Loving Ash [a.i.] {Original Version}

Chapter Twenty-Four: Just ignore them

Chapter Twenty-Four: Just ignore them

{Ashton}

My hands shook as I approached Ashley and Calum's room. I was still confused why they ended up in the same room, but shook off the thought. Taking a deep breath, I straightened my blazer and ran a hand through my hair.

"Calm down, Ashton," I mumbled to myself as I wiped my hands on my jeans nervously. "It's just Ashley. She's gorgeous and she agreed to go out with you. No big deal."

Gathering my courage, I knocked on the door. A screech echoed from behind the door before a loud crash. I felt my eyes widen at the sounds coming from inside. Seconds later a very calm looking Calum opened the door. He smiled at me, giving me a nod.

"Sup mate," a laugh could be heard in his voice as he spoke. "Ashley is almost ready. Wanna come in?"

"Uh, sure," I was hesitant, but could you blame me? Walking inside, I glanced around in search of Ashley. As nervous as I was, I couldn't wait to take her out - just the two of us. Calum watched me as I fidgeted.

"She's in the bathroom," he nodded at the closed door across the room. I glanced at the painted door, half wishing it would open and reveal Ashley in her normal jeans and t-shirt. I knew it wouldn't, having told her to dress up a little. I turned back to face Calum, ignoring the knots in my stomach. His eyes were lit with amusement and his lips twitched. We stood in silence until I decided to try to break the awkwardness.

"So, Madrid huh?" I offered, rocking onto my heels. Calum eyed me knowingly, but before he could do anything other than nod, a door opened and her voice spoke up.

"So sorry, didn't mean to make you wait," my breath hitched in my throat at the sound of her voice, but as I turned around to look at her I swear my heart stopped.

She stood in front of me, her hands clasped in front of herself. She was in a pretty green dress that flowed around her long legs. She looked amazing, better than ever before. I scanned her outfit, smirking slightly at her grey converse. Classic Ashley. Lifting my eyes to her face I felt like I may have died and gone to heaven. Her blue eyes were lightly rimmed in black and her eyelashes were extra long. Her soft, heart-shaped lips were coated in pale pink lipgloss and were pulled into a small smile.

"Wow, erm...I-" I cleared my throat, pulling at the collar of my blue button-up. She looked gorgeous. "You look--"

I was speechless. I couldn't form a full sentence.

"That bad?" She asked worriedly, her forehead creasing into a little frown. "I told Dani this was probably too much, but Calum told me it was--"

"Perfect," I breathed out, taking a hesitant step closer to her. My eyes never left her face which flooded with color at my words. She looked like an angel in disguise. Beautiful.

Calum cleared his throat, making both of us jump. We all let out a chuckle, laughing off the awkwardness of this situation.

"Okay, go!" Calum demanded, patting my back and shooting Ashley a thumbs-up. "Get going or I'll have to go get Michael to tell you off again."

I shoved his shoulder before reaching out for Ashley's hand. "Shall we?"

She smiled shyly, but took my hand anyway. We walked towards the door, Calum following close behind us.

"I expect her back in one piece before eleven, Irwin," Calum growled playfully. He was just enforcing Michael's rules. I nodded, leading Ashley down the hallway.

"Lets get out of here," I grinned at her words, intertwining our fingers and pulling her into the elevator. She was glowing as she leaned against the side of the elevator, looking down at her shoes. Oh god, why was she so beautiful? I had to force myself to stay away from her all week, knowing if I went anywhere near her I would've broken down and kissed her again for all I was worth. And now I had to keep myself from kissing her before the date had even started. "So, where are we going?"

I brought myself out of my daze, realizing I had been staring at her lips for the entire elevator ride. The doors had opened and Ashley was waiting for me in the lobby area. She giggled as I blushed, pulling me by the hand towards the exit. Bobby appeared out of nowhere as we readied to exit the building.

"The car is waiting for us out front," he informed me in his low and slow voice. Figures Michael would send a chaperone.

"Thank you, Bobby," Ashley smiled brightly at the middle-aged man, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. If I'm not mistaken, the big man just blushed. A small smile tugged at the corners of his lips before he straightened up and held the door open for my date.

"You're welcome, Miss Clifford," he answered in a professional voice, though his cheeks were still slightly pink. She had no idea her affect on men. Wrapping my arm around her shoulder, I pulled her into my side.

"Ready?" I asked her as we prepared to exit the hotel. We could see the crowds of people outside, flashing lights merging with the faces. Receiving a slight nod from Ashley, I pulled open the door. The shouts got louder as we walked outside, questions shooting left and right.

"Where are you taking her, Ashton?"

"Are you guys official?"

"She's not even that pretty!"

"Why would he go out with her?"

"They look adorable together!"

"I totally ship Ashtley!"

"She's so ugly, what does he see in her?"

I glanced around, ready to yell at those girls who were rude enough to call Ashley ugly. How could anyone think she was ugly? I hadn't realized I had stopped walking until I felt Ashley tug on my arm, a worried expression on her delicate face.

"C'mon Ash," she whispered to me, linking our fingers together. "Just ignore them."

As soon as my eyes connected to hers I immediately forgot about everyone around us. I let pull me towards the car an helped her into the back of the-- wait is that a limo? Bobby closed the door behind us and it was practically silent inside. We could still hear the screams and see the flashing cameras, but it was softer. We both just stared at each other for the thirty seconds it took Bobby to get around the limo and into the passenger seat. The driver, Sam, shook hands with Bobby before turning to us.

"Hello Miss Clifford," he nodded politely at Ashley before turning to me with a wink. "You two ready?"

"Yes," we said at the same time.

I wanted to make this the best first date possible for Ashley.

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So...I hope you like this chapter. We always read when the girl gets ready, but don't you ever wonder what the guy is thinking the whole time? I do so yeah...

Let me know what you think. Hopefully I'll get the date into the next chapter and it will be better than this. Sorry I suck :/

Stay beautiful!

~Lena Em xo