Right Now

34.

I wake up to the sun shining in one eye and a tongue in the other. I push the furry body off my chest and then sit up, blocking my eyes from the sun. Ralph wiggles around happily and then falls off the bed to the floor.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty." Ashton says from my chair. He has a hood over his head and his eyes locked on his phone.

"Hey." I say in a raspy tone.

"Water and aspirin next to you. I thought you'd respond better to the puppy waking you than me." He says.

"Uh, yeah, thanks." I say and I look at the two small tablets and the water. The pounding in my head is enough to make me want to roll over an die. Or vomit. I take them and look around my room. "Where is Lyle?" I ask.

"He went home already. Man's a champ. I'm gonna go, you get dressed and then we'll leave," He says and stands. "Big day today."

"Yeah, big day." I mutter, rolling back over in my bed and I shout at the sudden coldness as Ashton rips my blanket off me.

"Oh no, you gotta get up and experience your first ever hangover." He laughs at me when I whine in protest.

***
I walk into the building behind Ashton and he immediately finds his girlfriend and she walks over, hugging him and he leans down to kiss her.

"Ew, cooties!" I say and back up. She laughs and he kicks at me. I smile and walk down the hall to my own locker. I see Calum leaning against the wall and he has a beanie on his head and black sweater and a scowl in his fine lips.

Although others think he looks angry and scary, as I've heard some cheerleaders say, this is how I prefer him to look. Like himself "Hey." He says and I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his chest.

"I love you." I say softly and he kisses my shoulder.

"What did I do to deserve that?" He asks.

"I don't know, I'm still trying to figure that out." I say and he chuckles. He leans down and pecks my lips quickly.

"No PDA!" I hear and I know it's Ashton, karma for my own comment.

"He is just jealous that my girlfriend is cooler than his!" Calum shouts down the hall at him and I smile.

"Have you met Lily? She is pretty cool." I say.

"Not nowhere near as cool as you. So, tonight we are going on a date." He says.

"With our mothers." I snort.

"It's still a date. Just a supervised date so I can't fuck you in the bathroom," He says and I smack him. "What?"

"That's not why." I say and he laughs.

"Sure. If it helps you sleep at night, babe."

"So I am getting out basically all day to help Satan set up for the car wash. Gonna make sure to cut the shorts extra short for all the guys. Get them crop tops and everything. Want one?" I ask him.

"Only if you wear them, too." He smiles at me.

"I'm wearing a bikini." I say and he frowns. Apparently he was joking when he made his comment.

"In front of all the guys here? Great, everyone will try and steal my girl," He says and rolls his eyes. "They'll all be looking at you and shit and I really don't want to have to kill anyone. You're mine and only mine." He says and pouts.

"Have I told you how hot it is when you get jealous?" I ask him and he smiles, kissing me again.

"Not recently." He says.