• CHAPTER FIVE •
Although Luke had said everything between us was fine, I could still feel some tension between us. It pained me that in the short time we had before he left for tour, we were so distant.
On the flip side, I got a lot closer with Ashton. One day, we were sitting on the chairs on my porch drinking lemonade when he asked, "So when are you going to tell him?"
I almost spilled lemonade down my shirt. "I'm sorry?" I spluttered, grabbing a napkin and wiping my chin, heart racing.
How did Ashton know? Was it that obvious that I was falling for my best friend?
Bigger question: did Luke know?
"Luke. How much it's hurting you that we're going," Ashton said casually, as if he were commenting on the weather.
Oh thank God.
Turning to look at him, I said, "I'm not."
That made Ashton turn and raise an eyebrow. "You're really not gonna tell him?"
I shook my head. "No. I can't do that to him. I mean, he's living his dream, the exact one we pictured together almost two years ago. I can't take that away from him," I sighed.
Ashton sighed. "I guess you're right," he agreed, taking a sip of lemonade.
A few minutes later, he broke the silence with, "Hey, why are you so torn up about this? I mean, he's just going on a brief trip. He'll be back. We all will."
I wrinkled my nose. "Yeah. But," I faltered and looked out over the porch railing, getting lost in my thoughts.
I'm scared that Luke will become so big and famous, and once he has millions of girls throwing themselves at him, he'll forget me.
"What?" Ashton asked, interrupting my thoughts.
I shifted uncomfortably, silently debating whether or not I should tell him.
Ashton shrugged. "If you can't tell me, I totally understand," he said.
"I should tell you, though. You deserve to know. After all, you've dealt with my moping nonstop for the past few months," I said, giving him a wry smile. "Which, by the way, was very, very nice of you."
"Just helping out a friend," he said, smiling.
There was another brief silence, and I finally said, "I'm scared Luke's going to forget about me," I finally admitted.
Ashton raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? He's your best mate. You should see his face when you show up at practice."
"But what will his face be when he's performing for thousands of screaming girls who will be throwing themselves at him?" I sadly wondered out loud.
Ashton poked my shoulder. "It'll be more reason for him to be thankful and remember who bugged him into doing this," he said.
I smiled. "Ashton, you really are the best."
"I know," he said smugly. I laughed and took a sip of my lemonade.
"Hey, guys."
Luke walked up my porch steps, and I realized that this could be the last time he'd stand on my porch for months, considering that he was leaving in a week.
"Lemonade party without me? Lame," Luke said, getting a spare glass off of the tray and pouring himself some lemonade. "Really, thanks for inviting me," he said, leaning against the arm of my chair.
"Just trying to get to know Prov better," Ash said lightly, and Luke frowned, his eyebrows drawing together.
"That's my nickname for her."
