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

Chapter 12: Genevieve

AN: Time lapse to about three weeks later. Ashton and Genevieve have had a lot of interviews during this time.

I sat with my cheek in my hand as I watched the school clock tick by painfully slow. In one ear, Ms. Johns was blabbering on about A Midsummer's night dream, while Anna was jabbering on about her new boy toy.

"So then, I was like, Jake! Stop it! And then, he was all like..."

"So, what Shakespeare was trying to convey was..."

"So then I said, can you really do that? It's illegal an your dad's a cop!"

"Can anyone dispatcher what Shakespeare was trying to say in this line?"

"And then I was all like, 'You're such a total bad boy!'"

With every word that these two spoke to me, the lower my eyelids drooped. It took all of my strength to not fall asleep in class.

"Genevieve! Are you even listening?"

I snapped awake as the stern voices of both my friend and teacher reached my ears. "Um, sorry. Can you just repeat that please?" I asked without talking to either of them. At the same time, Anna and Ms. Johns rolled their eyes and sighed.

"As I was saying, your project is due in just a couple weeks. Keep working!" Ms. Johns rolled her eyes.

"I totally forgot about that project." Anna whispered. I nodded my head, shocked that I have forgotten it, too.

I couldn't believe that I forgot about it! All this time, I've just thought of my interviews with Ashton as hanging out with him. Even though he's very cranky and rude at times, he still makes me forget about all of the everyday stresses that I go through.

As of recently, Ashton has been less cranky. Not by much, but it's noticeable. Even though I know that it's not real, I can still hear what Calum had said about us.

"He might not like you, but he certainly doesn't hate you."

Unknowingly, I grinned.

"So, did you finally pay Mr. Homeless yet?" Anna giggled. The smile that I once wore slid off of my face quickly. I mentally smacked myself.

He's only nice for the money!

"Oh. Uh, I didn't get the chance to." I stuttered while twirling the ends of my hair. It serves me right, thinking that Ashton would like me.

"Well you better! Otherwise, he'll just leave you before you get your project done. What a shame that would be; he doesn't get his money, and you wasted all your time hanging around a homeless kid!" Anna chortled.

I raised an eyebrow. This haughty attitude that she has been pulling recently has been really getting on my nerves."Anna, can you do me a favour?" I asked in a sickeningly sweet voice.

She rolled her eyes while chuckling. "Sure, Gen. What is it?"

I smiled at her while cocking my head to the side. "For once in your life, can you please shut up?"

From across the classroom, I heard a familiar girlish giggle. I turned around and winked at a laughing Victoria, who had both thumbs up in support.

**

I stood at the usual meeting spot of Ashton and I. We sat underneath our usual lamp post on the corner of Sixth Street. The sun was beginning to set much faster now, and the fresh autumn air swept some stray garbage all around the street. Ashton sat beside me with his back against a tall grey lamp post. He was throwing pebbles across the street, while I was huffing and sighing about all my problems.

"Gen, you're not in a fairytale." Ashton spoke in his usual monotoned voice while chucking a small pink pebble at a empty green beer bottle. "You can stop trying to blow these houses down."

I cracked a smile at his joke. Ashton looked up at me from the ground and smirked. I wiped the smile off of my face immediatly. "You're not funny." I commented while trying not to giggle. He turned his attention back to the rocks and shrugged.

"I don't try to be." He said with very little emotion. "What's got you so PMSy today?"

I opened my mouth to yell at him, but I closed it with a rough growl. "Life. Just life in general." I sighed while sinking down to lean against the opposite side of the pole. "My parents are super annoying, Anna is starting to act like a total brat recently-"

Ashton chuckled. "Is Anna the friend that you're always complaining about? Gen, your friend's always been a brat." He commented. I hushed him. "And besides, be thankful that you have parents."

I sat up straighter. "What ever happened to your parents, Ashton?"

Ashton stiffened up. "They were just... They were never really there is all." I could tell that there was much more to the story, but I let it slide. "Why are you mad at your parents? Did they not give you enough allowance this week?"

I rolled my eyes at his comment. "It's not that." I said. "Just because I'm rich doesn't mean that all of my problems are money related. Ever since I was little, my parents were never there for me." I confessed while playing with the end of my fishtail braid. Ashton snorted.

"Join the club." He remarked. I slapped his shoulder.

"I'm being serious!" I protested. "They were always at work, or at some fancy party with a whole bunch of important people. I was always second priority to them." I confessed.

After a moment of silence, Ashton shifted his sitting position so that he could look at me. "That kind of sucks." He spoke half sincerely.

I rested my head back against the pole. "I don't know, I guess that I always just been put second in my life. And now Anna is treating me so badly, and I just hate it. I hate being put behind other people."

Silence played over us for a while. I closed my eyes and tilted my head back. The cold air blew against my pale cheeks.

"Why did you trust me with that?" Ashton blurted out. His voice quivered at the end, but he coughed to cover it up.

I pondered that in my own head for a while. "I don't know, I guess I just trust you." I said. I opened my eyes to see that Ashton was sitting as stiff as a board beside me.

After a heavy sigh, he turned his head around. Shakily, almost painfully, a small smile crept out from between his lips. It was only for a second that it ghosted over the corners of his mouth, but it was enough to see that he did smile. I grinned.

"You have dimples!" I commented while looking at his cheeks. "I didn't know you have dimples."

"Yeah well, that's because I don't smile." Ashton grumbled while pushing himself up from the floor. "I'm tired. I'm going to the camp."

I chuckled while running a hand through my hair. "Goodnight Ashton." I called after him.

He only grunted in response.