Attention Seeker // Luke Hemmings au

Chapter Sixteen // Ashton

"Ashton! Hey, hey!" Haruhi catches up to me in the hallway, panting. "Did you hear me calling you?"

"Huh?" I glance down at her, breaking out of my thoughts. My mind has been pretty foggy lately.

"Did--did I... mistake?" She looks up at me with insecure eyes.

"What?" I stare at her for a moment before realizing she's asking about her English. "Oh, no! No, Haruhi, I'm so sorry. Oh my God--I just didn't hear you. You're fine, okay? Your English is fine."

She sighs in relief. "Korean is very different from English. It is difficult at times."

I smile down at her and put my arm around her shoulder. "Don't you worry, sweetie. I'm here to help."

 ♫ ♪ ♫ ♫ ♪ ♫

Michael sits with us at lunch today, and she is completely fascinated by Haruhi. 

"So you moved here from Korea?"

"Yes. It was a long trip." She smiles.

"Are you a communist?"

"Michael!" I elbow him sharply in the ribs, but she just laughs.

"No. But then again, I never really thought about it." She scratches her head. "Maybe I am. Maybe I can take over the government and force Australia in communism."

Michael looks really alarmed by the idea, and she laughs again. I really adore her laugh. "I'm kidding, silly."

He sighs in relief. "Oh, okay. Do you know any languages other than Korean and English?"

She thinks for a moment. "Well, I know a little Japanese... I watch a lot of anime."

"Really? Me too! What's the last one you watched?" 

"I don't know... Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki Kun?" The way she pronounces the Japanese... Wow. She's freaking fantastic.

"Hm, I haven't seen that. Is it one of those girly ones?" He pouts. 

"Yeah, sort of. It's about this guy who writes shoujo manga and the girl who's in love with him. He's kind of clueless, so when she tells him her feelings for him, he just gives her an autograph."

"Sounds like Ashton." He laughs real hard at that, although I do not.

"Shut up," I whine, taking a long drink of my tea.

"What Korean music do you listen to?" 

"Uh... I guess I like K-Pop," she answers after a few seconds. Maybe she needed to think about it?