If Walls Could Talk (lashton)

Chapter 11

Luke woke up early the next morning, not because of the gray morning rays that peaked through the curtains, but because of the warm puffs of breath against the back of his neck. Luke's body froze as he felt the body behind him shift and snuggle up closer against his naked back.

Luke turned his neck, trying his hardest not to wake the sleeping body behind him as he tried to catch a glimpse of who he assumed was Calum cuddled up in bed with him. His breath hitched in his throat when his eye caught on not the expected raven locks of his best friend, but instead on the honey-gold curls of his roommate. Luke's throat constricted as he tried to keep his breathing steady. Questions swam through his mind as he tried to make sense of all of the emotions he felt coursing through his veins. Luke wanted to pull away, he desperately wished to rip out of Ashton's embrace, but the feeling of Ashton's warm arms wrapped around his waist was too intoxicating to leave.

Luke could feel his heart thrumming against his ribcage at the realization that he was in Ashton's arms, that Ashton had voluntarily climbed into his bed and wrapped his strong, masculine arms around Luke, that he had pressed his body up against Luke's and held him close throughout the night...

Instead of turning around to face the consequences of a choice that wasn't even his own, Luke closed his eyes. The younger man snuggled deeper into the warm comforter and pressed himself more firmly against Ashton's chest, drifting off to sleep without a second thought.

* * *

When Luke woke up a few hours later to the sun high in the sky, the bed next to him was as cold and empty as it had been when he fell asleep the night before. Luke's heart crashed and plummeted in his chest, crackling into a thousand tiny shards, and he gulped down the lump that began to build in his throat.

He pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his stomach just as Ashton's had done a few hours prior. Even though the heat from the blanket was enough to keep his body warm to the touch, Luke shivered from the loss of contact. He was already craving the feeling of Ashton's skin against his own again.

Luke knew that Ashton didn't want to talk about what had happened. The older made that very clear by the way he left before daybreak without a sign that he had ever been there to begin with. The knife that Ashton had been plunging in Luke's gut continued to twist.

If he hadn't been upset with Ashton yesterday, he was definitely upset now as he lay alone in bed with his thoughts and feelings running in every different direction. Did Ashton just enjoy fucking with Luke? Did he enjoy driving Luke crazy with his mixed messages? One of these days Luke was going to crack and it would be all Ashton's fault.

The sun hung heavy in the sky, and Luke knew it had to be midday by the time he managed to drag his aching body out of bed and to the shower. Luke twisted on the faucet and stripped himself of his boxers as he waited for the water to warm. He stepped into the inviting steam and closed himself off to the outside world, letting himself forget about Ashton as he relaxed under the pelting droplets from the showerhead.

Luke stood in the shower for what felt like ages, the scalding water washing away any last trace of Ashton's scent that clung to his skin before he finally gathered his thoughts and left his sanctuary for the cold reality of life. Luke toweled himself off, pulling on a fresh pair of sweatpants and his 5SOS sweatshirt, running the towel once more through his long curls before finally growing the courage to open his door and tread down the stairs.

His heart pounded in his chest with every stair that he descended, and he could already feel the sweat beginning to accumulate in the palms of his hands as he balled them into fists at his side. Luke couldn't bear the thought of looking Ashton in the eyes right now, not after this morning. Even though Luke knew Ashton had no idea that he had been awake, he knew that Ashton would be able to tell the minute he looked into his eyes. He would see the pain, the confusion, the anger. The blood in Luke's ears wooshed as he took the last step and reluctantly rounded the corner into the kitchen.

Luke let out a short-lived breath of relief as he entered the empty kitchen. Even though his stomach felt like it was filled with lead, Luke knew that he needed some sort of food in his system after skipping dinner. His mom would scold him for skipping meals, so he forced his body to move, ambling over to the kitchen cupboard to grab a bowl and a box of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch that Ashton always hid behind the boxes of quinoa. Luke thought that the last thing he wanted was to see Ashton this morning, but he realized just how wrong he was when he went to get the milk from the fridge and saw the yellow post-it note stuck to the door.

In Ashton's looped handwriting it read:

Went to Lissa's for the day, be back later... Maybe. Don't wait up.

Luke sighed as he felt his stomach curl and he placed the milk back in the fridge, put the cereal back in it's hiding place, and returned the bowl to the cabinet. The last thing Luke wanted to do now was eat. The tears began to well up behind Luke's eyes as he attempted to ignore the stabbing pain in his chest. His head throbbed as he thought of Ashton in bed with Lissa, his warm lips pressed against her shoulder, his strong arms gripping her waist the way that they were supposed to hold Luke's.

Luke cringed as he re-read Ashton's note, all the while imagining the way that Ashton's large hands had been cradling his hips not even six hours before. A groan left Luke's lips as he dropped himself onto one of the barstools and placed his head in his hands.

If there was one thing Luke knew for sure, it was that Ashton Irwin would be the death of him. 

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A/N: Hi all, sorry this is long overdue and really short and just a crappy filler of more sad Lukey, but I just wanted to crank out something for you all! I've had bad writers block recently and I think it's just because of how stressed and busy I've been with school. I can't wait for winter term so that I have a whole month to just de-stress and write, write, write! 

ANYWHO: I have 3 more stories that I'm planning: Dance With Me (afi), Are You My Mommy? (lashton) and P.S, I Love You (yes it will be based on the movie, and as of right now I think it'll be a cth fic)

I can't wait for winter break so that I can crank out these new stories and get back on track with this one as well as L I M I T S!!!! Thank you thank you thank you for the 1.3K that is so incredible! I love you all so much! Please remember to comment, vote, and share! 

-Emma xoxo