Burn ▹ Ashton Irwin

fifteen

"Okay, you have to know this one." Ashton said, turning the radio up even more. As if it wasn't loud enough already, I could barely hear myself think against the edgy guitar riffs and classic rock beats blaring through the speakers. It's been like that all afternoon, really. I pretended to be as interested as Ashton was, but sadly I didn't find the same passionate feelings as he did with every song that came on. He would explain the song, the band, and the year it came out. They all had a pretty common theme: they were created within the years 1960 to 1989. I was quite amused by how picky he is on the music he plays, and I was pretty confused on it as well.

"Hmmm," I hummed, listening to the song that was playing throughout the car. I already knew that I didn't know it, and I was kind of eager for his response. "Nope. I don't know it."

"Dammit Skylar!" he yelped, though it was immediately followed by a scincere laugh. He's been laughing so much lately, I never wanted it to end.

"Did you really think I was going to know it?" I questioned, glancing at him from the corner of my eyes. Ashton sighed, tapping his fingers against the steering wheel.

"No, I really didn't," he replied. "It's Queen."

"Is that the song title?" I asked. Ashton shook his head in disappointment, and I felt even more clueless. I couldn't help it; I didn't know that my life depended on knowing the popular songs of the 60s, 70s, and 80s.

"No," Ashton groaned. " It's the band! I still can't believe you."

"What do you think I used to do?" I asked. "Spend my days researching classic rock music?"

"Well I would hope so." Ashton shrugged as we came to a red light.

It's been another 2 weeks, and I am happy to say that this time, it won't be as dreadful to explain what's been happening. It's been kind of typical, but pretty new at the same time. We've been doing the typical and rather illegal things every couple of days, and that's what I have been getting used to. I'm used to the fact that this is Ashton's life, and this must be the only way that he can successfully get 8,000 dollars back by September. I know that it's kind of dangerous for someone so timid and paranoid like myself to be doing, but it's the fact that I'm with Ashton that calms me down everytime I watch him deal illegal drugs to other scary people on the street in the middle of the night. I kind of just stay off to the side, and I admire Ashton's sophistication when it comes to such a dangerous topic. I see a lot of stuff about drug dealing on TV, and I really don't think that anyone should be doing it at all. Not even Ashton, even though he's pretty good at it. Is that even possible, to be good at drug dealing? Probably not, but all in all, at least Ashton's smart.

The part about these last two weeks that has been different, is the fact that we're actually nice to each other. Ashton and I can actually stand one another, and we have actually bonded quite well in the time that we've spent not doing much. Some afternoons we do nothing at all, except talk about aimless things, like we've known each other for way more than a month. Sometimes he is moody, and sometimes he does get a little antsy or upset over practically nothing, but in the end I know that our friendship is genuine. As long as our friendship stays like this, I'm fine with putting up with his alternate moods.

I think, ever since Ashton kind of opened up to me a few weeks ago, that's whats gotten him to be more comfortable around me. Since I know a lot about him, it's easier for me to see what kind of person he is. I see him as someone who is obviously very smart, very tough, and also a little carefree. I say he's carefree because I've noticed how he's never genuinely scared of anyone. If he's around people that want to seriously hurt him, he's totally fine. Even when they have a gun out in the open, Ashton acts like this is all child's play. Maybe that's why I'm not super objective to doing this kind of stuff with him; maybe I just want him to feel content with everything.