Weightless (lashton au)

Chapter thirty-two

^^Ashton is sO ADORABLE LOOK AT THIS CUTIEPIE IM IN TEARS

Ok literally Ashton is either extremely adorable and giggly and snuggly in glasses and sweaters and u just want to kiss his nose and pinch his cheeks or he's all fucking hot in skinny jeaNS AND SLEEVELESS SHIRTS TO SHOW HIS MUSCLES there is no in between

CAN WE JUST TALK ABOUT ATL'S NEW ALBUM FUTURE HEARTS BC IM IN LOVE??

Basically this chapter is gonna include a lot of needed background information/the answer to things u might have wondered before idk I guess it's important but maybe not?? Correct me if I'm wrong but I don't think I've ever included anything about Luke's family life like I have with Ashton so ..

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"I won't fade away
Be forgotten or just cast away

This life is mine to live
I won't fade away

I am lost inside this endless haze of life
But this life is mine to live."

~ Old Scars/Future Hearts by All Time Low

(IM SO OBSESSED WITH THAT SONG BYE)

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Ashton's POV

I felt myself wake up at three in the morning, feeling a weird sensation on my shoulder. I frowned, my mind still groggy and only able to process how tightly Luke was holding on to me. I could tell he was awake, though, by the way he was clearly trying to breathe slowly.

I heard a sniffle, making my eyebrows furrow. Come to think of it, my shoulder did feel strangely wet and I knew Luke's face was buried into it. A million reasons for it rushed through my mind, but only one of them seemed to sadly make sense; it was tears. But why? With that thought, I quietly spoke up,

"Lukey?" The mentioned boy sniffled again, loosening his grasp a little on my waist. Luke didn't say anything for a few moments, letting his lips press onto my shoulder where the skin was exposed. I shivered at the feeling; I couldn't give in to it, though, because I knew this was Luke's way of avoiding things. I sighed, blindly searching for his hands and interlocking our fingers.

"D-did I wake you up?" He finally said, his warm breath hitting my shoulder. Luke's voice was definitely shaky and teary, but he was obviously trying to hide it. The mere thought of Luke getting upset made me feel like someone reached into my chest and ripped my heart out, just do throw it on the floor and stomp on it--well, maybe that was a little on the dramatic side, but Luke didn't cry very often. So, when he did, it was more or less heart wrenching.

I began to stammer, "N-no--I mean, I-" I paused, internally cursing at how my mouth and brain couldn't seem to work together. Giving up on using words, I turned myself around in his arms and faced him.

Luke smiled tearily, face slightly red with dried tear tracks running down his cheeks. His usually bright, captivatingly blue eyes were now dull and an upsettingly red color, instead of a normal white.

My heart throbbed pitifully as I reached a hand up to let my thumb caress his cheek, but Luke took a hold of my hand and pressed it to his lips instead,

"Don't worry about it, baby. I'm okay." He reassured, voice hoarse.

Liar.

"But you were crying, Luke. What made you upset?" I pressed gently, concern lacing my voice as the same aforementioned hand began to run through his blonde hair; I found out a while ago that it calmed him down.

Luke sighed, his eyes traveling away from mine. "It was just...a bad dream. Okay? It's nothing."

I hated that he felt the need to hide his emotions away from me, when I had shown him all of mine. Even when I was ashamed to cry, which was all the time, I let Luke know what made me upset. Usually, at least.

"It was obviously something if it made you upset," I frowned, making his eyes look back at me. "Just tell me what's wrong."

"It's not important," Luke urged, eyes pleading me to drop it. A part of me wanted to continue nagging him, but I knew he wouldn't pressure me like that if our roles were switched.

I sighed, "okay."

I would let it slide for the moment; I hoped Luke would eventually find the right time to tell me, no matter how much it hurts. That would mean he trusts me, and that we don't keep secrets from each other.

Yet, I was being a major hypocrite, whether Luke knew it or not.

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Calum's POV

Luke left the shop an hour ago, and I was getting prepared to leave for the night myself. Today was a surprisingly busy day, being the weather was nicer and people were out in town. It left me a little worn out, the remaining energy I had seemingly was being sucked up by the darkness of night. My eyes grew heavy.

Quickly checking around to make sure everything was in place, I twirled my key around my finger absentmindedly, trying to keep myself awake.

Suddenly, though, the familiar ring of the bell signified someone walked through the door. My head shot up in surprise, and before I could kindly explain that I was about to leave, my throat went dry.

Windswept, now bleached (with an almost random splash of blue) hair was all Calum could process as the person he had no idea to think of stood at the door. There was a sheepish smile on his face as Calum's heart began to beat faster.

"Um--" Michael began to say, obviously feeling awkward. The boy had this habit of stumbling over his words when he was nervous, which Calum didn't find cute. Not at all.

He acted so much differently around him, it seemed; Michael was a totally different person around Ashton, Luke especially (he didn't understand their weird rivalry).

"Michael? What're you doing here? I was just about to leave." Calum spoke up, trying not to sound like he was okay with Michael randomly showing up (a part of him was, though).

The boy's cheeks tinted red, "O-oh, sorry! I just wasn't--I don't know." He looked flustered, as if he just realized this was a bad idea.

Calum hated how his heart hurt at Michael's nervousness. He also hated how he subconsciously became more confident around Michael, since he seemed to feed off of his social awkwardness. It was strange, but it explained everything that happened with them in high school.

"It's okay." Calum smiled a little, walking towards the entrance with his key. "You're just gonna have to leave, though." Michael quickly nodded,

"Okay, yeah." He opened the door, followed by Calum, who locked the shop.

They both grit their teeth at the chilly night wind, not even realizing they were still standing in the same spot. Their eyes locked, making Michael fidget.

"Would you--do you want to hang out or something?" Calum was taken aback by the question, thinking that Michael wanted to avoid him, hated him even. Honestly, he had every right to hate him.

Calum took in Michael's hopeful expression, and knew right away that he couldn't refuse, even if he wanted to. Even if they were hanging out as just friends.

"Okay."

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I CAN ALREADY SMELL THE TFIOS COMMENTS PLS DONT I WOULDVE USED OKAY EVEN IF THE BOOK DIDNT EXIST

I kind of cut this off bc I'm tired and I wanted to update yeah this chapter was laME

Also, who do u think is dominant in malum (not saying there will be malum but im just wondering) I HAVE PRACTICALLY NO PREFERENCE IDK WHY but I'm leaning more towards Calum only bc of other fanfics with malum that I've read and yeah