Unpredictable (A Lashton Fanfic)

Chapter Twenty-Seven - Strange Behavior.

*Luke’s POV*

As soon as we were back in our room with the door closed, I noticed something strange about Ashton’s behavior. He must’ve been texting someone because he kept glancing down at his phone and typing on the slide-out keyboard, but every time I asked him who he was talking to he would just shrug and turn up the volume on the television. He had never acted like this before, and I was honestly and truly confused—and also a little nervous. “What’s going on?” I said after a few moments of watching him look down at his watch. “Are you expecting someone?”

            “Uh, no,” Ashton said hurriedly. “Look, Harry and the boys are having kind of a party at their hotel across town. I’m going to go check it out and I’ll be back in a few hours, okay?” He didn’t even wait to see my reaction before he turned around and walked back out into the hallway once more, leaving me standing there in complete shock. How could he think about going to a party with all the stuff that was going on, especially Michael being missing? And more importantly, why didn’t he ask me to go with him? I was just so confused. Today had started off perfect, but just like every other day for the past three months, it sure hadn’t stayed that way for long.

            The noise from the TV was giving me a headache, so I walked over and turned it off before lying down on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, trying to sort through my jumbled thoughts. Ashton had once told me he was afraid I didn’t trust him, but I was starting to think it was the other way around. We told each other everything, no matter what. That was one rule we had made almost as soon as we had started dating. That’s why I couldn’t understand why he wouldn’t tell me who he was texting at first, or why he acted so sketchy about the whole party thing. He just wasn’t himself; the Ashton I knew never kept secrets, especially from someone he claimed to love so much.

            There was another thing that was bothering me. I was friends with Harry and the other boys as well, so why didn’t I get a text inviting me to their so-called party? I also couldn’t understand why they would have a party in the first place, especially at a hotel. Management was very strict about things like that.

            I leaned over and grabbed my phone from the table by the bed, hoping maybe I would at least have an awaiting message from Ashton saying he had got to the ‘party’ okay, but there was nothing. No missed calls, no new text messages, no anything. I shook my head and put my phone away, fighting the urge to throw it across the room. Instead I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, knowing sleep would be next to impossible until Ashton returned.

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When my eyes reopened later that night and I looked at the alarm clock by the television, I was shocked to find it was five minutes until midnight. How had I slept that long? How had I slept at all?

            I turned over, halfway expecting to see Ashton lying next to me, but the other side of the bed was empty. I sighed and turned the light back on, absently grabbing my headphones and turning up the volume as loud as it would possibly go. I was hoping the music would take me away from my thoughts, but it didn’t. If anything, the lyrics just made me realize how alone I felt and how much I needed Ashton beside me. I wasn’t used to feeling this way, especially since I had been spending every minute of every day with him for the past month.

            It was at that moment that the door opened and Ashton stepped in, a dazed expression on his face and a wild look in his eyes. “It’s about time you showed up.” I said coldly, crossing my arms over my chest. “Where were you?”

            “I told you, I was at Harry’s party. You should’ve come, Lukey, it was amazing.” Ashton took off his jacket and tried to put his arm around me, but I stood up and leaned against the wall. “I would’ve come, but it must’ve slipped your mind to ask me if I wanted to go or not before you walked out with little to no explanation.”

            Ashton rubbed his eyes. “I’m sorry. I just figured you weren’t into that kind of thing. You were okay here by yourself, weren’t you?”

            “No,” I admitted. “I wasn’t. I was worried about you, Ash, but it’s not like you care.”

            “Why would you even say that?” Ashton asked, a hurt expression on his face. “Of course I care. I love you.”

            I rolled my eyes. “You were gone for five hours and didn’t text or call me once. Do you know how that made me feel?”

            “I know,” Ashton whispered, looking down at the carpet. “I should’ve checked on you, and I’m sorry. Are you mad at me?”

            I looked at him in disbelief. He had done all this and then had the nerve to ask was I mad at him? “I’m more confused than anything,” I finally said, coming to sit down beside him. “It’s not like you to keep secrets, you know.”

            “I’m not keeping any secrets,” Ashton reassured me. “I can promise you that. We tell each other everything, remember?”

            I shook my head, but didn’t say anything else. I had just woken up a few minutes ago, but I was already extremely exhausted once again. “We’ll talk about this more in the morning, okay?”

            Ashton smiled and leaned over to turn off the light, and it was then that I noticed a strange scent in the air. Aside from the strong smell of alcohol coming from Ashton’s clothing, there was something else there that I couldn’t exactly make out even when I leaned closer to him. It sort of smelled like perfume, but that couldn’t be possible. I mean, I’m sure Harry had girls at his party, but why would Ashton talk to them, and why would he get close enough to one of them to have their perfume rub off on him?

             I wasn’t sure. All I did know was that I needed to have a long talk with Ashton, and a long talk with Harry to find out what exactly happened at that party tonight.