Loving Ashton

|THIRTEEN|

I stared at the target bag that was sitting in the passenger seat, Inside the bag was the plush toy I bought for Ashton a few days ago. I looked at Ashton's house then back at the bag and sighed. If he doesn't like or accept my gift I can always return it and get my money back. I reluctantly grabbed the bag and got out of my car. "You're here early," Ashton said, His arms folded as he leaned against the front doorway. I smiled sheepishly "Uh, Yeah, I wanted to catch you early so I could give you the thing I bought you." I told him. He raised his brow,

"You, bought me something?" He said, His eyes darting from the target bag to my eyes. I shrugged, "Yeah, I said I was going to." I responded and pulled out the blue plush toy from the bag, "So here's Stitch." I said with a small smile. He stared at me for a moment before reaching out and grabbing the blue plush toy, "You didn't have to." He said lowly. "I know, but I wanted to," I replied. A small smile played on his lip when he looked back up me, "Thanks, princess." He said. I let out a small sigh of relief, he likes his gift. "You're welcome," I said. He turned around and walked into his house.

I followed him and sat in the living room while he went upstairs. While he was occupied I tried to search for some sort of clue that gave me a small window into his life. You know, Like family pictures and aside from this picture of a very beautiful woman that was hanging near the door, The living room was wiped blank of everything family related.

My mind started to race, The longer Ashton left me alone the more bizarre and impossible my thought got. What if he's actually adopted? I mean that wouldn't make sense because he knows his biological father but it does make sense in another way. Like what if the reason why he hates his dad is that his dad gave him up for adoption? I chewed on my lip as more thoughts ran through my head, What if none of those are true and he's just one of those rich kids that can't stand their dads, I heard those exist. "Princess, You want anything to eat?" Ashton asked breaking my train of thoughts.

"Uh, An apple would be fine." I replied. He raised his brow "An ... Apple?" He questioned, "Yeah and some water." I said. He chuckled shaking his head and then disappeared into the kitchen. He reappeared with the apple and water I asked for along with some other things like a bowl of gummy bears, a bag of hot Cheetos and a bag of marshmallows. "So..." I said awkwardly as he set the snacks on the table "Where's Chris and Gina?" I asked "They're not coming. They went bowling instead. On a date." He responded in a nonchalant tone as if what he had just said was nothing. "A date?" I repeated, And Gina didn't tell me? "Yep, It was last minute, He asked her on the way here and she said yes and I guess they did a U-we." He said

"A U-we?" I asked, What the hell is a U-we? "A U-turn. Anyways, You have two choices, You can either A. Hang with me or B. Go home." He said turning on the tv, I looked at him and back at the food then got comfortable on my end of the couch "Well, I'm here now. Might as well stick around." I said as he scrolled through the movie selections. "I mean you could always ... Call your boyfriend." He smirked.

I rolled my eyes "Oh fuck off, He's not my boyfriend." I said and he chuckled "He likes you though, I mean you guys aren't compatible. I don't even know who you're compatible with." He said the last part a bit more to himself than me. "Compatible, Why do you keep saying that?" I asked. "Honestly, If I told you, It would take a lot for you to actually believe me." He said without looking at me. He was still going through movie selections, "Oh yeah? Try me." I said. He looked over at me and shook his head, "No." He simply said before adding, "And the girl in your English class, Fiona, That's who Austin is compatible with." He said.

"So you're like a teenage cupid," I said, letting the C-word slip from my mouth again. "I thought I told you not to say that crap around me." He said, I sighed and looked at my fingers. "I'm sorry," I mumbled and I felt the weight of the sofa shift a bit. He got up and went to upstairs, I sighed and looked at the screen. The movie he chose was Venom. The lights went out and I heard footsteps, I saw his figure sit back down on the sofa. He sat a bit closer to me this time and had a blanket with him, "You can lean on me if you want." He whispered. My stomach erupted with butterflies.

I hesitated at first but I did lean on him, He covered our legs with the blanket and had one arm resting behind my head on the sofa and the other occupied the bowl of snacks he carried out of the kitchen. "Help yourself." were the last two words he said before focusing completely on the screen. A smile stayed glued to my face for some reason and I couldn't help but feel happy, Happy that I got to spend some time with this side of Ashton, Happy that Chris took Gina on a date. And I'm extremely happy I get to see this side of Ashton ... It makes him likable.

I thought about how I was feeling at this very moment and looked away from the screen and at my fingers. I think I like Ashton.