Glory Days (5 Seconds of Summer)

Chapter 8

"Are you just going to stand there or are you going to swing with me?" Ashton asked.

For the past 3 minutes I've been staring incredulousy at him. To be honest though, about a minute of that time was dedicated to thoughts of how cute he looked in a beanie. Don't judge me! But the other two minutes were me wondering how he could get so much joy from something as simple as pushing himself high on a swing. Every time he would reach a little bit higher he would chuckle to himself and then grunt as he pushed himself off the ground even harder the next time.

I sat back down and rocked back and forth keeping my feet on the ground.

"Swings never were my favourite thing at the play ground you know."

"I wouldn't have guessed." I said referring to his childlike actions right now.

"I just always got bored of them. To be honest there isn't much you can do with a swing... It's a swing." Ashton slowed down then dug his heels in to bring him to a complete stop. His cheeks were tinted red as a result of the wind hitting it mercilessly. I could feel his eyes burning to holes into the side of my head, I didn't turn to look at him or even ask why he was looking at me because it felt like a moment too awkward to even talk.

"No, no, no. Your swinging wrong." He said getting up. Before I could ask him what he was talking about my swing was siezed and dragged backwards.

"No!" I yelled as he pushed the swing forward. My loose hair flew forward, most likely becoming even more messy than it already was. My hands clenched the chains of the swing so I didn't fall off.

"Swing your legs!" Ashton told me as he pushed me again.

"I know how to swing Ashton!" I yelled back.

"Then enjoy it! No one ever pushes me on the swing!"

"Can we swap then?" I asked.

"Nope." He continued pushing me, after a few swings I got used to it and in fact it had given me a bit of an adrenaline rush. Ashton pushed a bit harder so I would swing higher and I let out an involuntary squeal which was shortly followed by a giggle.

The swing came to an abrupt halt, nearly throwing me off. Ashton turned the swing so the chains twisted round each other meaning I was facing him. His shock was written all over his face; he was looking at me as if he had never seen me before.

"What." I asked, trying to hide myself behind the kink in the chains. I hated being stared at because I felt like the longer someone looked, the more flaws they would discover. So in the proximity we were in, having him study me without saying a word was putting me on edge.

"Did you squeal and giggle?" He asked.

"Yes?"

"You. Athena Sampson. Just squealed and giggled."

"Yes Ashton!"

"That is so cute!" His smile widened and his eyes crinkled as he laughed. His laugh was contagious so I found myself giggling along with him.

"I am a girl." I said through my chuckle.

"I know. Just I haven't seen that side of you yet."

"That's because you have only known me for three days." I remind him.

"True." He said as he began spinning my body round so more kinks formed in the chain.

"Ashton..." I warned.

"What?" He said with a cheeky grin then he held his hands up innocently.

As soon as he let go the swing span on its own to return to its correct position. I had watched children do this over and over again but I never saw the appeal. I'm beginning to realise what a boring child I was... What a boring person I still am. I jumped off the swing when it finished jolting and walked over to the slide. I climbed up the stairs, having to bend over so I didn't hit my head on the roof, and made my way out onto the open bridge between the slide and the stairs.