Uneasy ➢ smash au

xi. Late Night Drives & How To Properly Date Someone

A loud sigh escapes Ashton's lips as he sorts out the new shipping of videos delivered to the video shop.

"Ashton, did the shipment include the newest seasons of Skins?" his boss ask, peering their head through the storage room.

"Yeah, both the sixth and the seventh season." he replied.

"Well can you please stock some of the shelves with them?"

"Both seasons?"

"Yes," his boss leaves him at peace, leaving Ashton alone with the several boxes in the storage room. He grabs a couple copies of both DVDs prior to placing them on the shelves under the 'drama' section of the shop. He leaves the front of the shop and heads back to his current task, sorting out the new DVDs in the storage room.

A buzz erupts from his phone, Ashton taking his phone out from his pocket, reading the message sent to him.

"Are you done with work? Em x." A smile appeared on his face, the number actually hers. Even though a little bit of him still thinks it's fake or worse - a prank played by Diana, he still smiles. He texts back a quick message saying he's not and when he is he'll meet up with her later on. Instantly he receives another message from her saying she'll just meet him there when his shift is over, which he gladly agreed to.

 ♡

With the small pair of keys in his hand, he locks up shop before shoving them into his front pocket.

"Boo," he turns his head, the petite redhead before him. A black hoodie covers her, her hood up, making her red hair barely visible.

"You have to stop doing that," he tells her, his pulse slowing down. "so, what have you been up to lately?"

"Not much, I got home before my parents could yell at me. Fortunately they didn't," she spoke. The two of them walk around the car park until Ashton makes it to his car, unlocking it.

"Do you want a ride?"

"Sure," she shrugs prior to slipping into the passenger seat. He starts the car right before heading out of the car park and onto the quiet streets of Sydney. During the ride, the two of them talk about random things, work, school, and friends. But whenever Ashton tried bringing up her family, she always steers away from the subject, right before cringing.

"Can I ask you something?" he blurts out, randomly.

"Okay," she allows, unaware of what he'll ask.

"Do you," he starts prior to pausing for a second. "do you smoke? Last night, my brother and his friend told me he caught you. Is it true?" A gasp escapes her lips, shock radiating off of her.

"Of course not," she tells him. "I mean, yes, I did smoke last night. But the smokes weren't mine, it was a friend's. They wanted me to hold it for them, so I did. And I ended up getting pressured, so I did smoke with them. It was a one time thing, and it was horrible." she explains. "I think they just caught me at the wrong moment,"

"Oh, I'm sorry." he apologized, feeling a bit guilty. "That was really awkward for me to ask, I'm sorry."

"It's fine," she replies. "it was all in timing, that's all. Can you turn left here?" Ashton does as requested and turns the corner prior to her telling him where to turn next. As they drive through the quiet neighborhood, silence falls among them, the rest of the ride silent. The tension between them both, gets awkward, causing Ashton to break it.

"You never really told me how you got to the shop." he informs her. "I didn't see any other car in the car park besides mine."

"I don't drive," she confesses, sheepishly. "my parents don't think it's best for me to drive until University. They actually dropped me off, it's actually pretty lame."

"It's not lame," he denies. "they just want the best for you, that's all." he gives her a small smile before she tells him to stop the car, her small figure stepping out of the car.

"Can't wait for our second date," she says before walking up her driveway. She waves prior to entering her house, leaving Ashton alone in the driveway.

"Wait, this was a date?" he questions himself, as he pulls out of the driveway and heads homebound. He reminds himself that first dates are always awkward - at least that's what Luke told him, due to Luke's incredibility to getting asked out a lot by many girls from school. Besides, what would Ashton know about first dates, he always got teased by Luke and some extended family about not going out on any dates or getting asked out. Of course this didn't effect him, because he knew they were all joking, but it left him wondering if he really knew how to properly date someone. This bother him for the whole car ride home.

Once he got to his driveway, he sat in his car, thinking about his whole car ride home, what's he's been thinking about the drive, along with what Emery left him with. He contemplates whether or not it's a good idea to go through with what he has plan, but he goes with what his heart wants. 

He steps out of his car and cuts through his front lawn, making his way to the next door neighbor's house instead of his own. He knocks on the door carefully, knowing the current hour, hopefully not disturbing someone. Seconds after his first attempt, a familiar blonde girl opens the door, her eyes tired along with a blanket covering half her body.

"What do you think you're doing?" she snaps, her voice cranky. Ashton steps back a bit, allowing them more room apart then before. Aspen notices before apologizing, explaining to him. "I'm sorry, it's late, and whenever I don't get a certain amount of sleep I end up being cranky. What's up with you? By the way, do you know how late it currently is?"

"Yes, I do. And I apologize for it. But I need a favor," he explains to her.

"Which is?"

"I need you to teach me how to properly date someone." Instantly, Aspen's eyes widen, her blanket dropping to the ground.

"Did she stop by the video shop?"

"Yeah, and when I dropped her off she said 'Can't wait until our second date'." he quotes. "I didn't even know we were on her first."

"First dates are always awkward," she explains, as he nods, already knowing this information. "well we definitely need to make sure the second one is better than this one."

"Right, so you'll help me?"

"Well I did say that I would help you get her, so yes, I'm in." she responds. "But Luke's helping too."

"What? Why?" he questions.

"Because he said he'll help you too, so we should include him."

"Fine," he mutters.

"Good, so tomorrow we'll start."

"I have to work at the bakery though."

"I do too, I'll help you whilst we're working. I'll tell Luke to swing by."

"Okay, so tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow, and I'll see you then. Goodnight Ashton."