bouquet of roses | cashton

chapter 14

when you get to september 16th i suggest listening to ride (the song on the top/side) for a feels fest (;(;

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september 1st

it had been two days since ashton said those words to calum, and the scene still replayed in his head.

-

"calum, i think i'm in love with you."

his eyes widened as his head tilted down slightly to look closer at his boyfriend. shocked dark brown eyes met antsy hazel eyes, and for a moment calum was frozen, unable to move or speak.

his heart detached from his body when he realized he hadn't said anything and ashton's expression changed into something along the eyes of hurt and disappointment.

"... shoot... i-i'm sorry... i forgot you were only eighteen. t-this is probably weird, huh? i knew i shouldn't ha-"

"i love you."

now it was ashton's turn to freeze, staring at his boyfriend like he was only imagining those words.

calum cracked a smile, the one that ashton said makes him feel warm and fuzzy inside, as he stepped out of his house and began to walk towards the slightly tanned boy. "i love you, ashton irwin. who cares if i'm eighteen? michael and luke knew they were in love when they were freshmen! but i really am in love with you too."

he felt warmth on his face, noticing that ashton's hands had now been cupping his cheeks as he smiled widely. calum leaned forward, connecting their lips together. they moved in sync, calum's hands entangling in ashton's curls as ashton moved his hands down to calum's waist. after a few minutes, they broke away for air. ashton rested his forehead on calum's and whispered, "i'll never leave you."

-

calum didn't notice ashton staring at him as he grinned like an idiot. "cal, you're so cute."

the dark haired boy rolled over so he was fully facing his boyfriend. "not as cute as you." god, calum thought he sounded like a gushy teenage girl. but he didn't care anymore.

ashton opened his mouth to speak when he heard his phone ring. grabbing it, he noticed the private ID and answered it with a soft "hello?"

calum tried to make sense of the person on the other line, but all he could do was figure it out based on ashton's responses. "yes, this is he... what? r-really? ... oh god, yes! .... wait, really? .... really ..... u-um, one sec..."

ashton looked at calum, silently pointing at his phone before he got out of bed and quickly walked to his office, closing the door. yep, calum had been spending a lot of time in ashton's apartment. to him, it just felt natural at this point.

nearly an hour later, when ashton emerged from his office, he came slower than he left. it worried calum that he couldn't read the once smiling boy's expression. he seemed hopeful, yet absolutely crushed. "ashton...? are you alright?"

"that was... that was the new york school of floral design. they offered me a scholarship if i were to transfer from my online classes right now to finish my major in horticulture. my dream... this is my chance, but i-"

"you don't want to have to leave me for it..." their eyes connected, each instantly sensing the hurt in each other. ashton dropped his head.

"yeah. i really don't want to leave you, cal. it's across the country, and we both know santa cruz is a long way from new york. ... maybe i shouldn't-"

"do it." ashton looked back at calum, who, though he was crying, still kept a steady face. "ashton, it's your dream. ... sure, i-i probably won't get to see you for a while, but it will work. we'll... we'll make it work."