Unpredictable (A Lashton Fanfic)

Chapter Two - Soundcheck.

“So,” Ashton was saying later that night. They were sitting at a local restaurant, outside on a patio overlooking the busy downtown streets. “What’s on our agenda for tomorrow?”

            Michael closed the menu he was flipping through. “I was thinking we could ride to Cades Cove. It’s a little nature place with wildlife and stuff.”

            Calum nodded. “I saw it advertised on a brochure earlier, it looks pretty cool.”

            “Sounds good.” Ashton took off his sunglasses and adjusted the black hat he was wearing. “After that, we probably need to meet up with Harry and the boys so we can talk about the tour.” He looked over at Luke, who was absently playing with the straw in his drink. “What are you thinking about, Lukey?”

            “Nothing, really,” Luke replied. “I’m just quiet, I guess.” He stood up from the table and pushed his chair under, causing everyone at the table to look at him in concern. “What’s wrong? Where are you going?”

            Luke half-smiled. “I’m hungry, but not for restaurant food. I’ll meet you guys back at the hotel, okay?”

            “Something’s off about him,” Christian said once Luke had walked away from the table. “I can’t put my finger on it yet, but ever since Nathan kidnapped him he’s been acting strange.”

            Calum nodded. “Yeah. I’ve tried talking to him about it, but it’s like he doesn’t even want to talk anymore. To be honest, I’m really worried about him.”

            “I’m sure he’s fine, you guys,” Michael shrugged and leaned back in his chair. “If anything was wrong he’d tell us.”

            Ashton shook his head and stood up as well, putting his sunglasses back on. “I’m sorry, I just feel like I need to go find Luke and talk to him. Maybe he’ll tell me what’s on his mind.” He gave the others a quick wave before walking down the flight of stairs that led back onto the main street, carefully maneuvering through the crowds of people still walking in and out of the shops. He took a few more steps forward, his eyes anxiously scanning the faces around him. Finally, after a few moments, Ashton spotted Luke sitting on a bench near a dark alley. His head was down, and he was looking at something on the phone he was cradling his hands. When Ashton came to sit down beside him, he didn’t even bother to look up.

            “Hey, Lukey,” Ashton smiled cheerfully. “What are you reading so intently?”

            Luke quickly put the phone back in the pocket of his ripped skinny jeans and took the headphones he had been listening to out of his ears. “I wasn’t reading anything, I was just checking my Twitter.”

            Ashton nodded and set his hat down on the bench beside him, absently running a hand through his hair. “I know you didn’t really want me to come after you when you left the restaurant back there, but I kind of need to talk to you.”

            “What do you need to talk about?” Luke asked, hesitation in his voice.

            Ashton took a deep breath before saying, “Lukey, I know you better than anyone. To be honest, I know you better than you know yourself. With that said, I can tell when you’ve got something on your mind or when something’s bothering you, and I can definitely sense there’s something wrong.”
            “I’ve told you a hundred times before, Ash. I’m perfectly fine. I know you’re concerned about me because for some reason you feel the need to constantly worry and obsess over everything I do, but you’re going to have to trust me on this.” Luke replied.