Green Light ✓ || Ashton X Reader

Chapter 2

It's so weird, not having anybody to talk to. But you're an adult. You can move wherever you want and start over. Nobody's forcing you to stay home or obey parents. You haven't talked to your parents in years, anyway. He made you cut off all contact from them. He didn't like them much.

But you have no clue what to do with your newfound freedom, except order Mexican takeout and watch YouTube videos. You don't leave your new dorm other than to use the restroom, and for once, you fall asleep early. You don't have to fight him for space, and he's not waking you up at three in the morning with an emergency that you have to fix.

Your alarm even goes off on time, and you're able to get dressed and head to the eighth floor with no interruptions. There's an entire classroom full of new recruits here, but nobody looks like him, thank God. A tall Hispanic dude named Josh goes over the rules, and then everybody lines up. He calls out everybody's name, including yours. When you go up to meet him, he passes you a folder and a pink polo in your size. This is your new uniform; you'll wear this with your jeans every day.

You had applied for the job weeks ago, along with nearly three hundred other jobs in the Los Angeles area. This one had taken the most notice in you, and you had passed the interview. Plus, you felt really safe being here. All you had to do was give Josh your new phone number and download the app. Once you're in the system, they will assign you to one of the musical acts staying and practicing at the Magnificat. You'll basically be their gopher, getting them anything they might need.

"We used to just message you with your assignments, but Emmaline will have those after lunch," Josh tells you. So the group disperses, and you hide in your dorm room and order more takeout until your appointment. You go back downstairs to the Hospitality Office, where she is waiting for you. Thankfully it's just you and this white lady who looks really official and in charge, but at least she seems like a sweetheart.

"Are you all moved in?" she asks, attention on you.

You nod. "I think so."

"Perfect. So, let's take a look as to who you're gophering for first. And if you have any questions, my contact info is right in your app. I encourage you to message me with anything you might need. If I don't know what's going on, I can't fix it." She pulls out her own phone and checks it. "Ahh, great! Have you ever heard of 5 Seconds of Summer?"

You shake your head.

"Well, they're actually really well known. They're a rock band from Australia, there's four of them. And they've been at the Magnificat before, which means they'll be an easy first assignment. They already know where everything is. Probably could use someone to get them food, though." She laughs. "They've got a major label debut in a month, so they'll be all over L.A. And you'll help them get where they're going! Isn't that exciting?"

"...yes?" Honestly, it makes you want to barf.

"Tell you what, I think they're downstairs practicing now. You should go introduce yourself! The room should be in your app, so you can get used to finding your way around the Magnificat. I've got another appointment now, but seriously, let me know if you need anything."

You nod and wander down the hallway, pulling up the app. "5 Seconds of Summer, Practice Room 607" is listed there, and you pause when you realize there's four men in this band! What was she thinking? And, like, at least two of them are blonde and handsome looking! What if they're exactly like him? You read further, trying to convince yourself it won't be that bad. Okay, so they're from Australia. Perhaps stalkers don't exist in Australia.

You swipe into the elevator and head down to the sixth floor. Room 607's door is tightly closed, and you wonder if you should knock or just go in. You weren't allowed to barge in on him. He treasured his privacy, after all, and it was wrong of you to interrupt him when he was doing something. You must knock, then.

But before you can do so, there's a wave of crazy sound that hits you from behind the door, and then screaming:

"MICHAEL WANTS ANOTHER SLICE
MICHAEL WANTS ANOTHER SLICE
MICHAEL WANTS ANOTHER SLICE
PIZZA! PIZZA!"

You wait until they're done jamming, which thankfully isn't long, and then you knock. "Oh, who is it?" you hear a voice call out with a very distinct accent.

"It's our pizza, dude!" another voice says. The door is flung open, and you're standing in front of a white man who hopefully isn't going to smash you against a wall. "Oh, wait, pink shirt! Sorry about that, love. You must be our offsider! I'm Ashton, this is Luke, Calum, and Michael. We're 5SOS! But I bet you knew that, love."

You look around the room. It's just a normal practice room, with instruments strewn about everywhere. The drum set sits in the corner without an owner. A boy who is not white is holding onto a bass, and the fact that he looks nothing like him automatically makes him the safest one in the room. The other two are holding guitars, but you can't even look them in the eyes right now. Instead, you try and smile and introduce yourself, praying to God that this will be easy.

There was one time when you had applied for a new job across town. Everybody was so excited for you, and it would pay a lot more than your current job, which was much closer to your apartment. When he had heard about it, he had taken the welcome letter and tore it up in front of you. You were forbidden from going to the new job, and so, you had to turn it down --

"Love?"

You blink. Apparently you were spacing out. You look over at Ashton. He's certainly not bad looking for a young man. His hair is all tossed like it's been at an amusement park all day, streaks of blonde peppering the brown. And his physique is on point, although he's probably still in high school. If he were in One Direction, girls would be chasing after him. They're probably already chasing after him.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just...a lot on my mind is all." You reach for your phone to instinctively check and see if he has messaged you, but the moment you grab it, you remember it's an Android, not an iPhone. You grin at the boys and put the phone back. "It's my first day."

"Well, then," one of the other boys -- Luke? -- says, "let's all get to know each other! We're here at least the next month, maybe longer, depending on what Capitol has us do." And the boys put their practice on hold and sit in a circle, pulling you into their world. Over the next hour, you learn that three of the boys went to school together; that Niall Horan from OneDirection was one of their biggest fans; and that their new tour bus was named Gus, Gus the Bus! In turn, they learn where you're from, but you stick to silly topics like your favorite subjects in school and your hobbies.

And when they get hungry, instead of you ordering food, they decide to go down to the boardwalk instead. And they insist on taking you along. Oh, well. The boardwalk can't be too bad with four guys, right? They can protect you from him if he shows up.

Because he always shows up.

Always.