Coming Up For Air

0.5

It started out with a kiss
How did it end up like this?
It was only a kiss
-The Killers, 'Mr. Brightside'

⚑ Luke ⚐

Luke couldn't stop glancing at Ashton as they walked to the bakery. It was cold outside and Ashton had his hands shoved deeply into the pockets of his jacket, his head bowed against the brisk wind that had nipped his ski-sloped nose just enough to give it the same rosy glow as his frost-bitten cheeks. Luke told himself that he was just watching to make sure Ashton didn't have another episode, but he wasn't exactly sure that was true.
(Okay...he knew it wasn't true.)

"Why do you jump over the cracks?" Ashton asked suddenly when they were about a block from their destination.
"What?" Luke blurted stupidly, caught off guard by the abrupt shattering of the comfortable silence.
"The cracks. In the sidewalk. You always hop over them. Why?" Ashton didn't look at up and Luke silently thanked God because he was certain he was blushing brighter than the stop light in front of him.
"Uh--," Luke stuttered, unnecessarily flustered because why was he feeling like this? It didn't make sense. "Uh, I don't know. My mom always did it and I just kind of...picked it up. I--yeah."

"Oh." Ashton said simply. "Okay."
Luke felt something inside of him turn inside out and he couldn't stop smiling.
-
The bakery was dim and smelled like coffee, which was perfectly fine with Luke. It felt cozy and lived in--a nice change from the organized florescence of the music store. There was a familiar looking boy behind the counter with a face that Luke couldn't quite place--green eyes, but a different kind and quality than Ashton's, and dark curly hair that was a little on the long side. It fell across his forehead in an unstructured tumble and he blew his bangs out of his eyes as they approached, putting on the friendly, customer ready grin Luke knew all too well. His eyes flashed over Luke, recognition dawning behind them.

"Hey! I think...do to work at that place...I think I might know...you look really...um, did you sell me a guitar?"

Luke knew he had recognized him. He grinned at his awkwardness. "I think so, yeah. Harry, right?"

"Yes! And you're...Luke?" The boy, Harry, grinned, and it lit up his face like a lightbulb.

"Yup." Luke nodded. "This is Ashton."

"Hi Ash--! Oh, wait. I know you too." Harry said, this time sounding much less enthusiastic. "Um...hi. How are...you doing?"

"Great." Ashton was shifting uncomfortably and he glanced at Luke, sending him a distinct look. "This is one of the guys I told you about. At Zayn's."

Luke quickly put the pieces together. Harry had been the new boyfriend of Zayn's ex-thingboy. He looked like a nice guy, Luke thought. And he had awesome taste in guitars.

"Oh," was all Luke said, not sure how to react.

"So, um...have you talked to Zayn?" Harry said, chewing on his lip. "Or Louis?"

"Why would I have talked to Louis?" Ashton sounded disgusted. "He's the reason I'm in this mess."

"Oh. So I take it you haven't talked to Zayn yet." Harry said with a face
like he wasn't exactly sure he should be saying the words coming out of his mouth. "Zayn...um, to put it simply, you weren't exactly Zayn's rebound from Louis. More like the other way around."

Ashton raised his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"Um...yeah." Harry said. "Louis talked to him a lot last night and...yeah."

"But we were never even together!" Ashton told him bemusedly. "And I'm straight!"

"Well, when you put it like that, Louis and Zayn were never exactly together either." Harry said with a shrug. "And every gay guy who's had a crush on a straight boy thinks they might be able to turn them. I thought Louis was straight when I first met him and I used to lay in bed at night devising all these plans about how I was going to make him like me."