Burn ▹ Ashton Irwin

seventeen

I woke up the next morning before Ashton did. The only reason I know that, is the fact that his loud and rowdy snores were the things that lulled me out of sleep. I didn't mind it, though. My eyes were very relaxed while opening, bringing my dreaming mind out of the other dimension and back into reality. I blinked a few times, recognized the sun peaking through the windows, and remembered where I was. It looked to be about 10:00 AM, my face, legs and arms still hurt a little, and I was laying in a queen-sized bed beside him. Him being Ashton, my new and only friend who had joined me with running from derranged lunatics with guns and cars last night, along with falling asleep with my arms aroud him and his around me.

Only now, our arms weren't around each other anymore, and I guessed we had come undone during the night while we were sleeping. I was all the way on the left side of the bed, actually freezing my ass off. I didn't even realize I was this cold until now, but I now saw that I was shaking a little with goosebumps lining my arms and legs. I looked down and realized that I didn't have any of the covers over me anymore. I sat up and propped myself up on my forearms, gazing at my cold and shivering body. I then looked over to the snoring boy beside me, and I chuckled at the sight.

Ashton was asleep, obviously, but he was still turned towards me. Half his face was burried in the pillow, so only one closed eye and half of his open mouth were visible. He had all the blankets wrapped around him, like he had unconsciously taken them all during the night. One arm was sticking out, with his fingertips a few inches away from touching my skin. He was snoring so loudy, it was almost inhuman. I'm pretty sure he was drooling as well, but I couldn't exactly tell from my angle. I don't know why, but the sight was rather adorable.

I kind of wanted some blankets, though...and maybe to be closer to him, so I carefully reached over and gripped some of the sheets in my hands. Luckily, they slid off his sleeping body with ease, and I brought some of them over myself. I snuggled back down again, looking over to Ashton when he began to shift his body next to me. He let out another loud snore and turned onto his stomach, so he was full face into the pillow. I smiled to myself, for this was surprisingly very entertaining. After a few moments Ashton turned again, so the blankets were now clinging to his hips with his top half exposed. He turned away from me, so I was staring at his mop of messy hair and his bare back.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself watching Ashton sleep, but my comfort faded when I gazed at the boy's back. I mean, I know that it's okay to be able to see someone's spine when their back is curled over a little bit (it just depends of someone's body type, honestly) but...damn. You could see Ashton's spine and shoulder blades from a mile away. I stared at each little bump of bone that traveled down his backside, and it was so prominent it genuinely scared me. Same with his ribs, too, as I've noticed before. His bones protruded against his skin, like he had nowhere near enough meat on him to look relatively healthy. I know Ashton doesn't eat that much (much less than I do), but the sight was really saddening. I don't know how he can be so strong and have so much upper-arm strength and run so fast, when it looks like he's never eaten before in his life. I don't understand it, and I don't like it at all either. It worries me.

I didn't know whether to wake him up or not...but looking at Ashton got me hungry. I realized that I haven't eaten in literally two days, and the pain in my stomach was starting to catch up with me. I don't care what I eat, but I was so incredibly hungry I would be fine with anything. I'm not a picky eater, but I definitely think Ashton is.

"Ashton," I said softly, giving his arm a nudge. I really didn't want to be waking him up, but I was afraid to even take a step outside without him. And I don't mean that in a clingy way or anything...I'm just clueless and a little scared of what could be out there. Ashton, on the other side, is not. He's absolutely fearless, for the most part. He's got a pretty big fear of fire, but that's about it. He's not even afraid of having a gun to his head. An actual loaded gun in the hands of an enemy... he's not scared of it at all. I was impressed with the nonchalance that he had during that situation last night, and it only adds to why I trust him.