Project Fuckboy || a.i

Chapter 27// Resume

Hello I am BACK

Here's chapter 27 if anyone's still reading XD

And because I hate all of you (jks I don't) I'm going to make something horrible happen around chapter 29... yay!

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The months of March and April pass by in a weird, crazy blur and suddenly, senior year is almost at it's end.

Ashton and I spend more and more time with each other, sharing lockers, food, and all his sweaters (to his dismay), especially the ones with the warm fleece inside.

On the weekends I come over to watch Lauren and Harry, he's usually there. He waits until I put them both to sleep, then we grab a bag of chips or even mugs of hot chocolate and climb onto the roof like stupid teenagers. We talk about everything from the trees and the sky and how Ashton doesn't like his English class because they're reading Othello, and about rehearsals for my play, which I frequent once a week in the studio. He asks me if I kiss anyone in the play, and I tell him no. He doesn't bother hiding his relieved expression.

Then, lying down on the cold stretch of the roof, he tells me he wonders if bugs can dream, and what clouds would feel like.

"I think they'd be all wet and disappear when I touch them," I'd tell him. "They're just condensed vapour."

"Shh, don't shatter my dreams," he'd say, mock-hurt. "I think they'll be soft. Softer than anything else in the world. And we'd fall right through it if we're not careful." Then he'd give me a loopy smile that made my insides twist.

And yes, we kiss. A lot. But nothing more. Behind the school, in the car, on the roof, and every time, I feel what was a constricting insecurity of a new relationship lift off my chest.

On the first day of April, Ashton asks me to be his girlfriend, but in the 'coolest' way he could pull off: after a dinner at Macdonald's. And then I realize there is no question what my answer would be. I told him yes, and he promised we'd take it slow, like I wanted. It was just that now, there was a label on our relationship.

Unknowingly, I'd become one of 'those girls'. A girl who once swore off on every male and every date is now dressing in more feminine clothing and has a boyfriend. But Ashton doesn't seem to mind that I get embarrassed at times. Even he used to be in the same position as me. He flushes a bright pink whenever he catches himself being overly affectionate, and tries to correct himself when I tease him. "I'm a man's man," he tells me, or more so, to himself.

And after a while of touching under tables and sneaking kisses during dinner, we tell our parents we're together. Naturally, we have to stop them from throwing a celebratory party for the entire neighbourhood.

Days pass.

Violet grows more mature. She dyes her hair an auburn colour, which her boyfriend absolutely adores. My mother receives a promotion at work. Harry joins the baseball team, and Lauren the school choir. For a while, everything seems perfect.

And while it seems everyone around me grows brighter, happier, basking in our youth, some people are the opposite.

Michael seems smaller, and sicker by the minute. I watch him with pity at school on the days he's actually there. Calum spends his time with him whenever he's not off on his 'trips', now more than ever. But today is the third week Michael's been gone. The longest he's ever been.

Just to get things off my best friend's mind, I invite him to the mall with me, to shop for a prom dress. Yes, prom is close, actually super close: prom is in two days, (oops) and to Violet's panic and dismay, I still don't have a dress. I don't see what the big deal is. I would go to the mall, pick up a dress and some shoes, spend the night looking up how I want to do my hair, and in two days I'd be 100% ready to go.

Anyway, the only thing that changed around me in preparation of prom is the buzz that is now present in school hallways, and the occasional public promposal that has girls squealing and guys blushing. After seeing a particularly extravagant promposal that included the school announcements and a flash mob, Ashton became moody. He told me he had regretted not doing anything special for me, which made it impossible to agree. In complete honesty, I was fine with how he asked, just us two together, and I hadn't realized our relationship had to be so extravagant. I told him that, but still he wasn't too agreeing.

And yes, as I follow Calum around in the stores of the mall, talking miserably about his absent boyfriend, I secretly hope that Michael wouldn't show up so I wouldn't have to ditch Ashton to go with him. (Thankfully, no one in the school knows that I'm dating him yet, so there won't be a commotion if I go with someone other than Ashton.) Then, realizing how horrible that sounds in my head, especially since Calum had asked me for this favour, for his relationship, I cut myself off and remind myself to suck it up.

I'm not much of a picky person when it comes to dresses, neither am I a big fan of the bright, colourful minis or fancy lace work. My mother would always thank me for being the opposite of Violet: who insists on expanding her closet every year to fit her ever-changing style: hippie, Tumblr, girly, preppy....'breaking the bank' as my mother called it. Me, I stuck to pants and tees, and a nice pair of shoes.

Today, though, Calum tells me he's in charge. He's moody and he's pissed, and he keeps checking his phone to see if Michael said anything.

Looking around at the dresses in the store, studded with jewels and rhinestones and pink tones, I sigh. Calum cuts his eyes at me.

This is no doubt going to take a while.

To be continued !!

I separated this chapter into two parts again so I'll publish the next one in a few days. Or maybe next week. Holla