Lifeless (lashton: completed)

chapter thirteen.

"W-what are you doing here?" Ashton spoke, blinking rapidly in hopes the fatigue resting on his face would vanish. "I....I wanted to apologize. Look in my backpack." Ashton slowly got up as he walked over to Luke. He unzipped the bag hanging onto both of the handles, and found a card. "A card?" He questioned, returning to the edge of his bed. He carefully tore it open, making sure to not damage the card itself. It was a white card with nothing on the outside, but when Ashton opened it, he faintly smiled. In big bold letters, it read;
"Sorry for being an asshole."
Ashton shook his head and let out one more tired laugh. "Do you like it?" Luke smirked as he maneuvered his chair closer to the bed. Ashton mumbled a quiet "yeah" as he threw out the tattered envelope. A silence fell upon the room, but it was comfortable. The boys sat relatively close to each other with resting smiles on their faces. "So? When do you leave?" Luke questioned. "Tomorrow, hopefully." Ashton fiddled with the hospital band as the clock struck 10p.m. "Cal drove me here, I miss your driving..." Luke looked down solemnly as Ashton sensed the sadness coming from the blonde boy. "Well, I miss driving you. But-but you can't be afraid to go places." Ashton retorted back, looking him square in the eyes. Luke sighed in agreement. But there wasn't very much he could do. Elevators scared him, markets and stores usually didn't have isles big enough for his chair and ramps are almost extinct. "I have an idea!" Ashton's eyes lit up as he explained the "bulletproof" plan. "I know this restaurant, it's a little on the expensive side, but i've heard the food is out of this world!" He started getting giddy from just the thought at eating at a place that didn't give you the option to supersize. "Yeah....um..." Luke started to protest, but was hushed by Ashton's squeals. "Yeah? You agree! Oh, Luke! We'll order a steak. No, what about spaghetti? Or...chicken cesar salad? That's it!" His smile got wider as he picked up his phone and scrolled through the menu in awe. Luke sat with his eyes closed. He could feel the anxiety crawling up his throat, wanting to scream in protest. Instead, he stayed silent and prayed Ashton would forget by tomorrow.
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"Damn Luke! Did you pick out this outfit?" Ashton scanned Luke, from his perfectly polished dress shoes to his freshly pressed, blue cotton dress shirt. "And I can see you did the same?" He let out a giggle as he observed Ashton frantically tuck in his wrinkled white t shirt. "Well? What are we waiting for?" Ashton spoke as he applied his weight to the handles of his chair. "We're waiting for you to learn how to dress properly!" His chair whirred past the stunned boy who followed behind slowly. After carefully loading Luke into the van, he inserted the keys into the ignition, beginning to drive at a steady pace. When they reached their destination, Luke let out a silent sigh as they pulled into the van accessible parking. Deciding to shake it off, they headed to the restaurant in unison, one boy not going faster than the other. The struggle of finding a table adapted for luke's chair was beyond words. The waitress ran back and fourth trying to find a table tall enough for his legs to fit underneath. After what it felt like hours, he came back with two menus and a warm smile on his face. "Right this way, gentlemen." The two boys got situated as Luke pretended a thousand eyes weren't on him this very moment. Focusing on Ashton's happiness, he stopped being selfish and saw how happy he got over an embroidered napkin that kept a silver knife, fork and spoon perfectly tucked inside. "Steak?" Ashton glanced at Luke with a priceless smile. "I must admit, I'm not that hungry. I'll have a few bites of what you have, Ash." The nickname was back, and as of right now all was right in the world according to Ashton. He ordered them both sparkling champagne in a crystal wine glass. He scooted the wooden chair closer to Luke, carefully giving him sips of the bubbly beverage. Being hypnotized by the smell of the filet mignon, he accidentally forgot that Luke wasn't drinking anymore. Before he realized what he had done, it was too late. The champagne turned his shirt a deep blue, his trousers were stained right underneath his fly. All luke could do was take a deep sigh. He knew it was going to be a disaster. He knew he should've stayed home. After being fork fed pieces of rare steak with a napkin placed upon his lap, luke decided he had enough and asked for the check sternly. "Was it undercooked? Did you not like it?" Ashton spoke with a hint of uncertainty in his voice. Luke remained silent, staring at the napkin and wishing he could take it off his own lap. He felt like a toddler, being fed food and unable to clean up messes for himself. After Ashton paid the check, the two left in a hurried fashion. When Ashton finally caught up with Luke's speed, he was panting. "Luke? What the hell is wrong?" "If you'd bothered to ask me, Ashton, you would've known I hate eating in public. Especially restaurants."
"But Luke, I-" Ashton sputtered.
"But you did what everyone else does for me and decided for me."
"Yeah! But I didn't mean t-"
"But. You did." Luke hissed through gritted teeth, approaching the van and leaving Ashton in the dust.
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A/N- thank you all so much for 1K reads, it means a whole lot to me! Hope you're liking it so far! :)