On The Line (Ashton Irwin)

Chapter 21- Then

Chapter 21- Then

-Madison's POV-

"Ladies and gentlemen, I now present to you the graduating class of 2012!" the principal said excitedly, and the caps were thrown up in the air, Ashton grabbing me around the waist and kissing me.

This was it. No more high school. Just me and Ashton, nothing else to worry about. Okay, so maybe that last part was a lie.

I still wish my parents were here to see me graduate, but I haven't exactly talked to them since they moved. Anne was fine with me staying with them until Ashton's eighteenth birthday, when we moved in, and now her being here was all that mattered. In the past couple months her and I had grown closer, and she was like a second mother to me now.

And as far as my parents not being there... Ashton could relate a bit. Not that he had expected his father to come, but I noticed him looking around earlier and seeming a bit dissappointed.

"Ashton!" Harry yelled, running towards him and Ashton hugged his little brother tightly.

"Maddy!" Lauren yelled, doing the same with me.

"I'm so proud of you two," Anne said. "Congratulations,"

"Thank you," I told her.

"Well, we've got a party to get to, now don't we?" she asked.

In honor of our high school graduation, Anne had planned a party for the two of us. Not a huge gathering, since Ashton and I weren't the most popular people around, but just inviting over the other guys and their families for a small gathering.

Anne, Harry, and Lauren had driven to the school, and invited us to ride with them, but Ashton and I had other ideas. As tradition of us walking to school every day, we walked back home in our graduation robes, diplomas in one hand and holding hands with the other.

"I can't believe we actually did it," Ashton said. "We graduated high school."

"We really did it," I said, grinning. "Congratulations, Mr. Irwin."

"Thank you, Miss Holmes." he said as we reached the house and went inside to find Anne, Harry, and Lauren setting up all the decorations, Ashton and I being sent upstairs to change for the party. I quickly changed into my black sleeveless dress and my maroon Vans before combing out my hair and back down the stairs to see Luke and his family coming in through the front door.

 "There she is," Luke said, his face lighting up as I descended the staircase, running into his arms and hugging him tightly. "Congrats Maddy,"

"Thank you," I said, grinning. "I can't believe I actually did it,"

"No one can," he assured me, stepping back so I could quickly hug the other members of his family.

"Maddy, are you downstairs yet?" Ashton called from upstairs in our room.

"Yeah, I'm down here," I said, then looked at Luke with a bewildered expression. "I told him before I left the room that I was going downstairs, how long would it take me to get down a staircase?"

"Idiot," Luke mumbled.

"The woman of the hour!" another voice yelled, and I turned to see Calum walk in through the door, his family trailing behind him.

"Cal," I said, grinning, and hugging the younger boy.

"Congrats, Mad," Cal said, ruffling my dark colored curls and I pulled away from him, laughing.

"Hey!" Ashton said, smiling as he saw Calum and Luke, and I looked up to see Ashton reach the bottom step, his arm slinking around my waist. "Where's Mikey?"

"He's coming," Luke said. "We couldn't get him off the video games soon enough,"

"Very funny," Michael's voice came into the mix, and I ran over to the younger boy, hugging him.

"Hey Mikey," I said.

"Guys, lunch is ready!" Anne called from the kitchen. "And we're all eating in the backyard, the tables are all set up."

"Come on, loser," Ashton said, sticking his tongue playfully. "Let's eat,"

****

"Maddy, there's some guy at the door for you," Lauren said, and I quickly glanced over at the boys quickly from our spot under the tree in the Irwins' backyard.

"Alright," I said, getting up and dusting myself off before heading to the front door where a delivery man was waiting.

"Madison Holmes?" he asked me.

"Yeah, that's me," I said. "Can I help you?"

"I need you to sign here please," he said, and I took the clipboard and pen from him, scribbling my name down quickly.

"What's this for?" I asked him.

"This note was attached," he said, handing it to me before bidding me a good afternoon and leaving.

"That was weird," I muttered as Ashton appeared beside me.

"What's weird?" he asked.

"I got this note, and signed a clipboard and the guy left." I said. "I think he was a delivery guy,"

Opening up the note, I quickly scanned it.

Maddy,

Congrats on graduating high school! We're so proud of you, baby. Sorry we couldn't be there, but stuff came up at work and we were unable to make it. We know you've had your eye on this little baby for awhile, and decided it was the perfect think to help you celebrate your graduation! Enjoy!

Mum and Dad

"It's from my parents," I told Ashton before quickly stepping outside and seeing it, my jaw dropping.

"What is i-" he started, following after me but stopped short. "Holy shit,"

Sitting in front of me was a brand new silver Jeep Grand Cherokee. I'd wanted one for years, but my parents had always said no. And now... here it was.

"It's mine," I breathed, putting a hand on the vehicle softly.

"Your parents?" he asked.

I nodded. "My graduation present,"

My parents didn't come. Stupid work making everything impossible. But they cared enough to at least acknowledge the fact that I had graduated.

But sending something in place of them just made me angry.

"They thought they could buy me something to make it all better," I seethed.

"Maddy, don't think like that," Ashton said. "At least they didn't just drop it off, but they wrote a note."

"They wrote a note," I nodded. "They wrote me a note,"

"They did," he nodded, hugging me tightly.

In that moment, I didn't care if my parents were there or not. Ashton was there, and that's all that mattered.