third person
It was finally the day for track tryouts. Luke had been ecstatic, like a kid on Christmas. He really needed some hobbies, as he frequently just lounged in his bedroom allowing blink-182 to invade his ears. There was not ever a day in which Liz wasn't on his case about 'getting involved'. He knew his mother was right, she always was and always will be, but he had trouble mustering up the motivation when his memory foam mattress was pleading for him to stay.
But finally, with Michael by his side in his black, baggy gym shorts, he found the drive to push himself. In fact, Luke was quite proud of himself.
Michael on the other hand, was already begging to bail on this whole 'exercise' thing, although Luke wasn't taking any of his tantrums.
"Luke," Michael whined, "can I please just go? Or I can just watch you from the bleachers! See that works perfectly, yeah?" No matter how many excuses he spewed out randomly, he knew that he was stuck here.
Where was Calum? Surely he would join track along with the other two. After all, the boy plays every sport in the book. Football, basketball, hockey, lacrosse, even American football; you name it. But he wasn't in sight. 'Maybe he's running late.' Michael thought to himself, mentally smirking at the pun he unintentionally made in his head. But Calum and the two other boys planned on grabbing a late lunch/early dinner afterwards. Michael couldn't blame him, if he were Calum, he would ditch too.
Luke rolled his bright blue eyes at the boy's juvenility and wrapped his fingers tightly around Michael's wrist, pulling him along with him. He was acting similar to a dog on a leash, being forced to move forward despite his pleas.
Whilst the blonde persuaded Mikey to have a more positive outlook on the current situation, Ashton and Jay were doing the same for Ashley.
"Come on, you're already here and you already told your mom you're doing this. No backsies." Jay pointed out to the jittery girl in front of her, making her simply dramatically moan in response. Ashley always over exaggerated, mainly because she requires more reassurance.
"Look even Michael is here!" Ashton pointed in the direction behind her. And there he was, his sneakers sunk in the freshly cut grass. The greenness of that mowed grass would always be jealous of the astonishing peridot shade in his eyes, the sunshine only enhancing it.
"Ah yes, so the guy of my dreams can watch me trip over my own baby-sized feet and fall on my face." Ashley dead panned, entirely serious.
Despite the teens' worries, they all did fairly well. They all put in their maximum amount of effort and that's all that really matters. There were a series of tests to observe which student accelerated at what, so they could be chosen for an event that they were skilled in. Even Calum ended up showing himself, and demolished all of the others. He was talented at all of the events being tested for.
"See was that so hard?" Jay smugly asked Ashley, who just grunted in response and she laid her back flat against the grass. She was probably getting the clippings in her hair, but she didn't really care. It was practically camouflage in her short, green locks.
Ashton joined her, flopping down against the ground. "We can get fro-yo as a reward." He told her, making both of the girls gasp in excitement. The frozen treat sure was a favorite between the three of them. Jay ended up joining them on the ground, and they just stayed there for a while. The hot Australia sun beating down, making them all close their eyes to avoid burning them out.
They suddenly felt the sun being blocked, and opened their eyes to reveal Michael and Luke.
"What's the big idea?" Ashton complained, sitting up. His two friends followed his actions.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, trying to speak but only stutters came out. Michael slapped his back, communicating that he needs to spit it out because he sounds like a beat boxer rather than a person speaking English.
"O-Oh! Right! So me and Michael, I mean Michael and I, well we had plans with Calum but he kinda just sorta left... Anyway," Luke unnecessarily told the backstory of the past ten minutes of his life, "we were wondering if uh we could hang out? I-It's okay if you don't want to, since you two don't really know me, I mean us!" Luke reassured, his infamous pink cheeks returning.
"That sounds great! We were actually just going to go for fro-yo, so you two can tag along with us." Jay smiled up at the tall boy, immediately making him smile back with a shy nod to show his thanks.
"So how's about we go home and clean ourselves up and meet up at the place around the corner in an hour?" Michael suggested, everyone nodding in agreement, not wanting the three of them who tried out to be sweaty and sticky.
Jay and Ashton were snuggled up in each other's arms on Ashley's bed, waiting patiently for her to finish showering. As anyone could've noticed, Ashton was very close with the two. People often made jokes about how their friendship was like polygamy, which was utterly repulsive to think about, but it didn't matter to them. The three were like a little family, Ashton playing the role as an older brother to them. And if people had an issue with it, they could take up with Ashton... or rather, his fists.
"Luke likes you." Ashton simply hummed, gliding his fingers up and down her shoulder.
Jay sprung up, obviously flustered. "What do you mean? The boy barely knows me!" She exclaimed, gaining the attention of Ashley who exited the bathroom at just that moment.
"What boy?" She asked them as she placed her dirty laundry in the overfilling basket.
"Luke." Ashton told her. She noised a little 'ah' and agreed with him, Luke was into her. Anyone could spot it from a mile away. Luke could say he wasn't interested in relationships all he wanted, but the awkward shyness really blew his cover. It was evident to all of them, supposedly except him and Jay.
"What?" Jay asked in a high voice, sounding sincerely offended that her friends assumed Luke's feelings. "He does not and will never like me. We only met a few days ago!"
"I know it's hard for you to stop talking about your boyfriend, but we're seeing him in a few minutes. Calm down, he's going to think you're obsessed." Ashton teased her, standing up and swinging his car keys around his long index finger. "You two coming?"
So the three of them were off to for frozen yogurt, Jay's scowl evident though Ashton's rear view mirror throughout the entire ride.
