Thin White Lies | a.i.

Three

Three whole months. It had been three whole months since Ashton Irwin joined 5 seconds of summer, and to say Lily was loving every second he spent at her house was an understatement. It started with little things, small talk here and there, the occasional wink sent her way from behind his kit or as the boys were heading to the garage. She was never allowed in to watch them practice, but she always sat to listen. Well, to listen to Ashton, anyway.

But now, three months later and Lily was closer to Ashton then any of the other boys, maybe even closer than she was with Luke. When she'd get home from school, Ashton would be there on the steps waiting for her and Luke to arrive. Three months ago he would have nodded in Lily's direction, but today, well. It was a little different.

"Ashy!" Lily squealed, running at full force toward the drummer and throwing her arms around his neck. Ashton giggled in her ear, a sound she loved way more then she'd ever admit. His arms wrapped delicately around her waist, like he was afraid he'd hurt her.

"Hey," he laughed blissfully,"How was school, pretty girl?"

Luke groaned as he stomped up the steps past them, hands burried in the pocked of his hoodie. "Could you guys be any more disgusting?"

The pair chose to ignore him, as they always did. Ashton unwrapped his arms from Lily's waist, turning to face the door and crouching sightly so Lily could do what she'd been doing for the past month. She jumped on his back, legs either side of his hips. Ashton placed his hands on the back of her thighs, holding his breath, his heart racing. Lily giggled at how ticklish she was, causing Ashton to smirk.

"School was okay," Lily pouted dramatically as Ashton lead her toward the kitchen. Luke was already in there, pulling a bottle of Pepsi Max from the fridge. He grabbed another for Ashton and an apple and blackcurrent juice box out for Lily. Don't judge, okay? She likes juice.

Ashton smiled softly, placing her on the bench before turning to face her before she got the change to bring her legs together.

This wasn't something new for them, Ashton standing between her legs as she sat in her pleated school uniform. He was careful to never actually touch her, especially in front of her older brother, but that didn't mean he wouldn't use every moment possible to be close to her. After all, she was basically a baby compared to him. And Luke would chop his balls off. Something he absolutely advised against.

Luke slid the Pepsi can toward Ashton, rolling his eyes at his attention seeking sister and his completely one hundred percent push over of a friend, Ashton. Luke knew how it worked between them. Flirt as much as possible without actually ever crossing any boundaries. Yeah right, he thought, almost snorting.

"Why was school only alright?" Ashton pouted, and Lily jutted her bottom lip out too, causing Ash to let out a slight giggle. They were so smitten over each other that it physicall pained Luke to see, and he scrunched his face in disapproval as he tried his best to keep the vomit in.

Lily shrugged sadly, this time, her sadness anything but dramatic. Luke had heard about her day, and he knew that Ashton didn't need to hear about it to know that Lily's day was probably just as horrible as she'd made it out to be.

"Do you wanna cuddle?" Ashton cooed sweetly, meaning nothing but innocence.

Luke groaned anyway, rolling his eyes even harder then the first three times. "I'm gonna be in my room, waiting for the boys to get here. You two make me sick."

Ashton laughed brightly, but Lily crossed her arms over her chest, something she did when she was nervous. "Um," she said. "That's okay, Ashy. You don't have to cuddle me."

Ash pouted once more, unsure of how to make the little girl happy. He hated seeing her like this. He hated not being able to do anything about it. He wished so bad he could be in school with Lily every day. Then maybe her days would be a little better. And maybe his could be too.

Ashton's eyes seemed to brighten, telling Lily a lightbulb had come on in his head. He'd just come up with an idea. She was vaguelly aware that her slight crush on the drummer probably wasn't returned in the slightest, but Lily didn't seem to care. She slid closer to him on the bench. He didn't step back.

"Ashy?" Lily questioned. "What is it?"

Ashton smirked. "How do you know there's even something?"

"Because you have that look again," She giggled.

"What look?" Ashton placed a hand over his heart in mock hurt.

"Like a lightbult has turned on in that drummer brain of yours," Lily poked her tongue at the musician

Ashton threw his head back in laughter before placing one hand on either side of her hips, helping her off the bench. "Come on," he said, dragging her out of the kitchen. "I have a way of cheering you up."

***

"Wait," Lily said, gulping as Ashton took his place behind his drum kit. "Ash, are you serious?"

Lily knew that the garage was basically hallowed ground for the boys. She was hardly ever, ever allowed in, especially while one of the boys was playing music. And most deffinately, absolutely never while the four of them were writing. The only one time in the past three months that Lily had been in the garage was alone with Ashton. He had been writing, and she was simply just asking if he was staying for dinner.

"Wait, Lily," he said. Lily stopped in her tracks, her back to the drummer. "Stay."

And so she sat on the sofa across from Ashton while he wrote. He'd occasionally glance up at her, the tiniest hint of a smile on his face, before he dove back into his music again. Lily would never admit how much she loved that hour with Ashton, seeing him to deep in thought, so truly in his element.

"Of course I'm serious, sweetheart," he said, glancing up at her from behind his cymbal. "Come here."

And she did, without so much as an ounce of hesitation.

"Where do I sit Ashton," she smirked. "If you're the one in the chair."

Ashton smiled up at her through his curly hair. It was free of any bandanas today, and Lily didn't know if she liked it more or less. He was gorgeous either way, she concluded.

"Right," he said, grabbing at Lily's waist once more that afternoon. He turned her gently so that she was facing away from him, then pulled her down into his lap. "Here."

Lily gasped loudly. Completely by accident. It wasn't that the idea of sitting on Ashton's lap excited her, or anything, it was just that she hadn't expected it. They'd cuddled before, sure, and Ash even gave her piggy backs every second day after school, when they boys had band pratice. But this, this was completely new.

"Ash," Lily groaned, trying desperately to wriggle out of his grip. "Luke will flip if he sees us like this!"

Ashton held his breath, willing himself to stay calm. She's not old enough, she's not old enough, she's not old enough. "Luke will be fine," he choked out.

"Fine," she huffed, finally sitting still. Ashton thanked the lord and cursed his hormones. He couldn't have just liked a girl his age? "Can you just play with me now?"

Ashton's eyes shot open as the little girl pouted down at him. He couldn't hold back the giggle that escaped his lips. He threw his head back, laughing hysterically. Lily cocked her head to the side. "You have no idea what you just said, do you, baby?"

Lily shook her head no, to which Ashton lost it even more.

"Ugh," Lily groaned, trying once again to stand from her place on Ashton's lap. "Let me go, Ashton."

"Okay, no," Ashton said, finally seeming to sober. He grabbed at her hips again, bringing her back down to him. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'll play with you. Here, take the drum sticks. Don't worry about kicking the bass drum, princess, I can do that."

"Okay," she breathed shakily, nerves suddenly hitting her like a tonne of bricks. She was never musically talented. That was all Luke. So the idea of Ashton teaching her the drums caused her heart to create it's own heavy beat in her chest. "How do I do it?"

Ashton placed his large hands over her small ones as they held the sticks together, "Like this," he whispered, his breath fanning her cheek.