From the back of the class, three boys, all squished into one desk, eye him over. The one in the middle, a pale boy with dyed hair, grins flirtatiously.
"Hey, baby."
a/n i published the blurb/synopsis thing for my new ot4, ballerina boy, please please please go check it out<3 it's hella better than this one i swear on my life
Ashton walked slowly and tiredly, his sneakers creaking against the pavement. The brunette had opted out of catching the tube; though his levels of social anxiety had been lowering, he still couldn't fathom the idea of being in the presence of that many people. It sent violent waves of stress, the idea looming over his six foot frame.
He'd chosen to walk what felt like eighty blocks, with an empty stomach in a London heatwave. Despite that, he didn't want to complain, not about the soreness in his legs, nor the sparks of pain from his middle, not even about the weather. And he lived in England.
As the brunette plodded down the pavement, mind whirling with thoughts—of Casey, Rena, his three ex-friends, even of Ashley—his gaze didn't leave his shoes. He was so focused on the worn fabric of them, he didn't see the bright redhead of hair join him. Not until the head spoke, through soft lips that connected to smooth, lightly tanned features.
"Hey, baby," Caleb greeted. Ashton winced at the name, before glancing up. "What're you doing, walking all alone? I thought Rena said you were catching the tube?" Ashton shook his head silently, unable to get any words to escape his soft pink mouth. "You're adorable, sweetheart." Caleb gently linked Ashton's hand in his, stepping a tad closer to the younger boy.
The brunette looked up in surprise, the warmth of Caleb's hand seeming to send a wave of fiery stress over him, like a firework of anxiety exploding and heating the teenager to the core. It was horrible, he felt too hot, smothered in an invisible wall of fire. It had the brunette feeling weak, so much so that when Caleb brushed a curl behind his ear, Ashton didn't stop him, though it wouldn't have been the least bit challenging. Instead, the boy stared blindly into the uni student's pale green orbs, unseeing and with blurred thoughts wreaking havoc on his brain.
A yelp down the pavement smoothed Ashton's thoughts, and he yanked back. Casey stood a small ways away, blinking rapidly and stretching his fingers as if looking for something to hold on to. Rena provided her small hand, arriving a few short moments later.
Ashton felt panic bubbling behind his eyes, threatening to spill out in the form of tears. And so he ran. Feet pounding the pavement, head thrumming with guilt and eyes completely and utterly devoid of any viridescence.
No one seemed to notice the long-legged teenager sprinting down the streets of London, or if they did, assumed the brunette was attempting to catch the bus. That, or they were all more focused on the heat emanating from the sun, despite it being hid behind a smear of gray clouds. Despite there being a wall of darkness over it, the sun still sent out its waves of warm kindness, despite the pain it felt.
Ashton ran blindly, allowing his instincts to lead him. Unfortunately, those instincts lead to Calum's house, the closest home. The familiar building had Ashton crying harder, and skidded away before he was seen. He forced his focus onto taking the correct path, so much so that he almost ran into Lauren and Harry, who were arriving home from school.
The teenager's tears dried immediately, falling into the role he'd played for his siblings since he was born. "Hi," he greeted with a wide smile. "How was school?"
Harry and Lauren smiled with a childlike ignorance to the situation, the youngest of the three starting on a story about a new class pet. "The fish is blue, and he has really pretty fins, and his name is Bobsy; my idea."
Ashton gasped, in order to stroke Harry's ego. "You named the class fish? Bobsy's a great name, Har," the brunette congratulated, ruffling his brother's soft blonde curls.
With sore feet, Ashton lead his siblings inside. Lauren claimed the TV, while Harry sprawled across on the carpet at her feet, happily drawing on bright red construction paper. With the kids distracted, Ash weakly trekked up the stairs, tears once again starting to cascade down his cheeks.
The distraught teenager threw himself across his bed, covering his face with a baby blue pillow. Sobs wracked his tiny frame, all the pain and emotions he'd been battling as of late merging into a tsunami, crashing against his gentle, innocent soul. The horrible flashbacks of Remi's grimy skin on his. The stress about returning to school without any of his friends, despite the fact his chlamydia had completely gone. The pain of missing his three best mates, and losing his newly made friends. It was horrible.
And that's where he stayed, weeping in his room, through dinner and into the next morning.
—
"Ashton," a voice spoke, awakening the brunette from his teary slumber. It was his mum, stood at the door with apologies visible on her slightly wrinkled face. "I'm sorry," she started as her son glanced up, "but I have to get back to work. You'll have to go back to QCT tomorrow."
"Okay," Ashton whimpered, his voice breathy with sleep, and pained at the words. "Thank you, for-" his voice broke for a moment, "-for homeschooling me as long as you did." Anne nodded, before exiting the room.
The second she was gone, Ashton broke down in gut-wrenching sobs, curling into a tight ball. He rocked back and fourth, gasping for breath through his cries. Whimpering squeaks escaped him, the utter velocity of his weeping getting stuck in his throat.
Like the weeks before a storm, the sun's heat picks up water, tears of the past being lifted back into the sky, mixed with the current tears. And then the sky explodes, sheets of unstoppable water cascading down. The only way to stop them is for the water to run out, or the sun to warm with joy, and come out of hiding. Unfortunately, Ashton had lost all his friends.
He was alone, and had nothing left to make him happy.
A/N this picture is literally my fav
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