The Drummer || a.i [completed]

44 - i was already missing

before the night I left

monday

*ashton's pov*

I heard about Luke and Tavie breaking up from Calum. He obviously felt I deserved to know for some reason. I mean, what was I supposed to do? Rush in and sweep her away? I could't do that, not to Luke. Sure, he was an idiot, and didn't deserve Tavie one bit, but he also didn't deserve for the guy who, he thought, was the reason that him and his girlfriend broke up to come and steal the girl he loved from under his nose. If Luke couldn't fight for her, I wouldn't try and fight him for her.

I don't know, I wanted to get her the chivalrous way, the way opposite to how everyone thinks I'll try and get her. I want it all to be perfect. I want her to start crying or something. That would be sweet.

"Ash." A hand waved in front of my face. Her nails were painted blue. "Ash. Wake up you idiot. History may be in the past, but you have to be in the present to learn about it." She grinned at me.

"Cass, you're not funny." I teased, but chuckled anyway. I then attempted to focus on the words coming out of Mrs Braudel's mouth. She was so annoying, and she could talk for ages, I had no idea how her husband could put up with her. And god, her poor kids. She mentioned them from time to time - yes, I do sometimes pay attention - I think their names are Peter and Mandy or something, I don't know. I don't pay that much attention.

"Mr Irwin, can you please explain this to me?" The teacher inevitably picked on me to answer the question. She always picked on me at least once every lesson. One day, it had been five times. She picked on me five times, ugh.

How is it, that when you realise you haven't been concentrating, you try to concentrate so much that you then start overthinking the whole concentration thing and then stop concentrating and just think about concentrating... did that make any sense?

"I'm sorry I do-"

Then a knock sounded on the door, and the receptionist poked her head through the door. "Can I please speak to Ashton Irwin for a minute?" She asked, her eyes nervous as she looked Mrs Braudel up and down. My teacher nodded, and I stood up, giving Cass a confused look before following the receptionist outside the classroom. The door closed and she led me to an empty hall with a single bench built into the wall. A girl was sitting on the end of the bench, her head bent down so her short black hair fell forward over her shoulders.

"Ashton, this is Elizabeth. Um, I suggest you two talk in this classroom here." The receptionist bustled us into the classroom to the left of the bench, and closed the door behind us. I was alone with the dark-haired girl. She looked at me with glossy blue eyes which were puffy and bloodshot.

"Have you been crying? Are you okay?" I asked her, staying within a metre from her.

The girl shook her head, but took a deep breath and looked me right in the eyes. "I have to tell you something. You might want to sit down."

I stayed standing. She had a familiar accent that I just could not put my finger one, and something inside me was telling me to get out of there before I heard what she had to say. I knew I did not want to hear any of it.

She shrugged and sat down herself, putting her shaking hands inside of each other to control them. "You were friends with Ellie, right?" She asked me. "Brown hair, she lived in the Isle of Man?"

That was the accent, she's Manx. "Yeah, I'm a good friend of hers. We knew each other as kids." I replied.

"I was her friend too. I had to come here to tell you..." She choked on her words, and I just got more confused.