Rhythm || Ashton Irwin

Chapter Six

After our encounter with the very high Ashton and Michael, Cassie and I drove back to my townhouse in the Upper East Side of Manhattan. As soon as we were in the house, I collapsed onto the couch face first, ready to rest after one of the longest days of my life.

“Hey, c’mon! Get up gorgeous, today couldn’t have been that bad!” Cassie said, sliding onto the couch with me, sliding my head onto her lap.

“Oh, but it was! You just met Ashton, you now KNOW what I have to deal with everyday…” I groaned.  Sometimes I really wished I could have her life. No school, no worries, just fun all the time. But, then again, someone in this relationship had to keep us grounded.

“Yea, he does seem to be as shitty as you’ve made him sound… BUT, you know who’s not shitty and would make everything so much better right now?” Looking up at her, I could see the look on her face and I knew immediately whom she was talking about.

“Benjamin.” I stated, a knowing look in my eye.

 “Benjamin.” She confirmed as she pulled out her phone, quickly texting our best friend. It wasn’t more than 20 minute before he burst through my front door and into the living room, a bottle of champagne in one hand and a bad of weed in the other.

 “Alright, why the fuck am I here?” Ben was never one to beat around the bush. How I attracted these two brash and confident people into my life, but I couldn’t be happier to have them at this moment.

“Loz had a shitty day. She needs some recreational assistance.” A sympathetic look on his face, his eyes met mine and he nodded. He didn’t ask any questions, he just knew.

 “Well, luckily for you, you contacted the right guy.” He made his way over to the couch, pushing my legs off the end and forcing me into a sitting position. “Alright, Lauren, tell your good old buddy Ben what happened.” Patting my leg, he was quick to start packing his bowl.

“Well, you know Ashton? The jerk I always tell you about?” From my peripherals, I could see both Cassie and Ben nod at my comment, “Well, first of all, he’s in my music theory class with me and we’re being forced to do this stupid project together! THEN, in my dance class, there’s this bitch Paige who’s just, she’s just… UGH! You know what I mean?!” At the same time, as Cassie replied with a quick yes, Ben looked at me, confused, shaking his head no.

 “That makes no sense… Girls are weird.” Ben then brought the bowl to his lips, taking a long first hit, passing it to me. Taking my hit, I held in the smoke, giving the fumes a moment to absorb into my bloodstream. Exhaling the excess smoke, I passed the bowl along to Cassie.

 “Boys are weirder. I mean, it makes no sense! I’ve literally done nothing to any of these people and just… I don’t think I’m cut out for this—“

 “Lauren Winifred Chandler don’t you DARE say that! This is your dream and you can’t let these basic bitches get you down!” Cassie coughed out, smoke billowing around her as she reprimanded me, “If anyone is cut out for this it’s you! I don’ give a shit if she’s the best fucking dancer in the state, you are, easily, as good as her, if not better!”

 “You don’t even know—“

 “I DON’T GIVE A FUCK! You have absolutely no reason to doubt yourself, and I don’t want to hear another negative word out of your mouth tonight! I don’t associate with negative people.”

 Not in the mood to push this further with her, I grabbed the bowl from her and took another long hit. We passed it around a couple more times until it was dead. The three of us sat there, not saying anything, it was too much work to speak if we’re being honest with ourselves. It wasn’t until I looked over at the table and saw the bottle of champagne that I said something.

 “Hey, are we going to open that bad boy or what because I’m getting a little thirsty” I mumbled to the two beside me. Cassie immediately started to giggle, slapping my thigh with the back of her hand, “What the fuck are you laughing at?!” I started laughing myself. Through strangled gasps, she finally caught her breath enough to reply.

 “Thirst for the champagne or Ashton?!” she and Ben both burst out into a fit of laughter, high fiving each other as I sat there, my jaw dropped in disbelief.

 “UGH, NO! Get the fuck out of my house! No champagne for you two!” I shot up from the couch and made my way to the kitchen, alcohol in hand and began opening the bottle.

 “Hey, who brought you that? There’s a delivery charge you know!” Ben was quick to join me at the counter, pulling the bottle from my hand, popping the cork when he noticed how I struggled.

 “C’mon Lauren! There is no way you haven’t thought about it, he is so you’re fucking type and you know it!” Shooting a glare at her, my resolve faded fast. I could never stay mad at her for long and she knew it, “Hey, I was just kidding, don’t get your tutu in a twist!”

 “You’re a bitch.”

 “You love me.” She grinned, pulling me into a tight hug. I grabbed the bottle from Ben’s hands, ignoring the glasses he had just poured, bringing the bottle to my mouth and taking a long swig of the sparkling drink.

 “Whoa, show some class Ms. Chandler, were you raised in a barn?!” Ben gasped with a fake posh accent, throwing his hand over his heart in fake disgust. Bursting into laughter, the three of us took our glasses, throwing all our cares out the window for the remainder of the night.