Behind Closed Doors // Lashton

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four (short chapter)

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ASHTON POV

**7pm, May 17th**

I wake up from my own nap to find Luke is gone. I sit up and stretch my arms. I rub my eyes and then look around. I get up and head to the bedroom.

"Hey." Luke greets me. I go sit down next to him, and cuddle up to his side. He wraps an arm around me and then kisses the side of my head.

"How was your nap?" He asks me.

"It was good, how was yours?" I ask back.

"Mine was ok." He says. He removes his arm and continues doing stuff on his laptop. Why isn't he being cuddly with me?

"What're you doing?" I ask him.

"Planning." He says. I steal his right hand away and hold it in my hands.

"How are you typing with this hand?" I ask him. He still has a wrist brace and finger splints.

"It's not easy." He say. He realizes I'm not giving his hand back, and continues with just his one hand. I rub his bicep a little, earning a look from him.

"What?" I ask.

"What are you doing?" He asks me.

"Trying to cuddle with you, but you're doing something." I say. He closes his laptop and moves it aside. He wraps his arm around my shoulders, and then pulls me into his lips. When we pull our lips apart we're both smiling.

"I think I'm ready to do this." Luke says to me.

"I'll be with you every step of the way." I say.

"I know, thanks." He says.

"Don't thank me, it's my duty." I say. We both grin because we're basically five year olds.

"You hungry?" He asks me.

"A little." I say.

"Want to order pizza?" Luke asks.

"Sure." I say. I pull my phone out while Luke looks up a local pizza place.

"Hey you two, we ordered pizza!" Michael bangs on the bus door.

"That was easy." Luke closes his laptop again. I toss my phone down and we get up. Luke is ahead of me and I can't help but poke his butt. He whips around to face me and I nearly walk into him.

"Poke my butt again and I'll fuck you on the spot." He warns me.

"So do I poke you or not?" I ask. He rolls his eyes at me. He pokes me in the side and I jump away.

"You know that tickles!" I giggle.

"And you know touching my ass turns me on." He says back.

"Ok, ok, you win." I say. He switches sides so we can walk and hold hands.

"I thought I'd have to come in to get you." Michael says when we meet up outside of now my bus.

"Nah. We were about to order pizza when you knocked." I say. We follow him to his bus, where we find Calum already eating.

"You took too long." Calum says to Michael.

"I was gone for two minutes." Michael says.

"Two minutes too long." Cal shrugs. The rest of us grab a slice and find a seat.

"You two busy tomorrow?" Calum asks us.

"Yes." Luke says before I can say anything.

"Well apparently." I say.

"Oh yeah." Calum grins. Michael lightly kicks Calum's leg.

"How's your head?" Luke asks me.

"Better now. It doesn't hurt anymore." I say.

"That's good." Luke says.

"Are you ready?" Calum asks Luke.

"I hope so." Luke says.

"You've got this." I say to him.

"Thanks." He says to me.

"This is the most awkward meal ever." Michael says. We all blush.

"Ready for Saturday's concert?" I ask.

"I know the fans are, they've been camped out here for days." Michael says.

"Yeah." I say.

"I'm not." Luke says.

"You'll do great." I say to him.

"Or I'll throw up." He says.

"You're that scared?" I ask.

"I'm basically shitting my pants right now." Luke says. I wipe my hands on a paper towel, and then pull him into a hug.

"Luke you'll do fine." Michael says to him.

"I'm glad you all think that." Luke says. There goes his self confidence again, gone with his ego.

"Everybody loves you baby, one thing isn't gonna change their minds." I whisper to him. He stays quiet, and it makes me feel really bad for making him do this.

"If anyone else had said that to me I'd have told them to go to hell." Luke says to me.

"What's the difference between me and someone else saying it?" I ask.

"You're always right." He says. I roll my eyes, but the look he gives me tells me he is dead serious.

"I'm not always right Luke." I say.

"Yes you are." He says. I'm not gonna bother arguing with him.

"Fine." I shrug. I let him go and grab another slice of pizza. I catch his stare, and I immediately know I shouldn't have let him go.

I put my pizza down and wipe my hands. I wrap an arm back around him and pull him close to me. He ducks his head into the crook of my neck. I take his injured hand in my empty hand and rub his fingertips.

"You two are really fucking cute." Calum says. Luke is crying. This is weird. He almost never cries. I let go of his hand and wrap my other arm around him, in an attempt of a sideways hug.

"It's ok baby, I've got you." I whisper to him. Michael manages to leave with Calum without causing too much noise.

"What's wrong baby, why are you crying?" I ask him, rubbing his back.

"I'm scared Ash. I'm not ready for this." Luke says to me, his voice trembling. He lifts his head and it almost makes me cry.

"Oh, baby you don't need to cry. I've got your back, there's no reason to cry." I say to him, wiping the tears off his face. He wraps his arms around me and pulls me closer if possible. I rest my head on top of his and sway us gently back and forth.

"I've got you baby." I continuously whisper to him.

He stops crying after a long time, but doesn't move away. I assume he wants me to just hold him, so that's exactly what I do. I like holding Luke. It makes me feel like he's a real person, not just an ego. I like being able to protect him, like nobody can touch him without going through me. The next thing I notice is that he has fallen asleep. This leaves me wondering how long he napped before he started planning. It also makes me wonder how bad he's actually doing emotionally. I know once we do this tomorrow that things will get a lot better. It's a lot of pressure that will be gone.

I carefully scoop up Luke, and carry him to our bus. I like the way that sounds. Michael and Calum nod to me and reclaim their bus. I carry Luke to the bedroom of our bus, and gently lay him down. I move his laptop, and then pull the blankets over him. I check all the doors and windows, and then climb in next to him. I pull him facing into my chest, and he pulls his way closer. Not only closer to me physically, but closer to my heart.

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