Pain & Insanity *ON HOLD* (ASHTON IRWIN AU)

Chapter 9: Ashton

"So, what's new?" Genevieve had asked me with raised eyebrows. I could tell that she was angry at something, but I couldn't tell what it was.

"Well, I found a dollar coin on the road today." I said. Gen rolled her eyes while scribbling down my answer.

"And how did that make you feel?" She asked without meeting my gaze. I raised a brow.

"What, are you a physiatrist now?" I joked. Gen sent me a death glare that was strong enough to kill twenty men. I raised my hands in surrender. "Good I guess. Geez, someone's PMSing."

She slapped her note pad down on her lap. "You know what? Just because a girl's a little grumpy doesn't mean that she's on her period, Ashton. You men can be so idiotic sometimes!"

I widened my eyes. "Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine today! Who spit in your coffee?" I gasped.

Genevieve's scowl slowly turned into a smile. "I don't drink coffee." She tried to sound mad, but she was failing. A proud feeling swelled inside of me. I made her smile! "I'm sorry for getting mad."

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked. Gen huffed.

"Calum just said some things. It's not important." She sighed. She placed her back against the brick wall of the building and sunk to the floor. I copied her actions and sat beside her.

"Did he, uh, hurt your feelings?" I asked while scratching the back of my head awkwardly. I was never good with helping people when they're sad. Gen giggled a bit.

"No, I'm just kind of wondering what he meant." She said while pushing her hair behind her ear. "You sound so awkward."

I coughed while trying to keep my blush down. "I'm not really good with this whole feelings thing." I confessed.

"Yeah, I can see that." She laughed. An awkward silence fell over us. Genevieve played with some loose strings on her ripped jeans while I tried to stack little grey pebbles on top of each other.

"So, uhh... Do you have any other questions for me?" I asked while clearing my throat. Gen shrugged. I guess that she was still a bit upset about whatever Calum had said to her. "Do you, uhh, want to go on a walk then?" I stuttered. Again, she just shrugged, but then got up and brushed off her pants.

We made our way out of the alleyway and onto the deserted sidewalk. I hadn't noticed that the sun was going down. A mix of pinks and hues of orange danced in the sky. The summer air had grown increasingly more chilly.

Gen and I had walked a little bit. The sun had begun to sink lower and lower in the sky. The darkness of night was settling in.

The whole walk was quiet. Genevieve still seemed to be in a rotten state of mind. I tried many times to say something comforting to her, but I couldn't. I can't get too attached to her.

"When I was younger, I used to get bullied a lot." Genevieve suddenly blurted. I looked down at her.

"Why are you telling me this?" I asked quite bluntly. Genevieve rolled her eyes at me, so I shut up. "I mean, why?"

"For my name, the amount of money that I had, just everything really." She spoke. "Anyways, I would always go home and cry about it. My parent's didn't do anything about it. They'd only really be worrying about their fancy cars and parties and what food they would tell our cook to make that night. I guess that they never really loved me. They never loved each other, so I can see why they wouldn't like me; since I'm bacically half of the other." Gen sighed. "I really don't know why I'm saying this stuff. I guess it's because I feel like you are the only person that listens to me."

I nodded. "My parents didn't like me either." I told her. Gen looked up at me expectantly, like she thought that I was going to tell her more about myself. I looked back at her, but didn't say anything else.

"Being bullied sucks. Parents suck. I guess that the worst things in live just come free to us, maybe." She said while turning away from me. I sighed, thinking back to my childhood.

"I couldn't agree more." I answered. Again, we fell into silence. I had absolutely no idea on what to say to her this time. I already asked if she was okay, and I told her about myself. What more conversation can a guy start?

Soon, we past a small crowed of guys. They looked to be somewhere in their thirties. From where I was standing, it looked like there were about three of them crowded around one guy.

The crowed parted and the man in the middle stepped forward. "Hey baby!" He called out. The other three wolf whistled at Genevieve. "You look lost, boo. Why don't you ditch that boy and have us men show you around?"

I clenched my hands into fists. "Just keep walking." I whispered to Gen. She just rolled her eyes and slowed her pace to walk beside me.

"Yo baby! Didn't you hear me?" The same guy called. I bit down on my lip to stop myself from saying anything that I'd regret.

"Ashton, just ignore them." Genevieve whispered while grabbing a hold of my arm.

"How can I? They're calling at you like you're some... Possession!" I hissed. "How can you just be fine with that?"

The group of men continued to whistle and shout comments her way. Genevieve grew red with embarrassment and picked up her speed. With every comment that they threw our way, the angrier I grew.

"Do you mind?" I blurted. "Leave her alone!"

Genevieve stood wide eyed at me for a long time. "What?" I growled when I saw her shocked expression. "They were bugging me."

She raised her eyebrows at me, but didn't comment. A flush of embarrassment came over me at the realization of what I just did.

I stood up for her.

I, Ashton Fletcher Irwin, actually defended someone.

The entire way down the street and towards Genevieve's house, I kept quiet and looked at the ground. I didn't want to face her, because then I would be reminded of what I've just done.

I was nice to her. Nice! I broke my number 1 rule. For a moment, a small fraction of time, I actually cared about her. I cared about Genevieve. How could I be so stupid? How could I let her get close to me, even for a second?

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Gen asked me while slightly bumping into my shoulder. I snapped out of my thoughts and gave her a scowl. A pang of guilt hit me as she bit her lip in embarrassment and moved away from me, but I kept up the act.

"Nothing." I spoke in a cold tone. While looking around, I saw that we had made our way back to the McDonalds. "Its about a five minute walk from here to your house. You can make it back by yourself."

I turned around to walk away without giving her a second glance. I knew that if I did, I would have broken the rule again and would have walked her all the way to her house. While hanging my head in shame, I took hesitant steps away from her. I could just picture Genevieve standing underneath the street light, looking like a lost puppy. Even though I was completely ashamed of myself about what I had just done, I knew that it was for the best.

After all, anyone that comes near me only gets hurt.