Lakeview's Outcast {Wattys2015}

Chapter 28 - Rough Patches

"You okay Ashton?" I glance at him, slightly worried as he continues leaning against the locker next to mine with a stormy glare on his face. Every few seconds his gaze flits away from my locker door to the other end of the hall where a group of his teammates were hanging out.

I shut my locker door after getting the necessary books out and Ashton shifts his glare to his shoes, his jaw clenched tightly in anger. Confused, I lean closer to him, placing my hand on his biceps. I can feel the hard muscle underneath and the heat radiating from him as I reach up to whisper in his ear.

"It's too early to get angry babe" I tease him hoping he'd warm up a bit, it worked - slightly. I'm rewarded with a small twitch of his lips and brief eye contact. Sighing softly I kiss his cheek and pull his hand so that he's walking behind me to the courtyard outside the English block.

Ashton's glare doesn't change though it has softened slowly, I sit close to him nudging him slightly with my elbow. 

"Alright Jack Frost who crapped in your cereal today?" His arm goes around my shoulders pulling me into his side as he leans down to whisper in my ear.

"Do you ever know when to shut up?" The words- had they been spoken a couple of weeks- ago would have had a certain bite to them. But today he just sounded defeated as he continued whispering, to any outsider it would look like we were having a sweet couple moment.

"I saw Brad earlier and the asshole couldn't keep his eyes off of you. Fudging hell, he has a girlfriend and your my girlfriend. I swear if he does that one more time..." he doesn't finish his sentence instead he places a kiss behind my ear, the touch sending my nerves tingling.

"You sound awfully jealous there Ashton. And here I was thinking that you were just angry"  I look up at him chuckling, enjoying how his glare turns playful. Briefly my gaze drifts to his lips, noting their fullness before my thoughts are interrupted by the jazz music signalling the start of first period.

"See you later Belle" Ashton pecks my cheek and stands up, starting the walk to his first class while I head inside for English. When I walk in I catch Joey's eyes and notice him wriggling his eyebrows, a contrast to the brooding quarterback beside him who glares at me as I take my seat. I decide to ignore Brad's glare and send a small smile Joey's way wanting to talk to him about his upcoming date with Juliette for Homecoming Dance tomorrow night. I guess I'll just have to call him later.

                                                                             ❃❃❃❃❃

"He. Is. So. Cute!" Juliette's squeal startles me and I almost drop a forkful of cake on the cafeteria table. I stare up at her as Ashton promptly places his ear phones in, not wanting to listen to any girl talk.

"This is the same Joey we're talking about right?" I tease, watching as her eyes light up with a spark that I'd never seen in her before. She was practically glowing as she sighs wistfully, twirling a lock of her hair. She doesn't say anything more and I'm left hanging for more information as I watch her pick at her lunch smiling slightly. Resigning myself to the fact that she won't be coughing up any details soon I resume eating my delicious chocolate cake. 

Some time later during lunch Ashton shuffles closer to me on the bench close enough so that the leather from his jacket brushes against my arm. 

"Thank goodness you weren't like that when we started dating...actually why aren't you sighing wistfully? Do you know how many girls want to date me?!" He narrows his eyes at me as if it's a crime to not be jealous over the various girls who ogle at  him. What he doesn't know is that I fume silently every time I hear the girls in my class giggle over his good looks, as if I'm not standing right there next to them.