Ashley POV
"Oh my God!" I screeched. I had only just pulled my towel around my body after my shower, as Ashton had ran into my bathroom and slammed the door behind him frantically, not realizing I was here until I had screamed.
"What are you doing in here?" I screamed.
"Shhh!" He ran up to me and held his hand over my mouth, still not acknowledging the towel wrapped around my body. His adrenaline hadn't caught up to him yet.
I licked his hand so as to get him off of me, which worked obviously. "Gross," he whispered disgustedly. "Just shut up, will you?"
I put my hand on my hip. "Who's gonna make me?"
"Don't be sassy now, please? It's really not the time."
"Would you care to tell me why you are in my bathroom right after I got out of my shower?" I asked.
It was then that he realized the situation we were in. He blushed a ferocious shade of magenta, quickly spinning around and covering his eyes at the same time.
"Um, I kind of pranked Michael while he was texting that girl - what was her name again? - Jodie? Yeah, Jodie," he said, embarrassed.
"Wait, what? How did he get her number?" I asked, forgetting that I should have been mad at him.
"From what I understood, Mike asked Luke to ask Kate for Jodie's number."
"What? Why wouldn't Mike just ask me?"
"Don't ask me! Can we just be quiet though? If Mike finds me, I'm dead," he urged.
"What did you even do to him?" I asked, befuddled.
"I, uh, may have come up behind him and poured a bucket of ice down the back of his shirt," he trailed off.
I chuckled. "You really are dead, bro. Sucks for you."
He scoffed quietly. "Gee, thanks. Glad I can come to you for support."
"You usually can. Just not when I'm naked. Speaking of," I continued, seeing his ears turn red from the back of his head, "I kind of need to get dressed and my clothes are in my bedroom. Do you mind?"
He was still blushing, but he spoke with a cheeky tone. "I do mind, now that you mention it."
"What?" I snapped. "Ashton I can easily yell over to Michael right now and tell him that you're in here, so you're in no position to be cheeky."
"Fine, go ahead," he grumbled and moved from the door with his hands still over his eyes. I was allowed passage to my bedroom and was about to open the door when it was opened for me by Michael.
During some point that my back was turned to him, Ashton had removed his hands from his eyes and was clearly staring at my butt. Unfortunately Michael took that, along with the fact that I was only wearing a towel and we were both in the bathroom together, to mean something extremely far from the truth.
"Holy - shi-"
But I had placed one hand over his mouth, turned him around, walked him straight out of the door to my bedroom, and slammed it on him. I then proceeded to lock the door and yell through the wood, "I'll explain later, and it's totally not what you think, but I need to change now! Thanks Mikey-boo!"
"Use protection, children!" he screamed through the door.
I blushed. "We're not doing anything of the sort, idiot!"
I then turned back around and sqeaked when my towel slipped a little bit. I grabbed hold of it quickly and pulled it back up, blowing some hair out of my face while doing so. Thankfully, it didn't slip too low as to reveal anything. Unluckily, however, it had slipped down just enough to make Ashton (whom I had forgotten was still in the room and staring at me) even more aware that I was naked with only a towel on.
"Uh," he started, but he couldn't finish.
"If you've finished checking me out, would you care to at least go into the bathroom while I change please?"
He blushed once more, seeming not to be able to help it anymore.
"Y-yeah, sure."
**********
Ashton POV
She turned around and squealed as her towel slipped. I watched, mesmerized, as she blew a tiny curl away from her face then turned to make sure I hadn't seen anything.
"Uh." I didn't know what to say.
"If you've finished checking me out, would you care to at least go into the bathroom while I change please?" She spoke with a surprising confidence, especially considering that she was still dripping wet with only a towel on.
I blushed again, knowing that I had been caught staring.
"Y-yeah, sure."
It wasn't exactly my fault that I was staring though. If you were a teenage guy with hormones and there was a girl with only a towel on, locked inside the same room as you, you would be staring too.
I turned around and faced the bathroom as she changed, but I suavely moved over a few inches so I could see her through the bathroom mirror. I promised myself that if she took the towel completely off, then I would look away for respect to her, but it was a pretty weak promise.
I chuckled silently as she tried to pull her underwear on without taking the towel off. I knew she was still suspicious of me and wouldn't trust me not to look. Apparently, though, my chuckle wasn't as silent as I thought and she hissed, "Don't look!"
"I wasn't looking!" I weakly defended, though I knew she wouldn't believe a word of it.
I moved over enough that she would think I couldn't see anymore, but enough that I could still see from the corner of my eye.
It was then that I fully acknowledged the way she looked. I couldn't help but stare at her legs. She didn't have a thigh gap - her thighs were actually a fair bit larger than average, but they were mostly muscle. She had major curves and the size of her hips made the towel rise up even more than it originally would have, which was an advantage for me.
She didn't have a tiny waist at all; in fact, she had quite a wide waist, but it only balanced out her curves and her bust. She would have actually looked very disproportionate had she had a small waist. Her face was round and her brown eyes were framed with her dark eyelashes. They weren't the longest eyelashes, but they were long enough that she didn't really need to wear any mascara.
She had her flaws, and she knew it too, but there was something special about her. She didn't look like a model at all - and she didn't want to. She had an aura of confidence that I had never seen before - not only in a girl, but in anyone. It radiated off of her in waves, like an ocean during high tide.
And her smile wasn't the stereotypical flirty smile that a girl might give. It wasn't the small 'modest' smile ('modest' being another name for 'insecure') that someone might give. It was a proper smile: one that was way too big for your face and didn't need to be bleached white to stand out.
She didn't even wear that much makeup. She said she didn't need it, and she wasn't being cocky. She genuinely believed that no one needed to wear too much makeup. She said that everyone had their own natural beauty and didn't need to hide it.
Ashton's getting soft, my brain said in a singsong voice.
Shut up brain, I thought back.
You really like her, don't you?
Of course not, why would you say that?
Oh, I don't know, maybe because you just spent, like, five minutes describing her body. And now she's trying to get your attention but you're in lala land.
"Ashton? You okay there?" asked Ashley with an eyebrow raised.
She had gotten completely dressed, with only her hair still dripping wet; the blush had never quite left her face. I gave her a once-over. She was wearing a pair jeans with a brown braided belt and a flowery blouse. Two of her buttons had been left open to be just flirtatious enough without being too revealing.
She rolled her eyes at me. "This is - what - the third time you're checking me out? I mean, I know I'm attractive enough, but use some self-control, Ash, I mean gosh!" She smiled a cheeky smile at me.
I brushed it off even though it was totally true. "So...what do we do now?" I asked awkwardly. Chances were Michael was still probably out there, waiting to get me back.
"Well I was getting ready to go out and get a smoothie. You wanna join?" She smiled at me warmly.
"Yeah, but uh...Mike." I pointed at the door uncertainly.
She nodded silently and quitely walked to the door. Then all of a sudden, even making me jump, she banged her fist on the door, right where she thought Michael would be eavesdropping from.
I heard a loud bang and an "Ow!" come from Michael. "What was that for?" he yelled through the door.
"Maybe because you were eavesdropping, genius!" she yelled back.
"I was not!" he boomed indignantly.
"Really?" she said matter-of-factly. "Did you just happen to be sitting with your ear to the door knitting a sweater?"
"For you information, I was knitting a scarf!"
"Oh, wow, what a big difference! That really changes everything!" she said sarcastically. "Just get out of the way, will you?"
"Fine," grumbled Michael. We heard shuffling and then Ashley went and opened the door gingerly, making sure to stand behind it as she did, just in case Michael had a back-up plan.
She was proven right when a water balloon flew through the door and landed on her wooden floor with a splat.
"Mike, you imbecile! You almost hit my laptop!"
He swore under his breath. "I missed," he whispered.
"Yeah! You did! Now get - out!" She said through gritted teeth.
He put his hands up in surrender and went down the stairs. We heard a door slam and we knew that he had left.
Ashley sighed frustatedly, running a hand through her tangled hair, with much effort, which only made her more frustrated.
"So how about that smoothie?" I soothed.
She smiled half-heartedly. "Yeah, let's go."
We went downstairs and Ashley grabbed her keys. I walked to the door as she did so. As I opened the door to let her go first, in a weak attempt to be a gentleman, I felt my shirt become soaked as a water balloon hit me square in the chest.
"Oh my God!" Ashley jumped. "What is your problem, Mike?"
But Mike had fallen to the floor, overcome with hysterics. He could hardly breathe and his face had become completely red. I would have jumped down and practically strangled him, but something told me that Ashley wouldn't think so highly of me after that. Albeit, she probably didn't even think so highly of me now, I thought somberly.
Ashley came over to me, with her bag slung around her shoulder. She took my hand, making me feel giddy, and dragged me out of the door, locking it behind her, and making sure to step over the still-laughing Michael. His eyes were squeezed shut and he didn't even notice us leave.
We came up to the door of my apartment, where Ashley stuck her hand out expectantly, much to my confusion. "Your key, genius."
I nodded in understanding and handed her the key to the apartment. She opened it and we saw Calum in the kitchen stuffing his face with Oreos and checking his phone, most likely on Twitter.
"Hi, Cal." Ashley waved to him.
"Heh Athleh." His voice was muffled by the food in his mouth. He actually looked a lot like a chipmunk.
"Ash, go get a new shirt. Quickly!" she added when I lagged.
"I'm going, mother!"
I ran up the stairs, into the room I shared with Luke. Our room looked so much like a pigsty that you could hardly see the beds. I dawdled a bit, just thinking of nothing. What was going on? I was totally lost. All of these doubts crawled into my thinking space. She doesn't like you, you idiot. She's just going out with you because she pities you. Or she just wants the money and the fame. No, she's not like that. I know her. But do I?
"Ash?" Ashley said, using my nickname, which made me oddly happy. But then I remembered that I was supposed to be changing into a new shirt and I cursed myself for being so slow.
She came into the room sooner than I had anticipated. Her eyes widened as she noticed that I was still shirtless. She spun around immediately, her high pony-tail swishing quickly as well. I smirked as I saw that her ears were red.
"Um, I just came up to make sure you were ready." She gulped.
I came up behind her and whispered into her ear, making her jump suddenly at our close proximity. "Who's checking out who, now?"
I made sure to stand in front of her and put my shirt on slowly, just to tease her. It worked well, because her face turned even more red, and she chewed her lip nervously. I walked up to her, and our faces were only inches away. "Don't chew your lip, will you?"
At this, her blush went down a little and she looked at me, confused. "Why?"
I moved my face even closer to hers, making her blush rise up once again. "I might not be able to control myself," I whispered.
Her eyes widened and I decided to move closer until there was only a milimeter between our lips and our bodies were pressed together. Then, deciding to tease her even more, I quickly pecked her lips, grabbed her hand and ran out of the door, yelling, "Now how about those smoothies?"
I cackled as we ran out of the apartment spontaniously and took the stairs all the way down, seriously winding Ashley, who still had an extremely red face.
This would be fun.
**********
Michael POV
hey mike whats up
I read the text from Jodie with a smile on my face.
waiting for u to text obvi lmao. jk but u up for starbucks? im in the mood for a frap! :-)
I hesitated to press the send button. Would she think I was being too forward? I should just delete the last smiley. It's too much, right? And that exclamation point might make her think I'm some kind of sociopath, God. Argh, why was this so hard?
Screw it, I thought. I'm sending the message.
And I hit the send button before my mind could fill with anymore doubts. God. I hoped she wouldn't totally reject me and think I was stupid. Who was I kidding? I was a total idiot. Why would she want to go out to Starbucks with me? But it would just be Starbucks! She wouldn't think it was a date, would she? But I wanted it to be a date. Didn't I?
Just then, my phone beeped with a message from Jodie. I dived towards it and frantically unlocked the screen.
**********
Jodie POV
Starbucks? He was asking me out on a date?
Don't be stupid. It's just Starbucks. It doesn't mean anything. Or does it? If my text sounded too enthusiastic, he would think I was desperate. But if I sounded too nonchalant and he really was asking me on a date, then he would be let down!
Then I remembered that I was expected to text back and he was probably waiting for my reply.
love to! :) just tell me when and where!
I read the draft over then shook my head. Too excited. And sexual. Delete.
sure :) what a great idea!
I shook my head again and cursed myself. Too bored. Delete.
that would be great :-)) should we meet at starbucks or can you pick me up?
I cocked my head to the side. That seemed good enough. I gave him an option and I didn't sound too over- or under-rated. Send.
**********
Luke POV
Tired. That's what I was. Just tired. Tired of everything. I shut my eyes and swallowed down the aspirin that would numb my endless headaches. I rubbed my temples and balanced my elbows on the bathroom counter.
My phone rang and I groaned. I trudged into my room and picked up my phone from my bed. The caller ID read: Kate. And just like that I was smiling.
I knew I should answer it. But I couldn't bring myself to click the 'Answer' button. Not because I didn't want to talk to her; in fact, she would probably brighten my day. It was because I couldn't bring myself to ruin her day with my horrible mood swings.
I sighed as the screen changed to say: 1 missed call from Kate. Now she would think I was ignoring her.
I sighed once more and resorted to texting her instead.
hey sorry I didnt answer. not feeling well rn. ttyl? x
I kept on sighing, waiting for her to answer. It was only making me more tired. Maybe I should take a nap.
**********
I woke up with a start. What time was it?
Then I suddenly remembered that I had been waiting for Kate to text me back. God, how long was I asleep? What's wrong with you Luke? She probably thinks you don't care. I checked my phone.
1 message from Kate: sure! feel better! just wanted to know if you wanted to get ice cream :) but if ur not feeling well, we can do it another time! x
Well damn. Now I was feeling guilty. Maybe I should say yes. Who knows, I might feel better after some ice cream and fresh air, especially with Kate.
I simply pushed away the growing pain in my head and responded with a simple: might make me feel better. meet you there in 20? :) x
**********
(dedi 2 @lovespiderman bc hes my brother [yes irl] and his story is rly cool and u should go read it bc who doesnt want 2 read from a guy's pov??)
ok so i wanted 2 show ashley's flaws without saying it from her pov bc u wouldn't take her seriously; u'd think she was just insecure, which wld completely miss the actual point, which is the fact that she's so confident about herself.
ALSO there seems 2 b a lot of controversy regarding the body image ive given ashley n how lots of girls hav commented "finally a normal girl":
the whole point of me writing this is so people would see that all types of bodies can b appreciated bc the human body is a beautiful thing. when people comment that, theyre just saying that they like the fact that ive strayed from the "cliché skinny fanfic mc"
NO 1 HAS ANYTHING AGAINST SKINNY WOMEN, NO 1 IS SKINNY SHAMING, N IF THEY R I WILL BEAT THEM UP OK
U R ALL BEAUTIFUL NO MATTER THE COLOR OF UR SKIN, NO MATTER THE LANGUAGE U SPEAK, NO MATTER UR LEVEL OF EDUCATION, NO MATTER WHERE U GREW UP OR CAME FROM OR WHERE U R NOW, WHETHER U HAV BIG BOOBS OR NOT, BIG ASS OR NOT, WHETHER U HAV NO FAT ON UR BOD OR U HAV A MARSHMALLOW BOD, WHETHER UR TALL OR SHORT, WHETHER U IDENTIFY AS MAN OR WOMAN, WHETHER U IDENTIFY AS NEITHER, WHETHER U HAV A DICK OR A PUSSY IDGAF I LOVE U ALL FOR WHO U R
IF I DONT LIKE U THEN ITS BC UR PERSONALITY PROBABLY SUCKS BUT THATS ANOTHER STORY
THATS HOW I AM, THATS HOW IVE ALWAYS BEEN, THATS HOW THE ENTIRE WORLD SHOULD B, N THATS THAT
ashley x