shadows - lashton

Chapter 27

*Ashton's P.O.V*

Things were blurred, that was for sure. One minute I was standing watching Luke run worriedly towards me, and the next I was on the floor as a painful high-pitched scream filled my ears.

When you grow up, people don't tell you the truth. They tell you that everything will always be okay, that if you want something and work hard enough you might just get it. But all of that was lies. You could be whoever you wanted in life, doing whatever you please, and your fate still wouldn't change. That's what is so unfair. Its always the good people that fall, while the bad stand there laughing down at them.

Its little things like that that mean so much. I'd never quite understood it before, but now years later, while I watch the most important person in my life crumble to the ground, I finally get it.

His eyes were clouded by fear as his body smashed to the ground, and he screamed one final time before falling silent. I didn't know what to do to check whether or not he was alive. I would have checked for a heartbeat, but vampires didn't have heart beats. So I ended up lying on top of the dying blond boy, crying uncontrollably against his chest, and begging for him to wake up.

I only moved when Michael dragged me away, so that Calum could try and help Luke. My best friend held me tightly in his arms, and my squirming resulted in nothing more than wearing me out.

"I can't lose him, Michael," I sobbed, "I can't lose him."

Both sides had been silent before, carefully watching what was happening before them, some with happiness and some with sympathy. But now someone from our crowd was shouting, encouraging his fellow vampires to attack and avenge Luke.

Avenge? No, I must have heard wrong, Luke wasn't dead. He couldn't be.

"Are you all seriously going to ignore what just happened?" The same voice yelled, "well I'm not!"

The guy started running in the direction of us and the council. Jake, yeah I think that's what Luke had said he was called.

Jake, along with me, and also clearly Calum and Michael, had expected everyone to stand there and watch someone else be brutally attacked by Marcellus. However as soon as he had moved closer, others started to follow him. It was only a few people at first, but soon all hundreds of them were charging madly, yelling and cheering. They weren't going to go down without a fight.

Marcellus and the council had taken a small step back in shock at this sudden reaction, but immediately afterwards accepted that this meant war. Only one side would be left standing at the end.

In a mere matter of seconds, people were all around and running past us, careful not to get to close to Luke, who still laid unmoving on the floor beside Calum. Michael still gripped me tightly, I tried to get him to let me fightt, but he still shook his head and refused to let me go.

"Please Michael, we have to win this, for him."

He didn't reply, yet stared around him in utter amazement. I frowned, "what are you looking a - oh."

My mouth fell open as I realised what was going on. The people hadn't run straight past us and towards the council like I first thouht, instead they had formed a circle around me, Michael, Calum, and Luke. They were protecting us.

"Ashton," Jake said to me from within the circle of people, "stay there. I know you wanna fight, we all do, but you need to stay there. With Luke. Michael and Calum need to help us, please Ashton, promise me you'll stay with Luke."

I looked over at Calum and Michael who nodded at one another, before standing up and joining Jake and the others in the circle. I crawled towards Luke and sat there staring at my beautiful, still boyfriend.

"Ashton."

"Y-yes, okay I promise."

That was all they needed. That little bit of reassurance. Because next thing I know, the outside layer of the circle had broken apart from the rest and mixed within the thousands of the council. I couldn't see everything that was going on through the people who surrounded me, but I just just make out the outlines of many lifeless bodies falling to the floor.

So many dead, so many more to die.

But I had to focus on Luke, he couldn't die too. He didn't deserve this. Luke was the one who wanted to stop people from dying, he wanted to save everyone. Not once did he lose hope, even when it meant jumping in front of me and taking the hit himself. And for that, I quite literally owed everything to him.

It was crazy that this was even happening. This time a month ago, I was an unpopular, failing 17-year-old, who would sit at home for hours trying to convince my little brother that vampires didn't exist. And now, all around me, vampires were fighting for what they believed was right. For life, or for death. Most would say that their life was much better before, and would happily go back if they could.

But I don't think I could ever do that.

I mean yeah, life may have been easier before, but it certainly wasn't better. Because I didn't have Luke then. And Luke was my happiness.

It would be easy to stop fighting. That when faced with the choice of life or death, you take death because you've never been a fighter. But that was one thing I was sure of; Luke was a fighter. Whatever fight with death was going on in his head right now, he wouldn't ever give up. That was the only bit of hope I had left to hang on to.

But it was enough.

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A/n: I wasn't really sure how to end this chapter because it was mostly reflection and thought etc but I hope it didn't turn out too bad

NEXT CHAPTER IS LUKE'S P.O.V WHO'S READY?!

Thanks :) xx