Five Seconds of Summer Imagines

Cherry Lips, Crystal Skies - Prologue (Irwin)

Summary: She was red; like a scarlet robe, a delicate rose, and a blazing fire. She drew him in and he wanted her more than he had wanted anything before in his life. And he fell with no hesitance. But, oh, what a sad, sad day it is in July, when Ashton learns of her real intentions and she turns out to be someone he hadn't expected.

Pairing: Ashton Irwin x Reader

AU: this is the first part of Ashton's story in my greaser!au series. So, greaser!au, 50s!au, gang!au

Prologue Word Count: 1,465

Warnings: Alcohol use ... I think that's about it

A/n : i knooow the summary is crappy, forgive me. I'll probably change it later. So here is the long awaited first part of the Greaser series, sorry it took forever, procrastination is my thang. But here it is, and I really, really, really hope you all enjoy it. 

...

A silky voice flowed out from the baby blue record player's speaker accompanied by a mellow jazz tune. Some of the crowd participated in a slow dance with their partners, the hems of their colorful dresses swaying by their calves to each note the saxophone hit perfectly. Other's who didn't have dates and had arrived only with their friends, stuck together, sipping champagne and chatting idly by within the elegant room. Then there were the introverts who had showed up for the free food or had been dragged here by a friend, standing off in the corners with a lone glass of alcohol watching the social butterflies do their thing with tired eyes and envious hearts.

Thin sheer drapes decorated the milky white walls, chic ornaments to accompany such a vast and enchanting room. Recently lacquered floor boards, glimmering crystal light fixtures, and mahogany mini bars accompanied and enhanced the refinement of the living space. Ashton had seen his fair share of beautiful homes in his time of hanging out with the socials, but this was impeccably astounding and he found himself gawking at all the intricate details as he grabbed a few crackers from the snack bar.

This wasn't his crowd, more specifically, this wasn't his crowd anymore. And he felt bitterly alone despite his usual social attitude and his desperation to be able to have a conversation with somebody besides his quiet brother, and the rowdy gym rats he worked with. After he quit school and left home with Luke, his schedule was filled to the brim with work after work and it had felt like forever since he was able to attend a party like this. Not going to lie, he felt out of place now in a crowd he once thrived on. Things had changed alright, and if not for them, it sure as hell had for him. As the night droned on, Ashton found himself growing bored with the loneliness that accompanied him whilst he stood off to the side; so far the only things that had caught his interest was the snack bar and the beautiful (h/c) headed gal who sat elegantly at the bar, fiddling with an unlit cigarette between her gloved fingertips.

He had no intention of making it tonight; in fact, he was starting to regret attending the drab party in the first place - if he could even call it that. Back home in the West Side, the people who lived there, they knew how to throw a party. This? This was a tea party for suckers that just so happened to run past everybody's bedtime. Years ago, before his life got flipped upside down and tossed out a window, he would've enjoyed this like the rest of the folks here, but after getting a whiff of the wildlife and the parties that came with living in the slums of town, this just wasn't going to cut it. And his usual Friday night plans weren't sounding so bad right about now; better than being lonely in a crowd full of people.
When Ashton had originally received the invitation after bumping into the hostess at his local convenience store, three packs of fresh cigarettes in a small plastic bag dangling off his arm; he had told her "maybe". Trying to be as polite as possible and give somewhat of an inclination that he could perhaps make the party Saturday night. But in all reality, his answer was an already decided no. His weekends were his days off, and as much as he would love to get out and about again, Luke was at home and Saturdays and Sundays were dedicated to his kid brother. Whether he ended up helping with homework, or chilling with the gang that would inevitably lazy it around his apartment and eat all his food; either or was what he had intended to do. But when Luke had caught ear of the personal invitation Ash had received earlier that day, he would not stop pestering him to go, telling him almost strictly that he needed to take a break off and spare sometime for himself. And Ashton just couldn't say no to that, and that's how he ended up here, now sliding on to the bar stool beside the beautiful stranger who was still deciding on whether or not she should leave the party for a moment to inhale a breath full of nicotine.

She paid no mind to him; clad in an off the shoulder, vibrant red dress with a black belt securing her middle where the tight fitting top ended and the puffy skirt began. Her lips were a glimmering cherry red as well; her eyes a strikingly gorgeous (e/c) color that remained filled with a singular emotion one could only pin point as boredom. The scent of apple pleasantly surprised him when he leaned over slightly her way to grab a thin napkin in order to clean up a simple spill that pooled beside his elbow on the counter top. Perhaps by fate or sheer clumsiness, he managed to knock her awaiting cigarette out of her grasp on his return. It happened to land directly in her half empty glass of tequila.

"Oh, sorry!" Ashton was quick to apologize. She glanced his way before shooting him a tight smile, one that he assumed to be a forced polite form of an acceptance of his apology. Her eyes bore into the soaked stick of toxicity, her lips forming a slight pout of disappointment. Then she moved to search in her black clutch for a replacement. As a sort of peace offering to make amends, and an enhancement of his earlier apology, he reached into his back jean pockets to retrieve her desired item, something he always carried with him but never used. He slid the cigarette in front of her, his smile merely one of sheepishness. She took it without hesitance, nor a word, and hid it within her grasp.

Tonight he had gone rather minimalistic when it came to his attire. To be quite frank, it's not like he had too much of a choice, his closet mainly consisted of blank white tees and stained blue jeans that he was never able to wash the ugly brown dirt blemishes out of. He had to really dig and pull out of the depths of his lean closet to find the scarlet colored bomber jacket with layers as thin as paper, and a fabric that felt like flexible plastic. But it was the fanciest thing he had at the moment and deemed it presentable enough to wear to the gathering that night. He took notice of this as his eyes silently trailed the rose dress the stiff stranger adorned, absentmindedly tracing every curve of the pale lace, to the stretch of the dark stockings she chose to wear that night.

Hopefully she forgave him enough to not blatantly ignore his rusty attempt at starting a conversation with her.

"So? What a coincidence that we happen to be wearing identical reds tonight." He wanted to slap his forehead in utter embarrassment right then and there. The realization of how idiotic that sounded coming to him a little too late after the damage had already been done. But the acceptance of that minor detail did nothing to yield the burning sensation that set aflame beneath the skin upon his cheeks and tips of the ears. She spared him a petty glimpse. Apparently the contemplation of whether she should take another year off her life and go smoke a good one, too tempting to ignore, for instead, that's what she chose to do to him. She sighed, heaved herself off the stool in ominous silence before strutting through the crowd, cigarette dangling between her fingertips, and left out the front door with nary a thank you or goodbye.

Well that certainly could have gone better.

Ashton found himself sighing too, his body sinking against the silver bar back of the stool in which he sat upon. He supposed that he was rustier than he thought when it came to having a life outside of work. But still, the sting of such blunt rejection hurt his pride a little, and caused a shot of insecurity to make its' way into his system that pumped through him for the rest of the night. The rest of that night melted away into one cohesive pot of slow songs and obnoxious chatter. And he found himself alone once more with his thoughts in a room full of people he once knew so well, thinking about how much better his night would have been if he had just stayed home to watch the latest episode of the Mickey Mouse cartoon with his kid brother and a bottle of beer.