Rhythm || Ashton Irwin

Chapter Five

(Ashton’s POV)

“You know,” Michael mumbled from the drivers seat before blowing more smoke into the air, “I don’t think Lauren is that bad.”

I scoffed, shaking my head, grabbing the blunt from his hand and taking it between my lips.  “She’s the epitome of everything I don’t like.” I took a deep breath in, letting the smoke fill my lungs.

“So you hate pretty girls then?” Michael chuckled, shaking his head at me.  “I know you have this whole complex about rich people and shit, and I get that because hey,” he said throwing his hands in the air, “I’m one of those people.  I live with those people and it sucks, but you don’t hate me for it.”

“I don’t hate you because you hate those people just as much as me, if not more,” I smirked as he nodded his head in agreement.

“Maybe Lauren hates it too,” he shrugged, grabbing the joint between my fingers and taking a drag off of it.  “I remember this one time back in eighth grade, when I had to go to one of her parties.  Everything was pink and she was in this pink colored dress that was the color of that stuff.. you know..” he sighed trying to think of the word.  “The stuff people use when they get heartburn or diarrhea.  There’s a whole fucking song about it,” he frowned, getting upset with himself.

I let out a laugh at his anger.  “Pepto bismol?”

“Yes!” He threw his hands in the air, smashing them against the sealing of his car.  “SHIT,” he groaned, hold his hands against his body and pouting.  “What was I talking about?”

“Lauren’s party.”

“She’s having a party?”

“Never mind Michael,” I said grinning and shaking my head.

(Lauren’s POV)

To say I was excited that the day was over was an understatement.  I smiled happily as I approached Cassie’s car that sat only a few yards in front of me in the parking lot.

I knocked on the window, causing her to jump before unlocking her doors, letting me in.  “You do know no one will mug you here right?” I giggled, sliding into the passenger seat.

“Have you seen some of these people?  They’re not trustworthy.  Just look at that guy over there, he’s a hoodlum for sure,” she said with a grin forming on her face.  “How was your first day?”

“Long,” I groaned looking out the window.  Just thinking about it made my head hurt.

“Don’t sweat it, we can go back to your house, throw on some sweats and binge on Netflix,” she said patting my leg and starting her car.

I scanned across the parking lot until I saw a car door open and smoke billowing out of it followed by a body.  Squinting, I tried to make out who it was.  Ashton.  I scoffed and shook my head.  No surprise there.

“What?” Cassie said, trying to follow my gaze.  “Who’s that?  Oh my god, he’s hot.”

“That’s Ashton,” I mumbled.

“That’s the Ashton?  The one that calls you princess?” I nodded my head.  “Oh my god Lauren, I’d let him call me that and more any day.  You never told me he was so attractive,” she gushed from beside me as I shook my head.

“I’ll be right back,” I sighed, opening the door to her car and stepping out.

“Wait, are you going to talk to him?” she looked at me curiously.  “Can I come?  Please?  I’ll be good.  You wont even know I’m there.”

I rolled my eyes at her before giving in.  “Fine.  Don’t talk,” I warned as she excitedly got out of her car and followed closely behind me, nodding.

“Ah shit,” I heard Ashton grumble as we approached.

The smell of marijuana filled my nose and I gave him a surprised look.  “Did you clambake your car on campus?!”

“No, I clambaked Michael’s car,” he chuckled as Michael appeared from the drivers side.

“Hi Lauren,” Michael giggled while waving at me.  I couldn’t help but smile at his expression.  He was so gone it was obvious.

“Hey Michael.”

“Is there something I can help you with or are you here because you finally realized you couldn’t resist me,” Ashton smirked, leaning against the hood of the car.

His eyes were bloodshot and he wore a very relaxed look on his face.  Even high, he was just as cocky as usual.  “I actually came over to talk to you about this project considering you almost ran me over before we could figure something out,” I huffed, shifting my weight to my other foot.

“Cassandra?” Michael questioned, squinting his eyes at Cassie.

“What’s up Clifford?” she smiled, walking over to him and hugging him.

“Did you really need to bring a posse over here to talk to me?” Ashton questioned.

“Actually, I came over because I wanted to meet the infamous Ashton Irwin,” she said, crossing her arms and giving him a glare.

“Are you talking about me with your friends?” he smirked looking at me as my cheeks reddened.

“Oh trust me sweetie, it’s never anything good,” Cassie said while giggling making me grin.  I love her.

He rolled his eyes and sighed. “She’s just as bad as you.”

I nodding, knowing it was true.  “Look, I don’t want to be out here all day.  I just wanted to talk to you about this stupid project,” I said pulling the paper out of my bag.

“I’ll just do it and put your name on it,” he mumbled, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket and sticking it between his lips.

“No you wont,” I said shaking my head, “Those will kill you some day,” I said gesturing towards his unlit cigarette.

“Yeah well, we all gotta go at some point,” he shrugged before lighting it and blowing the smoke in my face, causing me to cough.

“I don’t want you doing the whole assignment by yourself.  What if you fuck it up?  I can’t afford to fail this assignment.” He gave me a cold stare before shaking his head.

“I think you know now that I can’t afford to fail this stupid assignment either,” he grumbled.  I had forgotten about the scholarship situation.

I nodded, acknowledging that I understood what he was saying.  “Let’s just,” I paused trying to form my thoughts into words, “can we just try to work together?”

He sat there quietly with a blank expression on his face before nodding.  “Yeah, fine." He huffed, running a hand through his hair.  “What time are you out of class tomorrow?”

“I have class until two and then I teach a class at three, so four-ish?”  I said more as a question than as a statement.

“Okay, meet me in one of the practice rooms on the fifth floor after that,” he said standing, causing me to shift back.  I hadn’t realized how close we were.

“Which room though?” I questioned as he started walking away.

“Just follow the sound of drums,” he yelled over his shoulder before walking away with Michael.

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