*67 → [Irwin]

august 17th

F I V E

~*~

[incoming call: unknown number]

   "elina!" ashton greets seconds after i answer the call.

   the corners of my mouth twitch into a smile. "hi, ash," i respond, biting the inside of my cheek.

   "guess what?" he says, his tone filled with excitement.

   "what?" i ask, mimicking it.

   he giggles. "we're coming home!"

   my small smile turns into a grin. "that's great, ash," i say.

   he doesn't say anything for another couple of seconds — not that that's anything new. "i wish you lived in sydney," he says. i nod my head and open my mouth to respond, but he beats me to it, continuing on. "you could meet my mum and lauren and harry," he says. "and the boys. and when i come home, we could hang out."

   i sigh. "yeah," i say, frowning a little at his words. it's not that i don't want exactly what he does, but that it physically hurts that i can't have it.

   "elina?"

   "yeah?"

   he clears his throat. "can i ask you a question?"

   i shrug my shoulders. "shoot."

   "who's your favorite in the 5sos?" he asks, giggling quietly at his curiosity.

   "i really like calum," i admit, a small smirk playing on my lips. ashton lets out another string of giggles.

   "you hear that, cal?" he asks and i freeze in my seat.

   "you're my favorite, too, elina!" i hear him scream and i hold a hand over my mouth to keep from squealing.

  "ashton irwin," i say sternly, "what the hell was that?"

   he only lets out a mischievous giggle. "your favorite member, of course!" he teases. i roll my eyes. "but i must say, i'm slightly offended," he says and i can't tell if he's joking or not.

   i bite my lip, trying to think of something cute to say. "i like you, ashton," i blurt out.

   the line goes silent and i bring my teeth down harder on my lip, waiting for some sort of response. except when i look down at my phone, i see the line went dead. ashton hung up on me.