Painting Flowers // Ashton Irwin [au]

Twenty

Emilia's POV

I feel like I'm in a confused elevator going up-and-down, side-to-side, diagonal, and every other direction known to man. And why am I so thirsty? My tongue feels like sandpaper scraping against the roof of my mouth. Not to mention I'm hungry, and I want nothing more than to lay down right here in the terminal and take a nap.

Jet lag is a bitch.

I apologize to each person whose shoulder I bump against as Ashton drags me out from the crowd exiting the gate and over to our friends who made it out of the plane before us. Calum is carrying a miserable looking Julia on his back even though he looks just as bad as she. Michael and Luke don't seem as affected by jet lag as the other two, but they can barely hold their heads up. As for Ashton, he hasn't said much.

I woke up to him clinging to my body and nearly burning my skin with his abnormally high body heat. He didn't wake up until we landed and even then, I had to pry my body away from him to break him out of his much needed slumber.

"Screw time zones," Julia mumbles into Calum's shoulder. "I don't understand how we're two days ahead from when we left."

"It's because we crossed the International Date Line," Calum says.

"Well, screw that too."

"If I weren't so tired, I'd be more excited that we're in the same country Hugh Jackman was born in," I say, rubbing my eye and scanning the terminal for any drink vending machines, so I can get some water and stop feeling like I have a cat's tongue.

"You okay, Ash?" Luke asks, shaking his friend's shoulder.

Ashton nods, the corner of his lip twitching. "Yeah, I'm fine. It just feels weird being back home."

"How's jet lag treating you?"

"Not too bad. A nap would be nice though."

"A thousand naps would be nice," Julia groggily adds. It takes effort for even the smallest of smiles to form on our faces.

Luke pulls the conversation back. "Are you ready?"

Ashton's hand trembles lightly in mine, a soft vibration mixed with his subtle heartbeat against my palm. There's a double meaning to his question, and even I'm curious to hear Ashton's answer.

Feeling the pressure of our expectant eyes, Ashton closes his and inhales deeply. "Yeah," he breathes.

There's so much I'd like to say to him, but I think all our proud smiles say more than enough. For the first time, he has admitted that he's ready for what's to come on this trip. He's still nervous, there's no denying that, but he's pushing through it. This is what he wanted; to be strong enough to take on this colossal thorn in the flesh.

Calum puts Julia down and forces her to walk off her drowsiness. Ashton is making sure I don't doze off as well by pinching my nose and lightly tugging on my hair. It may not be the most enjoyable way to keep from falling asleep, but my reactions are putting a smile on his face so I endure it. We huddle around the baggage carrousel and wait for ours suitcases to arrive.

"Where did your dad go?" I ask. Nolan took off once we landed and we haven't seen him since.

Ashton stares across the terminal and jerks his head forward. I follow his line of sight to find Nolan chatting with a man who looks to be about his age. The man's suit looks more expensive than my college tuition.

"Who's that guy with him?"

"That would be Natalie's dad," Ashton says, his lips barely moving.