Somewhere, Australia //A.I

Chapter 30: Medium-sized White Lies

The picture I attached is just Demi being Demi with her subtle natural beauty, which is what I picture Sydney to have. Wow. Ok. Chapter thirty...Holy cow. Thanks for working with me through the kinks! ENJOY LOVELIES!

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Ashton's POV

"Ok, so I may have screwed up..." Luke trails off, not wanting to seem like more of an ass.

"I still don't see what the problem is." Calum says, only minutes after being filled in on the situation.

"The problem is that when he finds out Luke's not who he says he is- we're screwed." Michael sighs, throwing his hands into the air.

"Hang on. Back up. That is, if he finds out Luke's not who he says he is." Calum grins devilishly, the rest of us side-eyeing him with curiosity. "If we can find a way to get through the gig without him finding out, then we have our ticket to stardom."

"But wait.." I say, thinking back to the earlier run-down on the phone. "There may already be a hole in that theory. Before you said you left your information at the desk." For a split second everyone's faces darken at our shot down opportunity.

"Yeah... But only my number, no name, nothing else. So as long as I don't answer the phone and say 'Hello, I'm Luke Hemmings' we should be fine." Excitement rises again at the possibility. Except mine.

I was almost glad that we got stuck in a lie. But it looks like we're in the clear. At least, pulling it off wise, morality wise, not so much.

This is wrong, even if it could lead to big things. Do we really want to start off our career's with a lie? Deciding to be the voice of reason, I speak up. "Guys, even if we can get away with this, does it really mean we should?"

Instead of answering me, Michael plops down beside me, casually tossing an arm around my shoulders. "Ashton. Think of it all, the publicity, the recognition, the possibility of fame that can come from this. And that's just the start. After that, singles, albums, red carpets, magazine covers, interviews, sold out arenas cheering our names, the money," he leans his head closer and drops his voice. "..the babes." I roll my eyes and shrug his arm off of me, his voice softens. "But most importantly, getting to do what you love for a living, and doing it with your best friends." I glance over to the other boys, only to see them wearing matching pleading expressions. "I remember you once telling me that you'd do ANYTHING to play Madison Square Garden. Where's that Ashton when we need him?" I hesitantly consider his words.

But he's right. One of my biggest ambitions in life is to play Madison Square Garden. To just see what it's like to have all those people looking to you for something amazing. To have all those people believe in what you do, even acknowledge that you did something worth noticing. That's what I'm in it for. Not the money, the fame, or "the babes". There's so much more to it. And I guess that telling a little- well more like medium-sized white lie is worth it.

"Let's do it." We yell and holler so loud it bounces off Luke's garage walls. We jump and hug and let our enthusiasm overspread the room. Then we have the most kickass, energetic rehearsal ever.

Sydney's POV

It's been a relatively slow day, the night so far being slightly busier. As much as I like being able to relax when things are slow, not a lot of customers means not a lot of tips. Living on what I make now can sometimes barely stretch, but without tips it would be marginally worse.

I'm cleaning shot glasses, making chit-chat with the patrons, and everything in between until my 15 minute break for dinner.

Gratefully, I smile widely at my boss as he takes over behind the bar. Lifting up the counter I walk to the back to grab my wallet from the locker marked '16'.

Interrupting the steady stream of cars to run across the street, I walk into the pizza place across from the bar and order a small pizza to go. The taunting smell of cheese makes my stomach growl. The couple minutes before my pizza is ready seems like an eternity- and a half.

Running back through traffic with my dinner in hand, I enter through the front door of the bar and hear a familiar voice.

"There she is!" Calls a voice with a medium timber and Australian accent.

"Ashton?" I reply, immediately conscious of my appearance, and squirming at what it is.

I curse myself in my head for this reaction, he's my boyfriend and it's not that I don't I feel comfortable around him. Even before we gave our relationship a label I trusted him. But my lack of confidence causes me to want to curl up and wince.

He sees my slight discomfort, although I've been masking it for most of my life.
"You okay?" He whispers in my ear as he pulls me in for a welcoming hug.

"Yeah. Of course." I smile, because I am. I'm always okay, I've delt with this forever, I've been past okay with it since I was fifteen, it's a part of me.

I peck him on the cheek and wave to the boys sitting around the bar. "What're you guys all doing here?"

August's small frame suddenly pops from behind the other side of Michael, all the way on the end. "I invited them."

I cheekily smile at my best friend, her response, very maturely being, to stick out her tongue. I crinkle my nose, my stomach rumbling. "Well, I'm gonna go eat my dinner then I'll come back out and get you guys something to drink." I say, gesturing to first the pizza, then the empty counter.

I nod my hello's to the boys as I walk by all of them, and give August a side hug. I grab the door to the break room in the back and pull it open. I stash my wallet back in my employee locker and take out my phone. Checking things, scrolling through feeds, and humming to myself I start and finish my dinner.

Just as I'm checking my face and hands for any pizza sauce, a small knock comes at the door, it props open and August walks in.

"Non-employees aren't supposed to be back here. But I'm just about to go back in-"

"Relax, I got permission from your boss. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed...I don't know...squirmy."

Of course she noticed that something was up, whereas I didn't even notice she was there at first. I break from recounting my lack of attention to detail and answer her.

"Yeah. It's just... Every time I'm around Ashton I become aware of my appearance and i start thinking why..." I trail off, not having the balls to say it out loud.

"Keep going." August motions, both of us taking a seat on the bench.

"It's like I'm thinking to myself, why me? Ashton is like a god, and then there's me." I say gesturing to myself. "He could have any girl he wants, all by flashing a smile. I just feel like I owe it to him to look at least semi-nice."

There I finally said it. Ever since that night in the parking lot, I've been holding that in. But it's subtly been eating me alive every time we're together.

"Sweetie... Unlike most boys that are as attractive as Ashton-"

"Did you just lowkey call my boyfriend hot?!" I mock, glad that it lightens the mood a little.

"As I was saying, it's about more to him then how you look in a dress. He has a heart, and a brain. You guys obviously like each other." I half smile at her words, she's a hundred percent right. "I think you should just have fun and be you."

I lean my head on her shoulder, having to slouch down quite a bit. "What would I do without you?"

"I don't even wanna think about that. Now let's go have some fun!" She shoots up and claps her hands.

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Thank you so much for reading! Still almost at 1k reads!! I'm thrilled! :)