Aftermath // 5SOS Fanfic // Ashton Irwin

Impulse and Strategy

Claire's POV: I bite my lip and sidestep Luke to give Ashton a hug. He doesn't hug me back. "Luke is a friend from way long ago!" I try to smile casually.

Luke holds his hand out. "Ashton, right?"

Ashton looks at Luke's hand, making no effort to move his own, then glares back up at him. "That's right. Ashton. Her boyfriend."

Luke awkwardly puts his hand back to his side, his smile fading. "Well... uhm... it's nice to meet you."

Ashton nods and grabs my hand, leading me into the house. We sit on the couch, me wrapped up in his arms as usual, but we're stiff rather than gentle and loving. How am I supposed to explain this?

I probably look like the world's worst liar-cheater-scumbag-hoe, but I didn't do anything wrong! Except for lying about Marie's sister coming in town when my ex boyfriend was really coming in town. In retrospect that was probably not a great decision. I just don't know how to tell Ashton about Luke and about everything that goes along with him.

I was put up for adoption when I was born. I was lucky though. I got adopted into a family with two other girls who became sisters to me immediately. My parents were great too! We were like a real family. When I was 9, my adopted parents got in a car crash. My sisters and I got put in the foster system. My sisters were all I had, and we refused to be separated. So we all moved to New York, and that's when I met Luke. We all stayed at the same foster home. The parents kept a lot of kids, and they weren't necessarily wealthy so we had to get used to kind of fending for ourselves. They eventually decided they couldn't keep that many kids anymore, and I got sent to an orphanage when I was 14. Without my sisters. They were kept together in another foster home I think. Anyway, me and Luke were still near each other, and I had met Marie, but Luke really understood me. I've missed him, but how do I explain-

"Claire?"

"Hm?"

"You okay, babe?" Ashton whispers.

"Oh, uh, yeah."

"So Luke, where are you staying?"

"I'm actually not sure," he sighs.

I chime in, "I was trying to think of a friend who would let him stay with them, but-"

"He can stay with us!" Ashton offers.

I stare at him. "Really?" Luke says.

"Ashton-" I start.

"Yeah, of course."

"Ash, what're you doing?"

"A friend of yours is a friend of mine," he replies.

"I think you should know," I whisper, "we were more than friends at one point."

His arms tighten around me in a kind of impulsive way, but he smiles and whispers back, "All the more reason to keep an eye on him."

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Ashton's POV: "Where are you from, Luke?" I ask, helping pull a suitcase into the studio.

"Well, I've lived in New York for most of my life. That's how I know Claire."

"New York?" I repeat dumbly.

"Yeah, she moved there when she was nine. You didn't know that?"

I look away, trying so hard not to be hurt by this.

Calum steps in the room. "You're her ex aren't you?"

Luke looks taken aback and nods.

"Thought so." Then he leaves.

"Who was that?" Luke asks.

"Calum. He's a pretty chirpy lad."

Luke stands there looking confused for another moment then sits on the edge of the couch uncomfortably. He looks so awkward it takes everything in me not to laugh. I turn to leave.

"Thanks for doing this for me," Luke calls.

I pause and say, without bothering to turn back to him, "I'm doing this for her. And if you even think about taking my Claire from me, I'll throw you on a plane back to wherever you came from faster than you can say 'sorry'. Got it?"