Our Own Protection

»Chapter Six«

»Paris's POV«

I look over at Ashton as we all lay in the pile of scrap. He's fidgeting. I wonder why?

He looks over at me and his nose scrunches up a little, "Why are you looking at me like that?" He asks and I can't help but smile.

"Because your fidgeting."

"No, I'm not." He says as he pops his fingers. I hear Eudora laugh and I laugh a little.

"Ok, fine I'm fidgeting. Because, I wanted apologize for what I said the other day. I didn't mean for it to sound the way it did." Ashton says as he stares at the stars.

Zane looks at Eudora, "I'm still teaching him how to play nice with others." Eudora and I laugh and Ashton rolls his eyes as a small chuckle escapes his mouth. I wonder what he sounds like when he laughs really hard.

My phone starts ringing and I groan. I already know it's my parents. Eudora knows too because I can tell by her face as I stand up to take the call. "Hello? It's one of your slaves." I say into the phone and Eudora starts laughing.

"Where are you two?!" My mother screams into my ear. I hold the phone away and wince then bring it back to my ear. "You don't have to yell." I state blankly.

I hear my mother and father arguing in the background. I start pacing and I feel Ashton's eyes roaming all over me. I look over at Eudora and she is glaring at Ashton. A small smile plays over my lips. Then I look over at Zane and see him staring at Eudora and my eyebrows furrow a little.

"How could you do this??" I hear our father say agitatedly into the phone. "What?" I ask then I hear mother cry into the phone, "The Prescotts have called off the engagement!"

A huge smile comes across my face and I hang up the phone and start bouncing around like a mad man. Eudora looks at me with her head tilted then I scream happily. "The Prescotts called off the engagement!" Her whole face lights up as she says repeatedly, "Yes yes yes!" Zane and Ashton look so confused.

"Prescotts?" Ashton questions. "What engagement?"

"We were engaged to marry the Prescott boys so the rivalry would end between our two families, but against our will." I say and both of there faces turn to utter shock.

Zane breaks the silent shock. "What the heck?! Your both just 17!"

Eudora looks at him and says, "Our parents don't care." I nod and slide back in my spot in the scrap. I end up closer to Ashton then I mean to be. I quickly shimmy closer to Eudora. He notices and chuckles.

We end up talking and joking around for hours. I think me and Eudora are starting to enjoy their company.

It turns out that Ashton's family life isn't great either. His Mom left when he was a kid and his Dad can't keep a job because he's always drunk in a bar. I never would've thought that because at school he always seems so arrogant and cocky, like nothing is ever wrong. He always has a girl on his arm.

Zane didn't open up about anything personal, but he is pretty funny. He didn't seem to talk about baseball as much as Ashton did. Ashton is like freakin obsessed with it.

"Yeah, I wanna get a scholarship in baseball." He says.

"Good luck." I say as I stare at the stars.

"Do you not have any faith in me?" He asks jokingly with a smirk as he looks over at me.

I look over at him and say, "I've never seen you play." Eudora says, "Me either."

Ashton's eyes widen and he motions to him and Zane. "You two have never seen us play before?" He asks and Zane rolls his eyes.

"Nope." Eudora and I say in unison, popping the p.

"Well, we need to fix that." Ashton says.

"Nah, I think we're good." Eudora says and Zane chuckles and I laugh a little.

"That hurts." Ashton says, trying to hold back a smile.

"Good." Eudora says before closing her eyes. I look over at her and yawn. "Ewwww, you just yawned in my face." She whines and I laugh louder than I mean too. "Now you just busted my eardrum." She says as I laugh some more.

"Your laugh is echoing." Ashton states and I yell, "Ha ha ha!!" Then Zane looks over at me, "Geez." He says with a little laugh. "Your gonna wake up the neighborhood."

"What neighborhood? We're in the middle of freakin nowhere." I say.

Ashton tugs a strand of my hair, "We're in the middle of freakin nowhere." He mocks and I smack his arm. He laughs and I roll my eyes.

I turn over to face Eudora. "I could've smacked you harder."

"Awww, you didn't want to hurt me."

"Suuure, that's what you think. I'm just saving my really hard smack."

"For what?"

"For when you do something stupid."

He laughs and I yawn.

"Goodnight birds." Ashton says. Zane is already asleep.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't call us birds." Eudora says sleepily.

"Sorry birdie, that's not happening." Ashton says as I slowly drift off to sleep.

They bicker for a little while longer until sleep fully consumes me.