Weightless (lashton au)

Chapter eighteen

^^LOOK AT HOW CUTE ASHTON LOOKS LAWD JESUS IMSBCRYING
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"But you don't know what it's like
to wake up in the middle of the night,
scaring the thought of kissing razors.

This blood evacuation is telling me to cave in.

Stay away.
Oh no.
Just stay away from my friends."

~ Stay Away From My Friends by Pierce the Veil

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Luke's POV

I left work two hours ago, and I came home to find Ashton fast asleep in the corner of the couch, breathy snores occasionally slipping past his lips.

It took every bit of my restraint to not go over there and cuddle him, and I knew Ashton needed sleep. I've had a feeling he hasn't been getting much lately, but I'm not sure why.

I didn't have the heart to wake him up, so I was forced to quietly read a book Ashton had given to me. The fresh memory of how I got the book played out in my head (as I already got distracted after reading only a page),

"Have you read any of the Harry Potter books?" Ashton randomly inquired as he sorted and put books back in their places. I was visiting Ashton at the library, just like usual.

I was sitting on a chair (which was probably intended for a little kid to sit on) and hesitated for a moment.

"No?" A gasp left Ashton's mouth, and I didn't dare to look up and see his shocked expression.

"Jesus, Luke, I thought you were better than that!" He made sure to keep his voice low. I would've been afraid of us actually starting to fight, but Ashton's giggling kept everything as more of a joke.

I stood up from the chair, which ended up toppling over, making Ashton laugh even harder as I walked towards him with my hands on my hips. I furrowed my eyebrows, trying to stay serious,

"I watched the movies, so there's no reason to read the books!" I defended myself in harsh whispers, a smile forming on my face as I watched Ashton try to silence his squeaks in laughter with his sleeve over his mouth.

Once Ashton composed himself, he shuffled around through the books in the shelves until he pulled one out, "The Sorcerer's Stone," (The Philosopher's Stone to some people) and shoved it into my hands.

"Just read it, you're really missing out." Ashton smiled up at me, his face flushed red from laughing and I can't forget how much I wanted to kiss him-

I was taken out of my thoughts, and, for a moment, I couldn't figure out why, until I heard someone knocking on the door.

The sharp knocking was persistent, making me grumble in annoyance as I strode over to the door. Before I turned the knob, I stole a quick glance at Ashton and saw he was still sleeping.

"Hello- Calum?" The dark-haired boy stood there for a moment, his expression unreadable. Biting his lip anxiously, he peered behind me into the apartment,

"Hey, Luke. Is Ashton here?" My eyebrows furrowed slightly in confusion.

"Yeah, why?" Calum ignored my question and slipped past me, walking into the room. "How do you know where I live?" I continued talking to him, but Calum just sighed in exasperation once he saw Ashton asleep on the couch.

He turned towards me again, his expression serious as he gripped my shoulders. "Look, Luke, I'm only here because Michael sent me," before I could say anything, he cut me off, "he's worried about Ashton. He found out- he found out that Ashton's uncle is trying to find Ashton again."