The end of May and early June went by quickly. Throughout the weeks I had quick conversations with Ashton at drop off and pick up. But, that was it. I hadn't gone to anymore of his gigs or called him.
That was until the first week of summer. I was sitting outside enjoying the nice day when my phone began to ring. Without looking at the caller ID I answered it. "Hello?"
"Hey Alice, it's Ashton!" A deep Australian accent said on the other line.
I smiled. "Hi Ash. What's up?"
"Not much actually now that the school year's over." Ashton said.
"Yeah. I'm thankful to get some time off." I replied.
"Well, since it's summer I was wondering if you wanted to hang out? Today the guys are having a band practice, do you wanna come?" He asked. I could hear the uneasiness in his voice.
I jumped up from my seat, "Sure! What time, and where?"
"Now I guess." His voice brightened with my acceptance. Then his voice lowered to a whisper, "Can you bring Mckenzie, Luke won't stop talking about her. But, don't tell her, if she found out Luke would kill me!"
I laughed, "Yeah, I'm sure Kenz would want to come."
When I hung up with Ashton I called Mckenzie. "OF COURSE I WANT TO COME!" She screamed into the phone.
"Okay then. I'll come pick you up and then we can go." I said before hanging up with her.
Quickly, I changed into a nicer outfit and brushed my hair. Then I picked up Mckenzie and we headed to Michael's house.
As I pulled into the driveway someone ran out the garage door. Ashton ran to the car before I could put it in park. He knocked on the window until I opened the door.
"Yay!" He screamed, "You're here!" Ashton led us into the garage, of Michael's home, that had been turned into a practice area for the boys. A pair of extra chairs had been set for Mckenzie and I to sit.
Calum was bouncing around the room getting everything ready. "Today is gonna be the first time someone watches us practice, you should be honored." Calum teased.
"Remember I hate this band." I pointed out making Ashton laugh.
His eyebrows raised, "I don't remember you saying that at the gig."
"I was only being nice," I smirked, "You guys suck."
"I agree!" Luke yelled. Mckenzie began to situate in her seat and blush when Luke smiled to her.
"Can we start practicing or are we going talk about how we suck all day?" Michael yelled.
Ashton trudged to his drum kit and sat. They began to run through a few songs smoothly. Their energy wasn't as excited as at the concert but I still could feel their enthusiasm to the music. Just by the way they played you could see how much the music meant to them.
After the first hour of practice had passed and the boys covered most songs they decided to mess around the rest of the time. I sat on the stool in front of Ashton's drum kit. He handed his sticks to me and stood behind to watch.
As I attempted to play a steady beat Ashton keeled over laughing. I dropped my hands to my sides in frustration. "I can't play Ash! Don't make fun of me!" I said grumpily.
He shook his head, "I'm not making fun! You just need to relax," he wrapped his hands around my wrists and pulled the sticks into a more comfortable position in my hands, "See? It's easy, just go crazy!" I laughed and banged the front drum loudly. "Okay, maybe not that crazy!" He laughed before releasing my hands.
