Stay Together For The Kids - Michael Clifford Fanfiction

Ashton

Ashton's house is exactly how I remember it. Though it had been two years since I had been here. Well kept flowers still flourished under the warm Sydney sun. His large house towers over me, and I still remember the first time I had seen it. I had imagined that my life with Michael would be like this. A big white picket house, beautiful children, a happy family. How wrong I had been. Ashton got the best deal out of all of this. In my eyes, he was probably the least deserving.

I'm looking at the gargoyle at the front entrance when Ashton finally opens the front door.

He looks the same, just a bit older. Brown, shaggy hair just covering his eyes and huge broad shoulders.

I don't think I can describe the look on Ashton's face when he sees me on his front doorstep. It's a look if surprise at first, turned into fear, but quickly results in anger.

"What are you doing here?" He spits at me. He looks around behind me, and I know he's looking for Michael.

"Can I come in?" I ask, ignoring his question.

He closes the gap between the door and him, using the full broadness of his shoulders to block the entrance.

"What are you doing here?" He asks again.

I squint at him, wondering whether this was such a good idea. After a while, I eventually sigh.

"I need your help." I admit.

Ashton scoffs. "Yeah, ok, tell Michael nice try. You think I'm stupid enough to believe a Clifford would come to me for help?"

"I'm alone, Ashton. I have no idea where Michael is." I tell him, calmly.

Ashton shakes his head in disbelief.

"Yeah, because Michael would let you out without a leash. Michael is such an understanding person. He would never -"

"I left him." I interrupt him.

Ashton stops his mumblings about Michael and stares at me.

We stare at each other for the longest time, before, to my complete surprise, he moves to the side to let me in.

"Where's Chantelle?" I ask, moving inside the house. The front entrance opens up to a beautiful living room and I know from there leads the kitchen.

"She's out." Ashton grunts, closing the door behind me. "And I'd like you to be gone when she comes back."

He walks over to his couch, and leans on the armrest, his arms across his chest.

"So why'd you leave Michael?" He asks suddenly.

"Drugs." I tell him truthfully.

He looks away from me, looking uncomfortable at my brutal honesty.

"Can't say I didn't see that coming." He says quietly.

"You haven't seen Michael in over two years, Ashton. I think there was a lot of things you didn't see coming." I won't pretend I like Ashton very much. He left Michael broken and expected everyone else to clean up the mess.

"I know Michael better then a lot of people. I don't have to see him to know that." Ashton says, looking back to me with a look I would very much like to smack off his face.

"If you know him so well, why didn't you do something to help him?" I almost snap. I'm trying to keep calm.

"We knew he needed help." Ashton looks away from me. "I guess we never knew exactly how much." He says softer.

I'm still mad at him, but his demeanour reminds me that he did not force Michael to be how he is. He may of been a helping hand, but nothing can excuse Michael's behaviour.