Infinity and Beyond

10 - ACE

Emily

The week after my last show Ashton had several meetings, so for once it was me who was home alone and not him. They were whole band meetings, though, which meant Charlotte wouldn't be with Luke, and because we both had the day off at the end of the week we spent this together. During the show I'd not spent much time with anyone besides Ashton, or Michael. Usually if Ashton had a meeting or studio session he pushed it back to the afternoon except on a few occasions, which meant we had the morning to spend together before I was out all afternoon and evening. Sundays were my only days off to do anything or see anyone else.

It came as a bit of a relief that it was over after a month's hard work, but I knew that it wouldn't be long at all until I'd miss it. After all, it was amazing and I had enjoyed every second of it while I was doing it. Plus, I'd seen Jack almost every day for over two months so I was bound to miss him too. To help me get over it all Charlotte took me to a cafe along the beach front, where we divulged in ridiculously unhealthy cake and milkshakes topped with inches of whipped cream. I hadn't actually been there before but Charlotte said her and Luke went there a lot, so when it came to paying we got a discount (and a free brownie, which in hindsight we really didn't need, but it looked too good to say no).

One thing we'd already planned on, neither of us had done before so we made our way there with excitement and anticipation. It was something we'd been wanting to do for months now and now we had finally gotten around to doing it we went there without delay. We wouldn't be able to use our phones (everything was kept in a locker) but Ashton and Luke both knew we were there and there shouldn't be anyone else who needed to get hold of us, so it should be okay. We made our way to the desk, locked our possessions in a locker, then strapped on skates for our first roller disco.

Whilst it may have been a long time since I last went roller skating, I was a lot better at it than Charlotte who had hardly ever done it. I loved it when I was younger but she rarely did so was a lot less steady on her feet than me. When we stepped out onto the rink she wobbled and almost fell over straight away, causing her to grab onto me and make me grip the side to stop both of us toppling to the floor.

"Charlotte!" I yelled. "This is not a good start!"

"Sorry!" she giggled. "Just give me a minute."

I held onto her while she got her balance and slowly let go of the side. It was Friday afternoon so it was busy but once there was a pause in the flow of people skating we pushed away from the wall and more into the centre. Charlotte was still holding onto me for dear life but luckily got the hang of it swiftly after that. Luckily neither of us fell over again and we spent the next forty minutes rolling round with increasing speed and singing along badly to songs from the 80s, 90s and 00s. Just as 'Karma Chameleon' finished we saw Luke and Ashton standing over by the barrier by the watch area and when I noticed I started making my way towards them. Charlotte hadn't realised, though, and because she was holding onto me she lost her balance when I started moving away and ended up splat on the floor against my legs. I just about managed to keep myself up, but keeping myself together was another thing. As her feet flailed around and she struggled to get upright again I doubled over in laughter, in too much need of air to help her. I was almost crying by the time she managed to pull herself back onto her feet and when she had I looked over to see Ashton and Luke both creased up and dying from laughter too.

"I don't know what's worse, the fact that Emily just stood there laughing and didn't help or that you're still laughing now and haven't checked if I'm okay," Charlotte sulked when she reached Luke.

"Aw, I'm sorry, are you alright? Need me to kiss anything better?" he asked suggestively and she shook her head with a laugh - whether she was answering the question or just despairing at Luke I wasn't sure - but he leaned across and kissed her on the cheek anyway. I left them to their own conversation and turned to Ashton.