Close As Strangers

Chapter 4

That weekend, Bethany decided to go to visit the boys after her six hour shift before going home to an empty house, as Megan had rehearsals for one of her Drama modules and Steph was on a date with Michael. Thankfully, it wasn't snowing this time, though it was colder than it had been the week before, with a cold wind cutting through her coat and scarf as though she wasn't wearing them at all, which left her shivering as she knocked on the front door, not liking to let herself in when they didn't know she was coming over.

"Damn it, Bethany!" exclaimed her favourite voice once the door opened, feeling a tight grip around her wrist, which was used to pull her out of the cold.

"H-hey, Ash," she mumbled as he shut the door and pulled her to him.

"How long have you been out in that?" he asked, removing her coat and hanging it up, before wrapping her smaller frame in his arms in a futile attempt to stop her shivering.

"Tw-twenty minutes or s-so," she replied, her voice muffled in his chest as she huddled into his embrace for warmth.

"You're freezing, love," he commented, letting her cling to him without protest as he tried to take the chill from her skin. "Come on; let's get you into something warmer," he told her, surprising her when he picked her off the ground and carried her up to his room, setting her on the bed before searching through his drawers. "It's not much, but it should be warmer than that uniform you're wearing now," he said, passing her a long sleeved shirt and a pair of sweatpants.

"Thanks," she murmured as he turned around to let her change. She rolled the waist of the trousers over three times to ensure she wouldn't trip when she walked and pushed the sleeves up her arms so she could use her hands, though hiding them in the dark material was something she was sure to do soon enough. Once she had his clothes swamping her body, she told him he could turn around again and started folding her uniform with shaking hands. "Where are Luke and Calum?"

"Library session," explained Ashton as he took her clothes and folded them for her. "They're having a bit of trouble with some of their modules, so they thought one weekend in the library was a fair price to pay for enlightenment. You home alone too?"

"Megan has rehearsals and Steph's out with Michael," she elaborated, rubbing her arms and blowing on her hands to try to warm them up. "Did you have plans? I should've called before I came over."

"It's fine, love," he assured her, grabbing a blanket from the foot of his bed and wrapping it around her shoulders, taking her hands in his to help speed up the process. "Your hands are so cold, Bethany," he commented, lifting them to his mouth to breathe on them. "I can surf the internet any old time. Movies and take away sound good?"

"I've already eaten," said Bethany sheepishly, trying not to blush at his actions. "I actually had my break today."

"Movie night, then?" he asked with a smile, taking her hand and leading her back downstairs to the living room. At her nod, he got her settled on the sofa and removed their favourite films from the cupboard, pulling his phone from his pocket as it began to ring.

"Your ex still bothering you?" she questioned softly when he sighed and declined the call.

"I don't know how she doesn't get that I don't want anything to do with her anymore," mumbled Ashton angrily as he put The Prince of Persia into the DVD player. "I haven't answered her calls in over two weeks. What more can I do?"

"I don't know," she sighed as she pulled the blanket around her tighter. "I'm guessing you've told her you're done with her?"

"Of course," he agreed, sitting beside her and pulling her into his arms to keep her warm, placing her legs over his so she was closer to him. "She's either stupid or ignoring me."