she's all that -- ashton irwin

ii.

ashton watched around the corner as mia spoke to some tanned boy with dark hair atop his head. she said something before waving and turning, heading outside to the parking lot. ashton ran up to the boy.

"hi, uh, are you friends with mia copeland?" he asked frantically.

"oh, shit, ashton irwin. um, yeah, she's my bestfriend, i guess?"

"do you know what she's doing tonight, uh... wait, what's your name? i'm sorry."

the boy blinked quickly. "oh, uh, calum. calum hood."

"okay, calum," ashton began, "where is mia going tonight?"

"she's going to this open mic night thing at this cafe downtown. it's a very small thing, like, maybe six people? why?"

"because, i need to get to know her."

calum raised an eyebrow. "why?"

"i just.. she interests me, is all. i want to get to know her."

calum grinned. "i can help you with that."

"can you really?"

calum nodded as he began slowly walking out to the parking lot of the school, where mia had disappeared to earlier. "mia's really, uh, withdrawn, i guess. so, you have to be sorta patient with her."

ashton cursed silently. 

"but, you have to be persistent, too. she has these walls built up or something. it's weird for her to open up and accept people into her life."

"how long did it take for you?"

"i've known mia for ages, so we've just been close for as long as i can remember. just, be careful. don't hurt her or push her into something too deep for her. she's new to relationship stuff or whatever."

ashton nodded. "right. be persistent, but patient, and be cautious. got it. and where is this cafe or whatever it is you were talking about?"

"downtown, next to moe's and that one sandwich place called like, the stacked pickle, or something. it's called the roasted bean, i think. you'll see her old pickup parked in the very front, where it always is."

"and what time does it start?"

"7:30."

"does she sing or anything..?"

calum nodded. "yeah, sometimes. she has this old acoustic, she named it cici, and she takes it down there and plays a little."

ashton felt a half smile come to his face. wow, he thought. she's pretty cool, honestly.

no one knew about it, but ashton was really into music. he wrote songs, and he played guitar a little, but his favorite was the drums. he spent days and nights at a time coming up with different melodies and harmonies and verses and chords. it was an escape from all of this, his whole facade with luke and scarlett, and just the popularity. maybe this thing could be alright.

"hey, uh, thanks, calum. i owe you. i'll see you around, okay?"

calum gave a small smile. "it's no problem. take care of mia, okay? if anything comes out of this.."

"i will."

***

7:32. a rusty old pickup pulls into a spot directly in front of the cafe. ashton was watching from his jeep across the street. sure, it sounded creepy, but he didn't care. this was important to him. as the girl climbed out of the truck with a guitar case, ashton rushed across the street.

"mia? is that you?"

the girl turned around, her eyebrows knitted together. "ashton irwin? what the hell are you doing here?"

"uh, i heard about this open mic thing. i thought it'd be cool." ashton smiled, trying to put on some charm.

"yeah, it's alright."

ashton shook off her lack of interest in him. he would have to step up his game. he grabbed the door handle and pulled it open, instructing her with his hands to enter first.

"thanks, but you do know i have two arms that work, right?"

"i'm just trying to be polite, mia. my parents raised me to be that way towards beautiful girls." mia sighed as she flopped down in a seat. ashton took the seat across from her. "you know, your eyes are really beautiful." he said, smilling.

mia rolled her eyes.

"what?" ashton frowned.

"this isn't right. boys like you aren't supposed to be complimenting girls like me. if you're trying to impress me, it isn't working."

"and what will impress you, then, mia?"

the girl twirled a strand of hair around her finger. "get up there." she pointed toward the stage.

ashton swallowed the lump in his throat. "what?"

"if you're serious about impressing me, get up there. onstage."

***

wowie ok