My Sister's Boyfriend ◾ Ziall [EDITING]

Chapter 23

Hey curlies!

I'm not going to put another massive authors note on here, I'm just going to tell you that I have really enjoyed writing this story. I hope you have enjoyed reading it.

Reminder that this is the last day for Character Asks. Don't forget to comment or DM me your questions. I will post them tomorrow afternoon at the latest.

This chapter is going to be mainly Lashton/Malum drama. Enjoy anyway and leave your thoughts below! <3

~Cat ;)

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ASHTON

Let's just say that Zayn spent much of yesterday yelling at Niall for being so stupid and going against his promise. Niall then yelled back about Zayn breaking his promise of never cutting again and Zayn, surprisingly, gave in and they made out for like ages.

"Are they still up there?" Cal snorts. "Seriously."

"Just because you haven't found your person," Mike teases.

"Who said I haven't?"

Luke and I share a look.

Mike raises an eyebrow. "Yeah? Who is it?"

Cal goes red. "She doesn't really know me but we've been hanging out a bit."

"Is it Marcie or Nynke?" I ask.

"Nynke?"

Luke smirks. "Are you asking or telling us?"

"Both?"

"Go tell her!" I say, shoving into the lounge room with Marcie and Nynke. 

I look over at Mike and see him almost crying. Then it hits me; Mike likes Cal, and Cal doesn't know. I pull Mike into a hug and he sobs into my shirt, making Luke frown for a split second before shock blankets his face. He pulls Mike into a hug too and we both hold the sobbing Mike.

"Whoa!" Liam yelps. "Why is there a crying red head in the kitchen?"

I motion to the lounge room. "See for yourself."

Liam looks and makes a face. "Oh. I'm still kinda confused."

"Mike likes him, Cal doesn't like him back."

"I'm so sorry, Mike."

Mike smiles. "Thanks. I'll be 'right though."

Liam nods and hurries off, probably to see Desire. Mike pulls away from the hug and walks into the lounge room. Luke and I share a look when we hear him start talking to Cal. I think we can both tell that this isn't going to end well for anyone.

"What do you see in her?" Mike exclaims. "She is an utter bitch!"

"Maybe to you!" Cal defends. "Not to me!"

"She was an utter bitch to Luke and Ash the other day!"

"I don't see where this is going, Michael!"

"Really? Are you that thick?!"

"I don't know. Am I?"

"Obviously if you can't tell when somebody loves you!"

My jaw drops in shock and Luke mirrors my expression. We run into the lounge room to see Cal staring at a crying Mike in a mixture of shock and horror. Cal then, surprisingly, walks over to Mike and kisses him. Mike responds almost instantly and Luke and I quickly leave the room.

"That was..." Luke trails off.

"Unexpected," I finish.

"Yep."

"What happened?" Niall asks, out of breath. "I heard Mike and Cal yelling."

"Go see for yourself," Luke says.

Before I can warn him, Niall walks into the lounge room and his eyes almost bulge out of his head. He walks back over to us with a knowing smirk on his face. My eyes widen when I realize that Niall knew about Mike liking Cal, and probably Cal liking Mike.

"You knew about this and you never told us?!" Luke demands.

"Yep," Niall says. "Wanted to see if you could figure it out like you figured out that Ash liked you all those years ago."

"Niall, I figured it out two years ago. I just didn't know what to do."

I snort. "Tell me would have been the best option. Would've saved me a hell of a lot of mood swings and shit."

"Like your cutting?"

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LUKE

As soon as that came out, I wanted to take it back. Both Ash and Niall go pale at my words and a noise sounds at the top of the stairs. Zayn. Ash tugs his shirt down and Niall just sighs, looking away. Zayn walks down, standing next to Niall and watching Ash and me worriedly.

"Why didn't you just tell me, Ash?" I sigh.

"I didn't know how to," Ash mumbles.

"But you told Niall?"

"No. He literally walked up to me and said-"

"'I know you cut, Ashton,'" Niall murmurs. "I remember."

I shrug. "Fair enough."

"How bad is it?" Zayn asks.

Ash looks at him. "My cutting? It used to be very bad."

"How bad?"

"Zayn!" Niall hisses.

Ash smiles. "It's alright, Ni."

"Okay..."

"I ended up in hospital a few times, but my family never found out. They're never going to either."

"Show me, Ashy," I say.

Ash pulls his shirt over his head and I see lots of silvery scars on his tanned torso. I see a few words and I feel tears sting my eyes. I can't force myself to look away as I trace a few of the words. Ash trembles under my touch and grabs my wrist when my hand gets close to his thigh.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Don't touch my leg," Ash whispers.

Niall touches Ash's arm. "Show him, Ash. He deserves to know."

"I-I can't."

"You showed me didn't you?"

He nods slowly.

"You can show Luke then."

"Can we, like, not do this here?"

Niall nods and picks up Ash's shirt. Zayn leads us up to his bathroom and locks both doors. Ash shimmies out of his jeans and my eyes immediately go to his left thigh. I decipher the letters and my eyes widen. I look up at Ash and pull him into a hug.

"It's alright, Lukey," Ash says. "I'm fine now."

I sniffle. "But..."

"I know what it says, but that was ages ago."

"Just...don't do this anymore..."

"I swear. I haven't for a few months."

"You won't when I'm not around anymore?" Niall asks worriedly.

"What does that mean?" I ask fearfully.

"We're going back to Australia in a few months, Luke." Ash reminds me.

"Oh. Right. I was thinking of something else."

Zayn looks away. "Please don't remind me."

I grimace. "Sorry."

"How about we all shut up?" Niall jokes. "That'll be hard for Ash."

Ash laughs. "You too, Blondie."