Aftermath // 5SOS Fanfic // Ashton Irwin

Liar, Liar

Claire's POV- By noon the next day, I literally cannot deal with Marie. "Don't eat a muffin! Now you have to sweep up the crumbs and vacuum!" News flash: There were absolutely no crumbs. Honestly, I just want to get this stupid party over with, but I promised her to try so I resist the urge to scream.

 After a few hours of tiptoeing around the squeaky clean house and getting yelled at for miniscule offenses of untidiness, I excuse myself to get ready and escape to my attic. I take a long shower, wasting the moments between now and 5 o'clock PM. I throw on the party outfit Marie had approved yesterday and try to figure out what to do with my Raggedy Anne-ish tangled mess of hair. After 20 minuets of brushing it out and attempting to flatten it, I steal Marie's curling iron and add a few curls to my uncooperative hair. I lag down the ladder at exactly 5:01 and watch Marie glued to the window waiting for our now tardy guests.

As our friends trickle into the living room, chatting and laughing, I realize that I'm the one with eyes glued to the door. Where is he?

A knock at the door at 6 reveals Michael, Ashton, and his fedora. "Hey, love!" I feel my body tense. he's never called me that before. I like it.

"Hey, Ash! Michael! Come in!"

"Sorry we're late! Ashton took forever picking out an outfi-"

"Mike!" Ash warns as the follow me to the mass of people cluttering my beautiful, beautiful kitchen.

"Claire!" squeals Georgia, a high school "friend" who is staring directly at Ashton. My Ashton. "Who are they?"

"This is my friend Michael, and this is my..." I hesitate. How do I possibly introduce Ashton?

"I'm her boyfriend. I'm Ashton. And you are?"

As the disappointed Georgia introduces herself, I notice Marie has whipped around at the word "boyfriend". Her eyes are wide, and she mouths "What?!" I just smile at her and nod slightly.

"Where are you guys from? I know most people around here, but I've never seen either of you."

"Well, we lived in California then spent a few months in Australia."

"So what are you doing in Indiana?" someone laughs.

"Fresh start," Michael shrugs.

I never knew they went to Australia. I didn't even know they lived in California.

"Jake is heading to California this week," one of our old sorority sisters Lyla smiles referring to the man she has herself draped around.

"What for?"

"I'm a detective for the Redwood Police Department," he says, puffing out his chest and maneuvering his arm so we could just see the gun in his belt behind his jacket.

I feel Ashton tense beside me. "R-Redwood?"

"Yeah, small town over there. Ever hear of it?" Jake asks.

"Uhm yeah. Yeah I think so."

"There was a nasty murder down there last year. I've been on the case for months and still no leads!"

Ashton is about to say something else, but Michael cuts him off. "So what are you doing here? How did the two of you meet?"

Somewhere in the middle of the story of the dorky chance meeting at Comic Con, Ashton is gone. I open my mouth to ask Michael where he could've gone and see him shake his head ever so slightly. What is that supposed to mean? Why are they keeping something from me? And what's the deal with acting so serious and secretive?

Ash's POV: "I got it- let's play BS!" someone is yelling when I walk back in. I was hoping the Jake guy would be gone by now, and thankfully he is.

"Oh no, no, no!" Marie laughs "Claire will put all of you to shame!"

"I doubt that!" I smile, sliding into the seat at the table beside her. "I'm pretty good myself!"

Michael scoffs. "No you're not!"

A few rounds in, Claire has 5 cards and I have 32. "Two 7's." She lays down the cards.

I stare at her. She stares right back. She can't be lying.

Michael lays down an 8 and Claire smirks. "Were you lying?"

She shrugs. "Yeah."

"But you kept eye contact."

"So?"

"That's hard to do if you're lying!"

"It is?" She knits her eyebrows together and tilts her head at me.

"Was it easy for you to lie like that?"

"I told you!" Marie interjects. "One time she told me Michael Jackson faked his death and was actually alive."

"That's ridiculous!"

"But I believed her for a month. A month. That's how good she is."

Claire smiles smugly.

"What else are you hiding?" Georgia asks. The game pauses, and eyes focus on her. "Anything you've been lying about?"

She looks at Marie, clearly conflicted. "Er... Well... I was adopted." The air in the room becomes heavy, and no breath is drawn to attempt to clear it. "And I'm leaving next week to find my real mom. I've been searching and searching, and it turns out she lives in Redwood, California."

No. This can't be happening. What if she finds out? "How long will you be gone?"

"You can come with me."

"I can? you'd let me come with you to-"

"Well, I would, if I wasn't lying."

I punch her in the arm playfully, but honestly, my heart is hammering. Maybe it's not so good that she can lie so well.

"Now are we playing cards or what?"

Everyone laughs and returns to the game without another thought, but her lie eats away at me. I glance at Mike. He doesn't return my questioning look. I bet he wants to protect me from more lies. Claire snaps me out of my daze. "Was it the town or the gun?"

"What?"

"What made you leave? Was it about the town or the fact he was carrying a gun? And why?"

"Neither. It was the murder case thing. I had a friend who was murdered, so I just didn't want to tjink about it. That's why I left."

"I'm sorry!" she whispers.

I guess I'm an okay liar after all.