"I don't even remember this!" Ashton flipped over one of the pictures from the reception, facing it in my direction. His laughter mixed with the salt in the air as we sat on my balcony, reminding each other to drink water every five minutes while we talked and caught a few glances of the sun rising. It was a little past six in the morning, my eyes were tired, and I kept yawning, but Ashton didn't seem ready to leave just yet and I knew I wasn't going to get any sleep regardless.
The picture Ashton was amused by was of him wearing two party hats covering both of his ears, sure to poke an innocent bystander if they were too close. He also looked like he was in the process of dancing. Or at least, attempting to.
"That's a good look for you!" I said sarcastically as I went back to organizing the photos.
"Do you come out here often?"
"I do." I nodded, looking up from the pictures. Ashton was staring out into the distance, kind of like he was last night. This time the wind was forcing his hair in every which way and the sunlight was starting to hit the high points of his face, enhancing his features.
"It's nice, I like it up here." His eyes scanned over the water and over every inch of sand, trying to snap a mental picture of the view. Hopefully he would associate me with the view if he ever thought back to it. "Why are you staring?"
I hadn't caught myself staring until now. I shook my head and went back to the pictures. I wasn't some creep or some stalker. "I wasn't."
I placed a picture down in the pile that would be contributed to my wall. My eyes wandered back down to the stack I held in my hand. My heart was beating erratically because of what my eyes were seeing. I had to hide this picture, no one could see it, especially not Luke. I was in a lip lock with Ashton with a few blurry fireworks behind us. Michael or Calum might've taken the picture since they were both running through my film like crazy. I didn't remember this moment happening, but I couldn't remember being that drunk either.
"What's that?" Ashton was finally looking back at me.
"Just a picture that didn't develop."
Luke said Ashton was lonely and I needed to stay away from him, so I could imagine how lost and confused Ashton would feel if he saw the photo. I didn't want to mess with anyone's feelings. Ashton was sweet and didn't deserve that.
"Oh," Ashton dipped his head. "Does that happen often with that kind of film?"
"Sometimes it can be a little glitchy." I placed the picture underneath my leg, trapping it along with the seat I was in.
"Why the smoking habit?" He asked randomly, catching us both off guard. I could feel his knee slightly brushing my own as he bounced his leg up and down.
"It keeps me sane." I shrugged, not in the mood to deny my habit.
We sat in an awkward silence, almost trying to participate in a staring contest, but it turned into a studying-the-other's-face contest.
"I like your eyebrows." Ashton finally spoke.
"Couldn't think of anything better?"
"It's a valid compliment."
"Fine. Thank you, Ashton. I'm glad my eyebrows satisfy your eyes."
Another silence. This time I played with my thumbs and he returned his attention to the ocean. Now, that I thought about it I didn't really know much about Ashton. I knew his name, what he did for a living, I knew he had a peculiar girl in his life, he always appeared to be happy, and he didn't mind strangers.
