after you left |ai|

38

I saw my phone light up on the table and when I tried to get up to reach it, Ashton pulled me back to him and refused to let me go.

"Don't leave" he begged and I laughed softly before turning to look at him, "whoever that is can wait."

"Ash I need to check it, maybe it's Amber who needs me." I said and he pouted but I just let out another soft laugh before getting out of his grip to reach my phone. It had been pouring rain all afternoon and I came over here as soon as I was done at school to watch movies all evening but I was soaked and freezing from the rain. So he gave me sweatpants and a shirt while my clothes were in the dryer. His clothes were so big on me and I loved that they still smelled like him.

I looked at the text on my screen and closed my eyes for a second when I read it. "Fuck" I mumbled before sending a quick text back.

"What's going on?" He asked when I sat back down next to him, he put his arm over my shoulder and I waited for another text to come in, hoping to get better news but it wasn't any good.

"I'm gonna have 15 pissed off kids tomorrow and I have to go home to prepare a class after all." I said with a sigh before looking at him, "We were supposed to have music day tomorrow, we always do that the last day before a holiday and with the winter holiday starting the day after tomorrow, it was supposed to be now. But the volunteer cancelled just now and all others have plans already. So now I have to come up with games to fill all day."

"I can do it"

"What?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"If you tell me what the teacher was supposed to do, I could do it. I play guitar, piano and drums and sing and I'm kinda famous for it, I think I could do it." He said softly and I laughed at his offer before realising he was serious. "Just tell me what to do and I'll do it."

"Would you really want to do that?" I asked him and he nodded, I got a smile on my face before getting up and going over to my bag to take out my laptop. "Okay so this is a list of everything we were going to do tomorrow, I could help you out with the dance hour in the afternoon because I know you aren't the best in that." I said and he laughed softly while going through the songs and activities.

"I'd need the chords of most of these songs but I'm a fast learner." He said before opening google to search up the songs. He handed me the laptop back before getting up and disappearing. A bit later he came back with his guitar and sat down with me. "These are fairly easy, I'm sure I could even teach you one of them on the piano."

"We have all night" I said with a small grin and he looked at me with a smile before nodding

"By the morning you will be able to play one of them, even if it takes us all night." He said before kissing me softly.

—

"Class, be quiet please." I said a little after the bell rang and I counted everyone.

"Yes miss Elle!" One of the Down Syndrome girls said excited, they were all happy, smiles filling their faces and excitement and sparkles in their eyes.

"As promised, today is music day to celebrate the first semester being over." I said and I saw kids looking at each other with so much excitement. "We all know that I can't sing," I said and giggles filled the room, "so that's why I invited a very special friend of mine. This is Ashton and he will be making music with you today." I said and while some waved, others avoided all possible eyecontact. This was a very diverse class which meant the students were somewhere inbetween severe autism, Down Syndrome or behavioral/mental issues. Not everyone liked a new face. "Let's all welcome Ashton and thank him for taking his time to come here today."