Notes (Lashton)

6

We were in English the next morning, and there was still some clear tension.

"So, you're all still mad at me." I chuckled.

"I'm not." Calum smiled. I smiled back.

"I'm not mad at you, Luke. I'm sorry I said those things." Ashton sighed.

"It's fine." I responded.

"I never was mad at anyone but Calum. But we're fine now." Michael said, purposely messing up Calum's hair.

"Hey, you asshat!" Calum exclaimed, chuckling as he ran his hand through Michael's pale blonde hair. Michael giggled as they messed up the other's hair.

"I'm still mad." Luna scoffed.

I sighed.

"Luna, let it go. It's fine, babe. We all had a bad day yesterday." Ashton stated, lacing his fingers with hers. She sighed, looking at their hands before pulling away. Ashton frowned before redirecting his attention to me.

"It's fine, Luke. It doesn't matter. She'll get over it." Ashton told me. Calum and Michael were talking about ice cream.

She rolled her eyes, scooting further from Ashton and closer to Michael. Michael smiled at her warmly, and she grinned back.

"I wrote the first three pages yesterday. So, if you guys want to read them... Then, once they're approved by all of us, Luna and Cal can start illustrations." I mentioned.

"Okay." Ashton nodded. Nobody else seemed to be paying attention. I handed him the papers, and he started to read them.

As he read, I thought about the note from my locker. It was short, simply saying hi and that the writer was sure he had feelings for me. I really wanted to know who it was. Who liked me? I felt like they deserved to know that I had feelings for someone else, so I decided to write a note back to them. I'd leave it in the door, sticking out enough so that they could easily grab it. How the hell was I going to tell them, though?

"These are great!" Ashton pulled me from my thoughts.

"Thanks." I smiled. He slid them over to Michael and Calum, who were talking about our childhood memories.

They both read the pages. After they finished, we made a couple adjustments before Calum began to plan the pictures.

"Luna, what do you want on the first page?" Calum asked her.

"I don't care. What's it about?" She questioned.

"Charlie thinks about escaping to go explore."

They discussed the picture as Ashton went to get a blank book from our teacher. I started to neatly write the words on the first page as Ashton talked to Luna.

The bell rang and I slowly walked to my child development class. I took my usual seat and pulled out my signed permission slip. After taking it to the teacher, I grabbed my notebook.

"Okay, guys. Starting today, we're reviewing for the mechanical babies. You already know you'll need to treat them like real infants. They'll cry, need diaper changes, need to be fed, and bathed. Please, do not actually feed or bathe them. You will get the necessary supplies for feeding and fake bathing. Many of my students are getting their babies outfits. That's your choice, but they will come with three." The teacher explained.

"When will we know what gender we get?" A girl in the front questioned.

"Monday. Then, you have a week to pick a name and stuff. The day you get your babies, you'll fill out a birth certificate." She answered.

"These babies record what you do to them. I will know if you abuse them. They record how often you've fed them and everything, and how much you tend to their needs. Your grade will depend on this." She told us. Most of us were looking forward to receiving our "babies", though a few students were not fond of the idea at all.

Our teacher passed out small packets full of questions about the responsibilities of parents and the mechanical babies.

The day passed quickly. I was on my way to my dance class before I even knew what was happening.

We worked on a lot of ballet technique, and we even learned a little routine.

"You guys are lovely. We've still got twenty minutes, do you want to go over it again?" The instructor asked. We all agreed and got into position.

We went over it a few more times before we did a few more stretches. Then, we were released.

I got in my car, sighing. I had a very busy day the next day, but I still had to pack my things for the weekend, finish my homework, eat dinner, and shower.

When I arrived home, my mom hugged me.

"Hey, Luke. I ordered takeout. I got you orange chicken and fried rice. Is that okay?" She asked.

"Yeah, that's great." I beamed. She smiled.

"That's good."

I walked upstairs, taking a quick shower before changing into some pale pink shorts and a white tank top. The shorts were very short, and they made my ass look great. They were my favorite pajama shorts.

My mom was in the bathroom when the food arrived, so I opened the door. Ashton stood there with our food, and I smiled at him. I forgot he worked as a takeout delivery guy.

"Hey, Ash." I greeted him.

"H- hey, Luke." He replied. I swore I saw his eyes move down my body, but maybe I was going crazy.

I paid for the food and grabbed it, making sure to tip him extra.

"Have fun working on the project." He chuckled. I smiled back.

"I haven't started yet today." I admitted. He giggled.

"Bye, Luke." He said.

"Bye." I replied.

I closed the door after he walked away. I put the food on the coffee table and got mine out.

I chose to sit on the couch, watching 50 First Dates as my mother and I ate. We didn't really talk about a lot, just the usual updates on our days.

"I need to work on my project and type my history essay. Then I need to print it." I said before going to my room. I started with the essay, because it was more than halfway finished. Within thirty minutes, it was printed and stapled together.

I only got a page of the English project finished, before I was too tired to keep working. I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the previous night.

Again, my mind drifted to Ashton as I laid there. Did I really see his eyes move down my body, or was I going mad? After some consideration, I decided to let myself keep the idea that he did, in fact, check me out. After all, my ass looked amazing in my little shorts, and the tank top clung to my body in just the perfect way. I'd check me out, too.

I actually got a good amount of sleep that night.