Attention Seeker // Luke Hemmings au

Chapter Thirteen // Ashton

I hate Diana for what she's doing to Luke. She has him wrapped around her perfectly manicured finger. I watch them leave Guidance together, talking and smiling. It makes me want to puke.

"Ashton?" 

I turn around, finding myself facing Mrs. Lynnady and some girl. She's Asian, and has a princess-like air to her. "Yeah, Mrs. L?" 

"This is Haruhi," she introduces the girl, whose bright eyes quickly turn to her shoes. "She's new here, and I was hoping you would show her around." 

"Why me?" The girl seems nice enough, but the last thing I need right now is friends. The few I have already seem to be fading away. Couldn't she find someone else?

"Because I trust you with her," she says carefully, a hidden message behind her eyes. What's so special about this girl? Why am I apparently so trustworthy? 

I look over at the girl, at her high cheekbones, sweet brown eyes, and shiny pink lips. She's dressed in a white t-shirt with a strange black and red design, black skinny jeans, a light red blazer, and matching red shoes. The sleeves of her blazer have lines on them like they were supposed to be folded up, but now they've been pulled just past her wrists.

Her wrists.

My gaze back to Mrs. Lynnady, and she nods, reading my mind. "So I just have to show her around?"

She shrugs. "She's in all your classes. Just let her follow you around." Her eyes shift uncomfortably. "Take good care of her, though, okay?"

Haruhi's eyes are glued to her shoes as I walk her to my second period class--Creative Writing. It's an easy class and half of the time the teacher doesn't even show up, so needless to say it's my favourite period of the day. 

"So, Haruhi," I begin, unsure of what to say. She doesn't look at me. "I'm Ashton." No response. "I like your outfit. You look really pretty today." 

She raises an eyebrow at me.

"Not that you don't look pretty everyday," I say quickly. By then, I'm mentally kicking myself. "I'm sure you look absolutely stunning everyday. You're a beautiful girl. It's just that today, you--"

She interrupts me with laughter, a sweet and pure sound. She doesn't laugh that sort of awkward, fake laugh that the other girls use. Instead, her eyes crinkle and her shoulders shake. She tilts her head down so her hair covers her face, but she's laughing. It's a beautiful sight.

I smile, pleased with myself. I'm one step closer to getting her to open up. "I'm gonna quit while I'm ahead," I tell her. 

She smiles and nods. Then, when I'm sure we're just gonna walk in silence, she says, "Thank you, Ashton." She hesitates before saying, "You are very nice." I guess I must have been staring at her because she says, "I am sorry..? My English isn't very good." 

I can't help it--the look of disappointment mixed with insecurity on her face is too much for me to handle. God, I just wanna cuddle the shit out of her... Wow, okay, Ashton. Regain your inner teenage boy. You sound like a fan-girl. I take a deep breath and smile. "You're perfect, Haruhi." 

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The only one of my friends that's in my lunch period is Michael, but he has a meeting for some My Little Ponies club so I end up inviting Haruhi to sit with me. I'd like to think I would have invited her anyway, but I'm not sure.

"Hey, cutter," a voice says as I'm getting a bottle of water. 

I spin around and face some random jock. While he's only an inch or two taller than me, he's far more fit. "Uh, what?" 

"What, do you need the water to wash the blood off your sleeves?" He snorts. "Do us all a favor and burst a vain." 

I stare at him. "I'm sorry, but did I do something to offend you?"

"Yeah." He smirks. "You exist." When I don't respond, he continues. "You know what? I think I have some scissors in my locker. You want me to go get them for you, emo?"

"No thanks," I murmur, turning away from him and walking away with my water. He's too amused with himself to go after me, which is fine by me. I sit down across from Haruhi and begin to eat my lunch, but she's staring at me. "What?" 

"What was that about? With that guy over there?" She blinks.

 I look down at my sandwich, shrugging. "He's just an asshole," I say. "He heard some lame rumors about me and thought it'd be funny to mess with me about them."

"What rumors?" She tilts her head, raising an eyebrow. She's too pretty for me to deny her an explanation. If she hates me, well, then so be it.

"I was in the hospital last weekend," I begin, watching her expression. Concern mixed with curiosity. "I slit my wrists. My best friend attempted suicide the same day and I just..." I shake my head, unable to really say more.

"Oh, Ash." She frowns, taking my hand in hers. "He is okay now, right? And you as well?"

"I'm fine," I mumble, pulling the sleeves of my sweater down absentmindedly. 

"You know, Ashton," she says, sipping her smoothie. "I always had this idea about suicide. My parents tell me it is silly, but I don't think so." 

"Well, what is it?" I smile, leaning forward to hear her better. "You have to tell me now. I'm curious." 

She blushes a bit, which is absolutely a-d-o-r-a-b-l-e. "Okay, well..." She pauses, glancing around as if she was telling me some huge secret. Then, she leans forward, so close I can smell her breath. I can almost taste her strawberry smoothie.

"When I was little, I used to hear these stories. An old friend of mine's older sister killed herself when I was eight, and her mom told us that suicidal people are just angels that want to go home again."