No Worth

Why Do I Care?

Ashley's POV: 

I land in Orlando, Florida all in one piece. The plane ride went smoother than expected, which I was grateful for. When I get off my plane, I text Mitch and tell him I'm here. A few seconds later, I get a reply from him saying he was on his way. 

Mitch's POV: 

I get a text from Ashley saying she's here, in America, and I curse myself for forgetting I had to pick her up. Luckily I was only 10 minutes away from the airport, so she wouldn't have to be waiting long. I step on my gas pedal and go as fast as I can without breaking the law. I get there in a matter of 8 minutes before texting her to tell her I was here. 

When I see Ashley come out of the airport doors, my heart skips a beat. It's been so long since I've seen her, and I have this weird feeling seeing her in person again, something I can't explain. I suppose one could say we had a "fling" in Barcelona, but it didn't work with the distance between us. 

"Hey Mitch." Ashley says as she gets in the car, flashing me one of her great smiles.

"Hey." I say. There's a weird feeling in my chest, but I push it down and ignore it. I'm probably just hungry or something.

"I'm really sorry I was late. I was caught up in things but I guess I just forgot." I apologize. I see something flash in her eyes, but it's gone as quick as it came.

"Oh it's ok." she says, looking out the window. She mumbles something else, but it's too quiet for me to hear.

"What?" I ask. She looks at me, a little confused.

"Nothing." she says, smiling a little at me. I think it's a fake smile, but I brush the thought away. I worry about Ashley sometimes, but I feel as if I'm just being ridiculous. If I ever reached out to her, I feel like she would just laugh at me. I know it's lame, but I really care for her, and I don't know why.

Ashley's POV: 

"I'm really sorry I was late. I was caught up with things but I guess I just forgot." Mitch apologizes. It's not a big deal, but of course my stupid sensitive mind turns it into that.

"Oh it's ok." I tell him. "I'm used to being forgotten." I mumble under my breath, turning away so he can't hear.

"What?" he asks. I bite my tongue, regretting having let that slip out. I just got here, and already I've done something wrong.

"Nothing." I say, looking at him with a confused expression on my face and flashing him a fake smile. He seems to hesitate for a second, but he eventually buys it and looks at the road in front of him. I hold in a sigh and relax a little, leaning my head against the cool glass of the windowpane. I think back to the Euro trip, when I was so comfortable just being myself around these guys...but I've learned my lesson. No one wants the actual me. Now I'm more self-concious about what I say, hoping maybe they'd like me better that way. They were all that I had left right now, besides my fans. Yet I feel like I was losing them too. I feel a tear slip down my cheek, and I silently curse it. Mitch notices, and his eyebrows crease in concern.

"Ashley, are you ok?" he asks. I nod, wiping the tear away.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I lie. "that just sometimes happens,even when I'm not sad. It's weird." I shrug, and he turns back to the road. I can feel his eyes occasionally looking back at me, as if expecting me to break down. He even begins talking to me, just friendly conversation. Although different words are coming out of my mouth, my mind is racing with virtually everything that could possibly go wrong. But why do I even care?