tattoos // lashton

fourteen.

- Luke -

Ashton said he would drive to my apartment, since he knew I would go far over the speed limit. it was probably smart that he did so, though, since his theory was most likely true. I laid my head against the window, my left hand being held by Ashton's right. 

When Calum called me, he was crying. And I know Calum; he doesn't cry unless it's something extremely bad. He couldn't get his words out; he sounded as if he was drunk, but I knew he wasn't. Cal isn't the kind to go out and get drunk, especially not when he's sad. He says humans are supposed have emotions and turning to something to take them away isn't going to help. He may not come off as it, but he's actually smart and responsible. 

"Luke, are you going to tell me what's up yet?" Ashton asked, his eyes looking at me for one second before back at the road. 

"I don't quite know myself." I replied, keeping my eyes aimed out the window. That was the truth, though. Calum had only said that he was crying and that he needed me. And, as his best friend, it was my duty to get my ass over to our apartment and find out what was wrong. 

"He didn't say anything?" Ashton asked, turning the radio down a bit to hear me. I wanted him to turn it down more since there was some shitty song playing. I wasn't going to turn it off, though, since that required moving and I was so tired from my anxiety attack.

"Nothing besides what I told you already." I answered. Ashton kept asking the same question, but it didn't bother me, since I knew he was just worried. Ashton got pretty scared when I had an anxiety attack, but he got even more scared when I told him that something was up with Calum. 

"How are you feeling?" Ashton asked, his thumb rubbing my hand. He leaned down and placed a kiss on my hand, and I smiled.

"I'm okay. I'm really tired, but okay." I replied, and Ashton returned the smile.

"Good. It's gonna be okay, alright? I'm sure we can help Calum." Ashton said, pulling into the parking lot in front of my flat. As soon as he parked, we both rushed out and ran to the elevator, which was taking bloody ages.

"Alright, you wait for this, and I'll run upstairs. I've got a spare key, so if I beat you I'll get in." Ashton said since the elevator was taking too long. We needed to get to Calum, since we didn't know how big the problem was. I nodded, and he started running up the stairs. I'd be shocked if he beat me, since we live on the seventh floor. 

After two more minutes of waiting, the elevator came. I ran inside, quickly pressing the seven button. I was bouncing, my hand on my pulse. I probably looked crazy to the couple in here, with my strange actions and eyes red. I didn't care, though. I needed to hurry. The elevator stopped at my floor, and I actually ran out of it. I could already hear the couple start talking about me, but I didn't care.

When I reached the door, I fumbled to get my keys. When I finally grabbed the key, I heard Ashton lean against the wall beside my flat door. He was quick, I had to admit, though he was breathing really hard.

"Oh my God. Now I see why the track team wanted me in high school. Jesus Christ, I should've joined." Ashton said, leaning against the wall while I unlocked the door. We quickly went in, finding Calum on the couch with pizza in one hand and the other wiping tears from his face. I sighed. Calum was a stress eater, as much as he hated to admit it. He took a bite of his pizza, his shoulders shaking with sobs.

"Oh my God, he's a mess." I whispered to Ashton, who was standing in front of me while my arms were wrapped around him. 

"What do we do?" He asked, his voice in a whisper like mine was.

"You guys suck at whispering." Calum yelled, his voice shaky and mouth full of pizza. We took that as an invitation to go sit by him. When we did, I sat on one side of him while Ashton sat on the other. 

"Don't make plans on the thirtieth." Calum said as he finished his slice of pizza, throwing the crust on the pizza box in front of him. From the looks of it, he must have had about three slices. The pizza deliverer probably shit himself when he saw the state Calum was in. 

"Why?" I asked. Calum started crying a bit harder, which I didn't know was possible. 

"We have a funeral to attend." He said between sobs. I was scared to ask who had passed away, but I knew I had to.

"Whose?" I asked. Calum sighed, rubbing his eyes on his sleeves.

"My dad's." He said, more tears streaming down his face. I pulled him into a hug. I saw Ashton, who had a hand over his mouth. He moved it and mouth 'oh my God.' Calum was really close to his dad. He told me that when his mum walked out on them, his dad was the only person he had for awhile. Then when his dad got remarried and he got a sister, he told me he never felt alone anymore. And now, even with two people with him that cared so much about him, I could tell he still felt alone. Calum shook in my arms, and I heard him start coughing. I pulled away from the hug.

"Do you need anything?" I asked, and he nodded.

"Tissues and water." He replied. I nodded, getting up to go get those items, which were both in the kitchen. When I got back with the two things, Calum was flopped over on Ashton's lap while Ashton just lightly rubbed his back. Calum sat up when he heard me enter, grabbing the water from my hands and taking a drink. His throat had to hurt, since that normally happened to me when I had an anxiety attack and I started crying. I was surprised that I had held myself together through the news. Normally just spilling a cup of coffee can set off my anxiety, but this didn't even waver it.

After he drank quite a bit of the water, he cleaned himself up with tissues, wiping his face and blowing his nose. Once he threw those away, he sat down on the couch, laying his head back down on Ashton's lap. I sat down next to Ashton, my arm around his shoulders. 

"Put a movie on please. Something really happy and funny." Calum said, grabbing a blanket and throwing it at me while he pulled a different one over himself. I laid the blanket out on Ashton and I, kicking off my shoes while Ashton did the same. I got up and put in Identity Thief, which was one of Calum's favorite movies. Once it was in and I hit play, I crawled back under the blanket, my arm back around Ashton. The movie started, and I could tell all of us were hoping that this cheered Calum up at least a little bit.

Hearing Calum laugh was a satisfying thing for us all.

~