Troublemaker (5SOS)

Chapter Eight

After covering Miss You by Blink 182, they put the instruments down and beckoned Kody and Tara to join them again. Kody boldly took a seat on Calum's lap, but he didn't seem to mind one bit. Tara took Ashton's face in her hands and brought her forehead to his. He bit his lip and pulled her body closer.

"I knew you liked music, but I didn't know you were..." she was at a loss for words. He was in an actual band-- a talented one.

Ashton enclosed the space and interrupted her sentence with a long, tender kiss. No one was paying attention to them because the group started taking shots. The only one to notice was Luke, who nudged their arms, holding two plastic shot glasses full of tequila.

"Nah, I'm good," Ashton stood, pulling Tara up with him. "I think we're going to take a walk".

Luke shrugged and took one shot himself, handing the second to Michael. Kody was still on Calum's lap, running her hands through his thick hair as she asked him questions like what his biggest fear was.

Although she was having fun, Tara was definitely glad to escape the chaos of Ashton's friends and her fearless sister. They walked away from the light of the bonfire, their eyes taking a minute to adjust to moonlight instead. Ashton stopped to pick up a small pebble of seaglass, handing it to his date. She smiled as she put in in her pocket, running her fingers over the smooth surface of it as they walked hand-in-hand.

"I'm really glad that you asked to meet me. Sorry I brought them, I just wasn't sure what to expect." Ashton ran his fingers through his messy curls.

"Am I what you expected?" She wondered what he pictured while they would send each other late-night texts when one of them couldn't fall asleep.

He paused, truly thinking. "No".

"Oh", she felt slightly self conscious, wondering if he was picturing someone more like her sister. Someone more normal, not a girl with fantasy hair or an all black wardrobe.

"In all of the best ways, of course. Tara, you're so beautiful, I can't believe that someone like you would even agree go out with me. Am I what you were expecting?"

She thought back to the first time she saw Michael sitting there with Ashton's red bandana around his head. At that very moment, she thought that she'd been psychic, because it's almost exactly how she pictured Ashton to look. Every time she pictured meeting him, touching him, even kissing him, she was picturing Michael...one of Ashton's best friends. She felt her cheeks get red as shame washed over her. "You're better than what I was expecting. I mean that."

No one's ever gotten her flowers before, let alone her favorite kind. Doing things like that came naturally to Ashton. It was no wonder that when he gets his heart broken, it stays that way for a long time.

Ashton's tense shoulders relaxed as they continued toward the base of the cliff, where they could sit on the large rocks and watch the waves. Tara sat between Ashton's legs, his arms wrapped around her as he nuzzled his face in her hair. She'd never felt so safe. They spoke of their interests, families, friends, the past. Ashton was certain that she could feel his rapid heartbeat against her back, but he wanted to be as close as possible. She smelled of vanilla and lavender, it was warm and comforting. Tara traced the lines in his palms with the tips of her fingers, trying desperately to remember what each one meant, according to her palm reading book. After a while, they just sat in silence, eyes on the stars above.

By the time they made it back to the group, Kody and Calum were both in the ocean, screaming at how cold it was. Their clothes laid in all different spots on the beach, where they dropped each item as they ran full speed at the pitch black water. Luke and Michael attacked Ashton and Tara from both sides, pulling them apart.

"You're not going to get away so easily!" Luke dragged his friend into the water, fully-clothed. Michael was more gentle with Tara, and lifted her up bridal-style as he ran to the ocean. She closed her eyes and trapped a scream in her chest, wrapping her arms around Michael's neck and pulling him close. He sighed deeply before plunging into the frigid ocean.

"Asshole." Tara's lips shivered, and Michael smirked, his eyes glistening.