Daisy (lashton)

Chapter 47

The party went off without a hitch, and Ashton couldn't be more thankful. Daisy had the best birthday party yet, and even two days later, she couldn't stop talking about it. Her favorite gift? The dollhouse from Michael and Crystal. Of course Michael was ecstatic to hear that the next day once he sobered up, and he didn't hesitate to text Calum and brag.

Ashton had been preparing for this party for weeks, and now that it was over, he was relieved. But at the same time, he was majorly stressed. It was only two days until Maureen and Paul took Daisy for the week and to say Ashton was nervous would be a huge understatement. Calum had already talked him down from a panic attack, but he was still on edge.

"Would you quit it?" Calum reached over and smacked Ashton's leg that hadn't stopped shaking since he sat down. They were sitting in the lobby of the dance studio once again as their girls had class and Ashton had been anxiously tapping his foot for the last 20 minutes.

"I can't help it," Ashton sighed, leaning back and running his hands through his hair. "I'm about to lose my fucking mind, Cal."

Calum sighed, turning to face his friend. "Ash, take a breath. Everything is going to be okay." Ashton knew his friend was just trying to give him peace of mind, but it wasn't helping.

He groaned. "Easy for you to say, Cal, your in laws practically worship you."

The Maori boy grinned, throwing up his hands in surrender. "Hey now, it's not my fault they always wanted a son." Ashton rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. Half of him expected to see a message from Luke, but the other half of him knew better.

After Ashton walked out on him at the party, he avoided his boyfriend for the rest of the day. He knew it was petty, but he needed the time to clear his head. He was running on pure emotion, and he knew if he wasn't careful, he'd say something he regretted.

"Still no Luke?" Calum peered over Ashton's shoulder at his blank screen. Ashton shook his head, shoving his phone back into his pocket. He'd already filled Calum in on all the dramatic details of his life currently, from eavesdropping on Maureen and Luke to Luke turning him down in the bathroom. He was grateful to have such a good friend willing to listen to him without complaint.

"Nah, I don't blame him though," Ashton sighed, "I was a dick to him all weekend." Ashton regretted the way he avoided Luke, but he couldn't take it back now. He'd been messaging Luke all day trying to talk to him, but still nothing.

"He'll come around. Mikey said he's been fucked up since the party if that makes you feel any better?"

"Ugh," Ashton let himself slump down in his seat, "how in the hell would that make me fell better? Fuck, I knew he was getting cold feet. Cal, I don't know what to do."

"Hey, Ash, listen to me." Calum's hand came down on Ashton's back and rubbed soothing circles into it. "You can't freak out until you talk to him, okay? You can't read his mind, so until you hear the words from him, you need to chill out."

Ashton nodded, sitting back up and pulling Calum into a hug. "I know, it's just hard when you care so fucking much about someone. I can't lose him, Cal, fuck I..." The words were on the tip of Ashton's tongue, and even though it scared him, he had to let it out. "I, I think I love him. And it's terrifying because I know this is all new to him and he's never even been in a serious relationship before but I do and the thought of him leaving me, leaving us..." Ashton pulled on his hair, taking a deep shaky breath. "I think I'd fall apart."

For the first time since Ashton started talking, he looked up into his best friend's eyes. The sympathy in Calum's eyes wasn't lost on the honey haired man, and he knew full well what Calum was thinking, what they were both thinking. The ball was in Luke's court.