Nicotine | Ashton Irwin ✔

1.7

The sun was shining brightly into Ara's room early Monday morning. She had forgotten to close her curtains resulting in an unwanted wake up. She rolled over, trying to block out the light, and fall back asleep, but failed miserably. She groaned.

Climbing out of bed, she quickly showered, and changed into a pair of faded, ripped blue jeans and a grey tank top. She tied a flannel around her waist. Grabbing her bag and phone, she left her room to wake Teddy.

The two ate breakfast in silence, and then left the house. Sam would meet them at the school.

It was warmer out today that it had been last week, the sun was shining and there were no clouds in the sky. Birds chirped loudly and flew about around them.

Ara and Teddy rounded the corner. "Why are you so quiet this morning?" Ara asked, facing her brother. Teddy shrugged and kept walking.

"No reason." He replied.

"You're lying. Why?" Teddy stopped abruptly, spinning around, almost knocking into her.

"Are you replacing me?" Teddy rushed the words out. Ara raises her eyebrows.

"What?" She asked him, confused.

"Are you replacing me." He repeated, looking at her, dead serious.

"No." Ara said. "What gave you that idea?"

"It's just . . . you spent a lot of time with Sam this weekend and you spend most of your time with Ashton in school. We haven't really done anything. I feel like I'm loosing my sister." He explained. Ara shook her head, pulling him in for a hug.

"You'll always be number one. You'll always be my best friend, my favourite person. Nobody can replace you." She whispered. Teddy wrapped his arms around her tightly.

"I love you Ara." He muttered to his sister.

"I love you too Teddy." She replied.

Teddy seemed to be in much better spirits as they arrived at school. Sam was there, leaning against the wall of the school. Her hair still purple from the weekend. She smiled as they reached her. "Hello." Sam greeted.

"Hey Sam." Ara said. "You're looking good." Sam wore black jeans and a supernatural T-shirt. She wore torn and beat up converse to complete the look.

"I had a very refreshing weekend away from home." She grinned.

"We I'm glad that you had a good time." Ara replied.

"Me too." Sam said.

"Me three. Who knew sleepovers could be that fun!"

Ara was first to English, as usual. Now a days, she found herself enjoying the class more than before, and that was due to Ashton. Ara was debating on whether or not that was a good thing. That boy was doing something to her, but she didn't know what it was that he was doing.

She flinched when she felt cool fingertips dance across her shoulder blade. She twisted around in her seat, glancing up. Ashton was standing above her, one hand on the right shoulder, his fingers on her left. "What are you doing?" She asked quietly. She closed her eyes enjoying the feeling.

"Is this new?" He asked, tracing the ink pattern.

"Yeah, I got it this weekend." She replied. She moved her hair put of the way, so he could fully see it.

It was a heart beat with Angel wings.

"What does it stand for?"

"My mother was my guardian angel." She whispered. "She did her best to make sure we were fed, safe, at school on time. She made sure Craig didn't hurt us. Heaven got the perfect angel with them." She smiled at him.

"I can't imagine what it's like to loose a parent." He replied. He removed his touch from her skin. She shivered. Ashton sat down next to her, and she got a better look at his face.

There was a fresh bruise on his cheek, and his lip was busted. When he noticed Ara staring, he looked away.

Ara sighed. She stood up and grabbed her bag. She slung it over her shoulder. "Let's go." She said. Ashton looked at her weirdly.

"Where?" He asked, cautiously.

"Doesn't matter, come on." He stood up silently, following her out of the class.

"Ara where are we going?" He struggled to keep up with her as she made her way through the crowd of people. People were chatting, walking to class. Two kids were fighting. Ashton ducked to avoid an oncoming hit.

The bell rang and students began to disperse, leaving the hallway empty. Ara kept walking though, never stopping. "Ara!"

She stopped in front of a locker. "What are we doing?"

"Ditching." she said, tonelessly. She fiddled with the lock before opening it and grabbing a smaller bag, shoving into her backpack. She closed it and began walking again.

"Why?" He asked. "Why are we ditching English? Won't Teddy freak out or something?"

"I'll deal with that later." She brushed it off.

"But-"

"Just shut up and follow me." She said. Ashton rolled his eyes, and shoved his hands into his sweater pocket. Ara led him back down the English hall, and towards the the stairs for the roof. She checked for teachers before slipping through the door and up the empty staircase. Ashton darted through the door behind her, running to keep up.

Once the roof, she sat down. Ashton gave her a 'what gives' kinda look, raising his arms. He was breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. She pointed to in front of her. "Sit." She said. He shook his head.

"Sit." She repeated. She gave him a look and he grimaced. He cautiously sat down in front of her.

"Ara will you please tell me what we're doing up here?" He asked in a timid voice. She pulled a bottle of disinfectant out of her bag and showed it to him.

"Why do have that?" She ignored his question, and grabbed a cloth. She poured some of the the disinfectant on a small portion of it, and leaned forward. Ashton instantly leaned back, not wanting her to touch him. "No." He whined.

"Oh don't be a baby." She said, pulling him by his shirt. Without thinking, Ara straddled his waist, making Ashton's eyes widened, and become slightly uncomfortable. Ara dabbed at the cut on his lip. He flinched when it stung. "Sorry." She whispered.

"I'm fine." He replied. Ashton stayed still and at one point, rested a hand on her waist. Ara seemed unbothered by the action. She just continued to clean his cut in silence.

When she finished, she set the close aside, and examined it. "Now, there will be no chance of infection." She said. "And it'll heal quicker." Ashton nodded.

"Thanks." He muttered.

"How did it happen?" She asked. He looked away from her. "Ashton. Don't tell me that you tripped. I know better, trust me on that one." She whispered. He turned to face her again, his nose brushing against hers. He gulped.

"He pushed me into a brick wall." He said, pointing the bruise on his cheek with his free hand. "And the bashed me in the face with a beer bottle." Ara sighed.

"Why would he do that?"

"I was 'acting out' as he puts it. He was going to his my mum and I snapped." His voice cracked, but Ashton refused to let her see him cry. She leaned against Ashton, resting her head in his shoulder. He quickly gripped her waist with the other hand, bracing himself. The two stayed like that for a long time. Ashton swallowed hard. He felt so weird. He'd never let a girl get so close to him before. Sure he'd been with a lot of girls, but he hadn't been friends with one. He just hooked up with them. His only friends were Calum, Michael and Luke. But with Ara he felt something different. He got all giddy inside and everything.

Ara leaned back, and to her surprise, Ashton's grip on her waist. She looked at quizzical. "What?" She questioned. Ashton cleared his throat, turning away. His voice was a little higher than usual, but there was a reason for that.

"Nothing." He choked out. "I'm fine." Ara raised an eyebrow at him.

"Whatever you say." She said.