Wasted Time

Chapter 17

Ashton's POV

I entered the room with a slight feeling of trepidation, and approached Michael. I still wasn't on the best terms with him, but I was determined to do my best to get along with everyone tonight. It was a few days after Michael's birthday, and Emily's was in a couple of weeks, so we had had a joint birthday party organised.

"Happy birthday, dude!" I said, handing over the present I had bought for him.

"Thanks," he said, smiling at me gratefully but with a hint of surprise.

"This looks great," I said, gazing around. There was a long table down one side with a buffet on it, and a bar at one end, but most of the space in the middle was cleared for a dance floor. The main lights still illuminated the building, because the party hadn't really started, but at the other end I could see DJ decks with multicoloured lights attached to the sides.

"Did you manage to get Charlie to DJ?" I asked Michael. Charlie was an old friend of Luke's, and she was the best DJ I had ever heard, so we always got her to do any events we were organising, including the end-of-tour party last year, meaning that Emily and Maddy had met her as well.

"Yeah, there she is," said Michael, pointing at the door, where a familiar girl with dark blonde hair with dip-dyed blue ends had just entered.

"Awesome, I haven't seen her for ages," I grinned. "I'm going to go and say hi."

"I'll come too," Michael said, and we headed over to the door together, where lots of Emily and Michael's friends were entering. We greeted Charlie, and Luke who was talking to her, then she had to go over to start the music, as most of the guests had arrived and were ready to start partying.

"Where's Emily?" Michael frowned. "And Maddy? They should be here by now."

"They seem to be taking ages getting ready, they started hours ago," frowned Luke, checking his phone.

"Oh wait, here they come," said Michael.

"Woah..." The word slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. The girls had just entered, and they looked amazing to say the least. Emily was wearing a black lacy dress that complimented her long legs and tall figure, and small black heels so that she didn't tower over everyone, and Maddy looked stunning in a short, tight, red strapless dress. Luke bit his lip as he watched Emily walking, his eyes holding a hint of hunger.

The girls approached us, grinning, and I moved over towards Maddy before I realised what I was doing, my arms slightly outstretched. She gave me a weird look, and they dropped back to my sides awkwardly. I noticed Chris walk up behind her and snake his arms around her waist. My cheeks darkened slightly, and I shifted away from them.

"Hi," she giggled sickeningly, turning her head towards him.

"I'm going to get a drink," I said abruptly. "Anyone else?" Luke was busy hugging Emily and whispering in her ear, and Maddy and Chris were still laughing. "Nope? Okay, I'll just go on my own then..." Feeling ignored and grumpy, I went to the bar on my own and got a beer. I was soon approached by Calum and a few other people I vaguely knew, and we spent a moderately enjoyable twenty minutes drinking and making small talk.

After Calum and his friends had left to go and find Flavia and the rest of her band, I decided that I might as well try and enjoy myself a bit, so I joined the crowd on the dance floor. I wove my way through all the slightly tipsy people, looking for familiar faces as some repetitive dance song played deafeningly loudly through the room.

I spotted Maddy and headed towards her, my heart lifting slightly, but immediately dropping to my feet when I noticed Chris standing behind her. I watched them dance a little too close together until I could bear it no longer, storming over to the corner of the room to sulk.