Human Canvas :: a.i [slow updates]

Chapter 12

Dedicated to jasmom bc she's a little peanut and I love her and she's one of my biggest motivations to write this ily baby fallenhood

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The sun setting and the soft sound of the jeep's wheels swerving through the dusty pavement make me feel a little calmer than before.

We just arrived at the beautiful old building which looks as if it's going to collapse on itself at any given moment.

The rough walls of fading yellow paint are chipped and dirty, and several thin branches of ivy climb down from the floor and up to the dark looking roof.

The ride was as quiet as I would have expected it to be. Michael was passionately singing the lyrics to songs I don't know; he was putting out a full on performance worthy of a Grammy award. And all in the comfort and safety of the backseat.

Ashton and I were enjoying the air guitar playing and the screamo chorus he'd make up for the songs blasting through the radio; and although I was almost going deaf, Michael would still plea Ashton for him to turn the volume up, and he did it every time, for the sake of not having to deal with fake cries and moans from the crazy haired boy.

Predictably, I didn't speak a full articulated sentence throughout the whole ride.
I'd blush furiously whenever I sensed Ashton glancing at me every now and then, and how he'd open his mouth to speak but then close it right after.

But on contrast to what one would think, the silence that our mouths shared wasn't as awkward as it could have been, partially because our eyes would communicate in secretwhenever Michael did something remotely embarrassing.

Ashton parked the jeep to a song that, according to Michael, is simultaneously the best and worst love song of all times.

Best, because the lyrics creep on you and make you sob uncontrollably whilst smashing a bottle of liquor against a wall; and worst, for the exact same reason.

The absolute cliché that is I Miss You by Blink-182 is probably the only song in the entire Irwin discography that I can actually sing more than just the chorus.

"I'll get it." Ashton says softly when I reach for the door handle, preparing to exit the car.

I smile softly and Michael abruptly slams his door shut whilst chanting passionately the lyrics to the song.

Ashton follows and walks up to my side, smiling adorably from the other side of the glass window. He opens the door swiftly and hands out his hand for me to hold, which I do gladly and hop off the high jeep.

I place my tiny bag with absolute necessities around my shoulder and let it fall to the side of my thigh.

"Thank you." I blush and wrap my arm around his angled elbow.

A single breeze of cold air attacks my exposed body, making me shiver and cuddle closer to Ashton.

I look around, taking in my surroundings and analyzing the poorly treated place.

It's a shame that whoever takes care of our town is more interested in making more than enough money to sustain themselves rather than actually putting effort into making the town a better place for everyone.

The Art Museum, the church, the vintage theater... they're all just examples of how places with such potential can turn into trash when no one gives them the attention they deserve.

I guess that can happen to people as well.

"Are you cold?" Ashton asks suddenly when he feels me jerking onto him.