december 2014
houston, tx
Ashley reaches over to tap Awsten's shoulder.
"Should we go?" She mouths, clearly trying not to wake her little brother.
Awsten nods in response, beginning to stand up, being mindful of Robbie still being soundly asleep next to him.
It's a little harder for Ashley to get up, since he's cuddled up to her side, but she carefully manoeuvres herself away from him, without waking him up.
She takes Awsten's hands as he offers them out to her, helping to pull her off of the sofa.
They say their goodbyes to her parents, before Awsten leads Ashley out to his car, skipping ahead to open the passenger side door for her.
"Sorry we ended up staying for so long," she apologises, once they're settled into the car.
"Don't even worry," Awsten waves her off quickly. "It's not even eight o' clock yet," he points out.
"Almost," Ashley retorts, earning a lighthearted eye roll. "You still want me to help dye your hair tonight?"
"Yeah, we've still got time," Awsten nods, as they drive back to his house. "That's as long as it's okay with you," he adds, "like, if you have early classes and stuff—"
"No, no, I'm all good," Ashley assures him with a smile.
Awsten won't show Ashley what colour dye he'd picked out until they're in the bathroom at his parents' house, and he tips the contents of a plastic bag onto the counter.
"Oh, my god," her eyes widen excitedly. "Fucking finally!" She cheers. "I literally told you to dye your hair blue like, two years ago."
"Hey, I can make my own decisions," Awsten counters, "this isn't all because of you."
"Yeah, sure, okay," Ashley scoffs, raising her eyebrows at him. "Come on, let's get started," she clasps her hands together, scanning over the dye that Awsten had bought.
"Can't believe I'm trusting you," he teases.
"Oh, please," Ashley makes a face, rolling her eyes, as she places her hands on his shoulders, and guides him to sit down on the chair that they'd brought into the bathroom. "D'you think we should tone it a little, first?" She asks, running her hands through his bleach blonde locks.
"Uh," he clears his throat, attempting to keep his focus, "if you think so, I don't mind."
Ashley narrows her eyes, looking closely at the tone of his blonde; she combs her fingertips through each area, scanning for any parts that are overly yellow.
Awsten is glad she doesn't notice how hard he's concentrating on his breathing, or the goosebumps that are rising on the back of his neck; and he tries to ignore the way her fingertips gently scratching his scalp makes his eyes want to roll back.
"I think we should be fine," she shrugs, stepping aside to grab some gloves and opening the first pot of dye.
When she begins putting the dye onto his hair, Awsten hums at the soothing sensation, earning a small giggle.
