✔︎Baby | OT4

007

   Ashton sat in a waiting room, curled up in Calum's lap with Luke and Michael on either side. Since what the boys had referred to as The Night, Ash had healed, slowly. For the first few weeks, he'd spent every waking moment sobbing, to the point where the only time his face was dry was in sleep. Even then, nightmares often woke him, tears smeared across his skin.

   His mum had temporarily pulled him out of school, and allowed the seventeen year old a week to himself. Calum, Luke and Michael had stayed with him the entire time, though Mrs. Irwin forced them to do some schoolwork while Ash was sleeping, which he did a lot of. Once those seven days had ended, the seventeen-year-old had attended biweekly therapist appointments, every Friday and Tuesday. After nearly a month, those had turned to once a week, until Ashton was able to remember The Night without breaking down. That lead to the boy remembering an utter lack of protection, and had booked a doctors appointment immediately.

He'd been so swept up in the emotional pain, that the symptoms hadn't registered, he'd put it all down the simple wretchedness he'd been feeling. Now, he sat anxiously with his best friends, yanking at a powder pink rope bracelet around his wrist. The band had started as an alternative to digging his short nails into his arm, suggested by Ashton's therapist, but had stayed, even after the blonde was almost completely recuperated.

"It'll be alright," Calum whispered reassuringly, tracing soothing patterns across the seventeen-year-old's thigh. Black jeans were loose around the juniors thighs, he'd suffered a severe weight loss after The Night. His stomach was sunken in, and the teenagers six pack had faded, to the point where it was just his flat stomach. Ashton was now a whopping hundred and sixty-five pounds.

"What if I have... something?" The blonde whimpered, any response interrupted by a female voice.

"Ashton Irwin," she read off a clipboard, glancing up. The girl was tall, helped along by black stilettos, and she was obviously interning at the clinic. "Oh wow, it's you guys," she commented, thinly veiled distaste apparent in her voice. Michael faintly recalled her asking him out, which he'd obviously turned down, and she'd gone on a rage. "Come on, then," the girl—Amylee, Mikey thought—beckoned, leading Ashton through a set of frosted glass doors.

He was lead down a hall, into another room, where Amylee directed him to wait. "The doctor'll be with you in a minute," she promised, her voice heavy with dislike. She'd blamed Ashton for Michael's rejection, and was constantly tying to take jibes at him, though the other three boys always shut her down quickly.

A woman in blue scrubs with a kindly smile appeared soon, her hands gloved, and directed Ashton to lie across the bed. He did so anxiously, his slender fingers yanking at his bracelet throughout the entire procedure. It was over soon, and the doctor looked at Ashton sadly. "I'm afraid you've contracted chlamydia," she said, while simultaneously opening the door and leading Ashton into the hall. "If you'd like to fetch your friends, we can talk about how to get rid of it, and how to make sure you don't get it again." Ashton didn't mention that he knew perfectly well how to have safe sex, ignoring the judging tone in the doctors tone.

   Amylee was by their side immediately, beckoning Michael, Luke and Calum with two pink taloned fingers. "Come on back, loves," she said, spitting the endearment like an insult. The three lanky boys stood immediately, crossing the waiting room in four easy strides. They stood around Ash, following the redheaded doctor into the room the blonde and originally been in.

   The doctor—who introduced herself as Shelby—gestured Amylee away, the teenager flouncing out with a snotty humph. The three eighteen-year-old's rolled their eyes, while Ashton merely cuddled into Luke's broad shoulder. Michael was behind the curly haired boy, his arms around his slim waist, and Calum was holding one of his hands.

   "Okay, so you four please take a seat. I hope you, Ashton, now understand that unprotected sex is never a good plan-"

   Luke interrupted her patronizing speech angrily. "He was raped," the blue-eyed blonde barked, before petting his best friends shoulder soothingly, eyes gentle. Ashton shrunk back at the word, but it had the intended effect on Shelby.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she gasped, messily applied, pink lipsticked lips falling open in a perfect o. While Ashton nodded forgivingly, his three best friends glared. They hugged him protectively, taking Shelby's instructions on recuperating Ashton with tight, clipped tones. The second she'd finished they were standing, accepting medicine along with a prescription, and exited the stark white room.

"You okay, babe?" Luke asked gently, apologetic that he'd used the R word in the presence of his sensitive best friend. Ashton nodded, from where he was cuddled into Calum's side.

"Thank you," the seventeen-year-old whispered, in obvious reference to the older boy defending him. Luke leaned over to drop a tender kiss on his cheek, bopping his nose. Ashton giggled; the desired reaction Luke had aimed for.

"Of course, baby," he cooed. The younger blonde blushed an adorable rose pink, Michael gently running his thumb over the light color with a fond smile. The group really did love one another.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my smol bean 🎉🎁🎊🎈🐱