But, Shes my Best Friend (Ashton Irwin fan fiction)

Chapter 54

Maggie confused me. She walked to the end of the sidewalk, and waited. As if a car was coming. But we were probably the only living things on the street. Then she turned. She didn't cross the street like I thought she would, but she turned. Halfway down, she turned into an alley way. The sun illuminated the deserted path. revealing empty trash and and wooden crates. My eyebrows furrowed.

"Maggie, where are we going?" I asked nervously.

"We're here!" She said. The once vibrant red paint was peeling off the door. It has a stained glass window, that looked like it had never been cleaned before. Maggie excitedly pushed the door open. My legs shook as I followed her inside. The restaurant was beautiful. It had a 1950s vibe going on, but at the same time it was very modern. To my left, was a metal-like counter, I could see my small distorted reflection. To my right circular white tables sat neatly in a pattern. Beside them was a row of red, uncomfortable looking, booths. There was a small group of people inside, they were all scattered around but it seemed like we had interrupted a conversation between all of them. The only noise left was the cooks in the kitchen that had been stowed away behind a white wall covered in colorful flyers and pictures.

"Who've you got there Maggie?" A deep voice boomed. I tried my best not to look startled as I searched around the room.

"This is the girl that's been watching my shop" Maggie's southern voice was contradicting to the deep one.

"What was her name? Zelda?" A smaller voice spoke up.

Maggie laughed, shaking her head, "Zoe, this is everyone. Everyone this is Zoe."

A chorus of voice greeted me. I gave them a small smile and a wave.

"This is where I sneak off to during work," She told me.

"I figured" I muttered. Maggie sat down at one of the circular tables, immediately engaging in conversation.

I sat down at one of the stools, reading the flyers.

"Don, got your burger, " A manly voice called from the back. The face matched voice. A big man with a scruffy beard walked out from the back, wearing an apron over his casual clothing and a hairnet. He carried a large burger with a proportional amount of French fries to the side.

"About time!" I connected the voice who was the first one to speak to a tall round man. He had short curly hair, which was graying from the sides, and a beard which made him look intimidating, "You got any ketchup back there Sammy"

Sammy handed him a plastic red ketchup bottle, along with his plate. Sammy looked over at me. My elbows were resting on the counter and my chin in my hand.

"What will it be darling?" He asked me.

"What do you have?" I asked. Sammy handed me a large laminated paper. It only had two sides. A long list of burgers, subs, and steaks filled the front while the back was filled with deserts and a variety of drinks. I decided on a cheeseburger and a soda.

"They have the best burgers in town" A familiar voice spoke.

Ashton's POV

Calum decided to spend the day with me. He told me about the heated argument between him and Karla last night. She had been a mess, and it didn't help that she had gotten wasted. The bouncer, kicked them both out. But they continued their argument outside. Karla confessed that the pregnancy was a lie. She didn't want him to leave her like her last boyfriend did. At this point, she was crying. The way Calum described her made her sound unstable and psychotic. I didn't question it. The rain was pouring and her makeup was running, but Karla wouldn't stop. She didn't want to breakup with Calum, she said she loved him. But Calum didn't give in. At some point, he told me, that he just turned around and walked to his car. Leaving Karla stranded in the parking lot drenched and raging.

"Man that crazy!" I said, in between chews, as Calum finished his story. I had supplied myself with pasta and movies to spend my afternoon. Calum happened to tag along.

"Did you guys leave early?" He asked me.

I nodded, "we got bored."

I wasn't going to retell my gory details of the night. Zoë's mom had called me, asking me about "the party" we had been to. Something must have happened to Zoe for her to be questioning me.

Calum looked at me, a smirked playing on his lips.

"We didn't-" I began.

"You so did!" He laughed.

"No Calum, we didn't"

Calum got up and began chanting, "Ashton got laid! Ashton got laid!" Around the house.

Once he was done with his little number, he sat on the couch and started the first movie. Ever-so-kindly watching the previews while I finished cleaning up the kitchen. By the time I got back the set-up screen was already up. The first movie Calum choose was Red Dawn.

As it began, my phone started ringing. I answered, while heading upstairs.

"Hey mom" I gleefully answered.

"Hey Ash..." She began, a weird tone filled her voice.

"Is everything ok?" I asked.

"Yeah, it's just, Mrs.Hymore wanted to know what happened to Zoe at the party?"

"What do you mean?"

"Zoe had a nightmare, and she was wondering if anything happened at the party to trigger it" My mom told me.

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't keep the secret from my mom. It wasn't a big deal seeing I took care of it. Kind of. I wished Zoe had stayed over at my place. I wished I could've protected her from her horrid dream. I wondered if staying with me would've made a difference. That she would feel protected enough with me instead of alone in her room.

"Some creep was hitting on her. But that's about all I know..."

"Did she tell you or did you witness it?" This was the beginning of a horrible, motherly, interrogation. I knew it would continue when she got back from work.

"I saw him, but apparently he had hit on her twice." I made sure to say 'hit on' instead of 'groped by'. I didn't want to get her, us, into any sort of trouble.

"What did you go when you saw him?"

I thought about it.

"You didn't hurt him?" She asked, suddenly scared.

"No." I said, "A little. Yes."

"Ash," She was going to lecture me.

"Mom, you should've seen him! It was disgusting, Zoe was terrified!"

Mom sighed, "Were you two drinking?"

I didn't answer. Causing to repeat the question a bit more sternly.

"Yes" I answered in a soft voice.

"And you drove?"

"Yes." I repeated, in the same soft voice, "But it was only a few drinks"

"It doesn't matter! You are underage, there are consequences!" She yelled.

"I know mom, I'm sorry"

"I'Ll talk to you when I get home" She said.

We said our goodbyes. Guilt coursed through my body.