Hold My Hand - Lashton

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

-

To say Ashton was just simply interested in Luke would have been a lie. Ashton was infatuated by him and he didn't know why. He spent most of his day thinking about the blonde. He'd only know him for four weeks but it felt like longer. Wondering when and why they would bump into each other. It wasn't easy to see Luke, seeing as he always hid in his room. But for some reason, Ashton craved Luke's presence.

The curly-haired boy had noticed he started adopting some of Luke's habits, not only because he wanted to understand the boy more, but he realised how effective they really were. They weren't silly little habits Luke did because he was anxious, but real-life skills that would actually be useful to get him through his four-year degree.

He knew already that Luke woke up early. He was always eating his breakfast at around eight in the morning. Ashton thought Luke probably woke up a couple of minutes before and went straight to breakfast.

But one day when he was talking to the blonde at breakfast trying to attempt to wake up early enough to see his every morning, to give him positive affirmations for his day, he found out that he actually woke up at six and couldn't quite comprehend why.

"I like to have time to just sit and relax," Luke told him. He didn't take a book down to breakfast now, he just came with his phone and room key and waited patiently for the curly-haired boy to appear. He'd only get through two or three pages before he had to put it down so he saw no point trying to carrying it along with countless other things down the stairs.

"But how are you not tired? Are you getting enough sleep? We should be getting around seven or eight, I'm certainly tired!" Ashton rambled, not understanding the blondes purpose with his early starts

Luke laughed, pushing his porridge around in the bowl. "I go to sleep early, about ten," he explained. "I don't like to rush in the morning. I like to be able to sit there, plan and contemplate the day. It just helps me stay calm."

Ashton sat there silently for a moment and stared at the blonde. His gaze was heavy on Luke, and he didn't like it. So the blonde stood up and emptied the remaining porridge in the bin and washed his bowl.

Nonetheless, Ashton's eyes followed the blonde around the room, observing his mannerisms and how quietly he moved around the room, manoeuvring around the awkwardly placed tables. Luke could still sense that he was being watched, he peered into the window that was behind the sink, ignoring his own reflection and looking to see if he could see the position of Ashton's head.

Ashton laughed, the way Luke positioned his body made it obvious he was watching him. "You didn't eat much of the porridge," Ashton pointed out as the smell of the oat continued to fill the room. Luke always apologised about that whenever someone entered the kitchen, regardless if they smelt it or not.

"It was a bit burnt. My milk seems off. I need to get some more," Luke said, barely audible over the banging of dishes as he placed his crockery back into the cupboard. "I have bananas to eat upstairs," Luke continued, feeling he had not satisfied Ashton after the silence that was left.

Ashton didn't know whether to be satisfied with the blonde's answer. He knew the blonde was vegan, he knew that his meal options were fewer than his own, but he was beginning to wonder if Luke was actually eating the right stuff.

He'd read a lot about vegans since he had found out that the younger boy was one. He did at one point consider giving it a try, he knew there were health, environmental and animal right benefits, but he didn't think the apt change was quite right for him. He thought if he were to give it a try he would have to submerge into the stages, or just eat meat on the weekends. It all seemed to difficult and limiting to him.