5SOS Preferences

He Gets In A Fight - Ashton Irwin

[Y/N]'s smile had distracted me from how much her shitty ex-boyfriend was annoying me. Well, it had for a few minutes anyway. As soon as the alcohol entered my system it was a different story.
I wasn't sure why he was there - they had broken up weeks ago. When I had asked her she had mumbled something about trying to stay friends with him, but she hadn't looked very enthused about it.
"Do you wanna dance, [Y/N]?" He asked her. His smile was sweet - innocent almost - but his eyes said something else. I could tell that he wasn't over her. To be fair to him, if she had broken up with me I don't think I could ever get over her. Really it was pretty admirable that he'd even made it out of the house - I would've been a mess.
She shrugged her shoulders, making one of the thin straps of her dress fall loose. The same fake-innocent smile was plastered over his face as his hand darted to adjust it, his fingers grazing her bare skin.
[Y/N] shot me a look, but before I had time to intercept he had grabbed her hand and was pulling her towards the dance floor.
I dropped my body down onto a bar stool and downed my beer.
"Can I have three shots of vodka please?" I shouted to the bartender. She nodded and a few minutes later placed them in front of me. I shoved some money across the bar and picked up the first glass. I cringed as the alcohol hit the back of my throat, but that didn't stop me from picking up the next glass.
And the next one.
I had downed six shots of vodka by the time I turned my eyes back to [Y/N] and her ex on the dance floor.
Vodka doesn't work.
I had been relying on the intoxicant to numb the pain I would inevitably feel when I saw them dancing, but it didn't work. Nothing could numb the pain caused by seeing her with another.

I squinted to make out her expression - was she enjoying herself? She was grinning, as was he. At least she was happy.

The burning desire to leave consumed me - watching them was just hurting me. But I couldn't. I couldn't leave her here with him - no way. Instead I averted my eyes to the floor and took a swig of my beer. The only way I would be able to get through this is if I was very very drunk.
My eyes involuntarily returned to the dancing couple, but this time the scene was quite different. He was grabbing her wrist with one hand and forcefully pushing her into his body with the other. Rage was written all over her face, but try as she might she couldn't get free from his grip. It looked as if she was yelling at him to let go, but he was ignoring her. As were the other people on the dance floor.
I was on my feet and rushing over there before I had a chance to convince myself that it was a bad idea.
Nobody was allowed to hurt her. Nobody.

My large hand grabbed the back of his neck firmly, shocking him enough to let go of her. I yanked him away from her and threw him to the floor, earning more than a few protests from angry dancers.
I didn't care what other people were saying. I didn't care that the alcohol in my system put me at a disadvantage. All I cared about was her.
[Y/N]'s touch on my shoulder brought my thoughts back to the room. She moved her body to stand in front of me and delicately placed her hands on my chest.
"I'm okay," she mouthed, her eyes wide.
Her touch had made the anger diminish. All I felt in that moment were her fingers on me.
We began to walk away, but I had pissed her ex off apparently, because he grabbed a fistful of my hair and dragged me backwards.
Just like that the anger was back.
I snarled as I faced him. His fists were balled - making his knuckles white - and his eyes were wild and furious. I started to regret my last two shots of vodka.
"Ashton!" [Y/N] yelled from behind me. I didn't have time to turn to her, because her ex's fist hit my jaw.
Okay, so maybe there was one good thing about the alcohol - my pain tolerance was high. I had barely even felt that. I could deal with the aching tomorrow, right now I had to fight.
I swung back at him, my fist catching his nose. He recoiled from me and wiped the blood from his face before lunging himself at me. We hurtled into the crowd, our bodies landing heavily on the hard floor.
There was a lot of yelling around us, but all I could hear was [Y/N] screaming my name in  fear. It was an awful noise, and all I wanted to do was make it stop.
He pinned my arms to the ground and dug his knees into my ribs, which made it almost impossible to breathe. His blood dripped onto my neck, but I couldn't free my hands to push him off me. If I hadn't of been drinking, that wouldn't have been a problem. On a good day, he was no match for me.
But I had, and this wasn't a good day.
The world span when he delivered the first hit to my face. I had almost given up defending myself by this point.
"Ashton!" [Y/N] wailed. I had to try. For her.
I summoned all of my strength and pushed with all of the power I had left. He grunted as he fell off me.
I stumbled as I regained my footing, but luckily he wasn't very steady either.
He got one more punch in before I brought my knee up to his crotch, making him immediately keel over in agony.
My consciousness was slipping, but I had to find [Y/N]. I shakily stumbled away from her ex and headed into the crowd. Her hand caught my arm and then she was in front of me, her eyes filled with worry and fear.
"[Y/N]," I slurred, my head pounding. She held onto me tightly, attempting to steady me.
"Ashton you didn't have to..." She said, but I stopped hearing her. My vision went black, and my body hit the cold floor.

---

The feeling of a soft hand on my cheek woke me up. [Y/N] looked startled when I opened my eyes, but she soon smiled.
"You're awake," she murmured quietly, as if she could tell how much my head was banging.
"How long was I out?" I wondered.
"A day and a half," she told me.
I attempted a nod of the head, but even that movement sent agony splintering through my bones.
She smiled softly and gently traced the cut on my lip with her thumb. I'd be lying if I said it didn't hurt a little, but that didn't mean that I wanted her to stop.
"Sorry," she mumbled, licking her lips out of habit. My attention honed in on her lips. Damn. Damn damn damn.
"No," I whispered, "it's fine."
Her eyes watched my lips as she spoke, "you know, you didn't have to fight him."
I huffed a laugh, which made fragments of pain jab at my sides. I reminded myself not to do that again - even if the situation was almost unbelievably and ironically laughable.
"Yes," I said slowly, "I did."
[Y/N]'s eyes met mine and I knew then that she could tell what I was thinking. She always had been good at reading my thoughts. Well, at least those that didn't involve her anyway. She had never realised how pathetically I was in love with her - despite her amazing ability to read me.
She lowered her head until her face was just millimetres away from mine and stared at me intently, waiting for me to make the next move.
The kiss was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Her lips tasted even better than I had imagined they would, and they moved perfectly in sync with mine. The kiss was everything.
"You know, I would have done that even if you hadn't got in a fight for me." She giggled, her breath hot on my lips.
I grinned up at her, "really?"
She nodded, "why do you think I broke up with my boyfriend?"
I was at a loss for words - I could barely believe what I was hearing. [Y/N] read the shock on my face and her smile widened, "it's always been you, Ash."