Somewhere, Australia //A.I

Chapter 25: Hook Line and Sinker

I would just like to take a second to acknowledge that I'm pretty close to 1k views, AND ITS ALL BECAUSE OF YOU GUYS! I love all of you, thank you SOOO so so so much for reading this fanfic ENJOY LOVELIES!!!!! Ps- so very sorry it's been almost two weeks since I updated, been really busy, but I wanted to post something. Sorry it's not prof-read yet.
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Sydney's POV

While my mind indulged in my personal fantasies of Ashton, time kept moving, much to my dismay. The sound of Ashton clearing his throat rocked me back into reality, where he still has his hand placed on my shoulder waiting for me to acknowledge his apology.

"It's fine." I say, and he smiles that heart beating out of my chest smile.

Spreading his arms out wide for a hug, I smugly walk into them, feeling like the real winner for receiving a hug. "But don't do it again." I say after my head promptly lays in the crook of his arm.

"No promises." He replies into my ear.

I pull slightly away from him and crinkle my nose, still halfway entangled in his arms.

Ashton's POV

As she stood there semi- wrapped around me and her face all playfully mashed up a million thoughts turned into one. Perfection. She was a beautiful mess in a hundred and one ways. And it was perfect. The second thought that ran through my head was leaning more toward the PG-13 area, and involved some mouth on mouth contact.

We had kissed once, but the taste it left on my lips was of such a pure romantic feeling, almost like it was more of a spiritual connection than a physical one. Nonetheless it had left me wanting more. And right now seemed like the perfect time to cash in, especially when Sydney's eyes flick to my lips, then back to my eyes.

She tilted her head ever so slightly, but it was me who ended the distance between us. Our lips latched together, and I no longer cared about the fact I was at work, literally in the middle of my shift. Her hand reached up to entangle her fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. This action deepened the kiss, but our tongues stayed away. This was about more then some solid attraction, it was about a passionate spark.

We held our lip lock for probably a solid minute before Sydney's head slightly leaned away. I realized she wanted out and released her from the kiss. Breaking apart, we both breathed heavily to make up for our lost air.

Sydney's POV

"Sorry I had to breathe." I chuckled as Ashton leaned his forehead against mine, looking into my eyes to approval. "This is perfect." I say, instead of nodding.

I stared at all the flecks and streaks of color that make up Ashton Irwin's eyes. From a distance they seem to be mostly green, but up close their a maze of color. My hand is still lightly tangled in the hair at the nape of his neck. I breathe and blink in slow motion, almost willing time to move slower.

"Your so beautiful." I accidentally whisper, eyes widening in horror as I realized it bled into the air. Never breaking our eye contact, I blush but don't take it back because it's very much true.

"That's supposed to be my line." He whsipers back, looking amused when I blush heavily.

We continually stare into each other's eyes for a good minute longer until an unknown person clears their throat. Ashton breaks apart and scans the area around us, blushing when his eyes stop at the front of the counter. There stands an annoyed customer holding her credit card and a rental copy of 'The Notebook'.

Ashton looks back at me with sorry eyes, still slightly horrified our moment was interrupted by a customer. "Hold on, I'll be right back." He scurries away and attends to the woman.

Although I can't hear what he's saying, I can smell the charm. She's practically smiling, a strong contrast to her earlier anger, at whatever Ashton has said to her. Then he smiles at her, I know this even though I can't see his face, just by the look in her eyes that she wants to drop into the ground and melt away. He seems to have that affect on all of the female population.

While shaking my head, I unlock my phone to check the time. I'm sort of disappointed by the fact that it reads 12:36. The arrival of the afternoon means that I'll have to leave soon to go drop off August's lunch to ensure he gets it on time. But I made a promise to myself to bring it to her, and nothing, not even Ashton, it going to change that.

He finishes up in the front, smiling at me when he returns. "Hey do you guys have a bathroom?" I ask, discovering the coffee I'd drank that morning had gone through me.

"Sure thing. Right through that little hallway and on the left." He said guestering towards the back of the store.

"Look at you, being so helpful. It's a nice contrast to the usual." He plasters a look of mock sadness on his face as I walk away.

Ashton's POV

I took the opportunity while Sydney was away to restock some of the returns that'd piled up over the day. Shoving some tangled up earbuds from my pocket into my ears, I wheel out the cart containing the DVDS. Blasting Green Day through my headphones I wheel through the aisles and place things on the shelves accordingly. After shelving a plethora of romantic comedies and imagining their predictable endings, I head back towards the front.

Looking over one of the racks I spot Sydney and make it my personal mission to beat her back. I place one foot on the back of the cart and use the other to push off and gain some speed, whipping by the animated movie section and in the final stretch. Crossing the rubber threshold between the carpet and tile flooring I pull toward my body, gently bringing my joy ride to an end.

You would think someone riding on a returns cart around the store would be kinda hard to miss. But when I glide to a stop and cut off Sydney's path she looks bewildered, jumping backward and clutching a hand to her heart.

"How did not you see me?" I shake my head, laughing at her obliviousness. After catching her breath she laughs along with me, making her way back around the counter.

"I don't know, I guess I wasn't paying attention." She shrugs and takes her phone out of her pocket when it dings.

I return the cart back to its original position, nestled in the back. Putting a hand over her mouth Sydney covers her giggles at whatever text she just read. But it wasn't a funny joke laugh, it was a laugh full of love. A small, alien feelings creeps up inside me. Jealously. This feeling blossoms when I peak over her shoulder and see the ID at the top as Alex with a heart emoji.

I quickly panic, but check myself for jumping to the conclusion that Alex character is some hunky guy she's madly in love with. Alex could be a friend, a coworker, but most importantly a girl. Just to be certain that whatever relationship there is between Sydney and this mystery person is platonic, I guiltily yet speedily read their conversation.

A: Hey Babe, I miss you!
S: I miss -and love- you too!

I feel my heart drop from my chest to my feet. Babe pretty much ruined any chance of it being a girl or just a friend. All this time we were hanging out I thought there was something there. Hell, I think I may be in love with her.

Oh shit, I am in love with her.

She's had me hook line and sinker this entire time.

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Well darn. He dropped the L bomb, at least in his head. And with that I bid you farewell! Have a great day!