✔︎Baby | OT4

021

   "Welcome home." Michael swung the front door open to reveal Tyler and Jenna, the taller of the two poised with his key. Michael's hair was threaded with a sticky mix of sprinkles, ketchup, and something that resembled an egg. Ashton soon joined him, Billy in his arms.

"The girls are in Bianca's room, possibly planning a fire to envelope the world," Luke informed as he came to the door, accompanied by Casey and Rena. While Ashton only had whipped cream from the first hour, all three had food remnants plastered to their skin. Miranda, Nia, and Calum, who stood guard outside the troublesome duo's bedroom, were in a similar state.

Tyler chuckled, accepting Billy from the seventeen-year-old, smiling fondly at his sleeping son. "Looks like it went a lot better than I'd expected," he chuckled, heading to fetch the other three teenagers whilst Jenna paid Ashton. His mates all refused to accept any of it, and the pastel-haired lad shoved it in his tight pockets, with plans to give it to his sister.

Tyler soon reappeared, whipped cream fluffing his hair and melting down the side of his face. Miranda followed, Nia piggybacking her, and Calum following slowly, distracted by the Skittles sliding down his cheek and tangling in his hair. "Hey," Cal greeted, stabilizing Nia from where she was slumped across Miranda's back. "Who's going in the back?"

The eight teenagers had piled into Liz Hemmings' van, with Rena behind the wheel, and Luke had been forced to squish his lanky legs into the very back seat. "Shotgun anything but the back," the blonde said quickly, straightening his quiff—that was held more by maple syrup than hair gel. He quickly got a chorus of agreeing nods.

"I can take the back," Ashton offered, smiling kindly and brushing away a stray curl. His hair was wet with melted whipped cream, and the strands got curler, sticking to his tanned skin.

   "You're too tall, babe. I'll take the back," Nia said, absentmindedly glancing at Calum out of the corner of her dark, forest green eyes. With the decision reached, they continued down the sidewalk to the van, Casey sliding into the drivers seat. Nia crawled over the middle seat that was bent down to allow access to the back, followed by Miranda and Rena. The blonde yanked it back to its original position, and Luke crawled into the middle seat. Ashton followed, then Calum lightly hip bumped Michael to follow the junior. The ravenette smiled teasingly, while Mikey slid in alongside Casey.

   "Where to, kiddos?"

Michael chuckled. "It's nearly one a.m.," he informed, tapping the small radio clock. "We're going to Ashton's place, we have to do homeschooling tomorrow," the dark-haired lad added with a pout. He didn't add that Ash still had to take his medicine, although there was a chance it was because the fact didn't seem extremely important in his mind. The innocent boy's symptoms had almost completely faded, and his STD wasn't a problem; at least, not while they were still out of school.

"Oh, damn," Miranda sighed. "We have school tomorrow," she sighed, crinkling her nose distastefully and slumping against Rena's thin shoulder. The blonde yanked her hair into a messy topknot, and directed Casey to drive her home, the statement met with agreeing grunts from the other two girls.

The rest of the drive went by with Yellowcard playing softly. Ash let out a kitten-like yawn, eyelids drooping. Smiling fondly, Calum wrapped an arm around the smaller boy's back, allowing Ashton to lean his head on the ebony-haired boy's shoulder. "You can sleep, baby. I'll protect you," he promised. Ashton still occasionally had nightmares and the rare panic attack when left alone, a painful reminder of The Night.

"Thank you," Ash whispered, curling closer to Calum while Luke slid over to trace patterns on his ankles.

"Of course, baby. I love you."

—

   "Oh, go fuck yourself. Or better off, fuck Luke." Calum's voice reverberated against Ashton's head, the angered tone echoing through his mind even after he'd finished speaking.

   Luke's words chased it away, though the decibel level was lower. It didn't hit his ears as harshly, helped along by the blonde's naturally quiet tone. "Don't be so loud," he said. "You'll wake Ashton." After a short pause, the soft voice continued, though through a layer of annoyance. "And I'm not Mikey's pet."

   "Aren't you?" Michael murmured, harshly teasing and patronizing. The light sound of Luke smacking the older lad followed.

   Calum scoffed, but was interrupted before he could speak. "You should talk," Michael snapped. "You fucking worship Casey and the girls, go make a dating polygamy there."

   "Oh, go fuck yourself on a lamppost," Calum scoffed.

   Meanwhile, Ashton was curled into a tight ball, shoulders shaking and praying to wake up, to realize it was a hallucination, anything. Tears ripped down his cheeks, accumulating in the creases by his nose and layering on his skin. Sobs built up in the back of his throat, but couldn't escape. Blood rushed through his head, overpowering his best friends' voices, despite the fact they slowly got louder and louder.

The wretchedly familiar feeling of a panic attack slunk up his spine, like tendrils of ice sliding under his skin. They wrapped around the boy's neck, cutting off his air supply, and in turn the proper functioning of his brain. Any rational thoughts were smeared over with white-hot panic, onyx black paint over a smooth window. A sudden, violent shudder wracked Ashton's unhealthily thin frame, accompanied by a wave of dizziness. He felt like he could die.

   A sudden shout—"he's mine! I am going to win our stupid game!"—had the teenager wanting to die.

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i had a unit final & a quiz today please pity me
also thank you if you're still reading<3 ily