Here to Stay || Ashton Irwin (completed)

Chapter 25

We walked, well floated at the demands of Ashton, to Michael's house where the boys had returned.

Ashton's hand was softly in mine the entire way and his thumb rubbed my skin gently, making me smile. Occasionally he would turn to me, the glow of his smile illuminating his entire face, his entire figure in fact. It must've been the life still inside him making him radiate light. The light kept my worries at bay. Up until I saw it, I had been convinced the surgery had failed. Alongside with every moment in which we discovered another inch of skin was tangable to one another, it was one of the most bittersweet and emotionally straining moments of my life. I knew I should be sad that his physical life on earth was over and that I should greive the loss to his parents and friends, but at the same time the other half of me was overjoyed that he was like me, that he was still with me and that we would be able to face whatever came next together. Definitely the hardest thing I had ever experienced. Words were difficult to create and I felt almost blessed when he already knew what I was trying to say. 

When I snapped out of my thoughts, Ashton was staring at me intently, "What were you thinking about? I could almost see the gears in your head rapidly spinning," he giggled.

"Just about life."

Ashton bit his lip, "Uh huh."

"I'm fine," I smiled, "Really," he tried to interupt me but I continued speaking, "We should hurry, according to my watch we only have 5 and a half hours left." 

"Right," Ashton agreed, "Good point." He continued on, pulling me alongside him until we came to a rather abrupt halt. Ashton's posture suddenly straightened and he took a deep breath, despite the fact he truly didn't need one. I looked up at the house, not really recognizing it, but as my eyes traveled to the driveway I saw the car that Luke and Michael had drove Calum off in and I knew this must be our destination.

"God, I hope he's okay," Ashton muttered, ruffling his hair he paused. "Man, that feels so weird."

I scrunched my nose and looked up at him, "What does?"

"Feeling my hair," he smiled, a dimple poking out on his cheek, "For the past few weeks, I've gotten used to my baldness, it feels weird to have these lucious locks back, even if only for a few hours."

I nodded and smiled, not really knowing what to say. Ashton seemed to take that hint and immediately reached for the gate to open it, "Here we go."

I followed him through the gate and up the front walk to the door. Ashton stretched his arm out as if to knock but I quickly reached out and grabbed it. I shook my head. 

"What?" He asked. "This is Michael's house. We're friends."

I rolled my eyes, "You're invisible to him."

Ashton facepalmed himself and then wrapped his arm around my waist, resting on my hip. "Show me your ways," he whispered in my ear, making me giggle a bit. I turned to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. Slowly I lifted my head and met his glance. He bit his lip and raised a hand to tuck a piece of blonde-ish hair behind my ear. Our lips hovered over one another's for seconds and I couldn't help but occasionally glance down at his practically inviting mine with every breath. 

Before long, he could barely take anymore of this teasing. As my fingers lightly twisted the hair at the base of his hairline at the top of his neck, he moved his one had to behind my neck and the other to grab my waist even tighter. His lips pressed onto mine slowly, quickly parting for his tongue to come forward. I gasped, stepping back towards the front door of the house. Ashton made a low noise in the back of his throat and my hands tightened into the mess of curls. 

He stepped forward again and I felt a familiar feeling and an instant wave of warmth as his teeth went for my bottom lip. I pulled away for a second so that the bite could release my lip and then quickly pressed my lips back into his. 

My hands unwravled themselves from his hair and made their way down to his chest. "Now open your eyes," I whispered against his mouth, pressing my hands against his chest slightly.

I opened mine and watched as he did the same. The second his eyelids were lifted, wonder hit him. We were no longer on Michael's front porch, but instead inside the house in what looked like the living room. 

"But we just..." he paused, "How did you," he stuttered, "I, you, what?"

I laughed and stepped away, "Just a little magic," I winked. In his bewilderment, I stepped away and sashayed into the hall. Soon I heard footsteps following me and grab my waist. 

"You think you're gonna tease me and just run off like that," he asked in my ear. I rested my head back on his shoulder and let him kiss down my neck. 

"Ashton," I breathed, "We're in your best friends' house. They're currently in deep emotional states. I don't think nows the best time."

The kisses on my neck seized and he turned me around using his grip on my hips. "You bring up a good point, but we have five hours left. You're not off the hook that easy."

I licked my bottom lip and bit on it softly. "Fine. But serious Ashton starts now," I pointed at him. 

"Promise," he nodded.

We stood in silence for a while before we heard a crashing noise upstairs followed by a loud shout. Ashton looked up and darted for the stairs, taking them two at a time. I tried to keep up but fell behind rather quickly. When I reached the top of the stairs, I watched as Ashton disappeared into the wall at the end of the hall. I quickly raced down and followed him, running into him the second I passed through.

In the room before us Calum was on his knees. Books, papers, and broken glass was scattered everywhere around him, blood ran from his knuckles. Luke and Michael were sitting around him, with paper towerls and bandaids, tears forming in both their eyes. A broken mirror frame hung, swinging, on the wall beside the door with pieces of glass barely holding on. 

"He's going to be fine, Cal, he's a fighter," said Michael as if he were not only trying to convince Calum, but Luke and himself as well.

"But what if he's not," Calum's voice cracked.

"He will be," Michael whispered. "He has to be," he then muttered, too quiet for anyone else to hear.

"Ashton," I whispered, not wanting to look up at him. Judging by the shaking hand I now held and the heat radiating from it, I knew he was in a lot of pain and was crying. When I finally mustered up enough courage to look at him, my suspicions were confirmed. Tears streamed from his eyes, his chest heaving quick and sporadically. 

"It's all my fault."

"No, Ash, please don't think that."

"They're in pain because of me," he sniffled as I wiped tears away from his eyes with the sleeve of my sweatshirt. 

"Ashton, there's nothing you can do," I whispered, resting my head against his shoulder.

After a long period of silence of watching Luke and Michael clean up Calum's hands, Ashton turned around, "I can't watch this any longer. Please Em."

"Okay, yeah, okay, sure let's go," I agreed, following him out of the dimly lit room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

a/n: merry christmas eve! what a happy note to leave it on eh? Sorry about that omg anyway, i have decided to complete this fanfic before I start adding onto my Luke one any further, it's just easier considering the massive plot difference. so yeah. this is my new focus and then I'll start up the Luke one again. 

hope you all enjoyed this chapter and if you think you know where this is going, you're wrong!

don't forget to comment and vote xoxoxox stay fab and happy holidays! i wish you all the best and safest and happiest of evenings!