Sleeping With a Friend

Chapter Six

Helloooooooooooooo? Is anyone thereeee?

Earth to Y/N!

Did you change your number or something?

Y/N, seriously?! What is your problem? Why won’t you respond to my messages????

I read the text messages over and over, holding in the urge to reply to every single one of them. I had never gone this long without talking to Sophie, my best friend, my partner in crime. The one person who I thought I could trust with everything. I had never gone one whole day without talking to her and now here I was almost a whole five days without one mere hello. Never would I have imagined going this long doing so. And the worst part was that it was Thursday, our day of the week to get together. Her phone calls had been the only one coming through my phone and I had managed to ignore them all. I feared that she would end up knocking on my door, forcing a visual response. In that case, I wouldn’t have any clue what I should do.

When I got home from work, I planned on staying there for the night, doing what I usually do best—not bothering with the nightlife of the town. I began scrolling through my DVR, seeing if there were any shows I might have forgotten to watch when there was a knock at my door. An exasperated sigh left my lips as I removed myself from my couch, mentally praying that it wasn’t Sophie. There was another heavy knock as I continued my lazy stroll to the door.

“Hello?” I opened it with the lock still connecting. Before me was a smirking Ashton, leaning against the door.

“Hey? Mind if I come in?” He proposed with his arms crossed over his chest.

I stared for a moment, “Sure.” I replied wearily, shutting the door and then unlocking it only to open it wider. I stepped aside for Ashton to walk inside and he made his way straight toward the hallway leading toward my bedroom. “Wait where are you going?” I raced after him, hearing a chuckle erupt from him.

“We are going out.” He spoke simply, turning the light on in my bedroom and walking to my closet, rummaging through the clothes I had hanging up.

I stopped at the door frame, “What do mean we?” I asked with air quotes around the word. He turned back around to face me, and I saw him holding up a dress that was a bit to revealing for my taste. I could have sworn I saw some dust on the shoulders of it.

“Just that.” His smirk returned, this time so big a prominent dimple appeared in his cheek, “I’m taking you out to have a good time. We both know you wouldn’t have gone out anyway.” He walked over, holding the dress up to my body.

“Why?” I took the dress from him, “I mean why are you being so nice to me?”

Ashton shrugged, “I know your still not talking to Sophie, she’s been bugging Luke who of course told me about it, so I want to make sure you’re not stuck inside while you could be out having a damn good time. Especially with me.” I looked down at the dress and bit the inside of my cheek, “Also,” He brought my attention back up to him, “because I’m your friend. And friends go out with other friends.”

At that moment the word friend didn’t cut it for me. I craved something more than a friendship, yet I couldn’t tell what it was. By the end of the night, I planned to do just that.

~~~

“Another shot!” I cheered through my laughter. I had just downed my third shot in a row after a few drinks of god knows what, while the burning sensation was still in my throat, I couldn’t wait the minutes until I could feel it once more. Ashton placed his beer on the bar, enlightened smile shining the brightest throughout the whole bar. The bartender placed the shot in front of me and I took it in my hand, “This,” I held it in front of Ashton, “Is for you.” My words were beginning to slur.

“Me? And whys that?” He squinted, speaking loud over the other noise surrounding us.

“Because!” I stood from my stool, stumbling a bit from the drinks pulsing through my veins, “You got me to go out tonight! And I’m having a blast!” I yelled, putting the cup to my lips and tilting my head back to down the shot. It was exhilarating not to do what I was used to. I felt like a completely different person, like my alter ego I hadn’t known about until now. Ashton tugged on my arm to pull my back on the stool, laughing at me.

“I didn’t know you could be such a loud drunk.” He commented, taking another swig of his drink.

“That’s not the only thing you don’t know about me.” My vision was blurry and my judgment was clouded, but I could still decide what I was craving. I placed a hand on Ashton thigh, biting my lip. I was going to take his advice and try something new. I was going to become someone I wouldn’t even recognize. Maybe to others I would stay the same, but on the inside, I know what I needed to change and how I was going to make it happen.