Paint Stain <Lashton>

XI

Art is making something out of nothing and selling it. ~Frank Zappa

Ashton's POV

I was sitting on my computer in the living room on a Saturday afternoon when I noticed something peculiar walk through my twitter feed. Small Time Photography and Big Business. I thought about looking at it, maybe sharing it with Kodi later. When I opened it I went wide eyed.

Upon reading the entire article it became clear to me that Luke Hemmings was a big deal to these people, and now Kodi was too. There was a picture at the top of them inside of a bar, the same one that Luke and I spent time in. There were photos of them outside of it as well. At the bottom it credited a women by the name of Mya Watson had given the photos to the magazine, but was not an employee. Apparently they thought that Kodi and Luke were "deeply involved" since Kodi had also done the photoshoot. I would deny it, but I had no idea that they had gone out the night before.

"Kodi!" I yelled and stood up, carrying my laptop as I walked in the kitchen where Kodi was cutting a mango. She raised her eyes to me. "Since when have you and Luke been a thing?"

"What are you talking about?" Kodi asked as she stabbed the knife into the cutting board while she cleaned up the mess.

"I just had no idea that you guys were getting so close," I said, there was a tone of annoyance in my voice and Kodi raised an eyebrow.

"Luke doesn't like women." Kodi said. "For starters and what makes you say we're getting 'so close?'"

I took my laptop and placed it on the counter. Opening it and scrolling to the webpage with the article. I turned it to Kodi who went wide eyed as she read it. "Why is everyone so concerned with the life of Luke anyways? They treat him like a regular celebrity."

"Because," Michael entered the room as he spoke. "He's the son of the owner of one of the world's biggest companies. Not to mention, he's making quite the appearance for the combination of Liberal Arts and Business. People are intrigued with him, and a community of online bloggers which include artists, writers, photographers are now interested in his works." Michael picked up a piece of mango and placed in it in his mouth. "Besides all that, Hemmings Enterprise are a huge contributor towards mainstream entertainment. They own one of the best brands for speakers and microphones, as well as laptops and cameras. They've got it all. He's a main highlight for the world right now, especially after Kodi's photoshoot. That's a side of Luke that everyone wants to see again."

"Like that'll happen now." I rolled my eyes. "The whole world thinks that Kodi and Luke are destined for one another."

"A lot of people just don't bring girls into bars with them for no reason." Michael laughed. "What's it to you, Ash anyways? The idea seems repulsive to you."

"Yeah!" Kodi snapped. "Why are you acting like it is the worst rumor ever? It's not like it's true and you know it's not. After all, Luke hates women. How much enforcement does it take for you to understand that?"

I could hear a snicker, than a laughter from behind me as Esther emerged into the room. "Wow, you are so jealous!"

"Jealous? Of what?" I snapped.

"Because Kodi gets to spend all this time with Luke and you don't. After all, you said that you found im intriguing. You always wanted to learn more about him because he just peaks your curiosity." Esther smiled as she took a seat on the counter. I rolled my eyes as she spoke. "Or maybe it's something else.."

"Like what?" I scoffed.

"You don't like the idea of Luke and Kodi being together, is it because you care about Kodi or is for another reason?" Esther taunted as she crossed her legs.

"What are you suggesting?" I snarled at her.

"Oh I get it!" Kodi laughed. "You totally dig him and that article makes your blood boil!" She leaned forward on the counter. "This is perfect too! Last night I was trying to convince him that he might like being with a guy."

"Please, like Luke Hemmings would ever consider Ashton for anything." I turned to see Lucas rolling his eyes from the doorway. "Something tells me Ashton doesn't want to even bother with Luke anyways. Maybe Esther had a point when she said that Ashton was concerned for Kodi, but her other idea was just stupid."

"You don't have to be rude about it, Lucas." Michael scoffed.

"I'm just saying, a businessman like Luke Hemmings, does not want to be with an artist." Lucas rolled his eyes.

"You don't even know Luke, he really likes a lot of Liberal arts." Kodi defended as she glared at Lucas. He shrugged his shoulders as he continued in the kitchen towards the fridge. "And Esther's idea made a lot of sense to me, what's your problem anyways?"

"I don't trust a guy like Luke, that's all." Lucas shrugged as he walked away from the fridge, an apple in hand. "You're all going to get burned really badly if you believe a word that comes out of his mouth."

"How do you know?" Esther folded her arms and shot him a glare.

"When have I ever been wrong about this kind of thing? I always tell you the people you should avoid, and I am always right about it!" Lucas said as he was taking steps backwards towards the door. "But go ahead, go and get burned. I'm not going to help you when you find out that I was right." He turned and stalked out of the room.

"Maybe he's right," I replied. "After all, we barely know Luke at all."

"You're not going to believe him about this, are you?" Esther asked, her eyes wide. "What about all the stuff you said?"

"Whatever, let him do what he pleases. Come Esther, I want to get some ice cream." Michael replied and Esther followed Michael out of the room.

"Lucas likes to pass judgement without knowing anything about a person," Kodi said. "I think that it keeps him from getting hurt, but he misses out on so many of the opportunities that he could have had because he turns away from people immediately. You know that as well as me, I just hope you would never make the same mistake."

Kodi left the room and I leaned on the counter, running my hands down my face. I had to believe that this was the right choice. But in the end, I had a hard time believing any of this.

AUTHOR'S NOTIFICATION; Ariana

I'm essencially not going to post every time I write a chapter, because I update quite frequently and sorry guys I don't want to update that much anymore. So whenever I write I'm just going to leave it and wait for some time to pass before I post if for you.

But I started a new fan fiction called Therapy yesterday. It's a Malum/Cashton so you should go look at that.

Also today is my two year anniversary on Wattpad so everything is getting updated but since it's update day for this book it makes no difference.

Hugs, Kisses, Cuddles and Serenades xX