I Miss You: Ashton Irwin

Chapter 1

12th of August 2018

"Is Ashton going to be there tonight?" I asked my best friend Gemma.

"How am I supposed to know?" she replied, applying her nude lipstick as I buckled up my heels and picked up my phone.

"Because Michael is your boyfriend," I laughed, causing Gemma to roll her brown eyes at me and I did the same.

"Yes Ashton is going to be there tonight," she said after a moment and I sighed, not wanting to see him after what happened in December last year.

"Fuck," I mumbled as we walked out of Gemma's house and got into her car. Gemma and I have been friends since the first day of Year 8, all those years ago at Western Sydney Highschool, and since then, we have been inseparable.

Ashton and I were also inseparable, well so I thought but apparently, that was not the case. We dated for eight years before he broke up with me on New Year's Eve, leaving me ever so confused and Ashton with a guilty conscience. I haven't seen him since, nor did I want to.

"You will be fine Grace," Gemma said with a reassuring smile and I nodded, even though it wasn't true. Ashton left my heartbroken, and I still am heartbroken. You can't just get over someone you dated for eight years in just eight months, despite what everyone kept telling me.

"I sure as hell hope so," I sighed as Gemma continued to drive towards our old school where the reunion would be held in our old gym. Gemma and I both work at the same marketing company, both of us completing our degrees together, now I am head of marketing at Fashion Bunker, which is a clothing store, and Gemma is also apart of the marketing team. We both love our jobs, but sometimes the workload is extremely intense and it would be nice if we could just take a break from it all.

"Have you even spoken to him since the breakup?" Gemma asked, raising her perfectly shaped eyebrows at me and I just shook my head, and she sighed, as we pulled into the school carpark.

"I blocked him on everything."

"Grace, that is so stupid," Gemma sighed as we got out of her grey Ford Fiesta and began to walk towards the gym that was so familiar to us, memories of our high school days tracing our minds.

"I don't think so," I said with a smug smile before we both stopped walking as we had reached the gym, decorated in old school photos of our time here, and red and white decorations, which are the Western Sydney High School colours. I could feel my heart racing and my palms becoming sweaty, and I know Gemma noticed it too.

"Are you okay?" she asked with a concerned look on her face. Gemma is the most supportive friend I have, and she has never once strayed from my side, which is why I love her so much. Her loyalty is second to none.

"I guess we are about to find out," I said with a brave smile, and we walked through the glass doors of the gym, 'Naive' by The Kooks playing in the background, but it was heavily masked by all the noise and chatter of everybody. My eyes darted the room, trying to spot Ashton, but luckily he was not here yet.

"Do you want to get a drink?" Gemma asked as she waved to some of the girls we used to go to school with. Truth be told, Gemma and I hated high school, as we were both never the studious type, and did not really have many friends apart from Ashton and a few others. It never really bothered us, it just makes coming to these types of things slightly awkward as we were never really close with anybody but each other.

"Yes please," I said with a smile and we walked over to the makeshift bar, Gemma ordering us two glasses of Shiraz, handing me one as we went to go and talk to some girls that we were friendly with during our years here.