After // a.i. revised

Chapter 18

After minutes of silence Ashton finally speaks up. "Can I ask you a question?"

The look on his face tells me I shoudl say no but I can't help but say, "Sure."

"What do you want to do after college?" He asks and I laugh. That is the last thing I thought he would ask. I assumed he would ask my I am a virgin or why I don't drink.

"Well, I want to be an author or a publisher, whichever comes first." I probably shouldn't have been hinest with him, he will just make fun of me. Feeling brave, I ask him the same question earning an eye roll from him but no answer. "Are those your books?" I ask him, even though he probably won't give me an answer.

"They are." He mumbles.

"Which is your favorite?"

"I don't have a favorite."

I sigh and pick at a small fray on my jeans. There shouldn't be a fray already, they are new but I will worry about that later. "Does Mr. Roger's know you're at a party again?" He smirks.

"Mr. Rogers?" I don't get it.

"Your boyfriend. He is the biggest square I have ever seen."

"Don't talk about him like that, he is... he is..nice." I stutter. Ashton laughs and I stand up. He doesn't know Christian at all. "You could only dream of being as nice as he is." I snap.

"Nice? That's the first word that comes to mind when talking about your boyfriend? Nice is your'nice' way of calling him boring."

"He isn't boring, you don't know him."

"I know that he is boring. I could tell by his cardigan and loafers." Ashton's head rolls back in laughter and I can't ignore his dimples.

"He doesn't wear loafers." I say and cover my mouth so I don't laugh wiht him at my boyfriend's expense. I grab the water and take a drink.

"Well he has been dating you for two years and hasn't fucked you yet, I would say he is a square." He says and I spit the water back into the cup.

"What the hell did you just say?" Just when I think we can get along he says something like that.

"You heard me Elizabeth." He smiles.

"You're an asshole Ashton." I growl and throw the half empty cup of water at his face, HIs reaction is exactly what I hoped for. Complete shock, his large hand wipes off the excess water as I storm out of the room. He is so infuriating, decent one minute and completely crude the next. I push my way through the crowd and find the kitchen again. The anger I feel has overcome my nausea and all I want is another drink. I have to get Ashton's dimpled smirk out of my head, I spot Calum's black hair through the crowd and walk towards him. He is sitting with a cute preppy boy who happens to be holding a bottle of liquor.

"Hey Liz, this is my friend Niall." Calum says, introducing us. Niall smiles at me and I return it. Niall must notice my eyes on the bottle because he holds it out. "Want some?" He asks and passes it to me. The familiar burn feels good, it  ignites my body again and I momentarily forget about Ashton.

"Have you seen Talia?" I ask Calum and he shakes his head.

"I think her and Tyler may have left." She left? What the hell? I should care more but the vodka skews my judgement and I find myself thinking Talia and Tyler would make a cute couple. A few drinks later, I feel amazing. This must be why people drink all the time. I vaguely remember promising myself that I will never drink again but it's not so bad.

Fifteen minutes later, Calum and Niall have me laughing so hard that my stomach hurts. They are much better company than Ashton. "You know Ashton is a real ass." I tell them and they laugh.

"Yeah, he can be sometimes." Calum agrees and snakes his arm around me. I want to move it but I don't want to make it awkward because I know he doesn't mean anything by it. Minutes turn to hours and I haven't seen Ashton or Talia. The crowd starts to die down and I start to feel tired. It dawns on me that I have no way to get back to the dorms.

"Do the buses run all night?" I slur. Calum shrugs and says he doesn't know. "I'll be back in a minute." I tell them and stand up. Once again the effects of the vodka hit me as I stand up. "Ugh, just who I wanted to see." I groan as Ashton's mop of curls appears in front of me.

"You and Calum then?" Ashton's voice is thick with emotion that I can't quite register.

"You are so obnoxious! I am trying to find out about the bus." I push past him and he grabs my arm. He has no boundaries. "Let go of me Ashton." I look for another cup to toss in his face.

"Chill out...it's three am. There isn't a bus. You're stuck staying here again." His smile is so mocking that it makes me want to smack. "Unless you want to go home with Calum." He lets go of my arm and I go back to the couch with Calum and Niall. I hope that same room from last weekend is empty I should probably find out soon. I tell Calum about my plan and he offers to walk me upstairs to find out.