Belief

6.2

Ashton's POV

"What are you doing Ashton?" Luke glares at me, crossing his arms. I watch him glance at Maddie nervously, she is leaning up against the tree waiting for me to come over.

"Listen Luke, I'm sorry about getting so defensive the other day. The truth is Maddie is happy with you, and I'm not going to ruin that for either of you. Okay?" I bite the inside of my cheek. I hated myself for doing this, but it is what would make her happy and that is all I want. Luke opens his mouth to talk, but I keep going.

"You guys have been through a lot and I don't ever want to put her in a situation where she would have to choose between us. That wouldn't be fair, to any of us. You are my best friend too Luke, and if this whole band thing is actually going to happen, we have to be there for each other, we can't be against each other." I ramble, taking a needed breath.

"Then what are you going to tell her?" Luke looks at me softly.

"I'm going to tell her what happened, so that you can't threaten me with it anymore. So it will be an even playing field." I give him an awkward pat on the shoulder. "I'm not going to tell her that I love her don't worry."

"You love her?" Luke stutters, eyes widening.

"What?" I bite my tongue. Crap Ashton you fucking idiot. "The point is I'm not going to come between you two, okay?"

"Ashton-" Luke starts, but closes his mouth. "Thanks." He raises his eyebrows at me, and I know just what he wants. I nod my head with a giggle, making Luke smile and engulf me in a hug.

"Okay that's enough," I push him off of me. "Things will go back to normal now."

"What if she gets mad at you, when you tell her?" Luke whispers.

"She won't," I shrug, knowing Maddie well enough to know she forgives those who deserve forgiveness. "But Luke,"

"What?"

"If you break her heart another time, thats it, okay? I won't back off again. I won't watch her cry over you, and then run back into your arms once you realize you screwed up again. You've already had your strikes."

"Well you don't need to worry about that," Luke frowns uncomfortably. I just nod, giving him a wave and walking over towards Maddie.

She looks up from the ground as I approach, her eyes set in a forced anger. She could try to hate me all she wants, but we both know it won't last.

"Madds-" I say softly.

"Don't Madds me," she frowns. "I want answers and I want them now."

"I'm going to tell you something, and you are going to get angry at me. Do you promise you won't hate me forever? You can hate me for an hour, or a day, or even a week, but promise you will forgive me eventually?" I reach out and brush a piece of hair out of her face. Maddie turns away from my touch, but her eyes find mine, staring into me deeply.

"I promise," she whispers, almost immutably.

"When we were in London, I was trying to get over this girl, so Calum took me to a bar and we got pretty drunk." I begin, rubbing my hands nervously. "Well you know Calum, he made sure I was well fueled and ready to forget her. That is his specialty of course."

"Enough about Calum," Maddie says impatiently.

"Anyway, I was looking for attention, I needed an intervention. I felt somebody looking at me, so I went for it. The bar was dim so I wasn't really paying attention to who she was, just what she was doing."

"Are you going to tell me an erotic story, because I have the internet for that," Maddie chuckles lightly.

"No," I giggle, watching the way her eyes crinkle so slightly when she laughs. I watch her remember that she is supposed to be 'mad at me' so she has to bite the inside of her cheek to refrain from smiling at me. Maddie looks at me with the most fake serious face, making me laugh and shake my head.