Skinny Hips // Ashton Irwin

twenty five // i'm good, actually!

//Annie//

The majority of my day was spent sat on the couch watching Netflix, waiting for Michael to get out of bed and entertain me but by two in the afternoon I began to get the feeling that he was enjoying bed too much, so I decided to make my way back to my room to do something productive, like my makeup or my nails or something.

Once I reached the bottom of the stairs I already felt like my breath was knocked out of me, let alone anticipating the climb ahead of me. Taking a deep breath, I began to climb the stairs, feeling weak and out of breath by the time I was halfway there.

Upon reaching the top I decided to take a seat on the top seat, air being knocked out of my lungs as if I'd been punched in the throat. My legs shook beneath me and I felt weak but my thoughts instantly changed once I heard music coming from Michael's room and a smell of smoke stunk out the upstairs.

Michael's room was at the end of the hall and I knew the walk from my point to that point was going to be dreadful but either way I stood, wobbled down the hall and knocked on his bedroom door.

At first there was no answer and instantly I thought that he just couldn't hear me over the music but as I lifted my fist to knock again, the bedroom door swung open, my arm was grabbed and I was yanked inside.

I stumbled from the force of him pulling me, almost falling before catching my feet. The room was almost completely hot-boxed apart from the window being slightly open

He shut the door with a slam behind him and turned around, only now showing the joint that sat comfortably between his lips. He smirked at me before turning the music down drastically, nodding at me to take a seat. I did so.

"Where've you been?" Michael hummed as he exhaled smoke before handing me the joint. I gratefully took it from his fingers and settled it between mine.

"Downstairs, waiting for you to wake up, and then building up the energy to walk upstairs," I chuckled.

Michael's face dropped ever so slightly but enough for me to notice. I continued to take my pulls as I watched him turn and look out the window, a slight sigh coming from his mouth. I said nothing, waiting for him to speak first.

"You know, Ashton's seriously worried about you," he said before he turned, eyeing me up and down slowly as if taking in the state that I was in. "We're all pretty worried, actually." His voice trailed off, almost sounding as if he was sad.

Of course, he wasn't. He couldn't be.

I could only scoff, taking one last pull before passing the joint back to him. "I'm absolutely fine. I'm good, actually!"

I plastered a smile across my face before turning to Michael. His face was stern, though, clearly not buying my act of fake happiness.

"Listen," he sighed, "I know Calum, Luke and myself weren't the kindest to you when you first started coming around, but you grew on us. Especially Ashton." He took a drag, exhaling quickly to continue talking. "That boy sees the fricking world in you, Annie! He cares about you like he hasn't cared about anybody before, ever. And he doesn't want to see you like this; like you're in so much pain."

For a second Michael's words danced around my brain, his voice almost sounding muffled. I sighed, about to say something before a wave of sickness overcame me. Carefully I stood, turning to Michael easily. "Sorry, I really have to use the bathroom, I'll be right back."

I didn't stick around to wait and hear what more he had to say before slamming his bedroom door behind me and rushing to the bathroom, locking that door. I knelt in front of the toilet, gripping the seat as a feeling I couldn't describe overcame my body. I was shaking; it was almost painful.