Train - A.Irwin

bloody knuckles

→Ashton

It took approximately eight minutes from the bottom of the lift to Elaina's apartment. The lift stopped at every floor, introducing new people and families with screaming kids and business men in suits entering and exiting. This drove Ashton slightly insane - he had places to be - especially when people would give him disgusted looks after taking in his disheveled hair, Sex Pistols shirt, and bloody knuckles.

Before he could even think about knocking on Elaina's door, he paced in the hallway in front of her door. Honey-coloured curls and her familiar, flowery scent filled his wandering thoughts; the way her hair draped over his chest when she rested her head on his shoulder, the way she would snuggle closer and scrunch up her nose when something bad happened in her dream.

A hollow knocking sound echoed in the empty hallway as already bloody knuckles met the wood. Sharp pains erupted through Ashton's hands at the rough contact, but he gritted his teeth and waited. After a minute or so, Ashton began walking away, when the door opened, revealing a sleep Elaina.

Elaina dug the heels of her hands into her eyes, wiping the sleep out. She was dressed in nothing but cotton shorts and a tank top. Her hair rested in a messy, tangled halo around her head and Ashton had never seen her more beautiful.

"Ash?" Elaina's voice was still laced with sleep. His heart leapt into his throat and he swallowed hard.

"I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm here. This was a bad idea. I'm really sorry for waking you up." Ashton clasped his hands and turned to walk away once again.

"No, Ashton. It's ok. What do you need?"

He stopped and turned halfway around. "It's not that big of a deal, I shouldn't have bothered you," Ashton muttered. Elaina gasped and he turned fully around, a look of confusion crossing his face.

"Your hand! Come here, Ashton, let me clean your knuckles up." she beckoned him with a wave of her hands and disappeared through the doorway. Ashton followed behind, shutting the door as he walked in.

Elaina retrieved a first-aid kit from underneath the bathroom seat. "Sit." she pointed to the closed lid of the toilet and Ashton reluctantly plopped down.

Wincing in pain as the antiseptic touched his sore knuckles, Ashton pulled his hand away from Elaina's grasp. "Ashton, you did this to yourself." she chided, pulling his hand back.

The contact of Elaina's hand on his sent a parade of elephants on a rampage in his stomach.

"Tell me what happened." Elaina requested out of the blue. Ashton should've known it was coming, and he was glad he could trust Elaina to tell it to her.

"My dad left right after my youngest sister was born," sadness washed over Elaina's features. "and he tried to contact me for the first time this morning. I couldn't handle it. I'm not ready; I don't know if I'll ever be ready." he finished.

Elaina frowned, then did something completely unexpected. She reached her hand up to caress Ashton's cheek, rubbing her thumb over the spot where his dimple should be. Then she leaned in, her scent enveloping Ashton, and pressed her lips to his.

so basically i don't know if any of this information is relevant to what happened to ashton in real life (and it's none of my business) so i'm just gonna roll with it

um i haven't written anything for this story in like 2 months sorry guys i'm running out of stuff it's happening again :'-( i'm sorry i'm trying to finish this one bc it feels  great to finish a story but well ya ok bye

FROTC: 8tracks by @futuoharry she has some killer playlists i'm not joking

alright it's late and i've had a long ass day so buy gois