downtown daisies ; lashton

T H I R T E EN

the last shadow puppets - calm like you

: : :

The time span in which Luke Hemmings had fallen into his old drinking habits again after the encounter with Ashton was very quick. He found himself at a bar on a Tuesday night, all alone and barely blinking as he urged the bartender to pour in another shot to drink. The comfort of alcohol mended his heart little by little whilst burning liquid would slide down his throat.

As for Ashton, things couldn't of been any more worse. Going to school and back without the company of his favourite blond was agonising, and he spent almost all day moping around in his room, hoping for some sort of word from Luke.

"Another one, thanks" Luke mumbled, groggily rubbing his eyes as the bartender shot him a wary look, pouring the contents into a small glass and passing it over to the blond.

"Had a tough night?" The bartender asked, brushing a curl of his dyed red hair out of his face. He was cute. He'd be cuter if Luke was perhaps a little more sober, but nevertheless, he would certainly bang him.

"Tough week, actually. Thanks for asking" Luke responded, his head hanging low as he grimaced at the burning liquid travelling down his throat. The bartender had already poured Luke another shot, even though he clearly didn't ask him to.

"I'm Josh. Josh Dun" The man smiled, obviously very unaware that Luke was in the verge of practically passing out.

Luke stirred, placing a hand on the nape of his neck. "I'm L- Hemmings. Luke Hemmings"

"How about I take you home? You don't look too well" Josh smiled, untying his navy blue apron and swinging it over a bar stool.

And Luke was too, too drunk to even realise that he was being hauled over in the backseat of a stranger's car.

: : :

Luke couldn't remember the words he had said when he entered a tatty old apartment with wallpaper peeling off of its walls. Nevertheless, it certainly didn't matter seeing as his headache overpowered whatever his thoughts were on this mystery home.

He barely woke from a rather odd sleeping position on the floor, and he soon gasped in horror once he realised he was in fact, naked.

"Oh god" Luke grumbled, his eyes soon adjusting to the bright atmosphere of the room. It didn't take long for him to notice the tuft of red hair peeking from underneath the covers, and the blond soon began shuffling around on the dirty carpet, trying to muster up his clothes and get out of wherever this was.

Luke's clothes were scattered almost everywhere, and he was shocked to see his briefs underneath the windowsill along with his socks. It didn't occur to him that while he was frantically searching for his pants, Josh was very well wide awake and witnessing the entire situation quite smugly.

"Leaving so soon?" The red head smirked, pulling on his briefs and shirt before heading toward the bathroom. Luke watched in astonishment as he eyed the bartender. How could he be so pleased with himself after bringing a stranger into his home and hooking up with him?

"What the fuck happened last night?" Luke hissed, "Did we-"

"Such lovely assumptions. No, I'm not that much of an idiot that I'd take advantage of someone who's drunk" Josh responded, a sigh of relief escaping Luke's lips.

"I don't understand. How am I naked? And what are my clothes doing all over the floor?" The blond questioned, scratching the back of his head as he fell back onto the red head's ancient couch. He figured that bartending didn't pay much considering the pigsty Josh lived in, but he couldn't necessarily say anything bad about his apartment when Luke lived somewhere quite similar.

"I tried stuffing you in my shower, but because you were so arrogant and may I remind you, very drunk, you refused to put on any clothes after you had taken a shower, thus, leaving my apartment in a mess" Josh smiled sweetly, a tinge of sarcasm being added to his tone. Luke felt his cheeks heat up and he covered them with his cold hands, avoiding eye contact with the unusually kind man.

"Well, uh- thanks? Sorry for being so rude, I just thought something completely different" Luke breathed out, earning a smirk slash smile from Josh. He could never quite tell what his facial expressions were.

"So bad break up or no job anymore?" The bartender asked straightforwardly, seating himself on the comforter opposite Luke. Now that he was very much sober, he took the moment to realise how pretty this man was. Josh had a sort of goofy smile that only existed in comedy movies, which made Luke grin at the thought. Although he was pretty, no one was quite as pretty as Ashton, which lead Luke to say the only thing he was thinking,

"Boyfriend left. I have no job either way, so it sucks big time" The blond slowly nodded, earning a frown from Josh.

"That sucks, dude. I can see why you decided to become shit faced drunk yesterday anyway. You did a great job on those tequilas. Didn't throw up once" Josh commented, earning a giggle to slip past Luke's lips.

"What can I say? My guts are alcohol resistant" The blond responded, shrugging nonchalantly.

"As for the job part, lucky for you we have an extra slot open for a new waiter. I could ask my manager for an interview if you'd like?" The red headed man suggested, a wave of delight overtaking Luke by the minute. Only 5 minutes ago Luke was jobless and heart broken, now he's potentially getting a job, and hopefully his heart will heal in time.

"Sure! I mean, yeah, of course. This means so much to me, you literally have no idea" Luke grinned, reaching over and giving Josh a brief hug as the red headed man let out a chuckle.

Perhaps things could finally turn out for the better now.

Hello funkers!

The lashton beef is still not over yet I'm afraid, but it'll be mended soon enough!

Also Joshua William Dun is our lord and saviour I love him more than I love spring rolls.

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