The two teenagers sat on the roof, the setting sun making their skin appear golden. Ash's hair was almost neon in this lighting while Mark's was shining like brass. The pair met eyes with a soft smile. Music was faintly playing from in Ash's room and they were tapping along with the drums on their thighs. Ranboo smiled, taking a mental note of how passionate about music they really were. The fading light brought out the yellow tones in Ash's bright green eyes while Mark's were just slightly brighter. Both found the other person beautiful.
Eventually it was dark and Ash was shivering slightly. Wordlessly Ranboo pulled them to sit closer. Ash was sat between Mark's legs, their back pressed to his chest with his arms wrapped around their waist. Ash pointed out constellations and Ranboo just listened, resting his chin on their head. "You're so cute," he mumbled into their fluffy hair. Ash let out an incomprehensible noise and stuttered, eventually managing to put two words together. "No you." This started an argument over who was cuter.
They settled it as a draw before they got called downstairs for dinner. Well before Wren yelled up at them. "GET YOUR ASSES DOWN HERE AND STOP BEING SO FUCKING GAY FOR EACH OTHER!" were her exact words. Ash, of course, had to turn it into one of their "fights".
"SAYS THE LESBIAN WHO'S VERY OBVIOUSLY PINING FOR SOMEONE BUT IS TOO SCARED TO MAKE A MOVE!"
"OH FUCK OFF, AT LEAST I DON'T HAVE AN UNHEALTHY OBSESSION WITH MUSICALS!"
"AT LEAST I'M TALLER AND OLDER THAN YOU!"
"ONLY BY ONE INCH AND FIVE MINUTES!"
"BRO MY DICKS WAY BIGGER TOO!"
"YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE A DICK THOUGH!"
"HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT? YOU BEEN WATCHING ME CHANGE OR SOMETHING?"
"WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK ASHER!"
Ollie was really starting to regret agreeing to become their legal guardian. Bea simply found it entreating and Ranboo was seriously concerned for the twin's vocal chords. For two singers they really didn't seem to care about damaging their voices.
When Mark and Ash got downstairs they joined the others in the sitting room. Bea had ordered a load of Chinese takeout for the group and they all sat down around the room. Ranboo and Ash were on end side of the torn leather sofa, Bea was at the other end, Wren was sat on the floor leaning against Bea's legs and Oliver was on his tattered armchair in the corner. None of the furniture matched but it added a certain charm to the house. The old wooden floors were all covered in rugs, paintings, posters, tapestries and old guitars were hung on the walls and fairy lights were pinned to the ceilings.
The five ended up watching a show on the tv. Mark fit in well with the group, despite this being his first time hanging out with all of them. "Wait you all keep calling Ollie old but how old actually is he?" Ranboo asked, genuinely curious. "I'm not even old, I'm only twenty two," Ollie answered indignantly, wrinkling his nose. "Yeah, and we're turning 18 in like two weeks so you're old," Wren said. "Vouch," Ash added with their mouth full of fried rice. "Don't talk with your mouth full, that's disgusting," Bea groaned. Ash just swallowed and stuck out their tongue before shovelling another massive forkful of chicken fried rice into their mouth.
Mark noticed a bit of rice stuck to Ash's cheek and wiped it off with his thumb. The two teenagers blushed bright red and looked away from each other. The other's noticed this and Wren rolled her eyes, clearly unimpressed at her sibling's pining. She couldn't judge really, considering her own feelings for the blonde behind her. She held back a laugh at just how similar her and her sibling's types were and made sure to talk about it with them later after Ranboo left.
Wren did in fact tell Ash about how similar their types were. The twins broke down in a ball of tangled limbs, dyed hair and laughter. The pair were identical twins, not the use of the past tense. The had the same bright green eyes, same height, same slightly sharp face, same pale skin, the list goes on and on. But Ash had short bright red hair while Wren's was long black and tangled, with streaks of bright colours. Ash wore little to no make up, jeans, shorts, tank tops and flannels, while Wren wore heavy make up, dresses, skirts, shorts and generally more feminine clothes. The differences were striking, especially compared to their similarities.
tw: sexual assault, trauma, self harm, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts/attempts , abuse
(this is just ash's backstory and why ollie adopted the rest of the band)
They'd always been closer than most siblings. Joining a band together when they were just twelve only cemented this bond. Especially with what they'd gone through in that band. Ash hadn't been allowed to come out publicly. They had also matured much sooner than their sister. This led to Ash getting the attention of men on tour and they had been sexually assaulted multiple times, with their managers making no effort to help stop it. They even encouraged people to approach Ash in exchange for money.
Ash was put under pressure by the old lead singer to look perfect. They would starve themself just to be "pretty enough", this lead to them developing an eating disorder. They would wear makeup constantly to hide the tear stains, the dark under eyes, the hickeys and the bruises.
Ash and Wren's parents were disgusted at what was happening to their children but they were powerless to stop it. When Ash was fourteen they had asked them about leaving the band, their parents told them that they'd tried to get their children out of the band but couldn't. Wren had been hiding on the stairs when this happened and told Bea, leading the three to become closer than ever. Their old lead singer had always treated them terribly but now the three were finally ready to leave.
Bea's older brother Oliver managed to get custody of the younger teenagers and the four packed their things and moved to the UK. Ash and Wren's parents agreed it was for the best, as they weren't able to move to the UK. The twin's parents moved back to Ireland to be nearer to Ash and Wren's older brother, while Bea and Ollie's father moved back to Florida to be with his wife and other two children.
Ash still struggled with depression and anxiety and was still haunted by their trauma. They'd been in therapy ever since they tried to overdose and were now over a year clean of their eating disorder and self harm. The scars still stayed as a reminder of what they'd gone through. Ash however saw them of a reminder of a new strength. They'd grown stronger and were proud of themself. They still had rough days but didn't go to therapy as much anymore and everyone could see how much happier they were now.
Ash was the strongest person any of the rest of the band had ever seen.
tws over, ill put a summary at the end of the chapter
That's why the band were so close. After everything they'd went through it was unavoidable. They were more than a band. They were a family. Proof that you can choose your own family. They were four kids living in a tattered old house but they were doing what they loved and were free to be themselves.
well that got dark quick-
i just felt like it was important to share ash's backstory
for anyone who had to skip the tws:
ash was forced to stay closeted, used by older men, treated like shit by their managers, had shitty mental health and then got adopted by oliver and moved to the uk to get away from it
i love ash but i had to give them a sad story
stay safe out there! <3
-Akos, 15/6/22