5sos Shorts

"Charity: Part One" a.i.

"Gwen, maybe stick to the homeless, yeah? We're not here to help street urchins." Emma, a fellow volunteer, reminded me. I blushed, knowing I'd been caught staring at Ashton Irwin. He'd been living on the streets for years, and the reason why was a mystery to the whole town. He and his family moved away when he was sixteen or seventeen, and then a couple years later Ashton came back alone and took to living with the homeless. He wasn't bad news, but he certainly wasn't somebody most wanted to be caught hanging around.

"Sorry Emma." I apologized, giving her a forced smile before continuing to hand out warm jackets for the coming winter. Ashton stuck in the back of my mind, though. He and I had been sort of friends when he lived here with his parents. We'd been friendly neighbors and sometimes we'd have his family over for dinner. I had tried rekindling the friendship when he came back, but he acted like he never knew me.

Soon enough, Emma and the rest of the volunteers left and most of the homeless had also dispersed. I started walking to my car, chancing a glance at the area I'd last seen Ashton, but he wasn't there anymore. I ignored the silly feeling of disappointment that formed in my chest and crossed the parking lot to my little silver car. I opened the trunk and shoved the bags I'd used to carry the jackets in and closed it before walking back to the drivers side. I was about to open the car door when I noticed dirty blonde curls behind me in the reflection of the window.

"Do you need a jacket?" I asked in a small voice as I turned around to meet his emerald eyes. He didn't answer right away, instead choosing to stare me down, before clearing his throat.

"You're all out. I watched you give your last one away." He responded gruffly. I tucked some hair behind my ear and turned back around to open my car door.

"I keep extras in my back seat, just in case." I told him as I leaned into the car and reached for the large black coat. I caught hold of it and pulled it out with me, shaking it free of any dirt or wrinkles. Ashton stared at the coat, but made no move to take it.

"Here." I stated, walking behind him and draping it on his shoulders-which was actually quite difficult given that he stood much taller than me. I came back around to his front and pulled the sides forward to shield him from the wind.

"Do you still live with your parents?" Ashton inquired suddenly, looking down at me. I gave him a surprised look before answering.

"No, not for a couple of years now."

"Oh." He stated simply, finally deciding to wear the jacket. I watched him put it on, his muscled arms flexing as he put them through the sleeves, before using those big hands of his to zip up the jacket.

"It looks good on you." I spoke before I could think to stop myself, then felt my face heat up with a blush. I diverted my eyes from him and looked at the ground instead, shoving my fists into my own jacket pockets and tucking my face far into the scarf around my neck.

"Thank you." Ashton responded slowly. "...for the coat."

"I should be going." I decided aloud, my blushing cheeks and traitorous tongue having done more than enough damage for the day. I shoved my purse into the passenger seat quickly and got into my car, slammed the door, and started it. I glanced out my window again, and Ashton stood there looking terribly confused with his brows furrowed and eyes that looked like he thought maybe he'd done something wrong.

I let out a deep breath and mentally cursed myself. I almost raced off without so much as a 'goodbye' or 'good luck' or anything. He'd finally decided to talk to me and I practically drove away like a crazy person. I inhaled sharply before rolling my window down.

"Ash..." I called out as he began to leave, and he turned around curiously. "Would you like to come to mine for dinner?"

"I'm not a charity case, Gwen." Ashton asserted aggressively. I frowned and rolled my eyes.

"This isn't charity, Ash." I emphasized his name mockingly. "This is one of those 'I haven't spoken to you in years and we used to sort of be friends, maybe it'd be nice to catch up' kind of dinner invites."

"I forgot what a dry sense of humor you had." He spoke almost teasingly, the ghost of a smile gracing his face.

"Have." I corrected with a smirk as I motioned to my passenger seat. "Now get in the car and let's catch up over dinner like adults."

Ashton jogged over to the passenger side and slid easily into the car. He buckled his seat belt and seemed to melt into the seat when the warm air hit him. It almost felt normal, the way we'd been years ago, and I smiled to myself because I never realized how much I missed him until he was sitting in the passenger seat of my car.

"I hope you're a better cook than your mom was. Let me tell you, some of those dinners were ghastly." Ashton spoke dramatically, pretending to gag. I hit him in the shoulder before I put the car in drive and headed home.

"My mom was a brilliant cook, I'll have you know!" I exclaimed.

"Then why is it everything I ate tasted like crap?" Ashton quipped.

"I always used to spit in your food."