Wildflower - {lashton au}

Hyacinth.

"Luke, it's a phone call," he muttered to himself, watching the screen light up with Ashton's name across it. "Pick up the fucking phone."

He took one last deep breath before picking up the phone in his shaky hands and swiping the answer button. "Hello?"

"Hi, Luke," Ashton's honey voice filtered through the speaker. "How are you today?"

Luke felt his knees go weak at just the sound of Ashton saying his name, but he shook the feeling away. "I'm doing well, Ashton," he said, a small smile on his lips. "How are you today? Bored enough to call me, I can see."

Ashton laughed gently over the receiver, and Luke could just picture him rolling his eyes. "My boredom has indeed reached its absolute peak," he said, voice full of sarcasm, "so I just had to call the most boring friend I have to make up for it."

Luke ignored the warmth spreading in his chest from Ashton calling them friends and scoffed, causing Ashton to laugh gently. "I am fully offended," he said in faux offense. "Did you only call me to insult me?"

"You insulted yourself first, Blondie," Ashton pointed out.

Luke let out a heavy sigh, rolling his eyes to himself. "How can I help you, Ashton?"

Ashton laughed once again before speaking. "I wanted to see what you were doing today," he said happily. "I was thinking of going and doing something spontaneous today."

Luke furrowed his brows. "So you called me?"

Ashton laughed again, making Luke's heart race. That damn laugh. "Well," Ashton resumed, "you said it yourself, that you agreed with your friends that you should be more spontaneous. I know what I have planned for today, but what you don't know is that I fully involved you before asking you, so you can't back out unless you want to make me go alone."

Luke felt his cheeks flush, running a hand through his hair. "And what is it that we're doing?"

"That is for me to know," Ashton said, the sound of gathering keys in the background, "and for you to join me for. So. What do you say, Luke?"

Luke hesitated. He knew he'd only known him for a couple of weeks at that point, but he was sure that Ashton wouldn't ask him to do something that could put him in any danger. Additionally, the fact that Ashton asked him to join rather than anyone else, might have also swayed Luke's decision. So he smiled.

"I'm in."

———

"Ashton," Luke said as he sat in the passenger seat of his car, watching the curly haired boy smile as they drove down the winding stretch of highway, "could you please tell me where we're going?"

Ashton just smiled wider, sparing a brief glance at Luke before looking back to the road. "I already told you where we're going."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah," he said softly, "I know what town we're going to and I know that we're doing something spontaneous, but what is it?"

Ashton reached his right hand over and gently laid his palm flat on Luke's thigh, a gesture that was meant to calm Luke but instead made his cheeks flush and his heart beat faster. "You worry too much, Blondie," he said, eyes never leaving the road and hand never leaving Luke's thigh. "Have a little faith, yeah? I'm not going to get you killed or anything."

Luke gulped slightly, almost loud enough to be heard over the music flowing from Ashton's speakers. "Right," he said, his initial worries taken over by the roar of butterflies in his stomach from Ashton's touch.