Life In Technicolor || Ashton Irwin

Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Valerie’s P.O.V.

   

    I sigh and slam my locker shut. I let out a squeal as Ashton starts laughing.

    “Hiding behind my locker? Really?” I ask with a smile.

    “It’s been a long weekend.” He says, wrapping his arms around my waist. I smile and  rest my hands against his chest.

    “No kidding. And I’m grounded the rest of the week too.”

    “The rest of the week? Valerie Hart, I cannot possibly survive a whole week without you.”

    “Hey, it’s okay. We’ll figure something out.”

    “I hope we have a project or something in Ms. Jones class. Then we’ll have to hang out.”

    “Yeah, probably at my house, though. My mom’s going to want to keep an eye on us now.”

    “I’m really sorry about everything that happened last weekend.” He frowns.

    “It’s not your fault. Now stop frowning.”

    “Fine.” He says, the corners of his mouth twitching up.

    “We should get to class.” I tell him. “The bell is gonna ring any second.”

    He nods. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go.”

    “Why are you acting so sad?” I groan as he pulls away. He grabs my hand and shrugs.

    “I’m not sad. I’m just sorry.”

    “I haven’t seen you smile once today. It’s been like, a whole two minutes. That’s the longest I’ve seen you not smile.”

    “I just feel bad for getting you into trouble, Valerie Hart. I feel horrible, honestly. I’m the worst person ever.”

    “Ashton, how many times do I need to tell you it’s not your fault?”

    “I’m sorry. I’m just being hard on myself. I’ve had a rough morning.”

    I frown. “Is there anything I can do?”

    “Let’s just go to class.” He says quietly.

    I nod and he frowns, squeezing my hand a little bit. We walk into the classroom and head to our seats. I look over at him and he keeps his head down. I can’t help but wonder if it’s something I did that’s making him upset. I know he said he’s upset about the party last weekend, and he wasn’t acting hostile towards me, but it’s upsetting me seeing him sad. He’s always so happy that even seeing him have a mildly bad morning makes me want to hug him and never let go.

    I sigh and turn my attention to my notebook. I scribble absent mindedly. The bell rings and Ms. Jones walks into the room.

    “Good morning, class. Today we’re going to be talking about things that make us happy. I know it sounds like a horribly ironic way to start off a Monday morning, but we could all use a little more positivity. Plus, it’s going to be associated with an assignment we’ll have later this week.” She takes a seat on the edge of her desk. “I’ll start off. Something that makes me happy is Netflix.” There’s quiet giggles throughout the class and she smiles. “Who’s next?” Surprisingly, several hands go up. Ashton’s stays down. “Let’s just go around the room and if you don’t want to share, you can skip.”

    I listen intently to what other people have to say. Answers range anywhere from people to places to pets to food to social media. Once it’s Ashton’s turn, I look at him intently.