Snap Out Of It || Ashton Irwin

19

No loud celebration, no cheers, just hugs and tears being passed around after the verdict on Sarah had come in. Ashton was superstitious and didn't think he should have a huge celebration because he might jinx the whole situation. I could understand. Roles reversed, I'd be too scared to celebrate as well.

But Ashton had a chance to restart his life and live without the fear of Sarah. There weren't any take backs with the decision made by the people. I think that was the only thing keeping Ashton's sanity at this point.

As soon as we exited the courthouse, Ashton removed his tie, taking in a deep breath of the cool air. He declared himself a free and happy man. That he was.

We now sat in the living room cuddled up under a few blankets, silently watching television. Mom put the kids to sleep and retired to her own room for the night, knowing Ashton would want to spend some time with me after a stressful day. Ashton was still being encouraged to rest as too much stress on his body would cause something to go wrong.

I sipped on wine as Ashton's fingers trailed my thigh. I loved this. This was how I always pictured us from the beginning.

"T?" He spoke up and I turned to him. "You're beautiful."

"As are you." I smiled at him, receiving a pout.

"I was going to be really romantic, but you just ruined my whole plan!" He lifted the blanket over his head, leaving it there. It was safe to say the old Ashton was back. Sadness was erased from his eyes, the only downside was the tiredness that his eyes held. He needed to rest and I knew he desperately wanted to, but he was acting just like me. Trying to bask in the moment, too afraid to take a second for himself because he believed that he'd be hit with some harsh reality that wasn't really going to come his way.

"Nothing goes according to plan." I pulled the blanket down, playfully sticking my tongue out at him. I quickly jerked away before he caught my tongue between his thumb and index finger.

"Do you want to do something crazy?" Ashton ran his thumb over my cheek, staring at me with utter admiration and love. I could feel myself becoming bashful under his gaze.

"Like go to a restaurant and order everything on the menu?" I said. Hopefully now that my appetite was finally returning after what felt like the longest, most excruciating day, I wanted to eat.

"Tempting." He sang. "Let's elope."

"Ashton..."

"I'm serious, let's do it!" He threw the blanket from his lap, scooting up on the couch. "We're both 25-year-old's who need to do something wild every now and then." He argued, but there was still doubt behind his voice. "We're in the right circumstances to get married. We both love each other, we're both single. Why not make this official?" His eyes flickered between both of mine.

"Can you recall what happened in your last marriage that you rushed?" Reasonably enough he knew I was correct.

"Good point." Ashton thought out loud. "Lets go for a drive, yeah?"

Ashton's POV

Sometimes the people that hurt us the most were the ones that could fix us the best. I was never a firm believer in that statement. Actually, I was never a believer in any romantic statement, but the further I fell in love with her the more I believed. Even now, at 2 am while we drove through the countryside playing Green Day ferociously through the worn out speakers in my car like the carefree nineteen year old's we used to be. Her hair blowing wildly, her musical laugh dancing through the air. I tried to keep my focus on the road but how could I when the most beautiful sight I could ever dream of was less than a meter away from me.

"Take me back to the middle of nowhere." She slurred. The small amount of alcohol she had consumed earlier had turned her back to what she used to be. She wasn't the world famous fashion designer adamant of keeping up her clean image anymore, she was the old Talia. She was the Talia I fell in love with that night on the dance floor at her sister's wedding, and I couldn't be happier to be in her company.

"We are in the middle of nowhere, T." I chuckled, slowing down beside a deserted field. I cut the engine off but kept the music playing because Talia looked like she was enjoying it, tapping her fingers along with the rhythm, bobbing her head with the beat making her hair bounce ever so slightly. God, I loved her.

"This is kind of like one of your old songs you know." She giggled childishly covering her mouth with her hand. It surprised me that she had even bothered listening to any of our music after we broke up. I knew that Luke was still and always will be her closest friend but after all those years of no contact I thought she would have tried her best to keep the memory of me out of her head. Well I knew I did.

"Long way home?" I asked, relaxing back into the seat a little. She nodded, turning to sit sideways, giving me all her attention. She didn't speak for a while, all that could be heard was the soft tunes of "Time Of Your Life" playing in the background. I hummed along with the song for a moment before I turned my head to look at her. Her head was dropped slightly, playing with the ends of her hair, taking a few strands between her index finger and her middle finger and pulling the hair through. I always studied her movements so carefully, as if anything she did interested me so much. And it did. She finally looked up and her brown, yet bloodshot eyes met mine. A soft smile found its way to my lips.

"Wanna lay out and look at the sky? The moon looks really nice tonight." She spoke so softly, I barely heard what she said. I nodded in agreement and opened the car door. The air hit me harshly when I stepped out, the heat in the car was no longer sheltering me. It only took me a few seconds to adjust to the weather again. She walked around to meet me at my side of the car, her arms wrapped around her small frame.

We walked towards the field in silence, the only thing we could hear was the gentle squish of our shoes against the grass.

"Ashton?"

I stopped walking and sat on the ground, patting the spot beside me. She timidly placed herself on the grass beside me, scooting a little closer than I thought she would.

"Yes?"

I could barely get my word out before her lips were on mine. It took me a few seconds to process what was going on but I immediately kissed back once I realized. Her lips were like a drug to me. I was in pain without them and the only thing that could stop the unbearable sting was her kiss. I cupped her face, running my fingers through her hair, using my other hand to keep myself supported. She snaked her arms around my waist leaning forward slightly deepening the kiss. It was moments like this that would make me swim the largest of seas or walk to the ends of the earth just so they could happen again and again. Her kiss almost made it impossible for me to let her go. It was like a frenzy. But all great things came to an end and she pulled away laying back, pulling me with her. She laid her head on my chest playing with the hem of my t-shirt.

"Do you think we made the right decision agreeing to this publicity stunt?" She whispered burying her face further into my body, as if she didn't really want to hear the answer.

"I don't know, T. Sure the money side is great but sometimes I can't handle the bad, and even the good memories, it brings back." I answered, my voice cracking a little showing how vulnerable I was at that very moment.

"Ashton?" She asked for the second time that night.

I didn't answer just hummed while I played with her hair. I wanted to savor this moment, I just wanted to keep her in my arms and pretend we were still young foolish teenagers, so madly and so selfishly in love.

"I love you."

"I love you too, T."

lukesclifford's one shot for third place.