Bent Bunny Ears {5SOS}

One

Ashton curled up into himself more as he sat in the third row of the van his mother was driving, purposely isolating himself away from his parent and siblings, staring out the lightly frosted window from the cool air and lack of proper circulation through the car.

His eyes unfocused as he went longer without blinking, turning the scene of familiar streets into a hazy blur in his sight and the music chosen by his brother going faint as he zoned out. A twenty minute drive felt like seconds, Ashton ignoring the heavy ball of what felt like nerves solidified into pure cinder creating a weight as he moved to get out. He was forced to hesitate with his sister not moving completely to let him out when his mom turned to him, stuck staring at the floor to avoid her eyes but unable to ignore her voice as she turned the music down to avoid being distorted in any way while speaking.

"Be safe, Ash, and have a good day. I love you-we all do. You know that, right?"

His brother and sister piled on, assuring him of a love he knew wasn't lost but couldn't bring himself to do anything about. He nodded stiffly, moving to push out before she could offer to pick him up when he already hated being dropped off and quickly stepping to his school. He pulled his hood up, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he kept his head down, shuffling through the crowd he morphed into despite wanting to walk straight pass the school and skip again.

The only reason he showed up was on him in a second when he walked into the hallway, making him smile slightly as he felt the boy curl into him more in a tight hug that had them pushed in the middle of the flow of students and others trying to get through the school. He stumbled behind Calum as the boy pulled him by his hand, not minding and simply speeding up a little to try and keep up with him. His face lost any light when they made it to their class, gripping Calum's hand a little tighter before letting it go as he kept his head down, moving straight to the back to tuck himself away.

Calum followed his lead despite it being more of a struggle for him to sit further back, knowing Ashton would cover it as he planted himself in the seat beside him and pushed their desks closer than they were before. Ashton hooked his ankle around his, hiding behind a mainly empty backpack as he sat it in his lap and glared subconsciously at the man seated at the front of their class. He looked over when Calum giggled, rolling his eyes despite not having any attitude at all with the brunet when he saw him cover his face to hide a too obvious smile.

"Your mystery boy again?"

"What? N-No!" The squeaky tone he suddenly got and the deep red painting of his face gave the few months younger boy away immediately as he hid his phone in his bag quickly, "he's not mine. He-He just helps me. I don't want to talk about this."

His embarrassed face went to the front of the class, trying to hide behind his sweater paws to take the heat and sheepish look from his face as Ashton dared to smile in amusement of the brunet getting so bashful over a crush. He left it alone anyway, falling quiet and back in his seat as he crossed his arms over his bag in his lap. The rest of the students that had filtered just before the bell all watched as their teacher stood to shut the door, hesitating when a few more students ran up to slip inside before he shut it.

Ashton didn't look away when the man briefly caught his eyes, making sure he looked as hateful as he could that would never amount to how he felt. Michael dared to look hurt, eyes down for a second before he suddenly smiled when he looked up, bouncing back as he clapped his hands and went to his desk.

"Good morning, class! Can I have Calum pass out textbooks out after announcements?"

The boy smiled brightly, Ashton begrudgingly letting him get up despite wanting him as close as he could. The boy rushed to the front, standing beside the desk as Ashton ignored Michael telling him to take his hood off, laying his head to his desk instead and glaring over the top of his arms that supported his head.
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