Wasted Time

Chapter 26

Ashton's POV

"Do we really have to do this?" I groaned yet again as Dean drove us nearer to the street where the premiere venue was. "None of us is really friends with Maddy any more, this is stupid..."

"She invited us ages ago," sighed Michael, with the air of a parent who had told their child the same thing a thousand times before. "The press and the fans are expecting us to go, it'll look suspicious if we don't, and we don't want to give away any more about the breakups than we have to. We've managed to keep it mostly to ourselves so far, let's try and keep it that way, okay? We really don't need any more drama." I noticed Luke nodding ever so slightly, but when he caught my eye he stopped instantly and stared out of the window at the darkening sky and the brightly-lit streets we were driving through.

"I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself, Ashton," Dean called from the driver's seat. "Just forget about Maddy - I know that sounds stupid, but enjoy the film and try to keep a low profile in the interviews, just don't say anything interesting."

"Interviews," I muttered under my breath, banging my head back against my headrest. I had forgotten about the perils of premiere interviews.

"You'll be fine, Ashton," said Calum, resting his head on my shoulder from the seat behind. "Promise."

I stepped out of the car hesitantly, even though we were still a couple of streets from the start of the red carpet.

"Ready, boys?" asked Dean, locking the car and leading us towards the corner of the street. Michael walked ahead with him, and Luke followed close behind, but I hung back with Calum.

"Calummm..." I whined, tugging at the sleeve of his suit.

"Come on, Ash, just stick with me, you'll be fine," he said sincerely, looking into my eyes.

"Thanks, dude," I said, smiling a little. "I just don't feel ready to see her again, and it's going to be impossible to pretend to like her."

"There must be some love for her left in your heart. Just pretend you still love her, and you will."

"I'll try," I said, but I was sceptical. You couldn't force yourself to love somebody. I sighed and walked faster to catch up with the others, who were waiting to cross a road, but were hindered by the constant stream of vehicles zooming past.

"Everyone hold hands to cross the road now," Dean ordered jokingly. I rolled my eyes, and Calum and Luke just laughed, but Michael obediently held out his left hand, which Dean took after a moment of hesitant eye contact. They looked at each other for a moment, then sprinted across the road, leaving the rest of us to follow behind.

"You look like you're about to get married," Luke laughed as they neglected to drop each other's hands once we had safely crossed the road. Dean glanced back at him, smiling, before making eye contact with Michael once more. Their pace slowed slightly, as they gazed into each other's eyes as if realising something for the first time. Then they both simultaneously burst out laughing.

"You guys are such idiots," sighed Luke. "But you'd better stop pretending to be in love soon, people are going to get suspicious."

"Who cares?" said Michael. "People can think what they like. What would it matter if we were a couple?"

"Well, obviously I know it wouldn't matter," said Luke, frustrated. "But I don't think we need any more rumours, and Dean doesn't want any trouble."

"He's kind of right, Michael," Dean said, dropping his hand reluctantly. "Sorry." Michael shrugged it off, but I could see a trace of hurt in his eyes.

"What's up, dude?" I asked, concerned. "You look upset. You know you and Dean aren't really dating, right?" I tried to make a joke to cheer him up, but he didn't smile.