Keeping Real - Ashton Irwin

Chapter 8

Ashton sped away from the parking lot, leaving all of the drama back at the school. I grinned at the speed of the motorcycle-it was faster than anything I had ever ridden on, and as we swerved through and in between cars I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins.

We rode for about 20 minutes, through winding roads I had never driven through. The longer we drove, the greener the scenery around us grew. Redwoods shot up around us and before long we were alone on the road, surrounded only by the luscious green shade of the trees. The air took on a chill, I burrowed into Ashton's leather jacket and held on tighter.

He veered to the left towards a small path that was almost invisible among the greenery. The motorcycle bumped over roots and leaves here and there, before he stopped the motorcycle on a small alcove that the trees had made, some hundreds of years ago.

I realized my arms were still wrapped around Ashton, even though he had cut the engine over a minute ago. I quickly let go and stepped off the motorcycle. I took off my helmet slowly, shaking out my hair, which had gotten tangled under the bulky helmet. Ashton stood up off his bike and reached for my helmet, laying it near the base of the motorcycle along with his.

He stood up and shook out his long hair, rearranging his bandana. "Hemmings." He looked me up and down slowly, sending a small smile towards my Nirvana shirt but saying nothing else as he walked towards a steep pathway through the towering trees.

"Umm, Irwin?" I called out as he continued to walk down. "Yes, Hemmings?" he asked in a condescending tone. I ignored his sarcasm and ventured, "Where are we? What are we doing? Hell, I don't know you. You could be bringing me to your psycho murder camp where you worship a strange creature while you kill people to the beat of 'Thanks for the Memories' by Fall Out Boy."

He stopped in his tracks and turned to look back up at me. "Wow Paige. You got me, that's exactly what I do in my spare time." He rolled his eyes and continued down the slope, not bothering to wait for me. His retreating form yelled back at me: "I know where we're going. You don't. Live a little!" His deep voice reverbrated in the silence of the trees and I shook my head and followed the small pathway to unknowingness.

Ashton seemed to have ditched me. I kept walking through the green trees and looming branches, hoping to glimpse him, but he seemed to have wandered off. I didn't mind though: the soft squish of moss under my boots and the towering redwoods awed me. High above me, shafts of sunlight shone through the dense canopy of trees, and I marveled at how quiet it was all around me. It wasn't often that I got to go on a hike or look at nature: my life seemed to revolve around swimming.

At least, before last Friday night, when Ashton Irwin began appearing in my life like some annoying fairy that enjoyed taking over my life. If this kept up, Ashton and I would be married by next Tuesday.

Before I could dwell on what side of the bed I wanted when we were married, Ashton appeared before me. He sat on a thick layer of moss beneath a gigantic redwood. Upon my arrival to his apparent destination Ashton lept up and gestured for me to follow him; this time there was no path to follow, only the footsteps before my own.

He was silent as we trudged on and I breathed in the beauty around me; this included Ashton's muscular form before my own. I grinned and watched my step through the underbrush-there was no way that I would play some clumsy damsel in distress.

We continued walking for what I gauged to be about 30 minutes; through the same mossy, green, and tall-tree-filled terrain. He hummed various Blink 182 songs and mimed drumming them as we walked. He didn't speak to me, he seemed to forget about me. I couldn't complain, I was enjoying the company of nature far more than his sarcastic remarks.