bouquet of roses | cashton

chapter 11

calum stared at ashton, wide eyed. the curly haired boy bit his lip, looking down as he mumbled, "... forget it. i knew you didn't want t-"

"a-ashton. of course i want to be your boyfriend."

ashton looked at him, shocked, and calum felt a pang of sadness in his heart when he realized ashton at first thought he would reject him. for a moment, the two just stared at each other, before calum broke the silence. "i... i've wanted this for a while, ashton. since i first met you, actually. i was so scared; i thought for sure i lost this chance a few times."

the curly haired boy just smiled as he listened to his now boyfriend ramble on about how much he cared about him, before he quickly hushed him. "hey, hey, i really like you calum, don't worry, but ... shouldn't we go downstairs now?" calum's face fell as he realized they had to now explain themselves. ... the whole story, too. ashton pulled himself out of the bed, followed by calum. it was a bit awkward for the two at first, as they were now more than just friends.

as they walked down the winding staircase, ashton noticed calum tensing with each step. had he never been in this situation before...? ashton flashed him an encouraging smile, taking his hand. they met three pairs of eyes, and calum awkwardly cleared his throat. "so, um, ashton, this is my mom, dad, and my sister mali koa." ashton made eye contact with all three, and he instantly wondered why calum was so afraid. they all looked so nice, so welcoming, so ... accepting.

they sat on the love seat across from the three, and calum's mother spoke. she looked so excited, and if ashton was being completely honest with himself he wished his family would be this excited. wished. "so, introduce us, calum!"

"well, this is ashton. ashton irwin. my... boyfriend." it felt so weird to call him that, but when he did, he smiled fondly. "i met him the same day you guys left. a-and i really like him."

it wasn't long before ashton and calum began to tell his family about everything, from michael and luke's herpes card, to calum answering the door in only his boxers, even to almost kissing on 4th of july and messing up. still, neither brought up the fight, or mentioned calum's breakdown (literally, since he managed to break everything in his room), and they especially didn't mention that they were only dating as of twenty minutes ago. either way, calum's family ate it all up, including his dad, and soon, mali was yawning and stretching. "well, i should go catch up on sleep. i have work tomorrow."

it wasn't long before his father stood, excusing himself to catch up on paperwork, and finally, calum and ashton sat alone with joy. she was the first to say something. "calum, could you excuse ashton and i for a moment?"

calum looked confused for a moment, before nodding slowly and making his way upstairs.

once his bedroom door was shut behind him, joy stood up and sat herself next to ashton. "so you're the son of ann irwin, yes?" ashton nodded hesitantly, and joy instantly hugged him to her chest. "i'm so sorry, baby. it must've been hard..." he nodded again, pulling away from her with a small smile. "you're very strong, ashton. how are you holding up?"

"i'm... getting by. i haven't been able to see my brother or sister in a few years, b-but i try my best to keep in touch."

"does calum know...? about-"

"no!" ashton flinched at the volume of his voice, lowering it slightly. "i-i mean, i'll tell him. very soon. but can i ask you how you know...?"

"i worked on your case. i never got to meet you, but i have seen photos of you before. you've grown up into a wonderful young man. calum is very lucky to have you." she smiled warmly. "if you ever need anything, we are here for you. that's all." joy stood, hugging ashton once more and kissing his forehead before she made her way to her office.

ashton whispered a "thank you" then slowly made his way up the stairs. he had to tell calum. the only problem was he didn't know how. looking at his phone, he sighed. "time for work." he told joy that he had to leave, and she happily said she'd tell calum.

-

august 17th (I SWEAR THIS HUGE ASS SKIP IS INTENDED)

"ashton, how come you haven't introduced me to your family...?" calum asked, eyebrows knitted together in both concern and frustration. it was their one month anniversary, and they were currently cuddling in calum's bed while watching spongebob. ashton flinched at the question. damn it, why hadn't he told calum yet!?

he avoided his boyfriend's gaze, and luckily he was saved from the uncomfortable silence when his phone rang. "h-hello...? zayn? .... ... oh, of course. ... tell him to feel better.... yeah, will do, bye." he hung up, looking to calum with guilty eyes. "c-can we talk later...? i... i have to go fill in for niall..." before calum could speak, ashton shimmied out of calum's slightly baggy sweats and pulled on his own jeans. he was about to remove calum's muscle tee when he interrupted him. "you can just wear that if you're in a hurry." ashton looked at him, mouthed a thanks, blew a kiss and rushed out.

as ashton pulled out of the driveway, calum angrily whipped out his phone. "michael, can you and luke come over? like, now."

within minutes, luke and michael, whose hair was now a strange mix of lavender and blue that calum had no idea how to explain it. "what happened, calum? did ashton break up with you?" michael spoke nervously, impatiently. calum shook his head, frowning.

"no, it's just ... i don't know what's happening. don't get me wrong, but this past month has been amazing! i brought up meeting his family earlier, a-and he left in a hurry, so that's weird."

michael snorted. "that's it? really? god, calum-"

"michael, don't be rude." luke interrupted, looking at calum with a pitiful expression. "as far as i know, you've never been to his house... and have you two even had your first kiss yet?"

"yes!- well, no... not really. is that a bad thing?" calum sounded worried, swallowing loudly.

luke just shrugged and frowned. "i honestly don't know what's wrong, calum. i thought it was working out for you two but at this point... you guys really need to talk."

sighing, calum just nodded in reply. "okay, well, i'll talk to him when he gets off of work. i guess i'll start preparing for the worst." he eyed them sadly, groaning. "why can't i just be perfect like you two!? this sucks!"

"oh, shush you! you already had enough alone time with us before, don't complain!" michael snickered, grabbing luke's arm as they began to exit the house. "but whatever, call us later. we'll send you comfort food if it doesn't work out."

-

calum paced nervously around his front room, running his fingers through his recently-bleached bangs and fixing his flannel collar in the mirror next to his door. they were going out to dinner, ashton was coming any minute now, and calum couldn't be any more scared. what if luke and michael were right; what if they break up? calum winced as he realized he was now pulling at his hair, when the door rang.

he opened it quickly, looking ashton's outfit up and down. shit, getting distracted. calum had opened his mouth to speak when ashton beat him to it.

"calum, w-we need to talk."

--

i'd write the rest of the chapter, but it's getting late and i really wanted to post again tonight smh (the pic is their outfits for their date, btw) also hooray for michael's hair! B)

but awh i wonder what's wrong with ashton's personal life? ): looks like you'll have to wait until tomorrow or something! let's hope things between cashton go well!

also, if you're reading this story/have it in your library, could you comment or vote??? i just want to see who's reading it! sadly nobody has yet to really vote/comment, especially on the character ask.......

but oh well! i have minimum days the rest of the week so get ready for multiple updates on this fic, Suddenly, and watch for new fics i'll be starting!

also add me on kik! (andromeowda)

much love! xx