Paint You Wings // Ashton Irwin [au]

Thirteen

Emilia's POV

Waking up to the unrelenting misery of a headache is not my ideal way to start my morning. Memories of last night flashed through my mind, and I'm dreading to see Ashton today, which by thinking about it, only makes my headache worse. The sound of my alarm doesn't help the constant pounding in my head either. I reach my hand out to shut the source of added agony off. It's only eight in the morning and my communications class doesn't start until ten, so I have plenty of time to try and rid myself of this terrible hangover.

After taking an appropriately long shower to erase the smell of alcohol my body reeked of, I drag my feet along the hideous gray carpet and into the kitchen. Normally, I find Julia sitting at the dining table drinking her coffee, but she's nowhere to be seen. I want to talk to her about last night, but I guess it will have to wait until later.

On the kitchen counter is a bottle of water and ibuprofen. I can't help but smile at the thoughtfulness of my best friend. She is always one step ahead of me, and I love her for that. It reminds me of my new friends and how kindhearted they've been to me. I grab the two bottles and shove them into my backpack. Slipping on my shoes and grabbing a light hoodie, I head out, thinking that the walk to school may help with my hangover.

I was wrong.

As much as I want to walk back home and deny all human contact and social interaction, I don't want to leave Ashton alone in class today. He's already sitting in his seat when I walk into the classroom. Slowly, I make my way up to sit next to him and rest my head against the cold wood of the desk.

"Party too hard last night?" Ashton teases.

I just nod and groan. "I've never had a hangover before, and I never want one again. Remind me to never drink that much again." I close my eyes to block out the unnaturally bright fluorescent lighting.

"At least you had fun." He chuckles as I lift my head up from the desk and lean back against the uncomfortable chair.

"Fun has proven to have its consequences."

My neck hurts and feels like it's struggling to hold the weight of my heavy head. I reach into my backpack and grab the bottle of ibuprofen and take the recommended dosage with the cold bottle of water. After swallowing the pills, I turn to Ashton and his eyes are already locked on my face; a mixture of curiosity and pity painted across his face.

"What's wrong?" I ask, already knowing the answer to my question.

I know he's going to ask about what I said last night. The only thing worse than this horrid headache is the fact that I told Ashton about my ex. It was going to come out sooner or later, but never did I think that it would be under those circumstances. To my despair, I wasn't drunk enough to forget my little confession as well as him bringing me to my room. I didn't really give any details of my past relationship, but I did tell him the gist of it, which to me is enough. For now, at least. I want him to know more, but even with the growing trust I have for him, I don't know if I can handle that deep of a conversation without completely breaking down.

"Last night," he starts, "do you remember what you told me?"

I let out a long sigh. "Yes," I say, not even second guessing my answer.

His mouth parts slightly like he was going to say something but quickly shut it, searching for the right words to say. "I'm not going to ask you to tell me everything about it right now, but whenever you're ready, I'll be here to listen." His soft and sincere voice renders me speechless.