By Chance

Chapter 1:Flashback

"Are you sure you want to do this" Luke, Ashton's best friend since as long as he can remember, said as he was about to step into the time machine that would send him back to the year 2015.

"What other choice do I have", he replied suddenly becoming hesitant of stepping into the time machine thinking about all the other choices he had, which weren't many." It took months to build this and she would never give me a second chance. I already screwed everything up with my parents and they'd never let me move back in with them. Nobody would care if I just left."

"You don't know how wrong you are. Think about Calum, Michael, and I, we'd be extremely sad if you left so please don't. I'll do anything for you to not leave." Luke practically plead with tears in his eyes now.

"Can you get me a job, a place to stay and...?", Ashton asked thinking it was worth a try but would achieve nothing when Luke cut him off." You know that you have to go to college to get a decent job here. As for the place to stay, I would gladly let you stay at my place or one of the other boys can let you stay at theirs. You were probably going to ask me if I can get that fucking girl back back now but it just wasn't meant to be, man. "

Ashton cracked a smile at how well Luke knew him because that was exactly what he was going to ask but he was never going to change his mind. He was dead set on going back twenty years to a time when he wasn't born and start a completely new life.

"Stop fucking swearing!" Ashton exclaimed now with a gigantic smile on his face knowing that would get luke to stop crying. It would get him to remember the days when Luke, Calum, Michael, and Ashton could all hangout together with no drama to ruin the fun time they were having. Before Ashton started creating this time machine so he could get a second chance. Before she happened...

"Fuck you hypocrite", Luke said and they both erupted into a fit of laughter. Ashton's plan was working but he may be rethinking going into the time machine because he would never get to experience a moment like this ever again if he did.

Actually, he might meet good people there and he might get new friends and a better girlfriend. Ashton mentally scolded himself for thinking that thought because no one could ever replace his best friends but what about his ex. She could be replaced and wasn't that part of the reason why he was leaving.

"You know I...", Ashton started when they had both calmed down in a more serious tone now, compared to what he said last, but was cut off by Michael and Calum rushing through the door, sweaty and out of breath.

"You can't leave Ash, you're not that selfish, are you? Even if you are, you need to think about us and how we'll feel. I mean like we're your best friends and we love you to death. Way more than that dumb girl did. My point is that a girl is not a good enough reason to leave!" Michael and Calum practically shouted at Ashton at the same time.

By this point they all had tears in their eyes and Ashton knew he just had to leave now to spare them from crying even more when he said goodbye.

"You all know she's not the only reason I'm leaving. I worked so hard to create this time machine so I should at least use it. I love you all too and if you guys really care about me you wouldn't be sad because the I'll be sad too. Goodbye." Ashton said and then stepped into the time machine, ignoring the shouts from his now past friends, prepared to go back to the year 2015 and start his new life. Seriously, how hard could it be.

***

"Wake up Mr. Irwin!" Mr.Clement shouted with an angry expression on his face that reminded Ashton of an angry clown because he sort of looked like that with his red nose and pale face so he couldn't help but let out a laugh when he woke up from his flashback.

He wasn't aware that he had been asleep that long because it was the end of the class period and those lasted a whole hour. Of course he would still have to do the homework and the only way to find out what it was was to ask one of the other students which treated him like dirt.

Mr. Clement then went on to say that it was wrong to sleep during class but Ashton just tuned him out and kept thinking about his past or shouldn't he call it the future. How much he missed his old friends and how much he regretted his decision to leave. Ashton was wrong, coming to this year . It did give him a second chance to start over but it wasn't any better than his old life. Unfortunately, there was no third chance

Mr. Clement noticed that Ashton wasn't paying attention so he got detention after school and he found another thing that he regretted.

The bell finally rung and Ashton was relieved that he finally got to get out of the class but as he was getting up the students erupted in a sea of laughter for reasons he didn't understand until he looked down and saw that his shoelaces were tied together. It was already too late to untie them because Ashton had already started falling over. The students started laughing even harder which he thought wasn't even possible a few seconds before. Ashton felt so embarrassed that he just wanted to leave school and never come back today but he just had to fall asleep and get detention.

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(A/N)I know this chapter was sort of sad but things get better for Ashton in the next few chapters. If it was boring instead of sad for you, then all I have to say to you is that you have no feelings at all.I also know this chapter may have been confusing with the time travel but at the beginning of it. I've decided that I want to have a song that goes along with each chapter. So, the song for this chapter is The Great Escape by Boys Like Girls. I highly recommend that you listen to it.

All the love,

Cookiesandcream1