FRIENDS

10

"Ivy, I've gotta get up." Michael groaned. I opened my eyes slightly to him lying beside me, looking tired and even slightly annoyed. I could tell it was still early in the morning, so I sighed.

"What does that have to do with me?" I mumbled sleepily, pulling the covers further up my body. Michael chuckled.

"I can't get my arm out from underneath you, and I sort of need it to record." He explained. It took until that moment for me to realize that his arm was definitely underneath me, curled around my waist. I let out a tired "sorry" as he crawled out of my bed so he could get ready for his day.

"Ashton and Luke are gonna be here until about one. Maybe you could hang out with Ash for a little while, yeah? Luke will deffo sleep until then, but I know Ashton is awake. I'll be back around the time he leaves. See you, babe."

He left the room without another word and I fell back asleep almost instantly.

 

I was woken up a little while later by Ashton coming into my room with a tray full of food. He sat down on the side of my bed with the tray on his lap.

"Good morning. Sorry for waking you up, but I made breakfast and I thought you'd want to eat." He said sheepishly. I smiled gratefully at him.

"No, this is awesome. It all looks really good." He'd made waffles with whipped cream and strawberries, and then had bacon on the side. There was a glass of orange juice and some berries as well, and just looking at it made me realize how hungry I was. I sat up in my bed and Ashton rested the tray on my lap, then rested his hands on his awkwardly.

"Make yourself comfortable, you dork. You don't have to sit there and be all weird. Crawl in. Let's watch a movie or something." He nodded and made his way over to Michael's side of the bed. He hesitated for a minute, then made that half of the bed before he sat back down, leaning against the pillows in a sitting position.

"Are you alright?" I asked skeptically as I cut into the waffles. "You're being really odd."

Ashton nodded his head.

"Yeah, I'm alright. It's just strange... He sleeps here every night." He almost cringed as he said the words, as if it caused him physical pain. I was confused; why was that such an issue?

"Yeah, so? He just sleeps. It's not like we're in here having sex or something." I said slowly. Ashton made a weird face. He was quiet for a few moments and he looked as if he was debating saying something.

"Yeah, you're right." He finally said. "I'm sorry that I'm being weird." He shook his head, as if he was shaking out the thoughts he was having. "I'm just in an off mood. How's the food?"

I nodded in approval, my mouth already full of waffle and whipped topping. It was delicious; some of the things that Ashton cooked could be questionable, but there was no doubt in his ability to make a killer breakfast.

"Did you already eat?" I asked, my mouth still full. I was being rude and rather disgusting, but it was only Ashton, so I didn't really care. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, I ate with Luke. He woke up early to go to the gym, which was a bit of a shock to everyone."

I tossed him the TV remote so he could put whatever he wanted on and we were quiet for a while as we watched Family Guy and I finished my breakfast. This was effortless and easy, being around Ash. He was my best friend, no doubt about it. I knew that if I told Michael how I felt and things felt apart, I'd never lose Ashton. He loved me like I loved him; as a best friend, as family. We could never lose that.

I watched him watching the television, the slightest smirk spread across his face and his hazel eyes filled with joy. He hadn't shaved in a day or two, so there was a trace of stubble on his face and his hair was in desperate need of a cut.