the treehouse ☾irwin [completed]

eight;

"good thing i didn't eat my cereal," i muttered to myself as ashton pulled up to a small diner that served breakfast 24/7.

ashton chuckled as we climbed out of his car, walking towards the entrance. "he's already here," he nodded towards a parked car as he opened the door for me.

i walked into the diner and glanced around, not knowing who nor what to expect. ashton started walking ahead of me, his eyes set on someone. i quickly followed, ending up stopped beside a booth with one person sitting in it.

"hemmings, thanks for meeting us," ashton said to the person.

he looked up from his menu, glancing up at ashton, then me with his bright blue eyes. he had a snapback on backwards, with blonde hair poking out of the ends of it. he fumbled with his black lip ring as he stood up to greet us.

"ash! good to see you," he embraced ashton in somewhat of a handshake and a hug. "you too, luke. this is bree, my neighbor. friend. girl," ashton managed to spit out, motioning to me.

luke turned to me and rolled his eyes at ashton's silliness. "it's nice to meet you. ashton's told me a lot about you. i'm luke."

"oh?" i raised my eyebrows at ashton before sitting down in the booth. his cheeks turned red, but he quickly recovered with an obnoxious laugh to cover it up.

we all collapsed in the booth, with ashton sitting beside me and luke across from us.
"so, what's new?" luke took a sip of his water, eyes fixed on ashton.

ashton just shrugged and luke nodded in a knowing way. the two had a small conversation to themselves, which i knew would happen. ashton had told me about luke briefly. mostly that they had been friends for awhile and they hung out a lot on the weekends.

apparently luke was the same year as me, except he's homeschooled. he plays the guitar and sometimes sings, but less than he used to, ashton said.

"how's it been with.. tony?" luke asked ashton in a softer voice. he glanced at me in a concern, leaning more forward towards ashton.

ashton just simply shakes his head 'no', tapping his fingers anxiously on the table.

"oh," luke leaned back in his seat. "when are you going to tell-" he got cut off by the waitress showing up.

"hey folks, what can i get ya?" a middle aged woman patted her hair before pulling out a notepad. i eyed ashton, who was shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

we quickly ordered, with ashton and i both getting drinks, too. i watched as the lady bounced off, being a little too chipper for my liking.

"so, have you talked to michael, lately?" luke turned to ashton, breaking the silence. "who?" i furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

"a friend of mine. and, no, not lately. why?" ashton told me. "he said he ran into him," luke gave a frown of concern.

"him?" i asked curiously. who could they be talking about?

ashton's eyes widened slightly as he leaned forward, placing his elbows firmly on the table. he let out a shaky breath. "what happened?" he asked, staring hard at the table.

"michael said they started arguing and cussing each other out. he told me they almost started fighting, but he walked away," luke told him.

"still a coward, i see. at least i haven't seen him in awhile. poor michael, though," ashton sighed, then leaned back in his seat.

"what are you guys talking about?" i finally asked. "it's nothing. don't worry about it," ashton gave me a reassuring smile, but i saw straight through it. something was up.

before i could say anything, the waitress showed up, setting down our plates with a clank. i mumbled my thanks and began eating my pancake in silence.

ashton and luke muttered quietly to themselves in between bites of their food. they both glanced at their phones at the same time, then glanced at me. they continued talking, but i didn't bother to listen.

both of them looked around the diner constantly, as if looking for someone. i sighed dramatically. why were they keeping stuff from me? i know i just met luke and i haven't known ashton for that long, but i'm still sitting at the table with them.

i glanced out the window and noticed a guy with silvery blonde hair underneath his hood and an eyebrow piercing staring back at me. his hands were stuffed in his pockets and he had a serious expression on his face.

he glanced behind me at presumedly ashton and luke, who had both shifted in their seats. the guy turned his eyes towards the diner's entrance and he quickly made his way inside.

"um, ashton?" i turned and whispered to him. the guy walked up to our table and stood right in front of it, looking at luke, ashton, then me.

he furrowed his eyebrows slightly in confusion, and i did the same. who was he?

"clifford. glad you could make it," luke stood up to greet him.

'clifford' mumbled something before giving luke a halfhearted hug. they both collapsed in the seats across from ashton and i, luke with a relaxed expression, but the other guy still with his serious expression.

"bree, this is michael. michael clifford. and michael, this is bree," luke explained quickly. i glanced up at the guy, who just looked at me with his green eyes. he nodded slightly, moving his gaze to ashton.

i shifted awkwardly in my seat as we all sat in silence. the waitress soon came back over to give us our bill and collect our money, breaking the tension.

as soon as she left with our money and empty plates, michael spoke up. "can we talk somewhere in private?" his voice was barely louder than a whisper.

ashton and luke nodded in unision, and before i knew it, we all got up from the table and made our way out of the diner.

~

lucifer & mikey are here! yayaya.

who do you think 'he/him' is that luke & ashton were talking about?

ok byee

btw the kca performance was life

-darby:-)