The Get-Go [Ashton Irwin]

23: Get With My Friends (Act II)

    It's funny, how easy it is to fall into a pattern. Twenty-one days is all it takes to fall into a routine, but once was all it took for Ashton and I to create a habit.

    We hid our relationship for exactly a year, right down to the day. And now we're hiding our engagement, too. The only difference is that this time, we're the only ones who know. This time, it really is our little secret.

    I'd thought Michael knew – after all, he and Ash had both disappeared at the same time at the mall – but Ash explained that he hadn't actually bought the rings that day. They'd looked at rings, and Ash apparently told Michael he was thinking of popping the question, but the claddaugh rings (now hidden away on identical chains around each of our necks) are heirloom.

    They originally belonged to his maternal grandmother, who willed them to him before she died. He even showed me his copy of the will, where she wrote: "To my eldest grandson, Ashton Fletcher Irwin, named for my late husband, Fletcher William Irwin, I leave our treasured set of claddagh rings, in hopes that someday, he will propose the start of a marriage as loving and enduring as Fletcher's and mine."

    No pressure, or anything.

=xx-xXx-xx=

    The walk through the airport terminal in Toronto is much less hectic than they usually are when the guys show up. Maybe it's because Ashton managed to keep his mouth shut about where he was headed this time.

    Still, there are a few girls waiting in the terminal, a manageable group of about thirty or so, most of them decked out in 5SOS merch not unlike the hoodie I'm wearing. I can tell Ashton's a bit torn between going to see them, or staying with me; especially since he promised this week would be just about 'us'.

    I'm not heartless, and honestly, if I were in those girls' shoes, and I'd waited in a boring airport to see someone from one of my favourite bands, it'd make me really upset if they didn't. Especially if it was because their girlfriend (or boyfriend, I'm not judging) wouldn't let them.

    "Go say hey, Sweetheart," I concede, about to let go of his hand. I figure I'll go wait for him outside, or find somewhere to grab something to eat, at the very least. That's what I usually do, anyways, instead of getting in the way of the boys and everyone who wants to meet them.

    But he surprises me by squeezing my hand tighter, as he smiles and drags me towards the fans. "Stay," he grins, right as we come in earshot of them. "You lovely ladies don't mind if Wynter hangs around with us, right?"

    They're a surprisingly respectful bunch, not screaming or clawing, or overly rowdy, but still enthusiastic when they tell him that no, of course they don't mind. Keep in mind this is my first real interaction with any of 'The Fam', as the boys call them, since Sydney and the head-bashing incident, so I'd like to think it's justified that I'm a little weary at first, as Ashton has each of them introduce themselves to him.

    "See, Snowflake? They’ll love you." He reassures me. I'm pretty sure I hear someone (maybe multiple someone's, actually) coo something the lines of 'he calls her Snowflake, that's so cute, I can't even’, and I can't help but blush a little bit.

    Once everyone's finished teasing us, and Ashton's made sure that everyone who came to see him has had at least a photo with him, and he'd signed something for them, we put our shoes back on, and start heading for the exit.