The Other Side ( A 5sos/Ashton Irwin Fanfic )

Chapter 2

I see Eva waiting for me at the gates where we meet every morning. She smiles brightly and does a small wave at me.

"Hey" she greets me as I walk up to her.

"Hey" I reply quite flatly as we continue walking to go to registration, I already feel drained and the day has barely begun.

"How was your weekend?" She asks.

"It was ok" I shrug. I decide not to tell her that I basically spent the whole weekend worrying and looking after my mum. I don't want anyone thinking badly of my Mum and I especially don't want the sympathy, I know I'd break down I refuse to let myself cry anymore.

"What about you?" I ask.

"Ryan took me to the cinema on Saturday and then we went for a meal afterwards, it was so romantic" She beams.

Eva goes on to tell me all the little details about her date like how when she got scared during the movie Ryan held her hand and kissed her forehead. I find myself wishing I had somebody like that.

I'm not surprised Eva has landed a great boy like Ryan though. Her blonde hair is never out of place, she's naturally pretty, has bright white teeth, is naturally slim and she has always been one of the most popular girls in school.

When we get to our form room for registration we sit in our normal seats next to each other on one of the back tables and chat while our form tutor, Mrs. White, does the register and reads out some notices.

"So, erm, how's things with, you know, your mum?" Eva asks quietly but sweetly.

"She passed out from drinking too much last night... again" I reply quietly and look down, remembering the sight of her this morning.

"Aly, I'm so sorry." Eva says comfortingly. "I suppose it can't be easy for her though, she must really be hurting." She adds.

"I know, she is. It's horrible. She's trying to drink away the pain but she doesn't realise how serious this is getting, it's become a normal thing for her. It kills me seeing her like this." I can feel the lump rising back up my throat and my eyes start to blur.

"Oh my god come on let's get you out of here" Eva says realising I'm on the verge of crying and goes to stand up, trying to grab my hand but I pull away.

I take a deep breath and shake my head.

"No, no. I'm fine." I insist. I don't want to make a scene. I can't have everyone asking "What's wrong Aly?" "Are you ok?" "Has something happened?". I know she doesn't believe me but she just nods. I am relieve she doesn't drag this out any further.

"You don't have to be so brave all the time you know Aly, it's ok to cry. I know how hard this must be for you."

"I do have to be brave. I can't keep breaking down." I tell her. "Not when my mum needs me." My voice is almost a whisper now. I am afraid that if I try to speak any louder then my body will take over and I'll start crying. Again.

Eva looks at me sympathetically and reminds me "You know I am always here if you need me."

I force a smile.

"Thanks Eva, you really are the best friend anybody could ask for"

"Hey no problem! I know you'd do exactly the same for me. Plus, I don't like seeing my bestfriend sad." She smiles warmly at me, making my frown turn into a small smile.

The day goes by quickly but slowly at the same time. I feel like I'm not even there, like I'm in this constant daydream. I can't stop worrying about my mum.

I know she's probably sat at work with her hair perfectly curled and she will have put her normal full face of make up on and will just be getting on with her work, but my mind can't help but think the worst things. What if she drinks at work? Then tries to drive home? Or what if she's broken down crying?

I shake my head to bring myself away from the horrible thoughts and try to conentrate on what my maths teacher, Mr. Holder, is saying but I have no idea what he's talking about and my mind just won't focus.

When I get home I sit down on the sofa in the living room with a cup of tea and watch a couple of episodes of Friends while I wait for mum to get home.

My eyes go to the framed picture of my mum, my dad and I from when we went on holiday to Greece last year. We are all smiling and stood with our arms around each other in front of the sea, with dad in the middle.

Dad loved it in Greece. He loved the idea of living somewhere sunny, even then. I miss my dad a lot. We were best friends.

It seems like he moved away years ago, even though it's only been two months.

Dad used to be away on business trips a lot as he's a music producer. Well, he's also been trying to become a manager for the past year.

He used to go to all sorts of places in search of new talents and to go to some of the biggest recording studios in the world. I used to love it because he used to come back and tell me all these amazing stories about his new projects, and I could tell it made him happy. Even though I missed him in the short periods he was away, I kind of got used to it because I always knew that within a week or two he'd always be back home.

That is, until he got offered a promotion.