My Girls| a.i.

seven

Ashton twists my body around, pulling my back against his chest as I slouch between his legs, our intertwined hands lain on my lap as I rest my head in the crook of his neck. We sit intertwined for the longest time, the only sound being the slow mix of our breathing and the rhythm of his heartbeat against my back.

The feel of Ashton's fingers brushing against my neck send a shiver through my body, his hand brushing my hair away from my skin as his warm lips replace the feel of his cool fingers on the back of my neck. He mumbles something into my skin, a soft hum following his words. I turn my neck so that I can see him, his lips popping into a pout when I force his lips away from my skin.

"Don't pout," I murmur, reaching up to brush my thumb against his bottom lip to shift it into a smile. Ashton's hand reaches to grab my thumb, holding it against his lips as he presses a kiss to the pad of my finger, the intimate gesture causing goosebumps to rise on my skin.

"I really like you, Elsie." Ashton mumbles as he pulls his lips away from my thumb, instead interlacing our hands together once again.

"And I really like you, Ashton." I reply, his lips lifting into the smile that makes my heart race. I use my free hand to trace the dimples that are carved into his cheeks by his smile, his honey irises following my steady movements curiously. 

"I want to learn more about you," Ashton says suddenly, my eyes flitting up to his. "Like what?" I ask, shifting to the other side of the bed and laying down facing him, much to his dismay. He lets out a whine at my movements but follows my actions; lying down on his side, his curly hair falling over his fingers as he props his head up on hand.

"I dunno, just tell me more about you," He says softly with a shrug.

"I don't know what to say," I answer sheepishly, blushing slightly while looking down at my sheets.

"Start with the basics; family, friends, hobbies..." Ashton provides, gaze steady on me.

"My family's pretty small; it's just me, my older brother Tommy and my mom and dad. I'm not the most social person," I admit with a blush, Ashton's thumb rubbing circles on my hand to urge me to continue, "But I do have a couple close friends. I've been best friends with Addy since practically birth, I don't even remember a time when we weren't friends. We both came out here for college and roomed together, but I just recently graduated early, but Addy still has a year to go." I explain, a smile on my lips as I think of my crazy best friend whom I love very much.

"My two other best friends are back home, in Connecticut. I don't get to see them very often." I add, thinking of my two other best friends, Shay and Leah, who I haven't seen since last summer.

"Do you miss them?" He asks gently, my head nodding immediately in response.

"It's really hard sometimes. It's always been the four of us against the world. We were always doing stuff together; having Disney marathons, ice cream eating contests, or just studying together. It was always Elsie, Addy, Shay, and Leah against the world." I whisper, heat forming in my eyes as I rapidly blink it back, embarrassed to be getting this emotional in front of Ashton.

"It's okay to be upset about missing them," Ashton whispers, leaning over to press a gentle kiss under each of my eyes as I shut them, a couple stray tears leaking out. "I know what you mean. When I moved here to New York from Australia, Luke came with, but we both had to leave behind our other two best friends. Luke, Calum, and Michael are like my brothers." He explains, his accent becoming more apparent as he talks about his home.

"As much as they piss me off sometimes I still love them, you know?" He asks, my head nodding in agreement. "They've been there for me when it felt like I had nothing left. They basically kept my family together after my dad left." He admits, face shifting into a wince at the painful memories before he shakes them away.