snowflakes a.i

december 3rd, 2014

"who are you?" meredith asked, scrunching up her freckled nose, her feet planted firmly on the ground. he had curly hair that she was tempted to run her fingers through, and green eyes the color of forests. he was an appealing sight to look at but proven to be very frustrating.

he inhaled a deep breath before staring down at the girl whos been running marathons through his head. her brown hair cascaded over her right shoulder, intricately tied in a braid. "im ashton irwin." he huffed, crossing his arms over his chest, still leaning back against the fence post. "how're you today, babe?" he smirked, knowing that she'd melt into a puddle at his feet.

instead, she raised an eyebrow at him. he looked at her with that same dumb smirk on his face, as if waiting for something. but meredith just scoffed and told him, "my name is not babe."

for a moment ashton looked shocked. she mimicked his stupid little smirk. "we have some talking to do."
••
few minutes later ashton had convinced her to cut school in exchange for answers to all her questions. "why do you think im fake?" meredith said confidently, as they were parked on a silent residential road a few blocks away from the school.

ashton rolled his eyes. "you're faker than kim kardashian's ass, and i know that because ive seen your real self cracking through."

meredith gaped. "you've talked to me once!" she shrieked. "over the phone, too."

"you're happy when you're real." he mumbled, sliding a cd into the slot on his car radio. "in school its all 'hi, im perfect as all hell, and i dont have any feelings! la di da di da.'" he mocked a shrill female tone.

she wanted to laugh at the voice he'd used but she was too offended. "i dont act like i have no emotions." she muttered.

"you seem content with having no friends. no one would." he laughed, as sweet music she'd never heard before drifted through the speakers.

"i have friends!" she argued, toying with the end of her braid.

"sure." ashton sighed. "only because im your friend now."

meredith huffed. "who said we were friends?"

"i did." ashton gave a cheesy smile.

"maybe since we're friends now you can let go of your theory of my fakeness." she laughed, taking her phone out of her jacket pocket.

"oh. i'm definitely not letting that go any time soon." then he put the car in drive. "where to?"

meredith shrugged. "anywhere. i dont usually cut school." she mumbled the last part, and felt the car begin to move. she sent in an absence excuse to the school through her mother's email.

"well its either my place or fast food."

"it's like 8 in the morning why would you want fast food." she turned to him and cocked an eyebrow.

he chuckled. "my house it is then, my mum's probably left already." he added, turning into the wealthier part of the neighborhood.

they stopped in front of a larger house, which appealed to meredith more than her row home did. ashton stopped the car, and they both got out. he led her to the front door, which was unlocked, and they both went inside.

"so why did you want me to ditch with you again?"

"because i'd like to see you at your real self, everything is fake in that place."

"what do you mean?" she asked, sliding a notebook out of her bag.

"fake people, fake friends, fake boobs, fake smiles." he listed. "its nice to just see someone who isn't once in a while."

"but you keep going on and on about how fake i am." she laughed, digging in the bottom of her backpack for a pencil.

"but," he injected, tossing his bag down by the door and sat down on a couch in their living room. "i see yourself breaking through." meredith sat on the opposite side of the couch from him, and began trying to think of things to write.

"wait." he said, and she looked up. "you know when i first texted you? what was that 'asking me if i was a part of a cult' thing about."

"like in the span of 2 minutes three people texted me about me being fake." she mumbled, setting her notebook in her lap.

"weird." he muttered.