The next day, I woke up from semi loud talking coming from Brielle's room. I frowned sleepily before getting up and opening my door slightly, peeking out to see her door open. With my door open I could finally hear the conversation.
"I don't understand why you won't tell me why you were upset."
"Because you don't need to know. I'm fine now, that's what matters."
"But you weren't last night!"
"Luke, just drop it."
"No! I care enough about you to ask why! This wasn't just another one of your one night stands where you two fuck and the other one just leaves! Jesus Christ just tell me why!"
"Just get out Luke! It's none of your business!"
"Is it him!? Is that why?"
Suddenly there was nothing but silence. I walked down the hall and stopped in front of Brielle's door. Luke was staring at her while pointing at the picture on Brielle's desk while Brielle just sat there with a blank face. She put on that face when she was trying not to cry.
"Get out Luke," Brielle said quietly.
"Not until you tell me. I care about you. Just let me care for you," he pleaded.
"Last night was nothing, okay? Nothing. I'll never want to be with you, ever. You're pathetic, clingy and nosy. If I didn't want a relationship with any of the other hotter guys and girls I've slept with then what makes you think I'd want to be in one with you?" Brielle snarled viciously. My jaw dropped. Brielle hated bullying but here she was, bullying the one guy who actually cared for her.
"Brielle," I whispered. Both of them snapped their heads up to look at me and suddenly Brielle had realised what she'd done.
"Luke, I-I'm so sorry! I didn't m-mean any of t-that I swear!" she choked out, visibly shaking. Luke just stared at her before shaking his head and leaving.
"No wait! I'm sorry!" she called, shoving past me and running out to stop him. I followed them, curious as to what would happen. Brielle grabbed Luke's arm and spun him around. He yanked his arm out of her grasp but she grabbed it again, flipping it over as she saw the scars there for the first time. I watched her knees shake and Luke wrapped an arm around her waist, holding her up as she almost fell.
"I d-didn't mean-"
"It's fine," Luke said, cutting her off. "It's true. Why would you be with me? I've seen other guys so much better looking than me talk about wanting to be with you. So what made me think I had a chance? I don't know. But you were right."
Brielle just held on to the front of his shirt, trying to make him believe her with her eyes. Then without warning, she grabbed his face and kissed him. Luke was shocked for a moment before pulling away.
"Don't do this to me," he whispered.
"Don't hate me," she whispered back. He stroked her face before replying, "Sadly, I could never hate you, Brielle." Then he released her and left.
"What have I done?" she groaned, slumping down on the table.
"You probably ruined the one chance you had at being happy with someone else," I replied, sitting next to her, rubbing her back. She groaned again and muttered, "I always ruin everything anyway."
"Not always," I said and she just sighed.
"Come on," I said, standing up, "We have music today. Don't you want to get there early and play me your new song?"
"No," she groaned into the table.
"No you don't want to get there early? Or no you don't want to play me your song?"
"No song. It's dumb."
"I doubt that," I said, pulling her up. "Come on, let's go." Brielle groaned again but walked down to her room. I went into mine and pulled on some galaxy leggings, a big, sleeveless blue button up, and some black boots. Then I put on my glasses, messed up my hair a bit, and grabbed my guitar before waiting by the front door for Brielle. She came out a few minutes later wearing some black, floral print skinny jeans, a dark grey sleeveless shirt with a black skull on it, knee high black boots, a black beanie, and of course, make up.
"Lots of black. Going to a funeral?" I teased.
"Shut up. Funerals aren't something to joke about," Brielle snapped and I gave her an apologetic look before we left.
When we got to the empty music room, Brielle went towards the booth but I stopped her.
"Look," I whispered, pulling her back to the doorway, peeking over towards the recording booth. Luke was in there with an acoustic guitar, singing something. He finished a few minutes later and stepped out, playing the song out loud. At first, it sounded like he mumbled that it was for Brielle. I wasn't sure but the look on Brielle's face told me that he had said that.
"And who would have thought,
That a cutie pie just like you,
Would have anything to do,
With a smelly dude like me.
I find it hard to believe.
And who would have thought
That you ever would have
Kissed my cheek
In your backyard
on your trampoline that night?
I never put up a fight.
And I know that you're all shook up
From a terrible relationship.
He broke your heart
Yeah, he tore you in to pieces.
But I promise you dear,
I'll never touch you like he did!
So baby, please take my hand
And you'll never be alone again!
And every single time I look in to your eyes,
I see a little bit more sunshine.
I feel a little bit more like me,
Instead of who I turned out to be.
I wouldn't trade it for a thing.
Could I call you my baby?
And I know that you're all shook up
From a terrible relationship.
He broke your heart,
Yeah, he tore you in to pieces.
But I promise you dear
I'll never touch you like he did!
So baby, please take my hand
And you'll never be alone again
Cause I know he broke your heart
But I'll love you 'til the end!
So baby, please take my hand
And you'll never be alone again!
So baby, please take my hand
And you'll never be alone again!
So baby, please take my hand
And you'll never be alone again!"
When the song finished Brielle stepped out. "How dare you?" she snarled. Luke spun around, looking slightly embarrassed.
"You were never supposed to hear that," he said quickly.
"How dare you try and bad mouth my last relationship," Brielle said threateningly.
"Brielle," I said, stepping into view. She ignored me and took a few steps closer to Luke.
"You know nothing about him okay!?" she shouted, starting to get hysterical. "You have no right to say anything bad about him! You've never even met him, so don't you dare say anything bad about him! I tore my own heart into pieces! He never laid a hand on me! You don't know him!" By now Brielle was in tears. Luke took a step towards her but she backed up before running out of the room.
"Whoa, what happened here?" Michael asked as he, Ashton and Calum walked in, being shoved past by Brielle.
"Nothing," I said quickly. Then I saw Michael's hand was in a cast and I gasped.
"Did I do that?" I asked, pointing at it.
"Yes. You broke my fingers," he fake sobbed. I smiled before hugging him.
"We actually came here to ask if Brielle would fill in for Michael in our practice, but since she's so distraught, do you mind?" Calum asked.
"Oh sure I don't mind at all," I said. Playing guitar in front of my crush for a few hours? Not a problem at all.
We showed up at their house, all the guys laughing and joking except for a dejected looking Luke. Once inside, Michael handed me his guitar and I stood where he normally stood.
"So, what am I playing?" I asked. Ashton handed me a few sheets of paper and I read them a few times before nodding. "Okay, let's do this."
I played with them for a few hours until Luke's spirits had lifted and Ashton had broken a few drum sticks.
"Thanks so much Claire," Michael said gratefully.
"I still feel bad about breaking your hand," I said truthfully. Even though filling in for Michael was fun, it was my fault his fingers were broken.
"It's no problem really," Michael replied, Ashton breaks his fingers all the time."
"But I think we might asking you to replace Michael soon. He sucks," Ashton whispered to me and I giggled. Michael shot me a look and I rolled my eyes at him.
"You have to stay for dinner," Calum said, "To pay you back for filling in for Michael."
"If any of you are cooking, I'll pass," I teased.
"Excuse me, but I'm an excellent cook," Ashton said and I laughed.
"He is. But don't worry, we're ordering pizza," Calum told me and I cheered.
When the pizza arrived, there was a lot of fuss over who got the first slice. While the guys were distracted, I took my own and started eating. Then Luke looked up and said, "Hey."
"I was hungry," I shrugged, taking another bite. Then Ashton jumped up and took the next slice, sitting next to me. My heart pounded at the sudden closeness and when he smiled at me, it dropped into my stomach.
"So, tell me about yourself," Ashton said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"Well," Ashton started, "I told you why we left Australia and came here. I told you how I was bullied and why I self harm. So I want to know about you. Why'd you leave America to come to England for uni? What are your hobbies, goals, dreams and pet peeves? I want to know you Claire Grande."
"That's certainly a lot," I said and he laughed. "Um, let's see. My friends and I always wanted to travel. We never went farther than England. We all just kind of felt we belonged here. Um, I guess my hobbies are playing guitar, drawing and dancing. My dream was to always be a dancer and now I take ballet en pointe so I've achieved that dream. I guess that's pretty much it. Oh! And my hair. I wanted to dye it burgundy so I finally did. So yeah, that's pretty much it." While I was talking Ashton, his hand kept inching closer to mine until his fingers were tracing little patterns on the back of mine. I looked up and him and our eyes met, the two of us inching closer and closer until our faces were inches apart. I could feel his warm breath tickling my face and I desperately wanted his lips to be on mine. Ashton closed his eyes and so did I, the little space left between us closing until-
"MOVIE NIGHT!" Michael screamed, making us jump. I flushed and stood up, slipping my phone in my back pocket.
"Um, s-sorry guys. I have to go," I said quickly, fleeing the house. I couldn't believe it! I was so freaking close to kissing him! I sighed and jogged back to my house. I walked in to see Brielle leading some girl into her room. This girl was also covered in tattoos but instead of the black haired girl that had been here before, this girl was a blonde. I shook my head at them before heading towards my own room. On my way there I heard soft crying from Brooklyn's room. I went in to find her laying there on her bed, curled up in a ball crying.
"Brook, what's wrong?" I asked, sitting on her bed and pulling her head onto my lap, stroking her soft, light brown hair.
"Nothing," she sniffled.
"That's what you said last time," I reminded her.
"I'm serious," she said, sitting up. "It's nothing. What about you? You look so upset."
"I almost kissed Ashton and then Michael ruined it," I muttered. Brooklyn rubbed my back soothingly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get another chance," she told me. I just shrugged. Luckily for me, I did get another chance.
The next morning I woke up with a phone call.
"Hello?" I answered groggily, not even bothering to see who was calling.
"Claire? Did I wake you up?" Ashton asked.
"Um, yeah why?" I yawned.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! I was just calling to see if you could come fill in for Michael again today. We have an early rehearsal because we might have a show tonight," he told me.
"Yeah sure," I said while stretching. "Just give me a few minutes to get ready."
"Okay cool," he said happily before hanging up. I sighed and got out of bed, walking over to my closet to pick an outfit. I decided on some floral leggings and a big white shirt with some white vans. I tied my hair up in a small messy bun on top of my head before brushing my teeth and putting on some lip gloss and mascara. I taped a note to my bedroom door so nobody thought I was kidnapped or killed before leaving.
When I reached the boys house, I went to knock. Before I could the door opened to reveal Ashton standing there.
"Oh hey I-"
"Shh," he said, stepping outside. "They're still asleep."
"So, how are we supposed to practice?" I asked. He grinned.
"We will later," Ashton said, "Let's go get breakfast first."
"I didn't bring my ID card," I said. He held up his and said, "Don't worry. I've got you covered." I smiled and Ashton and I set off for the cafe.
Once there, I picked up a butter roll and a fruit smoothie while Ashton picked up a box of cereal and some orange juice. He put all of it on his tray before swiping his ID card and leading me over to a table in the back. We sat across from each other and I picked at my butter roll. Ashton opened his little box of cereal, but he just played with it instead of eating it.
"Claire?" he asked after a few minutes. I looked up to see him staring at the table, fidgeting nervously.
"Yeah?" I replied. Ashton looked up at me and took my hand.
"I'm... really glad you filled in for Michael. It's been great having you around. You know 'cause you're a good guitar player and you're... yeah um, okay," he said awkwardly. He realised he was still holding my hand and let go of it quickly. I just stared at him. Did he feel weird about almost kissing me yesterday? Did I ruin whatever friendship we had going? But if I did, would he have called me at 6:30 in the morning for band practice while the rest of the band was sleeping, just to spend more time alone with me? I was so confused.
When we finished eating, Ashton and I started to leave. Then this flood of girls came in, giggling when they saw Ashton. He sighed and I knew he was really uncomfortable, so I slipped my hand into his. He smiled at me and kissed my cheek, sending butterflies into my stomach and jealousy into the hearts of the girls in front of us. We walked back to his house, hand in hand. When we got to the door, Ashton turned and faced me.
"Claire," he whispered. He took a small step towards me so our shoes were touching. He leaned in like he did last night and I did too, our eyes sliding shut. Once again I could feel his warm breath tickling my face, the ghost of his lips barely touching mine.
"What are you doing standing out there!?" Calum shouted, opening the door. "We have band rehearsals! Come on!" Ashton and I jumped before turning red.
"Um, right yeah," I muttered, walking past Calum and picking up Michael's guitar.
"So uh, what are we playing today?" I asked. Luke passed me a few music sheets that I reviewed before nodding. "Okay, but I can't stay too long. I have ballet today."
"Rock guitarist by day, ballet dancer by night huh?" Michael teased. I stuck my tongue out at him before Luke started to play. I knew I joined in eight counts after him, so I counted to eight in my head before playing.
I spent the next few hours playing guitar with the boys until we took a lunch break. Then I played for another two hours before I had to stop.
"Do you have to go?" Ashton asked, giving me a sad look.
"Yeah," I replied, looking down at my vans. I couldn't bear to see his eyes look all sad. "I have dance."
"I know," he sighed. "I just don't want you to go." My heart skipped a beat. He doesn't want me to go? I suddenly hated the idea of ballet.
"Well can you come back later?" Calum asked. "Cause Mikey's fingers are still broken and he can't play at our little show tonight."
"Little show where?" I asked. Ashton flushed before looking down and saying, "My sisters birthday party."
"I thought all your family was in Aussie?" I questioned. He sighed and said, "My sister wanted to see me for her birthday, plus she has friends up here that she's met through one of her best friends who moved from Australia to England a few years back. So they're throwing her a big party and needed a musical act, which I was happy to provide because she's my little sister."
"Okay," I said after a moment. "Sure. I'll come."
"Really?" Ashton asked excitedly. I smiled at him and said, "Why not?"