Chapter 6
Maybe it's just false security that makes me like this Ashton guy and this little town but I don't see any harm. In fact, I'm actually enjoying myself as we finish off a series of Chinese meals on the couch. Austin sits at my feet, munching on a spring roll, more transfixed on the tv than his surroundings or the fact Ashton and I are having a rather in-depth conversation about the random history of china. I don't know how we got on it or how this even came up but I'm enjoying myself, to say the least.
"So this guy just invaded at age 13?" Ashton laughs between bites of his noodles.
"Yes! Like, I was about to go talk to this teacher about that because at 13, I was still dotting my i's with hearts.." I pause and let a grin peak across my lips. "Well, I might... still do that but don't judge me!"
He laughs again, heavier this time. He has one of those contagious laughs that you actually have to laugh along with, it's a beautiful thing. I'm pretty sure it's midnight and I can't tell you how long we've just talked with no end to the conversation. And he hasn't even asked where we're where from or why we left, that's probably the best part.
"Totally not judging." He attempts to get a straight face but loses it after holding eye contact for about a second. "Okay, maybe a little."
"You are horrible at eye contact, oh my gosh. We are going to have a staring contest, and no smiling," I say though I doubt I can do it myself. His eyes are like a deep, light shade of brown with a streak of green in each, it's amazing.
"You're on, go," As soon as he says it, he spreads his hands out on the couch cushion and leans closer, widening his eyes and staring straight back at me, which obviously makes me lose composure to laugh. "Loser! I won; what do I win?"
"You can have my spring roll?" I raise an eyebrow and wobble the roll in front of him. He purses his lips and takes it quickly and biting into it just as quickly.
"Not bad. So, y'all ready to get some sleep?" It wasn't too hard to spot the exhaustion lurking right behind our eyes. The past few days were horrible and without a truly good sleep, this sounded lovely.
He shows us to the guest bedroom, where Austin will sleep and I'll sleep in Ashton's room, and he will stay on the couch, after much deliberation. We were both too tired to argue anymore so I let the matter slide for the night. His bed actually is one of the best things I've ever laid on. It has probably the softest comforter in the world and it smells just like him. The duvet is so heavy, it makes it hard to get up and the pillows are like clouds. It makes sleeping here a lot better than expected.
He has such a typical boy room. Posters of bands, a few guitars and a piano in the corner, a tv, and some messy clothes by his closet. He had tried to toss some things in the closet when he showed me to the room but it barely did anything. I honestly don't care, I mean my room at Wyland was a lot the same in different ways.
I wake up really early, before dawn has even broken the night sky. It was to the dreams, that had made its first reoccurrence. This time it was that they found us and took us back and charged Ashton for housing a fugitive. I don't really know why he was in it but I'm not complaining, he was sure fighting to get back to me as they pulled me away. That made me extremely happy, I'm not even gonna lie. Anyway, he ran in about that time asking what happened and what was wrong.
I managed a, "nothing, just a dream. I'm sorry for waking you." And I'm pretty sure I turned bright red even in the dark. He simply said that he was worried and that if I needed anything else, I should immediately tell him.
~
The next time I wake up it's later, I can tell. It must be noon because the empty streets now have a few residents roaming them in search of lunch. The more I stay here, the prettier the town actually gets and the more I'm attracted to staying here. That's not a problem as of right now but if something comes up and we need to leave, it'll make this a lot harder.
