Runaway - Ashton Irwin *completed*

thirty-three

I woke up to my phone ringing on the table next to my bed. It was already almost noon. I'd had a long week and I was so exhausted that I didn't even realize how late I'd slept.

"Ashton?" I answered the phone, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes.

"Good morning sunshine," he said. "Did I wake you?"

"Yeah, but it's okay. I need to get up anyways," I said, falling back on the bed and closing my eyes.

"Well if I were you I'd get your cute little tush out of bed and get dressed," he said, my cheeks blushing a little at his choice of words. "I'm coming to pick you up at 2."

"Oh," I sat up. "Where are we going?"

"You'll see. I'll see you at 2, Taylor Parks." He hung up without another word and I wondered what he could possibly have planned.

I got out of bed to find the stereo was playing music and Luke was dancing in the kitchen and singing along.

"The sleeping beauty has finally risen!" he smiled and took my hands, attempting to get me to dance with him. I laughed but was only halfhearted with it since I'd just awaken.

"I was gonna go in and make sure you were still alive there soon," Luke said, turning back to the stove. He was frying bacon on it while also flipping pancakes. Luke was a pro at multitask cooking, thanks to me.

"I thought you would have eaten and been out of your pajamas by now," I laughed at Luke and how it was 11:30 in the morning and he was still in his penguin pajama pants. He was usually up way before I was on weekends.

"Oh I slept in for a while today," he said. "I was up really late last night studying. I've got finals in a couple weeks."

"Luke, you're one of the most intelligent people I know," I said. "You have nothing to worry about."

"I know, but I'm still worried," he said. "I want to graduate in a couple months, not in a couple quarters."

"It's okay, I did the same thing." I sat at the table and flipped through a magazine sitting on it, my stomach growling from the smell of food.

Luke continued to sing along and make breakfast in the kitchen, almost getting a pancake stuck on the ceiling because he flipped it a little too high.

"Okay that's enough pancake flipping for today," he said as he turned off the stove and put our plates on the table, turning down the stereo so it was like quiet background music.

"You're such a goof," I laughed as I poured orange juice into a couple glasses for us.

"I'm just as much a goof as you are, Taylor, don't argue with me," he said. "You're the one who sits around reading all the time with your stupid sweaters. They're way too big!"

"They're comfy!" I argued. "And books are a great way to expand your horizons of knowledge and look at things from another perspective or look into another world completely!"

"Nerd," he mumbled as he took a bite of his pancakes and I rolled my eyes at him.

"Ashton called me this morning and said he's taking me somewhere at 2," I said. "But he didn't tell me where or anything."

"Nice," he said. "Do you have any idea when you'll be getting home?"

"No clue. You should go out and do something with some friends," I said.

"I don't have any friends," he said. "I've been too focused on schoolwork and not partying, which I guess isn't normal in college so no one wants to hang out with me except Calum. And even Calum is more infatuated with Abbi now."