Heartbreak Girl

Part 6

Two weeks later, Ashton left his History lecture discussing an upcoming assignment with a course mate, to find Bethany standing outside with her arms full of books waiting for him. After excusing himself, he headed over to her with a smile.

"I'm not your chauffer, love," he teased, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and leading the way to his car.

"Calum left before I could catch a ride with him," she protested half-heartedly as they made their way through the other students. "And you're my favourite; just don't tell Michael."

"I'll let you be the one to break his heart," he laughed, moving his arm to her waist. "How've you been?"

"I saw him today," she replied softly, her eyes dropping to the ground. "He had his new girl on his arm."

"And I'm the lucky one with you on my arm," he told her honestly. "Don't pay attention to him, B. You can do so much better."

"I know, Ash," she sighed, leaning into him a little. "The four of you keep telling me. But it's only been two weeks; it's too soon for me to be ok with it."

"That's ok," he assured her, letting go of her to unlock his car. "None of us expects you to get over him like that. We just want to see you smile again."

"I'll get there," she agreed as she got in the car beside him. "Thanks to you guys, I'll get there sooner. I'll get over him."

"We're here for you love," he smiled, reaching over and giving her hand a squeeze.

"I just..." she trailed off, not continuing until he prompted her. "I'm getting over him fine. I just don't know if I can get over him getting over me before we were actually over."

"I don't know what to say to that, love," he admitted quietly, glancing over at her as he drove home. "But I do know that someday you're going to meet a man who'll never get over you."

"I doubt that," she murmured, looking out of the window.

"You will," he repeated slightly firmer, half wondering if he would ever stop loving her.

"Thank you, Ash," she said softly. "You're a great friend."

Ten minutes later, Ashton let them inside, where Calum promptly stole the young woman away for help with the module they shared. The older of the men chuckled and walked into the kitchen, finding his other flatmates making tea and debating what to do for dinner that night.

"Hey, guys," he greeted them, pushing himself to sit on the counter. "There enough for me too?"

"Sure," replied Luke, grabbing another mug from the cupboard.

"Did I hear B?" asked Michael, passing one of the mugs to him.

"Yeah; Calum kidnapped her though," he explained, taking a sip of his tea. "I don't know what to do," he continued after a minute's silence.

"She still hung up on him?" questioned the blonde.

"I can deal with that," he sighed, shaking his head, his curls bouncing at the action. "I know it'll take time. It's the two am phone calls that end with her in tears that are killing me. Hearing her cry is heart breaking."

"I don't know what to suggest," confessed Michael, running one hand through his green hair. "All I know is that you're helping her more than you realise; she was worse after her last break up and he didn't cheat on her."

"Even so," he mumbled into his tea.

"Well if we get this open mic sorted, we can get her out for a night," suggested Luke, leaning back against the sink. "It might not be much, but she should enjoy it."

"I finished that song," Ashton told them, draining his mug. "Started another one too."

"Did Bethany inspire this one too?" Michael asked, only half teasing. "She did," he confirmed when the twenty one year old blushed. "Is there anything on your mind other than my best friend?"

"I love her, Mikey," he reminded him, meeting his eyes. "She's always on my mind."

"If your last song was about her leaving him, what's this one about?" questioned the blonde, breaking the awkward silence.

"That she should be with me," he murmured, staring at the dregs of his tea as though the answers to the world's problems were in the bottom of his mug. "I just wish she would think about me like that."

"What makes you say that?" frowned the twenty year old, who was sure that his best friend had feelings for the man in front of him.

"She said I'm a great friend," he replied solemnly, his whole being seeming to deflate. "I'm not going to stop loving her, but it still hurts. The girl I love doesn't love me."

"She will," insisted Michael, putting his mug in the sink. "Give it time and she'll fall so hard for you."

Ashton sighed and nodded to appease his friends, scooting off the counter to put his mug with Michael's before picking up his bag and retreating upstairs, muttering an excuse about having work to do. He paused outside Calum's room, thinking about the woman inside for a moment, before continuing to his room. Sitting at his desk, he pulled a small notebook out of his bag, staring at it for a minute before picking up a pen and starting to write.