Heartbreak Girl

Part 4

Friday night saw the four housemates sat around a table in Time Out, one of the bars on their university campus. They all held beer bottles apart from Ashton, who was their designated driver for the night, discussing what they had been up to that week. They had been there for nearly two hours already, ordering food with their drinks, because they knew Bethany would lecture them if they didn't, due to her having taken the role of responsible adult on their nights out.

"So how was studying with Bethany?" Luke asked, taking a sip from his second drink of the night.

"Good," replied Calum. "I don't know what it is, but she has this way of explaining things that actually make sense when it's just jibberish when the lecturer says it."

"That's great, Cal," said the blonde, rolling his eyes slightly. "But I was talking to Ashton."

"When did you have a study session with B?" questioned Michael, brushing his freshly dyed green hair out of his eyes.

"Tuesday," he explained quietly. "We were working in the library after Calum got called into work."

"Then why did I find you together in the living room? You looked pretty cosy too," he teased, playing with his lip ring as the others turned to Ashton expectantly.

"I told her to come study at home so she'd eat something," he told them, trying not to blush. "She was in that power-through mode, so I wanted to make sure she was taking care of herself. It was nothing."

"Hang on," mused Calum, frowning slightly in thought. "You always keep your radio on the CD, but it was on the radio this morning," he remembered.

"Wait; you let B control your radio?" Michael questioned, not believing the conclusion he had just come to.

"What's you point?" asked the eldest of the four.

"Dude, you don't trust anyone with your radio," Luke pointed out, tilting his drink toward him. "Not even us, and we like the same music."

"You're in deep, mate," chuckled Calum, patting him on the back. "She's got you whipped!"

"One day you guys will fall in love; you won't be laughing then," grumbled Ashton, finishing his lemonade as the others laughed good naturedly.

"Hold up," Michael interrupted. "Did you just say what I think you said?" The curly haired man didn't reply. "Damn it, Irwin; I didn't realise you were that serious about her."

"Is being in love with her such a bad thing?" he murmured self-consciously, avoiding his friends' eyes.

"Of course not!" he exclaimed, shaking his head and flipping his green hair out of his eyes again. "That's awesome. Now I know she'll be looked after."

"Too bad she's on a date with her jerk boyfriend," muttered Calum darkly, swirling his beer absentmindedly.

"She actually asked if it'd be ok if she joined us tonight," sighed Ashton, running a hand through his curls. "I said yes, obviously, but... She's making back up plans for her date nights, guys. We need to get her away from him."

"How do we do that?" asked Luke, frowning worriedly.

"How do you do what?" repeated someone from behind the blonde, making them turn.

"Just band stuff, B," lied Michael, smiling brightly at his best friend. "To what do we owe this honour?"

"Greg cancelled again," she explained, her eyes on their table. "D'you mind if..."

"Pull up a chair, love," Calum told her, looking around for a free one but not seeing any. "Uh..."

"Here," said the green haired young man, taking her hand and pulling her around the table. "You can use Ash as a chair. He won't mind," he smirked at the older man as he gently shoved the twenty two year old toward him. Not expecting his move, Bethany stumbled over her own feet, only to be caught by Ashton before she could hit the floor.