Uneasy ➢ smash au

xii. Caught & Burnt Joints

Michael places the fresh macaroons in the display case, while Diana attends the cash register, leaving Ashton and Aspen in the back room.

"So they weren't hers?" Aspen asks him, surprised.

"No they weren't hers, Luke and Calum still think they are." Ashton replies, getting Aspen all caught up. "Do you think they are?"

"Well you already clarified it with her, so you should believe her. Trust is a key factor in a relationship." Aspen tells him. He nods in agreement before moving along.

"Don't mean to interrupt, but Luke is here." Michael says, popping his head into the room.

"Okay, Ashton and I are going on our break." Aspen announces, tearing off her flour covered apron. Ashton mimics Aspen's moves, and takes off his apron as well. He follows Aspen out the room and into the main area of the bakery, some customers lingering around the shop.

"And where do you think you're heading off to?" Diana questions the both of them.

"We're going on our break," Ashton clarifies, turning to face her for a brief second.  Luke notices them, and heads out of the bakery.

"We'll be back in fifteen."

♡

"For the billionth time, they aren't hers."

"She could've been lying, I know how you feel about liars, Ash."

"She wouldn't lie to me,"

"I'm telling you, beneath her cute little exterior is someone who isn't the cute little Emery you know and fell in love with." Luke states. "She's completely different."

"Luke, I'm with Ashton on this one. He cleared it up with her, she was pressured and it was her friend's who told her to hold on to it. And like what she said, and this is what Ashton heard from her, you just caught her at the wrong moment." Aspen clears up.

"Whatever, I'm still going with my theory. So, how do we get lover boy here started?" he questions prior to walking into the pizza shop, grabbing a booth. Seated next to Aspen is Ashton, while Luke decides to sit across from the two.

"Well we do have to prepare him for his second date," Aspen starts off. Automatically, Luke's eyes grow wide, his expression surprised as well. "Second? When was the first?"

"Yesterday, she met me at the video shop when I was closing up. And I offered her a ride home, which she gladly accepted and all we did was talk until we arrived at her home. I guess that was counted as a 'date' to her." Ashton informs his brother. Their conversation is interrupted when the waiter comes, instantly recognizing the two boys.

"Luke, Ashton, how are you two doing?" the waiter asks, excitedly, clearly haven't had any contact with the two boys in such a long time.

"Good, how are you, Collin?" Luke asks him. Collin tells them all that's happened to him, including his wife and kids right before taking their order.

"And before I leave, might I ask who the lovely lady is?" he directs his attention to Aspen, who flashes a small smile.

"This is Aspen, she's a friend." Ashton explains before Collin leaves, the three of them continuing their conversation.

"Okay, so here's what I was thinking." Aspen starts.

♡

After a eating a whole large sized pizza, the three of them head back to the bakery, their stomachs filled with pizza.

"Literally, if I eat anything else I will explode." Aspen confesses. Luke and Ashton groan in response, their stomachs hurting. Aspen and Ashton walk through the door, the shop bell going off.

"Luke, do you want me to take you home?" Ashton quizzes his brother. Luke groans in response before muttering a small 'no'. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, positive." Luke reassures. "I'm just going to walk home, besides, I need to lose some of this 'pizza weight'."

"Okay," Right before the two head on into the bakery, Luke hands Ashton a covered plate which contained pizza.

"Just in case Michael leashes hell on you guys for not being back within fifteen minutes." he gives his brother a small smile, before gladly accepting the pizza. All three part their separate ways, ending it with a 'goodbye'.

"What was that?" Diana snaps, an angry Michael next to her. "I thought you guys said you'd be back in fifteen minutes!"

"Sorry it took a little longer." Ashton apologizes.

"You're lucky we covered for you, or else you'd be fired by now." Michael threats. Ashton hands Michael the pizza, his anger soon washed away, leaving Diana blown away.

"Michael," she starts. "what the hell was that? I thought you were on my side?

"It's free pizza, never deny free pizza." he tells her after every other pizza bite. Both Aspen and Ashton laugh it off as they head to the back room, slipping their aprons on.

"Um, blondie, can you do me a favor and help out Michael while I speak to Ashton in private?" Diana asks as she enters the room. Aspen's jaw drops, the tension in the room growing thicker and thicker by the minute. She mutters something only heard by her as she walks out of the room, leaving Ashton and Diana alone.

"It's Aspen, by the way." Diana rolls her eyes prior to making her way over to Ashton, her eyes narrowed.

"So, Emery told me you two hung out last night." Diana says, as if it didn't kill her enough.

"Oh really?" Ashton replies, acting as if he was completely oblivious to the topic.

"Yup," Diana continues, popping the 'p'. "actually, she said you two went out on a little date after you work shift at the video shop. Is this true?"

"Maybe," he responds. "what if it is?"

"Well, if it is." Diana starts. She walks over to the sink, before pulling out a wet knife, bringing it over to Ashton. "If it is, I would suggest you don't break her little heart. And if you do, let's just say your life has just reached hell."

"Oh please," he scoffs, masking his fear. "my life is already a living hell."

"Just watch yourself." she threats, placing the knife back into the sink before exiting the room. Aspen and Michael rush into the room, happiness written all over their face.

"Here's your paycheck." Michael hands him a small envelope with the name 'Ashton' written on it. "I'm so excited, I can finally buy that new video game." Aspen and Ashton laugh at Michael and his love for video games. "Oh another thing, we're starting to close up. And can I get a ride home?"

"Yeah sure," Ashton allows, running his fingers over the sealed envelope.

"Great, we'll meet you at your car out back." Michael announces prior to walking out the bakery's back door, Aspen following behind shortly. "Oh and Ash,"

"Yeah?"

"Can you do me a quick favor and turn the sign up front to 'closed'?" Ashton agrees before Michael disappears, the streetlights the only thing illumining the bakery. Ashton hums a random little tune right before he turns the sign, but right after something catches his attention. Under one of the near streetlights is a figure pressed against it, a joint pressed to their mouth. The figure is recognizable for Ashton, the black hoodie causing them to blend in with the night, small bits of red curly hair noticeable. Ashton thinks over what she said a day ago, how it wasn't hers and how it was a friends, how she didn't smoke. White smoke filled the air, her joint held in her hand, away from her mouth. The one thing that leaves him questioning is that she's alone, no friends by her side. At this moment is when he realized his brother might be right. She isn't the girl he fell in love with, she's just a stranger to him.