WHO DONE THIS??!?
Cause I rlly want to thank them it is beautiful.
- Ashton -
"Where the fück have you been?"
Glancing down at my muddy clothes, I shrugged, too píssed off to reply. My adventure with Pandora had been eventful - to say the least - and finding our way back out the woods had not only been stressful but extremely awkward. Neither of us had wanted to speak in fear of saying something wrong and neither of us had wanted to admit to our feelings.
I was píssed she wanted to move, she was píssed that I didn't fully support her decision. We both knew it - we just didn't bother to state the obvious.
"Has anyone seen Pandora today?" Luke asked worriedly, his blue eyes focused intently on the bright screen of his phone "No one has seen her since Chuck's party and she won't answer her texts."
"She slept over at mines." I admitted, taking a seat next to Michael at the large table.
Unlike our last gathering, this one was situated in a proper office, with a few more people seated around the large table and multiple snacks placed in the middle - which Calum was hastily devouring.
"Oh... Okay." Luke mumbled, blinking repeatedly as if disorientated. He then quickly placed his phone down on the table, lifting his gaze to meet my own, his eyes slightly widening "You look like shít."
"Gee, thanks." I replied sarcastically, snatching a pretzel from one of the snack bowls and munching on it loudly. Harry - as fücking usually - shot me a judgemental glare, his expression slightly more serious than usual.
"Herc."
"Yeah?"
"Shut the fück up."
I blinked, slightly taken aback by his rude order. I had only been here what, a minute? What did I do to deserve his hostility? I obeyed his command anyway, the stony brown glare from the stranger sitting next to him causing my throat to dry.
Shít, this was serious.
"This is the boyband?" He asked sourly, his eyebrows furrowed together as if he couldn't quite believe it "Seriously?"
Michael's expression hardened, his body growing rigid as he glared at the unfamiliar man.
"We're not a boyband you fu-"
"Easy tiger." I murmured, placing my hand on his shoulder in a desperate attempt to calm him down. It worked - but only slightly.
This guy had really started off on the wrong foot, but I doubt that it mattered. We needed him, not the other way around.
"I promise, they may not look like much-"
"Hey!" Calum exclaimed, managing to spit out a large mouthful of crumbs in the process "Some of us have feelings!"
Harry shot him a pointed look, ordering him to shut up with his eyes to which Calum replied with a disbelieving scoff, but - like me - followed his instructions anyway.
"But, they really are talented." Louis finished, his expression laced with worry.
The man paused, taking another sweeping glance around the room as he studied us - taking in our features. I found it a bit stupid that he was judging our worth upon our looks and not our musical ability, yet I kept my mouth shut, clinging to the remaining shred of respect he had left for us.
I couldn't waste it.
"Why is that one covered in mud?"
"His name is Ashton." Michael spat through tight lips, not bothering to hide his disgust towards the man.
In a way, I slightly respected him for it.
"Michael-"
"It's a really long story," I chuckled, interrupting Louis before he could scold my friend. I was lying - it wasn't a long story - but I couldn't just tell him I skipped school and got lost. That would sound too disrespectful and he wouldn't want to sign us, and right now I really needed this record deal - especially with my mum now constantly questioning my future "but I basically went on this large expedition with my close friend and lost track of time."
"Expedition?" Calum snorted, raising his eyebrows quizzically
"Close friend?" Michael joined, causing my cheeks to redden.
They could fück off.
"Sounds exciting." The man mumbled, sounding completely disinterested. He then darted his attention towards Luke, the only one who had sat quietly throughout the whole thing "And you? What do you have to say?"
"Me?" He choked, his cheeks flushing a gentle shade of pink "About what?"
"Tell Simon about the band." Louis answered, shooting him an encouraging smile. Luke nervously swallowed, glancing hesitantly towards the man - who we now knew as Simon.
"Well, we are called 5 Seconds of Summer and are made up of four musicians - two guitarists, a bassist and a drummer. We write our own music and perform them at gigs in our local area, but other than that we just post occasional covers on YouTube."
"Have you been friends for a while?" Simon questioned, his eyebrows ticked upwards with interest.
Luke nodded, wetting his dry lips before replying.
"Most of our lives."
"So there is a lot chemistry between you all?"
"Uh... Yeah?"
"Great."
Luke shot me a confused glance to which I replied with a shrug, softly shaking my head. At this point, I didn't really care if we got signed or not. I just wanted to leave.
"We brought these back." Calum hesitantly stated, pushing a few papers out towards Louis.
The young boy accepted them graciously, sweeping the signed papers up into his arms and placing them on a cabinet behind him, out of sight and reach. It was as if he were scared we would change our mind, but I knew we wouldn't.
Especially now that Pandora was going to Uni, there was no point in me sticking around.
"Do any of you have girlfriends?" Simon curiously questioned, causing the boys - especially Harry - to smirk.
"Ashton does."
The chorus of answers around the room left me dumbfounded, their accusing fingers not wavering as they pointed towards me. I felt slightly offended, as if they had just pushed me off into the deep end - although it was completely true.
"I uh... I do." I coughed, confirming everyone else's statements.
Simon nodded, his expression seeming slightly troubled.
"Is it serious?"
"Uh... Yeah?"
I don't know why I felt so goddamn awkward admitting to it, but I did, and I couldn't help but constantly glance towards Luke, making sure he wasn't ready to snap my head off.
He seemed pretty contempt so far, which was always a good sign.
"This could be bad for your image." Simon stated slowly, causing not only my own, but all of the boy's jaws to drop
"What?"
"Are you serious?"
"I'm so confused."
"The band should be liked for our music," I said slowly, attempting to keep my tone calm and even "not our looks and relationship status."
"You really don't understand the music industry nowadays." He chuckled condescendingly, causing me to frown "Yes, people may like your music, but y'know what's going to grab their attention first? You. You will grab their attention. You will be what makes them want to listen to more, buy a few albums, maybe some more posters. I don't mean to sound rude, but your beauty is what's going to get you noticed."
"Bullshít." Michael snarled, causing me to jump at the hostility in his voice. His face had turned completely red, his eyes wide and burning with rage. I had never seen him so angry before - unless playing video games - and I couldn't help but smile.
Thank fück he had the balls to stand up for us.
"That is the most disgustingly shameful thing I have ever heard anyone say." He continued, his voice cracking with sheer emotion building up inside him "To base our success on our looks instead of our talent is not only extremely degrading but honestly the biggest piece of bullshít I've ever heard. Nobody gives a shít about our looks. If they don't like our music, I doubt they will buy a ticket to our concert just to see the blonde with the pretty blue eyes."
Luke blushed profusely as Calum slowly mouthed 'muke', causing a nervous giggle to escape my lips. The glare Simon sent us could have killed, but I really didn't care at this point. The embarrassment evident in his face countered any nasty remark he could send our way.
"And to be perfectly honest, I don't want to be a pretty boyband." Michael stated bluntly "That's just not us. I want to be respected for my music, not because I look good."
"I know I'm probably not meant to say this, but I agree with Michael." Harry spoke, shooting a supportive smile towards the black haired boy "They're musicians, not models."
"Excuse me?" Calum choked, clutching at his wounded ego "Who says we can't be both?"
"Calum."
"Oh my god."
"Shut up."
"What do you think Louis?" Simon slowly questioned, turning to the stiff boy beside him. Louis' blue eyes widened - as if he hadn't expected to be included - his lips pulling back into a slight grimace.
"Honestly, I think they are perfect the way they are. They are talented, young and energetic - they don't need their looks to become famous. Their music will speak for itself."
"So... Ashton get's to keep his girlfriend?" Luke asked carefully, his eyebrows drawn down with worry "Because she's kinda my sister and it sucks to see her upset."
"Of course." Harry nodded, his lips set into a firm and confident smile.
"Good, cause Calum and Michael have girlfriends too."
Simon just rolled his eyes, wiping the palm of his hands on his rugged blue jeans before retrieving the papers from the cabinet, flicking through them warily.
"Are you boys sure about this?"
"100%." Luke replied happily, attempting to contain the excitement bubbling up inside of him "We've thought about this for so long - well, the four days we were given."
"You do realise you will be separated from Pandora for the best part of a year?" Harry inquired, his green eyes searching mine for any trace of regret "She can't come on tour with you."
"I know," I nodded, keeping my calm composure when inside my heart was slowly dying "she will be away as well."
"So she finally told you?" Luke questioned, receiving a slow nod in return, his expression softening sympathetically "I'm sorry, bud."
"I don't get why you're sorry." Michael stated bluntly, his eyes narrowed with confusion "Pandora's going to University to get an amazing degree and you're going on tour to become a bomb áss rockstar. You're both pursuing your ambitions and living your dreams and I don't see where the fück the problem is. I mean, it's not like you're splitting up or anything. You both love and trust each other."
"It's the distance, Mikey." Calum sighed, lightly patting his shoulder "Something we wouldn't understand."
"Skype was made for a reason."
"You can't touch someone through Skype, Michael." I snapped, anger building up inside me like a wild tornado, ready to obliterate everything its path "You can't properly communicate through a screen."
"At least you can talk. That's what me and Emma are going to do."
"It won't be the same."
He just nodded, seeming to notice my short fuse and not wanting to upset me anymore. It was too late though, I was already furious.
If he thought a long distance relationship was going to be a fücking walk in the park, he could think again.
So many things could go wrong.
So fücking many.
****************
Why tf are people posting fake pictures of Ashton?
Like no. Pls delete them. He doesn't deserve this.
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