All I Need ✘ [Hemmings] (On Hold)

fifteen: You Need to Fix This

"Please just go," Michelle begs, tugging on my arm. "You'll regret it if you don't," she tells me.

I snort. "That might be true," I admit, "but that doesn't mean I'm changing my mind."

She rolls her eyes. "You need to see him someday," she argues, crossing her arms over my chest. She takes a seat on the edge of my bed, shooting daggers at me.

"Someday," I repeat, focusing my gaze on my lap, "but not today."

Michelle sighs in irritation. "You need to fix this," she says sternly. "Nothing's going to get better by itself." With that, she marches out of my room, purse in hand, the front door slamming shut behind her.

***

"Abby?" Calum asks, crossing his arms over his chest. "You shouldn't be here," he says, yet he makes no attempt to stop me from coming inside.

"I need to talk to Ashton," I mumble, turning around to face the boy. He stays silent for a minute. In fact, he doesn't say a word as he closes the door behind him and walks into the kitchen, mumbling something to whom I'm guessing is Ashton.

When I walk in the room, only one pair of eyes is on me; thankfully, it seems Calum made his exit.

"Why are you here?" Ashton mutters, heaving a tired sigh.

"Isn't it obvious?" I ask, kicking the carpet underneath my feet. Ashton shrugs his shoulders, staying silent and waiting for me to speak. "Look," I begin, "I'm sorry for everything, okay? I'm sorry that things didn't turn out the way they planned for you, but look! They didn't turn out well for me, either. But Ashton, just because life fucking sucks sometimes and you don't get exactly what you want, doesn't mean you can be a bitch about it." I laugh bitterly, shaking my head. "Maybe this isn't want you want to hear, but I liked you, Ashton; just not in the way you wanted me to."

"I thought you came here to apologize," he says, not meeting my gaze,

"And I'm sorry; for leading you on and being stubborn and getting into pointless fights, but it doesn't give you the right to go in front of everyone and say shit like that. What was the point?" I ask, eyes starting to water. "Because, Ashton," I laugh, "it sure as hell didn't get me to like you."

In a matter of seconds, tears start falling from Ashton's eyes, a sob wracking through his body. Even though I know I should do something, I don't do anything but let him cry.

Footsteps echo through the house and within seconds, Calum appears in the doorway, shooting a glare in my direction. "What happened?" he asks venomously, walking over to his friend and standing in front of him, shielding him from my view.

"I just — "

"It's okay, Calum," Ashton interrupts, sending him a reassuring smile. Calum looks at him for a few more seconds, his gaze flickering between us before he nods his head and disappears again.

Ashton takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. When he thinks he's ready, he starts speaking. "I'm sorry," he whispers, "and I'm sorry I didn't realize it sooner," he says, slowly training his eyes on me. I nod my head and he takes another breath before continuing. "I'm usually not like that — "

"What?" I ask, a smirk playing on my lips. "An asshole?"

Ashton rolls his eyes, but nods nevertheless. "It was one of those things that you regret right after you say it — and I could have denied it, but ... I didn't. I'm really sorry," he says, eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

I close my eyes for a few seconds before opening them and training them back on Ashton. "I forgive you," I say, watching as his face breaks into a grin, "but everything's still not okay. Ashton, Luke still hates me," I whisper, gaze dropping to the floor, "and everyone still thinks I'm the World's

Biggest Bitch."

Ashton's smile falters a bit, but he nods his head in understanding. "I'm sorry for that, too. I, um, I'm gonna fix it," he says, turning around and sitting in his stool.

I take a seat next to him. "How are you going to do that?" I ask, biting my lip in anticipation for his answer.

He looks down at the floor for a few seconds, squinting his eyes in a way that shows he's thinking hard. Then, he trains his hazel orbs back on me and shrugs his shoulders, a goofy grin making its way onto his lip. "I'm not sure yet."

***

"Uh, it seems you two have made up," a voice says shortly after walking into the living room. I look up and see Michael, a big smile taking form on my lips.

"Michael!" I shriek, rushing over to hug him.

"Are we all cool now, then?" he asks, looking over at Ashton and then back to me and then back again.

"Ashton and I are good," I tell him, "but, uh, things with Luke are still ... complicated."

Michael nods his head in understanding before taking a seat next to Ashton on the floor. "I want to play," he says and Ashton grabs another controller from the bin and hands it to his blue-haired friend.

"Have you ever played before?" Michael asks me, his gaze trained on his character — Yoshi, I think his name is.

Ashton laughs, deciding on answering for me. "No," he snorts, "but she's pretty freaking good."

Michael turns back to look at me, a sinister smile on his face. "Good luck trying to beat me, babe. I'm the best at Mario Kart," he says, turning his attention back to the screen just in time to start the race.

Ashton starts to giggle when the countdown starts, but Michael and I watch in all seriousness until it ends, Michael using a speed boost to get in front of everyone. He laughs, a small cheer escaping his lips before steering his character away from the walls and avoiding bananas and turtle shells.

I, however, remain a short distance behind him, attempting to get in front of him by throwing turtle shells. Michael expertly dodges them all, and in the end, he does beat me, throwing his arms in the air in victory and standing up to rub it in my face. I only smile, because once again, it feels like things are going to turn out okay.

***

another short chapter I'm sorry