Chapter27~Ashlynn

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On the ride to the studio, Eric said something that triggered a memory. It was from back in freshman year when Hunt was always tired and anxious. At the time, I figured it was just a lot of stress from school that was weighing him down, but since he was acting the same way again, I realized it must be more than that. I really wanted to talk to him about it but I couldn't after what had happened the night before. 'Maybe some other time.' I pushed the thoughts away and told myself that he was fine and everything was going to be ok.

After that incident, the rest of the car rides that day were pretty quiet. Hunter and I are normally the really loud ones, but since neither of us were speaking, everyone was silent.

The photoshoot and radio interview flew by pretty fast, and before I knew it we were pulling up at the stadium.

The five of us were hanging out in the dressing room when Eric spoke up. "Does anyone want to go get some food with me?"

"I dooooo!" Shawn hopped out of his chair.

"I'm good right now." Hunter said. "I'll pass."

I turned to Hazel and she knew what I was thinking. "I could use some grub!" She gave me a soft smile and followed the boys out the door.

'Great, now it's just me and Hunter. Time to apologize... Any time now... Say you're sorry... Come on... You can do it...' No matter how much I wanted to apologize, I couldn't find the words to say.

I gazed up at Hunter who was leaning against the wall, and I couldn't help but admire how handsome he looked. He was wearing black skinny jeans, converse high tops, and a navy green Nike crewneck that made his eyes pop. While I was absentmindedly staring at him, he looked up from his phone and raised his eyebrows at me as if asking, "Can I help you?".

As I moved my eyes to face the wall opposite of him, I saw him turn his attention back to his cell.

Then I heard myself speak. "Hunt?"

He looked back up again.

"I...I'm really sorry about what I said last night. I didn't mean it at all. I just let my frustration get to me and I misspoke. I'm truly sorry..." I noticed how similar my apology was to the one he had given me two days back.

He gave a halfhearted smile. "It's okay." Once again, he turned his attention back to his phone.

"I feel awful about what I said... It wasn't true at all. I get that you were just trying to help me and I don't know why I said that."

"It's fine."

'But it isn't.' I thought. 'It obviously isn't fine, look at how awkward we are. How am I supposed to get things back to the way they were if my apology did nothing?'

The door opened, but I kept my head low. Then I heard Hunter make an exaggeratedly loud sigh.

"Hey, Ashlynn!!" I looked up the second I heard my name and a huge smile spread across my face once I saw who was standing there. "Rachael hired me to play for you guys!!!!" Ryan exclaimed.

I jumped up off of the couch and ran over to him. He hugged me and spun me around. Hunter was glaring at us.

"I'm so happy, Ryan!!"

"Do you know what this means?" Then he lowered his voice. "It means I'm living the dream!" He started to lean in, but Hunter stopped anything from happening.

"OH MY GOSH ASH, IT'S 3:20!! WE'RE LATE FOR SOUND CHECK!" He bolted across the room towards me. Once he got close enough, he grabbed my hand and yanked me out of the room, just like he had at the meet and greet.

"HUNT! Wait I need to-." The door slammed shut. I glared at him.

"What? Don't want to be late! You know how Rachael gets..."

I was about to yell at him, but I knew that I would end up saying something I'd regret, just like I had done the night before. I started to run away from him as fast as I could, until I had reached the back of the stage. I found Mark, got my microphone, and joined Hazel, Eric, and Shawn on the catwalk.

"Hey, we tried calling you but you didn't pick up." Hazel called out from the other side of the platform.

"Sorry, I was talking to Ryan."

"Oooooooooooo, Ryyyyyyyannnn." Shawn teased just as Hunter climbed onto the stage.

"Oh, stopppp." I felt myself blush.

"Where's Mark? I need my microphone." Hunter looked annoyed as he glanced around.

"He should be backstage." Eric said.

A few minutes later, I watched Ryan get onto the stage and talk with our musicians. Then, he came over to me.

"I'm sorry about Hunter-."

"No, no, it's fine. I didn't want you to be late for sound check. The musicians have to be here by 3:30, so we have a little extra time to get here. Anyway, how was your morning? " He smiled shyly.

I told him all about the photoshoot and the radio interview. "And I assume your day was pretty good?"

"Are you kidding?! It was awesome! I got the job as bass player and now I get to hang with you! Can it get any better?" He smiled widely like he had just won a prize.

"Hey, lovebirds! You guys can talk later. Right now, Ashlynn, you need to test your mic and Ryan, you need to go play with the band." Mark directed.

We both blushed.

"I'll talk to you later." He grinned.

"Ok! See ya!" I giggled as he jogged away.

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(A/N:)

Hey! Thanks so much for reading!!! I love you all!!❤️🙃🤗😛

How are you?

If you answered "fine" or "ok", let me ask you this. Are you REALLY ok? Or are you just saying that because that's what we're trained to say?

It's ok to not be ok. I don't know anyone who is completely fine, and I know a lot of great people. Always remember that you are loved and you are worth it.❤️

Buh-bye for now!

~T💭🙌

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