The day had already been monumentally shitty. The worst of the worst days. An absolute steaming-pile-of-crap day. So, really, it was only natural to finish it with a perfect cherry on top - his call from Death-Cast.
He was alone when the unmistakabl...
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𝙰𝚜𝚑𝚝𝚘𝚗 𝙳𝚎𝚌𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟸𝟷𝚜𝚝, 𝟺:𝟸𝟹𝚊𝚖
Ashton was oddly surprised to find that he enjoyed spending time with Michael. The guy never glared at him or gave him those looks that always made Ashton want to crawl into the nearest hole and die. He asked Ashton questions and he smiled at him and he actually seemed to care. And, more than anything, Michael had the same fear that Ashton had. He thought people were only sticking by him because he was dying. He felt unworthy too. It was just so refreshing to not feel like such a freak anymore. To know that he wasn't the only 'tough guy' around that was fucking scared more often than not.
Ashton didn't want to go back to the others. He didn't want Calum's pitying looks, the questions Niall was surely going to ask after that whole ordeal with Luke, and the glares Zayn had been pointing in his direction all night. It was all just too much, but, with Michael, it was perfect. It was weird and intimate and he felt strangely comfortable. And, perhaps he was wrong, but he thought that, just maybe, Michael might've felt the same way.
The pair of them sat in the employee's lounge while Michael tried again and again to call the others, only for the calls and texts to bounce right back, this after half an hour of physically searching for them. Safe to say, Michael was all in a panic.
Finally, Ashton had enough of watching the boy's pacing and muttering under his breath. He stood up from where he'd been sitting on the counter and walked up to Michael, placing his hands on his shoulders and looking right into his green eyes.
"Forget them. We'll find them eventually, but, for now, don't waste your time trying to find a fucking cell signal. The towers are probably down from the storm." He thought a moment upon seeing Michael's hesitant expression before an idea occurred to him and he smiled. "Come on. I have an idea."
Michael didn't put up much of a fight as Ashton took his hand and dragged him upstairs. They weaved their way through the hallways until they were at the back door, Ashton rummaging around the coat rack for something appropriate. He only found his own hoodie and one of Louis' old raincoats that would surely not fit either of them. Ashton made an executive decision and handed Michael his jacket since Michael's own coat had been left somewhere in the basement and Ashton wouldn't let the guy freeze. He was a gentleman, for God's sake. Besides, he would be fine in just his sweater. They wouldn't be out in the cold long anyway.
Ashton took Michael's hand once the red-haired boy was comfortable in his jacket and pulled him through the door, the crisp air shocking the breath from their lungs. Ashton, suddenly regretting the decision of no coat, moved along as quick as he could, tugging Michael along behind him like a dog on a leash.
"What are we doing?" Michael asked incredulously, to which Ashton just laughed and continued to pull him as he ran. Soon enough, just in time to preserve the feeling in Ashton's quickly numbing toes, they were standing in front of a row of garages. Ashton keyed in the code for the one on the far right and yanked Michael inside, quick to close the door behind them once they were fully in. The heated room began to thaw Ashton's cold extremities, which he was immensely grateful for as he shook snowflakes out of his hair and off his shoulders.
