A Broken Spirit

Chapter Eighteen

He turned to me and smiled.

"So, Ashton said you are coming on the tour?" he asked.

"If that's alright?" I enquired quietly.

"Yeah it's absolutely fine." he answered.

I heard the front door open, and Michael, Calum and Luke came bounding through.

"Hey." they all yelled. Michael sat at the table, grabbed a fork and began to help himself to the pasta on my plate. I slapped his hand with my fork and he glared at me as I laughed.

"Where's Ashton, have you got him tied up?" Michael teased.

I shook my head.

"So you guys finally got together?" Calum joined in.

"Yeah, I guess." I replied quietly.

"Ashton is such a stud, at least you aren't a fan this time." Michael teased laughing.

I began to choke on my water, and Michael hit my back laughing. Eventually I stopped coughing and stared at Michael.

"He's not a stud!" I exclaimed.

Michael laughed and rolled his eyes.

Ashton came downstairs then and I frowned at him, unsure if Michael was teasing me or not. He frowned back clearly confused. I stood and cleared the table. Luke joined me in the kitchen.

"Hey." he said awkwardly.

"Hey." I replied.

"I'm really sorry about the other day, I misread the situation." he told me.

"Don't worry about it." I said.

"I don't want things to be weird between us."

"Me neither." I told him and hugged him.

I finished cleaning up and went into the lounge to join the others. Michael and Dale sat on the sofa, with Ashton and Calum on the floor. Luke joined them and began to play Fifa with Calum, whilst I sat on the sofa between Michael and Dale.

"You're going down Luke!" Calum yelled.

"I don't think so pal!" he argued hitting the controller forcefully.

They began to elbow each other as they continued playing. I felt a cold shiver as I felt something tickling the back of my neck. The tickling sensation continued. I soon realised that Dale was gently stroking my neck. I turned and glared at him, but he just smiled and continued. I stood, recoiling from his touch.

"I'm going for a walk." I announced angrily.

"I'll come with you." Ashton announced standing up and grabbing his jacket. As I left the house, he jogged to catch up with me.

"You alright?" he asked me.

"Yeah." I snapped, then added: "What's the deal with Dale?"

"He's our manager, he's one of my mum's friends." he said.

He took my hand as we continued walking.

"So have you known him long." I asked.

"For years, he has done us a big favour, he has given the band a chance and we owe him big for that." he stated proudly.

I swallowed as his words sank in, I could tell that he trusted him, and felt indebted to him. I didn't want to jeopardise the band, and in turn Ashton's career. I sighed and decided not to tell him, I didn't want him to feel torn between me and his dream. I sighed and continued walking, holding Ashton's hand tightly.

"I'm taking you out tomorrow, after your exam." he announced excitedly.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

He looked at me and mimed zipping his lips shut. I laughed and rolled my eyes. As we continued walking I saw a movement in one of the shadows cast by the streetlight. I turned and glanced behind me, but I couldn't see anything. I tried to push the thought from my mind, but somehow I just knew that someone was watching us, perhaps even following us. As we rounded a corner, I gasped as we stood face to face with the guy in the black hoodie. The same guy that had been following me for some time. Ashton's grip on my hand became tighter as I felt him tense beside me. I couldn't see beneath his hood, it was to dark. He appeared to be just standing, staring at us. It was eerie. Ashton pulled me behind him slightly.

"Leave now and no one needs to get hurt!" Ashton spat his voice full of venom.

I glanced at him. I had never heard him this angry before, not even with Chris. I found myself wondering who this guy was and what his intentions were. He took a step towards us and Ashton stepped back pulling me with him. The guy stood for a moment, before reaching up and pulling down his hood. As he stood beneath the streetlight I finally saw his face.....

AN- Hey guys any guesses as to who he is??