back to you • lrh

17*

Chapter 17:
"Baby, you're dripping on me"

Eloise-Anne

Luckily, we got to decide where we sat on the bus and I'm more than happy about that. Tammy and Michael claimed one another easily, but Ashton insisted on sitting with me. I'm currently leaning with my head on his shoulder. His fingertips softly tickle my shoulder as his arms are wrapped around me. Both our AirPods are connected to his phone, listening to his music. I close my eyes as the bus starts driving.

"It's gonna be a long ride, El," Ashton says, turning the volume down so I can actually hear him. "Just know that I'll eventually fall asleep because you're boring." He says.

"Hey!" I sit straight up to look at him. A playful smirk is found on his face. He pulls me back again, so I'm sitting close to him again. Yet the armrest in between us pokes the living shit out of me. I try to find a comfortable way to sit, but there's no way my rib's gonna have surgery because of it.

"El, just push the thing up." He laughs at me, noticing my struggle. He pushes up the armrest, which I didn't even know was possible, and pulls me to his body. He turns the volume up again and tickles my shoulder once again. "It calms you down, huh?" I look up at him, his hazel eyes meeting mine. "The tickling." He says, making himself clearer. I simply nod and close my eyes.

"Guys don't fuck in the bus, okay?" A guy yells. I open my eyes and see how's directly looking at us. I groan irritated and look out of the window. "I would love to see you naked though, your back was pretty, the ass looked good as well, but I'd love to see the front."

"Don't fucking tempt me. Don't fucking cross the line." Ashton hisses, his facial expression is serious and I feel his muscles tense.

"Oh, come on, you could share such an easy whore." Ashton stands up madly and walks towards the dude. I have seen him in the hallways before, but I never thought he was one of the people who'd actually talk. Before I can even react to the scene in front of me, Ashton's fist hits his jaw. He instantly gets a punch back. I walk up to them and try pulling Ashton away.

"He's not worth it, Ash," I mumble. His muscles are less tense when he hears my words.

"Yeah, listen to your brat." The guy laughs.

"I think it's wise if you keep your mouth shut, Jason," Calum says, who's suddenly standing behind me. "Don't ever let me hear you talk about my sister like this ever again or I'll tell everybody about your little secret, huh? You want that?" Calum says. I grab Ashton's hand as Jason backs down in his seat.

"Thanks, Cal." I smile softly. I sit back down and Ashton does as well. "Does it hurt?" I ask him, letting my fingers run over the red spot on his jaw. He clenches his jaw immediately and shakes his head. "I can tell it hurts you, idiot, I'm not stupid." He rolls his eyes and looks at me.

"Don't worry about it, okay? He shouldn't be talking about you that way." He hisses.

"We know better, Ash," I tell him. "It's not worth your time or pain," I whisper, softly rubbing my thumb over his hand. "But you do look hot taking a fight for me, how toxic that may sound." I chuckle. Again, he rolls his eyes but there's something playful in it as well.

"Get some sleep, baby. I'll wake you up whenever we're there, okay?" I nod and place my head on his shoulder. I close my eyes as I hear the music play again.

➫➬➫➬➫➬➫➬

I feel several kisses on my cheek and hair, waking me up. I groan as I open my eyes. The hazel eyes stare into mine, I look around me to see how the bus is empty. My cheeks change color as I realize we're already there. It was a four-hour ride and I slept through almost all of it. I thought he said he would wake me up before we arrived.