Imprinted → lashton [book one]

3.4

a/n: two chapters in one night😎

ashton's p.o.v

Michael and Calum had to leave after visiting hours, so I was stuck with this tan, black haired boy I just met smirking at me. "Take a picture, creepy. It'll last longer," I snort in a mocking tone, pacing the room.

The nurses came in and undid my restraints a few minutes after I woke up, and I stood up for the first time today. Now, Ryder was still staring at me, as if he was studying me.

"Ashton, if I heard them all shouting correctly?" He asks, now also standing. I didn't reply, just nodded. He grinned at me, "I'm guessing your in here for attempted suicide and panic attacks," he assumes, walking closer to me.

"Nice guess," I spat. "What about you, brightie? What're you in here for?" He grins at my question, causing me to stop my pacing.

"I'm in here for attempted murder of my sister and anger problems. Anymore questions?" It was his turn to snarl. He was now stood right in front of me, feet planted parallel to mine.

"No, I'll call the cops if I have any," I glare. He ignores my comments, changing the subject quickly. "Dinner's usually ready by now. You wanna head to the cafeteria?" He says, shifting on his feet.

I hesitated. "Alright, I suppose," I whisper.

He led me down the hallway and pushed the doors the the dining room opened. "Alright, people! We have a new one here! Introduce yourself after dinner," Ryder yells, causing all eyes to shift on us.

I ignore the glances and walk towards the line to the food. I smile at the young woman behind the counter. "What would you like?" She asks, motioning towards the food along the line. I shrug, "Choose for me."

What are the odds she picked exactly what my stomach could handle? Between mashed potatoes, fish nuggets, veal marsala, and other items of disgust I've seen them hand to other people, she gave me a curry-flavoured, grilled chicken breast. It came with a plastic knife and a fork to cut it up. Stacked on top was steamed broccoli and carrots. She also handed me a bottle of water.

I grin at her, taking the plastic tray and thanking her. Once I turn to walk out of the line, I'm met with about two hundred people sat in their own groups at the separate tables. I look around for anywhere to sit before spotting Ryder sat with a few other people. I slowly made my way over, getting greeted by various people on the way. I smiled at the one person I knew here before he rolls his eyes, "Sit down, newbie."

I internally fist pump as I sit next to him. He had gotten a sub sandwich, with what looked like turkey, cheese and lettuce. It was sided with a bag of crisps. In the middle of the table, there's a salt shaker, a pepper shaker, bags of sugar, bags of sweetener, and a bottle of soy sauce. Ryder notices me looking at the bottle.

"Ching-Chong over there," he points across the table to his olive skinned friend -- at least I suppose their friends -- before continuing, "likes his egg rolls. Don't mess with his soy sauce."

He laughs once 'Ching-Chong' realises what he was telling me. "Hi," he says. "Don't listen to him. I'm Roland, most people just call me Ro." He reaches over the table to shake my hand, which I complied to awkwardly. He laughs before I reply, "Well, I'm Ashton. I don't have a nickname, so it doesn't matter what you call me."

A girl who was sat by Ro grinned at me, "I'm gonna call you Washy. Like Ashy-Washy." She had blue streaks in her brown hair, and had some slop and mashed potatoes on her plate.

I popped the lid off of my plastic plate before grinning down at it, mostly for self assurance. I'm going to eat for Luke. I'm going to eat this and get out of here.

Blue Streaks reached and grabbed the salt and shook some (almost too much) on her plate, before realising I needed it and politely handed it to me. I grin at her, before pouring a slight amount on my chicken.

A boy who was sat next to Ryder starting slapping the boy before pointing over to a table on the other side of the cafeteria. "Scissor face is here, mate!"

I scrunch my face in confusion. "Scissor face?" I ask, feeling bad for interrupting their conversation. Ryder was quick to explain.

"A girl who was put in here last month. She's pretty hot, but she has these scars all over her face from where she went bonkers," he grins at the word before continuing, "and cut her face up with scissors. She really cool, too, mate."

"Oh."
"Yeah, but she's the kind that gets sad randomly if you say the wrong thing. It's sort of annoying, but oh well."
"Heh," I try to sound interested, starting to cut up my chicken. I stare at a piece on my fork, my stomach jumping up anxiously, as if it was changing it's mind. But I was going to eat this damn chicken.

I wasn't going to eat it because I wanted to; I was eating it because I had to. It's to keep Luke happy, to keep me happy, and eating is just what people do. It's what we're suppose to do. It's how we stay healthy, how we get energy. It was normal.

This would be a hell of a lot easier if my mind would stop controlling me, but I took the bite. My mind raced as I chew, taking me over. I took another bite. Then another. Then I started eating the vegetables. My stomach was screaming, and I missed this feeling.

"So," Ro starts. "Ashton, you gotta girlfriend?" Everyone at the table looks at me, causing me to flush. "C'mon," Blue Streaks pushes me on. "Any little high-schooler you're crushing on?"

I choke on my own spit, afraid to say it. "Didn't your friends talk about a boyfriend?" Ryder adds on, pointing his food-covered fork at me. I slowly nod in response, smiling at the mention of his sort of nickname. Boyfriend, boyfriend, boyfriend.

"His name is Luke," is all I say, taking another bite. The boy sat next to me smiles, "That's great, dude!" I almost laughed at being called 'dude,' but I ignored it. Maybe that was normal here.

"Thank you," I smile, starting to play with my food. Ro nods at me, "That's Lewis." I realised he was looking at the boy next to me. I smile, "Hi, Lewis."

"And he's," he points at the boy sat next to Ryder, "Ryan."

"Wow. Ryder, Roland, Ryan. Lots of R's," I joke, causing Blue Streaks to smile at me. "And I'm Rebecca, but most people call me Beck," she nods.

"Then I'm gonna call you Becca, or Blue Streaks," I say, making her giggle and shift on the bench.

"Yes, call me Blue Streaks," she smiles. "You're adorable, to be honest."

"Oh, I, thank you," I grin.

-

Ryder and I were sat in two of the cushioned chairs by the windowsill, looking out the bulletproof window at the bright stars, their beauty shining through even the tinting glass. He laughs under his breath randomly, and I realised he was staring at me.

"Tell me about this Luke guy," he smiles. That's the first genuine smile I've seen him pull since he got here, instead of that sly, assholey smirk he usually pulls.

"Well, he's a guy," I say. It's my turn to smirk.
"No shit. I want feelings," he laughs.
I shrug, "I don't know. I only know your name and why you're here. I want to know a little more about you."

He shrugs back, "I'm 19. I was going to the University of Australia before I dropped out because of stress. The murder thing, it wasn't on purpose. She was yelling at me and I lashed out and tried to stab her. I was put into anger management classes, but they realised I should spend some time in here. It's helped a lot. I had a girlfriend, but she broke up with me after I was put in here.

"Your turn," he says, crossing his arm. I grin at him, before starting. "I'm 18. I'm supposed to be attending the University of Manchester in the fall, and the only reason I'm in here is because I had a mental breakdown and cut myself. I was bleeding out, so I was rushed to the hospital, where I had a panic attack. They knocked me out and put me here. And as for Luke, the last time I saw him was when he was knocked out of the way during my attack. We've been dating since June, but we broke up a few weeks ago then got back together. So really, we've been together for like-"

Ryder hushes me, "Feelings."

"I love him," I said, shrugging. "He's my entire world, and I'm in love with him. I'm so fucking happy I can say he's mine."