Rescue // Ashton Irwin

ten.

Adley.

It was hard, getting back in a routine with Ashton.

I was still hesitant after his outburst when I tried to talk to him, and he was still trying to get past his incident that had taken place only nights before.

But, we managed to make it work.

The boys had been stopping by more frequently, usually bringing something to eat with them as an excuse, but both Ashton and I knew they just wanted to check in to make sure he was okay.

Maddie came with Calum a couple of times, and we'd started to build a friendship.

She would keep me company while the boys spoke with Ashton, and for that I was extremely grateful.

She gave me her number and we'd been keeping in touch, planning to do something without the boys soon.

Calum visited the most by far, but Luke and Michael were a close second.

They always came in a pair, and I had a suspicion that there were more than friendly feelings there, especially after the kiss that first night I'd met them.

But, I didn't want to intrude, so I kept my curiosity to myself.

I wasn't sure how either would react to me questioning their sexuality, and I didn't want to chance them getting mad and not coming by when Ashton needed them.

For the most part, it was nice having people there, considering it got a little lonely with only the two of us in that big house sometimes.

But I missed having Ashton all to myself sometimes, and I was secretly glad when everyone left for the night.

"Adley?" he asked softly one night, after everyone had gone home.

We were lying in bed, my arms wrapped around him as I ran my fingers through his curls- something that had become a nightly routine for us.

"Yes?"

"You're not going to leave, right?"

Lately he had been sounding vulnerable, almost child-like nearly all of the time, and this was no exception.

I missed his usual confident and bubbly attitude.

I wondered if it would ever come back.

"Of course not, Ash, why would you even think something like that?"

"I don't know, I just really don't want you to leave, okay?"

"I'm not going anywhere," I told him firmly, "How about tomorrow we go out and I'll show you something, yeah?"

One of my mom's friends owned a vacant building on the outskirts of town that she'd agreed to let me turn into an art studio.

I'd never taken anyone there, not Noah, not even my mother.

It was my favorite place in the entire world, though I hadn't been there in ages because of everything that went down with Noah, and I wanted to keep it private.

But, Ashton meant a lot to me, and I wanted to do something special for him to let him know I wasn't planning on going anywhere.

"Okay," he mumbled into my shoulder, his voice laced with sleep.

"Sleep, Ash. I'll be here in the morning."

He muttered a sleepy "goodnight" as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

***
"Adley!" Ashton exclaimed, jumping on my sleeping figure.

"What?" I moaned, groggily rolling over to face his excited features.