terrible things - ashton irwin

five

For this chapter the song is A Daydream Away by All Time Low! I love the song! It's so cute.

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"What are you doing?" I hissed as Ashton led us down one of the nearby side streets. His legs are about twice as long as mine, so you had to jog to keep up with him.

When we can to an intersection, I grabbed his arm and whirled him around to face me. Eye to eye. Scallywag to Ms. Strait As. "Are you serious about this?" I said "Tell me your not serious."
He smiled. " you took care of the route. Let me take care of the ride."

"Ashton-"

He shook off my grip and slung his arm around my sholder, big brother-style. "Now settle down, GG, and I'll give you a little lesson in vehicle selection."

"A lesson in what? And don't call me that." It stands for Good Girl, and it drives me absolutely mad when he says it.

Ashton pointed at a car just ahead. "Now that, see, is a Jaguar. It's a beautiful machine. But it's an XJ6, and those thins have problems with their fuel filters. You can't have you stolen car leaking gas, Lav, because it could catch on fire. And if you don't die a fiery death, well, you're definitely going to jail for grand theft auto."

We walked on a little farther, and he pointed to a green minivan. "The Dodge Grande Caravan is roomy and dependable, but we're adventures, not soccer mums."

I described to pretend this was all make-believe. "Okay, what about that one?" I asked.

He followed my finger and looked thoughtful. "Toyota Matrix. Yeah, defiantly a good option. But I'm looking for something with a bit more flair."

By now the sun was peeking over the horizon, and the birds were up and chattering to each other. As Ashton and I walked down leafy streets, I felt the neighbourhood stirring. What if some guys stepped outside to the grab the newspaper and saw us, two truants, suspiciously inspecting the neighbourhood cars?

"Come on, Ashton," I said. "Let's get out of here." I was still hoping we'd make the bus. We had ten minutes left.

"I just want the perfect thing," he said.

At that moment, we saw a flash in the corner of our eyes. It was white and fast coming towards us. I gasped and reached out for Ashton. He laughed and pulled me close. "Whoa, Lav, get a grip it's only a dog."

My heart was thrumming. "Yeah, I can see that... now." I could also see it wasn't likely to be an attack dog either. He was a small thing, with short, patchy fur. No collar, no tags. I took a step forward, my hand extended, and the dog flinched. He turned around and went right up to Ashton instead (of course) and licked his hand. Then the darn thing lay down at his feet. Ashton knelt to pet him.

"Ashton," I said, getting impatient, "Greyhounds bus or stolen car, the time is now."

He didn't seem to hear me. His large, graceful hands gently tugged on the dogs ears, and the dog filled into its side. As Ashton scratched the dogs belly, the animals leg twitched and his pink tongue rolled out of his little mouth in total canine ecstasy.

"You such a good boy," Ashton said gently. "Where do you belong?"

Even though the dog couldn't answer, we knew. He was skinny and his fur was clumped with mud. There was a patch of raw bare skin on his back. This dog was no one's dog. "I wish you could come with us," Ashton said. "But we have a long way to go, and I don't think you'd dig it."

The dog looked at him liked he'd dig anything in the world as long as it involved more petting by Ashton. But when you're running away from your life and you can't take anything you don't need, a stray dog falls into the category of Not Necessary.

"Give him a little love, Lav," Ashton urged.

I bent down and dug my fingers into the dogs dirty coat the way I'd seen Ashton do, and when I ran my hand down the dogs chest, I could feel the quick flutter of the his heart, the excitement of finding a home, someone to care for him.

Poor thing I thought. Somehow, I knew exactly what he was feeling. He had no one, and he was stuck here. But we weren't. Not anymore.

"We're leaving, little buddy. I'm sorry," I said. "We've just got to go."

I was totally wired, but for some reason that goodbye hurt almost as much as the one I'd whispered to my mother.

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word count - 814

Damn that was longer than I expected :| but Ashton and dogs come on adorable! Hope you enjoyed!

Charlotte xxx