Life Saver (m.c.)

Ch. 31

Ch. 31

"You guys are no help," Charlotte groaned, throwing her head back on the couch while Calum, Ashton, and Luke laughed.

"You know you're gonna need them!" Calum said, still laughing.

"No, guys, please be serious," Charlotte pleaded.

"We are! I swear, if you buy them, those condoms will not go to waste," Luke stated, making the other guys laugh even harder.

"Whatever. I'm just gonna go," Charlotte mumbled, standing up.

"No, Char, wait. We'll help you," Ashton said, grabbing her wrist. She quickly shook from his grip, not liking how his long fingers held onto her little wrist so tightly.

"You'll be serious?" she asked, turning to look at them, her brown eyes wide.

"Yeah, we will. Are you seriously nervous about this?" Calum asked, giving her a concerned look. She nodded. "Well, you shouldn't be. It's just Michael."

"Yeah, 'just Michael' who saved my life and I kind of really like. So yeah, I'm nervous. He's my friend and I don't want to scare him off or anything," Charlotte mumbled, sitting back down on the couch and putting her head in her hands. Luke put his hand on her back, rubbing it softly.

"It's gonna be okay, Char. You're not gonna scare him off. And he really likes you too, so don't worry. Everything's gonna go the way it should, promise," Luke said, comforting her. Charlotte sat up and leaned into Luke, liking the comfort he gave. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and ran his hand up and down her arm, warming her up.

"Whoa, Luke, she's off limits," Ashton said, earning a glare from Charlotte.

"Shut up, Ashton," Charlotte mumbled. "Do you think this is a good idea?"

"I don't see why not," Calum said. "I mean, you like him and he likes you, so go for it."

"Yeah, like, what have you got to lose?" Luke shrugged.

Charlotte sat up and glared at Luke, "What have we got to lose? Seriously? Everything, Lucas."

"That's not my name," Luke groaned, throwing his head back.

"Sorry, force of habit. But I don't know that I want to do it. I mean, what if something happens and he ends up hating me? He saved my life, I can't ruin this. It has to be perfect," Charlotte said, laying down so her head was in Luke's lap and she was staring at the ceiling with her legs hanging off the arm of the couch. "But I feel like something bad is going to happen and then we'll be awkward any time we're around each other and I know we've just recently met but I don't want to stop hanging out with you guys and-"

"Charlotte, oh my gosh, shut up and calm down," Ashton said, chuckling slightly. "Stop freaking yourself out, please. Think positive. I know you think a lot of things could go wrong, but you should think about the things that could go right. I could see you guys being a very happy couple, like eventually settling down, maybe buying a house, getting married, having kids, stuff like that."

"Whoa, Ash, he just asked me out on one date, not to spend the rest of my life with him," Charlotte laughed. "Do you really think it'll work out?"

"Just try it. And if it doesn't work out, things will only be awkward if you make them awkward," Calum said.

Charlotte let out a big sigh and closed her eyes. The guys started talking and ended up in some conversation about one of Ashton's ex-girlfriends, laughing and joking while Charlotte listened. Hearing the way they spoke about this girl kind of scared her, because she knew that if things didn't work out between her and Michael and they ended on a bad note, she could be the subject of a conversation like this. The guys were being pretty rude with the things they were saying, and Charlotte knew she wouldn't want to be talked about this way.

"I guess I should've listened to the fans when they told me not to be with her. It was a waste of my time. It's funny how you think you know someone and then they turn out to be the complete opposite of what you thought," Ashton said seriously.

"You thought she changed. She was pretty good at acting like she had," Calum shrugged. "But she was a bitch. We told you that from the beginning."

"Yeah, well, it turns out people don't really change. Even if they act differently, the person they were is still in there somewhere," Ashton said, laying on his back on the floor, running his fingers through his hair.

"Do you ever miss her?" Luke asked.

"Not really. Calum was right, she was a bitch. I mean, I thought I loved her, but... I don't know. She just wasn't right for me. If you guys ever start talking to a girl, you should probably listen to your friends and your fans. They seem to know what's right, believe it or not," Ash told them.

"But Ash," Charlotte started, "the fans were horrible to her. A lot of them just said rude things because she was with you, not because they actually had real reasons to not like her. They're very protective of you guys. I should know, I live with one."

"You have a point," Ashton said, nodding. "When it comes to girls, listen to your friends. And yourself. But sometimes you'll get so infatuated with her, your judgement will get clouded, so listen to your friends."