5SOS Imagines

Heartfelt Happiness [Ashton]

You'd been looking forward to this day for quite a while, but you were nervous. For a couple of months now, you and Ashton had been planning on visiting a children's orphanage on the outskirts of London. You'd visited this particular orphanage a while ago to become a volunteer and the children there touched your heart so deeply that you knew one day you had to go back.

Honestly, you'd missed being away from it. Although, there were times that you got affected by the stories these children would tell you about how they ended up in the orphanage in the first place, you loved being there all the same. Their reasons ranged from parents deaths and abusive families to parents who simply were in too much poverty to be able to care for them.

It had been four years since you'd last been, but you had to see if anything had changed. It was a wonderful orphanage but they struggled financially at times. That's why you and Ashton had been gathering many endless supplies to take with you when you visited them. When Ashton first found out about this orphanage from you, he fell in love with the way you spoke about it and the children's stories you told him. You weren't supposed to tell him the stories, but he'd never tell anyone what you told him.

"Hey babe, nearly ready?" Ashton peeped his head round the bedroom door. You decided not to get all dressed up; there really was no reason to. With a pair of black skinny jeans, a white tank top on, and black converse you were ready to go.

"Yep, let's go!" You couldn't help but grin, you were kind of excited. Ashton knew how much today meant to you, so he'd sworn that you would stay there all day and spend as much time with the kids as possible.

The car was packed with stuff to take with you to give to the orphanage. There were toiletry supplies, clothing, CDs and all sorts of goodies. Ashton was also taking a guitar; he wanted to play some music to the kids because he wanted to share what he loved with as many people as possible.

The orphanage housed around 150 children, all of which dreamed of having a proper family who would love them and keep them forever. But for most, that really was just a far off dream. That small fact was enough to shatter your heart because you were blessed to have the family you had. You were blessed to have the life you had and you could never take that for granted.

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Ashton pulled up in the car park and you both just sat in silence for a couple of minutes staring at the huge, school-like building in front of you. A shaky breath escaped your lips and Ashton looked at you.

"Are you ok?" He knew you were secretly worried about this, you were quite a sensitive person and things of this nature took its toll on you emotionally. After all, you were only human and your heart wasn't made of stone.

"Yeah, I just hope everyone's getting on ok. A lot will have changed since I was last here; I just hope it's for the good, Ash. These kids deserve to be happy." You looked down at your lap and twiddled with your fingers. He took your chin between his fingers and turned your head to face him.

"It'll be ok, I promise." Ashton reassured you, with a little kiss on the forehead.

Once you got to the door, you were greeted by Mrs Porters with a warm hug. Mrs Porters had worked there many years and she was the sweetest lady you'd ever had the pleasure of meeting. Her adoration for her work was something you admired greatly. The children were so lucky to have her as a part of their lives.

"Y/N! Oh love, it's so wonderful to see you again." She looked ready to burst into tears of joy.

"I'm so happy to be back. This is Ashton." You were absolutely beaming and Ashton looked at you with nothing but the deepest love. Holding out his hand, Mrs Porters shook it excitedly.

"Ashton, how lovely to finally meet you! I've heard a lot about you in the email y/n has sent." Her gaze averted to you, "You got yourself a keeper with this one."

"Yeah, I know I have." Ashton rubbed the small of your back and your cheeks flared crimson. His adorable moments sometimes caught you off guard. Truthfully, he spent most of his time acting like a complete goon.

"Come on in, the kids are just dying to meet you!" As you stepped inside, you noticed the entire place was covered in Christmas decorations. Fairy lights lit the staircase from top to bottom and a huge, 8ft tree towered above everyone in the centre of the hall. Everything looked so beautiful; you could barely believe your eyes. The place had come along so much since you'd last been; you felt your heart soar.

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Hand in hand, Ashton and you followed behind Mrs Porters towards the main social room where all the children hung out. The door was clicked open and you all stepped over the threshold. Hundreds of eyes glanced over at you.

"Look who's here, Ashton and y/n!" Little squeals could be heard all over the room. However, it was one of the teenage girls who caught your eye. Kaitlin, she was one you could never forget. When her glance met yours, she rushed towards you and a smile engulfed her face.

"Y/N! You're finally back." Kaitlin was one of the girls you'd been with the whole time you were here. When new kids first came in, they were buddied up with one of the volunteers until they settled in. As it turns out, she was the first child you'd ever buddied and you couldn't quite believe she was still here. At the current time, she'd have been about 14, but she was only 8 when she first came to the orphanage. Her family turmoil's became unbearable for her, as they dragged her into the messiness and she got beat a fair few times. Eventually, the discrepancies were discovered by social services and she was rescued.

"I have missed you so much." You had tried so hard not to cry, but with Kaitlin bundled up in your arms you couldn't help it. Pulling back, you held her at arm's length. "You're so beautiful, Kai, never let anybody tell you otherwise." She was like the little sister you'd never got to have. Her chestnut waves hung loosely down her back, big green eyes were framed by a sculpted complexion. She really was extremely beautiful.

"There's no need to cry; you're far stronger than that and I know it." Her thumb gently wiped your tears away, and you grabbed lightly onto her hand. Ashton was already mingling with the kids, some of them were clearly fans of the band as they repeated numerous songs back to him while he sang and played guitar. One thing you loved about him is that he was never shy and always put his all into everything he did.

"Ash?" You spoke from just above him as he was sat cross legged on the floor surrounded by a group of kids.

His eyes darted from them to you, "Yeah, what's up?" The concern was obvious in his voice; he could always tell when you'd been crying. Your smile lighting up your face wiped away any sadness you could've shown.

"I'd like you to meet Kaitlin." His eyes went wide at the mention of her name. You'd told him countless stories about her, but you'd always believed that kinder people would've taken her to a new loving home by now. There was no way you'd ever thought she'd still be living in the orphanage.

Ashton arms opened out and Kai instantly fell into them. She was secretly a huge fan of the band as well, although she hadn't gotten around to telling you that yet. He felt as she began to lightly shake against him.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong? Why are you upset?" He pulled her down onto the floor next to him. There was nothing Ash disliked more than seeing others upset.

"I... I can't believe I'm finally getting to meet you." Poor Kai looked just about ready to pass out. It took you seconds to click on about her loves for the band. On the other hand, Ashton was completely oblivious.

"Why? I'm really not that special." A chuckle left your lips and Ashton glared at you. "What? Why are you laughing?" He really looked like a deer in headlights.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think we may have just found a top fangirl." Your eye brows were raised towards Kai; who looked quite ready to die of embarrassment.

"No, oh god, no... Not fangirl exactly, just fan. I mean what; I'm a girl who's a fan. Damn." She rambled on and you burst into a fit of laughter. Ashton's smile slid easily across his lips. His hand rested on her shoulder and rubbed it slightly.

"Its fine, no need to pass out on us. I'm just like you lot really... besides the well, fame edge I guess. Why don't I play a song for you? Which one would you like to hear?" He sounded excited; his love for performing always shone through no matter what. Kaitlin's eyes went wide at the mention of him playing a song just for her.

"Oh, you really don't have to do that, I don't want to be any trouble. I can just -" You'd never seen this nervous side to her. She'd always been so bubbly and confident; she never reacted this way to anything. Well, besides Ashton, it would seem.

"Kaitlin. Breathe. He's offering to play a song for you, not marry you. As much as I love you, that's totally off limits for obvious reasons." Your sarcastic tone fired out and Kaitlin shot daggers at you through her eyes. Seriously, that look could've killed anybody.

"Shut up you. Let's not forget when you used to swear down on everything roaming this earth that Josh Francheschi would one day fall in love with you. Did she ever tell you about that Ashton?" Clearly Kaitlin's confident side had returned with some urgency. Ashton knew you loved you me at six, but not quite to the extent of being die-hard in love with Josh. He turned to face you with a smirk dancing across his mouth.

"Is that so? What's he got that I haven't then?" For the first time ever, you were stumped for an answer. Honestly, nobody could ever compare to or be better than Ashton, but you found yourself fumbling for an answer regardless just to provoke him.

"Let's see... Super-talented, I mean you know, perfect musician. You're there, not quite there, but close enough. Dazzling eyes, perfect complexion, just the right amount of scruff... I mean wow." You tried with every ounce of your being to sound as serious as possible. Ashton's smirk momentarily faltered and you feared that you'd taken things too far. Just like that, his game was well and truly back on.

"Oh really? I'll show you talent... And I bet he can't compare under the sheets to me."

"Ashton!" Seriously, what kind of comment was that to make around a 14-year-old and many other children of various ages? Sometimes he struggled to control himself; it was time he tried a little harder. Leaning down to his ear so only he'd be able to hear what you had to say, you whispered, "I bet he can't, but you'll have to prove yourself if you want me to fully agree with that." His eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. There was no denying that you talking dirty to him made him have the most inappropriate of thoughts.

"I know what I want you to play." Kaitling piped up randomly, knocking Ashton and you out of each other's trance. Ashton nodded towards her.

"Yeah, which song?"

"It's kind of an old one, but over and over? I don't know if you'll even know it that well anymore, but I'd love to hear it." This song was a perfect choice. Ashton had such a lovely voice that suited this song wonderfully.

"Sure, it might be a little rusty but I'll give it a go." After a few minutes of tuning the guitar, he finally had it tuned and ready to play. The first chord was strummed and a whole flurry of memories appeared in front of your mind.

You'd never thought you'd admit this to him, but you used to listen to it after arguments. There was one huge one you'd had over him supposedly cheating on you, for some reason you'd chosen to believe the tabloids over him even though you knew the lies that were splattered all over the front covers of newspapers. After claiming that everything between you was over for good, he stormed out of the apartment with a packed suitcase and made his way for the train station. Your entire world fell apart in a matter of minutes once you realised the mistake you'd made. A week later, after letting the storm calm, you decided to call him and grovel for his forgiveness. You'd not been eating, barely slept a wink and were completely done with being stubborn. Your heart hurt too much to let him go so easily. It took a while for him to fully forgive you for what had happened, but he'd been feeling the same way you had since leaving. For a little while, he did resent you for what you'd done, but he couldn't ever leave you. The love you shared was far too strong to give up on.

As the song drew to a close, you could feel tiny water droplets falling onto your chest. Alas, you were crying due to your extensive reminiscing. This was the first time you'd heard that song since that particular argument 2 years ago. It hit far harder than you expected.

"I'll be back in a minute." You spoke out and made a hasty exit out of the room towards the ladies toilets. You were half way there when you bumped into a smaller figure below you. "Oh gosh, I'm so sorry." As you were about to rush past, the child grasped tightly onto your hand. You glanced towards the harsh contact.

"Why are you crying?" A young girl, around the age of 6 was gazing up at you with the saddest ocean blue eyes you'd ever seen. A piece of your heart completely shattered at the sight.

Kneeling down to her eye level, you took both her hands into your own and began to speak. "Sometimes, people do silly things. I was one of those people and I nearly lost someone very special to me. There are some things in life you simply can't control, but I could've handled that particular problem better than I did." You sighed realising that this was probably going over the child's head, so you took a new route for the topic. "When you love someone with all your heart, they become everything to you. When they are gone, you're left empty and alone. One day, I'm sure you will understand what I mean. Sweetheart, there's people who will love you for you always. Never let those people go, ok? You're worth far more than a back story can tell anyone, I promise you that." Without warning, the little girl launched herself into your arms and cuddled into you.

"I love you." Her mumbled words completely melted your heart. That's when you realised you were probably the first person to ever discuss the topic of love with her. She mustn't have really understood it, but you took it in your stride. After all, these children in the orphanage needed far more love and attention than most would be willing to give, but they deserved all the love in the world.

"I love you too." Truthfully, you loved all the children here because this place was held so dear to you over the years. The people in it were what made it so incredible. The child you were currently holding in your arms was one of the loveliest you could've encountered. There are not many people who would've stopped to ask you why you were upset; most would've just walked on and let you deal with it. But this little girl did the exact opposite and gave an alternative heart-warming moment that was completely unexpected.

You hadn't noticed until now that Ashton was knelt down beside you both. His eyes made it look as if he'd been crying and his hand was rubbing circles on the small of your back.

"What's your name sweetie?" His voice was sweet and slow.

"Isabelle, what's yours?" This little girl had some sort of fearless side to her. She was willing to talk to complete strangers; which was quite amazing.

"Ashton. This is Y/N." He said whilst pointing in your direction. That's when Kaitlin showed up behind you all.

"Kai Kai!" Isabelle yelped out and went rushing towards her. Kaitlin swooped her up in her arms and cuddled her close.

"Hey you, why don't we go in main room and watch a Disney movie yeah?" She could tell you needed some time to talk to each other.

"Yeah, let's go!" You all let out a little giggle at her; she was just the most adorable child in the world. Kaitlin smiled towards you then carried Isabelle off towards the main room. The tension started to linger above your heads.

"So, what was all that about?" Ashton was the first to break the ice.

There was no better time to tell him the truth, "That song, over and over, I never told you this because it's kind of stupid, but when we had that huge argument like two years ago I played it on repeat for the entire week. Then when you were playing it there, it just got me thinking about it and made me remember how idiotic I'd been. I know I've said this a billion times before, but I'm so sorry for what happened. I love you more than I could ever love anybody and not believing you, and letting you go, was the two stupidest things I've ever done in my life. You're worth everything this world could possibly offer, in comparison; I'm a rusty old tool." There were tears brimming in his eyes, he'd always been quite sensitive, but he hated when you talked badly about yourself most of all.

"That's one of the most adorable things you've ever said, I'm not gunna lie. Stop thinking about the past; I've gotten over it, I promise. I wish you could realise just how beautiful and amazing you really are, you're anything but a rusty old tool. Sometimes, you're a diamond stuck in the rough, but I will always be there to help you out of it. You're perfect to me; no matter what's happened." He always knew the right words to say. His soft tone always sent your heart on a flutter. His lips connected with yours in a slow, but passionate, kiss where his love was felt in volumes that not even his voice could reach.

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For the rest of that afternoon, you both sat and watched movies with the children and played some games. Just before the end of your trip, you brought all of the things you wanted to donate out of the boot of the car and into the main room. The children's faces absolutely beamed and the majority of them rushed towards you and Ashton with open arms. However, Mrs Porters couldn't contain her gratefulness anymore and broke into a flood of tears whilst wrapping her arms tightly around the two of you.

"Thank you so very much; what you've done for us will never be forgotten. You've got hearts made of gold." She spluttered out through her tears.

Not long after, Ashton and you were heading home and decided that you'd start to visit the orphanage once a month. If Ashton couldn't be there, then you had no qualms about going alone. This outing had brought you together and made your bond even stronger than it had ever been before. This love was to last forever.