positive •irwin au•

part sixteen

I have to wake up for school in three and a half hours... there's no way I'm editing this right now.

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As Ashton's mom led him and Maddy inside, she spoke excitedly to them both. "Ash, your brother is going to be so excited to see you!"

"What about Lauren?" He asked, laughing.

"Of course she'll be excited, just not as much as Harry." Maddy smiled realizing what a sweet relationship Ashton must have had with his siblings.

Anne told the couple to sit on the couch, then left to get them drinks. She insisted that they must be dehydrated after such a long drive. She wasn't wrong.

As soon as his mother was out of the room, Ashton turned to Maddy. "I told you that she would love you." He gloated.

"How would you even know that? We haven't even been here for five minutes," Maddy told him. Ashton just shrugged and then leaned toward her to capture her lips in a kiss. "Stop, before your mother comes back." She whined.

"I just can't keep my hands off of my girlfriend," he whispered, kissing her again as his hands found her waist.

"Stop!" She told him, more forcefully this time. He listened reluctantly, but Maddy was glad he had as his mother reentered the room.

She set a fruity-looking drink in front of each of them before leaving the room again. "Mom, where are you going?" Ashton called after her, but she didn't answer him. He sighed and picked up his glass to take a sip. He immediately pulled Maddy's from her hand before she could take a sip herself.

"What's wrong?" Maddy asked.

"That has alcohol in it," he told her. "Mom!" Ashton called again, standing up and going after her this time. "Mother, it isn't even three pm!"

"Oh please," Anne responded. "It's just one."

"Um,Mom. Maddy is only twenty," Ashton said as they entered the room.

"Oh," she said. "Oh, Maddy sweetie, don't drink that."

Maddy laughed, thankful that Ashton's mother was more conservative than her own. "Don't worry, I won't."

"See, Ashton? She's a smart girl. There was no need to chase me down the hallway."

Ashton sighed, retaking his seat beside Maddy. "Okay," he gave in. "Where did you go, though?"

"To get this," Anne told him, holding up what appeared to be a photo album, and squeezed onto the couch beside Ashton. "I thought Maddy might want to see some pictures of you as a baby."

Maddy laughed at the coincidence, causing Ashton to nudge her in the side. She glared at him, then turned to Anne. "I would love to see them."

The girls began to flip through the pictures and Anne told stories to go along with almost every single one. Ashton interjected every once in awhile to defend himself for one thing or another.

At the sight of one particularly adorable baby photo, Maddy instinctually reached for her stomach to feel the place where the lemon was growing. But Ashton caught her hand, so that his mother wouldn't see, and held it in his lap. Maddy almost gasped at herself, feeling stupid for almost giving away their secret.

"So," Anne said, closing the album. "How long have the two of you been together? Ashton's never brought a girl home before, I feel like he probably took awhile to prepare himself."

Maddy looked to Ashton and he took the opportunity to answer. "Actually, Mom, I just asked Maddy to be my girlfriend today."

"But we've been together for a little while now." Maddy added.