haze / afi

part 27. sunrise

the sound of soft music wakes ashton up. grabbing his phone from beside him, he switches his early alarm off. that music, coming from his phone. he places his arm over his eyes, even for him, this is a little early to be waking up.

but so worth it.

specifically to see the sunrise.

the sunrise here is always beautiful, so he made sure to set an early alarm to wake him up for it. he thought it would've woken violet up too, but she's still sound asleep.

he looks down at the peaceful girl on his chest, the way her chest rises and falls as she breathes softly, cheeks rosy from the cool air, arm hanging over his stomach, hand sticking out from under her sleeve only slightly.

he almost felt as if his mind was racing, thinking of laying here with her so comfortably. she looks beautiful, so relaxed, at peace. he can't take his eyes off her.

he's always thought she's beautiful, even from the first time they met. he swore she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever seen. and clearly, that first thought has grown into something else over these months.

he's loved being friends with violet. enjoyed getting to know her, finding out what she likes, noticing little things about her that she probably doesn't even think about. he likes her. and he knows there's nothing he can do to stop that.

he starts running his hand through violet's hair, the other hand rubbing her shoulder gently. trying to wake her up in a way that'll keep her calm. it doesn't take long for her to respond to the movements.

slowly waking up, she stretches her legs, eyes staying closed. letting out a quiet hum as ashton keeps running his fingers through her hair.

"morning," ashton says quietly, eventually stopping the movements of his hands.

"keep doing what you're doing," violet mumbles. "feels nice."

he doesn't wait another second to go back to it. she shuffles herself slightly, head higher up on his shoulder as she feels her whole body relaxing more than it already was.

the way he's rubbing her shoulder is so relaxing, she's sure he'd give a great massage if given the chance. aside from that, his hand running through her hair almost caused goosebumps to rise on her skin.

she couldn't get enough, the feeling of ashton holding her through the night, and waking up to him doing this. she's never felt happier to be around someone than right in this moment.

if she could wake up like this every day, she wouldn't complain at all. waking up in ashton's arms, feeling comforted, safe. she isn't sure when this started, this strange, fuzzy feeling in her belly when she's with ashton, or the feeling in her chest, but she knows it's something, and she knows she'll have to face it sooner than later.

"what time is it?" violet asks mid yawn.

"early," ashton tells her. "wanted to wake you up to see the sunrise."

violet finally decides she should probably see what's going on outside. she slowly opens her eyes, looking out of the trunk to see the sky was light, no sun showing yet.

"okay, you can stop now," she glances up to ashton, who looks down as she speaks. "i'll go back to sleep if you carry on."

"liking it that much, huh?" ashton chuckles, removing his hands so she can sit herself up.

"yea," violet runs her hand through her hair, knowing it's probably a mess. "you're good with your hands."

after those words leave her mouth, she quickly turns to ashton, watching as a smirk grows on his lips. she shoves his arm as he starts sitting up.