savior

fifty five

12 HOURS TO GO

Ashton led me to the elevator, into the lobby, and out of the door. The fresh outside air swept across our faces as we walked out of the door, with our hands intertwined and smiles on our faces. He occasionally would squeeze my hand as we paced forward and then he'd pull me closer to him.

He seemed pretty excited to get out of the apartments and do something. I didn't blame him. Anything was better than being cooped up somewhere with nothing to do.

"Let's go get ice cream or something," Ashton said, pulling me towards the famous creamery. It was like he completely forgot that we had just eaten a bowl of Fruity Pebbles, like, an hour ago.

He didn't lessen his grip on my arm as he directed me towards the sweet shop. When we entered, he found us a place to sit, which happened to be the same booth we sat in when we came here the first time, and told me to wait there while he ordered for us. Ashton kept drumming his fingers on his the sides of his legs as he waited in line.

Minutes later, Ashton reappeared, two different kinds of ice cream in his hands. He handed me a peanut butter crunch cone, which I gladly accepted. In a small Styrofoam cup was plain chocolate ice cream, in which Ashton scooped his spoon into and began to eat. A smile formed on his face as he swallowed the dessert. His fingers continued to tap on whatever surface he could tap them on, and this time it happened to be the table in front of us.

"Are you alright?" I asked, stifling a laugh. I didn't know why he was being so jumpy. It was kind of amusing.

Ashton nodded his head a few times. "Yeah. Never better," he said as he shoved the ice cream covered spoon in his mouth. He played with his hair, shifting it in a way that made it look extremely fluffy and soft.

The two of us sat together in complete, comfortable silence for a few minutes. Even after we had both finished eating our ice cream, we didn't move a muscle, other than when we laced our fingers together over the table. Ashton kept looking at me, and if I wasn't so used to it, I probably would've been super uncomfortable.

He eventually picked up all the trash from the table and threw it away. His eyes scanned the bathroom doors, and I had a feeling that he was thinking of going in there and throwing up his snack, but he didn't. Instead, he intertwined our fingers together again and led me out of the creamery and into the cool air.

Surrounding the Diamond was a large group of people, watching some little band play a few songs. I suggested we go watch them perform, but Ashton acted like he didn't hear me as he continued to walk farther and farther away from it.

We entered a small store. Ashton sped off somewhere without me, leaving me standing off to the side looking at a few key chains that hung from a rack near the door. The shop wasn't really big, but Ashton was completely hidden from me and I felt kind of awkward standing in the middle of the room with nothing to do.

Eventually Ashton came back into view, carrying a little red teddy bear. On it's stomach were the words: You make me smile.

Ashton scooted the bear closer to the cashier and pulled out three dollars from his wallet. I had no idea what he was doing, but he seemed pretty determined to buy the thing. I was even more confused when he handed it to me, clasping my hands around it with his own. "I just wanted you to know," he said as he watched me read it over. His lips met mine and stayed there for a few seconds before they were peeled away.

All three of us—the stuffed bear, Ashton, and I—sat together on a bench outside of the little shop. Ashton kept playing with my fingers and looking out at the road, watching intently at all of the cars that zoomed by. He smiled at me a lot.