too late ; hemmings

#35

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

*KNOCK*

I stand awkwardly at Ashton's door, waiting for him to get it. I was so nervous. Maybe this wasn't the best idea. Maybe I should turn back now.

As I'm just about to leave because of the nerves, I hear footsteps getting louder as they get closer to the door.

The door opens, revealing a sleepy Ashton. His hair was messy and he was still in his pajamas. As soon as he see's me standing there he looks shocked.

"Uh, hi," I say, my voice timid and quiet.

"Hi Tessa. Um... do you wanna come in?" He asks awkwardly.

"Yeah, actually. I really need to talk to you," I say. He steps aside and I slowly walk into the familiar house.

We walk up to Ashton's bedroom and he takes a seat on his bed.

"Look, Tessa. I'm so sorry for kissing you. It was wrong and stupid and..." He rambles, standing up.

I cut him off by throwing my arms around him. I had missed him so much and I hadn't realized until now. My embrace took him completely by surprise but he eventually wrapped his strong arms around me too. He snuggles his face into my hair and I can feel years starting to form in my eyes.

"I'm so sorry, Ash. I'm so sorry," I mumble into his chest. My voice started to crack as a lump formed in my throat. I was so happy to finally come to my senses and talk to Ashton again. I now realized that he wasn't the only one to blame for this whole mess.

"Tess, you didn't do anything wrong. It was my fault," he says.

I let go of him so I could now talk to him. I needed to apologize and tell him everything.

"I led you on! It wasn't fully your fault, Ash and I'm sorry I took so long to realize! I'm such an idiot for leading you on like that and then getting so angry. I'm such a fucking horrible person and an even worse friend. You've apologized and I now accept it. I'm just so sorry it took so long to notice," I blurt out.

"Tessa, it's okay. It's fine," he pulls me in for another hug.

I really did miss Ashton.

--

"So what happened with Luke? Did he forgive you?" Ashton asked. We were sitting on his bedroom floor, talking.

"He doesn't want to talk to me, Ash," I say quietly, barely audible.

"Oh, Tess. It's all my fault. I shouldn't have ever done anything to you. I shouldn't have done anything because I knew I'd ruin everything for you. Tessa, I'm such an ass-" he got up, pacing around his room, running his large, masculine hands through his wavy hair.

"Ashton, it's not entirely your fault. I'm sure he'll eventually come around. For now, I'm glad I'm friends with you again," I tried reassuring not only Ashton, but myself too that everything was going to be okay. I wasn't actually sure Luke would come around but I hoped more than anything that he would.

"Tess, you don't know how sorry I am," he knelt down beside me, wrapping his strong arms around me.

"It's okay, Ash," I repeated myself for what seemed like the one-hundredth time.

"Do you want me to talk to him?" he asked, still keeping his arms around me.

"I'm not sure. He's probably going to want to rip you to shreds. I don't want you to get hurt for my sake," I say.

"But Tessa, I've been feeling so fucking guilty this whole time and I need to sort things out with Luke myself. I really don't want to loose my friendship with him. He's a great guy," Ashton rambled on. I had a feeling he hadn't had much sleep the night before, because he was now even more stressed than usual.

"I guess you could talk to him. But I think you should give it a few days so he can cool off," I suggest.

"Good idea. Do you want to do something to get your mind off it for the time being? We could go see a movie or something," he offers.

"I don't feel like going out," I say. It was true but I also didn't want to go see a movie because people could mistake us for a couple and it would get very annoying and make this mess even bigger.

"How about we watch a movie here?" he says.

"Sounds good to me," I smile at him.

Ashton sets up the laptop and we decide on watching one of my all time favourites; Toy Story.

Ash and I put the laptop on his double bed and we sit on top if it. I rest my head on Ashton's shoulder and he puts his arm around my shoulders in a friendly way.

"Ash, could I maybe stay here tonight? I can sleep on the couch or something if you want. I just don't feel like going home and being alone," I ask.

"Sure. And it's okay, I'll take the couch," he says, tightening his grip around my shoulders.

"Thanks Ash," I smile at him and he returns the smile, his large dimples appearing on his cheeks.

"I'm so glad we're friends again," I say.

--

(ASHTON'S P.O.V)

Hearing Tessa says those words made me feel like someone had punched me in the stomach. As much as I was happy she had forgiven me, I was still feelings like shit that she had no feelings for me apart from friendly feelings.

She had Luke and she was in despair without him. She adored Luke and I was completely and utterly jealous. I kept lying to here, telling her everything was going to be okay, but I knew if Luke didn't forgive Tess and I, she would be upset and would still continue chasing after him, while I would be there, trying to help, but honestly making myself feel worse. I guess if she was happy, that would be all that mattered and if she wanted to be with Luke, as much as I wanted to, I couldn't change that. That's the way life goes. No matter how much you want things to go your way, it may not happen.

Tessa had soon fallen asleep on my bed, her head still resting on my arm and my arm still around her. She looked so peaceful and quiet, so I knew not to wake her.

I turned the movie off and set my laptop aside. I quietly and carefully removed myself from Tessa's body and attempted to silently get out of the bed and make my way to the couch.

"Ash, you can stay in your bed if you want," Tessa muttered, her eyes still shut. I way a little surprised when she said that, considering I thought she was sleeping.

"Nah, it's okay. I'll go on the couch," I said. I didn't want to be sleeping in the same bed as her, mainly because if I got too close to her, I would get more attached, only to have my heart crushed more.

"Oh, okay. Goodnight Ashy," she mumbled, falling back to sleep.

I quietly left the room and made my way to the living room, grabbing a sleeping bag from the cupboard and setting it on the couch. I stripped my clothes off until I was left only in my boxers and t-shirt. I soon fell into a deep sleep.

-------------------------

(A/N)

Finally! I updated Too Late! you probably wanted to kill me for not making an effort, but I've had the worst writers block bc I don't know where this story is going. If anyone has any suggestions, PLEASE tell me! I really need it. I'll give you credit if you help me.

Anyway, I'm so sorry for not updating. I felt so guilty. But I'm in Japan and I haven't had much time.

Sorry for blabbering on, as I always do.

I hope you enjoyed this shitty chapter.

Until next time,

xxGab