Nicotine | Ashton Irwin ✔

1.3

"Teddy, pass me that plate." Ara said. He nodded, and passed it too her.

"You both know you don't have to do the dishes, right?" Liam asked, walking into the kitchen.

"It's just a habit." Teddy said. "We're so uses to it, that it's become routine for us."

"And whenever we didn't do the dishes, we got smacked over the head." Ara added. She dried the plate and passes it back to her brother, who put it in the cupboard.

"I'm not going to hit you if you don't do the dishes." Liam pointed out. "But I won't stop you." He added.

"I bet you're not used to this." Teddy said, as Ara dried another plate and passed it too him.

"No, I'm not." Liam agreed. "But it's nice." He leaned against the counter. "I know this is a big change, and I know I've been hard on you guys, but I'm trying. I really am." He said.

"We know." Teddy replied.

"And we appreciate it." Ara added. "But you have to understand that living with a cop is not an easy thing." Liam laughed.

"Yeah, Dana uses to say that a lot. But somehow we made it work. She uses to always wait up for me nights that I worked late, and we'd sit down and watch Rocky Horror Picture Show." Ara laughed.

"Mum loved that movie. I'm pretty sure Teddy and I can recite almost every song in that film." She said.

"Yeah. Those were good times." Liam suddenly got an idea.

"You two have plans for the evening?" He asked.

"No." They replied.

"How about we watch it."

"Watch what?"

"Rocky Horror Picture Show." Liam said. Ara looked to Teddy, who smiled.

"Dammit Janet."

Ara laid on her bed later that evening, singing softly to herself. "At the late night, double feature, picture show." She smiled to herself, before rolling over and turning out her light. She let the silence lull her to sleep. She dreamt peacefully that night. No nightmares plagued her mind.

Ashton kept his hood up as he walked down the hall to his locker. He avoided Michael's gaze as he opened the door, grabbing his notebook. "Again?" Michael asked as he slammed the door.

"I don't want to talk about it." Ashton growled. Mike dropped it. He knew Ashton didn't like talking about his home life.

"See you at lunch." He said. Ashton didn't respond, and turned away, stalking off to English.

He slumped down his seat, next to Ara, only to realize that the girl wasn't there. He glanced up slightly. A part of him wished she was here, so he could talk to her. But to Ashton's dismay, she never showed.

He stalked off to his next class, feeling worse than before. Ara only had English with him, but the fact that she hadn't show just put him in a worse mood.

It wasn't until lunch when he found her. She was standing outside with her brother and the blue haired girl named Sam. He wanted to talk to her, but for some reason he was also mad at her for ditching class this morning. He watched silently as she laughed about something. Her smile is so pretty. He thought to himself. And her laugh . . .

Ara turned her head slightly and spotted a very grumpy looking Ashton. She furrowed her brows. "I'll be right back." She said, leaving Teddy and Sam.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked. She looked past her, and spotted Ashton.

"There's something I need to take care of." She replied. Sam looked to Teddy nervously. He only shrugged.

When Ashton noticed Ara coming his way, he turned his back, heading inside. Ara frowned. "Ashton." She called. He stopped. "You okay?" She asked. She became surprised and slightly scared when he snapped at her.

"Where the fuck were you this morning." He asked, angrily. She jumped at his tone.

"I ditched."

"I knew that dumbass." He growled.

"What's with the attitude this morning?" She snapped back. "I haven't seen you all day, you don't get to be mad at me."

"I'm sorry." He muttered. Ara sighed and then noticed something.

"Why won't you look at me?" She asked him. Ashton tensed, and Ara took notice of it.

"What are you talking about?" He asked, keeping his head down.

"Ashton, look at me." She said firmly. Feeling nervous, Ashton attempted to brush past her, but Ara was quicker. She grabbed his wrist, backing him into the wall. Ashton flinched and raised one arm to cover his face. Ara instantly released her grip. Instead, she grabbed his hand, pulling him towards the stairs that lead to the roof. Ashton's heart pounded the entire time. He was freaking out. He didn't want Ara to know what happened in his home life. Or maybe she was going to hurt him. Use his hiding spot so that nobody would see it happen. He tried yanking his hand away but she kept a firm grip on it.

Once on the roof, Ara let go of his hand. Ashton broke away from her and leaned against the ledge of the roof, taking in deep breaths. "Are you okay?" She asked. He nodded. "I know you're lying." She added. Ashton swallowed.

"What do you want?" He finally asked, doing his best to sound normal.

"I want to know why you're hiding." He scoffed.

"I'm not hiding." He said, defensively.

"Then look at me." She demanded. Ashton slowly turned around. "Take off the hood Irwin." She said, crossing her arms. Ashton sighed. He wasn't getting out of this. Angrily, he pulled down the hood. Ara gasped. He had a large bruise around his left eye, and a swollen lip. She didn't say anything which made him feel uncomfortable. Ashton looked away from her.

"What happened?" She asked, approaching him. Ashton ran a hand through his hair.

"I fell down the stairs." He said, as naturally as possible. It was her turn to scoff.

"Bullshit." She said. "I would tell Teddy that when he was five to make him think I was a clumsy kid. Let me tell you, that excuse only goes so far. But I can see the dent that the ring left on the side of your face, so I'll ask you again. What happened?"

"It's nothing." He said, brushing her off.

"Dammit Ashton, what the fuck happened?"

"I got hit, okay!" He yelled loudly. "He hit me because I was standing up for my mom!" He clenched his fists by his sides.

"Who hit you?" She asked more softly.

"James." He said. "He's my dad." Ashton sighed. He shoved his hands into his pockets. Ara stepped forward. Gently, she placed a finger under his chin, and lifted his head so that they were looking at each other. She examined the bruise that covered his eye. It wasn't too bad, and would heel in a few days. "My own father hits me." Ara shook her head.

"A father doesn't hit his children."