With or Without You//Ashton Irwin A.U.

Chapter 1

"I learned that there is good in this world, if you look hard enough for it..."
-Jennifer Niven

That's exactly how it felt finding Grayson. I never knew someone so kind and caring and violent. We met when I was a sophomore and he was a junior. He would always stare at me through his thick rimmed glasses and I would always smile and shyly brush my hair behind my ear. He was so attractive that you would never get tired of looking at him. He was so mysterious that he'd lure you into him and keep you trapped there with his half smirk and mesmerizing blue eyes.
     He asked me to prom that year and it was an instant connection. He drove me back to my place that night and kissed me, I knew then and there that I was trapped.
     He told me he loved me for the first time the August after prom and I thought he honestly meant it.
     He was a senior and I was a junior. I was a nerd and he was a jock. I was an introvert and he was a social butterfly. All he and his friends cared about was parties, sex, and beer. And I just didn't care.
     He was an underage alcoholic. I remember that night I told him I was through. He forced himself against me and left bruises on my wrists.
"You're not through until I'm
      through."
He told me he loved me and that he just couldn't picture his life without me. I told him I couldn't either and he kissed me like he did on prom night.
     Things got rougher and he got more violent. I soon realized that he didn't actually love me. Love is a feeling of affection. Not the feeling of blood trickling down your arms from where he scratched you, the feeling of  the tears on your cheeks from when he called you worthless, or the feeling of the screams coming out of your mouth from when he shows up at your house drunk again.
     I was through.
He started crying as usual, rambling about how what he had was special. I forced him out of my house and out of my life for good.
     I remember telling him I couldn't live without him. But honestly, I couldn't live with him either.

6 Months Later//Senior Year

     "Aye Embry!!" My friend Kylar yelled from across my school's quad.
"Hey..." I mumbled shyly
"What's wrong, Em?"
"Grayson and I broke up..."
"WHEN!!"
"In February..."
"Girlllll, you should've called me!"
"You were in Europe."
"So? The hot Europeans could've waited."
"But yeah, he became different."
Kylar glanced down at her phone and then at her schedule.
"Text me later, okay? I need to know everything. I'm gonna be late for Chem."
"Ooh Who do you have??"
"Mr. Lincoln??"
"Oh my, I had him last year, total stud."
"Thanks for the info, I'll totally have good grades then." She said with a smirk.
"EWW GROSS!" I said understanding her joke
"Anyways, text me later!" She exclaimed jogging off towards the science hall.
     I turned around and glanced down at my phone. No notifications. Not a surprise. Well, I still have another hour until I have to be in advanced composition. Might as well make the most out of it.
     I sat down on the nearest completely open bench and grabbed a bottle of water out of my bag along with my copy of An Abundance of Katherines by John Green. I started reading and I was completely into it. I felt something next to me but was to shy to look up.
     Low and behold, there sat a person right next to me. An attractive male person. Why must I always be thrown into these awkward situations without any clear escape plans!

"Ashton," he says holding out his hand, "And who might you be?"

"Embry..." I reply

"Well, hi there!"

"I'm guessing you're new?" I ask/state since I've never seen him on campus before.

"How'd you guess???" He asks sarcastically

"I've never seen you before." I reply awkwardly. God, my mouth is dry.

"Are you sure it's not the accent?" He questioned with a bewildered look

"That too." I answered bluntly

"Okay, so I've no clue where I'm going. Maybe you could help me?"

"Sure, can I see your schedule?"

"Here" he handed it right too me like he pulled it out of thin air.

"Woah"

"What is it?"

"Your schedule lines up with mine. Same times, Same classes, Same everything." I said laughing.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked with a grin plastered on his face.

"It's just this school's so big and that rarely happens." I stated the obvious.

"Oh well then that's pretty cool." He chuckled.

"Well we better get to Composition."

"You lead the way!"

How in the world did this happen?????

   
Author's Note
Hey, guys, so long time no see?
Anyways, this is my new (and improved ) Fic!
Hang in there, it's gonna be a rollercoaster of feels
xoxo