Lucent | Ashton Irwin

chapter four.

I was unable to get my mind off that night I spent with Ashton and for the rest of the night, I listened to the whole playlist he had made me. Coincidentally, the music that was on it was all lot of the bands I liked to listen to. He had a fair amount of You Me At Six on the it, which I had decided was also his favorite band along with Coldplay. Of course, I wouldn't know for sure if I was right, considering he had only spoken one sentence to me. So far I wasn't going anywhere with this; I was still left with many unanswered questions.

However, I did figure out a bit about Ashton as a person. Judging by the songs that were on the playlist, it seemed as though something greatly impacted his life in the past. I wasn't sure what that impact was or how it was affecting him at the time, but I knew I'd most likely have to keep talking to him to figure that out. There is always an obstacle though. The first one is that I just met him and he probably isn't going open up about his personal life so early on.

Before I went to bed, I had nearly forgotten that he had given me a note along with the CD. So, I quietly got out of my bed, grabbed the case off the dresser, and opened it to pull out a slip of paper. I slowly made my way back to my bed as I unfolded the note. My mind was running through possibilities of what he wrote. Honestly, I really had no clue what it would've been.

On 24th day of June, you will find me by following the notes placed between the books.

He had some plan, as usual, but I didn't worry because his previous surprise was quite nice. Ashton's unpredictability always kept me on my toes and I never knew what to expect from him. I suppose that was the fun part about continuing to talk to him. There's always a downside, though. But even then, the downside of the case wasn't even that bad. I mean, whenever snuck up on me, I was almost always annoyed. Surely I'd get used to it though.

I thought about telling Michael about what happened, but I decided against that because of his childish grudge. Also I didn't really want him to make some rude remark about Ashton; quite frankly I wasn't interested in hearing his opinion on him anyway. So because of that, I turned to Lillie instead.

It was around two in the afternoon when she came over. She looked a mess; mainly because she could stay home after her early morning shift at the book shop, which meant a really long nap resulting in messy hair.

"So how's your week been going?" Lillie asked, sitting down on the couch across from me. She took a small sip of sparkling water, which she had picked up on her way to my place.

"Well, I guess. Can I tell you something?" I spoke slowly. She flashed me a concerned look, then nodded. "Remember that guy that was in the book shop yesterday?"

"You mean Ashton?" I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to how she knew his name.

"Yeah, you know him?" I asked. I was afraid that she was going to say that he was her ex-boyfriend, but honestly I shouldn't have been. I just met the guy; I shouldn't be getting jealous.

"We just went to the same school." Upon her response, I instantly forgot about Ashton.

"Wait, wait, does this mean you went to school with Michael as well?" I asked getting rather off topic.

"Yeah..." She nodded, but judging by the slight irritation in her tone I could tell something was off.

"I've kind of been talking to him and yesterday he took me up to a rooftop and he gave me a CD." I explained quietly. Lillie instantly burst out into hysterical laughter, which confused me. Was something even funny about the situation? I mean apparently so since she was cackling like a fucking hyena. "Why are you laughing?" I frowned.

"Holy shit! He took you on a date!" She managed to say between laughs.

"It was not a date!" I countered, crossing my arms. Although, I didn't want to believe that it was a date, it probably was. But it made sense the way he looked at me was a look of pure admiration. Or when he caressed my cheek, it was a gesture that simply doesn't happen between strangers or friends.

"It was totally a date! I mean he took you up to rooftop, which I'm assuming had a view. I bet he showed you stars or something like that. And that CD he gave you probably had a bunch of love songs on it! Am I right?" The fact that her assumptions were on point scared the shit out of me. It shouldn't have, though. Since she did go to school with him, she probably saw him take girls on dates, but then again that's just weird if she did.

"Yes..." I admitted.

"Oh my fucking god, he has a thing for you! I think you should go for it! I mean sure he's a little odd but he's really nice." Lillie flashed me a smile.

"But I don't want a relationship with him...I mean I'll be friends with him, but I'm not gonna fall for this guy." I shake my head furiously.

"You're so stupid. You may think you aren't gonna fall for him, but just watch. You will so foolishly fall for him." Hearing her words, I began to think about everything I was feeling that night. I didn't want to believe that I could like him. I had just met him only a week ago and already I was contemplating my feelings towards him. The whole situation was confusing. Is it really possible to develop feelings for someone after a week? Whether it is or not, I couldn't allow myself to fall for him; at least not quickly.

"I'm done with this topic." I muttered, now growing agitated. She rolled her eyes and poured herself another glass of sparkling water.

"I'm just saying, the chances of you falling—"

"I'm not gonna fall for him!" I cut her off. She was quick to hold her hands up in defense.

"I'm just saying! No need to be bitter about it!"

"Is something going on between you and Michael?" I changed the subject, recalling her slight change in mood when I brought Michael up earlier. Lillie's lips formed a straight line. It was already blatantly obvious that she hated hearing even the slightest mention of Michael.

"I shouldn't say. I promised him I wouldn't ever speak about what happened." She muttered.

"I just want to know why you all of a sudden seemed to get uncomfortable at the mentioning of him" I replied. Cassie has always been a really open person but for whatever reason, whenever I brought up Michael, she would fall completely silent, and when I looked at her, she always had a bothered expression on her face. It was like she was trying to rid of some disturbing thoughts.

"We just had an argument...he said some things...we both did. It isn't exactly resolved either" She spoke softly.

After that I dropped the conversation about Michael, because I didn't want to irritate Lillie any more than I already had.

"I applied for a new job by the way!" she exclaimed suddenly, a big smile spreading across her face.

"Oh where at?" I ask curiously.

"National Geographic, they offered me a position as a wildlife photographer!" she chirped excitedly. For her, that's a pretty amazing accomplishment. In the past year, Lillie had been building up a portfolio for herself. She often talked about her aspirations to become a photographer. The times that she did bring it up, I thought about my dreams to become an artist. But it also reminded me that I should probably look for a new job as well. I mean, rent for my apartment was getting a little harder to pay, especially since the money I earned from the book shop wasn't all that much.

For the rest of the time that Lillie spent at my place, she rambled on about the traveling perks that come with the job, and once she left, I decided to look up job opportunities. Much to my disliking, the whole time my mind kept going back to Ashton.

It's crazy how much you can feel for a person after being with them for only a few hours. Now, I was beginning to wonder if I really was going to fall for him.

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Sorry for the boring filler! So if you want to find out what happened between Michael and Cassie then read Break. As usual feel free to comment, vote, or tweet me
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