as i reach back into the bag of decorations, i feel like my back is literally gonna snap in half.
tonight is thursday night and jack and i are decorating the house for the party tomorrow. juliet is chilling in my room watching my little pony, which for some reason stuck with her. now both of my best friends are in love with my little pony.
and asher is out with his friends. it's 11pm and we're all waking up early tomorrow.
"ar, can you hold this end of the string lights up so i can tape them?" jack asks from across the living room.
he's the only person who calls me ar. and he's the only person i'll allow to call me ar.
"sure" i answer, going over to stand on the couch to hold the string lights up.
i think the house looks really good for tomorrow. which is obviously because i picked the decorations.
jack and i have always taken birthdays really seriously. and it'll always be that way. you can catch us throwing bangers for our 70th birthdays.
"you're gonna fucking love the present i got for you" jack smiles.
he's probably right. jack always gives the best gift every year.
"can i get a peak?" i say quietly.
jack playfully slaps my shoulder and shakes his head. "you know there's no peaking allowed. anyways, was this the last decoration? i'm tired as hell."
i sigh and turn my head across the room, jack following in pursuit. our eyes meet another two bags of decorations that need to be put up.
"as much as i would love to decorate, ar, i can't do another two bags" he sighs heavily.
i gasp sarcastically, "what happened to your can-do attitude? it's a birthday!"
"my body is aching" he whines.
yikes.
"then go to bed, juliet is probably ready for bed too" i smile weakly, already dreading the rest of the night.
jack takes my hand to help me down from the couch and smiles back before flicking me on the forehead walking to the stairs.
"good luck" he coos before disappearing.
thanks, i'll need it.
i trudge over to one of the bags and open it up.
it'll all be worth it. i paid for the decorations, i'm gonna put up all the damn decorations.
the reason i decided to tell jack to go to bed is because i can tell he has to be really tired. he's so tired he couldn't finish decorating for a birthday. usually he's the one telling me to keep going.
he needs the rest for the party, anyway.
before this gets more boring than it needs to be, i grab my phone and connect it to the speaker to play music while i decorate. maybe one direction can save me.
i grab some tinsel and make my way over to the kitchen entrance. i stand on a kitchen stool and start attaching the tinsel to the ceiling.
as i'm about half way through, the front door swings open.
"what is this, a one direction concert?" asher chuckles, closing the door behind him.
"sure" i respond mindlessly, focusing on not falling.
asher's footsteps approach and i can feel his presence behind me. "would you like some help?" he asks, lightly wrapping his fingers around my ankles.
"i'm fine" i mumble, taping the tinsel.
before i can protest, asher is lifting me by my hips and setting me back down on the ground.
"you'll hurt yourself like that. let me finish it, i won't need a stool" he offers, holding his hand out for me to give him the tinsel.
he just... he...
the way he can lift me...
no. horny thoughts go away. we must stay focused.
stunned, i hesitantly hand him the rest of the tinsel and watch him smile before turning around.
this man is so fine-
knock it off aria.
i sit down on the arm of the couch and watch his hands work the tinsel, ripping the tape off the roll with his teeth.
"you're really going all out for this, huh?" he muffles through the tape roll between his teeth.
"yes" i answer, taking the tape out of his mouth, "yes i am. and you better go feral tomorrow night or i'm kicking you out of the party."
asher raises his eyebrows in amusement and smiles. "you're gonna kick me out of my own house, chica?"
i nod, "that's right. it's the rules."
he finishes hanging the decoration and shakes his head, smirking.
"then i'll make sure to 'go feral' with you" he teases, turning to face me.
with me? bet. i'll spend the whole night with him. in honor of pip not being there, of course. she would be cheering me on.
"mind helping with the rest?" i ask, pointing to the bags. "i'll do this bag and you can do that one?"
asher looks at the bags, then back to me. "sure, but only because you'll probably end up hurting yourself doing the rest on your own" he chuckles before opening up the other bag.
i scoff. "are you actually worried about me? or do you just wanna help decorate?"
"both?" he responds, his back facing me.
"right" i say while roll my eyes, turning the volume back up on my speaker.
as i grab the next decoration, i notice asher humming along to the song.
"i didn't know you liked one direction, big man" i smirk, causing him to stop humming.
"they're okay" he mumbles, clearing his throat.
he definitely mains zayn malik.
after a little while longer of decorating, we finally have everything up. and it looks bomb as fuck.
asher and i look at eachother with proud smiles, then exchange a high-five.
"surprisingly i'm not tired" i shrug.
asher nods. "same."
"you only did one bag" i deadpan, "i lost count at 8."
"okay, okay. so are you going to bed or staying up, chica?"
he starts collecting the bags as i decide. i'm not tired, so i probably won't actually go to sleep if i go to bed now. but i should get sleep before tomorrow.
"i'm probably gonna go to bed for the night. you?"
asher stands back up after getting all the bags and runs his fingers through his hair. "i was gonna stay up for a little while longer."
just a few more minutes wouldn't hurt.
"we can do one more thing then before i go to bed" i mention.
"what's that?"
i stand up and take the bags from his hands, then look up at him. "do you have an outfit picked for tomorrow?"
asher furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head. "yeah?"
i smile and start heading towards the stairs. "show me! i wanna see it."
he represents this household, so he needs to match the energy of the party. i don't make the rules.
"okay" he chuckles, following me up the stairs into his room. he shuts the door behind us and walks into his closet.
i jump onto his bed and sprawl out as i wait for him to get his clothes. his bed is comfy as hell what the fuck-
asher has a pretty man-looking room. it's big, though. he has a small couch with a coffee table, and even a fireplace. he has his own bathroom, but so do i.
jack wasn't happy that we called dibs on the two bedrooms that had their own bathrooms when we moved in.
i can't stop thinking about how excited i am for tomorrow. it's a day all about me! it's gonna be so fucking fun.
"i'm ready" his voice speaks as he emerges from his closet.
oh lord have mercy, the rings.
he's been starting to wear rings a lot recently. i have no idea what made him decide on that, but i'm not complaining at all.
maybe i have a ring kink.
"hello? earth to aria" he interrupts my thoughts, waving his hand in my face.
i clear my throat and let my eyes meet his. "you're not wearing all black for once" i smile.
he scoffs, "i don't always wear all black."
"rightttt" i tease. "you look great, though."
that was an understatement.
asher returns the smile and looks down at himself, adjusting his shirt and rolling his shoulders.
"you'll look 10x better than me, though."
"well duh" i chuckle. "i'm gonna be the birthday girl, i'll look better than everyone."
he smirks and crosses his arms. "oh yeah?"
"yep" i nod proudly. "although, there's a possibility you might be ranked pretty high as well."
"how high?" he asks, amusement in his voice.
i decide to take his hands to unfold his arms, then let my hands wrap around his middle and index fingers. they're almost the size of my whole hand.
"i'd say a close second" i smirk.
"i might know how to make it even closer."
what the fuck is he on about? i'll literally be the best looking one there. he's hot, but tomorrow night he won't be hotter than me.
"what's that?" i ask, tilting my head.
asher releases his fingers from my grip and smiles. "remember what you said about eyebrow slits that one time?"
of course i do. i PREACH about how sexy eyebrow slits are.
"you're gonna give yourself an eyebrow slit?" i ask, setting my hands behind me and leaning back.
"you're gonna give me an eyebrow slit."
oh fuck. asher with an eyebrow slit...
that's gonna kill me.
"i'm down" i smile, "sit down, i'll grab my eyebrow razor."
as i stand up to go to my bathroom, asher sits on his bed and quietly waits for me to return.
holy shit. i was only planning on seeing his outfit quick and then going to bed. it's 11:50pm right now.
oh well, he's worth it. even though i have to wake up early tomorrow, i can lose an extra hour of sleep for him.
i grab my razor and return to asher's room to find him patiently waiting exactly where i left him.
"you sure you want me to do this? just because i think it's hot doesn't mean you have to-"
"no, i agree. it is, so i want to" he says, pulling me to stand between his legs. "i'm doing it for me, all i need is your help" he whispers.
i nod and prepare his eyebrow, wetting it with water in a cup i brought. i tilt his head up slightly from his chin, then move my hand to cup his cheek.
"stay still" i order, to which he nods. fucking dumbass. "asher. i said stay still."
"sorry..." he apologizes before i chuckle and get to work.
i decide to trim his eyebrows as well just to shape them. asher has really full and dark eyebrows, which are perfect to work with.
juliet has done my eyebrows a million times, so it's safe to say i definitely know what i'm doing. i just can't promise i won't hurt him.
"you know, you stick your tongue out a bit when you focus" asher chuckles, causing me to lightly smack the back of his head.
"let me work, dick. this was your idea."
once i finish the shaping, it's finally time to do the slit. very carefully, i take the razor through the arch of his eyebrow and clean it up.
"there, all done. didn't even take long at all" i smile proudly. asher instantly brings his fingers to his eyebrow, running his index over the slit to feel it.
"that's fucking awesome" he laughs, wrapping his arms around my waist. "thanks, chica" he says quietly, our faces still inches apart.
i catch myself accidentally glancing at his lips for a split second and immediately back up.
aria. pull yourself together, that was embarrassing. imaging if he caught that.
"um... yeah, no problem" i say just as quietly. i take a breath and feel tiredness wave through me. "fuck, uh- do you know what time it is?"
asher looks to the side at his alarm clock, then back to me.
"it's you're birthday" he says softly with a genuine smile.
oh shit. im 19 now.
we stare at eachother for a few moments before he speaks again.
"...happy birthday" he whispers. his hug around my waist grows tighter as i'm pulled a little closer toward his body.
i mindlessly lick my lips and lose every right thought in my mind as my head leans closer to his, him following along.
his eyes flutter shut as my hand takes it's place back on his cheek, and i allow mine to do the same.
asher leans back slightly, pulling my body with his so the very small gap between us doesn't widen.
my heart races, shooting sparks through my whole body. we're so close to eachother, our lips closer than i had ever imagined.
and just as my lips are about to meet with his, he places his hand under my chin to stop my movement.
both our eyes open, his fluffy, dark eyelashes batting.
"we shouldn't" he whispers, staring into my eyes pleadingly. fuck.
so. fucking. close.
but honestly... what would have happened if we did kiss? would we both just go to bed like nothing happened? give eachother a fist bump? salute?
"are you sure?" i ask hesitantly.
he bites his lip in distress, staring at my lips again. "i just- fuck, i still don't think it would be a good idea."
no matter how much i wanted this, i should try to see it from his side. he would have to live with the fact that he kissed his best friend's sister and have to hide it from him.
but fuck it, i would be in a parallel situation. i would have kissed my brother's best friend and have to hide it.
maybe another day.
"yeah" i nod, "yeah, i get it."
and i'm not lying. we both know it's wrong. but the difference between us is that i don't care.
it's selfish, but i want him so badly. he's honestly on my mind all the time, every day. but i would never admit that out loud.
"obviously there's nothing wrong with you, it's just..."
"jack" i finish for him.
asher takes a deep breath before his jaw ticks slightly. "yeah."
he then trails a hand from my waist up to my jaw, caressing it in slow, gentle strokes before his fingers take place under my chin again.
his eyes scan my face briefly, then he smiles cheekily.
"but you're so fucking hard to resist sometimes" he admits, his eyes floating back to my lips.
i mean, can i blame him? i'm hot.
"i can tell, it seems like you were just barely able to resist tonight" i smirk.
asher smirks back and strokes my cheek with his thumb, his fingers still holding my chin. "you're right... but you're so needy you wouldn't have even tried to stop me, no?"
my cheeks burn, his words laced with fire. he has never failed to get me flustered, and since it's asher, that shit is like a drug.
i take a shaky breath, barely containing myself from just smashing his lips to mine right here and now.
he's so... fuck.
"why do you get such a rise out of doing this to me?" i ask, my mind barely in the conversation.
"because you do this to me all the time without even trying" he breathes.
my plan worked. he thinks i'm not acting the way i do on purpose.
asher, i very much am trying.
i stand back up straight and smile. "that sounds like a personal problem, doesn't it?"
"yep. good thing i can control myself well, because i already told you enough times by now that we-"
"wont be having sex, i know the drill" i mumble.
"and that-"
"includes kissing" i interrupt again. "are you setting these rules for me or for yourself? because i've understood them since the first time you said it. you're the one that keeps repeating it."
asher stands up, towering over me and placing a hand on my shoulder. he starts walking me towards the door and speaks nervously.
"obviously it's for you, since you just tried to kiss me."
i scoff again, "you led me into it. and you tried to kiss me too so-"
"keep your voice down, dumbass" he interrupts, placing his hand over my mouth.
i roll my eyes, but it is a good idea to not talk about that inches from the hallway. then, i lick his hand to get it off my mouth.
"so, this wasn't just my fault" i whisper-yell.
he opens the door and waits for me to exit, but i stop and turn around.
"then forget it happened. goodnight, chica" he says, shutting the door as i'm left in the dark hallway.
yeah, it's definitely bed time.
***
DONT BE MAD AT ME PLS LMAOOO
the "we shouldn't" trope is one of my favorite yet most hated tropes
so i had to do it
i'll catch y'all at the party next chapter ;)