MeetYouThere

Chapter Nine

"C'mon, we need to get down there. Tori says the van will be there in ten," Calum says to Ashton, having invited him to his room to prolong the inevitable.

Ashton sighs, closing his eyes as he rests his head on his hands, his heart pounding in his chest. He looks up and swallows, knowing he needs to accept this and be happy for her. He stands up and adjusts his jeans with another heavy breath.

"It's gonna be okay, Mate," Calum smiles softly, resting his hand on Ashton's shoulder. "I know this is gonna be hard. I know you don't wanna see her with him, but she's our friend, right?"

"I know," Ashton sighs, rubbing his forehead before he claps his hand to Calum's extended shoulder and then looks up at him, "She really said she was happy?"

Calum twists his mouth up and shrugs, "She said she was happy, but she wasn't in love with him. Stuff like that can come later though."

Ashton nods as he drops his hand, hating the tightening in his chest of 'I love you' falling from her soft lips to someone else. He exhales as he grabs the handle and enters into the hallway, the walls closing in on him as he gets closer to the elevator. He swallows several times, his throat feeling like it's closing up on the ride down as he continues to take deep breaths.

"Should have done a shot before we left huh?" Calum smirks at him, noticing his nervousness.

"Or smoked a joint," Ashton rolls his eyes at the elevator doors as they ding at the lobby level arrival.

"It'll be a'right, man," Calum grabs his shoulder briefly before stepping off.

Ashton contemplates faking ill, watching as Calum disappears, but steps off just as the doors decide to close, hitting his arm. He walks slowly behind Calum, growing the distance between them as he tells his lungs to fucking breathe and heart to shut the fuck up. Calum disappears into the room and Ashton stops, taking one last deep inhale, reminding himself he broke up with her, he pushed her away and she has a right to move on.

His eyes burn before he swallows his regret and reluctantly heads into the ballroom, gliding his palm over the side of head to flatten his hair. His hand falls as he goes tranquil, her beautiful smiling face pressed against Calum's stopping his lungs entirely. Her eyes open and lock to his, his breath finally returning as he hones in on those gorgeous blue pools that captivate him.

Kathreen gasps in Calum's ear and he let's her go, looking back at Ashton to find him just as overwhelmed and mesmerized. Calum smiles to himself, grateful to witness this exchange of two natives reconnecting after too much time suffering apart. He looks back at everyone else, emotions playing over their faces as they, too, witness the reunion of matched souls.

Ashton watches her wipe a tear from her smiling face as he grins widely. They reach each other collectively and her arms wrap around his neck, her body molding perfectly to his as he protectively binds his arms around her. Her soft silk hair caresses his face, flooding his nose with the smell of her shampoo before her warm vanilla-like scent and perfume takes over his senses. He closes his eyes and wonders if she can feel his beating heart.

"I've missed you so much," he mutters, deciding in this moment that, no matter what, he will love her right, even if it means just being her best friend.

As he clings to her smaller but now matured and curvier frame he knows he loves her more than anything and as long as she is happy, he will be happy for her. He squeezes her tighter as she nods her head in response to his spoken words, telling him she is too emotional to speak and his heart leaps, wondering, and hoping that she still loves him too.