Twenty One.

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October 31st 2020

"This is going to be amazing" Leah sang, as herself, Skye and Ashley all walked through the overly crowded venue, seeing all the different costumes, all the different mixtures of groups you wouldn't ever imagine to be together talking and getting along.

"Ashy!" Mia called, as she walked over, dressed head to toe in a white pantsuit, Ashley raising an eyebrow at the bold, white outfit. "You know you always spill your drinks right?" Ashley giggled as Mia pulled her in for a hug. "Adds to the effect if I spill something red then doesn't it" Mia grinned, as Ashley spotted Mason sporting a black suit, with a similar mask to the one Mia held in her hand. "Purge?" Ashley smiled, as Mia nodded her head.

"So where's Amber? Obviously I'm being blind" Ashley smiled, as she looked around the venue, noticing how Skye and Leah had left her side and was now talking to a group of males near the bar, rolling her eyes playfully at her friends and how well they fitted into the scene that Ashley had always known.

"Oh, have a look around, if you listen closely you'll hear Jack" Mason smiled, as Ashley looked around finally her eyes landing on her other friends.

"I'm sorry, is Jack dressed as a dinosaur?" Ashley laughed, as she saw Jack dressed as inflatable dinosaur, knocking over balloons and tearing down banners as he ran around, Amber stood next to him laughing. "Wait, is Dec dressed as a goat?" Ashley laughed, as she held her stomach, trying her hardest to contain herself. "Yeah, he lost a bet" Mason smirked.

"But the best dressed goes to that one" Mason smirked, as he pointed a finger over to a male in a tight green dress fitted with green tights or leggings, Ashley wasn't quite sure with a blonde wig placed over his head.

"It's Chilly, but you would know that already wouldn't you" Mason teased, as Ashley raised another eyebrow at him. "Meaning?" Ashley muttered, as she watched as Ben laughed with his friends, moving his back quickly so that the wings on his back would flap around. "I've seen the way you look at him" Mason mumbled, as he draped on arm around her shoulders as Mia wrapped an arm around her waist, both of them grinning at her.

"Meaning?" Ashley mumbled again, but she silently knew that she had looked at him, but she just told herself that it was glances a friend would make between each other, she looked at Mason all the time, god she had even seen him and Declan in their boxers, it didn't mean anything, so a one glance definitely meant nothing. "We're just saying" Mia smiled, before she kissed her friends cheek, and ran off to find Amber to dance to some songs together, Jacks t-Rex tail knocking glasses over as he danced to the beat.
"Remind me why I agreed to this" Ashley muttered under her breath, before she went to find the bar.

~~~

It had easily been a couple of hours, Ashley leaning her head in her hands at the bar, as she fiddled with the straw for what felt like her twentieth cocktail that evening, feeling the alcohol consume her body, but she wasn't really feeling the partying mood, and her friends could tell that by looking at her.

"I'll go, if she hates me after it hardly effects me does it?" He mumbled, as he pulled off his hat, walking over to the bar, taking a seat next to her and nudging her with his elbow.

"What do you want?" Ashley mumbled, as Ben smiled at her. "Just wanted to check in" Ben smiled as Ashley nodded her head. "Well I didn't ask for Tinkerbell" Ashley whispered, as Ben nodded his head. "Well maybe you can let me take you to Neverland, might be a bit more happier" Ben mumbled, as Ashley shook her head. "It's fine, I'm going, thanks for the invite" Ashley mumbled, as she grabbed the half empty glass from the side of the bar that she had been nursing for the last half an hour, before she smiled at her friends and left the venue.

"I'll go, I'll go" Ben continued to mumble, as he took his half empty beer bottle with him, slowly sobering up as the cold air hit him, his green dress riding up slightly in the wind, as he laughed to himself.

"What are you following me for? I didn't ask for a stalker" Ashley mumbled, as she leant against the railings that guided themselves along the walkway to enter the venue. "It comes with the nature of the job, you get crazy stalkers just like I do" Ben smiled, as Ashley nodded her head slowly.

"Cmon, talk to me, what's wrong?" Ben mumbled, as he leant against the railings, taking in the scenery of the night sky on the outskirts of London. "What do you mean what's wrong? Why does something always have to be wrong?" Ashley mumbled.

"Because I know that someone as pretty as you should look as down as you do" Ben smiled, and he knew it wasn't just the alcohol talking on his behalf, but Ashley figured it was, everyone was more confident after a couple of drinks.

"You know nothing about me though Benji" Ashley giggled, as she hiccuped before giggling again, Ben smiling at her. "I'd like to get to know you though, those people in there" Ben stated, as he pointed into the venue. "Care so much about you, some of the stories I've heard about you, I feel like I do know you, or part of you" Ben smiled, as Ashley smiled back up at him.

"I mean, Ihe heard bits and bobs and Ash, you seem like such a genuine person" Ben smiled, as Ashley blushed, looking down at the floor, her hand still holding the glass she had been drinking from.

"And if I'm being honest, I can't help but think of the other night" Ben whispered, as Ashley looked up at him, taking in his blue eyes, and his hair that was a little over the place due to the wig he had been wearing, but she couldn't mistake the smile on his face.

"We can't do that again Ben, I'm engaged, got I get married soon" Ashley mumbled, as she held a hand to her face, sighing to herself. "God, I cheated on my fiancée" Ashley whispered, as she felt the tears prick at her eyes. "I've never done that before, not to anyone" Ashley mumbled.

"Hey, it was a drunken thing, and mistakes happen, it doesn't make you a bad person" Ben stated, as he held a hand to her arm, comforting her quietly. "But I still need to tell him, for gods sake, how could I be so stupid" Ashley whispered, as she looked up at him.

And Ben felt a feeling in his chest that he couldn't describe, he didn't feel guilty, or even sad, he felt genuine concern for her, like he wanted the world to be right for her, he wanted her to be happy, and for once he was able to see what everyone else always said about her.

How when she was alone she was a different person, someone who seemed happy and carefree like she had been most of the night, dancing and laughing away with her friends. But as the night drew to a close and more and more people left, and the night began to end, he saw the Ashley come back that he knew his friends spoke about.

And the truth was she was unhappy, in more ways than one.

And in that moment, he followed his gut instinct, holding a hand to her face, wiping a single tear, as his lips found hers.

But Ashley didn't pull away, and she didn't know if deep down it was the own alcohol taking over her system, or whether it was a heat of the moment thing.
As her own lips began to move against Bens, her hand moving to hold his waist, as his other hand held her cheek on the other side, both of them melting into each other.

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