Fly Away || Ashton Irwin

Chapter 9

Emily's POV

"Hey Luke, I was wondering when you were coming home." I say to my brother as he walks through the front door. I pause the show I'm watching and turn around on the couch so I'm facing him. "So anniversaries are tonight, what have you got planned for you and Lily?" I ask as he places his bag down.

"We're going on a harbour cruise." He says and I raise my eyebrows. "I didn't organise any part of our anniversary which is kind of annoying, but at least I can't get it wrong. She organised everything, she even bought her own flowers for me to give her." He says and I can't help but laugh.

"Poor brother, sounds like you have it so tough having every decision made for you." He sits on the couch next to me and messes around with the tv.

"So what about you? What are you and Ashton doing?" He asks and I shrug.

"I don't know. Ashton is organising everything and wouldn't tell me."

"Maybe they got a two for one special and we're going on a harbour cruise together." Luke jokes and I laugh. It really could be anything.

"Well I should probably go get ready. Have fun watching your show." I say as I get up and ruffle Luke's hair and walk upstairs.

After showering, I stand in front of my closet trying to decide on what to wear. Ashton hasn't told me anything so do I need to dress up? I wish I knew. I decide on a red skirt and a black top, it's nice but not too nice if we go to somewhere that isn't fancy.

"Em, Ashton's here!" Luke calls from the bottom of the stairs as I finish doing my hair and makeup. I grab my bag and head down the stairs to see him chatting with Luke. Both boys are dressed to impress but the only one who makes my heart beat faster is Ashton.

"Hey," I say as I reach the boys and I notice the smile that appears on Ashton's face.

"Hi," He says as Luke looks between the two of us. Not wanting Luke to embarrass me with a stupid comment, I break my gaze from Ashton and stare at Luke.

"You look nice Luke, I'm sure Lily will like it." He rolls his eyes before walking to the kitchen to tell mum we're all leaving.

"Have a good time!" Mum comes out drying her hands on a tea towel and hugs us all before pushing us out the door. Her and dad obviously have dinner plans as well.

"I'll see you guys later then." Luke says as he gets into his car and drives off to go pick up Lily.

"So where are we going?" I ask Ashton once we're in the car and driving away from my house.

"That's still a secret." He says with a smile and I want to roll my eyes at him. He clears his throat and taps his fingers on the steering wheel along with the song, and I think it's him working up the courage to say something. "You look really pretty tonight." He says and the heat rises to my cheeks.

"Thank you, so do you." We both laugh a little. "Well, the male equivalent of pretty."

When he stops the car I notice we're out in the bush. We get out of the car, one of us with a confused look and the other with a smile and start walking down a trail. "It's going to be really dark when we come back through here." I say more to myself than Ashton. There's something about being in the bush in the dark. Think of the snakes and the spiders and all the strange noises...

"Here we are." The small trail opens up to a clearing where I see the sun setting off a lake. Ashton directs me to a picnic blanket and we sit.

"Ashton this is beautiful. How did you find this?" I ask.

"When we lived further away I used to come here with my old friends. We spent a lot of time here, but I also spent a lot of time alone here. It's a great place to think about everything." He says with sadness and I realise he must miss his old life and his friends. I gently touch his arm and he looks over at me.

"Why don't you see them anymore?" I ask in a soft voice.

"I realise now they're not very good people and I shouldn't have wasted so many years with them. My memories of them are bittersweet."

~*~

Like I expected, dinner was very romantic, something I didn't expect from Ashton. We spent a while just watching the sun set while we ate and as the stars started to come out we were lying down, completely stuffed.

"Do you know any constellations?" I ask him and he shakes his head.

"Point them out for me." He says and I look up trying to find some of the common ones. I point out things like the big dipper and the southern cross. "What else do you know?" He asks, turning his head to face me.

"That's Mars there. It looks like a pinky-orange star. And that one right next to the moon is Venus." I say, pointing at the sky. "Tell me something you know. It doesn't have to be about stars." I say and he's quiet for a second.

"I know that cows have four stomachs. And I know that Luke is the biggest lightweight I've ever met." He says and I laugh. "And I also know that I'm falling for my wife and I don't know what to do." He says quietly and I stop laughing and look over at him. We lay in silence for a moment, staring at each other before Ashton pulls his lips into a tight line like he wishes he could take the words back and turns his head back towards the sky. Feeling my chance is about to pass, I reach over and gently tilt his face back towards mine.

Unsure of how to convey my feelings for him back, I lean in slowly, and softly press my lips against his. Fireworks explode behind my closed eyelids and the biggest sigh in contentment wants to escape my lips. I'm actually kissing Ashton and he's kissing me back!

"Wait..." I pull away from him when I become breathless and sit up. "We shouldn't... I shouldn't... Luke..." I start, trying to find the words. "We should head back." I say without looking at him and he clears his throat. I help him clean everything up before heading back over to the trail to get back to the car. He walks ahead and I hesitate while looking down the trail, which just looks like a huge dark hole.

"Something wrong?" Ashton pauses and looks back at me.

"Uhh... I'm just not comfortable going back in the dark." I say and he cocks his head to the side.

"How else are you going to get home?" He asks and I look around. I'm not seeing any other trails, only a short bank and water. This looks like my only option then.

"Okay..." I step forward slowly. Obviously sensing my hesitation, Ashton grabs my trembling hand and pulls me close to him.

"Come on, it will be alright." He gives me a warm smile and my heart melts.