots into bed beside her, closely at first, before hesitating, wondering if he should back away a little— he stays where he is for now.
They stay quiet as the movie starts, and Ashley finds herself leaning into Awsten's side, the both of them stroking Jet soundly, while she purrs.
Eventually, she stretches out, and carefully strides to the bottom of the bed, curling up at their feet.
Awsten feels Ashley sigh heavily against him, as she slowly sinks further down, with her posture slouched, in a way that he's sure can't be comfortable.
"D'you need a hug?" He whispers, picking up on how quiet she is.
Ashley only nods and he opens his arms for her, easily.
Her eyes feel heavy almost as soon as she lays her head against his chest, wrapping her arms around his waist, while his fall securely around her shoulders.
"What time is your flight tomorrow?" Ashley questions, her exhaustion evident in her voice.
"Doesn't matter," Awsten dismisses. "Just go to sleep, Shelly," he murmurs.
She finds herself falling asleep fairly quickly after that; as she always does when she ends up cuddled into Awsten's side.
It's around five in the morning when Awsten is waking up, and creeping out of bed, as carefully as possible.
He's a little tired because of the late night he'd had, but he doesn't care.
He'd much rather lose a little sleep than let Ashley go through all of that alone.
Awsten is glad he doesn't wake her when he gets up, but he does feel a little guilty leaving her, just in case she wakes up confused; he reminds himself to leave a text for her for when she wakes up.
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