arachnophobia ➸ a.i.

❁ s i x t e e n ❁

- Leah -

"We're here." I heard a soft voice but wanted to slap the source of it.

"I'm sleeping." I muttered, annoyed.

"Sleep talking, eh?" He chuckled, shaking my shoulders. Annoyed, I slapped his hands away and glared at him, wanting to pass out right there. "Come on, sleepy head. We have some distance to cover."

"Can you drive?" I grumbled, shifting in my curled up sleeping position towards him.

"I can't drive through the trees." Ashton grinned, sending a wave of giddiness through me. I rolled my eyes, still feeling happy, and slowly opened the door and got out of his car, yawning. To my sudden shock, there was an immediate crinkling sound beneath my feet. I snapped my head down to see dead, brown leaves below me. Looking up, trees that seemed to be black in the moonlight surrounded me. I smiled, nature has always been beautiful to me.

"Come on, Leah." Ashton's door slammed shut as he got out of the car. I shot a look of annoyance towards him and he chuckled a bit, but silenced quickly as we began to walk. Feeling the warmth of the night on my skin caused a sense of peace to my heart. The trees were dark and the brush became thicker the deeper into the forest we walked. I felt myself smiling. Many don't like to be outside, but sometimes it's amazing to look at the wonderful creation we live upon.

"Are you okay?" Ashton asked, breaking the silence between us.

"Yeah." I said quickly, wanting him to shut up again. Thankfully, he did. The only sounds were the crickets calling for each other and the dead leaves crunching below our feet. We were the brush seemed to be getting thicker, and it seemed as if we wouldn't be able to get much further. Just as I was about to tell Ashton that this was getting ridiculous, he slipped through two very close trees and I followed him into a complete opening. The soil and leaves of the floor turned into a slightly faded rock floor that stopped suddenly. A cliff.

"Wow." I whispered, wind now hitting me slightly. I walked to the edge of the cliff and looked out. All of Sydney laid before me. I felt a presence stand next to me and looked to Ashton.

"How did you find this?" I muttered in awe.

"I wander a lot." He shrugged, sitting down on the rocks. I sat down next to him, still not taking my eyes off the city.

"In the woods?"

"Yeah." He shrugged. I smiled at the thought, he wasn't that bad. Like Luke said, he has a good side to his compulsive personality. "Look up."

I did as he said and saw thousands of bright white dots covering every inch of the sky. My mouth dropped in awe. I had never seen so many stars.

"The city lights block them out a lot." Ashton said. He seemed happy, calm, peaceful with himself.

"They're beautiful."

"They are." He let out a light laugh.

"Why did you bring me here?" I looked back at him, his eyes suddenly bright with a sense of innocence. It's incredible how peace can transform someone.

"I honestly have no idea. I thought you would like it."

"I love it." I smiled.

"Good." He smiled back, innocence still reflecting from his eyes, making me even happier if possible.

"Ashton, can I ask you something?"

"I guess." He looked back at the sky, seeming a bit nervous.

"Why do you always switch personalities with me? Sometimes you're super nice and others you're kind of aggressive."

He shrugged. "I don't know you well. I don't know how to act around you. Besides, you seem to have something against me."