Promise » [cashton] √

0.8

[22nd of June - Denver]

Calum was happy with how things had turned out with Ashton. They'd only gotten to spend another twenty minutes or so together before Sierra had called Ashton asking where he was, and they'd had to return so he could start sound-checking. But he'd given Calum his phone number, so he could send through the photos he'd taken; Calum counted those photos as a stroke of genius. He'd returned to his little room before the show and edited them until he was content that they reflected the irrefutable sense of otherworldliness he'd felt across from him in the coffee shop. It concerned him in another way entirely that he was so enraptured with the looks of a young man he'd really only just met, but he supposed people found muses all the time. The important thing was he and Ashton were on good terms, better terms than they'd been on, to begin with.

That was why Calum was only slightly surprised when Ashton appeared, looking curiously down at Calum, where he sat slumped against the wall editing away on his laptop. Their eyes met, and Calum raised his brows in question.

"I wondered if maybe you wanted to go and get coffee again," Ashton said, quickly following it up with, "Sierra and Luke are busy, and Michael's on the phone with Crystal,"

Calum closed his laptop, humming and nodding, pretending to be thoughtful as he took in Ashton's appearance, he was wearing the same cap as the other day, and he had Calum's sunglasses hanging from the neck of his T-shirt; he wore loose grey sweatpants. He looked good and well prepared to inconspicuously get a coffee,  "you know, if you liked hanging out with me, you can just say that," he couldn't fight the grin that took his face as he shifted his laptop onto the floor abandoning it to stand and go wherever it is Ashton wanted to go.

The younger man just rolled his eyes, "do you know Denver very well? I have no idea where we could go," he admitted and turned away, leading them towards another back door into an alleyway.

Calum drew his phone from his pocket and typed a quick search for 'coffee shop near me, Denver,' before saying, "I've been to Denver a few times, but never this venue, so I don't know this part of the city all that well," he confessed, "but Google says there's a coffee shop less than a quarter of a mile down the street," taking one last look at the map, he slid his phone away and led them out of the mouth of the alley.

"Normally, Luke gets sent to get me coffee, but Sierra ripped her pants, so they went back to the bus to get changed," Ashton explained, and Calum thought back on everything Luke had said to him in the short time he'd known him, and he became almost certain they were having sex on the bus.

Calum hummed rather than voice that, "you don't trust me to run and fetch for you?" Was what he asked instead; he wanted Ashton to admit he'd had a nice time the other day.

He sighed, laughing a little to himself, "you aren't the worst person I've hung out with; that's what you wanted to hear, isn't it?" He was still laughing as he turned toward Calum, the sun making Ashton squint his eyes as he looked his way.

Calum drew his camera up as he replied, "yeah, that's exactly what I wanted to hear," he grinned, only taking two quick photos before pulling it back down and feeling the distance between them evaporate again, "what do you usually do all day then? If you don't normally even go and get coffee,"

He rolled his eyes, a pink colour coming to his cheeks, as he slid the sunglasses onto his face, "I'm normally at a radio station or on some breakfast show, you know, that sort of stuff, and then I try and enjoy my little bit of free time in my dressing room. Usually, Luke will come and hang out with me for a bit, maybe Michael on the odd occasion," his tone wasn't harsh, but Calum could tell he was defensive.

"I didn't mean it like that, sorry," he clarified, "I was just curious, can't imagine not going and getting a coffee whenever I wanted," Calum punctuated it with laughter; he wanted to clear this from the air, "So what came first? Sierra as your manager or Luke as your friend?"