stutter » a. irwin

chapter 11. anxious

tw: slight mention of panic attack ahead, love u beautiful people x

❀ J U L I A ❀

I was still blushing from Ashton's comment as we pulled into a gravel parking lot. Just past the trees that littered the area, I could make out the shimmering slivers of what I assumed was a lake. Once Ashton finished parking, he came around to open my door and we made our way towards a small opening leading to a pathway among the trees. As we got closer, I could hear the sounds of conversation and music.

"It's just right this way," Ashton gestured, pointing ahead to the end of the path.

When we stepped out of the small forest, I was taken aback by the sight. The lake was much larger than I could've ever imagined, sparkling as the bright sun bounced off the clear water. A little family of ducks were swimming across the centre and I could make out little pebbles scattered along the edge of the lake where the water became shallow. Wild grass and weeds grew out of the little crevices between the rocks, but to me, it only added to the sheer, untouched beauty of what I was witnessing.

"Wow this is pretty amazing," I breathed, marvelling at the sight.

Ashton smiled softly when he saw my fascinated expression and simply intertwined his fingers with mine, tugging me along towards some picnic tables farther away. He led me to a stop in front of a table where a familiar blonde, hair quiffed up to the sky, sat with several people.

"-And then he pulled down his pants and said, 'Go ahead, take a picture, this butt is as smooth as it gets,'" Luke avidly finished telling the end of some ridiculous story as the entire table erupted into laughter. Suddenly, he glanced up at us and grinned a wide smile, showcasing his lip ring in the process as he greeted Ashton and I. I noticed that his gaze wandered briefly to pause with interest on our joined hands, so I nervously pulled away before looking up to see him raising his eyebrows in curiosity. Ashton reached for my hand again absentmindedly while talking to some people at the table, and a light blush painted itself onto my cheeks as Luke's mouth tugged up into a knowing smirk. He cleared his throat before speaking.

"You guys obviously know Ash, but this is Julia, Ashton's..." Luke trailed off, unsure of what to label me.

"Friend." I answered.

"Date." Ashton responded at the same time.

Some of the people at the table exchanged looks of confusion and I shifted uncomfortably at the situation. Ashton looked at me with raised eyebrows, but upon seeing the look on my face, he squeezed my hand and fortunately changed the subject.

"Uh, anyway, have you seen Dave? I wanna share some song ideas with him," he asked, directing the question towards Luke.

"No," the blonde shook his head. "But I think I saw him down by the cabin with a couple of his buddies."

"Alright thanks, we'll catch you guys later," Ashton nodded towards the people at the table and I gave another feeble wave as he tugged on my hand gently.

"You looked a bit nervous so I thought I should give you a break," Ashton joked with me as he flashed those gorgeous dimples. "I really do have to talk to Dave though, so I hope it's okay with you if I just chat with him for a few minutes. He's a friend of ours that helps us out with song ideas and planning and all that good stuff. I swear it'll only be like five minutes."

"It's fine." I nodded in response as we neared the cabin Luke had mentioned. People were sitting around and Ashton immediately brightened up when he spotted a huddle of men, walking over to the tallest one with blonde, almost white hair who i assumed was Dave. The other men greeted Ashton briefly before walking off, apparently understanding that the two needed to talk business. I felt horribly out of place.