5SOS Book of Imagines

AFI // Rumors (4)

(a/n: this is gonna suck so much i just want this to end im sorry hill i'll make bawi on smut ilysm)

Two weeks have passed and gradually the talk about the two of them, Hillary and Ashton, finally died down around campus. People, once they saw Ashton and Hillary always hanging out together or Ashton following Hillary around, stopped talking. After seeing the same scenario every day, they probably got tired and decided the two of them aren't worth the talk anymore.

Ashton and Hillary on the other hand, somehow started being...friends. That was a mild way of putting it but when both of them put all the information, the circumstances aside, they knew there was something about the two of them. They drew each other in; they halt each other's senses. There was clearly something else between them: a charge of electricity, the clicking of two fitting puzzle pieces together, the perfect grinding of two gears.

The car rides to and fro school became routine, though they use Ashton's car now and he's the one driving.

"Why don't you care at all about the stuff people say about you?" he asks one time on the car ride home.

"They don't matter to me. All those people, they're all the same. They don't care about me, and I don't care about what they think. I care only about what the people who matter to me think. Everyone else can go fuck themselves."

Even if Hillary was looking out the windows, she could almost hear the audible sound of Ashton gulping. He hesitated, "Uhh, am I one of the people who matter?"

Hillary smiled while looking out. What an awkwardly shy yet endearing guy.

She looked at Ashton, her eyes twinkling as she slowly smiled. "Yeah, I guess you are."

Ashton smiled, his dimples deepening as he fought so hard to grin hugely. "Cool."

They talk endlessly, like they always want to drain each other of stories, of experiences, yet the subject of what happened last spring break stayed taboo: a topic they could never venture on. By this time, Ashton didn't really care about knowing, well...actually he did, but now it's more of because he cared, not because he was curious.

They were both happy with how the unexpected friendship was going...and then came that Saturday night.

It was supposed to be just a movie night with popcorn and laughs but it ends up as a steamy make-out session with both of their hands roaming around each other's bodies.

Ashton was slowly pulling Hillary's shirt up when he felt her stiffen under his touch and then suddenly she was hyperventilating as she pushed him off of her.

"Hey, Hill. Hill, are you alright?" Ashton was quickly put off in his heated state, worry in his features as he saw Hillary. She was shaking all over, lips trembling as she hugged herself and continued on breathing shallow fast breaths.

He reached for her but she slapped his hand away, shrieking, "NO! Get your hands off me!"

"Hillary, what's wrong?"

"LEAVE!"

She continued to swat him away, undiluted fear in her eyes and Ashton, just wanting her to stop, leaves the room confused.

It was Wednesday, days after the Saturday night fiasco and Ashton hasn't seen Hillary since. He comes to her house only to find it locked with no one inside-though he thinks she's in, only not wanting to see him.

She skipped school for three days, and Ashton was more than worried.

He thought of how she looked that Saturday night. How scared she was...like she was traumatized or something, but then how could he know. Maybe she just didn't want to have sex with him-the thought set Ashton on a sour mood all day.

For the rest of the week Hillary was a no-show. It aggravated Ashton knowing she had a problem, or something is bothering her and she refused to talk to him when he wanted to help. He wanted to be the person she goes to when stuff bothers her.

But apparently, he wasn't her go-to person. He figured that when he saw her that Friday as he walked past her house. It was Hillary, hugging this tall, guy in a black hoodie and a snapback. Ashton couldn't see the guy's face but he can see Hillary's. She looked worn out and tired, she had her eyes closed as she hugged the guy and there were dark bags under her eyes.

Ashton backed up and hid himself in a nearby tree, watching.

Hillary let go and smiled tiredly at the still unknown guy.

A weird feeling gripped Ashton. Here he was, worried sick about how was Hillary, where she was, how was she doing, why was she acting like this, and here she was, hugging some other asshole. Not completely fine, but she didn't need him. Hell she didn't even think Ashton as important enough to know how she was doing.

The thought angered Ashton. He thought they were friends, haven't they grown so close to each other? Did he not deserve to know?

He spun, walking on the opposite direction, feeling betrayed.