Demons (hemmings au)

Twenty-Three

“Oh nice van,” I tease, poking Ashton in the shoulder as he sits in the driver’s seat and I climb in the back to squeeze beside Luke, Calum, and Michael. I guess they all decided to let Emma sit in the passenger seat; it’s kind of an unspoken rule with all of us. 

“Oh shut up, there were too many people to fit in my truck so I borrowed my mom’s,” Ash giggles, a faint blush rising to his cheeks as if embarrassed that he is driving his mom’s car. I laugh as well, happy that the normal go-lucky Ashton is back, the one that used to be one of my best friends. But, feeling Luke’s arm tighten around my waist as Ashton and I joke around reminds me that there is more to this boy than I or even the rest of our group know. 

I find my fingers entwining with Luke’s hand that is not around me, both out of familiarity and just wanting to let him know that I am here. I’m still worried about how he will act at this party. As we drive, and I listen to Calum, Luke, and Michael argue on whether pizza, Chinese, or milkshakes are better I realize I have no idea where we are at. I know I didn’t really ask who’s party we are going to, but I feel like I’ve never been down this road before in my life. 

“Hey, who’s party are we going to?” I ask, leaning forward in my seat so the boys can continue their argument while I wait for an answer from Emma or Ashton. I notice silence coming from either side of me meaning Cal, Luke, and Mikey have quit arguing meaning that they have realized they don’t know where we are at either. 

“It’s some guys I know that are throwing a party. They’re a bit older so they don’t go to our school. Just thought it would be something different,” Ashton answers casually with a small shrug of his shoulders. I turn to look at Luke and see him trying to keep his face emotionless but I can see the fear running through his eyes. 

“Oh cool,” I say loudly so Ashton doesn’t know the thoughts that are running through my head. He makes eye contact with me through the rear view mirror, a large grin plastered on his face. I smile back until he puts his eyes back on the road before sitting back and leaning over to Michael.

“Mikey, I don’t think this is such a good idea,” I murmur discreetly. I see him glance my way but he quickly looks back forward in case Ashton looks at us again. With Mikey and Luke becoming closer we’ve both told him about some of the events in Luke’s life, including the fact that we think Ashton knows something about it. 

“There’s not much we can do now, Ellie,” he whispers, giving me a small frown. I glance down to see that he is wringing his hands together, obviously worried as Luke and I are. 

“El, why did I agree to this? I’m not ready,” Luke whispers urgently, pulling me as close to him as possible in the cramped back seat. His hand is gripping my knee, as it usually does when he is nervous or scared. 

“Luke, it’s okay. It’ll be fun,” I reply, trying to make my voice sound cheerful hiding the fear laced in my mind. We sit in silence for the last few minutes of the ride, Luke’s hand furiously gripping my leg until we pull into a driveway of a large house. There are already a handful of cars parked on the side of the road, and Ashton makes his own parking spot along with the other cars. 

“Okay guys, let’s get this party started,” Ash exclaims as he gets out of the car, not catching all of the tension in the back seat. 

“Ha, let’s do it,” Mikey groans with fake enthusiasm, getting out of the back and holding out his hand to help me climb out. I get out and wait for Luke, tightly holding onto his hand as we walk into the house. 

As we get in, I can tell these group of ‘friends’ are from some of the wealthier families on this side of town. The house looks like a mansion; there is a huge archway that leads into the living room which contains a large flat screen on the wall with a gorgeous fire place underneath. Everything looks so homey that for a second I almost laugh at myself for the initial fear I felt when walking in.