neurotic | ashton irwin

part thirteen

I woke up at 6am. It was back to school for me, and I couldn't be more excited.

I would get to see Luke, and I liked using school as a distraction from myself.

I didn't like thinking I was crazy, and busy schoolwork helped me feel normal. Solving math problems and reading books made me feel like maybe, just maybe, I wasn't crazy.

I pulled myself out of my bed and checked the weather; cold and rainy. It was opposite of my mood, but I didn't mind.

I pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a thick sweater that Michael gave me for Christmas. It was black and oversized, and probably my favorite thing to wear.

I slipped into my KEDS and brushed through my purple hair. It was getting more and more pale every time I washed it, and was nearing a silver tone.

I left it down and straight, not bothering with much. I grabbed my backpack from where it sat on my floor, and dragged myself to the kitchen.

Mike wasn't up yet, so I decided to make us breakfast. I pulled out our pancake mix, and added the water.

It only needed water and the mix, so it was the easiest to make. I cooked 8 pancakes, dishing out two for myself and letting Michael pick what he wanted.

He finally got up 13 minutes before we had to leave the house.

"You're up late," I noted.

"That's what happens when you used to vacations," He muttered back, grabbing the 6 other pancakes. He stuffed one into his mouth, not bothering to butter it or use syrup. With the other three, he stuffed into his bag after wrapping them in paper towels.

I stood up and scrapped what was left of my breakfast into the trash can before setting my plate and fork in the sink.

"Ready?" I asked.

"Brush your teeth, Whiley," Michael grumbled, reminding me that I hadn't. I rushed to our tiny bathroom and quickly brushed them.

"Alright, let's go," I said.

We made it halfway to school before I realized Michael hadn't brushed his teeth either. I rolled my eyes and ignored it. Not my problem.

When we got to the school, I rushed in behind a group of the jocks, trying to get past them. When I did, I spotted Luke in our usual spot.

I ran over to him, throwing myself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Sometimes you don't realize you miss your best friend until you see them again. It turns out I missed Luke a lot more than I let myself believe.

"Whiley!" Luke said excitedly, hugging me back.

"Whiley," A voice said. I pulled back and looked at who talked.

It turned out that I had interrupted Luke's conversation with Ashton.

"Oh, uh, hey," I said, moving to go behind Luke. Luke caught my elbow and pulled me next to him so that I couldn't use him as a shield. Damn him.

"How are you?" Ashton awkwardly questioned. I hadn't texted him back after he admitted to eavesdropping, even though I tried.

"Yeah," I said, not fully comprehending. The room was spinning. I looked around it, trying to make sense of things. I spotted Mike, and all I wanted was my big brother.

"Whiley," Luke laughed. "He asked how you were. You can't say 'yeah' to that!"

"Sorry, Luke," I said, pulling my arm from him. I smiled sheepishly at the ground, glancing towards Ashton and Luke.