"Everybody's reaction was to die for." Luke finally spoke.
"How did you do it?" Ashton asked, ignoring the other boy's last statement.
"Sierra went running like a mad dog, I hope she will learn her lesson."
"How did you do it?" He repeated.
The youngest raised an eyebrow, silently staring at the man in front of him. He proceeded to sigh in annoyance, now face to face with the mirror standing behind him.
"I asked you a question." Irwin insisted as the gamer adjusted his brown blazer. "How did you do it? How did you find the notebook, Luke?"
He was starting to get frustrated, and not because of the fiasco that happened a few minutes ago...
But because he couldn't read Luke.
He was emotionless, dark, cold...
He wasn't the man that Ashton fell for, at all.
The blond took yet another deep breath. "Remember when I came to visit you at work?" He asked, turning around and laying his back on the thin glass. "I went to your house first, and saw it laying on the kitchen table."
"So what? How did you figure out it was about you? Plus, Calum was with you the whole time, wasn't he? There is no way you had the time to open it, read it, and take pictures."
"I just knew it was about me."
"How?"
Luke gave Ashton a playful look, making it easy for hazel eyes to figure it out.
"You already knew who I was, huh?"
The one with the brown pants crossed his arms together, taking his time to finally answer by a nod.
"So..." Ashton pinched his forehead, trying to calm the headache that was about to hit him. "Us meeting wasn't a coincidence."
"No, it wasn't."
Luke watched the man in front of him move his shoulders in a circular motion, attempting to make his body less tense.
Truth is, Ash was hurt.
Deeply hurt.
He didn't know if it was his ego or his heart, though.
Probably both.
"I would always hear your name whenever Michael would be streaming with Calum. He didn't say much... just that you have some kind of witch powers. That's when I started my researches."
"You stalked me?"
"For awhile." Luke admitted. "I noticed your love for writing about anything and everything. Taking notes is a hobby of yours, I saw that from the amount of notebooks you carry around all the time."
"Well, I like to be prepared, just in case."
"And that is everything I needed from you."
"So, what?" Ashton faced him again. "You said all these things and acted that way in front of me on purpose? Just that I could write about your relationship?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "Grow up, Ash. Of course I did. I was very careful of everything I did and said when you were around. If I acted like that everyday in front of every single person I encounter, do you really think people would have believed I was in a real relationship all these years?"
"But why-"
"Four years ago, I did something stupid." He cut Irwin off. "I met Sierra, she was already pretty popular. She wasn't a gamer, but she had a bunch of followers. I was broke, desperate. She gave me a hand, she said she will help me make all of my dreams come true. And she did..." He paused. "On the expense of my happiness."
"My assumptions were right... you are under a contract."
"You really think I would have done all of this if I wasn't?" You could hear the irritation in his voice. "A ten year long fucking contract, Ashton. Ten years." He grabbed his hair with both of his hands. "I was freshly eighteen, I was young... I saw the opportunity and took it. They made it seem so easy... Plus, I did like Sierra so I thought pretending to date her would be fun... I was dead wrong."
The one with black hair watched Luke go round in circles in the room. "I had to lie to everyone... My friends, my fans, my family. I couldn't tell anyone that I was in a fake relationship, and if I did... Not only they could make my life a living hell, but I would get sued by billions of dollars."
"And there was only one way for you to get out of this contract without any consequences..." Ashton started.
"... If and only if someone found out about us in the most random way ever." Luke continued.
"What better random way than a body language analyst, right?"
Hemmings nodded, making the bloke in front of him click his tongue. "You used me, good job."
"I'm sorry."
"No, you're not."
"If there was any other way, I would have done it, Ashton!"
"How did you know where to find the notebook?" He asked, disregarding Luke's last comment.
The blond looked at him silently.
"Answer me."
"I searched your room when you let me sleep in there, I found nothing..."
Ashton dry laughed. "God, I'm so stupid."
"... I figured Calum probably hid it in his room, but it was way too risky for me to go in there while he was sleeping... so I didn't." He carried on to explain.
"Stop talking."
"... Then, came the night we had sex."
"Don't."
"... You were sleeping, and Calum was too busy partying downstairs. It was my chance."
Ashton's eyes filled with tears.
"So, I went in there..."
"Shut up."
"... I found it, took pictures, and left unnoticed."
Irwin fell silent for a moment.
"Ash-"
"I can't believe it... I got played." He cut the one with a suit off. "You played me."
"I'm sorry-"
"God..." He looked into his ocean eyes. "You don't even like me, do you?!"
And that was it.
The moment Ashton's heart broke into a million pieces.
He realized that he meant nothing to Luke at all.
Even that night... nothing.
It meant absolutely nothing to him.
"I am so sorry." The tallest murmured. "If there is anything I can do-"
"Get out."
"You helped me more than you know, and I-"
"I said, get out."
Luke didn't know how to feel.
He never expected Ashton to take it that badly.
He always thought that the black haired boy was incapable of love...
He was most definitely wrong.
Ashton has a heart of gold, something that Luke failed to see...
To notice.
However, it was too late now, wasn't it?
"Alright." The man with the slight beard sighed. "I will be on my way." He pulled something out of his blazer, soon handing it to the other lad.
The fault in our stars.
Of fucking course.
"Thank you, for everything." Luke said while Ashton took a grip of the book.
Ashton slowly closed his eyes, not wanting to watch the guy he loves walk away from him.
He still had a bit of hope.
Maybe all of this is just one big joke.
Maybe Luke will turn around, tell him that he loves him...
Tell him that he did all of this so the both of them could be together.
Nonetheless, he knew he was wrong...
Especially when he heard the door open, then slam shut right after.
Luke didn't even look back once, did he?
He did not...
And a broken man was all that was left in the big, empty room.
A man who, himself, didn't think was capable of love...
Yet here he was, crying his eyes out because of a broken heart.
Luke sighed at the other side of the door, trying his hardest to keep himself together before making his way towards the emergency exit...
Where somebody was waiting for him.
He stopped in front of the familiar black jeep, looking at the blonde girl standing next to it.
"You took your time." She said, blowing the smoke out of her mouth.
He rolled his eyes. "Let's just go."
She nodded, the both of them getting into the car. She turned the engine on, driving away with the windows open.
She quickly glanced at him, noticing the tears that were starting to build in his eyes.
"Here." She said, handing him the blunt she had in hands. "Relax."
He snatched it right out of her hand silently, taking a huge puff. He closed his eyes once he felt his body starting to get less and less tense, burying himself onto the seat.
Yes, Luke, relax.
Everything will be alright, won't it?
.
.
.
This was so dramatic for no reason, loool
Anyways, HI MY LOVES!!
Hope you are loving this as much as I am hehe
There will be one small chapter after this one, which will be the last of this book.
and then... SEQUEL! YEY!
Anyway, thank you guys for sticking with me throughout this whole thing, I truly hope I'll see you all in the second book!
Ilya,
-L xox