Uneasy ➢ smash au

iv. Bad Timing & Memories From The Young

As the day progressed, Ashton's patience began to shorten. The faint clock ticking leaves Ashton buzzed, eager to get home. The familiar sound of the shop bell goes off, a small figure approaching the front counter.

"Hello," Ashton's eyes linger from the computer and towards the customer's.

"Hey," she greets. The petite girl before him is the girl who helped Luke find him earlier. "How are you?" she asks him.

"I'm doing well, thanks." he replies to her. "And yourself?"

"Fine,"

"So what can I help you with?"

"I actually came by to check on you, I felt bad about what happened today." she began to stare at the ground, feeling bad.

"Well that's very sweet of you. Thank you." he says to her. She lifts her head up, a smile brimming her face.

"Not to be rude, but what made you run off like that?" she quizzes him. She notices the awkward tension and regrets her question. "I'm so sorry, I shouldn't have asked."

"No it's fine," he corrects her. "I got made fun of because I was talking to someone who I guess seemed 'out of my league'."

"That's rude," she scoffs. He gives her a small shrug in return, not surprised at all. "I'm sorry, I never introduced myself. I'm Valerie."

"Ashton, I'm Luke's brother." he informs her.

"Yeah, he told me." she says before letting out a small chuckle.

"Did he say he was older?" he asks her, sighing.

"No, he said he was younger." she replied. "Well whoever made fun of you must be a real pain in the arse."

"Yeah," he mutters. "A real pain,"

"Well, I'm glad you're okay." she concludes. "I better be off, I'll see you tomorrow." She gives him a quick wave before she disappears out the door leaving Ashton alone and bored once more.

♡

When Ashton arrived home, he saw his mother standing by the windowsill, staring out the window caught up in her thoughts.

"Mum? Are you alright?" He asked her as he entered the living room. He walked up to her, worry filling his eyes until he looked in the direction she was looking. One by one, he saw movers take and place boxes into the nearby house. "Mum?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, sweetie." she apologized, finally realizing his presence. "I was just caught up in my thoughts."

"It's okay, mum." he sooth her. "How was work?"

"It was fine," she vents. "it's just tiring. The shifts and work hours are insane, and I'm not sure I'm making enough for us."

"Well, you could always have Luke get a job." he suggests.

"I can't do that," she tells him. "He has to focus on his studies so he could get into Uni, and I don't need to worry about you because you are doing so well."

"Should I take another job then?" he offers.

"Ashton, you can't do that. You'll overwhelm yourself, and you already do so much for us." she says to him.

"It's no bother!" he exclaims, his mood changing all of a sudden.

"I know it isn't sweetheart and you're helping us so much, but we have our limits."

"Mum, it's seriously not a problem. I can just go into retail or something." he retaliates.

"Ashton, please. I know you're trying to act like a father figure for the family, but what you are doing is enough. I don't want you to stress over this." Ashton cringes at his mother's words, the thought of his father creating terrible memories in his head. "I know you hate talking about this topic, but you're helping us out so much - not to mention how you act like a father towards Luke. You're a better father than your real one." Tears brim Ashton's eyes, the water in his eyes blurring his vision. He feels himself being pulled into a hug by his mother, instantly his arms wrapping around her.

"I just wish I knew why he left."

"You and I both."

"Knew why who left?" Luke asked, his voice filling the room. Ashton and his mother recognize his presence and break from their hug, now facing a confused Luke.

"No one," his mother told him. Luke still kept the same expression on his face until he shrugged it off and walked away from the conversation.

"Are you ever going to tell him?" Ashton asked his mother.

"I will eventually, but I won't make the same mistake I did with you. It was my mistake when I told you while you were young, so I'm going to tell Luke when he's a bit older." she responds. Ashton struggles to hold back the newly formed tears, memories of that terrible night replaying in his head.

"I better head to the bakery, I'll see you in a little bit."

♡

As he walks through the front door of the bakery, he expected the smell of fresh pastries but instead all he got was the smell of flour.

"Michael!" Ashton shouted. "Michael, it's Ash. I'm back." After repeating his name several times without an answer from him, Ashton stormed into the kitchen to find a blonde girl covered in flour.

"I can never get it right." he heard her mumble. He eyed the blonde girl struggle, the pastry dough covered in flour along with her clothing.

"Need help?" he asked her, his voice scaring her a bit. She immediately turned around, her eyes wandering to his.

"Yes please," she mumbled quietly. He walked towards the counter where the dough was set and helped her, his hands engulfing her small ones. He guided her hands, the task suddenly becoming easier. "thanks."

"No problem," he replied. "I'm Ashton."

"Aspen,"

"Huh, Aspen." he recited back. "That's a nice name."

"Thank you," she giggled, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink. The two of them stayed like this, her hands resting in his.

"Aspen, did you finally get the hang of -" Michael's voice was cut off when he realized the awkward tension in the room. "oh, wow. Um,"

"Why is it that you always catch me at the wrong time?" Ashton chuckles, breaking some of the tension.

"I don't know, you tell me." Michael replied, a smirk playing at his lips. Ashton removed his hands from Aspen's, his cheeks heating up during the process. A smug look replaces Michael's smirk, the new memory sticking in his mind, making it impossible for Ashton to live down. "So Ashton, I've seen you met Aspen. She one of the new employees."

♡

He spent more than thirty minutes in his bed lying there, his mind relasping on all the events that happened today. The room is silent, the faint noise of Luke strumming guitar in the background. He pulled himself out of bed before heading for Luke's room, pieced sentences filling Ashton's mind. His hand gripped the door knob before he twisted it open, revealing a shirtless Luke with a acoustic guitar in lap.

"C'mon man, I'm trying to sleep." Ashton groans, not giving Luke a chance to defend himself. Ashton closes the door and heads back for his room, his body colliding with the bed mattress. As he falls asleep, the only thing he pictures is that cute redhead from school.