Ashton had been working double time lately because Brad had been sick. It was his first day off in two weeks and he was so happy to be laying in bed wasting the day away.
He hadn't been able to talk to the boys or Reagan in a while, he was just too busy and when he wasn't working, he was just too tired. Lauren and Harry were at school for another few hours so Ashton had the rest of his Friday to himself. He watched a bunch of movies before receiving a text from Michael.
Calum got us tickets to foo fighters tonight.. you better be off tonight!
Ashton was surprised, he knew they were sold out and wasn't sure how Calum had gotten the tickets, but he wasn't going to argue. He was excited.
yeah I am that's fucking awesome
meet us at my place at 6.
Ashton was so excited all day, it felt like forever until it was time for him to drive over to Mike's house. He walked up to Michael's apartment and instead of knocking he just walked in.
"Hey guys," Ashton said greeting Luke, Calum, and Michael. "How the fuck did you get tickets?"
"I know someone from work who knows the manager of the arena it was pretty simple." Calum smirked.
Ashton was telling Calum how he should have known his connections earlier, because they probably could have gone to a bunch of other shows they never got the chance to when Michael spoke up.
"Hey the girls are downstairs," Michael said grabbing his blue jean jacket from the back of a chair in the living room. The four of them made their way downstairs and out to the parking lot where they were greeted by Sam and Reagan.
"Hey guys," Ashton smiled but kept his eyes fixed on Reagan. She was wearing black jeans, and a grey flowy long sleeve. She had extra make up surrounding her eyes, making the brown pop even more. Her hair was straight with the sides pulled back, and her lips with a glossy cover over them. He couldn't lie, Reagan looked amazing.
"I'm so excited," Sam smiled, making her way over to Michael, lacing her fingers with his.
"So rides," Luke began. there was 6 of them, but a car only fit four people.
"I'm definitely taking Sam," Michael stated even though everyone already knew that. Luke and Ashton both rolled their eyes.
"Yeah I drove so I can take one person, whoever." Ashton shrugged. He didn't see Luke or Calums car, so he figured Michael picked them up in the first place.
"I can go with Ashton," Calum said.
"Let Reagan go with him, they live closer to each other than any of us. So afterwards he can just drop her off," Michael butted in.
"Whatever," Reagan shrugged. She honestly didn't care who she went with.
"It's settled then," Luke said walking over to Michael's car.
"In the back Hemmings, Sam gets the front." Michael yelled after him making them all laugh.
"Long time no see," Reagan smiled pulling on her seat belt.
"I know, I've been busy. I had to take Brad's shifts at work, Harry and Lauren just started school again, and Harry got sick so I had to take care of him." Ashton explained checking over his shoulder to back out of the parking lot. "How have you been?"
"Alright, just working. Nothing new," Reagan said making herself realize how lame she probably sounded, but she really hadn't been doing much. She would work, maybe go out with Sam or any of the boys, and come home.
After some conversation, they were pulling into the parking garage after playing Foo Fighters the entire ride to the arena.
Calum handed out the tickets and they all made their way inside after getting them scanned. What was even better than getting the tickets themselves, was that Calum's manager friend had managed to get them all free drinks for the night. Ashton and Michael didn't have more than two because they were driving their friends, but the others cut loose a little.
They stood at their seats on the floor and sang along to the songs and screaming at the top of their lungs. When Ashton looked over, Reagan was laughing at something Sam had said. He watched her laugh and she stumbled a little bit, slightly intoxicated with the wine she had drank throughout the show.
Things were slowed down and when Ashton looked over, Sam was being held by Michael and he was looking down at her with the biggest smile on their face as they swayed back and forth with the music. Luke and Calum had excused themselves, probably to go use the bathroom or get another drink; they didn't clarify, they just said they would be right back. Reagan pursed her lips and kept her eyes fixed on the stage.
Ashton couldn't lie, sometimes he longed for the type of relationship Michael and Sam had. They were so happy and always smiled when they were together. He knew this was a special moment for them and they would remember it forever. It was probably great to go see one of your favorite bands live, with the person you loved.
"We're the oddballs out huh," Ashton said nudging Reagan a bit. They looked around them and it was like they were suddenly surrounded by couples. Reagan hated that, she remembered when she would go out with her friends in high school and she would always be third wheeling. Sometimes it made her sick just how lonely she was. The feeling finally subsided when she met Ryan, but now that they were done, the feeling came right back.
"It sucks feeling lonely sometimes. I wish I had someone to share this moment with ya know?" Ashton asked and Reagan nodded understandingly.
She didn't know where her confidence came from but the next thing she knew she was standing on her toes and pushing her lips softly to Ashton's.
Ashton was surprised, actually more than surprised, but he didn't pull away. Reagan's lips were soft and tasted like vanilla, probably from the chapstick she was wearing. Within seconds she pulled back, her eyes wide. Her head was spinning and she didn't know what had gotten into herself. She just knew she fell into the moment, but she wasn't sure if she regretted it. She cursed the wine, but she didn't even know if that was the reason.
"I have to pee," she smiled softly before disappearing, leaving Ashton standing there in his spot more confused than he ever had been. He looked over at Michael and Sam who looked at him for a brief second before putting their eyes back to the stage. Luke and Calum came back over with drinks in their hand talking about someone at the bar, but Ashton couldn't stop thinking of Reagan's lips on his. What had just happened?
Reagan let out a deep breath as she stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom. She ran a hand through her hair wondering what had just taken over her. She touched her lips which were still slightly pink and plump from Ashton's. She just had to continue through the night like nothing happened. She took one last glance before making her way back into the crowd. When she got there she jumped into conversation with Sam, not even bothering to look Ashton's way.
The group made a change of plans and agreed to go back to Michael's after the concert. It was late, but their adrenaline was still pumping through their bodies. Michael also added he wanted to have some fun. He whined how his friends and even his girlfriend got to have more drinks than he did, and he felt like he was "missing out on the fun" because he was responsible for driving them.
Ashton thought the car ride would be awkward, but he was surprised when Reagan went into conversation about her favorite songs they performed. When things got quiet, she just reached over and turned the radio up a little bit louder. Even though no words were exchanged about the kiss, Ashton still felt some small tension.
They all made their way back to Michael's where they ordered a late night pizza and played some heated games of mario kart. Ashton was still pretty distracted. He wasn't going to push Reagan to talk about it though. He didn't want to scare her away.
He was also curious if Michael and Sam saw. He was pretty certain they did, but they didn't say anything. Ashton appreciated that, but he was still confused and was curious what they had thought about it. Reagan was just so quick to do it, and then blow it off as if it never even happened. So why did she do it?
Ashton shook it out of his mind and focused on the game of FIFA he was being forced to play with the boys. He never was into videos games, but he couldn't deal with Michael complaining how it wasn't fair that he didn't have a partner when playing a match against Luke and Calum. Even though Michael probably would have been better off playing by himself anyways, Ashton was shit at this game. He took a glance at Reagan who was indulged into a conversation with Sam on the other end of the couch, he was wondering what she was thinking.
Reagan was trying hard to make sure nothing was awkward and there was no tension between her and Ashton. She had tried to talk as much as possible in the car on the way to Michael's, but it was hard to make a conversation under pressure. Thankfully Ashton didn't bother to mention it, but she stil tried to avoid him slightly when they got to Michael's.
"It's after 1am are you guys gonna crash here?" Michael asked tossing his controller aside and letting out a yawn. They all shrugged and figured why not.
Michael brought out extra blankets and pillows for everyone. Sam went back into Michael's room to sleep in his bed with him, Reagan took one couch, and Luke took the other. Leaving Calum and Ashton with making a bed on the floor, not that they particularly minded.
They all exchanged their goodnights and everyone laid in their spot. Calum and Luke were knocked out in minutes, and Ashton drifted in and out of sleep.
He woke up just a few hours later, his throat dry and scratchy most likely from the concert. He wandered into Michael's kitchen and was surprised to see Reagan standing there with a cup in her hand. When Ashton walked in she looked up almost startled.
"Sorry, just needed to grab a gatorade," Ashton said walking over to the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle.
"You're no bother, I was just going back to sleep," Reagan said walking over the sink and placing her now empty glass down.
"Goodnight," she said as she swiftly slid past Ashton and back into the living room to the couch.
Ashton was sure she was avoiding him now and he shook his head as he took a few sips from his bottle before returning to the livings room as well.
"Night Reagan," he mumbled as he passed the couch she was laying on. He went back to his spot and pulled his headphones out from his pocket before putting them in his ears and listening to music as he fell asleep.
The next morning Ashton adjusted his eyes to the sunlight coming in through the window when he woke up. He rubbed his eyes before looking over and seeing Calum was gone. Luke was typing on his phone, and Reagan was curled in a ball with her back to Ashton; she was still asleep. Ashton pulled the blanket off of him and made his way into the kitchen where he heard rummaging.
"Hey dude," Michael said pouring some orange juice into a cup.
"Hey, where's cal?" Ashton asked grabbing another water bottle from Michael's fridge.
"Sam dropped him off. She had to work early anyways," Michael said gulping down his orange juice. "I'm gonna take Luke home sometime later. We were gonna go see a movie or something if you wanted to come."
"I should probably get back home and check if my mom needs anything," Ashton said giving Michael a sad smile. It was Saturday but knowing her, she had a ton of stuff to do and could probably use some help.
Michael and Ashton made their way back into the living room where they found Luke and Reagan both awake in the middle of a conversation. Reagan had the blanket she slept with wrapped around her body as if she was cold.
"Hey guys," Michael smiled plopping down on the couch next to Luke.
"Hey, do you know where Sam is? I was gonna ask her for a ride home," Reagan said removing the blanket from around her and running her hand through her hair trying to flatten all the bumps out.
"She had to work early this morning," Michael said grabbing the tv remote.
"I was just leaving if you wanted me to drop you off," Ashton spoke up as he grabbed his shoes. He saw Reagan hesitate but then accepted his ride and grabbed her things.
They both said goodbye to Michael and Luke before making their way down to Ashton's car. They made small talk until they were outside of Reagan's apartment just a few minutes later.
"Did you want to grab some coffee tomorrow or something?" Ashton asked as he parked his car in front of Reagan's building.
"Uh tomorrow," she hesitated, "I have to work really early. So maybe another day." she said with a soft smile and lifting her hand to the car handle.
"Oh alright," Ashton said.
"Thanks so much I had fun, I gotta go. See ya later Ash!" Reagan smiled opening the door and getting out of the car before Ashton could say another word.
"See ya!" he called after her feeling blown off yet again. He shook his head before pulling out of her parking lot and heading home.