third person
"Absolutely not."
It was later on in the Monday morning when Jay had study hall with the other two members of her trio. Obviously the prime time for discussing rumors and copying homework off of each other. The Australian weather was almost as hot as the gossip that was exchanged during the block, but not quite.
Jay was currently propping her cheek in her palm while she caught her friends up on her previous exchange with Luke, begging Ashley to be the missing link to the double date. Although it clearly wasn't successful.
"Why not?" Jay whined in response, dragging out the sounds of the vowels.
Ashley rolled her eyes, "I don't know, maybe because I barely know either of them. Maybe because I'm trying to shoot my shot with Michael. Maybe because it's not my problem. Just some ideas."
Ashton chewed away at his nails, not intervening but definitely developing responses in his head. This was habitual for the boy to do; listening in on the girls' debates and mentally constructing an opinion to keep to himself. It was better for the girls to sort out their disputes on their own, unless it escalated. Ashton was the peacemaker in the occurrence of a more violent argument.
"Can't you just do me this one solid? You wanted me to go on a date with Luke so bad, and now you're gonna back down? Cheap." Jay retorted, just wanting the conversation to end, but too stubborn to back down.
Ashley groaned, running her fingers through her freshly cut and dyed hair, it now being short and brown. "Why can't Ashton do it?"
"I'm straight, and I'm already friends with Calum." Ashton piped up. The girls turned to face him, blinked, and proceeded with their argument.
"Even if Ashton was 'straight'," Jay paused to do finger quotes, "Calum isn't into penis. And like Ashton said, they're friends."
Ashton slammed his head into his binder, mumbling 'why' repeatedly.
"Luke never specified if you had to get a girl or not. Anyways it's settled, Ashton's joining you on your date. Calum isn't gonna be mad, you guys are both extra wheels but if you're already pals you can at least have fun together. It works out too, so this way Ashton can make sure Luke is treating you right. And maybe Ashton will actually get a boyfriend out of this. As will you. Win-win." Ashley stated, pleased with the outcome of the discussion.
The bell rung signaling the end of study hall before Jay could protest.
"I didn't agree to any of this. And I'm straight!" Ashton groused as he shoved his pens into his pocket.
With a stifled laugh, the pair of girls were out the door within a second. Ashton stood, baffled and slightly irritated at the result he'd been given. He loves his best friends, however they'd drag him into things frequently. And sure, he'd usually always find joy in the predicaments they'd get him into, but he'd never admit it.
As for the accusations of being gay, Ashton truly didn't know. He'd always told people he's heterosexual to make things easier, but he's actually the type of person who believes that when you fall in love, you fall in love. He didn't like the idea of being labeled for his attraction. But he's only ever dated girls, so he assumed he was straight. The one thing he did know, however, was that he didn't see Calum romantically at all.
As Ashton treaded down the hectic halls, his head began to ache from the heavy contemplation.
I'm straight.
He kept telling himself that as he rubbed at his temples.
I'm straight.
The pain in his head was vigorous, making his eyes scrunch shut.
I'm straight.
"Move your fucking feet, man. We've got places to be." He heard, just realizing he has stopped his trudging in the center of the halls, creating a mass of hallway traffic.
"Oh, sorry... I'm sorry." Ashton scurried to the nurse's office with shaky hands and a flushed face.
The bell rung again, making students dash to their next class. Luke was one of those people that tried to be early to every class, but was easily distracted by his surroundings or peers, or even both.
The blonde plopped into the desk next to Michael's, who was rushing through his homework before they had to hand it in. Luke thought it would be wise to leave him alone until he completed the worksheet.
The teacher started to take attendance while Luke whipped his cell phone out. Normally he wouldn't waste away a class day playing 8ball against his mom, but he was exhausted from his lack of sleep. When Luke's tired, he's not going to put up with economics.
He'd stayed up until unseasonable hours of the morning pondering about his date with Jay. Hopefully it wasn't a mistake to bring his friend. People do that, right?
As his phone screen lit up, so did the expression on his face as he noticed a new text message from Jay.
hey :) I found someone willing to go on the date with you and Calum !! I'm so excited x
Luke may have felt his cheeks heat up at the x, as he typed away at his screen he warned Michael's attention.
"What's with the look?"
Luke sent his message and tucked his phone back into the pocket of his black skinny jeans, then looking up at the board with his chin in his palm.
Michael stared at him for another few seconds, waiting for a response. He never received one. Naturally, he shoved Luke's arm, making his head bang against his desk loudly. The teacher paused his lecture to shoot him a scowl before resuming.
"What the hell?" Luke whispered, massaging his forehead.
Michael hated repeating himself, it was one of his biggest pet peeves. He either repeated himself with double the volume, or just said 'never mind'. It drove Luke mad, since his hearing wasn't the greatest in the world.
Michael shrugged and pretended to be fascinated with the lesson, making Luke furrow his eyebrows.
"You're annoying." Luke mumbled, turning away from the red head beside him to the middle aged man in front of him.
"Shut up, Luke."
