Burning Dandelions (5SOS/Ashton Irwin)

12

Danielle's POV

I didn't get caught that night when I went out with Ashton to the bonfire thing. I felt guilty for the first week, but a month went by, and I didn't feel guilty after that because enough time had gone by. Although we kissed that night, Ashton and I were still the same in my eyes. Nothing had changed since that night, except some feelings. I began looking at him differently.

"Elle!" Cassie yelled at me to regain my attention. I wasn't into this walking thing. She called me up this morning and said we should hang out. It was clear to me that she felt guilty about not attempting to spend much time with me since she started dating Rocky, but to be fair, I wasn't trying to hang out with her.

"I was listening," I scoffed, trying to play if off like I had heard what she said, but the truth was that I hadn't. My mind just wasn't focused on what she had to say. I wasn't focused on anything actually.

"Rocky and I were thinking about naming the baby Emma, if it's a girl," she remarked. I stopped walking, and Cassie soon stopped and faced me. "What?"

"You're pregnant?" I asked. Cassie scoffed.

"I was joking! If you would've been listening, you'd know that I'm not pregnant." She started to walk again, so I began to walk faster to catch up with her and keep her pace. "I was telling you that I think Rocky is the one."

"What?" I shouted. "You want to marry him?" We were only nineteen, and I was soon to be twenty. Cassie's birthday is later in the year.

"Someday," she gawked like a little girl. "He is so sweet and---" I stopped listening for the second time as she went on to talk about how romantic Rocky has been since they started dating. I didn't really want to hear it.

"Danielle, I'm so glad to see you," Liz spoke as Cassie and I walked near her house. "It's been so long. -- Is this your friend?"

"This is Cassie," I told Liz, gesturing towards Cassie. "This is Luke's mom, Liz," I told Cassie, gesturing towards Liz.

"Nice to meet you," they said to each other.

"What are you two up to?" Liz asked.

I shrugged. "Walking and talking," I answered.

"Well, I'm glad. I've been trying to get ahold to Luke all day. I have a box of stuff of his that I thought he might want. It's just some things he had lying around his room. Are you by any chance going by his house today?"

"I can," I answered.

"It doesn't even have to be dropped off today. I just haven't wanted to go over to that house. --- Wait, right here. I'll go get the box." Liz power walked into her house.

"You're going to abandon me?" Cassie asked, sounding hurt.

"You have Rocky," I murmured. "You'll be okay." Liz walked quickly back out and handed me the box. It was taped, and I didn't even really care what was inside.

"Thank you so much!" Liz told me. "Enjoy the rest of your walking!" We waved goodbye, and Cassie and I started walking back the way we came. It was a quiet walk. I assumed Cassie was mad at me, and I didn't want to start a conversation that would end up being about her boyfriend. If I started about the weather, she'd probably tell me Rocky's favorite season. We went our separate ways as soon as we could after saying a simple 'bye'. I got into my car with the box in my passenger seat, and I drove to Ashton's house.

"An old man turned ninety-eight,
He won the lottery and died the next day,
It's a black fly in your Chardonnay,
It's a death row pardon to minutes too late,
And isn't it ironic... don't you think?"

Many songs played before I actually got to my destination. I parked, and I got out, struggling with the box. Like an idiot, I didn't get out, go around, and get the box. I decided to grab the box and get out at the same time. It was a struggle. I walked to the door and set the box down to knock, finally making a smart decision for once. Ashton opened the door. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Hi?" he questioned as he saw the box. "Please, don't tell me you're moving in."

"Nice to see you, too," I said sarcastically. "Is Luke here?"

"Um, yeah. -- LUKE!" Ashton yelled. He leaned on the door. "So what's in the box? Are you selling Girl Scout cookies?"

"It's Luke's stuff. His mom gave it to me to give it to him. What's he doing?" I asked.

"Why are you in a rush? Got a place to be?" Ashton asked. "You can't stay?"

"I don't kno-w," I drawled. I had planned to spend the day with Cassie, but she got mad about me cutting the walk short, but I wasn't exactly interested in what she was talking about, and I think she picked up on that.

"How do you not--" Luke ran downstairs and stood up tall after his top half of his body caught up with him.

"Is that mine?" Luke pointed to the box. I bent down and picked it up. It wasn't a heavy box; it was just big.

"Your mom said she couldn't get ahold of you today, and she asked me to bring it to you." I handed him the box.

"Thanks," he said as he took the box.

"What is it?" Ashton asked. Luke shrugged, and he took back off up the stairs. I glanced at Ashton who was still leaning on the door. He raised his eyebrows and tapped his fingers on the door. "You wanna stay?" Ashton asked. "Don't turn my offer down."

I thought about it for a minute. "Why not?" Another smile appeared on Ashton's face as I stepped inside, and he closed the door behind me.

"I was about to go out into my backyard to sit on the swing. Wanna do that?" Ashton asked as we walked to his backdoor.

"I guess so," I said as we stepped out into his backyard. His background contained a deck with lots of seating and an aboveground pool like it was connected to the porch. As you walked off the porch, there was additional seating. Ashton walked over to the swing and sat down, so I joined him. He laid his arm around my waist, and he pulled me close to him. Our normal was just the arm around the waist. He never pulled me close to him, but we hadn't seen in each other in a week because we've both been busy. I just ignored it. "What have you been up to?" I asked. I felt Ashton shrug.

"I guess I've been trying to become friends with Ellington, so I don't lose my friends. He's a nice guy."

"That's nice. I kind of knew that would happen. I'm psychic," I told him.

"Whatever," Ashton scoffed. We sat for a while and swung. I looked around Ashton's yard and saw a patch of dandelions.

"Y'know, those are the only dandelions that I've seen this spring." I pointed over to the patch.

"Really? I've seen so many." I stood up and walked over the patch. I picked one, and I heard Ashton walking over. "Make a wish," I told him. He took the dandelion from me, and he blew it as I blew my own dandelion. "What'd you wish for?"

"If I tell you, it won't happen," he remarked.

"That's bologna," I told him.

"If it doesn't happen, I'm blaming you," he emphasized.

"Fair enough," I proclaimed.

"My wish is to stay happy."

(A/N- So I like putting lyrics in my update so car scenes aren't TOTALLY boring? Sue me. // ALSO, I FINALLY GOT THE DANDELION THING IN! I've kind of forgotten about it these past couple chapters... // I'm going on a short vacation these next few days, and I probably won't be working on an update, so the wait could be long.)