school bus graveyard oneshots !

3) keep your hands to yourself (or don't, they help with my breakdowns)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ashlyn starts crying out of stress and being overwhelmed while aiden is having his spontaneous visit. hurt/comfort happens
[disclaimer he calls her terms of endearment that may be extremely cheesy, but i find it cute so fight me 🤬]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ashlyn did not want to get up when she heard the familiar pattern of knocks coming from her left.
of course, she did, shoving away her bright  laptop and sluggishly walking over to her window.
she clicked up the latch, opening her window panels for the blonde.
"hey, ash!" aiden greets, energetic as always. ashlyn hardly bats an eye, staring at him with half-lidded eyes and only humming at him in acknowledgement. she doesn't bothing helping (or stopping) him climb through the window, and just let's him do it himself.
when he is successfully in her room she shuts her window, clicking the latch shut. ashlyn climbs back into her bed without a word, looking back at her fluorescent screen that made her squint.
aiden noticed as soon as she opened the window that she was being quieter than usual, and sat on her bed to say it.
"ash?" he addressed, earning a half-hearted hum.
"what's wrong?"
her eyes widened slightly at his question, not expecting him to ask any questions despite slightly knowing she was being less eager to talk to him during his nightly visit.
"nothing's wrong." she mumbled, not even attempting to look at him as she read words on her laptop screen over and over again.
"okay, well, something's wrong. ash, you're never this quiet- well, you're always quiet, but, this time is different." aiden insisted, scooting next to her and leaning forward, trying to get eye contact. ashlyn's temple pulsed in irritation.
"so what?" she snapped back, this time more volume in her voice.
"so, i'm worried." he stressed, gripping her shoulder.
ashlyn swatted his hand away aggressively, face screwed up. she slammed her laptop closed, and death glared aiden's surprised expression.

"okay, well, i didn't ask to be worried about, i don't need to be worried about, aiden." ashlyn lashed out, glaring at him. "who cares if i'm- quiet, or loud, or- whatever! it doesn't matter, okay? i don't matter."
she seethed, her fists clenching and unclenching. "i don't care if you're worried, or agitated, or whatever it is you're feeling right now, because it doesn't matter how i feel, okay?!"

ashlyn stopped, heavily breathing, somewhat relieved and not feeling any better at the same time from her rant. she sat and stared at aiden's face, only to realize that he looked utterly shocked and confused, but most of all, hurt. she couldn't place her finger on it, but she felt that it was a different kind of hurt.
she calmed down, relaxing and processing the things she said. she sighed in regret.

"i'm sorry, i don't know what came over me." ashlyn fidgeted with the hem of her shirt, nerves awry. suddenly she felt her chest tighten and her throat closed, causing her to start breathing heavily. aiden noticed the change in energy, and immediately put his hand on her back in an act of comfort.

"ashlyn? you okay?" he asked, smile now weak and his face only warped in worry.
somehow, this made ashlyn's throat close up more, and she felt tears spring to her eyes. her vision blurred as she felt a tear drop, and she quickly tried to wipe it away, but to no avail.  more droplets dripped down from her eyes, and she couldn't help but let out a sob.

"ash- ashlyn, love, shhh, it's okay," aiden consoled, smile now wiped away. "shh shh, it's okay."

ashlyn only cried harder at that. she felt comforted and,, safe, but, something about the thought of being comforted made more tears.

"i—i'm sorry—" she weeped, hands repeatedly trying to wipe away her tears, which made her cheeks sore and red.

aiden pulled one of her hands away, squeezing it. "it's okay to cry, shh. let it out, darling."
ashlyn tried her best to stay quiet, and to only cry in silence, but occasionally she would gasp for air and let out shaky breaths, which aiden would only hug her tighter and rock her, shushing her and reassuring her.
the feeling of this, of knowing someone is there, eased her, but made her want to cry at the same time.
she realized eventually that it's because she shut herself away.