Hello, How May I Help You? | Lashton

Chapter 12

[Ashton's POV]

"Where do you think you're going at this hour of the night? It's nine-thirty!" mum asked me as I got up from the couch.

"I have to go to Luke's. He needs help with chemistry homework," I lied.

"But you don't even understand your chemistry homework. And who's this Luke character?" she continued questioning.

"He's my friend. He just moved here," I told her, getting irritated with her sudden want to be a detective. "And I understand this unit."

"Just be home before midnight. I don't need my son to be kidnapped by some no good drug lord and sold off to a sex ring," she commanded.

"I'm not going to get kidnapped, mum. It shouldn't even take that long," I told her, slipping on my Vans and went out the door.

For the most part, I knew how to get to Luke's house. It was just the fact that I was going to have to walk there that was really bumming me out. I was never a huge fan of the dark, especially being alone and outside in it. It was always way too quiet and I was always on high alert because everything seemed super sketchy. It was like something was hiding behind every tree or every structure and would jump out at me and give me a heart attack at any moment so they could kill me or kidnap me.

I liked to scare myself a lot as well.

I walked along the quiet sidewalk, trying to focus on what I was going to say to Luke instead of the scary darkness. Obviously, I couldn't just come out and ask him if he was gay. I wasn't like that and I wouldn't expect him to answer me in the first place. I wanted to ease it out of him, get him to talk to me so he knows that he can trust me enough to that he can tell me anything.

Finally, I looked up to see if I was even going in the right direction and I saw what looked to be Luke's house straight ahead with the porch lights on. I kept my eyes on the house and saw that the basement lights - or Luke's room - were all on. I figured that nobody in the house was asleep yet, thankfully. I didn't want to be sneaking into their house and lose Liz's trust when I had only met her once. I also didn't want to get Luke in trouble.

I walked up to his door and hesitated before knocking. After a few long minutes, I heard shuffling on the other side before the heavy door opened and I was greeted with Liz.

"Oh! Hi. Ashton, right?" she greeted, a tired smile on her face. I nodded quickly. "Not to be rude, but what are you doing here at this hour? Aren't your parents wondering where you're at?"

"Yeah, I told my mum. But I'm actually here to see Luke. He knew that I was coming," I told her. "Don't worry, I won't be here for long. He had a question about our chemistry homework and I told him that I could help him quick."

"Oh, okay. That isn't like Luke to not understand something. Classes must be more difficult than at his last school," Liz said, almost catching my lie.

"Yeah, they are. I was surprised when he asked me because he's next to genius and it would usually be me asking people for help," I laughed nervously.

"Well, alright. Come in," she said, inviting me into the house. I stood awkwardly in the entryway as she went over to the basement door. "Luke! Ashton is here to see you!"

I heard Luke say something back, but I couldn't make out what it was. Liz turned around with a smile and then went back into the living room as Luke appeared in the basement doorway. He was in a pair of sweatpants and was tugging down the old t-shirt that he was wearing, as if he was just putting it on. All I can say is thank God he wasn't shirtless. I couldn't have focused on anything but his body.

"Hey," he greeted, a nervous smile on his face. "Do you want to go downstairs?"

I nodded and followed Luke down to his room. Luke closed the open laptop that was on his bed and set it on his empty desk. I stood awkwardly, not sure of where to go.

"You can sit wherever," he told me quietly as he took a seat on his bed.

I walked over to the chair, lowering myself down onto it. Neither of us said anything at first and Luke texted someone. I didn't know how to start the conversation. It's not like he knew the exact reason that I was here, so he couldn't start it. All he could do was sit and wait for me to start explaining.

"So...what brings you here?" he asked finally. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Well, no...I just needed to talk to you about something," I started awkwardly.

"Okay," he prompted, getting himself more comfortable.

"Are you...are you okay?" I asked.

"Um, yeah. Why?" he wondered.

"Because all day, you've been avoiding me and just acting really distant. You're okay around Michael and everyone else other than me. I just wanted to know if there was something I did to piss you off or anything," I told him.

He stayed quiet for minute. I searched his eyes for anything, but they were expressionless. "I'm fine, Ashton. I just have been tired all day. You didn't say or do anything."

"You know you can talk to me, right, Luke?" I told him after a few minutes. He just looked at me. I could tell that there was something on his mind. "I won't judge you about it. I'll try and understand it."

"It's nothing, Ashton. Don't worry about me," he said.

"So there is something?" I asked, mentally congratulating myself because I got him to start opening up to me in a way.

"Yeah, but it's pretty pointless. Just forget about it. I won't lose sleep over it," he told me. I didn't want to pressure him into telling me, but I could tell by the tone of his voice that it was really bothering him. I knew that he wanted to talk about it. "You should probably be getting home before your mum starts worrying about you."

I got up from the chair and started towards the stairs. I turned around and looked at the blonde boy on the bed. "I'm here to help you if you need it."

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