New Kid: Ashton Irwin

Chapter 14

A/N ok I'm extremely pissed off right now, so sorry if this chapter isn't that good, BUT THANK YOU FOR 1K READS??? THATS AMAZING AND MAKES ME SO HAPPY!! IT'S LITERALLY THE ONLY GOOD THING THAT'S HAPPENED TODAY.

I come out of the bathroom and face-to-face with Ashton.

"I forgot to tell you, I have a gig tonight." He tells me, his little voice, happy and cheery.

"A gig on a Monday night?" I laugh as we lay on the comfy and cozy bed.

"Yeah, you can come if you want..."

"Of course I do." I kiss his smiling mouth. "I'm so proud of you, Ash."

"You are?"

"Yeah. Why are you so surprised?" I hold his sweaty hand, so my harsh words soften.

"I don't know, I guess it's because you're the first person to fully support me." He looks at me with depressing eyes and I realize how important I actually am to him. He always tells me that I'm the first person to not leave him and is always there, but I was raised on that's how you should treat everyone until they give you a reason not to. I know you're thinking that he's given me multiple reason and he has, but he's worth it.

"I'll always be here, you know that right?"

"It's hard to get my head around it because you're beautiful and I'm just...me." There's a peace in my heart when he calls me beautiful, but it quickly wears off at the mention of what he thinks of himself.

"Ash, stop thinking you're not good enough!"

"But, I'm not!" We both stand up from the bed, but stay a few feet apart.

"I'm tired of you not thinking you're good enough for me, for the band, or for anyone because you're so much more than that. You deserve everything you've worked for and it tears me up inside when I hear the negative thoughts about yourself." He stays silent until I tiptoe over and hold him in a protecting hug. What am i protecting him from?

Maybe his own thoughts? To be honest, I'm scared about what could be going on in his wobbly mind. What if his self-esteem is lower than how he comes off as? I don't want him as unhappy as he is on the inside.

"I'm glad you're here." He whispers softly in to my neck, tickling the skin with his ice cold breath. The prickly hairs around his mouth, scratch my cheeks as my lips stick to his.

"I'm glad you're here, too." Copying his words, but with a deeper meaning. "What time is your gig?"

"7 pm. If we leave now, we'll make it."

"Alright, let's go." I slip on the same beaten up converse I do everyday and meet him in the car.

*Wanna meet me at House of Blues and watch Ashton play?* I text Tori on the way.

*JD and I are hanging and seeing Luke is not something I'm up for.*

We sit the entire drive in silence, but it's more comforting than if we talked.

He pulls up to the House of Blues and it's packed with people. Luke, Calum and Michael are waiting outside. Even though Luke cheated on my best friend, I have this weird feeling that he can protect from Ashton still, but I don't need protection from a 16 year old boy.

I can take care of myself.

"Ashton, we need to get on the stage now!" Michael yells and they all run inside. I stroll in after a minute and take a seat close to the stage.

"Hey everyone. Thanks for coming out tonight. Before we start, we'd like to make a quick shout out." Luke says into the middle mic. "First, I'd like to shout out my beautiful girlfriend, Olivia." What? She stands up and waves to everyone around her. I shoot a glare to Ashton and his shrugs with a confused look on his face.

"And mine, Morgan." Calum adds. Her twin sister gets to her feet and mimics Olivia's movement. What?

"and my gorgeous girl, Mackenzie." Michael says shortly. What?! My stomach drops lower and lower at every mention of their names. If Ashton shouts me out, I'm dead. All three girls hate me, I'm sure and Mackenzie will blab to the whole school.

"Ashton?" Calum asks.

Please don't.

Please don't.

Please don't.

"Uh, I'd just like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came." Good boy. I need to get out of here before the girls spot me, but I can't leave. I look at Ashton again and he knows what I'm thinking.

"Go around." He mouths and I jolt from my seat and out the door. I scurry to the back of the building when a weak hand grabs my arm.

"Where do you think you're going?" Mackenzie asks. Morgan and Olivia are on opposites sides of her as I hear the band start to play from inside.

I'm completely speechless and Ashton can't help me this time. I turn around and run to the door, but Olivia swings at me once my hand reaches the handle. My back hits the cold brick wall, but I stay standing. I'm not going to show them they have power over me, even when its 3-1. I wipe my nose and blood appears on my hand. Please, Ashton.

"Ring a bell?" Mackenzie taunts. She's not going to let that day go. The twins team up and start punching me, harder and harder every encounter. I don't have the energy to fight back from lack of food.

I'm on the ground as another song ends. I feel the vibration from Ashton's drums on the pavement against my cheek and it's the only thing I can feel.

"Thank you, Sydney!" I hear Luke yell. I can't believed I missed it.

"Why are you even here?" Morgan crotches and whispers into my face. "Ugly little thing." She grabs a hand full of my hair as the door swings open. I feel hope in my heart thinking it's Ashton, but it's Luke.

"Naive bitch." He says when he sees me. "Funny, you think Ashton really cares about you. Do you think he noticed you didn't come back in?" No Luke, please not you, too. He helps me up, but slams me against the door when I'm back on my feet. The handle stabs my lower back and a sharp pain runs through my whole body. I don't understand what I did to deserve this.

"Where's your boyfriend now?" Mackenzie asks.

"Right here." A muscular voice answers.