The Intern // 5 Seconds of Summer

Floorboards by Real Friends

I would probably find a 9 hour drive long a tiring but maybe today it was acceptable cause I just needed this time alone. Ashton and I have been pretty steady, things not moving fast. There wasn't even any form of label on what you would call us, even thought many would call us Rashton, it wasn't too serious. Stolen kisses, cuddling, stage shout outs and cute movie-like scenes. But that s it.

And I mean, this tour is nearly coming to an end. Just 10 more dates and then I'll be heading back home to work for my gap year and head off to college. And apparently the summer ended when we were in Chicago? 

I sigh, what a great way to end a summer. Ashton shouting his feelings for me off a stage into a large crowd and letting the world know. Not only that, but then follow by their single.

"Ryan?" I hear Luke ask and a hand poke into my bunk.

I stir in my bed and sit up, crossing my legs infront of me. I open the curtain to see Luke just smiling and pulling at the hem of his shirt.

"No need to look so awkward." I say, moving aside and letting him sit beside me. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you." He shrugs and sits beside me. "Why do you make it so hard?"

"I thought you were mad at me still, kinda." I say, shrugging my shoulders back at him which makes him chuckle.

"Well, maybe I was. I dunno." He ruffles his hair. "Maybe I still am."

"How come?" I can see no reason from him to be really mad at me, or still be for the least of it. I've been trying to be nicer, open up more. Maybe be nicer but whenever I try they just tease me or pretend as thought it is a great shocker that I'm trying to be nice.

"I don't know, you've got Ashton wrapped around your finger and I think he'd do anything for you at this point." He leans back against he wall wiggles his lips side to side, as thought he's searching for the right words. "I mean, he shouted his feelings for you into the crowd without even thinking about consequences." 

"What consequences could there be?" I say, running my fingers through my ponytail. "Fans have been nothing but nice to me, well the ones I've met."

"Think again, Ryan." Luke says, pulling out his phone. "Everyone is going insane." 

I just frown at him before taking the phone. Why is he showing me this? I scroll through his twitter feed and most of it just random blurbs of nothing but every so often theres a twitlonger that mentions how I am no good for Ashton and he isn't in the right mind, or how I'm nothing but a pretty face.

Maybe they're right.

"But it doesn't matter, right?" Luke says, taking his phone.

"What? Huh? I only heard half of that." I bite my lip and open up my phone.

"I said, you're strong and you like Ashton so this doesn't matter, right?" He said and pushed his phone into his pocket.

"Yeah, I do. I don't know?" I say and bleft go of my lip from my teeth. My head has never been so jumbled with thoughts. "Maybe I shouldn't thought?" I sigh,

"Nono, that's not what I was saying." Luke says, putting his hands up infront of him and rubs my shoulder before I move away. "I was just saying that make sure you're making the right choices, and don't play with his heart." He says and scoots closer to me and then moves himself so that he's facing me. "Please? He's like a brother to me." 

I nod and run my fingers through my hair again. Is this really why he'd come talk to me? So that I could think over and over again for the next 8 hours? 

"Is this really why you came to talk to me? So that I'd be so worried and feel so guilty that I'd just separate myself from Ashton all together?" I say and wipe under my eyes. I haven't cried infront of them, or cried any how, since Ashton was a blunt dick and that was quite a bit now, did he want to see me cry.

"No no, don't cry please." Luke says pulling my into a tight hug. I try to squirm but he holds my tight in his arms. "I didn't mean to make you cry. I just wanted to show you."

"I.. Uh.." I try and pull my head away and he holds me tighter and smooshes my face into his chest nearly and lays his head onto mine. 

"Ryan, I think you deserve more than just Ashton as a friend on this tour. I know you have Beat and you and Michael are growing on each other but I really want to be your best friend." He says, letting go and rubbing under my eye with his thumb. 

"Uh.. Okay?" I furrow my brows. This is a tad out of personality for him. Or maybe I've just never seen this part of him. Do I want to see more?"

"Best friends?" He says, sticking out his hand.

"Uh..." I look at his hands and back at him, he's smiling. I take his hand and shake.

"Yay!"

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Luke left the room and told me he'd come back later, but it took him so long that I managed to sleep. 6 hours, actually. My night times have been swapped from sleep to late night thinking and muttering things to myself. I have been trying to keep Lou out of this, putting on a fake smile and laughing at her jokes but I think that it's unfair to her but I can't help it. She's just a few layers of myself and I can feel her sympathy seep into my every time she looks at me and that's just not what I want. I'll be okay, really. I just can't help but stay up and think about my dad and how maybe I was unfair to him and that my being mean to him is what's keeping me up at night.

"You're awake!" Luke says, pulling my arm and forcing me to my feet.

"You left me for so long that I fell asleep!" I say, punching his arm and trying to pull out of his grip.

"Cause I was setting something up." He says with a mischievous smile as he pulls me into the lounge. 

"You were what?" 

"Voila!" Luke says as the door opens and all the boys are there.

"You got me these idiots?" I furrow my brows.

"Oh, no this!" Luke says as he reaches for something that Michael is hiding behind his back and hands it to me.

Its a lavender coloured xbox controller with a sticker on it that says my name on is and a variety of words and drawings across it.

"Where did you get this?" I ask, sitting at Michael's feet and examining the controller.

"We found some.. uh, what was it called?" Calum said, reaching over to a little bottle on the table. "OPI?"

"Oh, nail polish." I laugh and then look at the bottle. "Hey my nail polish!" I say, reaching over and snatching it from him. They all burst into laughs as Calum mutters his apologies.

"Anyways." Michael picks up. "We thought we'd make you an official band remote." He smiles and turns on the TV.

"Did we make a stop? I thought you only had four?" I ask and look around.

"We gave you mine, we'll pick me up a new one when we get the chance." Ashton says smiling and he gets up and comes to sit beside me, nearly pushing Michael away.

"Awwh! Thanks." I say smiling and Ashton kisses my cheek.

"Ewwwww!" Calum, Michael and Luke say in unison.

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Authors note:

How you guys feeling? This story is a bit more than halfway done. You should really share this on Tumblr or something, it'd mean the world. Almost at 5K reads and 100 votes (: