The Piano || 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘣𝘺 𝘣𝘳𝘰𝘤𝘬

|48| Burger and fries.

The town was unspectacular, to word it nicely. There wasn't much more than a mall but since none of them were in the mood for shopping and they didn't want to take out the camera, there was not much more to do than to hang out in the small park and eat ice cream. The weather had only gotten hotter over the course of the day, and Ashley was sweaty again, despite the cold shower she'd taken before.

Lunchtime arrived, and they started looking for a restaurant. As soon as they walked into the one they settled for, Ashley excused herself and went to the toilet. But as she wanted to go back to their table, there were a guy and a girl standing in front of Sam and Colby. Fans, judging by their giddy behaviour. Ashley only peered from behind the corner, not really wanting them to see her as well.

The girl was fiddling with her necklace, and the guy scratched his neck repeatedly. Sam, whose back was turned to Ashley, nodded and seemed to be talking. Colby, sitting opposite to him, nodded and smiled up to the two.

Ashley scanned the two nervously. They seemed like average fans, just excited to meet their idols. But they for sure knew what Sam and Colby were here for. No one would be stupid enough not to connect the dots.

Colby's gaze flickered over to her, and he tilted his head as he saw her behind the corner. Then he nodded quickly. Ashley composed herself and walked over to the table. God, she hoped this wouldn't be awkward.

"Hi," she said, smiling kindly, as she approached the fans. The girl swivelled around, her eyes widening.

"Oh. My. God. Ashley Reed?" she asked.

The redhead chuckled and sat down next to Sam. Any interaction with Colby would have to be carefully calculated – she knew that fans could be ruthless. Even though these two seemed to be the less theorising type.

"This is the best day of my life," the girl said, her voice high-pitched. "Just a bit better than the day I realized you collabbed for the first time. And the day he asked me to be his girlfriend," she quickly added, gesturing to the boy standing next to her. He chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Can we, like, take a picture? This is insane. I've been you guys' fan for years – all three, I mean."

"Sure," Ashley said, interrupting her a little. God, she hated how nervous she got around fans. The girl didn't seem to notice though and handed her boyfriend the phone, stepping next to Colby.

"You don't want to be in it?" Colby asked the guy who took a step backwards to get them all in frame.

"Nah," he replied, "sorry but I don't know what she sees in you guys' videos."

Ashley couldn't help but laugh at that, just when he took the picture, relieved that not both of them would compliment her and the boys. "Brutally honest. I like it."

He grinned, ruffling through his girlfriend's hair. She squealed, quickly trying to fix it. "Someone's gotta bring you down to earth sometimes."

"Hey, we appreciate it, man," Sam laughed, holding his hand up to dab him up. Ashley leaned a bit back as the two boys clapped their hands together. "Was nice to meet you."

She nodded, agreeing. "What was your name again?" she asked, looking at the girl before the two could leave. "I didn't catch it."

"Jasmine," she said, smiling broadly. "But my friends call me J."

"Beautiful name," Ashley replied.

"Can I ask you a favour, Jasmine?" Colby asked.

"Anything."

"Could you maybe not spread the fact that we're here?" he said, his tone more serious now as he gestured at Sam, Ashley and himself. "It's pretty obvious what we're doing, and we'd appreciate it if you kept it under the covers for a little longer. Just a few days, yeah?"

She nodded eagerly, and he smiled.

"Cool. Loved meeting you, J and Carlos."

The two of them said their goodbyes, Ashley and Sam reciprocating them, and walked out of the restaurant, Jasmine clutching Carlos' arm apparently still in disbelief.

"That was nice," Ashley said, grabbing the menu as she tried to ignore the lingering anxiety. "I really hope that they don't talk about it to other fans, though. We'd be fucked if everyone suddenly knew that we're here."

"We would," Colby agreed. "But they seemed reasonable enough. What are you taking?" he asked, changing the topic.

"Burger and fries," she chuckled. She always felt like some good old fast food when she was on her period – but she had a feeling that in this place, it wouldn't be McDonalds-level.

"Are you excited for Jerry and Sadie to come here in the afternoon?" Sam asked, taking the menu she handed him.

"Ah," she shrugged, "Jerry, yes. He's already a believer and I want him to really experience it. But Sadie is a non-believer and I'm a bit afraid that she'll ruin the mood."

"But you told me you wanted to scare her," Sam said, putting the menu down after deciding.

"Oh yeah, I hope Ilse freaks her the fuck out. Maybe I should pretend like we're dating or something so that Ilse gets pissed off," she joked. 

"Oh my God, Ashley?" Colby snorted.

"What?" she asked innocently. "We have to convince Sadie somehow."

"You're evil," Sam stated, shaking his head. "Jesus Christ. Setting her up to get targeted by a jealous spirit... that's some next-level villain type shit."

"That sounds like something you would do to a long-time enemy, not the sister of your best friend," Colby laughed.

"She just really annoyed me when we talked about the hotel," Ashley explained casually. "Said that it had to be fake and stuff like that."

The conversation was disturbed by a waiter, walking over to take their orders. The burger and fries exceeded any expectations she'd had, and her eyes rolled back in her head as she bit into the food. They didn't talk until everyone had finished their meals and it was time to go to a parking lot to pick up Jerry and Sadie. He had texted Ashley that the two of them were waiting there, and the drive was quick.

"Hi, you two," she smiled as she found them in the empty parking lot. They'd been waiting there since the Uber arrived probably.

Colby had taken out his camera, following behind Ashley and shaking Jerry's and Sadie's hands. The girl was smiling broadly and confidently, which made Ashley smirk. She really hoped Ilse would do something special today. Maybe she would sense Ashley's determination and her distaste for Sadie's over-confident behaviour and help her.

Sam and Colby, who had never officially met Sadie, were quick to start a conversation with her, whereas Ashley helped Jerry into the front of Sam's car, where he would have the most space for his cast.

On the drive back, they didn't talk about ghosts or spirits or about how much they believed. Ashley was relieved by that, even though she wouldn't have had to talk about it anyway, because Sadie sat in between her and Colby, so the two of them could've freely talked about it without involving Ashley in the conversation. Still, talking about Sadie's podcast and how she'd love to have Sam and Colby as guests at one point was much more pleasant.

The atmosphere was tense but exciting, and especially Ashley couldn't wait to reach the hotel. She tried to keep herself calm, knowing that expecting too much would inevitably lead to disappointment. 

----------

Author's note-
> 200K views, guys. 200K. Thank you so so much and happy new year <3 (And 6K votes, this is INSANE)