Ashley POV
Al closed the door behind her, giving me a look that meant she was giving me the same advice that I had previously given her: Don't do anything you'll regret.
I turned, expecting Ashton to still be sitting on the couch where I had left him, and was surprised to find him no where in sight. I half-heartedly assumed that he had gone to the restroom or something, and sat down on the couch, turning the TV on. Though my eyes were trailing over Ray Romano's face on the television, my mind was completely elsewhere.
After a little over five minutes, I decided that I should go find Ashton. I quietly went into the kitchen to see if he would be there, but saw that the entire room lay untouched. I went upstairs, tip-toeing for a reason unkown to me, but it felt like the right thing to do.
I checked the bathroom: empty; Al's bedroom: empty; my bedroom: empty. I didn't know where else he could be because he couldn't have left. As I paced around the hallway, I thought of one more place I hadn't checked. The closet.
For some reason, when Al and I had moved in, there was a tiny room (or, as Al and I call it, a closet) randomly placed in the wall of the hallway. We didn't really need to use it as we both had fully functioning closets in our own rooms, so we put all of our cleaning supplies inside of it. I was still convinced that the previous owners of the apartment had used the closet as some escape to Narnia. Al obviously disagreed.
But now that I thought about it, I didn't see where else he could have gone. So I slowly inched towards the closet, not making a noise. As I got closer, I heard whispering and was momentarily confused as to who he could be talking to. Then I realized that he was talking to himself.
"You can do this. You can do this.... You can't do this at all. What are you thinking, you idiot? Stupid. Stupid!"
I decided that I should make my presence known. I cleared my throat loudly and heard a sudden crash from inside the closet. There went the cleaning supplies. "Ashton?" I asked nervously. "Are you okay?"
I reached to open the door, but the knob was locked from the inside.
I knocked quickly. "Ash?" I asked, trying to coax him out. It wasn't my place to use his nickname, but I was a fan, so I knew that the boys called him that. But I had no idea why he had gone in there in the first place.
I heard fumbling then more supplies fall down. I heard him swear, and I knew that something had hit him.
My knocks became more desperate. "Please come out! What's wrong?"
His voice came out but it was forced. "I'm fine. Hold on."
A few moments later, the door was wrenched open. Ashton was in sight, biting his lip and holding his arm behind his back. His eyes never met mine.
"You're definitely not fine. Show me your arm," I commanded him, holding my hand out.
He reluctantly put his arm into mine and I gasped. I single cut went down his left arm, starting just under his shoulder and ending in the middle of his forearm.
"This is fine? Come on, I have to fix you up."
I then dragged him down the stairs and into the kitchen, making sure not to harm him any more than he already was. I forced him down into a seat and gave him a serious glare to stay there and not move while I went to get the first aid kit.
I came back into the kitchen after finding it and saw him sitting obediently in the same chair, glancing at his arm every so often, looking in a lot of pain.
"What did you do to yourself?"
He looked up at me. "The dustpan fell on me. It's surprisingly sharp." He gave a weak smile but his eyes never left mine.
I shook my head at him. "Do I even want to know what you were doing in there?"
He gulped. "Not really, but I suppose you'll know soon enough." (ash do u ever stop masturbatinG GDO NO IM JOKEAGIN HAOEJFA)
I simply nodded and got to work on his arm. I wasn't the most experienced nurse, but I just washed out his wound, put some Neosporin on it, which made him wince, wrapped him up with some gauze, and kept it in place with some medical tape.
All the while, I felt his eyes on the top of my head. I had met his eyes once, and he hadn't turned away. On the contrary, he had only stared harder into my eyes. I had felt as if I were being analyzed. Feeling uncomfortable, I had given a small smile and gotten back to fixing his arm.
I finished applying the tape with a satisfied smile. I turned back up to see his face staring at the bandages, yet looking lost in thought.
Nervous that he might be in pain, I asked, "Is that okay? If it's too tight, I can readjust it."
He snapped out of his stupor. "Uh, yeah no it's fine. Thanks," he grumbled, pulling back his arm.
"Listen," I started, "are you okay? Because you've been seeming really distracted lately and I don't know what this is about. Did I do something?" A stray hair fell from behind my ear and I pushed it back impatiently.
"No, no!" He waved his hand frantically. "It wasn't you at all! It was actually...me."
"You? Well then, what did you do?" I asked, amused.
"Um...I've been distracted because...I kind of like this girl...."
I raised an eyebrow at him. "So you lock yourself in a broom cupboard and slice your arm with a dustpan because you like a girl?"
He nodded. "Pretty much."
I shook my head, chuckling. "Help me understand you and your logic."
He rolled his eyes. "Whatever."
"So who's this girl?" I teased.
"Uh," he scratched the back of his neck with his hand, then winced as he realized it was his bad arm, "I can't tell you."
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Okay, but can I know why?"
"No."
"Well, I see that after all this," I said, fed up, but not really for any valid reason, "you're still just as bad as you were in the beginning." I stood up and crossed my arms over my chest. "You should go."
He just put his head in his hands. "I can't do this."
"Can't do wha-"
But he suddenly stood up, startling me out of my feet.
Our faces were inches apart and I felt like his eyes were boring into my soul.
"What - what...?"
My hair fell from behind my ear again, but this time Ashton pushed it back, ever so gently.
"You're so beautiful, you know that?"
I furrowed my eyebrows again, only more confused. This was the asshole that I had met at the concert? This was the jerk that I had slapped? Why had I slapped him again? The details were all fuzzy. In fact, everything was fuzzy right now. Everything except Ashton. Ashton was as clear as day; a picture painted in the dead center of my mind.
"The girl I like?" He asked softly.
I gulped and nodded, urging him to continue. I still had no idea what was going on.
He searched my eyes and I'm sure he found only confusion.
He leaned in closer. There was only an inch between our faces.
"It's you."
"M-me?"
He nodded. "You."
"Why?"
"You think I'm a jerk. But somehow, through all of that, you still understand me; even when I don't understand myself," he explained.
I shook my head. "This is a prank," I said, slowly backing away. "A sick joke."
It was his turn to furrow his eyebrows. "Why would I joke about this? Can't you see how much I've changed? Because of you; all because of you."
My eyes twinkled. "I - I don't understand. Changed?"
He came closer. My back was touching the wall of the kitchen, right in the corner of the room. I was completely trapped.
"Let me help you understand," he whispered.
"How - how would you do that?" I stuttered.
He just hummed with a smile on his face. He took another fallen strand of my hair and put it gently behind my ear. His hand briefly glided across my cheek. He didn't move his hand back, but instead rested it on my cheek, gently stroking it with his thumb.
He closed his eyes and slowly leaned in. I didn't know what to do. I wasn't the most experienced person. Actually, that was an understatement. I didn't have any experience at all. I'd never been in a relationship; I'd never had a boyfriend; heck, I'd never even had my first kiss yet.
What would he think? Would he laugh at me? I wouldn't even know. How was I supposed to know he had even really changed? I was still convinced that this was a prank!
Knowing Ashton, this wasn't really him. This was probably just a mask he put on every time he wanted to charm the ladies.
But I just closed my eyes and counted my prayers.
Then he kissed me.
**********
((i was gonna stop here and make it a cliffhanger but ilya too much haha))
**********
Al POV
"Can we go to the park?" Eddie whined.
I chuckled. "Sorry, buddy, but I promised your mom that I would get you guys home, and it's really bad to break promises. You know that, don't you?"
He nodded with a frown upon his adorable little face.
"Aw, don't look glum, Eddie. I'll see you in a few days, okay? I want you to have fun with your grandparents. They love you very much. Always remember that."
Eddie nodded again but it was Hailey who spoke up this time. "We love them too."
I smiled.
**********
"Thanks, Al. I'll call you in a few days."
Caitlyn closed the door behind her and I walked back to the car. I didn't know if Ashton and Ashley were done with their 'conversation' or whatever it was. I decided that I would go check on them. Hopefully, they were doing anything unspeakable. Then again, knowing Ashley, Ashton wouldn't get that far.
Yes, I was still convinced that Ashton was totally infatuated with Ashley. I knew I was right. I mean, I was never wrong about these types of things. It was obvious that Ashton was totally whipped.
I still couldn't wrap my mind around the fact that Calum somehow liked me, but I wasn't complaining. As long as he didn't play me again, I was fairly comfortable with the fact that I was going to go on a date with my teenage idol.
I turned off my exhaust and used the elevator to go up to our apartment instead of the stairs, considering that Eddie and Hailey - or, more specifically, Eddie - sucked all of the energy out of you.
I was expecting the two to be sitting on the couch and talking. What I wasn't expecting was to come inside to the kitchen to see Ashton and Ashley only inches apart in the corner of the room, both with red lips, meaning they had just kissed.
Ashley touched her lips nervously with her fingertips. "Woah," she whispered.
Ashton looked as if he could take on the whole world with one go.
Neither of them had acknowledged my prescence in the room and Ashton's hands were resting on Ashley's hips.
I cleared my throat. Ashley nearly jumped out of her skin, while Ashton just turned to face me with a smirk on his face and his arm hanging lazily around Ashley's shoulder.
"Can we help you? Or are you just here to stare? Because we were kind of in the middle of something."
Ashley slapped his chest which made his smirk falter a bit, but it was still there.
"Al, can I talk to him alone, please?" Ashley asked, her glare never wavering from Ashton's face.
"So he can suck your face off again? No way."
Ashley blushed fiercely but just grumbled, "Fine. You go ahead then."
"You," I pointed a finger at Ashley, "can go in the living room while I talk to this creature." I then pointed at Ashton.
She crossed her arms over her chest, still blushing ferociously, but nevertheless walked into the living room. That left Ashton and I in the kitchen. I turned to face him.
"You remember what I told you about her?"
He nodded.
"Good. Do well not to forget it. And if you lay a single finger on her - make her do anything she doesn't want to do - or hurt her in any way, I will personally find you and make sure you pay for it."
The coward just nodded and went into the living room. I took a deep breath and followed. I saw him peck Ashley on the lips, which made her blush only more so, take his jacket from on top of the couch, and leave the apartment.
I rubbed my temples. Turned out I was now the mother duck (or, mother bear, as I saw it) and Ashley was the little duckling.
**********
"I expected better from you."
She looked at her lap. "I know. I shouldn't have just let him kiss me like that."
"Exactly. I love you, Ashley, but you can't ever let him take advantage of you. You know that."
She just nodded.
"But I know you, and I know that your head is screwed on straight, no matter how big it might be," I joked, and she rolled her eyes. "So, I trust you. Just do me a favor?"
She looked up at me, eyes wide. "Anything I can."
"Can you make him any less of jerk? 'Cause he's starting to seriously annoy me."
She giggled. "Sure."
************
coMMENT COMMENT COMMENT DON'T EVEN READ THE REST OF THIS UNTIL UR DONE COMMENTING. PLS PLS DON'T JUST SAY ""updATE ANWEOFWAOWMFWO"" TELL ME WHAT U THINK.
alright so now that you've commented, cAN WE PLS JUST TAKE A MOMENT TO FANGIRL.
dedication to @greycolors bc laraaa.
ashley x